Friday, March 14, 2008


It's Back!

Our oven came home today. And tonight, rather then the regular night out, we opted for a night in with our most longed for appliance.

We knew it had to be roasted veg - of course. But, we needed something to go with it, and I suggested the famous Veganomicon Chickpea Cutlet that I have been reading so much about. We played with the recipe a little bit. And K took his new status as a husband-to-be-to-a-vegan to a whole new level with a great fresh Tomato and Basil salsa that was out of this world. This meal was not all VeganCowGirl by any means - it was total joint effort.
Hold the Chicken Cutlets
Ingredients:
-1 cup of chickpeas
-1/2 cup of wheat gluten
-1/2 cup of chickpea flour
-2 tsp of soy sauce
-2 tsp of olive oil
-1/4 cup of water
-fresh sage, fresh basil, fresh thyme

These were so easy. So easy. I mashed the chickpeas and oil with a fork while K got busy with the veg. Once the chickers were nice and squished I added the remaining ingredients - in no particular order - and let the bowl sit for about 15 minutes (not sure if this had any real effect on the end product, but we wanted the veg to cook off a while before warming the cutlets). When ready to go I added some oil to a non-stick pan and browned the cutlets on both sides for about 7 minutes. Apparently they work really well baked....next time.

K's salsa was out of this world, and although we think we will pair the cutlets with something more Mediterranean next time, a la roasted eggplant or hummus, the salsa is a definite keeper. I was totally impressed. If I hadn't already said yes last weekend, I would be asking for his hand after the flavours in this dish.
K's Salsa
Ingredients:
-3 red/green tomatoes
-cilantro
-a wee bit of red chili
-apple cider vinegar
-olive oil
-cracked black pepper
-finely diced spring onion

From what I saw, he finely chopped everything, and added it to the bowl, topping the fresh ingredients with the olive oil and vinegar. He mentioned that the taste increases in intensity when you let it sit for a while - but we weren't waiting for anything last night. We served it on the side, and I found it was a nice compliment to the other two more 'heavier' components of the feast.

All in all it was a great meal. K was trying to figure out how much we could sell it for at the imaginary restaurant I will one day open in Brussels.

After binging on our food we headed for a drink with some friends. Good times with Mojitos.

In other really excellent news Leonard Cohen is touring and where is going to be on July 10th? In Brughes. Where am I going to be on July 10th? In Brughes. K snapped up the tickets yesterday morning - I can NOT wait.

2 comments:

Abram said...

Yum, that salsa looks so fresh! And the cutlets must be tried as well.

I keep reading about Veganomicon. I really should go out and buy it.

Anke said...

not having your oven must be hell. glad for you it's back. :-)