Boy, do I love Pittsburgh! One of my favorite things about Pittsburgh is the abundance of artist/hippy types here! And, of course, with that comes AWESOME public radio AND great natural food stores! Unfortunately the co-op was lacking some essential ingredients for my meal today so I had to improvise! But...on the good side....WYEP is doing an all-day thing on the white album Nov. 25 in celebration of its 40th "birthday". How awesome is THAT? Also awesome: I managed to snag a Steelers jersey for FIVE BUCKS at the thrift store! Crazy! I'll be turning it into a mini dress soon. Maybe I'll do that tomorrow....

So onto the recipes!

For my side dish I had Roasted Cauliflower in Indian BBQ Sauce from epicurious.com

Unfortunately, they were out of fresh ginger at the co-op and I came home to find my garlic cloves had molded *yuk* and to top it off, I didn't have cumin! So I had to improvise. I used powdered ginger and garlic and threw in a dash of cloves and chili powder for good measure. I have to say this is one of my favorite recipes ever. I usually roast the cauliflower a little extra to get it crispier! Also...if you try this one, I recommend putting the sauce on it right before you serve it because if you put it on and then have left overs they get soggy. Also reheat them in the oven and they taste better.

Now for my own personal recipe: cruelty-free curry chicken salad

ingredients:
1 1/2 cups TVP (i did 1 cup tvp, 1/2 cup big tvp chunks)
1 1/4 cups veggie broth
1/4 cup apple juice
1/2-1 cup veganaise (I use like 1/2 cup but I dont like my salad too saucy)
2 tablespoons curry powder (or more to taste)
one whole apple, diced
1 cup seedless red grapes, halved
1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley

optional: dried cranberries, raisins, pears, scallions or red onion, spinach

non-vegan option: if you're not vegan, try doing half veganaise and half plain yoghurt! The tangy flavor of the yoghurt is really nice.

Put TVP in a pot and top it with the veggie broth and apple juice and simmer until all the liquid is absorbed. if you're using tvp AND the big tvp chunks, add the chunks first and let them go for a minute or two before adding the other tvp.

Dice the apple and half the grapes (the co-op was out of grapes so I used craisins...yum!), chop your parsley, onions, pears, or whatever else you've added and throw it into a bowl and mix it up. Once the tvp has cooled down, add that into the mix and mix it all up! Now add your veganaise...start small and add more to taste. I really don't think you need a ton of it for this salad because it has so many flavors already happening!

Once everything is coated in veganaise, add the curry powder and salt and pepper to taste. Try adding a dash of cumin or chili powder, or a little bit of apple juice. This makes enough for 4-6 servings. Eat it on a bed of spinach or on pita or naan! Let it sit for a few hours before you serve it and it'll taste better, too.