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Thursday, March 18, 2010

Un-Cheese, Un-Steak

Hey guys! Thanks for all your nice comments about our little cooking demo video in the last post. I think it's funny that some of y'all expected me to sound more Southern. I often get asked if I'm from "up North" because I talk fast and don't have much of a twang. I was actually born and raised in Arkansas, but when I was little, I was embarassed to be from the South. So I trained myself to lose the accent. These days, I'm sort of sad that I don't have one. Oh well ...

In other news, we have a winner in the Primal Strips giveaway! Miss V of Miss V's Vegan Cookbook was randomly chosen using Random.org. Congrats Miss V! And thanks to everyone who played!

Now onto the food. After months and months of wishing I had Dynise Balcavage's The Urban Vegan, I FINALLY broke down and ordered the book on Amazon. I'd been on a bit of a spending freeze since Christmas, so it was nice to finally blow money on myself again. The book is packed with delicious wholesome and exotic recipes (adapted from Dynise's world travels). But since Dynise is from Philly, I had to start with her Philly Portobello Cheese Steak:

Simple, yet delicious. Dynise's basic cheesesteak is made from diced portobello mushrooms and garlic, topped with Follow Your Heart vegan cheddar. After toasting the cheesy French bread in the oven, I zapped the whole thing in the microwave for 30 seconds for a little sexy meltiness. That's the only way I get sliced FYH to melt properly.

On the side, I made some Spicy Curried Sweet Potato Fries, another recipe for my cookbook:

I served 'em with some delicious Chef Allen's Mango Ketchup that I purchased in Asheville, North Carolina last summer. The ketchup has a hint of clove taste that was a perfect complement to the spicy-sweet tater fries.

19 comments:

  1. OH MY GAWWWWSSSH! That looks SO good! I love a good vegan cheesesteak and this one looks magnificent! YUM!

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  2. That looks great Bianca. I am making today some portobello mushrooms inside homemade calzons with monzarella cheese...i'll post them on my blog soon. Love the photos...great job!

    http://nuestracena-vegancuisine.blogspot.com

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  3. i want those sweet potato fries!

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  4. Holy orange! This all looks amazing! But why am I surprised, Miss Bianca?

    Be my personal chef??? :)

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  5. sweet gloriousness, that's some serious sexy meltines, fo 'sho! i need to get The Urban Vegan - and i need to get Vegan Brunch as well. there are just so many awesome vegan cookbooks out there - it's hard to keep up! :) those sweet potato fries have me drooling, and the mango ketchup sounds perfect, indeed.

    happy friday, Bianca - i hope you have one ridiculously awesome weekend!

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  6. Excellent idea on the Mango Ketchup with the Sweet Potato Fries!

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  7. ohh myyy, that sounds like such a wonderful meal! honestly portobellos are much better than meat any day (but maybe i'm a bit biased being vegan and all). i haven't tried follow your heart before, or any vegan cheese for that matter. what would you recommend? i'm a fan of nooch, personally.

    oh, and those sweet ps looks insanely delicious. i never thought of seasoning them that way!

    have a lovely day!
    xox

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  8. I was surprised you didn't have a southern accent, but I know what you mean about training yourself. Most people I meet here don't know I'm American, all about training the accent!
    That sammie looks good. I feel frustrated when cookbooks call for store-bought vegan cheese...mostly because I can't get them!

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  9. i truly enjoy all your writing choice, very interesting.
    don't quit as well as keep writing as a result it just very well worth to look through it,
    impatient to read a whole lot more of your web content, have a good day!

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  10. That sandwich looks AWESOME. Hollowed out bread ftw. I'd have to add some peppers and onions though!

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  11. Mango clove ketchup sounds amaaaaaazing, like something I would eat with a spoon straight from the jar.

    Funny about accents. My sisters both sound like wicked Maine-ahs, but I don't have the accent at all!

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  12. yay! i'm totally stoked! thanks for the hosting the giveaway!

    i haven't had philly cheeze steak since going vegan... but it's on my list of recipes to concoct.

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  13. I love a philly cheesesteak! The best one I ever had was at a tiny hole in the wall vegan sandwich shop in Seattle called Hillside Quickie. That sandwich was deadly, with vegenaise, creamy cheese sauce and sauted seitan and onions, but well worth it! This version looks great; I'll have to check out that cookbook. Thanks for sharing!

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  14. Holy cow that looks so delicious! THe ketchup sounds amazing.

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  15. Sweet potato fries look delicious!!!

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  16. looks great thanks. im mad about olive oil

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  17. Yum! I need to make one of those for my dad.

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  18. First, I'm new to veganism (literally made the decision last week) and those fries are on the top of my list of things to try. They look so good.

    Second, I am a life-long Memphian and have been asked several times from out-of-towners where I was from. Apparently, I don't have a "twang", as one guy from Boston put it. Thing is, both my parents and all my siblings have been born and raised in Memphis and none of us really have an accent in our day-to-day conversations (get us upset & you'll hear it). Most of the people I know don't really have thick accents. None of us made the decision to train our accent, we just never developed one. My dad thinks it's something to do w/ people from the city vs people from the country, but I don't think it matters.

    Anyway, off to explore the rest of your wonderful blog.

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