Vegetarian Fish and Grits.

So, before we get to tonight’s meal, true confession time.

The recipe I had written down for tonight’s dinner was, in fact, “Shrimp and Grits.”  There it is, right there on my weekly planner, script as neat (or chickenscratch) as ever.  And that’s what I had in mind right up until the moment I opened the freezer and found not shrimp but, in fact, vegan fish sticks.  Which, I soon remembered, I’d purchased in lieu of the shrimp the last time I was at the grocery store, thinking I would give them a try and not remembering that I needed shrimp for an actual recipe for an actual dinner.

But never fear!  Fish and grits is another Southern favorite, and I myself am no stranger to it.  So fish and grits this meal became – no muss, no fuss.

I prepared the grits as the vegan fish baked, using almost the same recipe as I did when I debuted my vegan shrimp and grits a couple of months ago.  This time around, however, I made a couple of substitutions – Cajun seasoning for the salt, dairy cheese for the vegan version (because I had an open pouch of it from another recipe), and, finally, ketchup for the tomato sauce since I have other plans for the cans of sauce I’ve got in the cabinet right now.  The green chilies remained a mainstay, however, which was a wonderful way to add flavor and zing to the dish!

Within just a little while, the fish were baked and the grits were creamy, soft, and ready to eat.  All that was left to do was chow down!  I added a hunk (that’s the technical term) of baguette to the side for some more carby goodness and we got down to business!

Though this wasn’t quite the meal I’d planned for the evening, it was incredibly tasty and filling nonetheless.  This was the firt time I’d given the vegan fish sticks a try, and I really enjoyed both the flavor (seafoody without being too fishy) and texture (the perfect amount of flakiness and chewiness).  And I’m glad to have brought another Southern coastal meal into the vegetarian sphere along the way!

:)