Seeing as how ham is typically the main dish at our Easter Dinner, I was challenged to find a meatless dish that would allow me to feel celebratory and decadent. I found a recipe called "Rosemary-Hazelnut Encrusted Seitan" which, if nothing else, sounded elegant and decadent so I decided to give it a try. Since I still have not figured out the how/when/why of Tempeh, let's give "Seitan" a whirl, eh? I had NO IDEA what to expect. However, it's worth mentioning that my husband referred to it as "Satan" more than one time. He is usually much more supportive, really.
The recipe was actually alot more work than I would have thought as it involved quite a bit of blending, marinating, chopping, mincing, toasting, dipping, frying, and straining and to be honest, I was really not feeling the love. Especially because I thought the marinade for the chunks of seitan was stinky. Nothing but olive oil, soy sauce, Dijon mustard and tons of garlic. With genuine concerns that this elegant sounding meal would turn out to be a disgusting mess, I planned a back up meal of "Vegan General Tso's chicken." I know this doesn't sound the least bit Easter-ish, but the guy at the deli counter at Whole Foods convinced me to try it and LO! It tastes like chicken!! Duly impressed, I walked out with the biggest container of this stuff that I could find. The guy did tell me that it was a proprietary blend of Seitan and something else so maybe all was not lost for the dinner after all.
When it came time to prepare the Red Wine and Shallot gravy, such a magnificent aroma rose up through the house that I am at a loss to describe. Regardless of how this seitan stuff tasted, I'm pretty sure I could have just drank this gravy and been totally satisfied. However, miserable multi-tasker that I am, I left the gravy to simmer far too long and reduced it to practically nothing. I decided then and there that it was all for me - even if any of my guests WERE brave enough to try the Seitan.
Per recipe instructions, I ground up toasted hazelnuts, fresh rosemary, and flour, then dipped the stinky marinated stuff in it. I fried it up in some olive oil until crispy, and served with Gravy From Heaven. Given the limited gravy available, I filled my plate and let everyone else eat ham.
I have three words to describe Rosemary-Hazelnut Encrusted Seitan and here they are: Oh. My. God. This? Was totally worth giving up ham for. I am totally not kidding - you have to try this, but I am not giving up any of my own. The craziest thing is that I could have sworn I was eating meat of some kind. I probably would have mistaken it for pork. I'm not the only one who thought so - I let the three teenagers try some and they all thought it tasted like meat as well. And if teenagers say so? You know it's true. Well... to be honest, only one of them actually SAID it tasted like meat but since neither of the other two made any sort of disparaging comment, that is good enough for me and I'm calling it a ringing endorsement. These are teenagers, after all.
I'm having leftovers for lunch today - if I can scrape out enough gravy.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Oh yeah, there's that whole "vegetarian" thing....
So yeah.. welcome to Meatless April! It doesn't have quite the ring as "Meatless March" or "Meatless May" but it is April and it is meatless so make of it what you will. This is the month I've committed to going vegetarian as a Christmas gift to my brother, Chip, which I completely forgot about until 10:00 this morning. Thank God coffee is meatless or I would have been defeated before I had even begun! However, my scrumptious turkey lasagna is NOT meatless and it was also going to be my lunch today. I debated scraping out the turkey and eating it anyways, but I decided that was (a) cheating, (b) way too much work, and (c) kind of gross so I opted for mangoes instead. MMmmm.... I love mangoes.
My plan today, seeing as how it is April Fools' Day, is to cook a meatless meal and neglect to tell everyone that it's meatless until after they eat. Yeah, I'm diabolical like that. Up first on the Meatless Menu is .... Sloppy Joes! But let me just tell you something. Do you know what I actually read today? I actually read that Worcestershire sauce - a key ingredient in many of my soups, stews, and this particular sloppy joe recipe - contains anchovies and is therefore not technically vegetarian. Worcestershire sauce. Have you ever heard such a thing? Well I Googled it and it's true. It's also disgusting and may have ruined my taste for Worcestershire sauce in the future. I can only hope the vegetarian varieties of Worcestershire sauce (further abbreviated as WS because I'm getting sick of typing it) are as tasty as what I'm used to. Whose idea was it to put anchovies in WS in the first place?
And so, I begin my meatless month with a refrigerator full of meat and a quest for anchovy-free condiments of all sorts.
