Coming to the South after living in Oregon for a year was the biggest culture shock I have ever experienced – and I lived in Paris for six months. My brother and I were in Oxford for a campus tour before I committed to transferring here from the University of Oregon.
Eugene, the location of UO, is exactly the way you’d think any Oregon city to be: a bunch of pot smoking, vegetarian hippies and hipsters riding bikes, shopping at thrift stores, recycling and composting like mad, etc. I like to embrace the habits of wherever I live, so I took a shot at vegetarianism, even though I had been raised a carnivorous Mexican for 18 years.
My trip to Oxford, as you can imagine, was very interesting and painfully difficult. My food options were limited to pasta with vegetables at just about every restaurant or waffles at BBB without a side of delicious, salty bacon or a slab of that infamous succulent ham. I committed to Ole Miss and committed to their eating habits. R.I.P to my vegetarian phase, but let’s be real here — I lived in the mecca of vegetarian culture and got the opportunity to enjoy commercialized and homemade vegetarian food that I intend to share with y’all, so I’m not a total monster.
I enjoy a cheeseburger as much as the next guy, but with all the rumors circulating the interwebs regarding processed meat and baby chickens being used for nuggets, I like to keep my meat intake to a minimum or to special occasions. There are plenty of yummy substitutes just as substantial and flavorful as meat, and I have some of my absolute favorites for you strong-willed Ole Miss vegetarians, or for anyone who is wanting to try something new.
The selection of meat substitutes (i.e, seitan, tempeh) is pretty weak here in Oxford, but tofu, soy chorizo, cauliflower, and an abundance of mushrooms all work great in filling you up and successfully mimicking that hearty texture everyone loves.
First up, I have a vegetarian take on my mom’s “tostadas de papas con chorizo.”
Papas is Spanish for potatoes, and everyone is free to enjoy those in whatever quantity they wish. Chorizo is a spicy Mexican sausage, traditionally made with pork or beef, but Cacique was brilliant enough to make soy chorizo for their non-meat-eating consumers. Tostadas are literally giant tortilla chips; instead of triangles, companies take a whole tortilla, fry it, then sell them by the dozen. I promise you cannot and will not miss them, especially at the supermarket. You’re welcome for the Spanish vocabulary lesson, but let’s get to the good stuff:
Tostadas de Papas con Chorizo
1 bag of tostadas
One 16 oz roll of soy chorizo (meat eaters- feel free to use the pork or beef chorizo)
4-5 good sized potatoes
1 can of refried beans (black, pinto, spicy, fat free, they all work)
Optional toppings:
Shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, sour cream, shredded Mexican cheese, and/or salsa
Fill a fairly large pot a little less than three-quarters of the way with water and set it on the stove to boil. You’ll want to wash your potatoes before you cut them into 1-inch pieces, and then you’ll add them to the water. Within 12-15 minutes (depending on your knife skills), they should be fork tender. If not, do not fret, but make sure to check on them every two minutes— otherwise, they’ll become mashed potatoes. While your potatoes are cooking, you will want to get started on rendering the fat from the chorizo in a medium sized pan. Don’t be alarmed, there will be a lot of grease. Once the protein firms up and gets some good color (it should not be the bright orange red it once was), you can dab some of the grease off with a paper towel. I say some because you do want some of that goodness for the potatoes to soak up once they are drained and cooked through. After you’ve combined the potatoes and chorizo, all you have left to do is heat up the refried beans in a small saucepan or even throw it in a microwave safe bowl for one to two minutes, depending on how well your microwave works. To assemble, spread a nice layer of refried beans on a tostada, then a healthy portion of the potato-chorizo mixture. You stop there if you’d like, but topping it with some shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, shredding Mexican blend cheese, a couple dollops of sour cream, and salsa takes it over the top.
Stuffed Bell Peppers
3-4 bell peppers (red for a sweeter flavor, green for bitter, and yellow if you want something in-between)
1 package of Microwave Spanish Rice
½ a bag of Morning Star Chik’n Strips (or whatever brand you’d prefer)
1 cup of shredded mozzarella
First, preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Cut the tops off the bell peppers — try not to cut off too much of the pepper. You might also need to cut the bottoms slightly so they will stand up better in a greased baking dish. Remove the seeds and ribs from the peppers. Next, follow the instructions on the microwavable rice package to cook the rice. Cube up the Chik’n strips while the rice is cooking, then combine with the cooked rice in a bowl. Now, take the rice and Chik’n, and fill those peppers almost to the top. You’ll want to leave room for that quarter cup of mozzarella that goes on top of the filling. Once that’s all set, place in the oven for 10-14 minutes, just until they’ve softened slightly. Finally, turn your oven to broil and do not leave the kitchen. Watch them for the next two minutes or until the cheese has become golden brown.
Cauliflower Bites
A head of cauliflower
1-2 cups of your favorite buffalo sauce
1 tbsp. of salt
Extra virgin olive oil to coat the cauliflower
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. First, remove anything green from the cauliflower head. Next, break off bite-sized florets and in an even layer, place on a baking dish (or two). Using your thumb to cover the opening of the olive oil, coat the cauliflower in some olive oil then sprinkle the salt evenly on the florets. Place in the oven for 20 minutes or until the cauliflower has browned. Depending on how saucy you prefer, toss the cauliflower with your favorite buffalo sauce, starting with half a cup. You can always add more, but too much and they’re ruined. Feel free to pair these with some bleu cheese dressing and celery sticks if that’s what you’re into.
Portobello Patties
2 portobello mushroom caps
½ c of all-purpose flour
½ c panko bread crumbs
2 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. onion powder
2 tsp. chili powder
2 tsp. of salt
1 egg, separated
2 tbsp. of water
Your favorite pan-frying oil (canola is a popular choice, and grapeseed oil also works well)
Burger buns
In a skillet, pour half an inch of oil and heat on medium-high. Now, create an assembly line for the dredging process of the portobello caps. You’ll want three dishes. One must be able to hold a liquid substance. In the first dish, add the flour and 1 teaspoon of each the garlic, onion, and chili powders along with 1 teaspoon of salt. In the middle, whisk the egg and egg white with the two tablespoons of water. Last dish will contain the panko bread crumbs with the remaining spices. You will want to start with the flour and end with the panko (dry, wet, dry). The oil should be hot at this point, so you’ll take the portobello cap (smooth side down) and place it in the oil, dropping it away from you in case the oil jumps. Two minutes on the first side and a little less on the second side and voila! Like chicken patties but better. I like to top mine with a leaf of lettuce, tomato round and a little bit of sriracha mayo (equal parts mayo to sriracha)!
All of these dishes pair the best with a cold beer. The tostada has no better complement than a Corona and lime. The others all work really well with an IPA—Lagunita’s Lil’ Sumpin’ Sumpin’ Ale is good and strong and my favorite. Don’t feel like boozing? Try an Arnold Palmer, but not the Arizona brand — it’s too sweet. Milo’s Lemonade and Gold Peak Unsweetened taste the best together and if you change your mind on the booze, Firefly has sweet tea vodka. Drink responsibly.
