...Vegan Super Bowl Snacks...

...did y'all watch the Super Bowl last night...

...we did...

...I've been to a few Super Bowl parties...and I mostly socialized the entire time...oh...yeah...and ate...because I wasn't really interested in the game...

...none of us are really football fans around here...but we decided to watch...(along with everyone else in Charlotte)...

...and so...of course...we needed some snacks...tradition calls for Hot Wings...Ranch...and celery...

...so the first thing I did was to slice my tofu and put it into the freezer...freezing tofu changes it's texture, making it a little bit more chewy...and since I'd be frying this tofu...I didn't want to have a crispy outside and a mushy inside...

...next, I made some mayonnaise...I just didn't have any on hand...and it's really easy to make with the little immersion blender...

...gathered and measured ingredients...

...put it all into the cup of my immersion blender...

...and blended it up...

...you can just tell when it's the right consistency...

...I love this with the avocado subbed for part of the oil...it's yummy...and a little bit green...

...then I searched the internet for another (yes...yet another Ranch Dressing recipe)...and I found one at Top Secret Recipes...

...and they had this interesting little story about the dressing...

"Indeed, ranch dressing was invented at Hidden Valley Ranch near Santa Barbara, California, by a real salad-wranglin' rancher. In the '50s and '60s Steve Henson and his wife, Gayle, shared their 120-acre dude ranch with University of California at Santa Barbara students and other festive partiers for rousing weekend shindigs. The dozens of guests were served meals of steaks and salads topped with Steve's special blend of herbs, spices, mayonnaise and buttermilk. As word got out about the fabulous dressing more guests were showing up at the ranch and walking home with complimentary take-home jars filled with the stuff. "

...so I copied the recipe into my binder...(not sure why the photo is sideways...it doesn't look that way to me)...

...gathered and measured again...

...and whipped up some of that too...and put it in the fridge to chill...

...and then I sliced the tofu into strips...and coated it in cornstarch...

...and fried it up...

...until it was golden and crispy...

...mixed some Frank's Red Hot with some Earth Balance...

...microwaved the Earth Balance for a few seconds and then mixed in the hot sauce...

...about 1/4 cup of each...now I'm not very brave when it comes to hot/spicy foods...so this is sort of a mild-ish ratio...

...and drizzled that over the crispy strips...

...and put them in the oven for a bit to crisp back up...

...and served it with the Vegan Hidden Valley Ranch dressing...and celery sticks...

...I also drank part of a beer...also traditional Super Bowl food/drink...just not my favorite...it does go pretty well with the spicy tofu though...

...these Buffalo Tofu Strips were delicious...and I'll definitely make them again...I think they'd also be really good on a sandwich...

...needless to say the Panthers did not win...but you kinda still have to be happy for the other team...

...did you watch the Super Bowl...and what did you eat?

~Wishing you a lovely start to your week!