Make No Bones About It We're Vegan
I am not necessarily prone to exaggeration. At least not the way my sister, who we call Heidi Hyperbole is. If Heidi tells you she found a $100 bill outside an AT&T store that enabled her to pay the remainder of her cell phone bill for the month, she most likely found five bucks outside Trader Joe's and was able to buy a burrito. Heidi is an embellisher not a liar-liar pants on fire. So when I tell you that this cornbread is the best you ever had, remember it's me talking not Heidels. When I tell you that people travel far and wide for this sweet moist cornbread I mean it! Far and wide might only be fifteen to twenty miles but since I am presently without a car, far and wide takes on a whole new meaning. To me far and wide is like living in the Old West. It could take me and my posse twelve days to reach San Francisco from Oakland in a stage coach...(just once I would like to be upgraded from coach...bahaha). They'll be no Wild West campfire cooking today, unless I can getta hold of some Dandy marshmallows. No sirree boy, we're talking bayou cornbread cooking. Step aside Paula Deen. Here's some sauteed mustard greens, with hearty 'shroom gravy and Mama GiGi's mouthwatering cornbread "graced" with a pat of Earth Balance.
You have to say "grace" when you partake in Southern fare. It makes baby Jesus happy. And for some reason the cornbread tastes better.
Mama GiGi's Back Porch Cornbread
2 1/4 C Flour
1 C sugar
3/4 C cornmeal
1.5 T baking powder
1 3/4 C rice milk or any vegan milk even vanilla flavored is fine
1/4 C water mixed with one T Ener-G egg replacer
1/2 C canola oil
1/2 stick + 1 tsp EB (hey it's Southern Cooking) melted
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease an 8" by 8" pan. I line it with parchment and regrease lightly.
Combine flour, sugar, cornmeal, baking powder in a medium bowl.
Combine rice milk, Ener-G slurry, canola oil and melted EB in a small bowl.
Add liquids to flour mix. Stir with wooden spoon til just combined. Lumps are cool. Pour into prepared pan.
Bake for about 50 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Warm cornbread....the stuff that food dreams are made of. Y'all come back now ya here. You too, Paula.
Factoid: Norman Mailer dug coleslaw. He and his 5th or maybe his 6th wife made gallons of coleslaw for one of their big shebangs.They served up the slaw in urns. Nobody at the shindig ate a morsel of the Mailers' teriyaki red pepper slaw. It was more a drink, than eat party. After the guests split, Mrs. Mailer the 5th or 6th wound up dropping an urn of coleslaw on one of the Mailer's imported Oriental rugs. Norman lay naked and dead drunk in the next room. While Mrs. Mailer whatever number she was, mopped up the mess, Hunter Thompson knocked on the door. Hunter asked the very tired Mrs. Mailer 5 or 6 to make him bacon and eggs. Hunter liked pork which is why his name was Hunter.
If you happen to be having an eating more than getting drunk party this 4th of July, check out this vegan slaw and BBQ tofu.
Veganville Slaw
1 package of mixed slaw
1 Cup of Vegenaise
1 T of apple cider vinegar
2 "Bubbies" pickles finely chopped
2 tsp brown mustard
2 celery stalks finely chopped
1 scallion (green and white parts) finely chopped
sea salt to taste
Dump slaw in a bowl (not urn), add other ingredients and mix well. Cover and refrigerate.
BBQ Tofu
1 14oz. organic tofu drained and pressed
2 T pineapple juice
Approximately 1 C Trader Joe's Bold and Smoky Kansas City Style BBQ (vegan of course!)
1 T brown sugar (optional)
Preheat oven to 400. Spray a 9x 13 glass pan with canola spray. Add BBQ sauce, pineapple juice, and brown sugar if using. Mix with wooden spoon. Cut tofu width wise once, then into 12 sticks lengthwise. Turn the tofu in the BBQ mix and coat each side. Bake 15 minutes on each side.
Plate it with a slab of cornbread and some greens. Serve on a roll with lettuce and tomato, pickle, and of course some slaw. And happy 4th Mrs. 5th or 6th!
