VV:

Yellow chile grilled tempeh (With aji amarillo)
So, I know I don't like tempeh. But I made this anyway.
Though aji amarillo is pretty spicy, this wasn't so much (then against I could be misinterpreting "heaping" tablespoon). Other than that it pretty much is... tempeh. I had it with leftover maple-balsamic-hot sauce from AVK to give it more flavor.

Sweet Potato Chipotle Bisque
I made a third of this recipe but used one whole chipotle with sauce (the full recipe calls for a chipotle, so I tripled it). Like this, it's reasonably spicy. It would probably be pretty mild with the called for amount. I usually don't like *too much* sweet potato, so I liked making this spicy and having the addition of potato to mellow it out. It gets pretty thick, to the point it could be a sweet potato-chipotle spread. I'll probably use this to use up sweet potatoes in the future.

Black-Eyed Butternut Tostadas
I like butternut squash! And black-eyed peas. The mix was pretty mildly flavored, a little tangy, and it gets kind of muted out with other tostada toppings (we used sour cream, salsa, cilantro, and shredded lettuce). I didn't really mind that though; it would probably make it easier to sneak in a vegetable. I made my own tostadas as outlined in the book, which was pretty easy and they stayed fresh while kept in foil after a day. I also made chips the same way, which is unrelated, but tasty.

the Simple Seitan from VCON

I've made this many times before, so this review doesn't beat out all the others, but for some reason it came out too gummy....which is annoying because seitan is so time consumming to make.  I blame it on my batch of VWG because everything else I did followed seitan rule perfectly.  I was able to trim off the outside pieces of the chunks and use enough of the insides for breaded seitan.  I froze the outside spongier pieces to put in the food processor for tacos or veggie burgers.

The Golden Vanilla Cupcakes from VCTOTW were wonderful!!! I know I have made them before but this batch came out absolutely moist and delish!!!

Individual Baked Hashbrowns (VB) -  Pretty good.....the outside was crisp and delicious, but the middles were a bit mushy....I think I'd do regular hashbrowns next time - but they were cute!

Individual Baked Hashbrowns (VB)
I've never ever made hash browns before and both N and I were quite impressed with these.  They did need an additional 5 mins to ensure that the tops were sufficiently browned - but could be my crappy oven.  We added tiny cubes of onion, and I think that this was an excellent addition.
They were a bit stodgy in the middle - but that's coz N made them and piled them up too high - I told him so before we cooked them but he wouldn't change it.  Ha, I was right (as always).

I was confused as to what to cook them in - is a muffin tin what you'd cook cupcakes in or are they deeper compartments?  The reason  I ask is that we did a 2/3 recipe and if we had filled the tin correctly (not like N did them!) then we would have had over 12 hash browns, but the recipe said that the full recipe should yield 12.
What was everyone else cooking them in?

did you guys really squeeze all the moisture out?  I have to get my husband to wring the hell out of these because I can't squeeze them enough!  But then after doing that, we haven't found them stodgy/mushy at all...

Shell, as far as I know muffin tin = cupcake tin, but I usually get about 16 out of the recipe I think.

Erin, I'm also confused as to what a 'regular' hash brown is... Do you mean fried rather than baked?

AC, have you made the VB chorizo?

I haven't, but I did make the Italian feast ones..I had to cook them more, but then they were great.
That VV chorizo is most excellent, though. I had an omni (but open minded) coworker try some, and she loved it! She loved the flavor. Even before trying it, she said it smelled great. She knows a lot about ethnic food, AND she teaches Spanish...so she knows what she's talking about it terms of flavor. : )

sweet.  I just know how much my husband raves about the VB chorizo, so if these ones are even better, then if I ever get my hands on a copy of VV I'm definitely gonna have to give them a go : )

I should remember to check the libraries again for any of these books, I remember ages ago finding out that one not too far from me had a copy of Veganomicon, I should get round to reserving it

yeah, I made Andy wring them out - but we don't have cheesecloth, so he was just using a towel - so that might have been our problem...

and by regular hashbrowns, I guess I meant doing them in a flat layer in a skillet - so yeah, frying I guess - but I felt like we used just as much oil in the baked ones as I would if I did them in the skillet....

Chickpeas Romesco (VCON) - good, but not great....tasted like chickpea pasta sauce, which is delcious over pasta, but kinda bleh by itself.....we ate it all, but I probably wouldn't bother making it again.

http://i567.photobucket.com/albums/ss115/erinmonster5/100_1080.jpg

Latin Baked Tofu (VV) - I had high hopes, but it really wasn't anything spectacular - oh, and I burnt it a little bit - 30 minutes on the second round is a bit too long in my opinion - it dried out pretty badly, but if it hadn't, I can see a glimmer of hope in this recipe.....served with Messy Rice.

Messy Rice (VCON) - I was on a roll last night with burning things - my first batch was ruined because I got distracted and left it boiling for way too long.....so I tried again and it came out lovely!  I used a whole onion - it calls for 1/4 cup - but I like onion!  I loved the coriander in this!!  Will definitely make it again!

I might take you up on that recipe-copying, Shell : )

I have no idea....N made them.  Although I'm sure he wouldn't be able to squeeze them as hard as Mr Oww.  For some reason I think Mr oww might have slightly more muscles than N.  But it's a close call ::)

haha, they can compare again in a few weeks ; )  N's been going to the gym now, so it must be pretty close, right?

yeah, I made Andy wring them out - but we don't have cheesecloth, so he was just using a towel - so that might have been our problem...

and by regular hashbrowns, I guess I meant doing them in a flat layer in a skillet - so yeah, frying I guess - but I felt like we used just as much oil in the baked ones as I would if I did them in the skillet....

oh I don't have a cheesecloth either, I just use a teatowel, but a LOT of moisture comes out.

I was just curious because these are probably the only 'grated' potato hash browns I've ever made.  I make what I guess would be better called rostis with mashed potatoes, cooked in a pan, but yeah, usually the only other 'hash browns' we'd have would be bought frozen ones . 

so you'd make like.. one big giant hash brown?  I gotta try that, it sounds fun.  Except, my husband would just be like 'that's mine, where's yours?' and then I'd have to make another regular sized one for me haha

AC are those snickerdoodles from vcon?  Look good! : )

gosh i really didn't like the tempeh nori rolls... but i made them a long time ago and i don't really dig tempeh prepared by myself... is this recipe worth another try on my part?

yeah, hashbrowns in a skillet come out as one big piece. you could add less potato and make two smaller ones though.

yeah, hashbrowns in a skillet come out as one big piece. you could add less potato and make twoten smaller ones though.

seriously, it's impossible to overestimate how much that man eats.

Finally remembered to come back and comment on the Coconut Pancakes from VWAV that we had on the weekend.
I love love love coconut, and, consequently, enjoyed these.  We didn't think they were super dooper coconutty though, and they were a little stodgier I think than our usual pancakes.  Would make again, but not as a regular feature.