manchicken here…

Now I must confess that I totally jacked this recpie from a combination of a video I saw on MercyForAnimals.org and the buffalo wings recipe I saw on the back of the bottle of Louisianna Hot Sauce, but it’s totally awesome.  My wife and I thoroughly enjoy this recipe.

So here’s a recipe that I like, it’s a buffalo tempeh sandwich.  It’s a little spicy but it’s much more savory than spicy.

Here’s what you need:

• 1 package of tempeh
• 2 tablespoons of dairy-free margarine
• 1/4 cup of hot sauce (I like louisianna hot sauce for this)
• Your favorite sandwich bread (when I make nice sandwiches I like to make my own bread for it, but kaiser rolls and stuff like that work, too)
• 1 tomato, sliced for sandwiches
• enough romaine lettuce to make sandwiches with
• Veganaise or other vegan-friendly mayo
• Enough oil to fry in, I usually just fill the skillet until the oil is about a half inch deep.

Now comes the cooking.  But first, this dish puts up a lot of spice smoke that can make you cough, so make sure you’ve got a well-ventilated area and you’ve got your fan going.

1. Melt your butter, and wisk it into your hot sauce, and put those in a bowl that’s big enough to marinade your tempeh in.
2. Cut your tempeh into pieces about the size of two of your fingers (1 just one of mine, haha)
3. Stick the tempeh in the bowl with the hot sauce and margarine and shake it up a bit, let it sit for like 5 to 10 minutes.
4. Heat your skillet before you put anything in it.  Remember that hot oil always goes into a hot pan, and that cold food always goes into hot oil.  That’ll help your food from mushing, and it’ll help your food from sticking to your pan.
5. Take the marinaded tempeh and put it into the hot oil, let it fry for 3 minutes before touching it, or it may fall apart.  Once the first 3 minutes is up, try turning it over.  Cook the tempeh until it is brown all over, then sit the cooked strips on a paper towel to drain all the oil off.
6. Make your sandwiches, and enjoy.

Tempeh, while it sounds weird, is actually really good.  It’s really crunchy and it has a really cool nutty flavor that I just can’t get enough of.  I like to grill it and fry it and bake it.

I hope you enjoyed this recipe, please comment with any suggestions or modifications.  I’m always looking to improve my recipes.

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So, some of you are aware of my recent move to veganism, but not many of you have been able to keep up with how my cooking has changed as a result.  This is just a taste of what I’ve been cooking lately, and it is my first real try at tofu as well.  Please note that I got this recipe from http://www.vegweb.com

If the word “tofu” puts you off, please know that I’m not a huge tofu fan myself, but this dish is worth a try, and it’s super simple, and super-cheap.

Here’s what you need:

• 1 package soft silken tofu (be sure that it’s the soft silken tofu or your consistency will be off)
• 1 bag (10oz) of vegan-friendly semi-sweet chocolate chips (carob can work)
• 3tbsp maple syrup
• 1.5 cups your favorite berries or sliced fruit

First, using a double-boiler (I don’t have a double-boiler, so I use a small sauce pot inside of a wok) melt the entire bag of chocolate chips.  Once the chips start melting, stir in the maple syrup.

Take the tofu, pour the excess liquid out and plop it into your blender.  Blend the tofu until it has a smooth yogurt-like consistency.  Then, pour in your chocolate chip mix and blend until well-mixed and smooth.

Cool the mousse, serve with berries or fruit.  Serves between four to six.  This is very rich and very filling.

This recipe is outstanding, I really enjoy it, and it’s just such a tasty treat that is good for you and is 100% cruelty free.

If you’re curious about what it means to be vegan, please check out this goveg.com article and if you’e like to know why my family and I are vegan, please check out this article from vegan outreach.

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So those of you who know of my old huge 17″ HP laptop, I have some news.  My sister-in-law graduated highschool this past year, and she’s going to college (I know, so exciting!), so my wife and I have gifted her with the wonderful HP happy that has served me so well.  This laptop is well travelled, well used, and well loved.  I’m sure it will serve her well.

Not only does she get this laptop, but I gave it to her pre-loaded with Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron, and she’s loving it.  She has never used GNU/Linux or any Free Software in the past, and I was delighted to see how fast she picked it up.

My in-laws are now considering a switch to Ubuntu GNU/Linux as a result.  This is all very exciting.  Anyway, I’m not dead yet, just super busy.  Don’t forget to check out my photo gallery at http://www.manchicken.com/gallery, and if you’re of the Vegan persuasion and you live near central Illinois, check out http://vegan.manchicken.com for some upcoming news on possible activities in this area.

Later.

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So I’m going to be hosting a barbecue with a changed up fare in hopes to encourage folks to vote for a change.  If a lazy bearded geek from Central Illinois can host a barbecue, can’t you?

