3.25.2008

Pork free pig out

Perhaps I have kept this a great secret, but I don't actually think I have, but I'm a Southern Girl.

Born and raised in good ol' North Cackalacki, ya'll (ok, so I'm not sure how to spell that N.C. part). In Southern-ese you would say: Bah-n a-yund razed in guh-dull Nawth Kha-kuh-lah-key, ya-wul.

Got that?

Enough poking fun of the dialect, but the mix of vegetarian southerner is a peculiar one, even now--13+ years later. I come from a family that celebrates with pig pickins, and the Mr., well, if the early on "people are meant to be omnivores" debates are any indication, his meaty roots are similar.

He's very nice about eating his meat outside of the house (something I've never asked him to do), and I'm getting better at coming up with suitable meat-eater vegetarian substitutions. Recently, in an internet/blog reading binge, I read some one's suggestion to fry tofu then douse it in BBQ sauce, which sounded like a good ol' southern gal goes soft hearted liberal idea.

Coincidentally, we're on a mission to eat what's in the fridge (reduce/ reuse) before any other big grocery buying sprees.

So I present to you: Sunday's dinner: BBQ tofu and twice baked potatoes. The "what we had" portion: frozen tofu, baked potatoes, green onions, butter, sour cream, parmesan cheese, garlic. The "what I sent the Mr. to buy" portion: BBQ sauce--a kind with no "natural ingredients" listed (which can hide a lengthy list of unfriendly to vegetarian items, as well as things like MSG).

The insides of the potatoes were mushed up with 1 T sour cream, 3 T chopped green onions, salt, pepper, and 1 t Parmesan cheese.
The tofu was thawed, cut into triangles about an inch thick, convection baked on 300 for 20 minutes, floured in a salt, pepper and flour mix then lightly fried, placed back in the pan, smothered in BBQ sauce. Both pans were convection baked for 30 minutes on 350.

Seriously. so. good, peeps. So good. And all without this little piggy going to market.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Ah, yes. Checkin' in as another vegetarian Southerner fighting to embrace my culinary roots without the carnivorous aspect. My great ambition is to write a Southern vegetarian cookbook, but I'm sure no one would publish it, because it would be all about good (but not necessarily healthy) eating! Heavy, heavy sigh. I plan to continue the good fight, and hope you do, too!