My plan today, seeing as how it is April Fools' Day, is to cook a meatless meal and neglect to tell everyone that it's meatless until after they eat. Yeah, I'm diabolical like that. Up first on the Meatless Menu is .... Sloppy Joes! But let me just tell you something. Do you know what I actually read today? I actually read that Worcestershire sauce - a key ingredient in many of my soups, stews, and this particular sloppy joe recipe - contains anchovies and is therefore not technically vegetarian. Worcestershire sauce. Have you ever heard such a thing? Well I Googled it and it's true. It's also disgusting and may have ruined my taste for Worcestershire sauce in the future. I can only hope the vegetarian varieties of Worcestershire sauce (further abbreviated as WS because I'm getting sick of typing it) are as tasty as what I'm used to. Whose idea was it to put anchovies in WS in the first place?
And so, I begin my meatless month with a refrigerator full of meat and a quest for anchovy-free condiments of all sorts.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Christmas Buzz
Well, I did it again. I got so drunk on Christmas cheer that I committed to another vegetarian-for-a-month plan. I told SuperBro about it over the phone on Christmas morning and he sounded genuinely excited about it. Then I caught a genuinely NOT excited look from my husband that was like "Funny, I don't recall discussing this." Fortunately, the experience last year was tolerable and I did not subject him to the more experiemental entrees (Cottage Cheese Loaf, Mung Bean Pancakes) so I think he will be OK. He hasn't said otherwise so I'm going for it. Or maybe he didnt' actually hear me when I was talking to Chip in which case this will come as a surprise to him.
I have not yet decided on a month, however. Initially, I figured March worked well last year, it would be good again this year. But there is one big problem.... my Dinner Party Club is having a chili cookoff in mid-March! Yes, yes. I am keenly aware of the fact that there is a plethora of delicious vegetarian chili recipes to be found. Yes, I realize that many of them are also quite tasty. Are you not aware that I MADE several of them last year? I'll have you know that I continue to include vegatarian Black Bean and Sweet Potato Chili in my recipe repetoire. That is not the point. The POINT is that I would have to attend a chili cookoff where I would be unable to partake in the actual chili tasting. This does not sound like fun to me at all.
I wonder if Chip would give me an event pass for the cook-off if I agreed to something crazy like going vegan for a day in exchange. I'll have to propose that, but somehow it still feels like it would be cheating. Opinions welcome.
I have not yet decided on a month, however. Initially, I figured March worked well last year, it would be good again this year. But there is one big problem.... my Dinner Party Club is having a chili cookoff in mid-March! Yes, yes. I am keenly aware of the fact that there is a plethora of delicious vegetarian chili recipes to be found. Yes, I realize that many of them are also quite tasty. Are you not aware that I MADE several of them last year? I'll have you know that I continue to include vegatarian Black Bean and Sweet Potato Chili in my recipe repetoire. That is not the point. The POINT is that I would have to attend a chili cookoff where I would be unable to partake in the actual chili tasting. This does not sound like fun to me at all.
I wonder if Chip would give me an event pass for the cook-off if I agreed to something crazy like going vegan for a day in exchange. I'll have to propose that, but somehow it still feels like it would be cheating. Opinions welcome.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Mung Bean Pancakes
I did it. I made mung bean pancakes. I felt it was my obligation and duty after all the hype about them early on. Not to mention the fact that my mother called me all giddy one day with a "neener neener" kind of tone to say she knew what they were and where to buy them. I just couldn't let her down.
The shelless mung beans, or "Moong Dal" as they are actually called, were found in the Indian section of Jungle Jim's Market where you can find anything under the sun. I once purchased Ostrich steaks there. They also sell some of the craziest nastiest stuff that you could just never imagine someone would eat. Like chicken beaks and the like. They only thing was, there was just one size of Moong Dal for sale and it was the value pack. Large bag. I'm hoping this recipe is good.
Mung bean pancakes contain not only mung beans, but eggs, scallions, shredded carrot, garlic, and some red pepper flakes. You puree the pre-soaked mung beans in a processer for a bit, and don't you know it gets actually FLUFFY like a batter? Who would have thought? BEANS! FLUFFY! Anyhow, mix everything else together and cook on a griddle. As recommended, I also made some soy sesame dipping sauce.
I was home alone last night and didn't want this to be a solo experience. I needed a witness. Who in the world would be believe me if they turned out to be delicious? I called Miriam, who is the only other member of the "Veggie for a Month" club and she actually sounded excited to try them. She came right down and we did the honors simulataneoulsy.
