Plant-strong Pride and Happy Herbivore's Tamale Casserole

If I wasn't such a wuss, I'd have it tattooed onto my arm.

Or not.

But that's how into it I am.

We wear our "PLANT STRONG" rubber wristlets with pride around these parts. Thanks Rip. And Quinn decided we needed something a little more sophisticated. A little more enduring.

So I had it made. Custom made.

A Plant-strong bracelet.

Pride. A little goes a long way.

On Friday I received a copy of Lindsay S. Nixon's cookbook, The Happy Herbivore, from the publisher. I have to confess, I had seen this cookbook before and it did not inspire me. Too heavy on the faux meat products and the vegan cupcakes, the Nutritarian in me was pretty repelled.

But the folks at BenBella Books were kind enough to ship me a copy, and Lindsay herself is just so darned nice, so I gave The Happy Herbivore a much closer look this weekend.

What I found was a cookbook of recipes that would be wonderful for the cook who is just beginning to dabble in Vegan dishes and also for a person with family members to feed who are less than inspired to try Vegan dishes.

The first recipe that I tried out was a real keeper. So much so that I am planning on making it again and bringing it to my sister and brother-in-law's house next weekend. It was a pretty awesome bonus that all of the ingredients are staples in my kitchen, which I think is the case with the vast majority of Lindsay's recipes. And I know a lot of you are looking for recipes just like that.

The bottom layer of the Tamale Casserole is a saute of onion, garlic, black beans, corn, salsa and spices. I added mushrooms and spinach and left out the green pepper and black olives that the recipe called for.

The top layer is a vegan corn bread with whole corn kernels. Easy and delicious.

The resulting casserole was full of Mexican spice balanced with the sweetness from the corn bread. Vegan soul food. I feel like you could do a lot of fun things with this recipe idea. Add lots more veggies--whatever you need to use up--and it would be even better, if that's even possible.

Thanks Lindsay and BenBella Books! I look forward to trying out more Happy Herbivore recipes real soon.

Do you own a copy of The Happy Herbivore? What are your favorite recipes from the book?