Dinner

Southern Goodness

I had a delicious Southern feast for dinner tonight! I made the chili-cornmeal crusted tofu and had sweet potato fries and roasted sugar-snap peas to go along side it. YUM! I was SO excited to find sugar-snap peas at the store. They are just something I remember nibbling on while my mom cooked dinner while I was little. I love the sweet crunch! I actually worked up my courage to fry these little tofu nuggets (the recipe suggests frying over baking these). I never fry things..but my oven was busy roasting veggies and i needed to eat! WOW–what crunch we get from just a little veggie oil! They actually tasted a ton like chicken nuggets. I used minimal oil in my cast iron skillet and drained them immediately but they def. had a yummy crunch you just dont get from baking things. I dipped the tofu in ketchup and it was bliss….tofu on a whole new (junk-food) level!

For a snack today I had a big juicy red pear and a nice tall glass of hemp milk. The perfect combo to keep me goin’ til dinner. I’m off to my practical now. I’m feeling much more relaxed than I did last Friday at this time and I already set an apron out so I wouldn’t forget it this time! I have to make more icebox cookies as well as muffins tonight…it’s worth 200 points so I hope I do well! The hardest part is not letting the cookies burn since they should have no color and only the bottoms should be faintly golden brown. You basically have to keep your eyes glued to the oven to watch them! It should be a relatively early night tonight and then I’m so excited to go home for the rest of the weekend tomorrow!!

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  • Alyssa
    February 29, 2008 at 10:14 pm

    Good luck! Tell us how you did as soon as you can! Mmmm…cookies!

  • ibex hk
    February 29, 2008 at 10:27 pm

    good luck, you’ll be great! enjoy the weekend!!

  • nicole r.
    February 29, 2008 at 10:57 pm

    i bought the ezekiel english muffins today–oh my god SO good!! i was never big on english muffins, but these are awesome, so soft & chewy!! thanks for the recommendation!!

  • Romina
    February 29, 2008 at 11:01 pm

    That looks delicious! I miss the taste of chicken nuggets, I must admit. And I’ve since been looking for a great substitute.

    Congrats on having a relaxed night! You deserve it, especially on a friday. =)

  • VeggieGirl
    February 29, 2008 at 11:06 pm

    Oh my goodness, cornmeal-crusted tofu?? Sounds fabulous!! Especially when paired with those sweet potato fries – yum!!

    I just had a VERY tall glass of hempmilk as well :0)

    I’m sure you will earn all 200 of those points, Jenna!! Good luck and get reay for a great, relaxing weekend!!

  • BethT
    February 29, 2008 at 11:12 pm

    Jenna, what cookbook is that recipe from? The tofu one?

  • Meghan
    February 29, 2008 at 11:39 pm

    MMMMMMM if I hear of any meal that has cornmeal and sweet potatoes in it, I immediately start drooling. Do you think that I could use quorn cutlets in the cornmeal tofu recipe instead of tofu?!

  • TC
    March 1, 2008 at 12:03 am

    That looks absolutely delicious!!! Good luck tonight!

  • kay
    March 1, 2008 at 1:45 am

    Jenna,

    Are you missing meat or yogurt at all? Can’t wait to see the cookies! Good luck!!! My friend who is a chef says “break an oven”… do you use this term? Maybe it is just him…. 🙂

  • Kristin Point
    March 1, 2008 at 2:04 am

    Hey Jenna- how do you get things to stick to tofu like “breading” it as you’d do with chicken? I tried marinating my tofu in miso dressing and breading it with nutritional yeast but it didn’t workout…it tasted great but the breading would not stick to the tofu at all!

    I made your mom’s cabbage dish yesterday and the olive cake…both were delish!!!!!!!!!!!! I sprinkled pink and red sugar crystals on the olive cake because I didn’t have powdered sugar and it was still really good! I love the cabbage dish…it made my mouth purple! haha. Thanks for the recipes!

    goodluck on your practical!

  • heather K
    March 1, 2008 at 2:20 am

    What does anyone think to be a good amount of soy to consume? I haven’t found hempmilk anywhere, and almond milk is more epensive then soy as well. I sometimes consume 3 servings a day worth of soy products..milk, yogurt, tofu, etc. Anyone know more about the link of soy consumption to cancer?

    PS. I LOVEEE sugar snap peas!! So yummy! 🙂

  • erica
    March 1, 2008 at 2:22 am

    Dinner looks so delicious as always Jenna! I actually had the exact dinner with the pasta and chickpeas that you did last night.. it was so simple, but SO satisfying! Especially with vegan “parm!”

    You wouldn’t believe what happened to me today! Considering how much you’ve been raving about the luna teacakes, i decided to buy one (vanilla macadamia). When I took it home, I realized the bar had past the expiration date, but I didn’t really imagine it could be THAT bad. So I go ahead and open the package, and the bar is COVERED in white web-looking covering and a LOVELY GREEN WORM crawling on the side!!! It looked as if the worm had created a sort of “cocoon” around the bar! AHHH!! I literally panicked and tossed the bar in the sink, and took it right back to the store I bought it at! Not only was this bar expired, but I was going through the bars they had, and I gave the man BOXES of expired bars that were on shelves. Case in point: ALWAYS check expiration dates!! I feel traumatized just thinking about that gross worm! YUCK!!!