The good news is, I now know for a fact what a good faker Miriam is. I almost believed that she liked them but since I was there to experience it first had, I knew they weren't all that tasty. She went on and on about how they were good and she liked the sauce but curiously, she didn't clean her plate. Something about having had rice before she came over or whatever. It's OK, Miriam. Seriously. I wasn't expecting them to taste GREAT but I was hopeful that they'd be.... I don't really know what I thought. These are mung beans after all. And they were fluffy.
Today was officially supposed to be the last day of my veggie month. But not only do I need to keep my diet as is until after the marathon on Saturday, but I'm actually enjoying it! There are still so many recipes I haven't had the chance to try yet (I'm preparing Tofu Cacciatore tonight). Also, I've got this big bag of mung beans that I'd like to use up. A friend of mine told me there is such a thing as "mung bean popsicles" but I'm going to totally pass on that one. He said they were delicious - I think he and Miriam would get along great.
The shelless mung beans, or "Moong Dal" as they are actually called, were found in the Indian section of Jungle Jim's Market where you can find anything under the sun. I once purchased Ostrich steaks there. They also sell some of the craziest nastiest stuff that you could just never imagine someone would eat. Like chicken beaks and the like. They only thing was, there was just one size of Moong Dal for sale and it was the value pack. Large bag. I'm hoping this recipe is good.
Mung bean pancakes contain not only mung beans, but eggs, scallions, shredded carrot, garlic, and some red pepper flakes. You puree the pre-soaked mung beans in a processer for a bit, and don't you know it gets actually FLUFFY like a batter? Who would have thought? BEANS! FLUFFY! Anyhow, mix everything else together and cook on a griddle. As recommended, I also made some soy sesame dipping sauce.
I was home alone last night and didn't want this to be a solo experience. I needed a witness. Who in the world would be believe me if they turned out to be delicious? I called Miriam, who is the only other member of the "Veggie for a Month" club and she actually sounded excited to try them. She came right down and we did the honors simulataneoulsy.
The good news is, I now know for a fact what a good faker Miriam is. I almost believed that she liked them but since I was there to experience it first had, I knew they weren't all that tasty. She went on and on about how they were good and she liked the sauce but curiously, she didn't clean her plate. Something about having had rice before she came over or whatever. It's OK, Miriam. Seriously. I wasn't expecting them to taste GREAT but I was hopeful that they'd be.... I don't really know what I thought. These are mung beans after all. And they were fluffy.
Today was officially supposed to be the last day of my veggie month. But not only do I need to keep my diet as is until after the marathon on Saturday, but I'm actually enjoying it! There are still so many recipes I haven't had the chance to try yet (I'm preparing Tofu Cacciatore tonight). Also, I've got this big bag of mung beans that I'd like to use up. A friend of mine told me there is such a thing as "mung bean popsicles" but I'm going to totally pass on that one. He said they were delicious - I think he and Miriam would get along great.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Torture
So tonight, I had the experience I had been dreading all month - the one I thought would be utter torture - and I didn't even flinch. This? Has me worried. Tonight was the banquet for my mother's photography club that I promised her I would attend. This was BEFORE I found out the event was being held at The Montgomery Inn, aka "The Ribs King." I'm not just talking about a local favorite here - this IS the ribs KING. You can ask Andre Agassi, John Glenn, Oprah, Bob Hope, and countless other celebrities. He is the ribs KING and I am not kidding. To be fair, there are some purists out there who disagree with his method of ribs preparation (the whole boiled vs. grilled argument) but that's completely beside the point of this posting and I'm not even going to go there.
Yesterday, knowing I would be there for dinner tonight, I took a look at their menu on-line. As I suspected, not a single vegetarian entree other than the basic side salad. Which is not an entree anyhow. Now as a meat-eater, I sincerely have to apologize to the vegetarian world for the rudeness and presumptuousness of the restaurant industry. I really had no idea. So I called them and discovered that while it is not on the menu (it's a dirty secret), they DO have a vegetarian offering - it's a veggie pasta dish. I was satisfied. At least I would have an actual meal vs. side salad and dinner rolls. And wine.
You know what was so weird? I didn't even care that everyone around me was eating ribs! How weird is this? At one point, I noticed my mother had a little morsel of uneaten ribs on her plate and I instinctively thought to grab it and eat it but I didn't.... and I didn't crave it either. I was able to satisfy my need for the flavor by ordering some saratoga chips with a side of the BBQ sauce and it was perfectly satisfactory. In fact, the only thing about the dinner that left me wanting was the lack of dessert. There was none. What kind of banquet does not serve dessert? This one, apparently. I could have used a bit of chocolate but whatever. Damned photographers and their "we don't want dessert" nonsense. Pft.
