Happy 2012! Let's Go Vegan!

As you can see, I've updated my blog picture and title - since actually, I DO want more cookbooks (previous title: Not Another Cookbook). Specifically, I want more VEGAN cookbooks!

A few months ago I tried out an experimental vegan month, and the seed was planted. I’ve been meat-free for a long time, and though I kept transitioning from different, more ‘true’ forms of vegetarianism, I think I'd fallen into a bit of a food rut. Before trying out a vegan diet, I had always considered veganism extreme and overly restrictive. To my surprise, after testing it out, I actually found my options opened up in new ways, with innovative and delicious recipes and ingredients. Trying a vegan diet for a month not only drove me to try new foods, but also to ask questions about foods I’d been eating for decades. After all this, I kind of couldn't get the whole vegan thing out of my head. I've decided I'd like to more seriously commit to going vegan in 2012. Labels and categories don't always fit perfectly, but focusing on animal-free food and products is something that seems fulfilling and right for me right now.

Soooo... there will be many more vegan recipes on my blog! Here's one of 2 vegan dishes I brought to a New Year's Eve party last night: Veggie Napoleans.

Everyone loved these. They were delicious, decadent, and easily doable, as promised by the author of Vegan Yum Yum. The recipe included roasted tomatoes, zucchini, and mushrooms. The creme is an eggplant and cashew blend that is totally delicious (recipe now here), and the whole bite ties together so well! The only other ingredients are some olive oil, mixed dried Italian herbs, and a little soy sauce to drizzle into the inside of the mushrooms before roasting, so it's fairly simple appetizer to make.

To prepare the veggies: Slice the tomatoes and zucchini and spray with non-stick spray. Place on a cookie sheet and sprinkle with Italian herbs, and roast at 300 degrees F for about an hour to hour and 15 mim. Prepare the mushrooms by drizzling some soy sauce into the caps and roasting for 30 minutes at 300.

Somehow I loved these despite not really loving eggplant, mushrooms, or roasted tomatoes on their own. The flavors and techniques came together in an awesomely delicious bite. Everyone was impressed by the presentation, too. A good way to kick of the new year!

Happy 2012!