Thursday, October 2, 2008

more mofo-ing

Oh, crap that ASPCA commercial with Sara McLaughlin is on...  must must must look away...

Ok.  Well, as promised, I made stuffed peppers and creamed potatoes last night.  Michael tried to convince me not to make the peppers, for whatever reason, and I kind of wish I had listened.  Because I did something 'creative' that did not work.  Oh well.  Lets start with cocktail hour!

Michael brought home some spiced cider and a bottle of dark rum from the store...  And although I call myself a cider-hater, it was so so good.  He rocked it up with some pieces of apples and lemon zest and cinnamon, and cloves, and pumpkin pie spice, so maybe that's why I liked it.  Who cares, because served up in our hilarious jackolantern mugs, it was just what I needed after a crappy day at work and the weather being less than pretty.
this one's mine.  i think it looks like a panda..michael says it looks more like a racoon.

Wanna see the peppers and potatoes?  Here ya go:
gotta love michael's garnish.  his plates are always prettier than mine!

The peppers were really just...meh.  The reason is that I added artichokes to it.  Normally, I think this would be just peachy, but I didn't use marinated artichokes, I just used frozen ones.  And I've finally come to the conclusion that they taste WAY different from marinated artichokes.  In fact, it was so overpowering that it completely knocked out the taste of the cherry tomatoes and fresh basil that I added (wasted).  The base was quinoa, which was chewily perfect.  Too bad it tasted like straight up baked artichokes.  
such a shame because they look so adorable in the pan.  that's nutritional yeast on top.

And, as you could probably guess, we have lots of leftovers of them.  I'm gonna suck it up and have one as a snack in a minute.  Maybe it'll taste better today.  Cross your fingers, and here's hoping.

There was a success in this meal, however:  Creamed Potatoes with Peas!  I was talking about how this is a dish from my childhood that I really wanted to veganize, and I think I came fairly close.  It's a little different, but the taste of these is so frigging awesome, I don't even care.  Welcome to a new and wonderful way to make potatoes.
oh my.  stay tuned for a recipe in a moment.

Finally, here's my (less palatable looking) plate of dinner.  I got through one pepper, but I polished off those potatoes, and had the leftovers of them for lunch.  And this comes from a certified potato-hater (mostly because they make me feel gross when I eat too many).  That did not apply in this situation.
please just feed me creamed potatoes for the rest of my life

K.  Recipe time:

Creamed Potatoes with Peas

2-3 pounds new potatoes (or any baby potatoes)
1 cup of frozen green peas
4 Tbsp vegan butter (i used earth balance)
a lot of unsweetened soymilk
1-2 cups veggie broth
1/4-1/2 cup AP flour
1-2 Tbsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp poultry seasoning (heavy on the sage)
small handful of nutritional yeast
salt and pepper to taste

Put the potatoes in a big soup pot, and almost cover with soymilk.  Leave about 2 inches exposed (this took an entire small carton of soymilk, for me...what is that, 1/4 gallon?).  Finish covering with veggie broth.  Add the vegan butter and boil until the potatoes are tender (about 20-25 minutes).  The soymilk solution will look like it's going to boil over because it gets foamy, but it won't, so don't worry.

Once potatoes are cooked, turn off the heat and give it a good stir.  Add peas, flour, and cornstarch, then stir until the sauce has thickened into a gravy-like consistency.  I'd start with 1/4 cup of flour and 1 Tbsp of cornstarch, then add more if you need it.  Once it has thickened, add the poultry seasoning (or seasoning of your choice), nutritional yeast, salt, and pepper.  

Eat.

Yeah, it's not very good for you, but sometimes you just really need some comfort food, and this is it.  Plus, it's super easy to whip up.  

Dinner tonight is still a mystery, but I have a few ideas.  I think I might go to a cookbook for this one, since last night's was sort of a debacle.  Happy Mofo-ing, kiddies!

16 comments:

Virginia said...

sorry the peppers didn't work out the way you planned, but now you know and knowing is half the battle! G.I. Joe!

anyway, the potatoes look awesome! will definitely have to add it to my list of things to make.

oh and i HATE that commercial, too. i turn the channel. can't take it.

Chessa said...

OMGYUM those potatoes look awesome! Do you think fingerlings would work? We have a bunch we picked at the farm last week. Mmmmm.

Sorry about the pepper disappointment. It's weird, I love peppers, but I hate stuffed peppers. I don't know why. Maybe I could be convinced otherwise, but I've just never been impressed. I do, however, like the idea of stuffing red peppers as opposed to green. That might change my tune.

allularpunk said...

fingerling potatoes would totally work! and, eta: i heated up a pepper, added a lot of salt, pepper, and chili garlic sriracha, and it was pretty edible. good to know, since there's 3 of em left still.

Georgia said...

Oh I hope the leftovers were a bit more palatable *crosses fingers*

The potatoes look so comforting!!! Thanks for the recipe. It will go into by to cook box for sure!!

Anonymous said...

I want creamed potatoes so badly right now. I've been eating so much raw food lately that all I want are casseroles!

Sal - AlienOnToast said...

creamed potatoes! YUM.

miss v said...

those potatoes look darn good.

and i want that halloween mug!

Jennifer said...

I don't think it's your fault about the peppers. For whatever reason stuffed peppers seem to be a hard dish to make really good. And the potatoes do look awesome. And that mug is creepy. In a cute way.

J.

donesmoking said...

ohh the taters look delish...im gonna have to make them minus the peas though since my SO refuses to eat them. lol

Anonymous said...

I don't think I've seen that commercial yet. good for me?
love the mug too!

Jen Treehugger said...

MAN! Those potatoes look the business!
I'm sooo gonna try those.

Pssst!
Your Peppers looked good even if they didn't taste good

:)

jessy said...

sorry you had a sh*tty day at work. that sucks! and i'm sorry that those damn artichokes ruined your stuffed peppers - JERKS! >:( but oh wow - creamed potatoes with peas = puffy hearts and deliciousness! it sounds amazing - total comfort food. i would smother some roasted carrots with that at eat it all by the bowl full. dayyyyyyum! nothing wrong with some comfort food - and peas + potatoes are good for you! yay!

your jackolantern mugs rock. hard! and i've gotta try cider + dark rum. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

Ssssonya said...

Urg, I'm such a dolt. Got halfway through making the potatoes and realized, I have no peas! So I used frozen lima beans, which were still quite tasty (just had to cook a little longer). Yum yum yum!

allularpunk said...

i'm glad you all are loving the potatoes! it's such a delicious belly filling dish. and sonya, i'm sure the lima beans were awesome too! carrots would be so good with them, jessy, i heart carrots hardcore (and i forgot them at the grocery store tonight, i feel like a bad vegan!). ok ok enough procrastinating. time to cook!

allularpunk said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Bethany said...

yum. I got so excited by the peas and potatoes, that I forgot to comment your the cider. Sounds great. Last thanksgiving I drank a ton of it.