another vegan triumph

so tonight was my first attempt at risotto and i have two confessions to make up front. the first is that it wasn't really a true risotto as i used orzo instead of rice. the second is that i cannibalized the recipe from my favorite food blog, VeganDad. soul-bearing out of the way, i must say that it was awesome. i took some liberties in the preparation that i think make it sing.

my version:

1C orzo
2t olive oil
1/4 diced onion
2T nutritional yeast
1 clove garlic minced
2T butter (vegan butter)
2.5C vegetable broth (hot)
1/4t dried thyme (1/2t fresh)
1C red wine (i used Yellowtail Merlot)
handful of broccoli florets (blanched)

1. boil orzo in salted water for about 5 minutes. strain. reserve.
2. saute onion and garlic in olive oil until they just begin to brown.
3. add butter and orzo, coat thoroughly.
4. stir in wine and thyme over low/med heat until completely absorbed.
5. add one ladle of hot broth, stir continuously until absorbed. repeat until orzo is al dente.
6. add nutritional yeast, broccoli, and a splash more of the wine. cook 5-10 more minutes.
7. salt/pepper to taste. eat. grin smugly. gloat when possible.

it was so good. i'd happily put it up against anything you'd find in a restaurant, vegan or non. it was well worth the toil and i just wish you could have had some.

~thorns

**really...it was THAT good

in a vegan pickle

DVR = digital video recorder. device which records pre-selected offerings from our Direct TV service and saves them for endless frittering away of time that i should spend doing something productive. the thing'll hold a lot but, as with any storage system, old stuff needs to be cleared to make way for new. it's this task that i've grown exceptionally good at of late (and she says i never clean...ha!) and when i have my "cleaning" sessions, it's usually a show about food.

as any foodie will tell you, there is the normal pedestrian cooking drivel (rachel ray, sandra lee, guy fieri, etc.) and there are the standouts who haven't sacrificed their culinary integrity for the machine. these culinarians, namely jamie oliver and gordon ramsay, whose shows i have been watching, exhibit simultaneously complementing and contrasting elements (like any successful dish) and have re-ignited my love of and quest for gastronomical knowledge. gordon's curt and abrasive language and demanding kitchen codeare the perfect foil for jamie's endearing common english brogue and laid-back rustic cooking style.

now comes the pickle (pun fully intended). i've long wanted to go to some kind of culinary school and am feeling that tug pretty strongly now. my problem is that i'll surely have to renounce my vegan ways to follow the curriculum at any traditional school and actualize my dream of having my own restaurant. **yes i know i could open a vegan restaurant (and would LOVE to) but to work my way up to that level, i'm certain i'll have to do my time in non-vegan kitchens** in the immortal words of pooh, "oh, bother."

i'm constantly reading cookbooks, poring over various media on gastronomy, and collecting ideas for a vegan SLOW food place (on-premise/locally grown produce, international menu selections, composting, all organic food, etc) but i can scarcely get around the fact that i'll have to walk a non-vegan path to get there.

what say you? please share your thoughts. send a link to this post to your foodie friends and ask them to weigh in. in the meantime, if you want to expand YOUR vegan cooking repertoire, check out a couple of my other favorite blogs, Vegan Dad and Everyday Dish.

cheers,

~thorns