Fakesgiving

A few of my friends following Blanket Blog have been asking me to cook for them for awhile.  I've been wanting to try out a vegetarian Thanksgiving, so I invited them to Fakesgiving.

It was awesome.

My friend Becky 2, of cooking-me-thai-food fame, helped with the meal.  And by helped, I mean cooked half of it.  She is also awesome.

Becky 2 and I.  Photobomb courtesy of Danny.

Here's the menu:
Stuffing casserole with fake chicken
Mashed potatoes with vegetarian gravy
Green bean casserole with french fried onions
Waldorf salad
Cranberry sauce
Rolls
And homemade pumpkin pie for dessert

Becky 2 made the pumpkin pie first, because it takes a little while.

Did you know what's in pumpkin pie?  Because I totally didn't.

Her original plan was to make the pie entirely from scratch.  Like baking the pumpkin and everything.  But we didn't have tons of time, so she used canned pumpkin and a store-bought crust.  It was still really delicious.

She mixed the above ingredients (be generous with the pumpkin pie spice!) and poured them into a crust.    Bake it at 425º for 15 minutes, then turn it down to 350º and bake for about an hour.

Yeah.  I learned how to make the º symbol.  Take that, people who don't have to write up bio labs.  Anyways.

Oh yeah.  Pie.

Becky 2 pressed some pecans into the top while it was still hot, and we put it by a cracked window to cool.

Thankfully, not a single looney tunes character came and
stole it off the sill.  They're a real imaginary nuisance.

While all this was going on, I made Waldorf salad, using this recipe.  It turned out pretty nicely.  Becky 2 told me she'd seen a recipe that uses yogurt, which I'd probably try in the future, because mayonnaise freaks me out.  It's not normal.

Waldorf salad is weird in general.  Tasty, though.

Becky 2 made green bean casserole.  It's easy and delicious.  Snap a bunch of fresh green beans and put them in a baking pan (I think we used about a pound and a half.)

I made her model bean snapping for me.

Add a can of cream of mushroom soup and mix in half a can of french fried onions.  Bake at 350º for about 20 minutes, then add the rest of the onions to the top and bake another 10 minutes or so.

Vegetables get really delicious when you bake them in cream
and cover them in fried things.

My big experiment of the night was vegetarian stuffing.  My original idea was to put tofurky inside it, but Tops failed me, so I used Morningstar Farms grilled chicken.

One day I'm gonna look up what's actually in these, and
it's gonna freak me out.

I defrosted them and cut them up, then mixed them into this recipe.  A few changes-- I didn't have poultry seasoning, and I didn't use any of the optional ingredients.  And I added chopped celery, because seriously?  It's stuffing.  I also baked it in a pan that I covered in a baking sheet, because we somehow have never purchased tin foil for the apartment.

Good looking stuffing.

It turned out delicious.  The fake meat ended up tasting so much like the stuffing that most of my friends didn't even realize when they were eating it.  I highly recommend the recipe.

We used some of my massive amounts of instant mashed potatoes (I know, I know.  But they're good.)  I wanted gravy, but it's usually made with giblets and turkey juices and stuff, so I gave this recipe a try.

A few changes--I left out the yeast, because I couldn't find it in the store.  I also didn't have sage.  Whatever.

That's probably healthy to put into your body.

The gravy was delicious.  Several of my friends specifically mentioned how much they loved it.  It had a lighter, more flavorful feel than normal gravy.  I'd use it even if I wasn't vegetarian.  So yeah, try it.

The last couple parts of the meal were kind of copouts.  I used canned whole cranberry sauce, which did the job.  I just can't have Thanksgiving without cranberry sauce.

For rolls, I tried this brown-and-serve variety they had at Tops.  They are basically rolls that need to be cooked another 5 minutes.  They start out looking like this--

It kind of reminds me of people on a beach
in South Jersey.

--And ends up looking like this.

Aaaaaand there's the guidos.  I can say it.  I'm Italian.

They were clearly tasty, because I had 8 guests, made 24 rolls, and had 3 left over.  They're a nice option if you want fresh-tasting bread but don't have time to deal with baking it.

