MOFO - Day 14 - AVK Seiatan

Every once in a while you run accross a recipe that is just perfect for what you need. This savory seitan is the perfect recipe for making recipes that need a good toothesome cutlet. I love to use this recipe for things like chicken fried seitan (shown below with jalapeno gravy), seitan parmesan and one of my favorite conversions, Seitan Oscar.You can also cut thiem into smaller pieces. They make fantastic chicken fingers or faux wingz. Get creative! These cutlets will make you happy.

Savory Seitan

2 1/2 cups vital wheat gluten

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

1/4 cup soy flour

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons ketchup

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon browning sauce, optional

1/4 cup red wine, or additional broth

1 1/2 cups plus 4 cups chilled vegetable broth, divided

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon canola oil

In a medium bowl, combine the vital wheat gluten, yeast and flour. Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, ketchup, olive oil, browning sauce, wine, 1 1/4 cup vegetable broth and garlic. Mix well and add to the dry ingredients. Stir together with a wooden spoon, adding the remaining 1/4 cup broth, if needed to make a firm but workable dough. Knead for about 2 minutes, or until a cohesive dough is formed.

Let the dough rest for 15 minutes, then divide it into 10 dough balls. Place a dough ball between two sheets of parchment paper and use a rolling pin to roll it out to 1/4 inch thickness. The cutlet will shrink some during cooking, so make it about 1-inch larger then you want it to be when cooked. Continue with the remaining dough balls, keeping the cutlets separated so they don't stick together.

Preheat oven to 300 F. Heat the canola oil in large skillet over medium heat. Working in batches, add the cutlets in a large roasting pan and cover with the 4 cups of broth. Cover the pan tightly with foil and place in the oven. Bake 1 hour, turning once. Let the cutlets cool in the broth. The seitan is now ready to use or store until needed.

Printed with permission from American Vegan Kitchen (Vegan Heritage Press, 2010). Copyright Tamasin Noyes

There is an option for slow cooker method in the book.I am a huge fan of crock pot seitan recipes. It takes about 10 or 15 minutes to whip up your seitan dough, roll it into one or two roasts, depending on the shape and size you want. Put it in enough cold stock to cover your roasts and let it go on low for 8 hours. I like to add black peppercorns, bay leaves, smashed garlic cloves and a few sprigs of fresh parsley to the stock or broth for a little extra flavor!

MOFO - Day 13 - Cold Cuts

Yesterday I told you about the Gobbler Slices from the upcoming sandwich book from Tami Noyes and Celene Steen. They have some other cold cuts in store for you as well. If you've ever bought Tofurkey or any other type of vegan cold cuts, you are painfully aware of how expensive they are and how little you get. These ladies make it very easy to make your own (and it's much cheaper too!) Making cold cuts is as easy as making loaf seitan. It slices like a dream and freezes well for those busy weeks.

You have to check out this masterpiece of a Muffaletta Sammich! It is gigantoid! I have never had a Muffaletta quite like this one. It is an impressive sandwich to say the least. It travels well and will keep for a day in the fridge or in the cooler.

I'm on the road to Chicago for the week. I will be posting from there. I am going to try and hit two popular vegan restaurants while I am there, so check back next week for reviews of Karyn's on Green and Chicago Diner!!!

MOFO - Day 12 - Seitan Invades Your Soup

One thing worth mentioning about steaming seitan is that you don't have to buy a special steamer pot. You can use a pasta pot or regular stock pot with a steamer basket insert. Ikea carries the inserts for only $5.99, but I'm betting you could even find them in some dollar stores. Voila - a very inexpensive and effective steamer!

The steaming method of making seitan is not exclusive to sausage making. Steaming can also be used for roasts or logs. I have been testing for Celene Steen and Tami Noyes' upcoming sandwich book. They have come up with a few pretty ingenius recipes for vegan cold cuts. One such recipe is posted HERE for Gobbler Slices which are, you guesed it, vegan turkey slices! This is a seitan style log that also has beans in it for protein variety. The flavor is so good you might start gobbling yourself.

I screwed up the recipe test for these so mine came out too dry to use as lunch "meat". I didn't want it to go to waste, so I made this warm and wonderful soup. This is perfect for the chilly days that are sure to be around the corner. Serve it with crusty bread for a filling lunch or dinner.

