Vegan soul food pictured here, only I don't now that there was a lot of soul put into this plate. I was angry this day for reasons I won't spend time naming in this particular post, but it showed in my food. Yes, the food was still tasty and Bear loved it, but I knew better. I selected this particular soul food dish to show you that times are changing int he culinary world and now anything can be turned into a vegan dish, and two I wanted to talk about soul food and how emotional food/cooking is in general. Don't worry, there will be a post up soon with an actual recipe attached to it to show you how to make every single thing on the plate.
When we talk about soul food, we think of slow cooking on a Sunday that started before church and ended by the time you got home. We are talking about extra butters and creams, a pinch more sugar than normal and by the time the food is done everything is falling off the bone tender and juicy. They call it soul because you are literally putting everything you have into the dishes you are preparing, and you cook with feeling. Soul food is an experience not just a meal, which is why I say food is so emotional. THAT is what soul food is. People should get a taste of who you are with every bite they take. Now when the average person who doesn't know any better hears the word vegan they automatically assume that literally means just eating leaves or kale and air and water LMAO! That couldn't be furthest thing from the truth.
Vegan is bypassing anything that is made from an animal, such as dairy which derives from the milk of a cow, or actually eating meat and so forth. A vegan diet is completely plant-based but don't let the word PLANT mislead you into thinking that it's disgusting because I am here to tell you first hand that it is not. A few months ago before I really discovered how good everything vegan actually is I experimented with this soul food dinner vegan style. Let's jump right in!
The macaroni and cheese was a vegan boxed macaroni and cheese that I found at sprouts. I now know how to make vegan mac from scratch and I will NEVER make mac and cheese with those shells ever again, not my personal preference and they felt very child like to me. The broccoli I just steamed with minced garlic plus salt/pepper. The yams pictured I took a sweet potato, washed and peeled it, then diced it up. I put it in the oven on 350 for about 30 minutes with some butter, cinnamon and brown sugar until they were extremely tender to my liking. The cornbread was a vegan recipe that I found on Pinterest and it came out okay, it was a bit dry but I've created a new recipe for it. The "chicken" element of the dish, is actually extra firm tofu that was fired as though I was frying fried chicken. texture wise the tofu "chicken" was spot on, but I really didn't care for the batter which is why I came up with a new and approved one.
I can't wait to share the new and improved vegan soul food Sunday dinner with you guys. I just wanted to share this post so that you could see the journey and transition. I also wanted to raise awareness on how POSSIBLE it is to make vegan soul food. Until next time,
With Love & Food,
-Chef Morghan