My friends came over and ate most of the food, which really was an accomplishment.

D'awwwww.

It was kind of like normal Thanksgiving, but with no meat, much more laughing, minimal passive aggression, and zero fights.

So yeah.  Not at all.

Delicious thai birthday dinner

Here's a first for Blanket Blog--I didn't cook this one!  Three/four roommates have birthdays this weekend, including me, and my friend Becky 2 made us awesome thai food to celebrate.  Here is curried tofu and fried noodles.

First, slice extra-firm tofu thin and let it marinate in lime juice.

Don't worry.  I'm scared of cooking tofu too.

Fry up about a tablespoon of red curry paste, sliced onions and a little bit of crushed garlic in olive oil.

Depending on your tastes, this is where it starts smelling
really good or really bad.  AH LOVE IT.

In the meantime, boil a package of lo mein noodles.  You can find them with the foreign food.

EWWWWWW WORMS

Fry the tofu with the vegetables and add some peanuts.

I love peanuts so much.

When the tofu is cooked, add the (drained) noodles and cook the whole thing until the noodles get a little transparent.  Serve it with a little fresh cilantro on top.

In case you haven't noticed, I'm getting pretty awesome
at food photography.  Just saying.

Here is how I felt about this meal.

So yeah.  Cook this and eat it.

Comfort food, part 2: Chocolate chip pancakes

Last night, while I was driving back to school after a visit to family in Buffalo, I hit a deer.  I've never hit a deer, and the facts that...


1. It was dark


2. I was all alone


3. I know almost nothing about cars


and 4. I definitely killed it, and I'm a vegetarian, so yeah


...didn't help.  I know, I'm lucky to be alive and I'm lucky my car isn't too damaged, but still.

The only damage.
There might be some deer brains in there.
I am upset.

I don't handle being upset very well.  I have a big, important bio test tomorrow and I haven't studied.  I'm a weepy hot mess.  I needed comfort food.  I needed chocolate chip pancakes.


I decided to make them from scratch, using this recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1 1/4 cups milk
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions

1. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk, egg and melted butter; mix until smooth.
2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

I made a few changes.  First, I added vanilla and a little bit of cinnamon for flavor (and, obviously, mini chocolate chips.)  I didn't have milk, so I used light vanilla silk.  That only really works in things like cakes and stuff, but it's usually delicious.  Also, the batter turned out very thick, so I added more silk until it was thin enough to pour into the pan.

I learned my pancake-making technique from my grandpa.  It is the best.

First, heat up your pan until margarine sizzles in it.  Make sure the bottom of the pan is coated.

Pour in the batter and wait until the bubbles are popping on top of the cake, like this--

You're gonna want to turn it early.  Don't.

Flip it, and wait until the other side is brown.

That's a good looking cake.

Put more margarine on the pan between each cake.  This is comfort food, not health food.

Sweet, sweet cholesterol.

I stack mine between two plates while I'm cooking, so that they stay hot.  I ate them with syrup and whipped cream.  It was tasty.

I keep forgetting to take pictures until after I start eating.

The pancakes were really fluffy and I could taste the vanilla.  The perfect comfort food.

Now, back to work.

Super easy potato corn chowder

It's getting cold in Western New York, which means all I want to eat is hot comfort food.  One of my favorite things is potato corn chowder, because it's really not too unhealthy ( I think) and it is about the easiest thing ever to make.

You will need:
Instant mashed potatoes
Whatever those call for (mine needed water, milk and margarine)
Canned corn
Salt and pepper and whatever else you want

This whole recipe is kind of play it by ear.

First, make the mashed potatoes in a pot according to the box.

I may have overestimated my mashed potato needs this year.

I know some of you mashed potato snobs might not like my use of instant mashed potatoes, and normally I'm not into plugging brands, but the Idahoan mashed potatoes are legit.  They taste really creamy and not flaky.  I love them.

Once your potatoes are done, mix in some corn with the liquid.  The amount of corn depends on the amount of potatoes you made.  I only made two servings of mashed potatoes, so I used less than half of the can, but if you made enough for a family you'd probably want to use the whole thing.

