Monday, May 25, 2009

Veggie Family Dinner

My parents and I were off work for Memorial Day, and I've been anxious to try my mom's latest cultinary discovery (soaking okra in beer before frying). So it seemed like the perfect time for her to feed me! I invited myself over for dinner (they live an hour away) and she cooked up an amazing meatless feast. Here's my plate:

There's fried cabbage (the best I've ever had ... seriously, my mom is a bad ass cook), deep-fried squash and deep-fried okra (both soaked in beer before dredging in a cornmeal/flour mixture), black-eyed peas, corn seasoned with loads of Earth Balance, a whole wheat dinner roll, and a slice of fresh tomato.

I couldn't fit the macaroni and tomatoes onto my plate, but she made that too. Here's the serving dish:

This was such a delicious meal. Even my dad didn't miss the meat! We're all huge fans of deep-fried veggies, but my mom and dad are pretty health-conscious these days. So this was a special treat. I promise to work out extra hard tomorrow to make up for all the fat I consumed tonight.

24 comments:

jd said...

Yummy dinner!

Can you believe I've never had okra before?!

BTW, all of that fried food looks dangerously good...

Unknown said...

The squash looks wonderful! My mouth is watering looking at them.

VeganCowGirl said...

Looks so good - okra is awesome - going to give it a try with some of these Belgian beers that everyone raves about (I HATE beer - but Okra can make anything taste good!)

Your mom KICKS!

miss v said...

life is all about those little indulgences! that meal looks stinking awesome. that cabbage is drool-worthy!

brandi said...

fried cabbage?!? i'm one of those girls that can deep fry ANYTHING and i've never heard of that before.

Macie said...

That reminds me of so many dinners I had growing up! My mom hates okra and squash ... but deep fry it, and she's all over it. Yay for kick ass Moms!

Vegan_Noodle said...

Looks like the perfect vegan southern meal! I love it when my mom cooks for me too :-)

Leslie Richman said...

That looks sooo sooo good!

A_and_N said...

i also like deep fried/breaded okra!

And i also read your lentil bolognese sauce...we made a TVP bolognese recently that we plan to post sometime :) looks lovely! i love the way the lentils havent gone all mushy. great work :)

Amey said...

what a wonderful southern dinner. how fun that we both put up "family dinner" posts! :)

I really love okra, but I haven't seen it in the market yet this year. I can't wait! I'd really love to grow okra... it's such a super beautiful plant.

yum!

J said...

I would have never thought to soak the okra in beer. I bet that WAS good. I think it is so cool that your family will make such yummy looking vegan goodies for you. I'd love to reach into my computer screen and grab that plate right now!

A said...

Your Mom is so sweet! What an awesome meal!
-A

Sophia said...

I love Okra but my boyfriend hates the slime factor, does deep-frying take care of the slime? Maybe then he would eat it. I've never had any of these deep-fried items, but they sound great!

Anonymous said...

Your plate looks fantastic! Your mother rules in the kitchen!

Veganissexy said...

How cool is your mom! What a great feast. I'd be all over that fried okra. I'm not even near the South or Southern food, but I'd die to try some real fried okra :)

Hello Veggie said...

Bianca! Your southern style veggie food looks like it was rockin!

jessy said...

ooooh, soaking okra in beer before frying – hellz yeah, Bianca! hooray for an amazing meatless feast! your plate of yummies looks super stellar, and fried cabbage?!? i’ve gotta find a recipe & try it out! very cool on treating yourselves to some fried yummies – it’s nice to indulge a little – and at least you weren’t deep frying oreo cookies or donuts or somethin’ way worse than veggies! ahahahhaaa!

Cyn said...

That all looks so delicious! I love okra but I've never had it fried. Your mom is awesome.

Lisa said...

what a spread! Your Mom's vegan food looks awesome.

Liz said...

Whoa. Are you sure my mom didn't cook that dinner? It's exactly what we used to eat after getting home from the farmer's market in TX. YUM! Okra soaked in beer before frying sounds like the best thing ever

Mike K said...

That dinner looks so good, and I can't wait to try soaking veggies in beer next time I'm doing some deep-frying - brilliant!

Margot said...

please tell us more about the fried cabbage!

April said...

I'm going to use beer instead of milk and eggs next time I make fried green tomatoes. It'll be like the best of Wisconsin meets my Southern roots.

Erin said...

Classic southern veggie plate! It all looks so good.