(I wish.  But I do figure him for the open minded type - Jorge, the actor, has given love to Sweet & Sara marshmallows on his blog!)

Mr. Cluck’s Outback Roaster Tofu, served with grilled asparagus, since it’s in season in Australia*.

Up to date on LOST?  In case you freakishly haven’t seen this yet, check out the Mr. Cluck’s commercial from Comic Con 2009, featuring Mr. Cluck’s Outback Roaster Chicken, the inspiration for this meal.  As soon as I saw the commercial (just last week, what THE HELL WAS WRONG WITH ME?!?), I knew I wanted to make a vegan version, for fun.  To literally feed my obsession.

I assure you, fellow LOST fans reading this, that it pains me that I didn’t have more time to serve with a side of mashed potatoes, corn, and diced pineapple on top.  I’m leaving for vacation tonight! Alas!

Anyway, here’s what I made:

Mr. Cluck’s Outback Roaster Tofu or Seitan, a Veganized, Copycat, Obsessed Recipe

Ingredients:

• One pound block of drained, sliced tofu, or large slices of seitan.
• 1 cup of beer (preferably not pale; I used Session Black lager – yes, it’s vegan!)
• 1.5 tablespoons agave nectar
• 1.5 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
• 1 clove of garlic, sliced
• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
• extremely generous pinch of freshly ground pepper
• pinch of sea salt or seasoned salt
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

Directions:

• Whisk all ingredients together, being careful not to make a mess with beer foam, unless you want to.
• Marinate the tofu and/or seitan for a few hours, preferably overnight.  Now, I grilled mine on a cast iron grill pan because I don’t have fancy grilling instruments for that oven roasting effect the commercial alludes to.
• I misted my grill pan with oil, turned to medium heat, opened my window, and grilled on both sides 4-5 minutes for those dark lines.
• I splashed with more sauce 3 minutes in, on each side.
• Serve with vegetables, sprinkled with more pepper, a slice of lemon, and enjoy!
• Smile and think of winning the lottery with sheer luck.

Seitan variation:

I tried out a seitan and tofu variation, both marinated overnight in a sweet, seasoned beer-based sauce.  My friend Maeve, the girl who still swoons over Boone, voted tofu.  I originally figured seitan would hope up better against the sauce, since it’s more chicken-on-the-barbie type.  I think Boone would probably agree with Maeve.

Sauce

Mr. Cluck’s Likes Tofu!!

Image Credit: The Hatch on Zazzle

*not a fact

Political Hummus Creation and Image Credit: Sabra Hummus and Kirk Rademaker

Actually, I simply don’t have an accompanying photo for this recipe, and I googled “hummus monster” and the hummus John McCain turned up, and I went from there.

Onto the dip!

I first made this Yellow Curry &  Squash Hummus on a whim for a I LOVE 2002! party last month.  I was already making Smoked Paprika Hummus from The Urban Vegan, had more chickpeas, and beans dips are easy, inexpensive party food. You can go classic, or you can go creative.  My brain went…..remember a week or two ago when you made Yellow Curry Squash soup?  Let’s work with those flavors and add chickpeas!  You’re out of tahini anyway so use you have to use peanut butter.  And it happened.

I decided to make it again and play with the recipe for the refreshments table at my presentation on Local & Vegan Eating at the library recently because a) it’s fairly creative b) party food for a crowd! and c) hummus is SO vegan.  I easily subbed mashed sweet potato for the squash on round #2, since I had it on hand.

Yellow Curry & Butternut Squash (or Sweet Potato) Hummus

(aka what would happen if you pureed yellow curry with chickpeas)

Serves: Many!

Ingredients:

• 4 cups of rinsed chickpeas (canned or cooked)
• 1/2 peanut butter OR 1/4 cup tahini + 1/4 cup peanuts
• 1.5 cups roasted sweet squash (or sweet potato – roasted or canned)
• 2 heaping teaspoons yellow curry paste (I use local Thai & True brand, also available from Food Fight! online)
• 5 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 tablespoon – 1 tablespoon ginger (if you like more, use more)
• 1-2 teaspoons of Sambal Oelek or other heat source (crushed red pepper, hot sauce, etc.)
• 1/4 water or coconut milk
• 1/4 cup tamari (you can obviously sub soy sauce, but this keeps it gluten free)
• 3 tablespoons peanut oil
• juice of one lemon
• 1 teaspoon agave or brown sugar
• pinch of dried basil, or a few leaves of fresh basil
• optional: 2 tablespoons flaked coconut (especially if you’re not using the coconut milk)
• generous pinch of freshly ground pepper
• dash paprika
• Dipping instruments, such as pita bread, tortilla chips or crudites

Directions:

1. Puree oil, chickpeas, peanut butter or tahini and peanuts, and garlic in a food processor or blender, until smooth.  Use a spatula to wipe down the sides a couple times.
2. Add everything else, blend well!
3. Transfer to serving bowl and garnish.

Garnish: Toasted sesame seeds, diced fresh basil

Garnish, if you’re not me: sliced green onions, cilantro

Remnants:

And one more thing - Crossant with chocolate chips from Back to Eden Bakery & Boutique =

Out of this World, Vegan Awesome.