Sunday, October 11, 2009

VeganMoFo 11: Science!

Mr. Vegan Eats & Treats got to pick out TWO meals today, and he did a great job!

We had a great start to our day with a family waffle party. There was a pretty small turnout, but it was so nice. Waffles, fruit salad, OJ, coffee and nice visiting. It was a chilly, foggy morning, so it felt great to be drinking coffee and eating waffles together. These are the Raised Waffles from Vegan Brunch. Let me discuss these waffles with you. THEY ARE AMAZING. They are the best waffles I've ever made. After I made them the first time, I knew that I would never again need to make any other waffle. As Isa suggests, I make the batter the night before and then leave it in the fridge to rise overnight. They are Mr. VE&T's favorite special breakfast... and now I am pleased to report that my dad loved them as well. Let's just say that up until this morning, my dad has had a rocky relationship with vegan waffles. No More! Huzzah!

Also, a quick shout out to our local farmers market - check out this all-local fruit salad in mid-October?! It's crazy madness. Melons, oranges, pears, apples, strawberries, pluots, and raspberries. It was delicious.

And tonight's Mr. Vegan Eats & Treats dinner pick was "Charred Plum Tomato Soup with Corn and Crispy Okra Strips" from Vegan Soul Kitchen. Please notice that Mr. VE&Ts picked two different variations of tomato soup for his dinners this week! Maybe I should have a whole week of tomato soup variations! I served the soup with a toasted wedge of torta di ceci (aka socca). mmm.

This soup was totally freaking great. The tomatoes and garlic are roasted for 45 minutes and then added to a very fragrant Simple Corn Broth... oh man. These two factors alone had our kitchen smelling insanely good. I followed the recipe pretty much exactly, except for reducing the oil and salt a bit. This soup, on its own, is a totally stunning tomato soup... I think it is now officially my favorite tomato soup ever. My Crispy Okra Strips were super tasty, but not totally crispy. This is completely due to my inability to use 1/2 cup of oil. So my okras were a tiny bit crispy, a lot sauteed, but still a lot deliciously good. They are dredged in some simple but flavorful flour first, and they are a really great addition to the soup. I highly recommend this recipe!

Good pickin' Mr. VE&T!

Fun Facts about Mr. Vegan Eats & Treats
- he was on his high school math team.
- he wears a pink headband when he plays tennis.
- his grandma Bubba used to make water with sugar in it for him (he says "yeah, sugar water!")
- he got yelled at by John McEnroe when he was 7 years old.
- he has a man-crush on Jacques Pepin.
- he loves to sing "She Blinded Me With Science" all the time. Science!


13 comments:

  1. Hahaha I loved this post! Sugar water? Eek! John McEnroe? Double Eek!

    That soup looks awesome!

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  2. yum that soup sounds awesome.

    I like your fun facts about the Mr!!

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  3. beautiful waffles- I about threw my waffle maker out the window the other night- all waffles kept sticking no matter what I did.. arrrgggg.

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  4. I love your Mr. VE&T posts! Cooking is so much more meaningful when I'm cooking for someone I love!

    The crispy okra strips are such a great idea. I, sadly, have no problem with using half a cup of oil so I'll have to try these out!!! ;)

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  5. Hats off to science!

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  6. I need to try those raised waffles! My waffle maker has been acting up, but maybe it would be more forgiving with those...or maybe I should just buy a new waffle maker.

    I'll have to try that VSK recipe! I love that book. Everything I've made from it has been amazing.

    I love that Mr. VE&T had a grandma named Bubba!

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  7. And, uh, he has a grandma named Bubba?

    Those waffles look great, and really make me wish I had a waffle iron. And who doesn't love tomato soup!

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  8. I'm sharing that song with my engineer husband on his birthday today. :-)

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  9. That Mr VE&T did an awesome job - those waffles look great. I haven't had waffles in such a long time. The fruit salad looks good too. And so does the tomato soup. :-)

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  10. why did john yell at mr. veats?
    xo
    kittee

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  11. The soup sounds YUMMY! And everything looks yummerlicious! Mr. V EAT is such a lucky man! Cute video too.

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  13. Anonymous11:46 PM

    A bunch of us kids in a tennis camp went on a field trip to see a pro tournament. We found out what hotel room McEnroe was staying in and banged on his door at 7am yelling "Pizza! Pizza". He flung open the door and started screaming at us. :)

    Mr. VEaTs

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