It's a Relaunch and It's a Cookbook Giveaway

I know, believe me I know what you are you saying. This is like the fifth time you have gone missing GiGi and about the sixth time you have left your readers in the lurch. And now you are back again? What makes your life so much more challenging than mine GiGi, that you haven't written a syllable in months?

I would say to you, yeah...well. 

I know, and  I am sorry, really... sorry. I know we all have challenges. I know that in this fast paced world we live in, we are all just trying to get along. We are inundated with to-do lists, new technologies and deep universal conundrums... I wonder if I can freeze this falafel, how can I lessen Fifi's hairballs, and when can I find time to lock myself in the closet and chug this pint of scotch? I have had those same concerns.

I came back to this blog to give you hope. If nothing else brothers and sisters have gratitude in knowing that my life sucks worse than yours. 

I am about to come clean and in a series of videos, tell you why I have not appeared at this page. Video 1 below. 

What better way to relaunch Veganville than with a video of my whereabouts, a giveaway and a review of my friend, Zsu Dever's new book, Everyday Vegan Eats.

Before I booked the above flight, I had a moment of good fortune. I had the opportunity to recipe test for Zsu's new book, Every Day Vegan Eats. Recipe testing can be especially fun when you send your husband aka Crazy Boy to five  different stores to hunt down a spice he never heard of before. For most people salt should be pretty easy to find, and a little salt can be found in most of Zsu's recipes.

The Alien Pearheads have decided to let me use their kitchen.
They had an abundance of tofu. I was able to revisit one of my favorite recipes from Zsu's book and I made the seafood variation of the marinated tofu and served it with Zsu's famous tartar sauce.

Recipe
14 ounces of extra firm tofu pressed overnight
2 C water
2 T savory broth mix
1/4 tsp salt
1 T sunflower oil

Cut pressed tofu into 1/2-inch cubes.
Heat water, broth mix, and salt in medium sauce pan. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer.
Add the tofu and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and allow the tofu to sit in the broth for an additional 10 minutes. You may also keep the broth in an airtight container in the refrigerator for a week before continuing the next step.
Drain the tofu. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the tofu and cook, stirring until golden brown about ten minutes.

Season with salt and black pepper as needed. The tofu is now ready to use in recipes. Below is the seafood variation.

All of Zsu's recipes are straight forward easy to follow, and delicious. I grew up in Brooklyn and married a Sicilian, great eggplant parm and lasagna was nothing new to us. 

Still, Zsu managed to wow us with new versions. I've fed hungry organic Pearheads Zsu's 7 Layer Tex Mex Salad with vats of her ranch dressing, which has kept their hunger at bay for one more day. This book has been a life saver :) The pictures in Zsu Dever's book are total food porn, and fun to flip through even when you don't feel like cooking.

Here is the best thing yet. You can enter to win your very own copy of Zsu Dever's, Every Day Vegan Eats. To enter please tell me in the comments, from the list below which food from Zsu's book would you serve aliens?

Country Fried Seitan
Irish Corn Cabbage
Spinach and Artichoke Pizza
Mushroom Stroganoff
Tater Tot Casserole

Giveaway starts now and is open til Monday, June 23rd. I will pick the winner from a random generator at an undisclosed location.

Good luck and Godspeed. Tell your friends.

xxx
GiGi