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Tuesday, July 24, 2012

BBQ Ribs, Vegan-Style (and Cookbook News!!!)

I live in the land of barbecue. Meat-eating tourists make it a point to try some Memphis barbecue while they're in our fair city, and locals quibble over which off-the-beaten-path, hole-in-the-wall 'cue shop has the best wet or dry ribs. Well, I've never had Memphis barbecue, and I've lived here 10 years now. I was already a vegetarian when I moved here and soon after, I became vegan.

But that's okay. There's nothing remotely appetizing about stringy pig flesh covered in sauce, and the idea of eating anything off of a bone is vomitous. But I do love barbecue sauce, especially when it's slathered all over some tofu or seitan. That's why I got excited when I saw that July's recipe in the Happy Herbivore 2012 wall calendar was Seitan Ribs:


Look at those juicy seitan ribs all glistening in the afternoon sunlight. Awwww ... and they taste as delicious as they look. Like all HH recipes, this one was oil-free, and while I do love me some healthy oils, this dish really didn't need any. The baked seitan was chewy and tender and tangy and savory-sweet.

I enjoyed my ribs with a side of steamed squash and some of my Mama's Mac & Tomatoes:
 

This is a dish from my cookbook, which went to press this week, y'all! Cookin' Crunk will be in my hands (and hopefully in yours too) before I know it. Anyway, the dish is based on a side my mama made all the time when I was a kid. Fresh summer tomatoes are cooked down into a juicy broth and mixed with macaroni, olive oil, and a little fresh basil. The basil, by the way, was my addition. My mom kept it simple, and it's just as yummy without the herbs. By the way, my cookbook also includes a similar rib recipe, but it's for a dry-rub-style seitan rib.

Speaking of my cookbook, Amazon FINALLY added the cover image on the pre-order page. Check it out and get yours reserved now!


14 comments:

  1. Aaahh, I LOVE the cover!! Can't wait to see the book!

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  2. The cover looks so great! Congrats! I can't wait to get my hands on it.

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  3. Nice cover!!! How gluten free friendly is your cookbook? If its not just means I'll buy one for a vegan friend instead of myself! Regardless I'm 100% supporting you!

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  4. Congratulations! Your very own cookbook- how exciting!

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  5. First of all- I need to start using the word "vomitous", and second- I love BBQ sauce too! I swear you can put it on anything and it'll taste great! Sooo excited for your about the book!

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  6. Those ribs look so good! Congrats again on the book! The cover looks amazing! Such an exciting time for you! :)

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  7. Your cookbook cover looks awesome!!!! Can't wait for it to hit the stands! Congrats again!!

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  8. You are a rock star!!! I want that mac and tomatoes now!!! I can't wait to get my grubby paws on your book!!! (okay, enough exclamation points. you get the point) xo

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  9. I've lived in Memphis 5 years and never had bbq either! Vegetarian 5 years, baby vegan- still transitioning. I have pre ordered your book. Can't wait!

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  10. The cover looks really good. MMMM those ribs look so yummy. They look like these other vegan ribs I have made before.

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  11. Yumm on the ribs and mama's mac. Yeah for the cookbook, cover looks good.

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  12. As crazy as it sounds, I've been reading your blog pretty much religiously since a couple of months after you started it (I've even met you once at a Food Awareness thing a long time ago and see you around town sometimes), but I don't believe I've ever left a comment.

    I have literally been waiting for your damn cookbook to come out for years! I'm so excited. And impatient. The cover looks amazing! Can't wait to see the grub on the inside. (:

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  13. I CANNOT WAIT!!! So happy and excited for you! It's almost here!!! WOOOO!!!

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I live for your comments!! Seriously. I'm waiting right now for you to write something.