Recipes

I've been posting lots of vegan recipes and links over on my Facebook page. I am sort of obsessed with Post Punk Kitchen and am amazed at how creative and awesome every recipe there is. I especially love that she uses things like lentils and brown rice to create healthy, filling, meat-alternatives rather than always using soy or wheat. Everything I've tried has tasted great, so I'll just tell you about the difficulty levels and time. Here's what we have made from there so far and my thoughts:

Tamale Shepherd's pie: medium difficulty, medium time-wise
Snobby Joes: easy, quick. I think there is something wrong with our chili powder because these were so spicy we could barely eat them. We made them again and skipped the chili powder and they were awesome. Maybe taste before adding the chili powder?
Pesto: medium, quick (we doubled the noodles and used the recommended amount of sauce, and that was perfect for us)
Beet burgers: medium, medium. This recipe also works as a healthy, homemade meat substitute if you want to make a "meat" sauce for pasta or something
Tofu balls: medium, quick. We could taste the peanut butter, so we might make a substitute for that if we made these again, but I love that they give the illusion of meatballs.
Sunflower mac: medium, medium. 
Curry Udon: easy, medium
Curry Fries: easy, medium

If you're looking for a quick and easy weeknight meal, try the snobby joes. If you have more time and want to get a little fancy, go for the tamale shepherd's pie. Those were my favorites so far.

Also, I think I may have to get a Vita-Mix. I have been using the food processor so much that I think it would be worth it. It's what all the vegans are doing. Right?

Finally, a friend of mine started a blog to share her kid-friendly vegan recipes. Check her out at Food Therapy for Five. This cookbook is also great with lots of seasonal vegan recipes, although I feel like a lot of the recipes in that book feel more like side dishes to me than entrees. That seems to be the biggest challenge, one which PPK (above) has really mastered.

I would love to hear from you and get input on your favorite recipes and sources for vegan cooking. Join the conversation over at FB or post in the comments here. Also, is anyone interested in a cook-along? Something like choosing a recipe that we will all make on the same night?