Heading into week two of my vegan challenge, I've successfully managed to entertain twice and it wasn't any harder or any less tasty than if I had included animal products in my menu.

Over the weekend, I had a friend over for brunch and I served assorted bagels with two different spreads: cream cheese for the omnivores and buttery Fuerte avocadoes (my personal preference) mashed with lime juice and nutritional yeast for me. I set out a big platter of sliced tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, and spicy radish sprouts, and I only missed the lox a little. (Sigh!) I also served a big bowl of mixed berries, and to drink I offered chilled fruit juice and coffee.

A few days later, friends came to dinner and after perusing through my new, favorite cookbook, Vegan Planet by Robin Robertson, I decided on a menu of lemon risotto with peas and a "Pseudo" Caesar salad. For starters I sliced up a chewy Judy's Breadstick (a staple in my house) and served that with Annie's cashew-sesame-pimento spread. The spread is made locally in Santa Cruz, California and it was sublime.

Recipes and reviews after the jump!I chose the lemon risotto because it would be a quick and simple weeknight meal. I adapted Robertson's recipe but used her technique of cooking the risotto in a wide pan instead of a heavy-bottomed pot like I normally do. This reduced the cooking time by about 15 minutes and still yielded a creamy, al dente risotto.  I would normally monter (enrich) my risotto with a little unsalted butter. I used margarine with comparable results. The sparkling lemon flavor kept the risotto from seeming heavy and I loved the bright green of the peas against the yellow rice.

I followed the Pseudo Caesar Salad recipe almost exactly. In a word, the salad was outstanding. It was wonderfully lemony and garlicky—full of flavor. The dressing is made with mellow, shiro (white) miso which gave the salad a pleasant, salty bite. It was a good stand-in for the oil packed anchovies I normally layer over my salad. My children especially loved it.

On Saturday, I'll wrap up the hits and misses of the week. See you then!

Vegan Lemon Risotto with Peas and Sweet Onions

This is my take on a recipe from Robin Robertson's  Lemon Risotto in the Vegan Planet cookbook. Be sure to serve this right away when the peas are their brightest green. The lemon juice will darken them after a few minutes.

1 box of Imagine Foods No-Chicken Broth* (4 cups)
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 sweet onion finely diced (Walla Walla, Maui, Vidalia, Texas Sweet, etc.)
1 1/2 cups Carnaroli rice (or Arborio)
splash of dry white wine
1-2 tablespoons Earth Balance margarine
2/3 cup frozen peas, thawed
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste


In a medium-sized pot bring the broth and lemon juice to a simmer and then keep warm over low heat.

Meanwhile heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add onions and rice and cook several minutes until onions are slightly translucent and rice is well-coated with oil, about 2 minutes. Add a ladle of hot broth to the pan along with a splash of wine. Stir constantly until liquid is absorbed. Continue adding broth a ladle at a time. Wait until broth is almost completely absorbed before adding the next ladleful. Rice will be done in about 25 minutes. Do not leave unattended. Taste for salt and pepper.

About five minutes before the risotto is done, add the margarine to the pan to enrich the risotto. Mix well then add the peas to the pan and let them warm through. Spoon risotto into shallow pasta bowls and serve at once. Serves 4.

*I love this product. Vegan or not, it is a staple in my kitchen. I actually prefer the flavor to their boxed free-range chicken broth. For a non-homemade broth, it's really good.

Pseudo Caesar Salad

Also from Vegan Planet. My notes/adaptations are in italics. This was a hit!

4 thick slices Italian bread, crusts removed
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon tahini (I used an equivalent amount of homemade gomasio, I prefer it to tahini and use it whenever tahini is called for.)
1 tablespoon mellow white miso paste
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon tamari
1/4 teaspoon vegetarian Worchestershire sauce (optional) (I used Bragg's Liquid Aminos.)
1/3 cup olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Vegan Parma (my addition)
1 head romaine lettuce

Preheat oven to 325º F. Cut the bread into 1-inch cubes and spread on a baking sheet. Bake, turning occassionally, until lightly toasted on all sides, about 20 minutes. Set aside to cool.

In a small bowl or food processor, combine garlic, tahini, miso, lemon juice, tamari, Worchestershire (if using), and olive oil until blended. Taste and adjust the seasonings, adding salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Tear the romaine leaves into bite-sized pieces and place in a large serving bowl. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss until evenly coated. Add the croutons, toss again, and serve immediately.  Pass Vegan Parma. Serves 4.

Past "Going Vegan" posts:
Going Vegan: From omnivore to herbivore in a month
Going Vegan: Week One Wrap-Up

Photos: Stefania Pomponi Butler