If you’re crazy like me and you’d like to barbecue pizza it’s pretty simple.  You’ve gotta find a good crust recipe (I’ve got my own which I may post in another recipe topic) and then you just bake the dough about half way.  You have to use sliced mozarella cheese instead of shreaded because the shredded stuff falls off too easy on the grill.  Then you just put your crusts on the grill, sauce it (I like a 1 part olive oil, three parts Sweet Vidalia Onion Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce for a BBQ’ed pizza sauce), and then cheese and top.  Remember to use a veggie grill tray (normal grill slats are too far apart for this one) and always make sure to use pam for grilling or just brush a little olive oil.  I prefer to grill over a wood fire, and I control the heat with a water squirt bottle.

With Obama as our candidate–and hopefully our President–we’ll see a lot of positive changes.  With pizza on the barbecue hopefully you’ll notice a tasty change in your taste for pizza.

Barack Obama 2008!

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So this is a quick treat that my wife and I really have grown to love.  It is born out of my love for all things stir-fried, and all things pasta.  This goes great with some suntea and a good book.  Don’t forget to use organic ingredients when possible.

Yield: 2 servings

What you need:

1. 1/2 package refrigerated linguini, I like the kind with basil in it.
2. 5 leaves basil, finely chopped
3. 1/3 cup (about 79ml) finely chopped salad mushrooms
4. 1 small tomato cut into small cubes
5. 3 cloves garlic
6. 2tbsp (about 30ml) extra virgin olive oil
7. 1/4 cup (about 59ml) fresh shredded parmesan cheese
8. salt and pepper to taste

First you get your pasta nice and hot, and ready for frying.

Heat your skillet to medium-high, add oil.  When the oil is hot, add your garlic and basil.  When garlic is lightly browned, add your pasta.  Cook with pasta in for about 45 seconds, mix the garlic and mushrooms in well.

Remove the fried mixture from the heat, and toss the pasta with the tomatoes.  Serve with parmesan cheese and salt and pepper to taste.

This recipe is super-simple, and it’s just so darn tasty.  Everything’s fresh, everything’s mild and flavorful.  You could also try this with a fresh drained salsa instead of tomatoes to add some spice to it.

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So, I’ve been looking for a story I saw on WCIA 3 news (my local CBS affiliate) about a group of veterans who are bullying a school in which students recited the pledge of allegiance in Spanish.  In my searching–I couldn’t find the story itself, sorry–I found many links to ImmigrationWatchdog.com, so I decided to take a peek at their site.

Wow, there’s some nasty racist crap on that site.  This site seems to assume that all Hispanics that commit crimes are not legally in the United States.  They also seem–at least to me–to imply that all Hispanics are here illegally and are here with the express intent to commit crimes.

I encourage you to take a peek at their site and witness how ignorant these people are.  This is a site where a state representative who stopped another representative who ignorantly referred to Hispanics as “illiterate peasants” by bringing the gavel down on him is labelled a “traitor.”  Mind you, the racist moron who called Hispanics “illiterate peasants” was not referring to illegal immigrants, but rather was referring to Mexicans in general.  The Colorado assembly was considering a bill that would help immigrant workers obtain temporary work visas from the feds in order to help a work shortage that the state was suffering.  This was a racist moron making a racist, hate-filled statement.  ImmigrationWatchdog.com is passing this jackass Douglas Bruce as some sort of speaker of truth.

This site is simply shameful.  Any real issues that exist are best handled by folks other than this group.

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So, I’ve recently noticed that kungfooguru has been posting recipes on his blog, and I thought I’d start posting some of my other grilling recipes.  This one is one that I am a big fan of because it’s vegetarian, it’s delicious, it’s simple, and it’s cheap as cheap can be.

Here are your ingredients (I’m very picky, you can adjust to your level of pickyness):

• Plain foccacia or other dry bread (enough for about 6 sandwiches)
• 1/2 cup (about 120ml) extra virgin olive oil
• Two vine-ripened tomatoes (preferably organic), sliced to about 1/2 inch (about 1.3cm) slices
• 1 cup (about 240ml) shredded or 6 slices of mozzarella
• 1 medium onion, sliced to about 1/2 inch (about 1.3cm) slices
• 3 tbsp (about 45ml) coarsely chopped fresh basil
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise (the real stuff, or vegan alternative, not Miracle Whip)
• Salt & pepper to taste

Note: with your bread, do not choose one of the greasy oily tomato foccacias, remember, this bread has to be able to withstand a slathering of olive oil and then grilling.

Yield: 6 sandwiches

Instructions:

For the sauce, you’ll take the mayo and one of the three tablespoons of chopped basil and just stir it together until the mayo takes on a bit of a green tinge.  If you’re using a dried basil the green won’t form, so just stir until it mixes.  Fresh basil will actually release oils and juices into the mayo which is just outstanding.  Add salt and pepper to the mayo to taste.

For the grill, get a medium fire going, and ensure that your grill grate is clean and lightly oiled.  Since the bread will take the longest to cook, let’s do it first.  Slice your bread in half (if necessary) and then lather the cut sides of the bread with olive oil.  Place the bread oil-side down onto the grill and let it sit there until it’s toasted and crispy.