  • Lynn
    March 1, 2008 at 2:41 am

    Whoa, Erica!
    That sucks, ewwwww!!!! Hopefully it doesn’t turn you off Luna Tea Cakes forever…

  • Anna
    March 1, 2008 at 3:19 am

    Jenna,
    I saw on Kath’s blog that you are interested in stuffed peppers. My mom has been making a tofu stuffing for peppers for almost 20 years that our family loves!
    Saute celery, green pepper, tofu, and zucchini (or whatever veggies you want) in a pan until browned. Mix veggies with two cups of cooked rice, 1/2 teaspoon sage and 1 tablespoon soy sauce.
    This stuffing is enough to fill 4 green peppers, but is great on its own. We top the peppers with cheese. Mmm!!!

    Just another idea! I hope your practical went well. 🙂

  • jenna
    March 1, 2008 at 3:33 am

    Kristen,
    I drenched the tofu first in a mixture of plain rice milk and cornstarch, then I breaded it in the cornmeal/spice mixture. It stuck really really well and turned out 100 times better than I thought. I sometimes have the “sticking” problem too but I just followed the recipe and it worked! I will def. make this again!

  • jenna
    March 1, 2008 at 3:35 am

    Kay,

    I do miss yogurt. I don’t miss milk because it always sort of weirded me out/grossed me out drinking cow milk anyway…but I do miss yogurt. Now that I’ve been without for a few weeks I might try to eat a greek yogurt and just see how I feel after….like a little test. We’ll see!

  • jenna
    March 1, 2008 at 3:35 am

    oh and haha! I have never heard that term but it sounds funny!! Maybe I’ll say that next week just to see what reaction others have! 🙂

  • jenna
    March 1, 2008 at 3:36 am

    Beth,

    That is from Veganomicon. Everything I’ve tried from this book has been a complete and total success! Highly suggest making the purchase–you won’t regret it!

  • LT
    March 1, 2008 at 3:40 am

    oh my gosh erica i think i just threw up a little bit

  • jenn
    March 1, 2008 at 4:11 am

    (lol LT me too)
    Erica, OMG I am so skeeved out by your story!! I am made to wonder if that was a random worm, or if that whole batch? was affected… or if that would happen to other bars if you let them expire… aghh ok I need to stop thinking about it!! When I was 10, I found a ginormous grasshopper (dead) in a can of green beans… I am scared of canned foods to this very day!!
    anyway, I think you handled that well– you should def send your comment to LUNA– and I will def check exp dates from now on.

  • Lori- the pleasantly plump vegan
    March 1, 2008 at 4:16 am

    yr dinner looks ridiculously good. i love having southern plates.

  • jlau07
    March 1, 2008 at 4:29 am

    Hey Jenna! Great lookin dinner..i LOVE tofu.

    I have a question that you (or other readers too) could shed some insight on…

    Last week I was really stressed out and binged on a few different foods throughout the week…dark chocolate, peanut butter, walnuts, almond butter. I keep these foods in stock because they are healthy, but not in the portions I was eating them! I probably would have 6 tbsp of peanut butter with crackers or something in one sitting 🙁 Anyway, I’m seeking help with an eating disorder specialist and also making an appt with an RD.

    I was wondering if you think its a good idea to CUT OUT pb and chocolate from my diet for a month (to sort of cleanse, detox my body of the “overdose”). I am confident I will not be “craving” these foods, but what advice would you suggest on this strategy??
    Thanks so much!

  • blueberrybabe
    March 1, 2008 at 4:39 am

    Hey girls. I will probably post this again in the am but i was wondering if anyone ever looked up the nutritional info on dreena’s choc chip cookies (on some website where you can enter the ingredients??!?!) would love to know- thanks! Goodnight.

  • Meghan
    March 1, 2008 at 5:41 am

    Hey blueberry babe! I actually did look up the nutritional info and if you only made about 8, as the recipe stated, it was about 230 calories a cookie I believe? But supposedly they’re really big cookies so in my opinion it’s worth it….

  • LT
    March 1, 2008 at 7:34 am

    For the cookies (w/ varying serving sizes):
    8 cookies: 216 kcal
    9: 192
    10: 173 kcal

  • KC
    March 1, 2008 at 12:57 pm

    I know many of you are vegetarians, but maybe someone can help me with my chicken, please.

    I had about 5 chicken breasts in the freezer that i wanted to seperate so I defrosted them in the refrigerator just until I could get them apart. Is it safe to refreeze the ones I don’t use again, or do I have to cook them all now?

    Thanks for your help!

  • jenna
    March 1, 2008 at 1:07 pm

    Kc-

    NO! It is def. not safe to refreeze your chicken..or anything for that matter. Once you defrost that birdie you gotta eat it within 3-5 days, reasonably. You can cook them all then freeze the finished dish, but not the already thawed out meat.

  • Liz
    March 1, 2008 at 2:41 pm

    Those tofu “nuggets” look absolutely delicious! I try to eat a fairly meat free diet too. Unfortunately, I am not as “good” as you, but I feel you should try to eat meat free meals as often as possible.

    I wanted to see if you have any advice about blogging. After having disordered eating for a number of years, I am working on making some healthy changes. I am trying to exercise and follow a healthy diet. But most importantly, I am learning to love my body and not make food the enemy. I curious how to get more regular readers of my blog. Your blog seems to have a great reader base.

    Thanks in advance for any advice. Your blog and lifestyle is truly inspiring!

  • Liz
    March 1, 2008 at 2:43 pm

    In case you want to check out my blog it is: newbeginnings24.blogspot.com

    Thanks! Have a great weekend!

  • KC
    March 1, 2008 at 3:39 pm

    Thank you Jenna!!

    You probably just saved my life, or at least me from being sick :o(