Thanksgiving is Over

I know, it's been a while, but I haven't done much cooking for the past few days. I spent Thanksgiving with my boyfriend and his mom, who flew into town. The local vegetarian society has a Thanksgiving Celebration at a local hotel, and instead of cooking, we decided to attend this event instead. There was a salad, some steamed baby veggies, rice, stuffing, tofu, mushroom ravioli, gravy, rolls, and pumpkin pie. I was underwhelmed, but then, I can be a fussy eater, and hotel food is rarely spectacular, especially hotel buffet food. Okay, the pie was good, but I've always had a sweet tooth.

I have made it a point to avoid retail shops on Black Friday if at all possible. However, I probably violate the letter, although not the spirit, of Buy Nothing Day when I do grocery shopping. I would have done an anti-fur vigil, but I put in a couple of hours at the office (long story, that) before picking up groceries. I spent much of the rest of the weekend fighting a migraine, the sort of thing that shows up every month or so...

The brightest spot in my weekend was brunch at a local vegetarian restaurant called Vegetate. I had dinner there about two weeks after they opened, and felt they had some kinks to work out. Brunch, on the other hand, was fabulous. I had the first blintzes I've had in years. Mmm, vegan blintzes with tofu cream and blueberries. My boyfriend got the tofu scramble, and it was very good. Either I've found a couple of places that do a rockin' tofu scramble (Java Green is the other), or it's an acquired taste, and I'm learning to love it.

So I finally cooked tonight (last night went to a concert in Baltimore), just dipped tofu slices in lemon juice, then in a mixture of flour, nutritional yeast, dried garlic, sage, and oregano and sauteed them. While that was cooking, I nuked a potato. It's a lazy girl's dinner, and very comforting food. I normally keep my tofu in the freezer, but I pull it out to defrost, and figure I've got four or five days to cook it. If I were in the mood to do prep work, I would do that while pressing my tofu, but I just relaxed while I pressed it.

The key to nonmushy tofu:

1) Buy firm or extra-firm.
2) When you get it home, cut open and drain out the water.
3) Wrap in plastic and stick in the freezer for at leat 24 hours.
4) Defrost. You can do a quickie defrost with hot water and a micro, but unlike flesh, tofu doesn't really go bad in the fridge.
5) Press. Line a plate with paper towels. Plonk tofu on top. Top with more paper towels. Put another plate on top (optional). Put a heavy weight, like a soup can or 32-ounce aseptic box of juice/soup/soy milk on top. Leave for about half an hour while you do prep work.
6) Cook.
7) EAT!

Mix-and-match Sunday dinner

Today, I cooked a couple of dishes from a Web site called Vegweb, a marvelous source for vegan recipes, submitted by site users. I found a dish called "Chicken Fried Tofu," although it's really oven-baked, and a gorgeous bulgur pilaf with carrots, celery, a chopped onion, and mushrooms. The pilaf is flavored with miso, a fermented soybean paste that is said to have super health benefits. Miso can also be rather salty, though, so should use it sparingly. And as you can see, I have some of the red cabbage and asparagus from last week, which was still quite tasty.

I also made a lovely spinach salad for my lunches this week with a chopped red onion, a chopped Granny Smith apple, and raw pine nuts. I made a simple dressing based on a recipe from "La Dolce Vegan," and I will have some lunches for this short work week. Flax oil (and ground flax seeds) is an excellent source of Omega-3 fatty acids, and unlike fish, when you eat flax products, you don't have to worry about mercury contamination. If you use flax oil, keep it refrigerated, and do not heat it up. If you use flax seeds, keep them in the freezer to prevent spoilage.

I wish you all a happy, healthy Thanksgiving and ask that you give the turkeys something to be thankful for as well.

When you just don't have time to cook...

Like many single folks, I work full time. I also take a class on Thursday nights at the local library. So I got home rather late tonight--after 8:00 p.m.--and didn't want to have dinner after 9:00, so I got very, very lazy. I had some of the leftover tempeh-stuffed mushrooms and a microwaved potato. Most natural foods stores carry tempeh, and many conventional grocery stores do as well. I recommend trying tempeh, as tofu can be a little intimidating to nonvegetarians and new vegetarians. Tempeh is also good in a stir-fry with your favorite veggies and stir-fry sauce, which I think I will make sometime next week.

I've taken the plunge

I never thought I'd set up a blog, but over the weekend, I took pictures of a couple of dinners I had fixed. I thought they looked so pretty, not to mention I had cooked up a storm over the weekend. I posted them on a chatboard I frequent and got comments over how good everything looked. Now, I'm no expert chef. I rely on cookbooks a lot. But I take recipes and make them my own, switching herbs, adding or subtracting minor ingredients. And usually I turn up something very tasty.

Just because you live alone, along with millions of other Americans, doesn't mean dinner has to be dull. If you're tired when you get home from work, cook on the weekends and rely on leftovers. Make side dishes and cook just the main course at night. I eat small portions, and many cookbooks have recipes that make enough to feed a family, so I almost always have leftovers, even when I cook for my boyfriend.

I'm also vegan, so I eat no meat, dairy, or eggs. Yes, I eat tofu. Prepared right, you can avoid Mushy Tofu Syndrome. It's also not bland if seasoned right. You wouldn't eat meat without seasoning it and cooking it, and it's much the same with tofu. I'm also a big fan of tempeh, a fermented soy cake that has a nutty, chewy texture and is chock-full of protein and fiber. I'm trying to cook more veggies and eat healthier, but this doesn't mean i'm giving up chocolate or chewy brownies. I'll just eat two at a time instead of four. ;)