Monday, November 24, 2008

Back in the Kitchen Again--cuz vegans don't ride saddles!

Alllrighty! No more slacking. As I was commanded, thinking of "my public." Har har.

Saturday's dinner was savory tofu steaks (cubed), baked potatoes, and one of my most favorite dishes ever--the chard, acorn squash, tomatoes, and pine nut thing from The Vegan Gourmet, page 96 or so.



It is truly wonderful, but I don't know why I find it so complicated. Maybe it's the timing--you have to do x for five minutes, then do y for seven, then do z for four, add this then, and so on. I'm not good with that much direction. Anyway, I had to make some subs and it just didn't turn out as lovely as I remember (from when V made it, of course). I used frozen butternut squash in place of the acorn and canned diced tomatoes instead of fresh. It wasn't inedible, but it wasn't fantabulous. And because of all the timing issues, the baked potatoes were overdone. Not twice baked, just overdone. Boo. I should hang up my apron now if I can't even bake a freakin' potato.

Sunday was better. I raked leaves for a while (you have to do that when you have a yard, ya know) and then spent much of the afternoon in the kitchen. First, I made the blueberry muffins from the Nov/Dec 08 issue of VegNews.



Eh. I've had (and made) better. They tasted bitter to me. Perhaps it was because I used frozen blueberries, but it just seems like they should have more "flavor." Probably won't be making again.

Next, I made the garlic basil muffins from the same issue of VN.



Muuuch better. They need quadruple the amount of garlic powder and basil called for, and I think some red pepper flakes would help, but overall a nice subtle change-of-pace dinner bread. And hey, "change" is all the rage now. That and "hope." Bladdy blah blah.

On to the appetizer. One of my most favorite things in the world...roasted brussel sprouts. It is positively AMAZING what a little olive oil, sea salt, fresh ground pepper, and a brussel sprout can do for a girl. Deee-lish.



On to better and starchier things...mac & cheese! Yes, that's right kids, vegans eat mac & cheese like everyone else. Well, not cheeeese of course, but something much better. A lovely creamy flavorful sauce. All the fat, none of the cruelty.



When I asked the freaks which was the best recipe, my buddy Misa immediately recommended this one. As usual, she's dead on balls accurate--and that's an industry term (vegan brownie points if you know what that's from). This shit is good. Damn good. It's the Soul Veg recipe, mostly. It's creamy and lush and it gets all bubbly in the oven. Just like mac & cheese should do. We also had some black eyed peas that I had previously frozen, jazzed up with onion, garlic, crushed red pepper, and whatever else I happened to toss in. Not the "prettiest" meal, but it was damn tasty.

So I hope to be back. And I hope to get better pix in the future. These suck.

Next up...Vegan Cooking Adventures with the G-ma!

4 comments:

Melomel said...

Your public is suitably in awe.

Ginger Ammon said...

What's the recipe for the mac & cheese?

The Divine Miss V said...

I'm so glad "my public" is pleased.

Ging, I e-mailed you.

Rebecca said...

All your recipes and dishes look delicious! And the mac & cheese.. lovee it! i had it a couple nights ago :)