I let nearly a month go by without blogging? How dumb. It’s not like I haven’t been cooking and eating… I have. (I was really sick for over a week–like, couldn’t-get-out-of-bed-for-four-straight-days sick)–& have had a lot going on thesis-wise. The good news is that with only 33 days to go til the darn thing is printed on specialty paper & bound, I’m in great shape.) So I’ll be using this week to get caught up on some of my recent kitchen adventures. When I’m not thesisizing, philosophizing, rubbing my cat’s belly or watching the queens duke it out on RuPaul’s Drag Race (an OBSESSION), you’ll find me here. So check back!
Post-illness, I itched to get back into the kitchen & prepare something more complicated than canned soup. So yesterday I cleaned out the veggie drawers of four bunches of organic golden beets, chopped up a cabbage & steamed it a la mama, whisked up some low-fat tofu & no-fat gravy, and partnered it all with an organic baked potato (and MORE GRAVY). Divine!
The beets were simply tossed in two tablespoons of olive oil, primo cinnamon & garam masala and then roasted in the oven for 40minutes at 400 (cover with foil for the first 25, remove for the last 15) . My new favorite way!
Today’s was even better. I wanted to do something with the bag of Dixie Diner no-chicken breasts I bought last summer with our annual TVP order & only just rediscovered a couple weeks before the expiration date. Lucky! I thought I’d just do something simple, like boil, sautee, and pair with last night’s leftover gravy, but I was soon taken by more exciting possibilities. Basically I thought, hell, I’ve got the resources, time, & enthusiasm–why not just go all the way & make a vegan chick’n parmigiana for the first time? And so I did. Here’s a shot of Nate’s plate:
In hindsight, this was actually kind of a lot of work…but in the moment, it didn’t seem like a big deal at all. First, simmer the chops in chick’n flavored veggie broth for 25 minutes. Then, make a seasoned breadcrumb mix (breadcrumbs + cracked black pepper + powdered garlic + nutritional yeast) and dredge the cooked “breasts”. Spritz with Bragg’s and bake in a 450 degree oven for 12 minutes.
baked cutlets: your non-vegan momma would never know the difference.
cutlets and sauce
Meanwhile, heat up tomato sauce (I cheated & used Kroger’s organic Italian herb, snagged on manager’s special for .99/jar) and make the Cheezy sauce. I use “The New Farm Vegetarian Cookbook” recipe with some changes:
1/2 cup nutritional yeast flakes + 1/2 cup flour + tsp salt + 1/2 tsp garlic powder + 2 cups water + 1/4 cup margarine + 1tsp wet mustard (I used dijon)
Whisk the dry ingredients in a big bowl and then dump in your large (10-12”) skillet; whisk; whisk in water. Cook over med-ish heat, whisking constantly, til it starts to feel thick and bubble slightly. Cook at this state for under a minute; remove from heat, whip in margarine and mustard. Whisk thoroughly. The Farm recipe adds that it will thicken as it cools.
Nate is absolutely ga-ga over this cheeze; I think it’s pretty good (and certainly went well in this recipe) but, to be honest, it is not my favorite thing in the world. So it depends!
I prefer skinny noodles to shaped pasta:
The end!
My app of choice was the potstickers–I can’t resist em. These were filled with fairly-typical fare: shredded cabbage, tofu, carrots, etc, and was served with an oustanding dipping sauce.
Choosing an entree was difficult. I really wanted the country fried “steak”, but something urged me towards the mushroom ravioli. (Described on the menu: Porcini & button mushroom filled pasta, over baby greens, with herbed almond alfredo sauce.) It was tasty but I’m very glad Nate chose the country fried steak because we ended up swapping entrees–we each liked the other’s better!
The gloriously crispy, gravy-covered County fried “steak”: Breaded seitan filet topped with country gravy and served with rustic mashed potatoes and sauteed vegetables. It was so tasty, so greasy, and so authentic that it would fool my Grandpa.
Seeing as how cheesecake is one of Nate’s other most favorite non-vegan things and we were in the business of fulfilling our cruelty-free foodie dreams tonight, we had to end the meal with some of the famous Chicago Diner cheesecake. It was everything a pecan cheesecake could hope to be. Nevertheless, I’m glad that it wasn’t too different from one that my vegan ex Brian once made, as it demonstrates that even we mere mortals can do vegan cheesecake well. (The key, it seems, is a willingness to spend the cash on the Tofutti, or else 
The vegan peanut butter chocolate chip cookie milkshake: honestly? There are no words to describe it. Only this command: GET THEE TO THE CHICAGO DINER POST HASTE. I am not kidding. Iffest thou findest thyself in the Chicagolandarea and thou obstainest from such as this, thou art…effing missing out, you hear? And unless you’re allergic to peanuts, don’t even consider the other shake flavors–this one’s where it’s at (even the servers say so, a little adorably conspiratorially).
