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!