Cookin' through Cookin' Crunk: sweet potato bread

I have to be honest, I was sure I wouldn't like this one.  I try so hard to like banana breads (which, despite the title, this is) but never do.  But I was determined to at least try this, with the assumption that I wouldn't like it and would take the rest of it in for my work potluck/bake sale.

The recipe calls for a ripe banana.  My banana was so ripe, it smelled like it might be about to start fermenting.  It was still good (as good as bananas can be), just really, really ripe.  So I was certain that the banana flavour would be so pronounced that I wouldn't be able to taste anything else.

Well.  I actually really like it.  I can still taste the banana, but the sweet potato and spices outshine the flavour.  I ate it with some margarine and cinnamon sugar.  Mike and I both liked it.  I don't know that I'd make it again, but we're gonna finish it ourselves!

Cookin' through Cookin' Crunk - creole steamed sausages

I spent about half of the weekend making these sausages.  Or so it seemed.

I started them Saturday evening.  I went through the tedious process of mashing beans by hand, threw everything together, mixed it up, and then realised that I didn't have any aluminum foil.  So I put the dough in the fridge.

I went out Sunday to buy foil, then came home and made the sausages.  Well, as I was trying to form the sausages, little (and not so little) bits of bean kept falling out, and they didn't really want to take shape.  I think I'm blaming the beans - I forgot that great northern beans are haricot beans here, not cannellini, so I got the wrong ones, and they were a bit tough.  But I finally got them into the foil, wrapped and steaming.

They turned out alright.  But here's the thing - they contain my herbal arch nemesis, thyme.  And because of the bean thing and the thyme, they kinda annoy me, texturally.  But they taste good!

They're seen here over rice in a sauce of garlic, shallots, red peppers, tomato sauce, chili powder, cumin, and paprika (I think).  This was a spur-of-the-moment, throw in what works type of sauce.  The tomato sauce was left over, the red pepper needed to be used, and I used the dregs of the frozen shallots and garlic.  And it turned out really good, so, hey.

So far, this has been probably my least favourite recipe because of the texture issues.  So I'll make these again with the right beans and maybe try to find a way around the thyme and report back, since I don't want to dismiss them because of what might have been my fault.

Cookin' through Cookin' Crunk - curried sweet tater fries

Oh man, I'm so used to only blogging during VeganMoFo that I almost went to find a MoFo banner to top my post!  Unfortunately I no longer have that to fall back on.

So, yeah, as most people who know me are aware, I usually only post during VeganMoFo.  But one of my 40 Before 40 goals is to cook through Bianca Phillips's book, Cookin' Crunk: Eatin' Vegan in the Dirty South (to give it its full title).  One reason is because I've never cooked every recipe in a cookbook before.  Another reason, which I may have mentioned already, is that it's like it was written for me - a book full of recipes for classic Southern dishes.

Today I made the Curried Sweet Tater Fries.  I bought one giant sweet potato instead of 2 normal-sized taters.  I baked instead of frying, which took a lot longer than I expected (about 90 minutes, I think).  I think I might not have had the heat up high enough.  We ate them with some Sainsbury's LoveVeg Indian spinach and lentil burgers and the tahini sauce in the book.

They came out a bit floppy, but Mike and I really liked them.  The sauce was the perfect accompaniment.  I left out the cayenne because I've become a bit of a spice wuss, but they could've used a touch of spice.  I should've thrown in a bit of chipotle powder.  Regardless, they were super tasty, and I could definitely see myself making them again.

I went to the farmers market today and bought green tomatoes, spaghetti squash, and loads of tofu.  I've already started marinating two blocks of tofu - one for Tofu Chicken and the other for Sweet and Spicy Tofu.  I'll fry the tomatoes and use them and the S&S tofu in the Fried Green Tomato sandwiches for my lunch tomorrow.  I'll use the spaghetti squash later in the week - it's a big bastard so I can probably get two dinners out of it.