i have a serious brain disease. please bring me a cat.
The tempeh wings from the Don’t Eat Off the Sidewalk zine are always popular around here. They’re much better for you than the processed wings you can get. I’ve successfully cut back on the Earth Balance in the sauce before, but didn’t bother this time. I like my sauce on the side so the wings stay crispy. On the side we’ve got some leftover breakfast potatoes and steamed broccoli.
This borrows from a recipe that goes way back to 1996, the early days of my vegetarianism. Sometimes there is a component of a recipe that would do well in another setting. Here, the blackened tempeh makes an awesome meal with raw kale salad and mashed potatoes & gravy. It would also be amazing on a sandwich. Maybe that’s how I’ll eat it next.
Of course we went to Plum Bistro while we were in Seattle. The raving about the Mac & Yease could not be ignored. It seemed like it might be healthier than Soul Vegetarian’s but just as creamy and tasty. What put it over the top for me was the crusty bits.
We also got a plate of sliders, three different types, that we cut up in pieces so we could all try them. And their slider size is about normal home burger size.
My entrée was Fennel Grilled Tempeh with a polenta cake and greens.
I think Kevin had the Country Fried Seitan Steak sandwich. But I’m not sure. It looks more like that than the Crazy Jamaican.
Taylor & Kevin full of noms.
And, later that evening, the whole reason for the trip, Portishead. This was easily one of the best sounding shows I’ve ever seen. The crowd was so respectful that they held most cheering and noise for between songs. Everyone was nearly silent.
Oh, hey, look at that … I have a blog. Sorry about that buddy. I don’t hate you but it’s been hard to find time and motivation to blog lately. If you want to hate on someone, I suggest you start with reddit.
Kevin has been sick lately so I was trying to think of something a bit comforting when making up my grocery list. I tend to set aside a ton of recipes that I want to try in Google Reader and MacGourmet so I was going through those looking for something interesting. I found Artichoke Potato Gratin. Creamy, a little cheezy, sounds perfect!
And this was awesome! The sauce had a nice tang to it from the artichoke juice and a warmth from the cayenne. I sprinkled the top with a little Daiya and some panko. While we would have both been happy eating giant bowls of this and nothing else, I marinated some tempeh and cooked it in a grill pan to go with it along with some french green beans. Trader Joe’s frozen french green beans are a great quickie vegetable to add to a meal.
If this doesn’t appeal to you, cruise around vegalicious.org. They have a huge bank of recipes that look tasty. And don’t be put off by the metric units. You can easily convert with google by typing in “220 degrees celcius in fahrenheit” and BAM it’s done!
For my birthday this year, Kevin took me to Cafe Sunflower. It tends to be the default special occasion restaurant for veg*ns in Atlanta, but really it’s good any time. While not 100% vegan, there are tons of vegan options and the staff can help you figure out what’s what. Also, kind of rarity for Atlanta veg restaurants, Cafe Sunflower serves beer & wine.
We started with fried brussels sprouts in a sweet sauce. They’re fried, so of course they’re tasty. But I really like brussels sprouts so I prefer them steamed or roasted if I’m cooking them at home.
Kevin had one of his regular favorites, the stuffed acorn squash.
And I had the pepper crusted tempeh. Under it that’s romaine lettuce, potatoes and a balsamic reduction sauce, I think. All rockin’.
And I don’t know if they’ve always had this lighting at the tables, but it’s very friendly to food blogging. 🙂
For dessert, I made my own birthday cake. It was a black forest cake and I utterly failed to take any pictures of it.