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3/26 - Cinnamon-Spice Roasted Veggies and Couscous

After reading a review of La Dolce Vegan on The Veg Blog, I decided that it was time to break it in. I have all three of Sarah's books, but for some reason I hardly ever use them. But the Cinnamon-Spice Roasted Vegetables with Couscous mentioned in the review sounded too good to resist.

I didn't have all of the specified ingredients, most notably the shallots. I haven't seen them at the farmer's market recently and they're ridiculously expensive at the grocery store, so I just cut up a red onion and threw that in instead. I also used regular potatoes instead of butternut squash, because I really didn't feel like peeling that shit tonight. A chopped carrot and plum tomato wedges also went into the mix. I used 1 Tbsp of oil instead of 3, because I don't think I've used 3 Tbsp of oil in any dish ever, no matter how many people it served. And last but not least, mine needed about 20 minutes more oven time than the recipe called for.

Even with all of my wacky substitutions/additions, it came out very well. Nice and spicy and tasty and a little sweet, but not overly so. I'll make it again for sure.

That looks good, I’ve never made couscous that didn’t come out of a box. I usually have to adjust the baking time every time I try a new recipe. I even have an oven thermometer so I can’t figure out what’s going on with that.

Yeah, I think my oven temperature is probably totally off but I never remember to get a thermometer when I'm out. And things turn out okay in the end, so it's all good. I love couscous, it's so quick and easy.

That looks really good! I love, love, love La Dolce Vegan. I have all of Sarah's books, but that one I think is my favorite. On the weekend we had Cousin Natasha's Everything But The Kitchen Sink Vegetable Curry. I cut the cayenne way back because for the past couple of years, for some reason, my mouth is really sensitive to hot & spicy. Hubby and I really liked it. Also, I'm raving to everyone about the Joint's Cheese Burger Pizza. I know it sounds weird, but make it! It is so totally yummy!! Trust me!

I've read a lot of positive reviews of that cheeseburger pizza. It doesn't sound that strange to me, honestly. I'll probably end up taking it for a spin sometime just to see what all the fuss is about. Plus I really do need to use this cookbook more. I agree, it's probably my favorite of the three. I had some so-so results from the other two in the past (mostly regarding baked goods) so I'm a little wary, but this recipe was delicious.

Interesting idea - what types of spices are involved?

Wow, you're so confident with your substitutions! That's the sign of a confident cook. I am always really wary of changing things up because I never know if I'm going to screw things up entirely.

PS: Speaking Of La Dolce Vegan, my library called today to tell me that my hold request has finally come through! So I'll be picking up the book tonight :)

jess - Cumin, coriander, cinnamon, and salt. It's really simple, but the combination is very tasty.

kat - I'm pretty confident about switching things up when I'm cooking, but baking is a little scarier. I can deal with cooking things longer, but I don't like pulling something inedible out of the oven. Especially when that inedible lump contains a bunch of expensive ingredients. I'm getting braver, though.

I think you'll like La Dolce Vegan. I can't completely vouch for it since this was my first time using it, but a lot of things sound really good. I wish my library carried vegetarian cookbooks, let alone vegan. They've got like 2 veggie books fron 1974. Awesome.

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