The Great Tofurky Experiment

So, the nutritionists say the poultry is a bad thing for me because it’s pro-inflammatory. They told me to eat more soy and seafood. Seafood didn’t seem right for Christmas dinner, but there’s something in the health food stores called “Tofurky.” It’s kind of fun to say but I was a little wary of trying it. Feaux vegetarian meats have been a kind of scary thing, though they’ve been getting better the last 15 years as “vegetarianism” has hit the modern grocery store instead of just in hidden health food stores.

Anyway, so this Christmas, I decided to go for the whole Tofurky affair. I found a whole dinner at Wild Oats. According to the box:

A Delicious Vegetarian Feast

Feast Includes a Tender, Juicy Stuffed Tofu Roast, 8 Delicious Cranberry-Apple, Potato Dumplings, Rich Tofurky “Giblet” & Mushroom Gravy, and Our Signature Tofurky Jurky Wishstix

I made a Tofurky Baste of 3 tablespoons olive oil and 1 tablespoon soy sauce, which is one of the suggestions on the box. I added mushroom slices and broccoli florets.

While the Tofurky was cooking, an actual wild Turkey wandered through my backyard. You won’t see any photos however, because when I ran to grab my camera, it disappeared. I can only assume though that it must have thought my backyard was the safest on the block for a turkey to be.

As the Tofurky was nearing the end of it’s baking in the oven, I got out the dumplings and gravy and prepared to start their preparations. Don’t they look yummy in their frozen form?

The Tofurky came out of the oven and the broccoli and mushrooms were definitely over-cooked.

I also bought this extra stuffing because you can’t ever have enough stuffing. I microwaved it.

Here’s the dumplings in the first part of their preparation — 4 minutes at a low-boil. Mmmmmmm. I guess this is to get the frozen out of them.

Then they get sautèd in a pan.

The gravy looks better when it isn’t in the shape of the plastic container it came in.

And the stuffing microwaves pretty well.

Here’s a lovely plate of it all put together. My one regret is no fresh green beans and no cranberry sauce.

So, I know what you really want to know. How did it all taste. Well, the Tofurky actually had a turkey-kind of texture (I’m big on food texture) rather than a tofu texture and it tasted more like turkey and tofu. I was quite pleased and relieved. The potato cranberry dumplings were awesome. The gravy was good and the stuffing was excellent. All in all, I’d get the dinner again. I’d even serve it to unsuspecting strangers. Even Pugly cleaned the remnants of my plate clean.
And the real plus, while I feel full, I don’t feel unnaturally sleepy.

tags: Tofurky, vegetarian, Christmas, dinner, nutrition, fibromyalgia, cooking

2 comments

1. on December 25, 2006 at 10:19 pm

   Ken said:

   You didn’t mention anything about the wishstix.

   Everyone says a Lucky Break Wishbone is the way to go.

2. on December 26, 2006 at 7:12 am

   n. mallory said:

   Being the only one in the house without paws, I thought it would be an unfair challenge. Besides, the cats would just try to lick it and the dog would just eat it.

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