CONCORD, N.H. — Traditional Southern cooking doesn't bring to mind a bountiful harvest of vegetarian-friendly foods. Even the names (think chicken-fried steak) sound hostile to fans of animal-free fare.
And that's exactly why food writer Ann Jackson put together her snappy little cookbooks that give Southern cooking the animal- and dairy-free treatment: to prove that taste and tradition need not be tossed with the meat and cheese.
Jackson's books, "Heart of the Home" and "Cookin' Southern: Vegetarian Style" (both Book Publishing Co., 2000), are as much fun to read as the food is good to eat and easy to make.
Packed with recipes that satisfy even the heartiest appetite for down-home American cooking, the books rely on recognizable ingredients and are good at explaining the few unusual ones (such as miso and kuzu) Jackson slips in.
Jammed between the recipes are healthy doses of advice that range from the sassy (how to cook dinner while fighting with your spouse) to the oddly serious (how to make bread crumbs using crackers, a paper bag and a car wheel).
There is some recipe overlap between the books. "Cookin' Southern" contains most of "Heart of the Home," plus a few more, but lacks the humorous illustrations and strange wit that makes "Heart" a great read as well as a good cookbook.
"What if the oven blows up in your face? This can be hectic," Jackson writes in "Heart of the Home." "This is also the reason that good cooks have an aloe vera plant around the house."
For a meal about as Southern as it gets, try Jackson's tofu chicken-fried steak, which she says goes well with anything from biscuits to butter beans.
Substituting tofu that has been frozen and thawed (to toughen it to a steak-like consistency) for the beef not only helps this dish shed its animal products but also dramatically reduces its cholesterol and fat.
Be sure to use extra-firm tofu for this dish. To toughen it, place the entire container, unopened, in the freezer overnight. Allow it to thaw slowly in the refrigerator, then drain in a mesh strainer and pat dry with paper towels.
TOFU CHICKEN-FRIED STEAK
(Preparation 20 minutes, not counting freezing and thawing time for tofu)
1 pound extra-firm tofu, cut into 3/4-inch slices
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup tamari (or soy sauce)
3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon hot sesame oil
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons white flour
3 tablespoons sesame seeds
3 tablespoons bread crumbs
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
Oil for frying (try sesame or peanut)
Press each slice of tofu between paper towels to ensure as much water as possible has been drained. Lay the slices in a glass baking dish.
In a small bowl, mix water, tamari, both sesame oils and mustard. Pour over the tofu, cover and allow to marinate for one hour at room temperature, or longer in the refrigerator.
In a wide, shallow bowl, combine the flour, sesame seeds, bread crumbs and yeast flakes. Dredge the slices of tofu through the dry mixture until thoroughly coated.
Heat 1 inch of oil. To know when the oil is ready, touch the end of a wooden chopstick or spoon to the surface of the oil. If the oil bubbles, it is hot enough.
Fry each slice of tofu until golden brown on both sides. Don't fry more than one or two slices at a time as this will lower the temperature of the oil. Tofu can be drained on paper towels after frying to absorb excess oil. Makes 4 servings. From "Cookin' Southern" by Ann Jackson, Book Publishing Company, 2000, $12.95.
There also is a healthy remake of corn dodgers, a type of biscuit made with corn flour. Traditional recipes call for shortening and milk, but Jackson gives an equally good version without them.
"These are a must with vegetable soup, also collards, or any greens," she writes. "This recipe probably has not changed a lick since a pioneer woman wrapped up a couple of pones and a few apples for her man to take to the field with him."
Though Jackson's recipe calls for buttermilk, there is an easy vegan substitution. For each cup of buttermilk, use 1 cup of soy or rice milk and 1 teaspoon of cider vinegar.
OLD TIME CORN DODGERS
(Preparation 20 minutes)
2 1/4 cups white cornmeal
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil (corn oil also could be used), plus more for frying
1 cup buttermilk
Combine cornmeal, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl and mix well to combine. Make a well in the flour mixture and add oil and buttermilk, then mix well.
Coat a large skillet with oil and heat over a medium-high flame. Put large spoonfuls of the mixture in the skillet and fry until brown on the bottom. Flip and repeat.
Serving numbers vary by size of dodgers. The recipe for Old Time Corn Dodgers is from "Heart of the Home" by Ann Jackson, Book Publishing Company, 2000, $14.99.