Once the bread is done, oil the onion slices–careful not to separate the rings–and grill them for about 45 seconds on each side.  Then take your tomato slices, oil them, and grill them about 30 seconds on each side.

Assembling your sandwiches, put a thin layer of mayo on, put on tomato slices, and separate the onion slices into rings and put a nice layer of onion slices on.  Then sprinkle the further two tablespoons of basil over the sandwich.  Now, careful not to load too much on, sprinkle the cheese over your sandwiches and close them up.

To finish your sandwich, place it on the grill for about 30 seconds to a minute until the cheese is melted.

There you go.  There’s manchicken’s grilled veggie sandwiches.  I’d also encourage you to try other veggies on there.  I’ve been known to put bell peppers, artichokes, squash, zuccini, and even asparagus on these sandwiches.  You could also try sticking a tablespoon into the mayo mix if you like a good BBQ sauce.

Enjoy!

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So I just now had a comment on an ancient post from someone who has stated that the constitution makes the United States of America the greatest country in the world.  I’d just like to take issue with that for a moment, and point out some of the flaws that are so apparent in this ignorant opinion.

First, how does a piece of paper make a country great?  The constitution is nothing more than a piece of paper with words written on it.  Mind you it’s a very old piece of paper, and there’s a lot of history behind it, but when it’s all said and done it’s just a piece of paper with a framework for government written on it.

A piece of paper doesn’t make anything great… it’s the people in the United States that make it great.  We’ve got some good people here.  I’ve met many of them, they do exist.  The people who make this country great may follow, enforce, and protect the constitution, and sure they may believe in the political ideals that the consitution presents and appreciate the framework that it lays out, but if the constitution were to burn these people would still be capable of making this country great.

Second, I take extreme issue with this horsecrap notion that the U.S. is somehow the best country in the world.  You’d have to have the intellect of a three-year-old to assert such nonsense.  There are so many holes in that sort of thinking that I don’t have time to address them.  The most obvious one being how do you rank countries in an order from least great to most great?  What measure would you use?  Money?  Military might? Population?  Largest square footage?  It’s something that I don’t really think can be measured.

What’s the purpose of someone trying to rank their home country as the best country?  I see it as the same mentality as a 13-year-old cheerleader who shouts across the pep rally that she’s got school spirit.  It’s great to have school spirit, but that doesn’t mean you go out there and piss all over the other schools because you think you’re better than them.  You can’t use it as a justification for why and/or how you’re better than them.  There’s really no need for us to label a country as the best country in the world.  And there are certainly times at which the U.S. is very far from the greatest country indeed.  There have been very dark days in U.S. history, and we’ve got a checked past just like everybody else.

Third, I’ve been to a handful of other countries.  I’ve seen Spain, Mexico, and Canada first hand.  That’s nowhere near the whole world, I know, but you don’t have to see the whole world to know that there are other very nice places in this world to live.  Seville Spain is very nice, a bit hot for me, but the people there are just very laid back and the city is very attractive.  Mexico has some of the sweetest people that I’ve ever met in my life.  Canada, while they export only the worst of their media–thanks a lot for Degrassi, my little sister tortured me with that show for years–they’ve got some very interesting culture.  They care a lot about their people and the world in general.

I’ve also had the delight of meeting several excellent people from all over the world.  I’ve met a great guy from India named Nigel who works hard, learns fast, and laughs easy.  I’ve met Tonio from France who is very passionate about pretty much everything, but is very thoughtful about what he does.  I’ve met John from Scotland who is a little quiet but always knows how to make folks laugh.  I have a great pair of buddies named Carlos and Eddie who are from Chicago but who have strong family ties to Mexico and are some of the most fun people I’ve ever met.  Then there’s Sarah from Australia, Sebastian–I think he’s from Denmark–and so many other people who deserve honorable mentions here but I can’t remember them all.

I am an American who lives in a small town.  I was born here, I’m raising my family here, and I’ll probably be buried here… but I don’t for a second buy this lie that the United States of America is in any way better than every other country on the planet.  There are just too many countries in the world with too many awesome people for any single country to hold that title.  Maybe if we pass it around and share the title then we can go for it, but it’s not exclusive to any one country.  The USA does not have a monopoly on freedom, on honesty, on decency, or on greatness.  The USA is one of a great number of nice places to live on planet Earth.

When a country gives itself a title like the greatest country, it pushes the rest of the world down.  The rest of the world exists too.  They’re out there, I’ve seen some of it.  What we do here affects them, and what they do out there affects us.  Globalization isn’t happening… it’s already happened.  God made us all, and God gave us all the potential for greatness.

God bless the World.

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So thanks to this pissing contest between Microsoft and Google, several good friends of mine back at Performics/DoubleClick have been laid off.  It’s nice to know that the world’s richest companies thrive on getting richer by laying off 30% of their workforce when there’s no solid business reason for doing so.

Fuck Google.

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Somebody wrote a song that has a surprisingly familiar title.  Here it is (sorry, they disabled embedding):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-EFXWmkeAk

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