Wednesday, February 27, 2013

"KFC" Sandwiches

It has been ages since I've made seitan, mainly because Ben has decided he doesn't like it.  I do, though, and I thought maybe he just didn't like the specific recipes I've been making, so I decided it would be a good idea to try some other ones and try to win him over.  This seitan is a recipe called No-Cluck Cutlets from Vegan Sandwiches Save the Day, and in this sandwich it's coated in batter and crushed cornflakes and fried, which I thought might help disguise the seitanness of it.


I thought this sandwich was KILLER.  Ben said, "it tastes like seitan."  Dangit!  I think I'm going to start using tofu for his portion of sandwiches like these and keeping the seitan all for myself.  I like it!

The best part of this sandwich was the sauce, which was mayo with diced pickles and onions and black pepper mixed in.  Why did I  never think of mixing stuff into mayonnaise until I tried veganism?

Monday, February 25, 2013

Black Bean Chili & Bundt Cake

I always have a Netflix show that I'm working through while I cook - right now it's a re-watch of one of my all-time favorites, Alias.  I noticed on Saturday that I had not watched any in eighteen days!!  That means I've barely been cooking anything of significance at all, which is also apparent in the lack of blog posts.  I've been missing it (both the cooking and Alias), and put a bunch of new stuff on the menu this week to get myself back in the habit.

So the first thing I made was this ridiculous black bean vegetarian chili from Bean by Bean.  I cooked the beans Friday night and then did the rest of it on Saturday.  It probably should have occurred to me that there are only two people in my household when I was boiling up an entire bag of black beans - the chili ended up filling my stock pot almost all the way to the top.  Chili freezes well, though, so it will be okay.

This recipe is really good, too.  It has potatoes in it (always a plus) and five tablespoons (!) each of cumin and coriander.  I also made my own chili paste from dried chiles!  It was all very exciting.  I served it per her instructions with crushed tortilla chips, shredded cheese, sour cream, and scallions, and somehow this stuff was way more than the sum of its parts.  Really delicious.


I also made a chocolate bundt cake recently posted on the PPK blog.  I forgot to take a picture while it was still pretty!


It turned out great, though.  I've made bundt cakes before that I've basically had to scrape out of the pan, but this one fell right out and held its shape perfectly.

Friday, February 22, 2013

Peanut Noodles

Noodles + peanut sauce are one of the best things in the world!  I've been making the same recipe for years but saw this one on Veggie Belly the other day so I decided to mix it up.  The best thing about this type of recipe is that I almost always have all the sauce ingredients on hand, and then can add whatever protein and vegetables I have lying around.


I added some tofu (fried first in my nonstick electric skillet), broccoli, and green onions.  It was great - the sauce was thicker and smoother than my usual recipe so I think this is going to be my go-to in the future.

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Orlando 2013!

My internet friends have started a tradition of having a big meetup at least once a year.  This year we went to Orlando.  It was a smaller group than previous years, but that ended up being perfect because we rented an awesome house for a fraction of what a hotel would have cost.




The first night we went to Ceviche for tapas, which was amazing.  




The next morning we got up and made pancakes!  The house came "fully equipped" but some of their kitchen items were questionable.  We had a hard time getting going with the pancakes but they ended up turning out great in the end.


We started the day wandering around a little neighborhood checking out some antique stores and getting snacks. MMM SNACKS.


Then we drove to Lake Jesup for our first big adventure, an airboat ride to see alligators!  It was super windy but not too bad once we were actually on the boat in the swampy areas.  We saw tons of babies and a few big alligators, too.  And a turtle.




Afterward we each got to hold an alligator!  She was about three years old and much mushier than you would expect.  I felt a little uncertain about holding her.



Then we drove to the beach for dinner!




The next morning we started off with a delicious mimosa!


And then headed to Universal Islands of Adventure to see Harry Potter World.  Universal was INTENSE.  It took ages to get through the ticket line because they were upselling each customer on all sorts of expensive options and then Harry Potter World was completely packed with people.  Still, it was very well done and you felt like you were walking right down the street in Hogsmeade!  




We got some butterbeer which was 100% as delicious as you would imagine.


And went to Honeydukes!


There are only three rides in Harry Potter World.  We went on two of them (the grown-up rollercoaster and the big castle ride) and both of them were pretty serious rides, definitely aimed at adults.  We noticed more adults than kids in the park, too, maybe because it's during the school year.

After Harry Potter World we went out for dim sum, which I had never done before.  Dim sum is AWESOME.  You order a million different things and they are all like $3 each and every bit of it was delicious.  There is a place here in Raleigh I'm going to make Ben go soon.  



Orlando 2013 was a huge success!  It was a great trip and I am already looking forward to Milwaukee 2014.