Native Foods #2

Chad ran the Chicago Marathon last weekend, so we couldn't resist another visit to Native Foods.  

 

This time I had the Scorpion Burger (with their homemade tempeh and cheddar) with a side of sweet potato fries.  The tempeh was  melt-in-your-mouth, the cheese was gooey, and best of all, it was sloppy by the end!

 

 

And Chad had the Bistro Steak Sandwich.  As soon as we read "bleu cheese dressing," I knew he would order that.  I was delicious... peppery seitan, crusty bun, messy dressing!

 

 

I forgot to take a picture of dessert.  I couldn't decide between the Pumpkin Pie and the Pumpkin Cheesecake, but finally went with the cheesecake.  I don't know what the pie was like, but the cheesecake was a pretty solid choice.  The crust was crispy, granola-y, nutty goodness and it was served with a side of pecan caramel.

 

Well, I couldn't quite keep up with MoFo this week, but things are really coming together at home!  Our furniture is coming tomorrow, Will's room is just about done, we have pictures on the wall (although more along the floor, but it's progress), there are few boxes (on the main floor at least!) and my sister even took Will for a few hours one night so Chad and I could be extra productive!  Here's to being more productive with the blog next week.  Until then, happy MoFoing :)

Cook Book Challenge Week #2

Veganomicon
Tonight's Menu:  Pumpkin Baked Ziti with Caramelized Onions and Sage Crumb Topping

This dinner was the real deal, grown-up meal!  I've heard lots of raves about this, so I was looking forward to trying it myself.  Also, being that it was the last thing I made this week, I had to made some adjustments and substitutions.  The first thing I made was the cashew ricotta.  We picked up a bag of raw cashews at Trader Joe's last month, so I was good there.  The rest of the recipe was pretty much thrown together... no lemon- so I subbed water and a squeeze of grapefruit, and I accidentally bought silken instead of firm

tofu.  I think it still turned out okay, considering it was my first attempt. 

don't let the picture fool you, it's delic!

Next, the caramelized onions.  The recipe called for two, but as Chad "detests" onions, I reduced it to one.  They smelled so good, and surprisingly right around the 12-15 minute mark, they began to brown.  This was easier than I expected.



The final step, where I cheated the most, was the sage breadcrumbs.  The recipe tip said that these "make the recipe," but as we didn't have a crumb of bread in the house to start with, I had to use the boxed ones we had in the pantry.  We were out of walnuts, so I used pecans (which were pretty amazing).  AND finally, I couldn't bring myself to use a full 1/4 cup of margarine, so I just tossed in a "healthy" spoonful and away toasted my "homemade" sage breadcrumbs. 

I tossed the pasta in the pumpkin mixture, spread it into the pan, sprinkled generously with breadcrumbs, and let it bubble away in the oven... while I cleaned my now disastrous kitchen (dirty food processor, dozens of mixing bowls, spatulas, pans and crumbs galore).  The first bite made all the work well-worth it!  The cashew-ricotta-pumpkin mixture was rich and creamy, the onions were a sweet contrast, and the flavorful breadcrumbs added just the right crunch.  I'll definitely make this again, and maybe I'll even use all the right ingredients and make my own bread crumbs... maybe!

Now that Veganomicon week is over, I'm happy with my selection of recipes.  Even though I played it safe (BBQ and Mac Daddy), I'm looking forward to trying some more adventurous recipes from the book.  There's so much left to explore!