T'other night I wanted stew (yet again, see
http://shortycanburn.blogspot.com/2011/09/couple-of-noms.html). But we had the last (sniff sniff!!) of our garden tomatoes to use up, and somehow none of the stews I usually make are tomato-based. But those 'maters REALLY needed to get eaten or they were going to go bad, so I poked around on the Internerds for something stew + tomato-centered. I found a lot of Spanish-esque tomato-based stews out there, but how to veganize? Let me tell you, we went to Spain some years back when I still ate dairy, and it would be hard to get by there as a vegan. All the recipes seemed to have chicken and bacon in them. I ended up sauteing some onion and LOTS of garlic in good olive oil, adding in some Butler Soy Curls and smoked tofu (in lieu of the aforementioned chicken and bacon), about 4 big chopped up tomatoes, veggie broth, smoked paprika, chickpeas, potatoes and cilantro. I bet some olives would've been awesome too, but we were out. Anyhow, I served it over polenta and it was really good. I felt like this was one of the first new things I'd "engineered" largely on my own in a while so I was pleased :).
Have a great weekend!
It's been a while since I've had a stew. Maybe it's time again? Then again, it's sooooo hot here right now. Maybe not.
ReplyDeleteI have yet to try Soy Curls. And as much as I want to travel around Europe, I know the food situation/language barrier is going to stress me out big time.
ReplyDeleteHey, you're back! Excellent! IMO, blogging for many of us is, just as you say, a creative outlet, a hobby rather than a job. If for some reason it isn't fun or other things are getting in the way, I at least have decided not to worry about it. You've been a supportive influence as a commenter for me, and I'm pleased that I'll be able to return the favour ;-)
ReplyDeleteSorry, my last comment went on the wrong post. On *this* post, your stew looks great, just the sort of food I practically live on all winter long. And I don't think I ever did thank you for the Soy Curls sourcing tip. I looked up the site and definitely mean to place an order in the near future - did you order the big bulk box or just a few packets?
ReplyDeleteHey everyone, thanks for stopping by!
ReplyDeleteJenny, most Europeans know English. You will be able to get by but you end up feeling like a dumbass (as we did) for not being bilingual.
Zoa, extra thanks! I bought two big bags of the soy curls. The flavor is less assertive than my homemade seitan, but sometimes that is what the doctor ordered :).