Cookout Fare

This summer, Tybrus and I hosted a cookout. We're not much for dinner hosting mostly because iwe don't own a kitchen table.Plus, we have a really hyper puppy with the force of a truck.  It was a new experience, and it inspired me to hunker down and buy a table. Eventually. We served traditional cookout foods: seitan ribz, potato salad, spinach dip and my friend Jess even made her famous pasta salad. It's official title is "that pasta salad that starts fights." Sure, this happened in July and not during Vegan MoFo, but it's not too late to get outside and fire up that grill one last time before we get to frigid temperatures. 

Tomato Basil Cream Spaghetti Squash Spaghetti with Seitan Sausage

Yes, this meal was a mouthful, in regard to the title and nom factor. I've recently developed this obsession with blending tomatoes and cashews together. I would like to eventually experiment with other nuts, though. Heh, heh, experimental nuts.

My mom sent me home the other day with not only a belly full of BBQ tempeh, roasted potato medley, and green beans, but she sent me home with a load of fresh herbs from her garden. All the basics: chives, thyme, rosemary, sage, cilantro, and basil.

I recently bought the Vegan Yum Yum cook book, and I gotta say, it f*cking rules. There are several recipes that weren't on the site, and as the cover suggests, these are definitely decadent AND very doable recipes. Meaning I want to make sweet, sweet love to her baked macaroni and cheez recipe.

The tomato basil cream recipe sounded delicious and simple for sure, but I wanted to up the ante with some forbidden wheat gluten: Italian-style seitan sausage. I altered the recipe found in La Dolce Vegan and let it simmer in the tomato cashew sauce with some fresh basil.

This was the first time I ever tried spaghetti squash, and holy sh*t. The squash's innards just collapse into this stringy mass of, well, squash noodles. They have a nice crunch that nicely contrasts the typical texture of spaghetti noodles. Also, quite a few less carbs.

Chik'n and Dumplings

Dumplings, glorious dumplings! I got this recipe from Vegan.Chicks.Rock. It was delicious, comforting and reminded me of dumpling days of yore. In addition to the celery and carrots, I added an onion and a cup of frozen peas. I made my own seitan chick'n and added some of the remaining broth from it to the broth for the dumplings. That was probably my only criticism of the recipe, the fact that there weren't any herbs added to the dumplings. Whatever, it was so delicious my boyfran was compelled to give me the greatest food compliment ever.*

"I didn't think I could love you more than I already did, but then I ate your dumplings. These would make Christ come off the cross."

*This is not counting the time my coworker told me I made O-face-inducing German chocolate cupcakes. Just sayin'.

I do, on occasion, wish that I had multiple sets of parentals.

The meal pictured above brings about such thoughts. Let me start from the beginning: my boyfriend has the most awesome parents in the world. They're complete foodies (just like me.) Every meal his mother has ever cooked for me has been delicious times twelve. During one of our weekend visits there, his mother conjured up a recipe for seitan wellington with a red wine gravy. It was godly. She also made us some vegan stuffing, equally as delicious.















Then for dessert, his mother made phyllo tarts- berry with Toffutti cream cheese filling and an apple walnut one. Alright, these weren't exactly for dessert, they were much more like finger food to snack on while the real meal was being prepared. I like the way that woman thinks.

Vegan MoFo is Upon Us!

.. and, I am damn excited. October is the ideal month for me for the following reasons: 1) an entire month dedicated to the delicacy that is vegan fewd nomz, 2) my birfday is this month, and 3) HALLOWEEEEEEEEEEEEEN. This means that I have thirty one days to cram as many horror movies into one month as humanly possible. From 80's horror to 90's, from 70's exploitation to Universal Monsters, from Japanese horror to.. You get the idea. I admit, I've cheated and already gotten a head start on my horror movie intake. What can I say?

I haven't posted a lot of late and not due to lack of cooking. If you haven't noticed it's late September which means I've been back in school for almost a month. And, it's kind of kicking my ass. Also, when I've been cooking, it's been evening time meals where I'm trying to relax. Taking pictures of my food has been the last thing on my mind when a big plate of tastiness is sitting in front of me. Anyway, without further ado, here is what I've been cooking up.
















This was my second illness soup: Asian Mushroom Noodle Soup. It was inspired by a recipe I found in one of my mom's many low-carb cookbooks. One thing I will never submit to is this low-carb craze we find ourselves in. Carbs 'til death! The recipe in the book called for pork, so I subbed seitan. This recipe is really basic and really anyone could make it on the fly. It incorporated cabbage, carrots, button mushrooms, and wheat spaghetti noodles. (Soba noodles would've been MUCH better, though.) This was a really healthy meal and even the sodium content was very mild.