This is where it gets a little sketchy.  Add water or milk until the soup is the thickness you want it to be.  Mine got a little watery, so I added some more potatoes.  It really depends on whether you like a thick soup or a thin soup.

Season the soup with salt and pepper and whatever else you feel like.  I had mine with salad and italian bread.

And diet A&W, beverage of champions.

Delicious, fast and comforting as shit.

Mama West's Lazy Stuffed Shells

I know I already posted today.  I'm probably going to post again.  I live by my own rules.

Actually, I'm procrastinating because I don't want to write a bio lab, and I remembered that I had three blogs worth of pictures on my camera.  But this meal was way successful, so I'm excited.

Last Friday, I got the urge to make Italian dinner for a bunch of people.  I'm 50% Italian, so that is just a genetic thing that happens every once in awhile.  You can trust me.  I'm in bio 105.

One of the meals my mom used to make a lot at home was these noodles with sauce and ricotta mixed in.  She usually mixed in some cooked ground beef, too, but the recipe is fine without it.  Without further ado--

MAMA WEST'S LAZY STUFFED SHELLS

Ingredients:
A box of shell pasta (or whatever shape you like)
A jar of sauce (I used prego, because some lady in Tops gave me a lecture on sauce and told me to buy it)
A container of part-skim ricotta (I am pretty positive it is 16 oz.)
A chopped up tomato

I also made salad with mixed greens, tomatoes, cucumbers and green peppers, which is exactly what it sounds like, and garlic bread, which I'll walk you through.

For the shells, just boil them, strain the water, and mix in the sauce, ricotta, and tomato.

Good shit, huh Miroki?

All I did was chop the vegetables and toss the salad, but it was pretty, so here's a picture of that, too.

These were the first fresh vegetables I'd had in days.
They tasted like Jesus.

The garlic bread was easy and delicious.  Cut a loaf of fresh italian bread into slices about an inch wide, butter one side, and broil the slices butter side up.  Then flip the pieces, add butter and garlic to the other side, and broil them again.

I can't say anything sassy about garlic bread.
It is too wonderful.

Overall, the dinner was well received.  I liked having home-cooked mama food.  It was a good night.

Taking a flattering group eating shot=impossible.

This isn't really related to the noodles, but I also made chocolate chunk cookies that night for some friends who helped me with a flat tire.

You know you are Susie Homemaker when you exchange
cookies for car help.

I used nestle chocolate chunks and just followed the recipe on the bag.  They were way tasty.  Highly recommended.

Hi guys! Eggplant is gross!

I have an awkward relationship with eggplant.

Basically, it goes like this:

1. I forget that I hate eggplant.

2. I eat eggplant.

3. I remember that I hate eggplant.

The problem is, one of the things that I really miss since becoming a vegetarian is chicken parmesan.  And at home, we have a restaurant nearby called Tony's that makes an eggplant parmesan that I love more than most other foods.  Mostly because they fry the eggplant beyond recognition, melt a brick of mozzarella on it and cover it in their super awesome tomato sauce.

So when I saw this in Tops, a combination of step one in the eggplant cycle and me missing Tony's made me buy it.

Quick, delicious meal my ass.

It just was not good.  I'll walk you through it, but I'm telling you, it was not good.

So first, I, innocent, wide eyed, hoping for nothing more than delicious eggplant parm, cooked some eggplant.

Warning sign number 1: it still looks like eggplant.

I also cooked up some spaghetti, and then I decided to get fancy.  That's usually when things go wrong for me.

It sort of looks like roadkill...

I thought that if I put the spaghetti, sauce, eggplant and cheese in the pan and then broiled the whole business, it would taste like Tony's.  False.

I was so hopeful when I took this photo.

The noodles/cheese/sauce thing wasn't really bad, but the eggplant peel was weirdly hard and it just made the whole experience unpleasant.  My roommate made something similar later in the week, though, and she seemed to be successful.  You can see her blog post here.  Also, she has a really cool blog that you should read.

Anyways, the eggplant cycle completed itself one more time.  When I reread Becky's blog post just now, I couldn't help thinking it looked delicious, so I guess it's only a matter of time before the cycle starts again.