Friday, November 19, 2010

Vegan MoFo Day 19: If you invited the Countess Wachtmeister to Thanksgiving...




Should you decide to invite the Countess Wachtmeister to your vegan Thanksgiving potluck, the approved method of communication is chanting the Stanzas of Dzyan at midnight, under a bright moon, while brandishing fungi. If she hears you and accepts, she might cruise in from the astral plane bearing her Sweet Potato Curry in ectoplasmic hands.

Just in case you prefer making it yourself to summoning dead Countesses, here is the recipe, veganized from her Practical Vegetarian Cookery (1897):

Peel and cube two large sweet potatoes. As you can probably tell from the first photo, I used white-fleshed Japanese s.p.s. Melt 2 T vegan margarine in a large skillet and add the sweet potatoes and some curry powder (amount and intensity to suit yourself). If you avoid margarine, coconut oil would be a good substitute. Fry the potatoes on medium heat until they begin to brown and are half-cooked. Add 2 c vegetable broth, salt (if the broth is not already loaded with it), and black pepper. Simmer until the broth reduces and the potatoes are soft.

The results are quite pleasant in their simplicity, although I am sure you could jazz it up. I'm surprised the Countess did not encase this in pie crust (as she was wont to do with most foods), as it would make a lovely filling for a savory pie.

3 comments:

panda with cookie said...

Possibly the best post ever. I will be out brandishing my fungi tonight.

Anonymous said...

I'm still amazed that you dug up a vegetarian cookbook from 1897, and by a countess no less! I will gladly summon her.

Monique a.k.a. Mo said...

Ha! This is truly hilarious! LOVE!