Day 32 - Mushroom and Spinach Strata and Diner Home Fries

As I mentioned yesterday, my lovely and beautiful goddaughter Samantha is visiting for a special godparents weekend! Her godmother Patty Ben (aka my godwife) also lives in NYC, and since they were going to be spending the day together, I thought we should all start out with a vegan brunch!

Mushroom and Spinach Strata

Strata with no eggs is a funny concept, since I think eggs are really the star of a strata. This custard is made from the usual vegan suspects: tofu, mustard, lemon juice, etc., and I was curious to see if the substitution would work.

While I feel the results were mixed, the gals were decidedly in favor. I thought the herbs were a little overwhelming and that the sour notes (i.e. the lemon and mustard) in the custard dominated in a bad way. Also, because the custard doesn't have the same soaking abilities as egg, I thought the bread could have been cut into smaller pieces, since there were some big, dry-ish chunks in there.

But like I said, I was in the minority. Seconds were served to all, and the following morning, Sam even wanted leftovers! That says it all!

SFO: 9

(Clearly they're feeling a 10, but I'm feeling a 7 here, so I took an average.)

Diner Home Fries

Yup. That's exactly what these are! Just like diner home fries! I thought the potato slices were kind of big to start, but by the time these are done cooking, there's been a fair amount of crumbling away, and the finished product is nicely proportioned.

As you now know, I hate bell peppers, and Sam doesn't like potatoes, so these weren't particularly popular. But after I picked out all the peppers, I was very happy with the results.

SFO: 10

(Nothing to object to here. Unless you're Sam and I.)