Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Veganism is the new tastes like chicken

Veganism is the new tastes like chicken was in the vanity card from an episode of the Big Bang Theory earlier this season. I still think it's funny...and totally appropriate for tonight's dinner.

I know there are two camps of vegans. The ones who are grossed out by the mere mention of fake meat and the others who wish everything tasted like bacon. I think you know what brand of vegan I am. So, if you're tired of eggplant Parmesan and want some chicken Parmesan that tastes like chicken parm I highly recommend trying some Gardein Tuscan breasts. No joke. Tastes like chicken. I assure you, no chickens were harmed in the making of this dinner.

I topped my Tuscan breast with some cheezly mozzarella that I had shredded and frozen for just such a needs-to-be-topped-with-cheese occasion. You can't really tell from the photo, but the cheezly isn't exactly "melted" but it is soft and melty. This was good since it stayed on top of the Tuscan breast and even got a little browned on top. The pasta is a nice dried Italian pasta. Worth the extra few bucks. Homemade sauce and the topping on the spaghetti is a mix of pine nuts and nutritional yeast. It's really quite yummy.

10 comments:

Sindy said...

I'm one of those "getting away from fake meat, but secretly loving it" vegans. Your meal looks divine!

Amanda said...

what a great idea to freeze the shredded Cheezly. Looks delicious..I really like the Gardein stuff too..the pulled "pork" went really well in some traditional new england recipes that wouldn't have worked otherwise. But I do have to do a doubletake sometimes with the stuff, it's that close!

For the Love of Guava said...

what about the always wants the fakes meats and then stuffs in mouth, makes a funny face at mr. guava, and looks desperately for a napkin vegans?! Eek... damn my being weirded out by texture!! I think I've seen that brand and Mr. GUava's gotten the bites... yes in fact I do remember that meal I spent it spooning out chicken bites from my curry on to surrounding plates :)

disabled account said...

a friend of mine was telling me about this stuff the other day. he said his whole, non-veg family admitted that if they hadn't been told it wasn't chicken they never would've guessed.

Gina said...

I LOVE the gardein chik'n cutlets. I have no shame about liking fake meats.

How do you like cheezly compared to daiya and teese? I don't really like them (I do like FYH), and I had heard in the past that cheezly was good, btu wondering if its in the same camp.

Bianca said...

I'm of the "love faux meat" camp, and I'm totally diggin' that plate. I'm been off processed food for 21 days now on this cleanse and I'm craving the tender mouthfeel of a fake chicken patty. Only five more days...sigh.

Karene said...

The faux stuff has pretty much disappeared from my menus these days... it's the cost as well as the texture, plus there are things in there that I'm not too sure about.
I like to make my own faux fare... like nootch and sesame seed sprinkles and faux feta...

Allison, The Busy (Happy!) Vegan said...

As much as I love the idea of getting away from processed veggie meats, when I'm in a rush, they fit the bill. I've actually had these gardein patties, and I like them a lot, but I find the sauce it's marinated in a bit runny. Serving it with rice helps, though... soaks it all up, and tastes good, too!

Jen Treehugger said...

Wish I could get my hands on some fake chicken - sounds and looks YUMMERS!

River - The Crafty Kook said...

Gardein stuff is yummy! I just tried the chick'n scallopini for the first time last week. There were only two choices, chick'n scallopini or the marinara filled thingies. Next time I'll have to try that one. Your whole plate looks so scrummy! *drool*