It’s Vegan Man’s birthday! I totally got some flowers, three bars of soap, and a cherry pie! The picture was after I roughed it up a bit, but it still shows off its majesty. The crust was wonderfully flaky, and the filling just sweet enough.
As a bonus, here is yours truly doing a bad re-imagining of Warrant’s Cherry Pie in the style of Radiohead.
Veganomicon wins again with the Vietnamese Seitan Baguette with Savory Dipping Sauce (though we served it on ciabatta). This was one heck of a tasty sammich. The dipping sauce was not only savory but very spicy – my lips are still burning.
Found on the internets. I’m assuming this is old ad copy. The gent here doesn’t quite get it, however. While he’s perfectly willing to put on an apron and wash the dishes, he’s not yet able to take the crucial step and make the damned cookies himself. So it really should read “I’ll do anything for cookies except for bake them!”
Vegan Man has no such problems.
Friday night brings focaccia:
And a rich minestrone monastico, using vegetables, white beans, macaroni and herbs in a olive oil-white wine base.
I’ve been laid low by some back weirdness, but I seem to be on the mend and I can turn my mind once again to food. In celebration, I present some bagels Dr. Apricot baked yesterday, the recipe which will be available in Isa Chandra’s upcoming brunch cookbook. It’s worth it for this recipe alone, I guarantee you. It’s topped with an herbed cashew-tofu spread also from the cookbook.
Hello! Vegan Man is back from his many vacations and is remembering what his normal schedule is like. I baked a delicious but super ugly cake last night, and you’ll thank me for not posting pictures. Tonight’s dinner is a redux of the Vegan SpaghettiOs, and after that I’m going to have to get it together and cook something awesome.
I’m home from vactionland, but not for long. Tomorrow I fly out to Colorado to visit family. My grandmother is turning 80, and I’m proud to be able to be there for it. I’ve been told there’s a vegan meal waiting for me at the restaurant (thank you grandfather!), so I’m going with no worries.
I apologize for the complete lack of photography in the past few weeks; I’ll be back in the kitchen with a vengeance next week, and will be once again dishing up the deliciousness.
Tonight’s dinner is rice and beans with tofu, guacamole, salsa, and cilantro. I believe they call these things “burrito bowls” or “naked burritos” or somesuch nonsense nowadays.
A question for you: do you find that your veganism is a creative aspect of your life? I know that some people think of it in terms of denying oneself “for the greater good” but to me it’s quite different. I am curious as to how you guys feel. ::waves in the general direction of the internet::
Hello from vacationland! Vegan Man spent the last week in a vacation rental house in the Catskills relaxing. There’s a kitchen here, and when there’s a kitchen, there’s cooking!
The kitchen here is well-stocked, almost. It’s in that uncanny place where I assume that everything I need will be present, but sometimes it falls short. No baking sheets, really? How about a cutting board bigger than a small plate? And the pantry is full of whatever the last renters left. As such I schlepped up part of my kitchen so that I would be able to cook a bit more sensibly; some tofu, almond milk, nooch, and spices. These have all come in very handy, but what I’m regretting not having right now is my microplane. There’s a grater here, but it’s made out of aluminum only slightly thicker than foil, and it tends to bend when one attempts grating anything.
Tuesday night as we were prepping for soft tacos and I was getting some stuffed shells (filled with tofu ricotta) ready, the range ran out of propane. This was a problem! After finding out that we wouldn’t get a delivery of gas until the next afternoon, it was time for improvising. All the fillings were cooked outdoor on the grill and then served inside tortillas with salsa, guacamole and friends. I never thought I’d eat a Tofurkey Italian Sausage as a soft taco, but who really knows what the future will bring?