This is not to say that I have not been without torturous moments. In fact, I almost gave up on the entire thing last Saturday. We hosted our running group at our home and I could not run because of strain to my IT band. I played hostess (with the mostess!) instead. While everyone was running, I baked an absolutely delicious breakfast casserole for everyone that is my step-mother's signature dish and one that we request every single time we visit her. This was my first attempt at making it. It contains copious amounts of chopped ham.
After everyone finished running and started eating the casserole, and commenting on how delicious it was, I had the worst "gotta have some" moment I think I have ever had. I've had some pretty fierce "gotta have some" moments in my life (specifics withheld), and this was definitely near the top of the list. I succumbed. I had some, but carefully picked out the ham. This borders on sacrilege, but I did it. Felt like an idiot with a big pile of diced ham on my plate, but I did it.
THAT was torture. But if I can eat Windsor casserole and pick out all the ham, and I can sit in The Montgomery Inn watching everyone eat ribs and not care, I can do virtually anything. In fact, I think maybe I'll try walking on hot coals later this evening.
Veg on.
Yesterday, knowing I would be there for dinner tonight, I took a look at their menu on-line. As I suspected, not a single vegetarian entree other than the basic side salad. Which is not an entree anyhow. Now as a meat-eater, I sincerely have to apologize to the vegetarian world for the rudeness and presumptuousness of the restaurant industry. I really had no idea. So I called them and discovered that while it is not on the menu (it's a dirty secret), they DO have a vegetarian offering - it's a veggie pasta dish. I was satisfied. At least I would have an actual meal vs. side salad and dinner rolls. And wine.
You know what was so weird? I didn't even care that everyone around me was eating ribs! How weird is this? At one point, I noticed my mother had a little morsel of uneaten ribs on her plate and I instinctively thought to grab it and eat it but I didn't.... and I didn't crave it either. I was able to satisfy my need for the flavor by ordering some saratoga chips with a side of the BBQ sauce and it was perfectly satisfactory. In fact, the only thing about the dinner that left me wanting was the lack of dessert. There was none. What kind of banquet does not serve dessert? This one, apparently. I could have used a bit of chocolate but whatever. Damned photographers and their "we don't want dessert" nonsense. Pft.
This is not to say that I have not been without torturous moments. In fact, I almost gave up on the entire thing last Saturday. We hosted our running group at our home and I could not run because of strain to my IT band. I played hostess (with the mostess!) instead. While everyone was running, I baked an absolutely delicious breakfast casserole for everyone that is my step-mother's signature dish and one that we request every single time we visit her. This was my first attempt at making it. It contains copious amounts of chopped ham.
After everyone finished running and started eating the casserole, and commenting on how delicious it was, I had the worst "gotta have some" moment I think I have ever had. I've had some pretty fierce "gotta have some" moments in my life (specifics withheld), and this was definitely near the top of the list. I succumbed. I had some, but carefully picked out the ham. This borders on sacrilege, but I did it. Felt like an idiot with a big pile of diced ham on my plate, but I did it.
THAT was torture. But if I can eat Windsor casserole and pick out all the ham, and I can sit in The Montgomery Inn watching everyone eat ribs and not care, I can do virtually anything. In fact, I think maybe I'll try walking on hot coals later this evening.
Veg on.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Bonus Gift for Chip
I'm going to have to voluntarily extend this meatless month for a few days, believe it or not. However, it won't be a COMPLETE ban on meat. Let me explain.
I am signed up for the Yakima River Canyon Marathon on April 4th, 4 days after I planned to eat nothing but meat for a solid 24 hours. But then I realized.... making drastic changes to your diet just before a 26.2 mile run is not smart. Some say "neither is running 26.2 miles" but to them? I say "try it before you knock it" and I usually don't hear anything more from them. But about this diet changing thing.
One thing I've noticed is that.... well, digestion "works" better or something when there is no meat involved. I'm afraid that if I go back to eating meat at 2 meals per day just before this marathon, my body will get all "what the hell?" and I'll "experience" the meat differently than I would like. I'm just not going to say more than that.
I'd say "somewhere out there, a chicken is thanking me for this." However, I know this is not true. In reality, someone else is going to eat that chicken. But I know Chip is thanking me and that is good enough, really.
I am signed up for the Yakima River Canyon Marathon on April 4th, 4 days after I planned to eat nothing but meat for a solid 24 hours. But then I realized.... making drastic changes to your diet just before a 26.2 mile run is not smart. Some say "neither is running 26.2 miles" but to them? I say "try it before you knock it" and I usually don't hear anything more from them. But about this diet changing thing.
