First, I would like to apologize for having been so incredibly delinquent with my blog posts. I have in fact been making a few delicious things, however my computer crashed. This typically happens around finals (so convenient). Unfortunately, this time my computer didn't come back to life post-finals. So here we are. Hopefully my computer will be up and running again soon enough for me to show you all of the delicious things that I have planned for the Winter break.
For now I will let you all know how this past week has gone. As many of you may already know, I attempted going vegan. This lasted about three days, when my roommates said that if I didn't stop whining about missing cheese they would stuff macaroni down my throat. While I completely appreciate the vegan lifestyle (and some of the food) I just don't see myself choosing to live without cheese, meat, or eggs. Surprisingly, it was fairly easy to live without meat for three days. Unfortunately, being vegan means that you eat no animal or animal products. This includes butter. Wine is completely vegan :) so I totally believe that some people can do this.
Just after I gave up on my attempt to go vegan, we hit finals. Several nights were spent sipping a glass of Pinot Noir and enjoying a delicious albeit expensive meal while talking with one of my best friends, Maddie Williams.We made it through finals and managed to pull out better grades that were expected (WHOOP!). Since finals have ended, my bank account has been on the emptier end of the spectrum (probably all that wine). For that reason I decided not to spend money buying groceries when I have perfectly good food at home. Lucky for me, I had some delicious vegan options still available. After my first experience I was nervous to try this out again, but I am pleased to say that it turned out much better than expected.
For dinner on Monday night, I made Vegan "Chicken" Piccata with a Mushroom Rice thingy. I really don't know how to accurately described my rice concoction, being that it was from a bag, but it was delightful.
For the chicken piccata, I used gardein chick'n scallopini. Using these as opposed to chicken actually made this dish much easier to prepare. The "chicken" is already perfectly thin, so no pounding out the chicken. I was also able to transfer the still frozen "chicken" straight from the flour to the pan. To begin, I started boiling water and a little bit of margarine for my mushroom rice. While that was going I started heating a pan with a little bit of olive oil (very, very little in fact because the "chicken" will just soak it up if you use too much) on medium-high heat. As the pan heated I covered the still frozen "chicken" in a light layer of flour. This step is pretty typical of any piccata recipe. Then I sauteed my "chicken" in the olive oil for about two minutes on either side. Once I just started seeing a little bit of color on the "chicken" I removed them and immediately added minced garlic, capers, and white wine (Messina Hof, Pinot Grigio). I am convinced that using Pinot Grigio as opposed to my typical choice of white wine for this dish is what made it so delicious. After letting that cook down, I added a little bit of margarine and returned the "chicken" to the pan. During this whole process, I added a bag of Kroger brand Rice with Mushroom sauce to the boiling water and margarine. Turning down the heat, I allowed the rice to simmer while I finished the piccata.
The whole meal took about 15 minutes to prepare and let me just tell you, it was fantastic. At first I thought the rice/pasta/mushroom thing was nothing special, but I realized that I just couldn't stop eating it. The piccata was fabulous from the beginning. I know many people are skeptical about meat imitations, but I can honestly tell you that of all meats, chicken is the easiest to imitate. Though the "chicken" itself was nothing special, the sauce was perfect. Normally I add lemon, but I was out of lemon and I had already decided not to buy groceries. I think in this case the lemon would have been overpowering, so I'm glad I happened to not have any more on hand.
The meal was so good, in fact, that I had it again the next night. There was quite a bit of rice left over, and it reheats very well. The gardein scallopinis come in a pack of four so I merely had to pop on more in a pan with flour and add more wine. If I weren't totally out of rice at this point I might seriously consider making it for a third night this week. I have much more vegan options remaining so you can count on seeing more of these food options later. I am especially excited about a recipe I have for raw, vegan "lasagna".
Tomorrow, I leave for Frisco to spend the Holidays with family and friends. The girls of my family are planning on a girls night in, complete with chicken mclovin'. I can't wait to share the laughter, the wonderful food, and memories with everyone next week. Check back next week for pictures and recipes for this weekends adventures.
Happy Holidays :)
