Viva Vegan

I hosted a little dinner party for a friend who is moving out-of-state....and it was the perfect chance to try some of the recipes in Terry Hope Romero's Viva Vegan cookbook. I was just looking for an excuse. Here is what I made from that cookbook, which is another total winner, by the way. Go buy it if you haven't yet.

clockwise, from center top: Mango Jicama Salad, Cilantro Lime Rice, Enchiladas with Tomatillo Sauce & Pine Nut Crema, Chipotle, Seitan, and Potato Tacos with Cashew Crema.

I've heard people mention that some of the ingredients in Viva Vegan are hard to find. I have had zero problems so far, but of course I live in something of a mecca of Latin food, primarily Mexican.

I really super-adore the tacos, and it's not the first time I have made them. Nor the last. In VegNews Magazine where Terry originally published the taco recipe and its crema, she had a Lime Crema topping that was soygurt-based. I changed it into a cashew-based crema and I liked it much better that way. Terry must have decided she liked a cashew-based topping better also and so she has a Cashew Crema recipe in Viva Vegan to accompany the tacos instead of the soygurt one. Her version is far superior to mine, however, and I highly recommend it.

The Mango Jicama Salad was pretty great. It's super easy, for how fancy it seems, and there's no cooking involved. It'll be great for summer potlucks, because you really don't have to worry about duplicating what someone else is making, and it's pretty unique and will make a good impression.

I made a few changes on the Enchiladas. The recipe in Viva Vegan is for Chickpea Potato Enchiladas, but Terry mentions you can put pretty much anything in them. I had at least two guests who aren't that fond of chickpeas, and I wanted something a little different than regular potatoes since I was already making the tacos. So, I subbed the chickpeas and potatoes for kale, sweet potatoes, and black beans. I used her Tomatillo Sauce and Pine Nut Crema. The enchiladas came out great. I found a couple of short cut chef opportunities, use frozen diced sweet potatoes, canned and already cooked tomatillos, and canned black beans. I also blanched the kale before adding it to the filling. For everything else I followed the enchilada recipe.

The Lime Cilantro Rice was good too. I'm really not a rice person unless it comes with Asian stir-fry, which I am pretty sure is the only reason I'm not raving about it. I mean how can you go wrong with cilantro, green onions, and rice?! My sister is more of a rice person though and she thought it was pretty good.

Tres Leches Cake

The Tres Leche Cake was so completely delicious! It is absolutely one of my new favorite desserts. I love coocnut cream pie and it tasted like a cake version of that. I am totally making this one again. I'll be using it in the future to impress others. It does have a little bit of rum in it, and I generally don't like desserts made with any alcohol, but I couldn't even taste it.

All in all, a very successful dinner, I daresay. I am still eating the delicious leftovers! Except the cake, that sucker is completely gone.