8.09.2008

Chickpea Cutlets and Mac n' Cheese

So the summer is coming to a close. It makes me realize I really need to catch up with my blogging. Tonight I read all 200 entries from my blog roll on my google reader. Took a few hours, but that is okay as I was upset when I finished reading my book today, because it was the last in the series.

Last Friday, a few of my friends and I decided to support our friend at a book opening party. It was for the last book in the Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer. I was at work and had no plans for afterwards, so why not? I had no idea what the book was about, just that I have always loved the Harry Potter book launch parties that I had attended. (I attended every single one...yes, Im that HP fan)

Here is evidence of me and my copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows from last summer. I was shaking and freaking out, to the point where I had to calm myself down for a few hours before I could start reading.


Anyways. My friends tried to sell the book to me a few years ago, and I realized why I wasn't interested. They told me it was a love/adventure/teen story between a human and a vampire. I am really not into fantasy worlds, aside from HP. So we get to the opening, and I realize I should know what Im getting myself into. There were girls EVERYWHERE, like 12 year old girls. And they were all dressed in prom dresses, vampire teeth, bite marks, and etc... I was a bit scared. My friends and I were really the oldest there, aside from the parents with their pre-tweens. But everybody was telling me to just read the first page and give it a chance, so I did. While we waited for midnight I read, and really did get into it. I decided to buy the first book. There was also a costume contest, trivia, and other events. It was fun, and people were so excited.
Well I read the book, and was HOOKED. I had to run out that next night to get the second and at least the third book to keep me occupied. Sadly while my mom and I went on our shopping trip to the bookstore and Filene's the rain turned into tornado watch to warning. We had to sit in the back of Filene's for 40 mins while the storm went overhead. No storm funnels formed near us, but it was scary outside. Such is life...
Now less than a week after the book premiere, I have read all 2500 pages of the series. Even though I feel like a giggling pre-teen while reading the book. I absolutely adored the books. They were filled with a world that I had never thought to enter, pages filled with cute teen romance that did turn to adult relations, and adventure after adventure. I highly recommend the series, if you are looking for a quick, giggly, page turning adventure.

Lately I havent felt like cooking much. With work and all. But! I had my last day of work a few days ago, so Im hoping Ill soon want to get back into the kitchen. Today I just had minestrone soup and made a pizza from some left-over dough I had in the freezer.

So let's get back to food from earlier in the summer.


I got Veganomicon for my birthday, so I knew I had to sift through the recipes to find some delicious eats. My mom had already started dinner, and most of it was vegan-friendly. So I wanted to find something for a whole protein. I found Isa's recipe for Chickpea Cutlets. This recipe was so damn easy. Just mashing chickpeas and kneading a couple ingredients with the beans. Isa as normal had a few variations for prepartion, and due to the heat I just heated up a skillet and grilled the cutlets. They were ready in less than 4 minutes. And holy shit, they are amazing. Im so glad I made a full batch, because I ate them for a few days after at work. Made great sandwich meat. And also great conversation, I got a few girls at work to try some of it and they were freaked out at how good this gluten meat was. That night they were paired with brussel sprouts, broccoli, and cannelloni beans in a tomato base.

My next adventure in Veganomicon was Isa's mac and cheese. It was a pretty lengthy recipe, involving a lot of pots and pans and also baking. It called for you to make her Cheezy sauce to pour atop crumbled EF tofu, lemon with the noodles. Her recipe was for 8 people! So it took a bit to size it down for one person. My portions were still off, and I had enough to feed at least 4. Well, for all the work...I wasnt that impressed. I really forced myself to eat it. I hated the pieces of tofu in the sauce. I didnt like the citrus bit from the lemon juice, and the cheezy sauce's flavour was dependent on the nutritional yeast. Let's just say I was more excited about my roasted vegetables and just ate way more than my fair share of asparagus, broccoli, and red pepper. I feel guilty, but I threw out all the extras I had. So much for all that work...

That was the last bad experience I have had with cooking. All the rest of the food Ive made has been amazing, so I wont count that against Isa or Terry. I think Im still learning to like nutritional yeast, and really needing to realize that mac and cheese will never be the same without that gross powder shit.

5 comments:

Catherine Weber said...

I don't care for nutritional yeast either! I have hated all vegan mac and cheese recipes that I've tried . . . !! I hear the blogger "vegan dad" has an amazing mac and cheese recipe . . . but I've yet to try it!

I STILL haven't tried those chickpea cutlets! I should get moving on that front.

Lisa (Show Me Vegan) said...

Thanks for the cutlet review! I haven't made them yet either and they sound great.

Jess said...

I HATED nutritional yeast when I first tried it, and now I am not at all exaggerating when I say I could eat it raw by the spoonful! Just the smell of it used to make me gag, and now I looooove it. Have you bought nutritional yeast FLAKES, or the powdered version? I used to only be able to find the powder at my co-op, and that stuff was hellacious. Flakes are where it's at! :)

I love those cutlets, too! AND I hated the 'Nomicon Mac & Cheese, as well. Blech!

This is by far the best vegan mac I've ever had: http://rosemaryamey.ca/recipes/mac.html

Insanely good! You should try it if you're ever feeling ambitious. :) I only bake it for about 5 minutes because then it stays nice & creamy!

Sorry for the novel-long comment! :)

Ruby Red said...

I've been skeptical about that series, too, but you make me want to read it! I cannot believe you read all 2500 pages of the series in such a short time.

Chickpea cutlets are super amazing. I've only ever baked them before, and they're even better the next day. Awww, sorry you didn't like the Mac Daddy. It was my first vegan mac & cheese and I enjoyed it, but then again I am in love with nooch. I think you just might fall in love with it eventually...it's like cheesy addicting crack.

Anonymous said...

I know what you mean about the mac and cheese. I haven't tried Veganomicon's recipe, but I used one from Fat Free Vegan. The nutritional yeast taste was too fake cheesy. I had to add tamari to it to give it a better flavor. If you want really delicious mac and cheese, i have one on my blog called "Mac Oh Geez." It is so amazing.