Archive for October, 2011
Seitan Wrap w. Cashew Dill Sauce
Yeah this is the same picture from my last post. Sauces are hard to photograph on their own so I’m reusing this pic just to show you a use for the sauce. Makes sense?
I originally set out to make a Cashew Ranch sauce but came up short due to lack of herbs and spices that I didn’t have/couldn’t find…whatever. I still plan on making that Cashew Ranch one of these days but I was really happy with what I made and I basically put it on everything I made last week. From the seitan wrap above, burrito’s for lunch and some sauteed potatoes another day this stuff was delicious. I made it the same night I made the seitan wraps and the raw onion in it wasn’t subtle at all but I was fine with that. As the days went by that it sat in the fridge waiting for it’s next appearance in one of my meals the raw onion taste melded perfectly with the rest of the ingredients and it wasn’t so in your face. The sauce just kept getting better and better as the week went on. So I highly recommend making this and letting it sit in the fridge for a day or at least overnight before using.
Cashew-Dill Sauce
makes 1 1/4 cups
1 cup raw cashews, soaked for at least one hour or overnight
1 clove garlic
2 tablespoons chopped onion
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon dried dill
pinch of red pepper flake
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, lightly packed
1/2 cup water
salt and pepper to taste
Drain the cashews and pour them into your blender (I use a Vita Mix to get a true creamy texture, if not using a Vita Mix or other high powered blender you might need to add more water) along with with the garlic, onion, lemon juice, dill, red pepper flakes, parsley and water. Blend until smooth adding more water in necessary until you achieve a nice, slightly thick sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
October 21st, 2011
Seitan Sauteed with Garlic
I get weird sometimes about sharing recipes. Sometimes I’m greedy and just want to keep them to myself, like my brownie recipe, which on occasion I share with people close to me and I’m getting closer to being comfortable sharing on here. Most of the time I just get anxious that no one will like it, it won’t come out the same way for you as it does for me, I can always improve on it so I’ll just wait until then, blah blah blah. The one recipe I’ve been saying over and over again that I’m “going to post on my blog real soon” is my seitan recipe. Its falls under the category of “I can always improve on it so I’ll just wait until then”. I finally realized the other day that I’ve been making it the same way for months now and I’ve served it to a lot of people over that time. Most of those people are meat eaters and they have all loved it. So I’m finally going to share it today although I think I’ll need a few drops of Rescue Remedy to calm my nerves before I do.
Before simmering (these pictures aren’t pretty to look at) :)
I love making my own seitan for a few reasons: it’s cheap, it’s easy, I don’t like any of the brands that I can buy in the stores by me and I can flavor it however I want. What I don’t/didn’t like about making it is the 5 or so minutes that is needed to knead the seitan. You see I broke my hand about 6 years ago and kneading anything still KILLS it. On really cold winter days my right hand is basically useless. I knead away though each and every time until I can’t take it anymore. The last time I made the seitan it was a chilly day, my hand wasn’t cooperating and I FINALLY thought to just let my KitchenAid stand mixer do all the work for me. Sweet jesus that machine just made my life a whole lot easier and less painful! Why I didn’t think of it before is beyond me. So you can make this recipe either way…with your own two hands or with the help of your KitchenAid.
Basic Seitan
makes 8-9 thick cutlets
Broth
16 cups water
2 tablespoons concentrated broth (I use Better Than Bouillon’s non chicken base) or 3 bouillon cubes
1/4 cup tamari
3 bay leaves
Seitan
3 cups vital wheat gluten
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
2 tablespoons cumin
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 cup cold water
1/2 cup tamari
1/2 cup unsweetened non dairy milk
2 tablespoons olive oil
For the broth: add all the ingredients to a large pot with a lid. (any pot that you can cook pasta/soup in is perfect). Leave it be until the seitan is ready to be added.
For the seitan: In a large mixing bowl add the vital wheat gluten, nutritional yeast, cumin and garlic powder and stir to combine. In a medium size bowl whisk together the cold water, tamari, unsweetened non dairy milk and olive oil until well mixed. Add the liquid to the dry ingredients and mix. Here is where you either get your hands dirty or throw in in your KitchenAid stand mixer if you have one. Knead for about 5 minutes until you have a giant, stretchy ball of gluten in your hands (mixer). With your hands or kitchen knife divide the dough into 8-9 pieces and stretch those pieces out a bit to form a cutlet shape. Once all the seitan cutlets are formed slip them into the pot and turn the heat onto high. Once the broth starts to boil immediately lower to a simmer and cover the pot leaving the lid slightly off so some steam can escape. Simmer the seitan for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes turn off the heat, fully cover the pot and let sit for at least 20-30 minutes.
