Wednesday, September 9, 2009

A Sandwich is A Sandwich but...

Inspired by my post yesterday, I decided prepare a vegan variation on the classic Manwich meal.Substituting for ground beef, I used Yves' Meatless Ground - a staple in my kitchen (mostly as an ingredient in my Kick-Ass Vegan Chili). With no recipe on the can, I just followed my instincts and sauteed the ground soy in a little bit of canola oil for about 5 minutes.
As the "meat" browned in the skillet, I opened up the fresh can of Manwich sauce.
Interestingly, the ingredients are pretty wholesome, aside from the requisite High Fructose Corn Syrup. I wonder if real American sugar was used in the old days?
The sauce smelled exactly as I remembered from the 1970s. Salty, sweet, peppery tomato. Hopefully this can wasn't sitting on the shelf at Ralph's for 35 years.
After the "meat" was brown enough (It's not like it started out "raw"), I dumped the can of sauce over it and stirred up the "glop".
Well, it certainly looked and smelled how I remember Manwich looking and smelling. After about 10 minutes, the concoction seemed like it was ready to be served.
So, here it is - a vegan Sloppy Joe - newly dubbed a Veganwich. How did it taste? Um, kinda like ground soy product smothered in hot catsup. I wouldn't serve it to guests, but for a nice white trash comfort food type of thing, it would suffice. Next week: Hamburger Helper!

2 comments:

STEVEN MARKER said...

Very nice! Love the photos too.
We never really had Manwiches at my house, though we did have sloppy joes, which is the same thing, right?
I can't wait for your Hamburger Helper edition next week. We DID have that at my house. My favorite one included dehydrated potatoes. I'm amazed they still make it. AND advertise on TV in prime time. I guess it's still selling.
Keep up the good work.
Are you planning on preparing a vegan version of Hamburger Helper as well? I hope so.
Steven

Pax Romano said...

Dress it up with a side serving of Fritos and a big tall glass of Cherry Kool-Aid!