almond fried "chicken" for v day.

Nothing is more romantic than fried food. Nothing!

And hey, don't you just love out of focus food pictures?



Ken and I don't usually go out for Valentine's Day. Not because we're not sappy in love, but because we both have some mild anti-social tendencies that make crowded restaurants a less than pleasurable experience. We'll go out for dinner on Monday, when everything is back to normal. So we made fried "chicken", mashed potatoes and gravy last night! But before I launch into how awesome the breading on this vegan chicken is, I have to tell you about the collard greens that we did not eat.

I'm no stranger to cooking greens, so I was especially weirded out by this experience. We had a nice, big bundle of collards from our weekly CSA, and they looked like they were in great shape. They appeared fresh and green, with few bug spots. I cleaned them well, then chopped them and tossed them in with some veggie broth and a bit of oil to cook down. After about ten minutes, the most foul smell came wafting through the kitchen. It was coming from the greens pot! The smell was seriously rancid, like we were boiling sweaty socks. We had to get rid of that crap immediately. The broth I used was some concentrated stock from Trader Joe's that I have used many times. They come in individual 1 cup packs, so it was unopened before I used it.

....so I ask you folks. WTF happened?! Why did my seemingly beautiful collards turn nasty? has anyone had this happened before?

Luckily, the "chicken" was so good, that it almost made up for the lack of greens. I cannot recommend this breading enough. I used it on the May Wah Wings, but it would be just as awesome on tofu, tempeh, asparagus, cauliflower, or anything else you can think of to bread and fry. If you don't want the extra fat of frying, try it baked.

Best Almond Breading Ever

1 cup unsalted, roasted almonds, ground in a food processor
1/4 cup flour (I used WW Pastry)
1 Tbsp smoked paprika
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
3/4 cup unsweetened soy milk
2 Tbsp brown mustard

You will need two bowls, one for the wet ingredients and one for the dry. In the dry bowl, use a fork to mix together the ground almonds, flour, paprika, salt, and garlic powder. In the wet bowl, whisk together the soy milk and mustard.
If frying: make sure your oil and skillet are nice and hot. Take one piece of food that you are breading, and quickly dip it in the wet ingredients. Then dip it in the dry ingredients, coating completely. Transfer immediately to the hot skillet. Repeat with each piece.
If baking: lightly spray a baking sheet with spray oil. Take one piece of food that you are breading, and quickly dip it in the wet ingredients. Then dip it in the dry ingredients, coating completely. Transfer immediately to the baking sheet. Repeat with each piece. Lightly spray the top of the food with the spray, then bake at 400f for about fifteen minutes until browned on the bottom. Flip pieces, then bake until the other side is browned.

Try it, you'll like it!