All week I'd been planning to serve Cholent for Wednesday's dinner but my sister, the biggest stew lover I know, took a look at it and was not interested in it. I told her she would love it since it had her favorite things in it but she said it looked like something else and she didn't want to eat it. I know it wasn't as pretty as the picture in Veganomicon, but I didn't think it looked as horrible as she was making it sound. She said she would get over it and try it but later on I realized that if this is how a 30 year old reacts, I could only imagine what my seven year old niece would say about it. She's already such a picky eater, I didn't want to turn the dinner table into a battlefield.
I had wanted to make fried tofu and greens earlier in the week anyway, so I went ahead with that plan. I made Southern Fried Tofu from The Urban Housewife's recipe, which turned out yummy. I will do smaller pieces of tofu next time so they look prettier, but they still tasted great. I was in a hurry since I changed the dinner menu about an hour before dinner, which is plenty of time for most people but I hate to be rushed in the kitchen so it was a challenge.
The greens were made using a recipe from Vegan Bites, which I don't use often enough. I think I've only made the chili recipe, but I loved it. Anyhow, I made the "Southern Style Greens" which was my first time cooking collards. I followed the recipe but also added about 1/2 of seitan broth to the pan. I usually put a bit of water when I cook greens, but I thought this would give it something extra. My sister loved them, so that made me happy. I didn't want to ruin collards for her on my first try. I liked them too. The only thing I would do differently next time is cook them a bit longer.
I had to cheat with road's end mac and chreese, but we still had lots of great food to eat. For dessert we had our first taste of TJ's Apple Strudel. I don't think there's room for much else after that.
