Veganomicon Overload

Dare I say that I finally like tempeh?  I dare.  I don't know what it is, but lately...  I like it.  I never used to like it.  But there ya go.  I think, for me, the key is to marinate the holy hell out of it (after boiling the life out of it) in order to render it more likeable.  The texture still gets to me after a bit, but...  I'm getting over it.  Oh!  Another key is to slice it as thin as possible before marinating.  You know, so there is more surface area for the marinade to attach itself to.  Here's the recipe that sealed the deal with me:

i want it again.  now.

Yes, that is the hot sauce glazed tempeh from Vcon.  Originally, I really just wanted a whole lot of the soft poppyseed polenta (also from Vcon) and some brussels sprouts.  But I knew that wouldn't satisfy my Michael's raging hungerbelly.  I had made the hot sauce marinade and put it on tofu once before, and knew it tasted super yummy, and since I had some tempeh, well...  there you go.  It ended up being a full-on comfort food meal.  Especially since the brussels sprouts had like...waaaaay too much EB on them.  I also added another 1/2 cup of cornmeal to that polenta recipe so that it would be more...gloppy instead of soupy.  If you've made this before, you know what I'm talking about.  Anyway, you should make it.  The flavor is subtle and delicious and it's warm and filling and PERFECT.  But make sure you make it with veggie broth (or bouillon like me) and not water.  Duh.  

Next up is a meal that should have tempeh in it, but does not since the grocery store sucks.  Here's the story (there's always a story, isn't there?):  I wanted to make the southern corn pudding (haha..still from Vcon).  My parents make it all the time and absolutely rave about how wooooonderful it is.  But it has cilantro in it, therefore Michael didn't want it.  I explained that, though I too hate cilantro in general, you can't taste it in this dish.  I promised!  It ended up with him getting to choose what we made with it, as a compromise.  Aren't we nice?

He chose the baja tempeh tacos (guess where this one's from?).  Which, funnily enough, also have cilantro in them.  Anyway, cool.  But no tempeh at the store so we did those evil Morningstar Chickn Strips.  Which aren't really evil I suppose (though...they sort of freak me out now that I don't eat them as often), but they are expensive.  Like, $4.  And I would swear on my life that there are fewer of them in a bag now than there used to be.  Anyway.  We made the stuff for the tacos.  I knew immediately that I would not like the slaw...because of the ginormous amount of vinegar involved.  I hate vinegar, guys.  When I can taste it in something, I'm done.  It gags me.  The smell is almost worse.  I just. hate. it.  No one seems to ever understand this about me, but I swear it is true.  I don't even like balsamic vinegar.  Yeah, that's right.  Start throwing stones as you see fit.

Whatever, though.  Fine.  They seemed to be really awesome.  All of it did.  And easy!  Plus, the beer marinade gave us an excuse to buy a 6pack of mexibeer!  (which I incidentally drank none of for some reason.)  

and look how tasty they appear!

The corn pudding was so beautiful.  I baked it in the cast iron skillet.  I use this thing all the time...  what did I do before it?  Thank goodness for birthday presents.

so festive!

Can you tell from the language I'm using how hopeful I was that it would be awesome and how sad I was when I liked....none of it?  I know, I'm terrible.  Jeez.  Well, I tried out my first taco like a real trooper with the slaw and everything the recipe actually calls for.  All I tasted was vinegar.  That was it.  Just...vinegar in my mouth.  

So fine.  My second one, I took out the slaw and ate it with lettuce.  Somehow...I still didn't like it.  I don't know what's wrong with me.  Michael LOVED it.  Like, seriously.  He kept raving about how he wants this to be in our rotation of things we make all the time.  Hmm..  well, is there still hope for the corn pudding?  I would like to say yes.  The flavor was really, really wonderful.  But it wasn't like the bite that I had at my parents' house.  Because the corn got really gummy and stuck to me teeth in a bad, bad way.  Maybe Mom and Dad blend all their corn and pepper mixture and not just 2 cups of it.  I'm not sure.  But the texture was really off-putting for me.  I will, though, be trying it out again.  I have hopes that I can make it good, because the flavor really was quite tasty.  

happy go l(y)ucky dinner!

Oh, my other problem was that I used a whole wheat tortilla as you can see...and it was stupid.  It kept breaking and I ended up with 2 hands covered in various sauces, which was icky and annoying.

I'm full of complaints tonight, aren't I?  I'm sorry.  I'll end on a happy note.  Cuteness.

bill murray lying on my halloween wig (that i wore last year)

ghostface killa lies down sideways and it is hilarious.

Have a good weekend, guys!  It's gonna be rainy and chilly here.  Hmm...was that a...hint?