Remember that tempeh stew I made like, a post ago? The left over tempeh was used to make these: Tempeh burritos. I didn't do anything special. I steamed tempeh with some soy sauce and then topped it with some homemade peach mango salsa. Does anything sound more elegant than 'peach mango salsa'? I think not.
















This hearty red lentil pasta sauce is one of my favorites that I've made recently. Next time, though, I'd rather make it with a different pasta, one that holds sauce a bit better. This is a great alternative to those fatty fake meat grounds that you usually throw in your pasta sauce to make spaghetti.















About a year ago, I couldn't stand the taste of tahini. I would avoid making homemade hummus just to avoid it. I found it impossible to cook with and even more impossible to scarf down. Tahini is definitely an acquired taste, but once you do acquire it, you're hooked. Using tahini in sauces and such is all about combining it with the proper amount of water. Tahini has a very potent nutty flavor and needs water to counteract it and tone it down. I love love love this recipe for soba noodles with tahini sauce! This was my first time cooking soba noodles and I couldn't stop snacking on them while I waited for the rest of my meal to finish cooking. Such an awesome flavor. A note: I think next time I make an alfredo sauce I will mix equal parts tahinia and water to the garlic, soy milk, margarine mixture. Tahini with the right amount of water has a bit of a cheesy quality that is absolutely delicious.

Breaded Seitan Cutlets with Sauteed Asparagus

These cutlets tasted like the ones Dave and I had at Blossom. They were good, but I'll admit I should have let them cool longer. It would have had a better texture. This was my first time cooking asparagus and I was pretty thrilled with it. I sauteed it in EVOO and some minced garlic. Topped with sesame seeds and nom nom nom.

Home Cooked Meals

This certainly has been a week of experiment. First, I would like to introduce you to my kitty guest:

Jax a.k.a. Jasper

Apparently, I'm my family's go-to gal for pet-sitting. This is my sister's cat baby, and quite frankly, he's not too nice. He's been at my apartment for about three days, and he only started cuddling with us today. What has my sister done to desensitize a cat in such a way? My theory was the stupid collar she forces him to wear. It's blue with a dangling jingle bell intended to alert you of when the kitty is near. I took it off and hid it from him today, and he has been much more pleasant since.

And, now- the food. I discovered Everyday Dish TV this week and it has been life changing. Not only are the recipes simple, recorded, and scrumptious, but I catch myself wishing that Julie Hasson was my mother when I was a youth.

"Breast of Tofu"

Hey, Bryana Clark Grogan, you're a friggin' goddess. After countless unsatisfying attempts at tofu preparation, I'm finally hooked! This is seriously the perfect food for me. It's easy and great for work nights when I get home some time around 11 p.m. I just set tofu strips to marinade right before I leave, coat it in the recommended flour mixture, fry it, and BAM! Dinner is served. The marinade and flour mixture keep refrigerated for up to a week. It's basically a poultry seasoned marinade. I served it with some roasted rosemary potatoes.

the final product.

Another Everyday Dish TV dinner? You got it. I haven't tried vegan ribz since last summer. I used tempeh and baked it in a coating of bbq sauce. BLAND!

This stuff, though. Sooooo nom. You really have to watch both the amount of olive oil you use and the progress of the side that is frying otherwise, well, you'll get a burned set of ribz. Like mine. Even a little crispy, they were still righteous and totally hit the spot. Along with homemade mashed potatoes and sweet corn.

nutty, smokey, tender, and chewey.

And, to finish the night off right, Red Bull Berry Smoothies. I miss you, Raw Times. :( Now, I have to do this myself.

Alright, Alright.

So, I'm done with class for today and the only things on my agenda are to do some assignments and take the stinkin' bus to work. I mentioned that I had a few crappy pictures of some tasty eats. So, since I'm bored, and obviously you are, too, here they be:



I feel a little silly eve posting this. It's so simple, but oh, so yummy. The penne is a buttery tomato basil penne. After cooking the pasta and letting it drain, I used the same pot to saute minced garlic and tomatoes in some EB. Dave could actually stand this because the tomatoes basically just dissolve and all you have left is this tasty coating for your noodles. top with some nutritional yeast, accompany with a salad, and BAM! you're set.

told you it was a horrible picture!

This meal was probably the main reason I came crawling back to you today. This was my very first encounter with seitan! yep. I made it all by myself. and, simple as it was, I'm going to gloat. The title of this recipe really doesn't lie. Even my omni family enjoyed it. The occasion was my mother and nephew's joint-birthday-dinner party. I usually try to cook up the vegan mirror image of whatever they're making so that I don't feel like such an outcast. Mine was clearly the superior meal.

Birthday Boy!

And now, another successful swing at some vegan Alfredo. Ultra-creamy and garlic-y..? Made with elbow mac this time. And, I am not too big of prude to admit the disgusting sound such creamy and delectable pastas make when you stir them! Damn it.