We all have our comfort foods: peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, butter pecan ice cream, mac and cheese...
The foods that take us to our happy place are often connected to memory; of moments with family, close friends, and lovers; of good times well spent.
Textures and flavors vary, but they all have the same goal.
I've noticed that as vegetarian food has evolved, so has it's ability to get our favorite foods right on. Or, at least as close to right on as you can get with a meat analog.
Last night I had dinner at Imhotep in Crown Heights, where ordering a small plate ($7.50) gets you a free 12oz carrot juice.
As I enjoyed a generous helping of okra, plaintain, potatoes, and chickpeas, I was reminded of how the simplest foods resonate the most. I also noticed that their large plate, for just $1.50 more, is enough to feed two people well.
Soul Food, which I've been referring to lately as Slave Food, has morphed from survival rations to haute cuisine. Brooklyn could use a little more vegetarian soul food, especially now that Amy Ruth's is set to take over the old Gage & Tollner haunt. (You'll have to Google it as I'm not encouraging dishes named after Al Sharpton and Ludacris!)
The following recipe is from Throwin' Down Vegetarian Style!.
While I noticed that this book isn't for me (I'd have to make many a modification due to my soy sensitivity and anti-mock meat stance), it certainly works well for the transitioning vegetarian or the vegfoodie longing for a taste of home.
I do like that the authors include space for you to input your modifications to the recipes, encouraging you to make them your own.
Honey Corn Bread
1 cup yellow corn meal
1 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup soy milk
1/4 cup oil (a light oil, such as Canola)
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 1/2 tablespoons honey
Butter or Margarine
8x8 baking pan
Muffin tin and paper liners (optional if making corn muffins)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease the pan or muffin tin, or fill tin with paper liners.
In a large bowl, mix together the corn meal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a separate small bowl, mix the soy milk, oil, water, and corn starch. Combine the contents of each bowl and stir well. Add the honey and mix together again. Let sit for 3-4 minutes for maximum crown on the muffins.
Pour the mixture into the pan or muffin tin. If making cornbread, bake for 22-25 minutes. If making muffins, bake for 15-20 minutes. Be careful not to let the bread burn. It is ready when a fork inserted in the middle comes out clean.
After they are done and still warm, top with butter or margarine.
Make 12 servings.
Try adding some fresh bluebeeries to the mix for a delicious variation!
The third person to e-mail me with their ultimate comfort food will get this book.
In case anyone cares, my favorite comfort food is a bowl of hot salty and buttered(gasp!)grits. Which incidentally, is corn.
Shoutout to Martin, who just happened to be apartment hunting when he walked into Imhotep, our 3rd "chance" meeting since I've been planning this event. He's got some kind of veggie radar honing in on me as all the places we've run into each other i the past 3 weeks have been at veg spots.
Big shoutout to Olivia Lane, craft diva and my newest Bed-Stuy Buddy, who also stopped by Imhotep and disproved my theory about elitist, spoiled, SuperVegans. For the time being, anyway.
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2 comments:
My partner swears we've been to Imhotep together before. I have no memory of such a visit. I know I've passed it on the bus many times and often seen adds for the place, thinking "I should go in one day" noting that it's not far from my place. I just never had occasion to cross over Atlantic Avenue by foot--that is until BGV's Monday event.
I'm glad I dropped in. The grocery store section was really clean, spacious, and well-organized. There weren't too many things in the store. Which I like. I like to keep things simple when I shop. Still, they managed to have lots of exotic mock meats, like ox tails. Yum! (Not kidding. My mom used to stew this for me when I was a kid.) The only negative is that the prices were a little rich for my blood, but I'm a poor cheap bastard.
We got to the dining section a little late in the day, so we couldn't choose from everything. Still, Jessica and I shared a small plate and both felt content. The free carrot juice was exceptional in it's tastiness and ability to refresh, and normally I think carrot juice is boring. Good work Imhotep!
Organizer Melissa was a pleasure to hang out with too. I'm glad to have a new friend in Brooklyn. I'm really excited about BVSNY.
I forgot to mention that Melissa gently peer pressured me into sampling a Bumble Bar. A few years back I tried the original flavor and totally wrote them off, so I was surprised by how yummy the Chai flavor is. So yummy, that I've stolen Jessica's sample! Heh heh!
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