Vegan Chicken Fried Steak

I never thought I would see those words together in the title of today's lunch, and of course there's really no chicken or steak (heck, it's not even fried), but that's honestly the best name that I could come up with to describe this delicious food that came about as the result of a friend's idea. In case you haven't noticed, I have been obsessing here recently about locating the vegan Boca Chik'n Patties. They make a couple of different versions and one is vegan and one is not. My local grocer used to carry the vegan ones, but for some reason they switched and now carry the non-vegan ones. Well, I finally found a different store which carries the vegan ones and I stocked up this weekend. I ate a sandwich or two this weekend (with Vegenaise & pickles), and figured out something else really delicious to do with them sandwich-style, but I'll share that with you in another lunch. Right now, I have to tell you about this delicious creation.

This is, without a doubt, the most delicious vegan comfort food meal that I have ever had. First, I've got the Vegan Chicken Fried Steak, which is nothing but a vegan Boca Chik'n Patty covered with a delicious vegan brown gravy. This gravy is so good, and it's even fat free! The recipe is really easy, but I did spice mine up just a little bit by adding about 1/8 tsp. of garlic powder along with just a pinch of sage and thyme. It just boggles my mind that you can make gravy like this and it can taste so delicious and be fat-free. Of course, that just gives me all the justification I need to pour it on top of everything. When I first took a bite of this I couldn't believe it. It actually doesn't taste like a chicken patty with gravy on it, it actually tastes EXACTLY like those Salisbury Steaks that come in frozen dinners. Now, I know those things are nasty, and goodness knows what kind of "meat" they are made of, but back in my omnivore days I LOVED that stuff. I am so happy now that I've found a yummy vegan alternative to something that I always considered to be one of my top ten comfort foods. It tastes just like "the real thing" (whatever that means) but it is so much healthier. And the fact that it's cruelty-free, and devoid of any disgusting ingredients, just makes it taste that much better. Maybe it's just me, but I don't think I'm the only vegan who used to like stuff like this. If you used to enjoy food like this back in your omni days, I HIGHLY recommend you try this sometime. You won't believe how delicious this is.

I also brought along some standard side dishes that go with a meal like this. I've got some green beans, along with some homemade mashed potatoes covered with some more of that yummy brown gravy. The potatoes are just mashed up with some soy milk, some Earth Balance, a little vegan sour cream and then seasoned with some garlic salt & pepper. Delicious!

To top it off, I even got a wild hair and made some homemade rolls. This may sound funny, but to make rolls, I normally just use my old faithful favorite pizza crust recipe and add two packages of yeast instead of just one, and I add 3 Tbsp. of sugar. It makes awesome rolls. I think I ate four of these last night with melted Earth Balance all over them. It doesn't get much better than that.

This meal is basically vegan cafeteria food. Again, I may be the only one (but I doubt it), but I always loved going to cafeterias when I was an omnivore and dining on all of that meat loaf, country fried steak, vegetables, mashed potatoes & gravy and a basket full of homemade rolls. That's completely out of the question now, of course, but back before I became aware of how unhealthy that food was, and the amount of suffering and death that went into making it, I really did see it as comfort food, and that's exactly what it was to me. Once the curtain was lifted though, and I accepted where that food was coming from, it became obvious that I would never find any type of "comfort" in those foods again.

So imagine how happy I am now to have a vegan version of a meal like that sitting right in front of me. And actually, from what I do remember about the last meat-filled cafeteria meal that I had, I swear that THIS tastes better. Maybe it's just because I know it's vegan, maybe it's just because I used more spices than they probably do in a cafeteria. Who knows? Maybe it really IS better!?!?!?!

So if you're one of the vegans who would enjoy a meal like this (I realize not all vegans are into replicating meals like this) I really do recommend that you try it. This really was one of the best, and most comforting, vegan meals that I have had in a long time, maybe ever!

So I guess that does it for Monday. I am off to heat my lunch up in the microwave. I can't wait until all of the omnivores over in the break area smell this brown gravy and homemade bread heating up. I know they will be drooling. Just another chance for me to show people how delicious vegan food can be. I mean, honestly, even if you were a meat-eater, wouldn't you rather have this lunch instead of a nasty old bologna sandwich?

Gosh I can't wait to eat this...

Thanks for stopping by and I'll see everybody tomorrow!