Everything you see here is in Vive Le Vegan, and it’s ass-slapping yummy.

White Bean & Yam Chipotle Hummus

This may be the last hummus I ever try. That’s a lot for a vegan, which as we all know must have a full catalog of hummus varieties under their belt to support their hummus habit. (It’s worse than meth, honest.) It’s not a true hummus because there’s no chickpeas or tahini, but it’s creamy and sweet potato-y and very nommable. And I did use sweet potatoes instead of yams because that’s how I roll.

Quinoa & Hummus Casserole

That hummus went into this casserole, along with a base layer of quinoa, and roasted vegetables on top. It comes apart really easily once out of the casserole dish, which is why the above picture is posted rather than this one. It’s an interesting idea for a casserole, and I had never thought to bake with hummus. I put some of the leftover chipotle remoulade on the sweet potato wedges, though I think I would have preferred ketchup because I’m classy.

Pear Crisp (a la Mode)

This is a monsterous portion. I went into a sugar coma after consuming this. I have no idea what that shiny, pink, mystery object is at the bottom of the photo. It looks like it could be one of my fingers, only horribly mutated. I don’t know.

Also, this is really fucking good. I got a bag of D’anjou pears from Trader Joe’s for super cheap and threw this together. Have I ever mentioned that I hate working with raw ginger? The smell gets into my fingers and won’t go away for days. I have to grate all ginger on my Microplane, regardless of what the recipe asks for. I can’t tolerate ginger chunks or slices – it must be evenly distributed. I actually like gari (pickled sushi ginger), but that’s because I’m clearly a freak.

I’m going to have to cook out of Vive Le Vegan more often, and pick up her new book, Eat Drink & Be Vegan. I keep looking through her first book, The Everyday Vegan, but nothing jumps out at me as anything I want to try.