seitan fajitas with red, yellow, and poblano peppers, red onions, and guacamole on homemade corn tortillas

this week i made a plank of seitan, and i mean a plank.  my experiences with making seitan have often resulted in firm interiors and spongier outsides.  so, inspired by tofu666’s recent seitan excursions and less recent photo essay, plus a conglomeration of recipes, i first failed at making seitan from regular wheat flour.  it disintegrated in the second batch of water, which makes me wonder whether i either didn’t knead the dough long enough at the beginning or my canister of “whole wheat flour” was actually something else.  so i went to the old standby of vital wheat gluten, and rolled the resulting dough into a giant pancake of sorts.  i put it into cold broth, simmered it for an hour, then let it cool all day in the pot while i was at work.  it worked deliciously!  so firm, pleasantly chewy, and it even makes a tasty nibble on its own.

today, however, it had a different calling:

i went off the real food daily recipe for seitan fajitas, though i made it for four mini servings, replaced some of the tamari with water, and added coriander and marmite.  while the seitan pieces marinated, i made a small batch of corn tortillas.  yum.  i don’t think i can ever buy storebought corn tortillas again, though i will definitely have to try making flour ones as well sometime.  this was only the second time i’ve made them, but really, they’re quite easy.  (while my girlfriend was on tour, her band was treated to a homemade mexican-themed vegan breakfast feast cooked by chloe from montreal-based aids wolf.  she made homemade everything, including tortillas!)  then i browned the seitan in the cast iron pan, threw in some onions and peppers and sauteed them a couple of minutes.  i poured the remaining marinade over everything and turned the heat off while they sizzled.  topped with some guacamole, they made for a very tasty lunch.

i haven’t done a ton of cooking yet, because it’s been pretty hot out, and we’ve been really busy looking for a new place to live.  i did, however, get a chance to try out the popular quinoa salad with black beans and sweet potatoes posted awhile back on the ppk.  i made it spicier and added avocado, and it was quick and easy!

my stomach hasn’t been very happy with some of my food choices lately.  i think the raw really had cleaned me out even after just a week, and i have been feeling the effects of my poorer choices (like pizza luce and malaysian golden tofu).  so i’ve got to stop being lazy and put my foot down in this house about more fresh food!  there’s a good-looking recipe for a raw creamy carrot soup that’s been calling my name.  and more juice.  definitely more juice.

maple-mustard marinated tofu with rosemary apples and steamed green beans 

broiled seitan with cardamom portobella glace and celeriac puree 

except for the second photo, the title of this post doesn’t refer to my kitchen of light, but rather the title of a cookbook i received for christmas from my aunt and uncle last year.  and while i definitely appreciate the gesture (scandinavian cookbook for a scandinavian me), the cover photo of the chef, andreas viestad, hoisting up a salmon definitely illustrates the lack of vegan recipes inside.

so, definitely inspired by the anthony bourdain/hezbollah tofu movement happening amongst some ppk members, i started looking at some recipes that i thought i could veganize from kitchen of light.  beyond the large amount of seafood, meat, and butter involved, there are some really delicious flavor combinations and fresh herbs that i’d wanted to use when i first cracked the book open.

being at a coffeeshop, i can’t post the recipes right now, but i probably will soon, because they really turned out pretty well (the maple-mustard tofu might even become a zine recipe).  so we’ll have to be content right now with mere descriptions.  the first recipe i made, maple-mustard marinated tofu with rosemary apples and steamed green beans, was originally honey-mustard marinated salmon with rosemary apples.  besides the salmon and honey indicated in the title, really the only other ingredient i needed to substitute was the butter i sauteed the apples and rosemary in.  i wasn’t necessarily interested in recreating a “salmon” for this recipe, as i thought the flavors involved were fine without adding some kind of seaweed.  next time i might not use wildwood superfirm tofu, or if i do, i’d cut it into thinner pieces to let the flavors penetrate a little more.  i was also in a bit of a hurry, so i could have broiled the tofu a bit longer to get some more crisp on the outside.  but i added steamed fresh green beans, so already the dish is healthier beyond the cruelty-free aspect!