Cream of Broccoli and Turkee Soup

Makes 10 cups

1/4 cup Earth Balance Vegan butter
1 medium onion, diced (approx 1 3/4 cup)
1 stalk celery, small dice
1 teaspoon rosemary, crushed
1/2 teaspoon leaf thyme
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon salt
dash of nutmeg
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 head broccoli, stems diced small, head chopped in florets (approx 5 cups)
6 cups vegetable broth (chicken flavor if you have it)
8 oz. small diced Gobbler Slices, Tofurkey or chicken style seitan (approx. 2 cups)
2 cups soy unsweetened soy creamer

In a large soup pan over medium heat, sauce onions and celery in butter until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes or so. Add rosemary, thyme, white pepper, salt and nutmeg. Saute for about 30 seconds to release the oils from the herbs. Turn heat to very low. Stir in flour. Cook for 5 minutes stirring frequently so that the flour doesn't burn. Add about 1/4 cup of the broth to deglaze, making sure to scrape all of the goodies from the pan. Add remaining broth and chopped broccoli. Turn heat back up to medium. Bring to a simmer and simmer until broccoli is tender, about 10 minutes. Using a stick blender or a regular blender in batches, blend/puree soup. I like to leave it slightly chunky, but this is entirely up to you. Return to pan (if using regular blender). Stir in seitan and soy creamer. Simmer until it is heated through and slightly thicker, 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and let rest for 10-15 minutes. This will intensify the flavors. Serve with a nice rustic bread.

MOFO - Day 11 - Seitan Sausages Steamin' Baby!

Well I am not sure if they are world famous, but they should be! Julie Hasson is just a lovely person on top of being a ridiculously awesome vegan chef/author/ hostess. She has this recipe for vegan Italian Sausages that are so good even my meat eating family loves them. Here is a link to her video and recipe. You will truly be amazed at how easy they are to make.

I use them in many different ways, pizza, pasta, sandwiches. Oh man, now I'm hungry!!

Here they are nekid and browning up beautifully in the pan (after steaming of course)

Slathered with marinara over penne:

This one is not one of Julie's but was made by using a similar method. It is part of the infamous "Tater Pig"

Here is Kittee's Cajun version!

Here is my own version! This recipe for this one is still top secret, but here it is as a mexican hot dog!

All of these sausages are made by the steaming method. I puffy heart this method. It is quite easy and the results are consistently awesome. The sausages come out with a medium firm texture when they are cooked. You can slice them easily or just use them whole.

Like all seitan, there are so many variations! One cool thing about vegan sausages made by this method is that they don't require a casing. They kind of make their own as they steam. Another really great feature is that you can shape them into links or patties. Once you mix up the seitan dough and shape them, you wrap them individually in foil leaving a bit of room for them to expand. Throw them in the steamer for 30 minutes and you have some really incredible inexpensive home made snausages!

MOFO - Day 10 - Seitan is NOT the Devil - Giveaway Winner!!

What is this seitan that we veg types speak of? While it is pronounced like Satan, it is not evil. Seitan which can also be called wheat gluten, gluten or mock meat is a meat analog (faux meat) made from vital wheat gluten, sometimes other flours, seasonings and flavored liquids. Vital wheat gluten is quite different from regular wheat flour. It is much higher in protein content, which makes it ideal for making a high protein meat substitution. The protein content can vary a bit from recipe to recipe and brand to brand. You can expect to get 20-30 grams of protein per 4 oz serving. Impressive I know!

In the days of the dinosaur, the traditional method of making seitan was kind of a pain and took a lot of time. The poor cook would have to mix flour and water to form a dough.  Then it would have to be kneaded under running for like 30 minutes to remove the starch. After all of that manual labor, the dough would then be simmered for a couple of hours and if you were lucky, you would simmer it correctly and get an edible batch.

Thankfully, these days there are much simpler methods. A few of the most common methods are the simmering method, the baked method, the slow cooker method and the steamed method. I've tried them all. Each method yields a different texture. Which one you chose will depend on what recipes you want to make.

The first type of seitan I ever made was Isa Chandra Moskowitz's recipe from Veganomicon that uses the simmering method. Amazingly the first time I made it, it turned out perfectly. The simmering method produces a very tender and juicy type of seitan which is great for searing or using in Asian dishes. I personally find this method the trickiest of those I've listed, but if you can get it down without producing "brainy" seitan, the flavor is just outstanding.

Let's talk about brains. Brainy seitan can ruin your day and your recipe. First, make sure that you start by putting your gluten dough into COLD simmering liquid with plenty of room to expand. Brainy or spongy seitan is usually caused by letting the simmering liquid come to a boil. This is a big no-no in making simmered seitan. To prevent the nasty globs of spongy gluten, you must actually watch the pot so it never boils! Seriously, do not let it boil. Keep the heat low enough so it very, very gently simmers. Hopefully after about an hour of gently simmering, you will have beautiful and delicious seitan.

Another word to the wise: when you are measuring and using vital wheat gluten, be careful not to spill much. If you do, wipe it up with a dry towel or else you will have a sticky mess on your wet towel. That gluten is crazy sticky stuff.

