Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Seitan and lots of other goodies...

So I decided to make seitan today - actually I decided to make a whole lot of things today! I cooked up a storm this morning! I must admit (once again) that a couple things I made this morning were not completely vegan as I had some half and half that went bad (Frank still drinks it in his coffee...) and I just couldn't bear to waste it. Sooo - I decided to find a recipe that used buttermilk (so I could use up the soured half and half) for life group snacks tonight. I actually made 2 desserts - chocolate muffins and pumpkin bread. But alas, they both have some dairy in them. I decided that I would include them anyway because they are very easily adaptable for a veganized version. Back to the seitan...we have found this "wheat meat" to be a bit different, both in texture and taste. It is very chewy (kinda like squid)and a bit fishy. I know - sounds yummy!It actually is pretty good in some things as long as it is generously seasoned. It is also full of protein. Bad part is that a smal container (about 8 oz) is $3.99 at Whole Foods - as opposed to $3.39/lb for vital wheat gluten used to make seitan from scratch. So I decided to try one of the many recipes I have for making it at home. The process was very easy - a tad bit time-consuming. I really wasn't sure about it's outcome though - it seems spongy and just a bit odd. But again, it's seitan so that's probably to be expected! My recipe used 1 cup vital wheat gluten and it made about 2-3 times as much as store-bought so it is much cheaper to make. I seasoned some of it with chili powder, garlic salt, and cumin much like I would season meat for tacos. I ended up feeding it to Braedon and he was a big fan. I tasted a small bite and it was actually pretty much ok. I didn't like the consistency as well as store-bought but the flavor was better I think. We will see how it turns out in some upcoming recipes. Also made bread today - I am not adhering to the "no-honey" rule of veganism as I just don't think it's a health issue and I am not all that worried about bees. So this recipe does have honey in it. You could probably substitute agave or brown rice syrup.
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1 comment:

  1. Prairie + SkyJuly 28, 2010 at 2:01 PM

    I STILL haven't made seitan, though I have the ingredients. That's great that Braedon likes it. If I could get Silas to eat it, that would be a total score. There are very few proteins I can get him to eat. I do admit that I eat honey as well. I agree with you on the health issue. I generally don't use it much in recipes, but you can't beat a drizzle of honey on good buttered bread. Love your blog :)

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Crispy Herbed Potato Stack

Crispy Herbed Potato Stack
I was going to try a recipe for herbed scalloped potatoes and at last minute decided to do something fast and easy. I made up the recipe and it was yummola! I layered sliced russet potatoes in a baking dish, drizzled with olive oil, and then sprinkled with coarse sea salt, fresh ground pepper, basil, rosemary, paprika, and garlic powder. Then I baked them at 425 fr about 45 minutes. They were crisp and very flavorful!

My thrown-together salad today - after discovering I had no leftovers for lunch!

Tamale Fixings

Tamale Fixings
Plain pintos (for Keith), pintos, corn and onions; corn, jalepenos and Daiya; mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes, and chard

Making these was a bit time-consuming but kinda fun! They didn't turn out as good as I had hoped - the outer tamale part (not the filling) just wasn't as flavorful as tamales I have had in restaurants. I have another recipe I will try for the dough next time. Tamales are one of my favorite foods so I won't give up on this one!

"Buttermilk" Blueberry Pancakes

"Buttermilk" Blueberry Pancakes
I modified one of my favorite pancake recipes to make it vegan and then I added blueberries. Turned out quite yummy. Soymilk sours and thickens well - very similar to buttermilk. I have been really impressed with it's ability to substitute for real buttermilk.

"Buttermilk" Blueberry Pancakes

Egg replacement for 1 egg
1 1/4 cups soured soy milk (put 2 T vinegar into a 2 cup glass measuring cup. Add enough soy milk to equal 1 1/4 cups)
2 T canola oil
1 cup flour (I wouldn't recommend whole wheat or whole wheat pastry - it really takes away from the fluffiness of these pancakes)
1 T sugar
2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
Blueberries, optional

Mix dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients and stir just until combined. Heat griddle pour about 1/4 cup batter for each pancake. Sprinkle blueberries on pancakes after ladling onto griddle. Cook just until golden on both sides.

Veggie and Seitan Lo Mein

Veggie and Seitan Lo Mein
Overall, this was fabulous! However, I don't think the seitan added much so I would just leave it out next time. The lo mein also needed about double the sauce so I would simply do that next time for added flavor. This was especially spicy and yummy with some Sriracha drizzled on top. I made our favorite veg egg rolls to go with this and it was truly a Chinese treat!!

Veggie Seitan Lo Mein

I really did my own thing for this recipe so I am just going to outline the instructions and include the sauce recipe. I heated oil in a large skillet and added 3 minced cloves of garlic and about 1 cup of half-moon cut onions (I was out of green onions but next time I would use green onions as I like them a lot in Chinese food) and about 1 cup matchstick-cut carrots. After about 5-6 minutes, I added about 1/4 lb of whole green beans. I cooked these veggies until tender. Meanwhile, I cooked a 16oz package of chow mein noodles. Once the veggie mixture was cooked, I poured the sauce on the veggies, heated through and tossed with the noodles. Next time I would double the amount of sauce and have adjusted amounts below to reflect double recipe.

Sauce (Source:Adaptable Feast)
3 T soy sauce
3 T rice wine (I used 3 T rice vinegar and 1 t sugar as I didn't have any rice wine)
3 t sugar
4 T black bean garlic sauce
Mix all ingredients and toss with above mixture.





Chinese Broccoli Wontons in Ginger Soy Broth

Chinese Broccoli Wontons in Ginger Soy Broth
Pretty yummy. I found that steaming the wontons worked much better than the recipe suggestion to boil them. The broth was very mild and a bit too mellow for us. Still pretty yummy though. I added extra veggies to the wontons and scallion to the broth. The seasoning in the wonton filling was quite tasty!

Chinese Broccoli Wontons in Ginger Soy Broth (Source: Vegan Yum Yum)

(As usual, I modified several things so it's not exactly the recipe in Vegan Yum Yum!)

1 cup chopped broccoli
3/4 cup shredded carrot
1/2 cup chopped scallions
1 T oil
1 t fresh ginger, minced
1 clove fresh minced garlic
1/2 t hot chili sauce (such as Sriracha)
1 t hot Chinese mustard
2 T plus 1 t soy sauce
4 cups water ( I think this might have been more flavorful had I used vegetable broth or faux chicken broth???)
6 slices fresh ginger
1 T mirin (I used a splash of cooking wine as I didn't have mirin)
1 1/2 t sugar
2 t rice vinegar
1/2 t salt
1/2 cup chopped scallions
16 wonton skins

For filling: Heat oil in skillet and add broccoli, ginger, garlic, carrot, onion and cook until veggies are crisp tender. Add chili sauce, mustard, 1 t soy sauce and stir to combine. Remove from heat and set aside.

To make wontons, take one skin and place in diamond shape. Fill with 1-2 t filling. Fold in half to make a triangle and moisten edges with water and pinch sides to seal. Set triangle in front of you with point up and take the 2 side points and bring them together in front to cross. Set aside and prepare remaining wontons. When finished, place wontons in a steamer basket and steam over pot of boiling water until translucent.

Meanwhile, in a pot, combine remaining ingredients (except wontons) and simmer 10-15 min.

Place 3-4 wontons in bowl and ladle broth over wontons. Serve.