Sandwiches...

Aside from the sudden abundance of zucchini, we haven't been doing much creative in the kitchen lately.

To prove it, I'll post pictures from the last two night's suppers...

Ready for my extra-original, amazingly tasty, one-of-a-kind vegan dinner specialty?

Tah-dahhhhhh.....Sandwiches and sandwiches.

I know, just not that exciting, eh?

I figured I'd show the world that even we creative, talented, amazing (ha!) vegan cooks take the night off on occasion! (Sometimes more than one night if the mood, dirty dishes, PMS cravings and kitchen temperature strike them).

Sandwich ideas:
Avocados, red garden tomaters, watercress, spinach, Walla Walla Sweet onion and "cheeze" made from nutrition yeast on Rudi's Organic Whole Grain with Flax.

The next - yellow heirloom tomatoes (which look sorta like cheese!), red onions, sprouts, lettuce, Vegenaise and Tofurkey sandwich slices on Silver Hills Flax Seed Bread.

Creative, huh?

OK, despite the crappy photography that makes them appear rather NEON colored, there were both really good.

Of course, if I'd really been a good Mom I would have whipped up a colorful "chick-pea-spinich-flax-cranberry-pomegranite-watermelon-tempeh salad with balsamic-sun-dried-tomato-porcini mushroom dressing" or something equally dramatic, to serve on the side.

But we were all pretty happy with just plain ol' sandwiches, so that's what I went with. I'll get creative another day.

What's the Excitement Over TOFURKY?

OK, so I'm evidently the only vegan on the planet who hadn't experienced Tofurky for the Holidays yet... And I guess I was beginning to get curious about what I was missing. Or wondering if I was missing anything, really?

Quoting from Turtle Island's website, the manufacturer of Tofurky says "The Tofurky Roast is a pre-cooked vegetarian feast designed to be the delicious centerpiece of your holiday or everyday meal. Made from a revolutionary tofu-wheat protein blend, Tofurky is known for its incredible, turkey-like texture and flavor. "
Interesting.

I admit, my family (who happen to be mostly vegetarian) prefers the "veggie nut-loaf" or "neatball" -type main dishes at their holiday feasts (and they ARE feasts), so I never was inclined to bother with a Tofurky. Since I hadn't grown up with turkey on my Holiday table, I didn't suddenly feel the need to have a turkey-like replacement as the centerpiece.

I can also see, however, if you've always had a dead-bird main course, you might feel the need for something similar at Thanksgiving (Christmas/Easter/whatever) and I think this fills the bill.

Well, OK, for New Years, I had dinner with my friend Shaun, and he'd been raving about this Tofurky thing, we decided to cook ourselves Tofurky, mashed 'taters and all the fixins... What fun we had making everything!

I have to say, the legend that is Tofurky lived up to the hype. My highly professional opinion? Yum. It was very good!

If you (like me) haven't ever had Tofurky before, well it comes frozen. You thaw it and then bake it. It's this round-ish-shaped log of soy-wheat-tofu product and it's stuffed with a bit of rice "stuffing" (which, in my opinion they needen't have bothered with, since it didn't add much overall.)

Shaun said it had a tendancy to dry out slightly in the baking, so we basted the heck out of it, with an olive oil-fresh sage-garlic 'marinade' that we whipped up in the blender; then just followed the baking directions on the package, brushing it with the mixture every so often.

While the Tofurky baked, we made mashed potatoes; cornbread dressing with fresh sage, celery, onions and pecans; and Tofurky brand gravy... and it all turned out SOOOO yum! Oh man! The Tofurky wasn't dry, it had a really good flavor, and everything worked out so well together....

I think the only part I wasn't totally crazy about was the Tofurky gravy. It wasn't all that "turkey" flavored. Mainly just salty. I can make better, and even though it was very dark colored, it was sorta ...watery...
It was good, but I guess I prefer my gravy a little richer - maybe with just a wee bit of wine, or maybe soymilk added?

Anyway. It was all extremely tasty, lots of fun, and well worth the price and the wait for cooking time! So, no recipes today, just a couple pictures from the turkey-free Tofurky dinner we enjoyed.

Happy New Year to you and yours. I've so enjoyed everyone else's great recipes, pictures and blogs. Keep up the good work.

Baby Cabbages

So I've had some of those Tofurky Sausages sitting in the fridge, and had been thinking about doing something with them; some fried cabbage and "sausage" sort-of-thing. Since I didn't have cabbage, I used some golf-ball-sized brussel sprouts that were still hanging around my garden - I figure brussel sprouts are just baby cabbages, right?

I shredded them thin on the mandoline cutter, threw 'em in a pan with the "sausage", carrot and part of an onion. It turned out SO incredibly yummy! A great winter lunch. You need to go get yourself some brussel sprouts and try this!

I don't have a recipe exactly, but here's a couple pictures and the basic idea:

12 large brussel sprouts, or so, sliced thin on a shredder/slicer

1 carrot, coarsely grated or thinly sliced

1 link (or more) Tofurky "sausage" sliced

1/4 white onion, sliced thin

Saute with a tsp. or two of olive oil, a splash of red wine vinegar and salt to taste - until vegetables wilt and are tender crisp to your preference.

Some red peppers would be nice here too, they go great with the "sausage".