One thing I've noticed is that.... well, digestion "works" better or something when there is no meat involved. I'm afraid that if I go back to eating meat at 2 meals per day just before this marathon, my body will get all "what the hell?" and I'll "experience" the meat differently than I would like. I'm just not going to say more than that.
I'd say "somewhere out there, a chicken is thanking me for this." However, I know this is not true. In reality, someone else is going to eat that chicken. But I know Chip is thanking me and that is good enough, really.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Back to Basics
Contrary to popular belief, I have NOT been losing weight while on this journey. In fact, despite running 23 (twenty-three) miles last weekend, I have managed to gain about 5 pounds. I asked myself... "WHAT IS GOING ON???" and then I realized - my dietary equation has changed. Where I used to evaluate food choices and recipes based on nutritional value, I have recently been evaluating them on one criteria alone... Does it contain meat? If not, I'm eating it. Case in point: All the cheese laden veggie pizza I've consumed in the past three weeks. The meatless 3 Musketeers Bar I ate after realizing that I couldn't have a hotdog. The meatless 3 Musketeers Bar I WANTED today after my husband screamed "STOP!!!" when I inadvertently put a piece of beef jerky in my mouth (close call and fortunately, my teeth had not yet even begun to sink).
Let me just say this about the beef jerky thing. Boy, was I pissed. My husband and I had been working in our rehab condo all day and I went to the store for some beer (which thankfully is meatless). He asked me to pick him up some beef jerky (not meatless), which I did. When I got back and ripped open the package of beef jerky and started to eat one without thinking, and he stopped me, I got all 5th grader pouty like "Now I don't have ANY snack!" I was a bit of a pill for a bit. I'll admit it. In fact, it was "BOGO" on the beef jerky so the second pack, the BBQ flavored one, was supposed to be for me. Damned vegetarian-diet-for a month idea. But I digress....
For the past few days I've tried to get back to basics and combine the "nutritious" part with the "meatless" part. Friday night, I made a delicious Roasted Red Pepper Alfredo Sauce which was made with tofu, fat free cottage cheese, roasted red peppers, and some other stuff. It was DELICIOUS and super creamy! According to my husband (as if he is more reliable), you would never know it did not contain heavy cream. Today? Breakfast was a fruit smoothie and lunch was a veggie "pizza" soup prepared in my blender made with practically nothing but veggies and some fat-free cheese. (Dinner was left over Roasted Red Pepper Alfredo Sauce and even though it was good, it's just not worth repeating here)
So, it's back to basics for me. I'll be running a marathon in 2 weeks and I've got to lose all this extra weight plus a little more in order for me to perform well in the race. Wish me luck. And hope I don't accidentally stick another piece of beef jerky in my mouth.
Tomorrow, I'll have to tell you about the meated torture I put myself through on Saturday. Oh... it was so painful. I almost caved in. And I almost didn't care.
Veg on.
Let me just say this about the beef jerky thing. Boy, was I pissed. My husband and I had been working in our rehab condo all day and I went to the store for some beer (which thankfully is meatless). He asked me to pick him up some beef jerky (not meatless), which I did. When I got back and ripped open the package of beef jerky and started to eat one without thinking, and he stopped me, I got all 5th grader pouty like "Now I don't have ANY snack!" I was a bit of a pill for a bit. I'll admit it. In fact, it was "BOGO" on the beef jerky so the second pack, the BBQ flavored one, was supposed to be for me. Damned vegetarian-diet-for a month idea. But I digress....
For the past few days I've tried to get back to basics and combine the "nutritious" part with the "meatless" part. Friday night, I made a delicious Roasted Red Pepper Alfredo Sauce which was made with tofu, fat free cottage cheese, roasted red peppers, and some other stuff. It was DELICIOUS and super creamy! According to my husband (as if he is more reliable), you would never know it did not contain heavy cream. Today? Breakfast was a fruit smoothie and lunch was a veggie "pizza" soup prepared in my blender made with practically nothing but veggies and some fat-free cheese. (Dinner was left over Roasted Red Pepper Alfredo Sauce and even though it was good, it's just not worth repeating here)
So, it's back to basics for me. I'll be running a marathon in 2 weeks and I've got to lose all this extra weight plus a little more in order for me to perform well in the race. Wish me luck. And hope I don't accidentally stick another piece of beef jerky in my mouth.
Tomorrow, I'll have to tell you about the meated torture I put myself through on Saturday. Oh... it was so painful. I almost caved in. And I almost didn't care.
Veg on.
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