comfort foods

September 11, 2005

http://origin.www.vegcooking.com/comfortfoods.asp?int=weekly_enews

Mapping Out the Best Comfort Foods in America

Nearly all American cuisine comes from a melting pot of ethnic recipes infused with regional ingredients and cooking techniques. No matter where you call home, nothing is more comforting than a down-home meal of comfort foods! Ready for a menu that spans the United States? Then help yourself to the best comfort foods from around the country.

New EnglandCovering everything from the wood-frame houses and white church steeples in the quaint towns of Connecticut to the lighthouse-studded, craggy coastline of Maine, New England is home to some of America's most famous historical events. It was here where icons of the American Revolution blazed a trail from colonialism to independence. Another enduring legacy of this area is its top-notch colleges and universities, including Harvard, Yale, Brown, Dartmouth, and Wesleyan. Known for their signature chowders and corn-based meals, which are a result of early Native American influences, these Yanks know how to cook up some "wicked" good eats. Nothing beats waking up to a heaping stack of Johnny cakes on a crisp, cool morning or warming up with a hot "cupachowda" and blueberry slump—a concoction of hot fruit and dumplings—on a blustery New England afternoon. For clam-free chowder that'll make you as happy as a clam saved from a soup bowl and for Johnny cakes and blueberry slump that our founding fathers would've liked to have gotten their forks into, check out our vegan takes on these New England classics.

Corn Chowder

Johnny Cakes

Blueberry Slump

The MidwestWelcome to America's Breadbasket, where "amber waves of grain" are predominant in the farmlands and fertile soil of the block of states, stretching from Ohio to the Dakotas. The Midwest has been considered the cultural crossroads of America since the early 1800s, when people from all over Europe—attracted by the area's bountiful harvest and the Mississippi River—settled there. Chicago, the hub of the Heartland, is the third-largest city in the nation. Influenced by the ethnic cooking of early Scandinavian, Dutch, and German settlers, at the heart of every generously portioned Midwest dinner is a simple stick-to-your ribs recipe, with no fancy or exotic seasonings. Take a hearty and humane helping of our vegan versions of three classic Midwestern meals: pasties, macaroni and "cheese," and apple dumplings.

Pasties

Vegan Mac & Cheese

Apple Dumplings

The SouthY'all know you're in the South by the humidity in the air and the sweet tea on your table! The South is one of the most colorful and distinctive regions in the country. Plantations proliferated in the Old South before the Civil War, but the new South's mainstay is manufacturing. Nowadays, the cotton isn't the only thing high—high-rise buildings soar in the skylines of major cities such as Atlanta and Little Rock, Arkansas. Traditional Southern cooking is an amalgam of tried and true recipes of Native Americans, African slaves, and subsistence farmers who all learned from one another to use native ingredients in creative ways. If you're fixin' to cook up some yummy vegan vittles, then get down with our down-home recipes for hushpuppies that'll have you howling, "chicken" and dumplings that'll make you crow, and shoofly pie that'll give your taste buds wings.

Hushpuppies

'Chicken' and Dumplings

Shoofly Pie

Fried "Chicken"

The SouthwestWith its arid atmosphere and magical landscape of deserts and starkly beautiful, open spaces, the Southwest, which comprises Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas, is one of America's unique treasures. Because parts of this region were obtained from Mexico following the Mexican-American War, much of the Southwest's culture is derived from its Mexican heritage. Many Native American tribes, such as the Navajo, Hopi, Zuni, and Apache, call this area home, and their influences can also be seen in everything from the food to the art and culture. Common ingredients in Southwestern cuisine, which is a combination of Spanish, Mexican, and Native American dishes, include chilies, tortillas, tomatoes, red pepper, cumin, and cinnamon. For a signature Southwestern feast featuring this region's traditional flavors, chow down on our carne-free chili and our vegan version of buñuelos—a Mexican Christmas treat made of fried, sweet tortillas topped with sugar and cinnamon.

Flaming Firehouse Chili

Buñuelos

The Pacific NorthwestThe Pacific Northwest, which includes Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, is renowned for rainy days, laid-back living, lush green forests, and breathtaking mountain ranges such as the Cascades and the Rockies. Lewis and Clark discovered this region, and after some wheeling and dealing with the United Kingdom, it became part of the United States in the late 1800s. Although big cities such as Portland and Seattle started out as seaports, they have now become major technological and industrial centers as well. The sea, which has always played a major part in the life and culture of the Pacific Northwest, has also had a big influence on regional food favorites. Shepherd's pie, a traditional British dish, in which the ingredients of the "pie" are covered with a blanket of baked mashed potatoes; sailor skillet bread, a slightly sweet treat baked in a hot skillet; and creamy chocolate bread pudding with rum sauce are enduring favorites of seafaring folks. Set the course—and your table—for these vegan versions that are sure to "shiver yer timbers."

Shepherd's Pie

Sailor Skillet Bread

Chocolate Bread Pudding With Rum Sauce