Tuesday, November 6 Irish Stew with Seitan (Appetite for Reduction) and Beer Bread (Happy Herbivore) Rating: 4.25

Election Day! It was rainy and chilly here in Atlanta on Election Day and we were both glad we’d voted early so we didn’t have to be out in the weather. Although, our polling place is literally right next door and there wasn’t a line. Whatever. We were home in the warm & dry watching the relentless coverage on TV. I love this stew recipe and sort of wait around all summer for it to get cold enough to make it. I made a fresh batch of seitan (Veganomicon recipe is my go-to for plain seitan) on Monday after dinner so I was all set. The AFR stew calls for Yukon gold potatoes, but had a few purple potatoes on hand so I decided to use those ; I knew there weren’t quite enough of them though so I grabbed a small Yukon to use too. The purple worked out well, but admittedly looked a bit odd. Normally I use a pale ale (like our favorite local beer Sweetwater 420) in the stew, but I decided to use a Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ Ale instead. I prefer the pale ale – I think the other was a little too bitter for my taste. Seth liked it though. We love to dip fresh bread in stew, so I baked a loaf of Happy Herbivore beer bread (it’s a quick bread so no rising time). It’s best warm & fresh from the oven, smeared with some vegan butter & dipped in your stew or soup.