Ode to "Meatballs": I give you The Tripper

When I made this concoction, I just didn't care. Really. I was ravenously hungry, the kids were whining about something, and I just wanted everyone to shut up and eat. I wasn't thinking about the classic 1979 wonder known as"Meatballs" with Bill Murray. No way. If you don't know about this epic summer camp comedy classic, shame on you.

As I ate this, I kept hearing the words from his motivational speech to Camp North Star run laps in my brain, and I thought--he's right. It just doesn't matter.

I guess my point is, one doesn't have to have mad fancypants culinary skills at every single meal. You can be a perfectly happy vegan throwing a bunch of shit together and slapping it on some bread. Omni's do it all the time. It is how magical sammies are made, really.

I'm calling this one "The Tripper" after Bill Murray's character in the movie. You take some wheatballs from RR's Vegan On The Cheap, brown them in a skillet with a little brags n' vegan worc. sauce and set aside. Toast a cibatta roll or slices of cibatta bread and slather it with a sauce made of 1/3 vegan parm, 2/3 vegan mayo, black pepper, two cloves of garlic, and some Ms. Dash. I'm pretty sure I used chard on this one, but spinach, arugula, or any kind of leaf lettuce will make this work because it just doesn't matter. It just doesn't matter. It just doesn't...

I'm souper, thanks for asking.

I can't sit around and eat sandwiches all day, can I? Well, of course I can. I just need to leave some room for soup. One of the directors at work brought in a soup cookbook that had several vegan soup recipes. I really wish I had remembered the name of the book. Soup is in the title. Good luck finding it.

Anyway, this recipe tugged at my inner curious George because it had an odd combination of flavors: potatoes, arugula, apples, and it was all topped with some toasted walnuts. I've never had cooked arugula before, it always looks kind of gross.

This was a nice change of pace from the traditional Fall staple of squash soup or chili. Very comforting, the potatoes dance with the apples and they invite the arugula for a little swingin' if you know what I mean. Cooked arugula isn't as strong, and you've probably guessed it is one of my new favorite greens. I have a nice sized patch in my front yard and I've been harvesting from it for a month, with no signs of slowing down.

Does anyone have a good recipe for falafel that uses garbanzo flour instead of whole cooked beans?

Now back to sammiches...

It always happens--I need a 48 hour blogging detox after MOFO. I've tried to avoid it, I just can't. Thanks for your patience.

Hey y'all, with all that MOFO-ing going on, have you missed hearing me plug Celine and Tami's sandwich cookbook? Good. Here's one that is perfect for breakfast or snacking. Hell, I eat at any time of the day. These are the tempeh bacon and apple turnovers with pomegranate dipping sauce. Say that three times really fast. You can't? Oh yeah--drool tends to block one from a good tongue twister.
Savory smoky tempeh bacon, apples, and pomegranate will make your mouth extremely happy.

So good, you'll defy gravity! See how that works? I never thought commercial puff pastry would be vegan, but there you go! When you're all done eating your dinner, don't forget to make a little something from Isa and Terry's new pie cookbook!