now the more hands-on labor-intensive recipe: broiled seitan with cardamom portobella glace and celeriac puree.  another somewhat fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants preparation, as i was somehow out of potatoes, and didn’t make seitan scallops from scratch as i’d intended to.  however, the homemade seitan was bit more of a presentation issue than a flavor one, and that’s really the only complaint i can offer about my execution.  this was savory, rich, and delicious, not to mention my first experience with celeriac.  originally titled scallops with cardamom veal glace and celeriac puree, clearly my obstacles were twofold: scallops and, horror of horrors, veal stock.  eek!  i approached it by going to nature’s vegan alternative to red meat: the portobella mushroom, and relying on some good old fashioned red wine and the sweet and delicate flavor of leeks.

i broiled these ingredients with some vegetable stock until they started to brown and caramelize, then added them to the stock i started reducing.  when sufficiently infused, i strained out the contents and added the bay leaf, cardamom pods, and peppercorns the recipe called for and reduced it further before letting it sit with some orange zest.  i’ve never made a glace before, and mine is likely a bit thinner than “the real thing,” but the point is, it was delicious.  almost disturbingly so.  i spooned it over some lightly broiled seitan, and made the potato-less celeriac puree, which was a really lovely and delicate alternative to mashed potatoes.

and, i’m spent… though some using-up-fridge-contents-before-our-weeklong-trip-to-south-south-texas is definitely in order from this point forward.

that’s a pretty fancy title…for a fancy-lookin’ meal!

i finished up the last of the asian-style seitan i’d made by pairing it with a a spicy raw vegetables and rice salad. this was a time when i really really wish i’d written down what i did because it was divine! so i only have my memory to serve me.

spicy thai-style rice salad (serves 4):

1 c brown basmati rice
2 c water

2 tbsp cilantro, minced
1 tbsp fresh garlic, grated (or 2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed)
5 scallions, sliced
4-5 mint leaves, minced
1 bunch radishes, sliced thinly
1-2 c sugar snap or snow peas, trimmed
3 carrots, sliced thinly
2 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp tamari or bragg’s
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne
1 tsp red thai curry paste

mint leaves and lime slices for garnish

cook rice. meanwhile, chop the vegetables and prepare the marinade. place all the vegetables in a bowl (cilantro through carrots) and whisk marinade ingredients (lime juice through curry paste) together and set aside. when the rice is done, let it cool slightly or all the way (depending on whether you’d like your salad warm or chilled) and mix it with the vegetables. pour the marinade over the mixture and toss well. garnish individual servings with a lime slice and fresh mint leaves, if desired.

(i served this with seitan that i sliced into medallions and seared in a pan with garlic, tamari, and a little sesame oil.)

i’ve decided to post this recipe, so i have it written in a format that doesn’t involve small pieces of wax paper and a sharpie pen from work. but also, of course, in hopes that someone will make it and tell me how it worked for them… i want to make it again soon! but i’m going to wait until i have more time to devote to it. i don’t normally use meat analogues (and i make my own seitan, far cheaper!), but there’s not much i could think of to replace bacon with except “bacon.” try to avoid the temptation of using tempeh bacon; it is too fragile and will likely come apart during cooking. i’d imagine though, that (larger) cubes of tempeh could replace the seitan in the dish if you’re trying to avoid gluten.

i based this on a recipe from work which uses beef. this is about as authentically french and true-to-method as using seitan as a beef stand-in is. meaning: not very (at least, not according to the wikipedia article i just skimmed over). however, it tasted pretty damn good, and that’s all i really care about in the end, although i hope to tweak it some to really punch up the flavor even more.

seitan bourguignon (serves about 4):