This top picture shows a seitan that has gone the way of the brain. You can see that there is no true form to the gluten. It actually looks mushy and spongy:

This next picture shows perfect simmered seitan. Look at how well formed these babies look:

Throughout the week, we will look at the different seitan cooking methods and some delicious seitan recipes. There are so many things you can do with a little vital wheat gluten!

Now we can't forget to announce the winner of the Butler Soy Curls giveaway!! The winner is #20 Cadyr's Kitchen!! She adores Vegan Brunch and wants to make some Courico Tacos with her new found stash of soy curls. Please make sure to email me a good shipping address at vegintraining @ gmail dot com so that I can send you your goodies. Have a delicious Monday!

Lachesis' Seitan O'Greatness

This recipe for seitan is infamous for being one of the longest lived topics on the original PPK forums. There is a very good reason for its longevity and popularity. It is hands down one of the most fool proof, flexible and easy seitan to make. The original is not online anymore, but if it has been revived somewhere, I hope I can find it. Many great PPK cooks made variations that were outstanding. If you have never made seitan on your own before, I highly recommend you try this one first. That way you can have seitan success right off the bat and you will never want to buy pre-made again. 


I found the recipes posted on Spark People with the following nutritional info. Look at that protein content!!! 20 g per serving and only 152 calories. I'd say that's a pretty good hit o'protein.

Nutritional Info

• Servings Per Recipe: 8
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 151.9

• Total Fat: 4.1 g
• Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
• Sodium: 489.7 mg
• Total Carbs: 9.9 g
• Dietary Fiber: 1.8 g
• Protein: 20.2 g

Lachesis' Seitan O' Greatness

Ingredients:

1.5 cups vital wheat gluten

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

1 tsp salt

2 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp cumin

1-2 tsp pepper (I use 2 tsp)

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (you can use 1/8 tsp if you like it less spicy)

1/8 tsp allspice

2 tsp garlic powder

3/4 cups water

4 tbsp tomato paste

1 tbsp tamari

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsp vegetarian Worcestershire sauce

Directions

Preheat oven to 325°.

In a large mixing bowl mix dry ingredients. Mix the rest of the ingredients (liquid ingredients) in a smaller mixing bowl. Whisk well until mixed.

Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients. Mix well, then knead for a minute or two.. it doesn't need long.

Form into a log (6-8" long), wrap tightly in foil, twisting ends. Bake for 90 minutes. When done baking, unwrap and leave out to cool all the way. Then wrap it foil or plastic and refrigerate. Slice to use as desired.

Number of Servings: 8

MOFO - Day 9 - Soy Curls and another Giveaway!!!

Today is the last day of Soy You Think You Can Dance Week. I thought we should go out with an amazing product, Butler Soy Curls. These are like a miracle product! They are super easy to prepare and have an awesome texture. They can be used in any dish you may have used chicken like soups, casseroles, stir fry, fajitas, chick salads, you see where I'm going with this. 

So, you might be thinking, what about the protein content? Well these will give you an impressive 10 g of protein per 3/4 cup serving! What I find so amazing about Soy Curls is that they are made with just one ingredient: textured whole non-GMO soy beans...that's it. They are super easy to use. To rehydrate you just soak in warm water for 10 minutes. They will soften up into a nice chewy texture. Like TVP, the curls themselves don't have much flavor, but they are amazing when added to your recipes. Butler foods has a listing of where you can buy Soy Curls HERE on their website. Those of you reading in the Phoenix area can buy them at Green New American Vegetarian in Scottsdale. You can also order them online. 

One of my favorite and simple ways to eat them is to just rehydrate and drain them. Simmer them in your favorite BBQ sauce for about 10 minutes to absorb the flavor. Caramelize some onions and throw them all on a torpedo roll. MMMMmmmm MMMMmmmmm! A deliciously messy sandwich you will LOVE!

Here is another killer recipe using this miracle protein. Courico Tacos with Pineapple Salsa from Vegan Brunch. I found a preview of the recipe online. If you don't have Vegan Brunch, you can find the recipe here. Oh and if you don't have Vegan Brunch...get it. I tested for this book and made most everything from it. It has some amazing recipes!!

I really like giving stuff away, so today one of you will win a case (6 - 8 oz bags) of this amazing product. I know once you try them you will be hooked. Sorry guys, but this one is for US folks only this time around. The rules are the same as the last giveaway. All you have to do is be a follower and make a comment on this post by 11pm MST. To make it fun, tell us what you think you'd like to make with Soy Curls! The winner will be selected by random.org and I'll announce it tomorrow. Have a great Sunday!!!