For nostalgia, though, I mentioned earlier a memory of my mother making chicken cacciatore when I was growing up. I'm thrilled to say that my recent undertaking of making Seitan Cacciatore from The Accidental Vegan was an absolute success. I feel much more comfortable making weird, avant-garde dishes than I do when I try to replicate a traditional meal within the confines of vegan/vegetarian cooking. I guess there's always the reminder, poking my brain, that my husband's mother and father are both phenomenal cooks and he is used to eating very tasty things. I guess I'm a little worried that my seitan/tofu/tofurky version won't measure up to his childhood memories of the same foods.
Nothing to fear! I was very pleased with the way it came out, and Mister couldn't have been too disappointed - he went back for thirds! It also tasted nothing like my memory, but I equate seitan more with beef than with chicken.
True to form, tonight was One-Serving Wednesday. I think it needs a new name. I've given up on making small portions and have turned my focus to just eating everything Mister hates. My sweet potato fetish is becoming a weekly event - tonight I scrubbed and cubed another garnet yam and then tossed it with broccoli, olive oil, garlic, and a touch of salt. I wasn't really paying attention to how long it baked because I was preparing my tempeh. I haven't had tempeh since sometime this summer when Mister and I went to Horizons and I was really craving it. I was going to follow one of Isa's recipes for scrambled tempeh, but in the end here's what I did (perhaps it will find its way into recipe form at some point in the future):Heated 2 Tbsp peanut oil and 1/2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil in a large skillet. Added about a tsp of good curry powder (I favor Frontier brand), a tsp of dried cilantro and about 1/4 tsp dried thyme and sauteed it all for about a minute. I splashed in about a Tbsp of tamari, then added 8 oz tempeh cubes and stirred to coat. I covered the skillet and wandered around my kitchen for a few minutes, checking on the tempeh and the roasting vegetables. About three-four minutes into the tempeh cooking time, I added 1/4 c water, then cooked more or less until that evaporated/was absorbed into the tempeh. Then I took the roasted broccoli and yam out of the oven and added the tempeh, stirring to combine. Quite easy, actually.
The funniest thing happened today. We are currently working with some "outside consultants" to ensure we are completely prepared for what we hope will be an onslaught of business in the new year. I presented my part of the training today and later on, the leader of the pack said to my supervisor, "That Natalie...she looks a lot like the lead singer of Evanescence, doesn't she?"I LOVE Amy Lee. There are not too many things you can say to compliment me more, aside from the time a new trainee was being seated with one of our veterans for some mentoring. Upon reaching his cubicle, she exclaimed, "Oh my gosh, you have a picture of Natalie on your cubicle? That's so awesome!" The picture was actually Megan Fox. I was flying high for the rest of the day.
Keep an open mind - I take my own crappy pictures ;)
Anyway, I remember waaaaayyy back in 2003 when Fallen came out. I took the CD to a bar my friend tended to show it to him. From about 10-15 feet distance he looked at the CD and then at me in surprise:
"You recorded a CD??"
To be completely honest, I had not noticed until that moment that in that moment we did indeed bear a striking resemblance to one another.
So, that was my happy moment today.
No comments:
Post a Comment