Posts filed under 'recipe'
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
Seitan and Avocado Wrap w. Baked Rosemary Fries
Its no secret that I love seitan. To be honest though I haven’t made any in months and months. I’ve been really craving it so I whipped up a batch the other day and made some pretty amazing dinners with it. The first thing I made was Isa’s Seitan and Broccoli with Pantry BBQ Sauce. I have a pretty well stocked pantry but most of the time when a recipe calls for pantry ingredients I’m usually missing one or two of them so I was pretty pumped that I had everything I needed for this. I made my seitan recipe earlier in the day so when it came time to make dinner I just had to saute the broccoli and onions and mix the BBQ sauce together (plus cook some rice). It came together really fast and is a perfect weeknight recipe for when you are strapped for time and want to eat something nice. The whole meal was really delicious and I’m looking forward to making it again in the very near future. Photo wise I didn’t take any because it wasn’t a pretty looking plate of food but Isa has a gorgeous photo of the recipe up on her site so take a look at it and then make it ASAP!
The wrap before being rolled
The next night I made the most delicious seitan wrap. At my last job before having my daughter Reno over 3 years ago I would make myself seitan wraps a few times a week when my shift was over. They made me so happy and I was missing them so I just had to make them for dinner. First I cut up some potatoes into fries and tossed them in a bowl with olive oil and dried rosemary and then baked them in the oven until done. Then I sliced and sauteed the seitan in olive oil with a ton of garlic and I really mean a TON of garlic until it was all nice and crispy. The fries came out of the oven and I put two large tortillas into the oven for a few seconds to heat up so they would be easier to wrap. I mixed together some veganaise, chipotle powder and mustard and spread it generously on the wrap, laid down some green leaf lettuce, 1/2 an avocado on each person’s wrap and then dumped the seitan on top. Rolled it up burrito style, sliced in 1/2 and then ate the hell out it. I enjoyed it so much that I made another for myself the next day for lunch. Then sadly I was out of seitan so I’ll have to make another batch (or 2) today. Which is a good thing because I’m trying to fine tune my seitan recipe to share with you all!
February 17th, 2011
Chocolate Chip, Coconut, Cinnamon Scones
We have been having a lot of snow here in NJ this past month and by a lot I mean A LOT! We have yet to have a day this year that there wasn’t any snow on the ground. There is no place to put the snow anymore and our front yard has a snow pile that is way over the top of my head. Its ridiculous but I don’t mind because I love the snow plus I have nowhere to go usually so I’m completely fine with being snowed in. On most snowy mornings I like to make us scones for breakfast. I always make the same ones and I call them Blizzard Scones. They have chocolate chips, coconut and lots of cinnamon in them. I usually top them with cinnamon sugar before popping them in the oven but was lazy this last time. These things are so good. I always say I’m going to make a different flavor scone and always end up making the same ones over and over again.
On this particular snow day I also made us one of my favorite tofu sandwiches….
Lemon-Mustard Tofu Sandwich
Unfortunately somewhere after making the above scones and turning off the oven and then turning it back on to bake the tofu my oven broke. It was devastating. I had tofu marinating in a great lemon and mustard marinade to bake off in the oven and couldn’t. I ended up searing them on the stove top which made them still delicious but it’s not the same as that slow baked tofu texture that I love. I make this tofu a lot in the summer months when I want to make my French Sandwich which is just a riff off of a vegetarian sandwich I became obsessed with while I was in Paris once many many years ago. That sandwich contained hard boiled eggs and this tofu is a great replacement for it. The above sandwich is not the French Sandwich however. I’ll make a post on that sandwich in the summer months when I can get great fresh/ripe veggies for it (hopefully from my garden). The sandwich above is just a simple mini baguette spread with veganaise and some whole grain mustard, mesclun greens and the tofu. A simple sandwich for a simple day stuck inside because of the snow. Here is my recipe for the tofu:
Lemon-Mustard Tofu
1 block extra firm tofu, pressed (I use and swear by my Tofu Xpress)
1 1/2 tablespoons tamari
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon maple syrup
2 teaspoons whole grain mustard
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Combine and whisk all the ingredients, except for the tofu, in a small bowl. Cut tofu in 1/2 so you have two rectangles. Place each slab of tofu on its side and slice each piece into 4 slices. You’ll have 8 rectangle pieces of tofu. Pour 1/2 of the marinade in a large shallow baking dish and place the tofu on top of the marinade. Pour the rest of the marinade on top and place in the fridge for at least one hour.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Have a sheet tray covered with parchment paper ready and transfer the tofu onto the sheet tray. Bake for 25 minutes. Flip over each piece of tofu and bake for 20-25 minutes more.
Let cool and use however you like.