2 tbsp vegan margarine
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1/2 c vegan “bacon” (i used smartlife), chopped
2 c mushrooms, sliced (i used cremini)
2 garlic cloves
1 1/2 c seitan, sliced or cubed
2 tbsp flour or cornstarch
3/4 c red wine (burgundy is fairly traditional)
1 1/2 c vegetable stock or vegan “chicken”-style stock
1 tbsp thyme
1 bay leaf
1 tsp each salt and pepper
1 tbsp dried parsley

heat oil and margarine in a saucepan over medium heat, and cook “bacon” and onions until onions turn golden. add garlic and mushrooms and cook until mushrooms soften and begin to release their juices. remove from pan and set aside, leaving oils in the pan. brown seitan, then sprinkle with flour and toss. return mushroom mixture to the pan, then add the red wine, stock, thyme, bay leaf, salt, pepper, and dried parsley.

bring mixture to a boil and stir well, then cover and reduce heat and allow the mixture to simmer for 30 minutes. remove bay leaf.  taste and adjust seasonings. serve over noodles (preferably with lots of wavy sauce-holding bits, like campanelle) or rice, or with bread or potatoes.

when i got home from work today i set straight out to make a batch of julie’s seitan
… only i used the basic measurements and changed nearly all the spices to make it asian-style for spring roll use.  once the dough was mixed up, i went into my supplies drawer to find one small sheet of recycled aluminum foil.  it was enough for a sausage.  so i dug out my cheesecloth for the the remainder and there was only enough for two!  bah.  two items for the restocking shopping list.  i had to make three large seitan sausages instead of 5-6, but it worked out fine (just steamed them a little bit longer).

we still haven’t mastered a dipping sauce for the spring rolls - ours have been too salty, too peanut-y, and too thin.  we need to get back to jasmine deli to try and dissect their recipe!  but as far as fillings go…delicious!  i stir fried some seitan pieces in tamari, sesame oil, and a splash of balsamic.  while a dealt with the cilantro, mint, and basil, i julienned carrots and mini sweet peppers, shredded red cabbage, and chiffonaded (is that really a word?) spinach.  we also cooked the necessary rice noodles, and got to work soaking rice paper.  a bit of a sloppier job on the rolling this time, but they still tasted yummy.  perhaps we need to make less.  when you have five apiece, the tummy swells!

a couple of hours after dinner i got a craving for cookies.  i flipped through extraveganza and decided on the coconut oatmeal cookies with pumpkin seeds.  however, i had no brown rice flour… simple! i’ll just use spelt.  then i pulled out the maple syrup… only a couple of tablespoons left!  i needed 3/4 cup.  this was a bit of a blessing too, because i’ve been wanting to finish off the horribly user-unfriendly tin of syrup i got months ago (it drips onto the top and makes the lid stick).  but i didn’t know what to do.  i ended up adding some agave nectar and then making up the rest of it with sucanat and a little water.  the dough held together well, and i also added some chocolate chips.  it baked well too.  but the taste… kind of boring.  there seemed to be pockets of tastiness in the cookies, but most of it was bland and not sweet in a satisfying way.  well, more maple syrup it will be when i get to the store next.  which, knowing me, will probably be tomorrow.  i don’t really need to eat cookies anyway.  not until i start a yoga class, that is.

somehow my post-birthday, cheap-whiskey hangover dinner slipped through the cracks.

i marinated tempeh in red wine, dijon, bragg’s, garlic, and thyme and then browned it. the color is really dark and meatlike, but not in a creepy way… in a vegan delicious way! with broccoli buttercream mashed potatoes (my favorite kind of potato!), and citrus beets from extraveganza! beets are a good cleanser, and if you are a fan of beets, you know what i mean when i say you know you’ve eaten beets.

