Greetings from the Land of Dial-up

My parents are still on dial-up Internet service. I don't think of myself as an impatient man, but dial-up is enough to make you want to throw your monitor out the window waiting for that bleedin' progress bar to inch its way across the screen. That means I can't post any photos right now.

I made the Cranberry Glazed Tofu for the members of family who were at my parent's house on Christmas Day. It was a smashing success. My grandmother looked at it warily, and said something to the effect of "what the heck is this?,"but gobbled it right down and enjoyed it. I made crispy tofu this time (instead of baking it) to save time and oven space, and it opened up a discussion about how close the texture was to those chicken balls they serve at Chinese restaurants. I will chalk this recipe up in the "win" column.

On Boxing Day the whole family was here and I made the Holiday Stew for the vegans among us. We ran out of chick peas so I used cubed extra firm tofu that had been thawed and frozen. It worked really well. The meat-eaters had roast beef, which, quite frankly, was disgusting. The smell of cooking flesh and fat was bad enough, but the sight of sliced, bloody meat affected me more than I thought it would. The stew was really tasty, though.

My Mom has been catering to our needs all week, and we love her for it. She made a vegan Swedish Tea Ring for Christmas morning, which turned out way more tender and tasty than mine. Ah, the mother's touch . . . . She also made Chickpea Pot Pie with a mashed sweet potato topping instead of crust, which is a great low-fat option.

Thanks to all for the D.C. restaurant recommendations! I will bring my camera and blog from the road.