Remove the seitan to a lidded container and add enough of the cooking broth to cover it and store it in the fridge until ready to use.
Seitan Wrap w. Cashew Dill Mayo
My favorite ways to use this seitan is to thinly slice it and saute it in olive oil with a lot of garlic for Seitan Wraps or i’ll cut it into thicker strips to make seitan finger type meals like my Pecan Crusted Seitan or Beer Battered Seitan. I’ll also marinate thick slices in BBQ sauce and grill it either outside on the grill or inside on a grill pan for a Seitan Rib dinner.
Now like I said this recipe falls under the “I can always improve this recipe…” If I ever do improve upon it I promise to share it. 
October 18th, 2011
40 Clove Chickpeas and Broccoli
Another Appetite For Reduction dish. 40 Clove…is by far my favorite thing I’ve made from this cookbook. Its in heavy rotation on our list of regular meals which means we are eating it once every week or so. That also means that Reno eats it and loves it. I’ve served it to family and friends and everyone raves about it. The best part about it is how quickly it comes together. You basically throw everything in a pan and stick it in the oven for a bit then add another ingredient and stick it back in the oven for a bit more. I always double the recipe because I love it as leftovers the next day. I serve it over rice so when I pack it together in a container the rice absorbs the broth and flavor all night long making for an extra flavorful lunch the next day.
I’ve made a few minor changes to the recipe. I add a bit of tamari to the broth and I use thyme instead of oregano. One some occasions I’ll also juice the lemon I’ve zested and will add that to the broth as well.
I highly recommend you make this recipe ASAP!
October 13th, 2011
Creaky Chicken
Ever since becoming a board member of Re’s preschool I decided that after each board meeting I’m going to treat myself some Veggie Heaven takeout. It’s late by the time I get out, i’m ravenously hungry, I drive right past it to get home…really any excuse I can think of is fine with me. One thing about taking out from this vegan chinese eatery (really any eatery) is that you need to know what will “keep” until you get home. There are just some dishes on the menu that by the time you get home and it’s been steaming away in the back seat they just don’t taste good anymore or at least they just aren’t the same as they would be if you ate it at the actual restaurant.
One dish that travels well in my opinion is the Creaky Chicken. I have no idea what’s so “creaky” about this faux chicken but I don’t care it’s delicious. Its thin pieces of faux chicken and a few mushrooms breaded in something delicious, fried until crispy and topped with a sweetened brown sauce. My husband orders it all the time and I’m always stealing from his plate throughout our meal. I’ve never stolen one of the fried mushrooms though. So ordering this for myself and trying the mushrooms for the first time it’s safe to say that I will indeed be stealing them from his plate from now on.
BBQ Ribs and Spring Rolls
Two of my three favorite appetizers that are great for takeout! I ALWAYS order the BBQ Ribs on my board meeting nights. I wish I had a constant supple of these BBQ Ribs in my fridge. I believe I was told that they are made with a combination of soy and gluten. Whatever. All that matters is that I LOVE these things. They are so tasty and chewy that I would slowly chew on them all day long. So many times when I’m driving Re home from school I’m tempted to stop in and order a few of these to go for lunch. Hell I’m craving these little suckers right now! They come with this sweet and spicy sauce to dip them in. Sometimes I dip. Sometimes I don’t. They are amazing either way.
October 12th, 2011
Aglio e Olio
Aglio e Olio translates to Garlic and Oil. Its a traditional Italian dish that can be made cheaply and usually doesn’t require you to go to the store for any of the ingredients and that’s why we have been eating this for dinner about once a week since Miles was born 4 months ago. Its not as easy to get food shopping done as it used to be but that’s ok. We are saving money and I’m forced to use what is in our fridge and pantry which can make for some interesting meals.
To make this I chop up a ton of garlic. Sometimes an entire head of garlic is used. I coat a pan with extra virgin olive oil, add a tablespoon of Earth Balance and then lightly saute the garlic for a few minutes by itself before adding a pinch of red pepper flakes and dried basil. Its then cooked until the garlic is soft but not browned in anyway. During this whole process I’m cooking some angel hair pasta which once it’s done is drained and added to the pan with the garlic oil, mixed together and served.
Most people, like my husband and daughter, eat this just as is with maybe the addition of some salt and pepper. I go crazy and add a whole lot of nutritional yeast to mine as you can see in the first picture to this post. I add so much I could probably skip taking my multivitamin the next day. If you are a nooch fan I highly recommend eating this my way.
October 11th, 2011
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