Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Favorite Quick Seitan Recipe



I have come to loathe making seitan because one attempt will turn out beautiful, the next all bloated and mushy. There's no consistency and dependability in the recipes I've tried using (namely the Veganomicon and VwaV recipes). So god(dess) bless Terry Hope Romero for her steamed white seitan recipe. Finally a seitan recipe that has thus far been fail-proof. The consistency is perfect--dense and chewy. It makes a bunch. And it only takes about 15 minutes to put together and 30 minutes to steam, compared to the hour+ for most boiled recipes. It's seriously great.

I *DO* season it differently, however, and the below recipe has been adjusted to include my seasonings (it's a very minimal change, poultry seasoning instead of curry powder)--what it yields will taste a bit more chickeny.

INGREDIENTS:
  • 1.5 c. vegetable broth (or chicken flavoured broth)--I also add a dash of soy sauce

  • 4 garlic cloves (grated)

  • 2 T. olive oil

  • 1.5 c. vital wheat gluten

  • 1/4 c. chickpea flour (you can also sub in all-purpose, but the chickpea's definitely more flavorful)

  • 1/4 c. nutritional yeast

  • 1 t. dried thyme

  • 1/2 t. paprika

  • 1/2 t. poultry seasoning

  • 1 teaspoon salt (to taste)

DIRECTIONS

In a jug whisk together broth, garlic, olive oil. In a large bowl combine wheta gluten, chickpea flour, nutritional yeast, thyme, paprika, poultry seasoning, and salt. Form a well in centre of dry ingredients and stir well with rubber spatula until dough leaves side of the bowl.

Knead for 2-3 mins to develop gluten. I cheat at this stage and use the Kenwood chef to do the kneading on power 1 or 2.

Leave dough to rest for 10 min, knead again for 30 seconds.

Place dough on cutting board and cut into 4 equal pieces.

Tear off 4 X12 inch pieces of foil and place piece of dough in centre of foil, fold the short sides of the foil over the loaf, the fold over the ends the foil should be secure but loose allowing for it to expand. Place in steamer basket and steam for 30 minutes Allow the dough to cool to the touch before chilling in fridge or overnight.

Store seitan in the fridge tightly sealed in a plastic bag for up to 2 weeks or freeze, defrost before use.

(Recipe from Viva Vegan, reposted at Food.com)

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Interactive Post! I Ask! You Answer!

Because my brain is made of molasses (mmmmm molasses brains, arghlghlhglghlhglhgl), I only just realized that Thanksgiving is NEXT FRICKING THURSDAY. Holy pilgrims and indians.

So riddle me this, batmen and batwomen:

What are your tried and true and favoritest vegan...

a) stuffing recipes?

b) apple pie recipes (extra points for caramel apple pie recipes or the ones that have the super-delicious crumbly tops)?

c) pumpkin pie recipes?

Extra points for links!

And now, a bit of Thanksgiving creepiness for young and old! Happy early Thanksgiving!

Saturday, November 05, 2011

Super-Adorable Animal Ornaments That You Want for Your Tree, Oh Yes

Fellow animal lovers, I just wanted to take a moment to give a shout-out to one of my lovely vegetarian friends who recently started her own fantastic line of polymer clay jewelry and ornaments on Etsy.

Why am I telling you this? Well, because Christmas is right around the corner, and she has some super adorable animal ornaments for sale. (I mean, come on, how adorable is THIS?!?!)



So go check her out. Do it. Now.