Salty, Buttered, Vegan Scallops.

I’m not too big to say there is one or two things I miss from the old days of meat eating.  It’s always seafood.  Lox and scallops.  There are a few veg scallops that seem okay I guess.  There’s this one from Worthington, which I think is the only legit package (owned by Kellogg’s).  There are a few that have done the King Oyster mushroom route.  I made some a few moths ago and they were pretty good.   None of mine looked as good as The Chubby Vegetarians, or the first one I ever saw from Ladyvoxx on The PPK.

I’ve been using a lot of tofu since I recently found theFresh Tofu Inc., tofu.  It’s a totally different tofu.  It’s like westsoy, but better.  I like regular tofu, but when you try stuff like Fresh Tofu Inc., it’s like going from Gin Blossoms to The Beatles.  You can find a way to be snobby and alt in anything, even tofu.  I bought these little cookie cutters a while ago, and used them to cut the tofu into scallop shapes.  Saute them until they have some color in a little vegetable oil.

The butter is important.  Earth Balance gets really clear, and just sort of turns into oil when heated up.  To keep its creaminess, I added some cornstarch.  A few tablespoons or eyeballed, depending on how much butter you are using.  I also add salt, Earth Balance lacks that as well I think.  Whisk it and then add minced garlic after you start to get a creaminess going.  After you plate them and pour the butter on, squeeze a fresh lemon all over the tops.

Vegan KFC Double Down!!

Never has a stupid sandwich created such chaos on the internet as the Double Down from KFC.  I’ve seen a couple of Vegan Double Down’s floating around blogs, and no offense to this bro, but it’s not a sexy DD.  And it sort of looks a little healthy, steering clear of capturing the grossness enjoyed by KFC eaters in the US.  I’ve been making tons of fried chicken after I found Cest La Vegans post a couple of weeks ago.  It’s really an amazing recipe, and even leaves you feeling like total shit after you eat it, which is cool.  As far as KFC’s “secret recipe”, I think its clear that it’s just a lot of salt.  I wanted this picture to read, so I bought the best processed fake chicken I could find. Cook it first in a pan and give it a little bit of a crust.   The mozzarella is FYH, and the bacon is Smart bacon.  I have to say, this was intense.  I ate the whole thing, and actually cried a little afterward.  I walked my dog shortly after finishing it, and I felt like everyone was staring at me like I just had gross sweaty sex in the back of a van.

Chicken Batter Recipe (From Cest La Vegan) :

1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons nutritional yeast (optional)
3 tablespoons yellow mustard
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 pound mock chicken (try White Wave wheat meat, Gardein or your favorite chicken substitute)
3 1/2 cups vegetable oil

Mix together the salt, onion powder, pepper, garlic powder, flour, and nutritional yeast in a deep bowl.  In a separate bowl, dilute the mustard with 1/2 cup water.Add 1/3 cup of the flour mixture to the mustard mixture and stir. Add the baking powder to the dry flour mixture and mix.Dip chunks of the mock chicken into the mustard batter, then drop each chunk into the flour mixture and coat with the desired amount of “crust.”Fry the chunks in hot oil on medium-high heat in a large skillet or deep fryer until crispy and golden brown, turning as needed.

Ahhhoy!!!! Popcorn Shrimp (tofu) has arrived…..

I never knew that cocktail sauce was tasty.  Seemed like a grownup dip, never thought I would indulge myself.   I’ve been making these a bunch lately, and I’ve found its very important that you don’t buy pre-made cocktail sauce in plastic squirt bottles, its truly terrible.  I tried 2 different brands until I broke down and looked up the recipe.  It’s very time consuming, and cost a shit ton to make.
Cocktail Sauce recipe :

• Ketchup
• Minced Horseradish
• Squirt of lemon juice

(takes about 2 1/2 minutes, stir well)

The tofu in this is really important.  I mentioned in my previous post that there is this Philly based brand called Fresh Tofu Inc. and a national brand called Westsoy.  These two brands don’t sit in water, and have a much more dense bite to them.  I made these with the regular tofu, and they just didn’t taste right.

Popcorn Shrimp Ingredients :

• cubed tofu
• 1/3  cup earth balance
• 1 Tbls minced garlic
• 1 Tbls Corn Starch
• 2 Cups Chickpea Flour
• 2 Tbls Old Bay
• 1 Tbls onion powder
• 1 Tbls Salt & Pepper
• 1 Tbls Baking Powder

Melt the butter slightly, then whip the garlic and corn starch into it.  Let it firm up a bit.  Combine the chickpea flour, old bay, onion powder, baking powder ,s&p in a medium sized bowl.  First coat the tofu in the garlic butter, then cover in flour mix.  Deep fry and serve with cocktail sauce or whatevs.