Cookbook challenge, week 2, days 3-5 - Vegan with a Vengeance

I've been crap about this week's challenge. Not only have I made far fewer recipes, I've not been posting when I did make something. So, this'll be my catch-up post.

Tuesday I made the Cauliflower-Leek Kugel with Almond-Herb Crust:


I have to say, it was just OK. I mean, we ate most of it (though Mike didn't really finish either night we ate it), and it wasn't bad. I just wasn't all that keen. It might have been the texture or the flavour, too much or too little of one herb or another - I honestly can't put it into words. Also, it was a bit time-consuming to make and required a few ingredients that I never use (what am I gonna do with the rest of that box of matzohs?). It was alright, but I probably won't make it again.

I started making the Raspberry Blackout Cake with Ganache-y Frosting that night. I made the cake layers, but I didn't realise the frosting had to sit for an hour, so I waited until Wednesday to make that part. Then, when I started the frosting (as in, the soy cream was in the pan and the heat was on), I realised that I didn't have enough chocolate. I ended up having to go to 3 stores to finally find some vegan chocolate. Pain in the ass. I finally finished yesterday afternoon:


This was another labour intensive recipe, though part of that was my fault (next time I need to pay attention to the recipe and actually calculate how many grams are in an ounce so I get the right amount of chocolate). And even though I typically prefer a buttercream to a ganache, this cake was delicious. The cake layers were nice and moist, and the ganache set nicely. I love the combination of chocolate and raspberry (in case you couldn't tell from previous posts), and I feel this could've used a bit more raspberry flavour, but I think the only way that could've happened is with raspberry extract or syrup in the cake or ganache. I might make this again, though likely for an event rather than just to have cake, though I might use the cake recipe to use in something similar but buttercream-frosted.

Tonight's dinner was Black-eyed Pea and Quinoa Croquettes with Mushroom Sauce (minus the mushrooms because Mike is a hater) with roasted cauliflower (I bought too much for the kugel and wanted to use it up before it went off):


The whole meal was wonderful. I was worried, based on other people's experiences, that the croquettes would be too crumbly or something. But they held together perfectly, and I didn't find them overly crunchy. The sauce was delicious, though I really wish I could've made it with mushrooms. I served it as suggested, with a heap of quinoa covered in sauce. And, of course, the cauliflower was delicious, but roasted cauliflower always is. I have an assload of sauce left, but I'm sure I won't have any problem finding something to do with it once I've finished off the rest of the croquettes and quinoa. I'm sure I'll make this again, though probably when we have people over, since it's makes too much for just the two of us, and I don't know how the croquettes will hold up after refrigeration.