Seitan

I've been stuck at home with what i think is Mono for the past two days and had nothing better to do than sleep, go to yoga, internetz and cook. I was going through the fridge and saw that i had some Vital Wheat Gluten and figured i would make some. It's been awhile and as of yet my Seitan does NOT taste like the shit you buy at the store. i'm getting better though. the seitan and my "mono"

seitan is great because it has 23g of protein per 1/4 C and only .5g fat this shit is super versatile and i will post some variations of what to do with this.

BTW... i am not being paid by Bob Mills... their links are super easy and loaed with info. i usually buy mine bulk a Henry's Marketplace

There are shit tons of recipes for seitan. all are different and right. Here's mine:

Makes 4 patties:

1C Vital Wheat Gluten
1/4 C nutritional yeast
3T garlic powder

For chicken seitan
1T tumeric
4T veggie chicken bouillon powder
1T chicken grill seasoning

For beef seitan
couple dashes of liquid smoke (add to liquid)
4T veggie beef bouillon powder
1T beef grill seasoning

2/3 C very cold water
1/3 C soy sauce
1 carrot chopped
1 stalk celery chopped
1/2 onion chopped


Mix dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately.
add wet to dry and mix with a fork until no longer dry. knead for about 5 minutes then cover with wet towel in bowl for about 30 minutes.

while seitan is resting....

to a large stock pot add 8-10 cups of water, all of the chopped veggies and 1 c soy sauce.

once seitan has rested, knead and shape into a ball. and cut into 4. shape as desired. I like to make patties by flattening them either with a rolling pin or with a plate... or with a wine bottle... or with whatever the fuck i have next to me. drop seitan into the pot of cold water so that the seitan won't fall apart while cooking. turn heat to low and simmer for about an hour. Do NOT let the water boil. It will give it a spongy texture. so yeah... you have to watch it basically the whole time. I hate that part.

Carefully remove and drain seitan patties and allow to get to room temperature before putting in fridge. patties can be wrapped and frozen for later use. I like to eat the boiled veggies in the meantime.

seitan can now be sauted, breaded and fried, baked, stewed... whatever you would/could do to any other animal protein. enjoy!

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Leftover Lemony Garlicky Seared Carrots (vegan/vegetarian)

As a side dish to any meal especially BBQ tofu (OMG delish!) and to use the left over carrots and garlic from the Sweet Potato Lentil Curry I present to you Lemony Garlicky Seared Carrots This recipe is so easy and very versatile. Use sesame oil instead of olive and sprinkle with sesame seeds for an Asian kick, use basalmic vinegar instead of lemon juice for a french inspired side dish to a mock meatloaf or lentil loaf.

serves 3-4

Ingredients:

3T Olive Oil

2T EarthBalance or margarine... or butter

7 carrots cut into batons ($.35)

6 cloves garlic sliced($.20)

1/2 lemon ($.10) I'll but them when they're 10/$1 and freeze what i don't use straight away.

salt, preferably Kosher

total cost: $.65. cost per serving: about $.20!!!

Side Note:

ok... you need a really good professional style skillet preferably stainless over non-stick. (Go to TJMaxx if you have one in your area... way cheaper & worth it!) A stainless steel skillet allows you to get your pan hot enough to sear foods where as you cannot with a non-stick pan. Getting a non-stick pan super hot will apparently cause cancer causing fumes to release. IDK. If you do not have a stainless steel a non stick will do fine. Olive oil has a higher smoking point than butter so this combo allows food to get hot enough for searing but not taste burnt because of the butter. You will want some char marks on the carrots but not many.

Method

After you have cut your carrots into batons, liberally salt them and set aside. Get your pan searing hot if you have a stainless steel pan, set on med.high if your pan is non-stick. A drop of water should dance on the hot pan. Add your olive oil and just as it begins to smoke add your EB, margarine or butter. when it becomes bubbly brown add your carrots, then your garlic. Saute the carrots until the butter/oil has been absorbed the pan appears to be dry. Once dry, squeeze lemon juice onto the searing hot pan collecting the seeds in the palm of your hand. Let the excess juice absorb. Turn off heat, serve and enjoy!