I was on AM Northwest making picnic salads, check it out!

And don’t forget that this salad is incredibly versatile. The basic is idea is something sweet, something hearty and a little sumpin sumpin to pull it all together, in this case cilantro. The dressing is super simple; a little vinegar and oil. All of these components can be filled in by you like one big culinary mad lib.

Just off the top of my head, a great autumn salad might be wheatberries, apples, pecans (toasted, if you want to get crazy), red onions and a little fresh rosemary. Or how about peaches and basil in the summer? Spring is coming and if you find yourself stumped at the farmer’s market, picture my floating head above your shoulder going “graaaaaain salaaaaaad.” It’s creepy, but effective.

The recipes are both in Veganomicon, but they’re also right here, enjoy!

Why is there a picture of a quiche here?

I can never remember how to make oatmeal.

It’s embarrassing, and it’s not just a one-time embarrassment that I can work out in therapy, it’s an every other morning embarrassment where I stand immobilized at my kitchen counter in complete disbelief that I really need to read the goddam oatmeal container again. So it’s always weird to hear myself talking about food.

This interview with Weekend Edition’s LeAnn Hanson, featuring me and the uncharacteristically chatty Terry, was really fun! Terry and I got to walk through the hallowed halls of NPR and sip on their filtered water. After it aired yesterday, 2 out of the 3 top cookbooks on Amazon were vegan ones. That would be Skinny Bitch in the Kitch (big ups to Rory and Kim! You guys should be our frenemies!) and Veganomicon. And the third one wasn’t even a cookbook, but it does have a chapter on veganism*. So I would say that the score board for 2008 looks like veganism: 1, meat: 0.

My muscles are pretty permanently clenched when I think of the rest of the year, on both a personal and political level or if you want to be feminist about it, what’s the difference? We’ve got the elections coming up and I am sure that president Kucinich would have retroactively declared this the year of the vegan if he hadn’t gotten the boot, so now I guess president Obama will have to carry the torch. Do you remember the carefree nineties, when the president was able to declare things “The Year Of…” Now every year is pretty much the same what with the war and torture. Not that the nineties were all that awesome, but they were better. I feel like all plans are on hold until November, which is pretty much how I felt in 2004.

However, the world still needs vegan cookbooks no matter what happens and so I am thrilled (well, as thrilled as someone who is sitting on her couch in bra and pajama bottoms at noon can be) to announce mine and Terry’s upcoming projects, some together and some separately. Not because we don’t love each other, but because we would like to continue loving each other.

Spring 2009: The Crack Of Noon - A Vegan Brunch Book by me!
Fall 2009: Vegan Cookies (title TBA) by Terry and me!
Fall 2010: Vegan Latina (title TBA) by Terry Hope Romero!
Fall 2010: Vegan Entertaining (title TBA) by me and maybe by Terry a little bit, we shall see

I know those dates sound crazy. “2010? We’re not going to have a 2010. ” But it will come faster than we think and if I get this time machine working, even faster still. Thanks for all the love and support, everyone. For seriously.

*That would be Professors Who Hunt Boar And Justify It Because They Think It’s Awesome And Thrilling To Hang Out With Non-Academics In Any Capacity But Especially A Manly One by Michael Pollan.

A mound of Fronch toast

I hosted a little brunch in my apartment yesterday. It was really nice to have my friend Amy in the kitchen with me. Even though she was supposed to come over a few hours earlier than she did (ahem), it was nice to have someone take the reigns and make the Fronch toast. I think it’s been a year since I’ve had any sort of soiree and the sad part was that I didn’t even realize it until yesterday.

Lately my cooking endeavors have been a little bit stressful. Twice this year I’ve cooked for 300 people, a few times I did huge brunches for 60, a handful of catering gigs and of course the countless weekends doing food photography for Veganomicon. It’s been awhile since I’ve cooked a nice relaxing meal with friends just for the hell of it. This is my reminder to do so more often.

It was also nice that the Sunday NY Times included Veganomicon in their holiday cookbook wrap up. Grace Paley? My friends are never going to hear the end of it. I’m going to be so annoying they probably won’t even want to come over and eat, so scratch everything.

