🍊 Eat More Plants: Issue #40
Hi friends,
When I said this newsletter would be "sporadically published", I didn't exactly intend for the gap between issues to stretch to nine months, but here we are. So if you had forgotten you ever signed up to get email from me, hi! This is Eat More Plants and I mostly share recipes on that theme. Lovely to have you here, and if you've got recipes to share, please send them to me and I'll include in an upcoming issue. (With luck, that won't be too far in the future.)
Recent favourites
I was in the store recently and this locally made paneer was on sale so I bought some and went hunting for a matar paneer recipe and found this one from Eater, originally from a classic cookbook by Julie Sahni. It was very good. Note that I had about double the paneer called for, and I skipped the frying stage, I prefer my paneer to be creamy.
We really enjoyed Alison Roman's eggplant parm, and her method of baking the eggplant slices means you don't have to make a mess frying. Be aware the recipe makes two portions, technically, though it makes twice as much tomato sauce as you need. So if you buy double the eggplant, breadcrumbs and cheese, you can make a recipe that serves four, but honestly would serve more because it's quite rich (find a nice side dish for it), and then you have leftover eggplant parm. Because if you're going to go through all that work, why not have leftovers?
I admit I can be kind of skeptical of vegan desserts, because it is so hard to replace the lusciousness of dairy, but this Greek orange cake (portokalopita) by Meera Sodha was shockingly good. When you first try it, the edges are crispy and the inside is creamy. Put it in the fridge overnight and the whole thing gets nice and puddingy. Definitely eat it both ways. The technique to crumble the phyllo is cool, and if you have leftovers (this recipe used half of the packet I bought) I recommend throwing together a quick strudel.
Quick hits
I finally made this mushroom-squash Japanese curry from Bon Appétit that's been on my list for ages and I have no regrets.
Smitten Kitchen's cauliflower salad with dates and pistachios tastes far more exciting than it sounds.
For a super-quick tofu dish, this Hetty McKinnon silken tofu with spicy soy dressing hits the spot.
If you like smoky flavours, these sauerkraut and smoked cheese fritters are quite tasty. They're rich, so I found two was the right amount to eat and three was too many for me.
Meera Sodha also recently published a vegan lemon tart that I also quite enjoyed.
If you happen to find yourself in Kelowna, B.C., get a meal at Frankie We Salute You.
I'm reading
To the Lake, a beautiful book by Kapka Kassabova on exploring her family's roots on and around Lake Ohrid.
Rereading Russian classics in the shadow of the Ukraine war.
N. K. Jemisin's latest novel The World We Make, the second in a two-book series (so you're safe to read them without fear of cliffhangers).
New-ish cookbook The Vegan Chinese Kitchen. You can read an interview with the author here and try out a few recipes here.
The Narwhal! This Canadian non-profit environmental journalism outlet is doing fantastic work. They are running a referral program right now and if you sign up for their newsletter you will get me closer to my goal of a new sweatshirt.
I'm writing
A sum-up of the Rewilding Arts Prize, a super-cool project we worked on with the David Suzuki Foundation.
This meadow-making course is helping bring back Vancouver Island's endangered native ecosystems.
How asset management is helping municipalities better mitigate and plan for the effects of climate change.
My complicated thoughts about flying during the climate crisis.
An interview with the team at Uasau Soap, an Inuit-run business in Iqaluit.
The footer
Eat More Plants is a sporadically published newsletter by Kat Tancock, sharing recipes and inspiration for vegetarian and vegan dishes, restaurants, products and more. Please reply with your own tips so I can include them in a future issue, and send this newsletter to your friends.
Missed an issue? View the archives online.
Looking for something to cook? All previous recipe recommendations are saved on this Pinterest board.