January 27th, 2011
Roasted Chickpea Taco Salad
I’m always excited when it’s time to MoFo again. It seems to always start just when I’ve majorly slowed down with new post and it gets me back into the swing of things. I have no real themes or plans for this year’s event. My only goals are to post at least 5 days a week and post some recipes I’ve been working on for awhile now. Tonight you’ll be getting one of those recipe. Its for Crunchy Taco Chickpeas which I use for Taco Salads (or just snacking right out of the oven) and i’m obsessed with them.
I’ve been trying to eat healthier during the day. I’m still a stay at home Mom to Reno and although she is eating breakfast and lunch everyday I’m not always doing the same and she is starting to call me out on it. She’s 3 now so she takes notice if she’s eating and I’m not so I need to be a better example for her in the meals department. I decided a nice big salad for lunch would be perfect one day but I wanted to make it something special so that it wasn’t boring. I’ve been obsessed with all things taco lately, especially taco seasoning, so I decided to create my own taco salad. I’ve done it before with a raw nutmeat but I wasn’t feeling that this day so I went with chickpeas and I was instantly addicted to them as soon as they were done roasting in the oven. I threw some mesclun in a bowl with some avocado, sliced cucumbers, the taco roasted chickpeas and a quick agave lime dressing which had a touch of whole grain mustard. It was the perfect lunch and the perfect salad to get me to eat more salads during lunchtime.
Roasted Taco-flavored Chickpeas
1 15 ounce can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons taco seasoning (homemade or store bought)
pinch of salt
pinch of cayenne pepper
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a sheet tray with parchment paper and set aside. In a bowl add the chickpeas, olive oil, lemon juice, taco seasoning, salt and cayenne and stir well to combine all ingredients and coat the chickpeas. Spread out the chickpeas on the sheet tray and place in the heated oven. Bake for 25 minutes, stirring the chickpeas after the first 10 minutes and then again every 5 minutes or so until the chickpeas are nice and roasted and all of the liquid is gone. Enjoy as is or cool for a few minutes to add to salads, taco’s or whatever. Store any extra in sealed in a container in the fridge.
November 1st, 2010
BBQ Pinto Bean Burgers
A few weeks ago I had one of those crazy “I must cook something new right this second!” moments. Within 30 minutes of that “moment” I was chowing down on the burger you see above. It was one of those wonderful and crazy cooking experiments that worked out really well. So not only did I eat the burger for lunch but I also ate it again for dinner and then if I remember correctly I ate it again for lunch the next day.
My favorite parts of this recipe are the raw onions and the BBQ sauce that are mixed into the burger. I always like raw onions on top of my veggie burgers but they always either fall off or you eat a huge chunk of the onion with one bite and it just doesn’t get evenly distributed between bites. I figured if I chopped them up and stuck them in the burger that would take care of those 2 problems and it did! Some of the onions got cooked while the burgers were frying in the pan but the majority of them were still raw-ish. You definitely got that raw onion flavor with every bite. For the BBQ sauce, I alway’s knew I was going to put some on top of the burger, when I had the idea to make them, but I then decided to also put some into the burger to get that extra BBQ flavor. It was nice and subtle.
A few weeks after creating this burger I also used this recipe during a vegan cooking class I was teaching with 2 of my friends for our local vegan meet up group. Everyone really liked it and I hope you all like it too!
BBQ Pinto Bean Burgers
makes 4-5 burgers depending on the size you want
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 of a red bell pepper, finely diced
2 tablespoon olive oil, divided
1 15oz can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 small onion, finely diced
1/2 cup vital wheat gluten
3 tablespoons of your favorite BBQ Sauce, I use Annies Smokey Maple
1 tablespoon tamari
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons water (only if needed)
1 avocado, sliced
mesclun salad
burger rolls
In a medium or large saute pan, heat your olive oil over medium heat, add your chopped garlic and peppers and saute until soft. About 5 minutes.
In a medium size bowl mash the pinto beans with a potato masher or fork. Mix in the garlic-pepper mixture, onions, vital wheat gluten, BBQ sauce, tamari and salt. Ditch your mixing utensil and with clean hands kneed the burger mixture to help activate the vital wheat gluten (this is what makes the burgers hold their shape.) If the mixture seems too dry add the water 1 tablespoon at a time until your mixture is moist enough to hold it’s shape.
Form into whatever size burgers you want.
In the same pan you cooked the garlic and peppers add 1 tablespoon of oil and reheat the pan over medium heat. Cook the burgers until golden brown, approx. 3-5 minutes each side.
Place on bottom of a burger bun, spoon extra BBQ sauce, add some avocados and some mesclun salad, top the burger with the other bun and EAT!
July 13th, 2010
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