VegWeb Newsletter: Tempting Tomatoes!
- In This Issue:
- Recipe Spotlight |
- What's Hot on VegWeb |
- Cooking with Webmistress Laura |
- Superstar VegWebber |
- Weekly Giveaway!
You say tomato, I say delicious!
Recipe Spotlight on Tomatoes
Like most kids raised on the Standard American Diet (SAD is an appropriate acronym), I couldn't stand many vegetables. I was grossed out by avocado, eggplant, and the very worst of them all, tomatoes. Tomatoes were goopy, slimy things, just waiting to contaminate the rest of the food on my plate. However, as I got older and my tastebuds evolved, I started to try many foods I was terrified of as a kid. I soon discovered that avocados and eggplant were gifts from the heavens! But I'm going to be honest with you–I was still terrified of tomatoes. Knowing I had to get over it (or die trying!), I hid a tomato in a sandwich. NOT BAD. I was expecting a gag reflex so when I made it through the whole sandwich, I was impressed. I might have even (gasp)
Check out some of our favorite tomato recipes on VegWeb:
What's Hot on VegWeb
Check out our new Monday Night Chats! Every Monday from 6–7pm PST, head to the chat room for discussions ranging from vegetarian travel to cooking tips. This week (August 19), we'll be talking vegan party hosting! From snacks that impress to the best tunes to play, we'll talk about everything vegans need to throw a fabulous bash. Bring your questions, tips, techniques, and more to the VegWeb Chat Room.
Dye-ing for a new look? Okay, maybe that was too cheesy, even for me. But finding good vegan hair coloring products can be hard! Come discuss the good, the bad, and the fuschia pink in the Hair Dye Thread.
In Vitro Meat: Yuck or Yum? In the future, will all meat be "raised" in a petri dish? Does that excite or disgust you? Or both? Talk it out in In Vitro Meat.
Do you tweet? Well, I do! I'm crazy about Twitter. More specifically, I'm crazy about twittering deals, recipes, giveaways, and the latest and greatest news from the VegWeb HQ! Follow me on my WebMistress Laura Twitter.
Have you gotten your VegWeb goodies yet? We've got the greatest new logo and the greatest new Zazzle store filled with VegWeb t-shirts, aprons, and tote bags. You have to check out all the goodies immediately at The VegWeb Store.
Fixin' to make a pizza pie!
Cooking with Webmistress Laura!
I've been pretty obsessed with pizza making lately. It's one of those things that's SO EASY but nobody ever takes the time to do it because delivery is just a phone call away. However, we vegans aren't always lucky enough to live in a place where vegan pizza delivery exists. Heck, some of us live in places where there isn't any vegan pizza, period. And that's a shame because pizza is the best. But we can remedy that problem with some of the excellent VegWeb pizza recipes. Now, most of these recipes call for a truly excellent tomato sauce and one of my favorites is a variation on Tomato Sauce from Scratch from VegWebber, safejourney. I took this (marvelous) original recipe, thickened it up a bit, and made it a little more garlicky because you know, who doesn't love garlic? Answer: not you and vampires. This sauce is rich, thick, and perfect for pizza. Bon Apetit!
You'll need:
2 tablespoons olive oil1 large red onion, peeled and diced
5 garlic cloves, minced
5 pounds tomatoes, diced
12 ounces silken tofu
2 bay leafs
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh oregano, chopped
1 cup nutritional yeast
Salt and pepper
Directions:
1. In a large pot, saute the onions and garlic in olive oil until the onions begin to brown.
2. Fold in the tomatoes, silken tofu, herbs, and nutritional yeast and bring to a light boil, then reduce heat to simmer.
3. Simmer until reduced to a thick sauce and season with salt and peper. Serve on pizza, pasta, your body, etc.
Superstar VegWebber!
Each week we'll highlight a member of the VegWeb community who goes above and beyond to make VegWeb a truly excellent place to spend time on the internet.
This week, "Heliamphora!"
VegWebber since? October 2006, but I only began posting around July 2007, when I went vegan
What's one unique thing we should know about you? All the important choices I make in life stem from my love of the earth and its innate spirituality
#1 cooking secret/tip? One which springs to mind is instead of buying expensive vanilla extract for baking, I just use vanilla soymilk in place of regular soymilk or water
What is the best thing about being vegan? Pride in having learned to create lovely, nourishing food which causes as little harm as possible to this beautiful planet and its inhabitants
Favorite recipes on VegWeb to make for non-vegans to show them how amazing vegan food can be? Well, my own Baby Potato & Broccoli Salad went down very well at a recent party, and someone at work wants my recipe
Read Heliamphora's entire interview and tell her how fabulous she is in the Superstar VegWebber thread!
Weekly Giveaway: Local Bounty by Devra Gartenstein
Local Bounty by Devra Gartenstein offers a myriad of recipes to help you enjoy fruits and vegetables at their individual seasonal peak. Right now is the perfect time to enjoy super fresh tomatoes, and Local Bounty is here to help. Mouth-watering recipes include Fried Green Tomatoes, Pesto-Stuffed Tomatoes, and French Tomato Soup. I repeat, French Tomato Soup. I want a vat of it to take baths in. Check out our brand-new VegWeb Weekly Giveaway now and let us know your favorite way to enjoy tomatoes for a chance to win.
Good luck!
Peace in your kitchen,
Webmistress Laura
VegWeb.com
San Francisco, CA
