Inspiration and Attempts at Imitation- aka Jess Scone is Awesome!

I haven't cooked dinner in a while so since my sister made dinner twice last week, she informed me I had to make dinner on Tuesday. I couldn't think of what to make so I fell back on something easy- mac and cheese, greens and fried tofu. I've made similar plates before but this time I knew I needed to phase out the oven due to the warmer weather we've been having.

For the greens I used the "Southern Style Greens" recipe from Vegan Bites. I'd made them before and they weren't too complicated so I did it again. I added some liquid smoke to give them a bit more flavor.

The mac and cheese is "Ultimate Macaroni and Cheese" from The Vegetarian Family Cookbook. I hadn't made this one in a while since it calls for about 2 cups of cheese, but that was pre-Daiya. I gave it another shot a few weeks ago and the gooey texture reminded me of the new Amy's mac and cheeze that is vegan- except I could get more servings for my money even after buying a package of Daiya. I did have to doctor it up a bit and add some more seasonings since the only seasoning in the recipe is salt. I'm sure it depends on the cheese sub you use, but I needed more. For inspiration, I looked to my favorite mac and cheese -Get Sconed's adaptation of the New Farm recipe. I added garlic, paprika, onion powder, shoyu and a bit of nooch. That did the trick.

Staying on trend, I also tried to copy Ms. Sconed's Cornmeal Crusted Tofu. I didn't have everything she used for her marinade, so I did the best I could. I used the breading from a link she posted on the PPK. Whenever I fry tofu it's a disaster. I am the messiest drudger/batterer there is. My tofu pieces emerge from the pan half naked and there are little chunks of fried breading floating in the pan. Not this time! The marinating really helped me out. I am going to use that strategy from now on. She is my hero!

strike two!

I hope the third dish I make from Yellow Rose Recipes turns out better than the first two. I don't know if I was in too much of a hurry and read something wrong, but both of my dishes were not as awesome as I had hoped they would be. Believe me, I know it is a case of operator trouble, not author trouble.

Last week I made the Kasha Varnishkes recipe on its own since it said you could make it with or without the gravy. My version definitely needed gravy or some other sauce. The kasha tasted great on its own. I probably should have left it at that and not mixed it with the noodles and onions because when I did, it was a dry plate. Maybe I needed more onions? I will try it again because it looks so hearty and delicious in the picture. I'll have to make the gravy just in case.

Today I made the Cajun Spiced Tofu to go with my favorite mac and cheese recipe (which I did not eff up!). I would have served greens too but it was a last minute plan and I didn't have any. I pressed the tofu and made the Cajun Spice as directed. I have never sliced a whole block of tofu into four slices before. I wasn't sure which knife to use so I chose my new bread knife. It made cool little designs on the slices, which almost made up for how uneven they were. The oven-oven was already baking the mac and I did not want to wait to turn it way up to broil the tofu so I cheated and used the toaster oven. I think this is where I made the mistake on this recipe. It took way longer than it would have in the broiler. The spices and breading had a good flavor but I kind of wish the tofu absorbed it more. Maybe it does when you broil it for real? I will have to try this one again.

Back to the cutting board!

return of the mac

I think this adapted recipe is taking the place of my first favorite vegan mac and cheese. I've made it four or five times since its Thanksgiving debut. That's almost once a month, right? Even though it's not as greasy or fatty as regular mac and cheese, I still feel like it could be a bit healthier. The recipe suggests adding spinach or green beans, but I decided to use broccoli instead since that is how they do it at Native Foods. Even though this recipe does not resemble theirs at all, I wanted to pretend I was as awesome as Chef Tanya for a few minutes.

We had the re-revised mac and cheese with boca chick'n sammiches on everything bagel thins with vegenaise and american tofutti slices. My sister bought the bagel thins about a week ago. They're not doing it for me at all, yet I am okay with the sandwich thins. Maybe because smashed bread is easier to get used to than a deflated bagel? Anyhow, we all loved the mac and I did not get to take a shot of it until it was half gone since unbeknownst to me, my camera battery died. I must have killed it taking video and pictures of Penny with her ball last week.

where's the greens?

My half-ass holidays are not turning out as bad as I thought they would be. Last year I think I tried to hard to be too awesome. This year I had the holidays so far from my mind I didn't know what I was going to cook until it was time to go to the store. There are still tons of recipes I wanted to make from last year and the year before that and new ones I am also excited about but I will just have to work them in another time. There is plenty of feasting to be done.




We had tofurkey roast, stuffing, and for the first time ever, macaroni bites-which were everyone's fave. My uncle came over when we were nearly finished and I asked him to try one, which he did and he said it was good. I thought he was making fun of me at first since everyone in our family jokes about our veg-ness, but then he asked where they were and helped himself to a few more bites. I'm tempted to call them "shots" more than bites because it seems like you should just shove the whole thing in your mouth and go for it, but maybe that's just how I eat them. I could not roux for anything so I was afraid they were roux-ined, but everyone loved them. I did put more than a pinch of tumeric so that might explain the color. We were supposed to have some spinach as well but since I forgot to thaw the tofurkey we had to go get another one and it just pushed everything back. Even though spinach takes practically no time, we couldn't wait that little bit extra. Good news is there will be tons of it tomorrow to eat with celebration roast and the surviving macaroni bites. I am thinking to make a few more in the toaster oven tomorrow if the pan fits.

I am getting used to being banned from the kitchen on thanksgiving day due to the turkey and all, but since I am too tired to make dessert today I feel bad about not bringing one tomorrow. I like to always bring the veg-ness so we have enough to eat and also in case anyone wants to give it a try. I was going to make the two layer pumpkin tofu cheesecake and maybe some other goodies as well but I am just too wiped out, especially after cleaning the kitchen. My sister's boyfriend bought us desserts from a local veg restaurant but I don't think any will be left by dinner time tomorrow.

p.s. Thanks to Get Sconed for the adapted mac and cheez recipe and to Mosetta Stone for inspiring the macaroni bites. Y'all made my dinner a hit! I am putting breadcrumbs and spinach next time.

p.p.s. Whisking really reminded me that I gotta start working out my arms again (along with everything else!)