Simply Vegan by Debra Wasserman

Simply Vegan by Debra Wasserman

I didn’t know I had this cookbook.  I went to get my own personal cookbook from the pantry and found this one.  I don’t even know where it came from.  What a great surprise!

I realize that this book is pretty old now, it first came out in 1991 and has since been reprinted several times.  But, the book is new to me so here we are.

I haven’t read the nutritional information located in the back of the book yet but I will.  I have gone through the recipes in the front and I’m very excited to try some of them out.  They are appear very easy, there is only a few ingredients in each.  But they sure do look like they would taste good.

I recently went to the local Middle Eastern grocery and picked up 2 pounds of dried fava beans.  I’m never able to find them at my local health food store, I’m not sure why.  But I love fava beans.  They hold together well in dishes and have a very rich flavor.  I purchased the fava beans with the idea to make ful medames, a dish commonly eaten in Egypt.  Basically the dish consists of fava beans, oil, parsley, garlic, and lemon.  It is very, very yummy.

But I got a pleasant surprise flipping through the book.  A recipe for fava beans!  And, the recipe is similar to ful medames.  So I’m making that for dinner tonite…I’ll let you know how it goes.

I listed a couple recipes below from the book that look pretty good.  If you’ve made anything from the book tell us about it.  You can never have enough good recipes!!

Fava Bean Delight ~ page 78

• One small onion chopped
• 1 Tablespoon oil
• 19-ounce can fava beans, drained
• 1 ripe tomato, chopped
• Juice from 1/2 lemon
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Sauté onion in oil until transparent.  Add remaining ingredients and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 10 more minutes.  Serve hot with rice.

Seitan Sauté ~ page 85

• 1/2 cup vegetable broth
• Small onion, minced
• 1 apple, diced
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 8-ounce pkg seitan, cubed

Sauté ingredients over medium heat for 5 minutes.  Serve Hot

Pasta with spicy tahini sauce ~ page 90

• 1 Tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 1/2 cup tahini
• 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 1/2 Teaspoons diced hot cherry peppers
• 1 Teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 Pound of pasta, cooked and drained

Mix together all ingredients (except cooked pasta).  Pour sauce over cooked pasta, toss and serve.