after a weird day at work yesterday i was in the mood for more comfort food. something rich, succulent, delicious. i copied down a recipe from work and veganized it into seitan bourguignon. i was a bit lazy and used smartlife bacon, but i did make my own seitan from the everyday dish website (although not exactly following the spices called for because i needed something a little more…french). served over whole wheat penne (oh what some rotini could have done for me!):

sometimes you just need something warm, and rich, and salty, and tummy-filling. both of these did the job beautifully.

tonight for dinner i wanted to use some za’atar seasoning i picked up from bill’s imported foods, and veggies from our recent grocery experience. za’atar is a middle eastern spice blend that can have various combinations, but this one is made from thyme and toasted sesame seeds. we had sunny millet bread and corn tortillas in the fridge, but i thought, damnit! i’m gonna make myself some chapati flatbread. here is the spread:

za’atar-marinated seitan; avocado, red peppers, cucumbers, onions, tomatoes, and spinach; ww chapati flatbread (from ldv).

just for fun, some pretty pictures of fresh veggies:

the flatbread (i did 1/2 whole wheat and 1/2 all-purpose flour):

and the finished product, assembled, and topped with goddess dressing:

fresh, crunchy veggies, soft warm bread, slightly spicy seitan, and tangy, salty goddess dressing are an amazing combination. i got an excited reaction from my ladyfriend. she did a little dance in her chair and declared the meal “restaurant-quality yumminess!” i’ll definitely take that.

following a severe drought over much of the region, minnesota and wisconsin were just hit by torrential rains that caused massive flooding and several deaths. this also, sadly, disproportionately affected many of the organic farmers which supply the produce to my and several other local food coops. many of the farms have reported several hundred thousand dollars worth of damage and loss, and are in great need of support to have a chance at financial survival.

i decided that tonight i was going to buy local produce where i could to create a “flood relief meal,” in addition to using some of the veggies i picked from my own garden. i’m only one person, but i hope that enough people remember that being one person as part of an army of many can be a very powerful and influential force. my shopping basket ended up with featherstone organic farms cherry tomatoes, and organic yukon gold potatoes and organic red torpedo onions from avalanche organics. along with fresh corn, jalapenos, and basil from my garden, and a few other items, i really went all out and made this for dinner:

spinach and watercress salad with cherry tomatoes, cranberries, and sunflower seeds; zesty bourbon bbq ribz; spicy garden corn chowder; and a bottle of summit epa (brewed across the river in st. paul). it’s a good thing i like spicy food! i was sweating by the end of this meal.

spinach and watercress salad

roughly equal portions of spinach and watercress, topped with cherry tomatoes, dried cranberries, red torpedo onions, sunflower seeds, and a lemon-balsamic-flax vinaigrette.

this was my first experience buying watercress. upon trying it i remember reading people’s comments about it being peppery and crisp-tasting, a bit like a zestier version of radicchio, which i like sauteed with kale. so i am thinking of using the remaining watercress in some kind of stir-fry this weekend, although i’m still trying to decide what else to put in there.

fatfreevegan’s seitan ribz with zesty bourbon bbq sauce

i followed susan’s recipe for the seitan (omitting the liquid smoke), and made a southern-style bourbon bbq sauce from scratch, roughly following this recipe. however i added some blackstrap molasses, increased my lack of tomato paste with some fresh tomatoes, used regular paprika because i didn’t have smoked, and sub’d powdered onion and garlic because i used all the fresh i had in the other recipes. it was pretty intense; i think because i’m not a whiskey drinker really, but i really liked it (the ribz are pretty plain and dry-ish before the sauce), and can only imagine it would be far better with the full amount of tomato paste and fresh garlic and onion to keep it thicker.

spicy garden corn chowder

this was definitely the winner out of all the dishes, in my opinion. it was rich and creamy, tangy and flavorful, and had the crispiness of fresh corn kernels in it. i have definitely been inspired to make corn chowder by all the tester food porn on the ppk for lolo’s chipotle basil corn chowder, as well as having my own crop of “silver queen” corn growing in the garden.

this recipe will serve 4-6, so feel free to reduce it if you want.