The Times says:

Moskowitz is a tattooed 34-year-old Brooklynite with punk spirit and an old soul; spending time with her cheerfully politicized book feels like hanging out with Grace Paley. She and her cooking partner, Terry Hope Romero, are as crude and funny when kibbitzing as they are subtle and intuitive when putting together vegan dishes that are full of non-soggy adult tastes ? they throw a lot of capers and Dijon and spices and vinegar and shallots around. Don?t look here for bowls of vegan mush. Do look for an excellent roasted fennel and hazelnut salad, bok choy cooked with crispy shallots and sesame seeds, hot and sour soup with wood ears and napa cabbage and a porcini-wild rice soup they say is ?perfect for serving your yuppie friends.?

My name gets pronounced correctly and then incorrectly, but, whatever it isn’t about me. (Oh wait, yes it is.)

Listen to The Post Punk Kitchen on Splendid Table. It was actually recorded last year, but better late than never! I am writing from Woodstock where we just did the Woodstock Farm Sanctuary Thanksliving where there were baby lambs in the kitchen with us! I almost ate them because they were so cute and then I remembered that I was vegan. Anyway, listen to this NPR thingy and I’ll update on the dinner and also post some Thanksgiving recipes when I get home tomorrow.

Scroll down to Post Punk Kitchen Thanksgiving or just cut to the chase and listen to our segment here.

A cthulu looking V-con Seitan Picatta from Asstrogirl on flickR

Fittingly, publishing cookbooks is a lot like cooking for a crowd. You do all that work, marvel at the finished dishes, and wait with bated breath for guests to arrive. You have a sense of accomplishment having completed the dinner but really you can’t fully exhale until everyone has taken their first bite, and good or bad at least you know what’s up.

So basically I am here in front of my computer way more often than I should be, watching everyone take their first bite. My favorite part is the photographs. On blogs and on flickR, it’s such a rush to see the dishes come alive in the kitchens of our readers. Sometimes, despite my gothic instincts, I am compelled to clap when something comes out right. Of course I cringe when it doesn’t and sigh when I thought it wouldn’t and then it ultimately does.

Today we got our first feedback from the mainstream press- a Publishers Weekly starred review. For cookbook authors that’s like being in Junior High and the guy that you’re in love with (the one with the tail and the cool Reeboks) nods your way in the hallway.

From Publishers Weekly:

“While most vegan cookbooks are anemic, underfed volumes?some no-brainer pasta recipes, a few things to do with tofu, maybe some oddball desserts?this slam-bang effort from vegan chefs Moskowitz and Romero (Vegan with a Vengeance) is thorough and robust, making admirable use of every fruit and vegetable under the sun, without once asking readers to make do with fake meat products and egg replacements. Instead, the eccentric authors offer dozens of novel, delicious ways to get excited about eating meat-, dairy- and egg-free. Take Southwestern Corn Pudding, a winning casserole rich with coconut milk and an unexpected dash of maple syrup?a likely MVP at your next Thanksgiving (whether it?s centered around turkey or tofu). Almost as addictive are Rustic White Beans and Mushrooms, which get their bite from fresh herbs, and Lentils and Rice with Caramelized Onions and Spiced Pita Crisps, a transcendent Middle Eastern comfort food. Vegan breakfasts get overdue attention: sitting in front of a hot stack of velvety Blueberry Corn Pancakes and hearty Blue Flannel Hash, who?s going to miss the bacon? Best of all is the wide selection of terrific desserts: everything from Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies to decadent Caramel-Apple-Spice Cupcakes boldy fill the space where most eggless, milkless and butterless cookbooks fear to tread.”

Zomigod.

Way to straighten up for the media. Also, nice dirty apron.

This article features just about everyone in the vegan baking world, but the picture is of me so that’s all that matters. Because I am narcissistic to compensate for my low self esteem. In any case, even without me, it is a really nice article about vegan baking for the Associated Press, which will get lots of exposure. So yay.

That’s quite a manicure, Moskowitz.

There’s also a recipe for Orange Chocolate Chip Biscotti that goes along with the article, but strangely they aren’t in the same news pieces.

Have a great weekend, everyone! I hope to see you at the NYC Walk For Farm Animals on Sunday. And visit the blog on Monday for the next Veganomicon giveaway!