Post-MoFo Blogging

Well hello there on this rainy dreary first day of October! Vegan MoFo might be over, but I'm still in the blogging mindset, so here's a quick post for you today!

For lunch, I made Earth Balance's cheddar mac & cheese, topped with sliced carrots and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. 

For dinner, I decided to run with Tea and Sympatico's suggestion of using Old Bay Seasoning with baked tofu. It was good, but I should have used more of the spice mix; next time, hehe!

Served over peanut butter white rice and broccoli.

P.S. Jennifer of My Blissful Journey had the brilliant idea to put together an off-season blogroll of everyone who wants to keep in touch now that MoFo has ended. Feel free to join in on the fun!

In other news, I've started decorating for Halloween... 

Peace. :)

Mushroom Gravy

This week I tried out yet another recipe from Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food. The mushroom gravy recipe made enough for four servings, so I tested it out in four different dishes. It was simple to prepare, and I minced the mushrooms small enough that I didn't feel the need to do the optional blending at the end, though I may try that next time, just to see what it is like as a smoother gravy. (The changes I made from the original recipe were that I only used 1/4 teaspoon pepper and and 3/4 cup vegetable stock.)

The first way I tried the gravy was with mashed potatoes (this was probably my favorite).

I also tried it mixed in with brown rice because the author mentioned that combination in the recipe introduction. It was pretty good, but I think I prefer gravy with potatoes. 

The third way I tried the mushroom gravy was with some Old Bay spice mix fries; yum!

And finally, today, I had the last of the gravy in a Boca chik'n sandwich, with fries on the side, another delicious meal! 

So, bottom line, the mushroom gravy is definitely one that I will make again, as it is very delicious and versatile.

Buttons and Leela, while soaking up the sunshine yesterday, kept getting closer and closer, until Buttons finally stretched and bumped her head against Leela's tail. It was quite cute!

Peace. :)

Earth Balance Vegan White Cheddar Mac & Cheese

Last night I tried the second Earth Balance mac & cheese. 

Served with oven-roasted broccoli with a bit of Old Bay spice mix.

I had high hopes for this one (I'd heard most people say this was their favorite), but I didn't care for it too much. 

It wasn't bad; it just wasn't all that great. 

(To be fair, I don't think I was much of a white cheddar fan before going vegan, so that could have something to do with it.) 

All in all, the cheddar mac & cheese gets my vote as the better of the two. 

Tonight I had the leftover white cheddar mac & cheese; adding salt & pepper improved it.

Served with oven-roasted broccoli with garlic salt.

Here's Leela, sensing that Buttons is at the bottom of the stairs.

And here's Buttons, blurry as she begins her race up the stairs.

Peace. :)

Chicken Seitan and Spicy Fries

I tried my new recipe of the week on Wednesday and it turned out alright. This was only my second time making seitan, so it went better than the first time but I still need to experiment a bit more. 

For the chicken seitan, I used the Chicken Stylee Seitan recipe from the Post Punk Kitchen and halved it, left out the bay leaf from the broth because I didn't have one, and also cooked it in the oven instead of on the stovetop. For the spicy fries, I used the recipe for “easy oven-baked fries” from Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food, except I didn't have any Old Bay Seasoning, so I made some myself from the spices I had available. (My Old Bay spice mix included salt, dry mustard, paprika, black pepper, ginger, cloves, allspice, nutmeg, and crushed red pepper flakes.)

Overall, the chicken seitan was good, though the edges were a bit soft/weird texture so I just cut those parts off. But other than that, it wasn't texture-wise much different from tofurky, so I liked that. The fries were also good, but they were so extremely spicy to me, and I didn't even include all the spices I was supposed to, like mace! I still have a good amount of my Old Bay spice mix left over, so I'll just use a bit less in the future. 

Here's Leela in the sun... 

And Buttons trying to sniff out more food... 

Peace. :)