2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 c leeks, rinsed and sliced thinly
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
2 celery stalks, diced
2 jalapeno peppers, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 c Yukon gold potatoes, diced
about 3 c fresh corn, 1 cup reserved (i used 5 ears of corn)
1 c dry white wine
3 tbsp cashew butter
2 c ricemilk
1 tsp turmeric (optional, i used this for color since i had white corn)
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp paprika
salt and pepper to taste
small handful fresh basil leaves, chopped

heat vegetable oil in a large soup pot. add leeks and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. add bell pepper, celery, jalapenos, garlic, and potatoes, and cook over low-medium heat, covered, until potatoes are soft. add 2 cups of corn, white wine, cashew butter, ricemilk, turmeric, thyme, paprika, and salt and pepper. stir, cover, and simmer about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. add fresh basil leaves and remove from heat. puree using an immersion or regular blender to desired consistency. return to pot and add remaining 1 cup of corn. simmer an additional 5-10 minutes. serve hot, topped with toasted corn and/or fresh basil as garnish.

yesterday i made a big batch of chimichurri, as well a batch of the faux beef from ldv, and attempted some combination of the two in a veggie burger.  i want to fine tune this a bit more before i post a recipe, but basically, i mixed chopped sesame seeds, flour, carrots, red pepper, seitan, and chimichurri sauce, made them into patties, and browned them.  i had one for lunch with tomatoes, onion, tofutti cream cheese, and more chimichurri sauce on top of a piece of sunny millet bread.  now, i’m not complaining–they were better than those frozen hockey pucks you get at the store–but they weren’t quite what i was going for.  i think the seitan was too salty (cut back on the tamari), and there should have been a bit more spice and chimichurri-ness in the burger itself.  but it’s a good start, and i’m ready to keep trying.  here’s a closeup shot:

inspired by my recent trip to sf and a tasty, not-too-sweet horchata i had there, i thought a fantastic way to use up my container of vanilla soygurt would be to concoct some sort of horchata cupcake!  they’ve got cinnamon and lime zest in them.  i really need to find ways of making a lightly sweetened but firm cream-cheese frosting (mine was a little runny).  frosting is always the turnoff for me with baked goods.  it’s always too much, too sweet… in my pre-vegan days i was totally content with plain whipped cream as a topping.  so, maybe my calling is to come up with that for my fellow not-too-sweet-vegans.  at any rate, i think this made a pretty sexy cupcake, don’t you think?

a few weeks ago i gave my coworker jesse a portion of seitan i’d made. he’s pretty much a
self-proclaimed non-vegetable eater, so when he told me he really liked the seitan and wanted the recipe, i was really excited. now, i realize seitan is not a vegetable. but it is weird to a lot of people who are used to eating a traditional midwestern diet. so we planned a seitan-making and “talk to her”-watching party at his apartment with his girlfriend.

we made a variation of the seitan o’greatness, adding sage for a more savory flavor. the great thing about this recipe is that it’s really flexible as far as seasonings go. you can make just about anything out of it, and i’ve yet to make anything that was indedible. plus, it really impresses your friends who have maybe only had creepy gluten products with gross textures like we have at work (unless someone cooks it right in the right dish).

we also boiled some fingerling potatoes, which are small and deliciously creamy. we added a little olive oil, some fresh chopped rosemary, plain hempmilk, and salt and pepper. everytime i cook with rosemary i remember how totally amazing it smells and tastes. mmm! then i whipped up some cashew-dill gravy (shallots, garlic, cashew butter, tamari, salt, pepper, veggie stock, dried dill) while the green beans were steaming, and we had ourselves a meal:

we were lucky that it stormed as we started cooking (and jesse had a window a/c), so it wasn’t too hot despite all the baking and steaming and boiling. this was totally a delicious and filling meal! no room for dessert. i will have to make it many many times in the fall and winter for comfort and joy.