Filed under: Veganism | Tags: Vegan, Seitan, Veganomicon, Isa Chandra Moskowitz, Terry Hope Romero, Jess Denoto, Julie Hasson
In addition making granola yesterday, I made a double batch of seitan (to be precise, the seitan cutlets in Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero’s Veganomicon). Seitan, to the uninitiated, is often referred to as a meat substitute. It’s made from wheat gluten, water or veggie stock, and oil, with many recipes calling for flavoring elements as well. The ingredients are mixed together and kneaded much like bread dough, and then the resulting gummy dough is then either boiled, baked (either in broth, straight up, or rolled into a log inside tight aluminum foil), or occasionally fried. Basic seitan is high in protein (more than tofu even!) and low in fat and salt.
Now, I’m usually a tofu girl. I love seitan when I can get it pre-prepared at a restaurant (or vegan cheese steak style like in San Francisco), but I often tell myself I don’t have the time to make it from scratch myself. While making a batch of my own seitan is more time consuming than opening up yet another package of tofu, seitan tastes better, has a better texture, and is probably better for me than my regular extra firm. Seitan slices thinner and works better in sandwiches and doesn’t get hard in stews, stroganoffs, and other saucy concoctions, and since I make it myself, I can customize the flavour without dropping an extra $3 for a flavour combo I don’t like anyway.
What am I saying? Seitan is my friend, and it should be yours too.
There are a bunch of great seitan recipes kicking around out there. Isa Moskowitz has posted her basic recipe. Jess over at Get Sconed is just one of the many bloggers who has posted the famous Seitan O’ Greatness recipe invented by a PPKer known (to me, anyway) only as Lachesis. Julie Hasson of Everyday Dish even made up a seitan-based sausage recipe that produces great homemade vegan sausages.
My point, I suppose is that seitan may be a bit more work than slicing into a pack of tofu, but it’s worth it, and I encourage all of you to experiment and find your own favorite uses. As for me, I’m rocking the Vietnamese seitan baguette dip sandwiches from Veganomicon, and I’m stoked.
Vegans tend to make a lot of substitutions in their cooking. Whether it’s subbing flax goop for eggs or soy for cow, vegans who cook tend to get pretty good at swapping out undesirable elements in exchange for shiny happy good ones. Though I would eventually like to write more in depth on these kinds of subs, today, I’m writing about subbing food/cooking for something else: my husband.
Everyone who reads this likely already knows, but I don’t live with my husband. I’m in the process of immigrating so we can be together, but for now, it’s just me and my basement. Some days are shittier than others, but I’ve found that the worst is when I have time to actually notice that I’m alone. When I’m working or teaching or running off getting accidentally drunk, I’m distracted enough not to get totally depressed and mopey. When I have days off (like I had yesterday – my first real, full day off in months, actually), it’s harder to keep it together. So what do I do? Well, yesterday I watched Veronica Mars, practised, went for a run, and cooked like a crazy person.
Since my last visit to San Francisco to be with the DH, I find I can’t sleep through the night, and exacerbating matters, I can’t sleep in. Yesterday started off at 7:00 am, and first thing I did was get up and make granola. Granola is one of those things that I think people forget how easy and how good it is. It takes well to all kinds of customization and keeps well to boot. My granola tends to be simple, but the recipe I use can be supplemented without really any call for monkeying around with the base mixture. Here it is, Jordan’s Simple Stupid Hippie Granola:
Ingredients
1 1/2 cup oats (NOT quick cooking!)
1/3 cup walnuts, pecans, or almonds, roughly chopped
1/4 cup shredded coconut
1/4 – 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
2 – 3 tbsp oil
1/4 cup ground flax seed
1/3 cup dried apricots, chopped
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350. In a clean, dry mixing bowl, combine the oats, nuts, and coconut. Put the mixture on a cookie sheet, spreading it out so it sits evenly on the sheet. Pop it in the oven for 10 minutes and then take it out to mix it around (the danger with this part of the process is that the stuff on top can cook faster than the stuff underneath, and you end up with burnt nuts or oats – gross!). Put the oat mixture back in the oven and bake (making sure nothing on the top layer is getting too toasted) for 15 – 20 minutes, or until you start to smell the nuts toasting and the aroma of the oats. Remove from oven.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the maple syrup, oil, flax, and dried apricots. Add the hot oat mixture, and stir well to combine. If you like your granola warm, eat it now. Otherwise, wait a bit, and it will start to get all clumpy, just like store bought. Store in an airtight container, but not for too long. Granola is easy and quick and best when fresh, so make it often!
Stay tuned for Seitanfest later today!
