Sesame Seitan

Man I love seitan. If I was stranded on a desert island, and had to choose one thing to eat, it would be seitan (.... not a dead animal, like the common ridiculous vegan morality question).

This is a take on one of my favorite Chinese take-out dishes, sesame tofu.

Really simple, really delicious.

Ingredients

canola oil
1 lb seitan, chunked up
1/4 cup cornstarch

4 cloves garlic, minced
thumbsize piece of ginger, peeled and minced
4 green onions, sliced thin, separate whites from green tops

1/2 head each broccoli and cauliflower, or use baby broccoli, or yau choy, chopped
1 bell pepper julienned

Coat seitan in cornstarch and fry in a few tablespoons canola oil.

Remove from wok, or pan. Add garlic, scallion bottoms, and ginger. Stir-Fry for 30 seconds or so.
Add cauliflower, broccoli, and a few tablespoons of water. Cook for about 5 mins, then add peppers.
Make a space in wok, or big pan, to make the sauce. Add a few tablespoons tamari, sesame oil and agave nectar. Add seitan back into pan. At this point you may want to add a cornstarch slurry to thicken. Coat everything with the sauce. Plate it up with scallion tops and sesame seeds.

Cookies, Cannellini Salad Letuce Cups, Polenta Seitan Skillet Redux

Dinner tonight was influenced by all the food blogs out there. I tried my hand at the combination of polenta, greens and seitan at decided to stray away from the one-dish idea. I pan fried the polenta, sauted the greens with garlic, seared the seitan, and added a few little bits. The cannellini bean salad was served in bibb lettuce cups with a garlic aoli.

Cannellini bean salad.

1 clove Garlic, smashed, minced, and made into a paste with salt
3 green onions, sliced on the bias
1 can cannellini beans
2 heirloom tomatoes, diced
olive oil
rosemary
salt and pepper
lemon juice

Mix together to taste

Garlic Aoli

1 box silken tofu
2 T olive oil ( sub water for low fat)
Lemon juice
3 cloves roasted garlic
salt

Whizz together in blender or processor.

Tear the lettuce leaves from base to make a cup, spoon salad into cup. Drizzle aoli over the top.

Seared braised seitan, polenta rounds, grilled king trumpets, roasted turnips, wilted swiss chard, demi-glace gravy.

Two Recipe takes on Agave Chocolate Chip Cookies.
I am working on perfecting these and will post the recipe when it is perfect. In the mean time I am going to eat a lot of cookies. I'm happy.

Two quick breads, one dough

This recipe utilizes my basic banana bread recipe, but I divided the dough in half to make two different breads. The first is basic banana bread with walnuts. The second I added a grated carrot, chopped dates and apricots, walnuts, and coconut (my take on the morning glory muffin).

Ingredients
5 bananas, ripened, smashed with a fork
1/2 cup each agave nectar and maple syrup.
1/4 cup canola oil

1/4 cup ground flaxseed
1/2 cup soymilk
1 T apple cider vinegar

2 1/2 cups flour
2 T baking powder
1 T baking soda
1 T cinnamon
1 t nutmeg, fresh

1 cup walnuts
3/4 cup dried fruit, bite size
1 cup coconut
1 medium - large carrot grated

Method

1. Mix smashed bananas with oil and syrups. Mix ground flax with soymilk and vinegar. Add to bananas mixture.
2. mix together dry and add to wet.
3. Add walnuts, and divide in half. Add remaining add-ins to batter. Pour each into prepared bread pans. Bake at 350 for about 35-40 mins.

Garden Goodness

There is nothing quite like harvesting your own food. Getting the satisfaction of biting into a fresh, sweet, and juicy tomato that is still warm from the sun makes it all worth the effort. Whether it is a Roma, heirloom, or cherry they all seem to satisfy their purposes in different dishes. A fresh tomato carpaccio salad with garden basil, really good olive oil, salt and pepper showcases the heirlooms. While the cherry tomatoes add a burst of sweetness to pasta dishes with sliced sauted artichokes, shaved asparagus, garlic, lemon, olive oil and some crushed red pepper. Beautiful summer dishes can be created with a proper tomato. Sorry that I don't have any pictures of the food, but hopefully the garden bounty can create your own inspiration.

Pan Seared Balsamic Tofu, Spinach and Sundried Tomato Quinoa, Sweet Sofrito

So I decided to whip up a sofrito with a surplus of tomatoes that I had. I made it simple and delicious by roasting it in the oven alongside the seared tofu.



Tofu-----> Vegan Worchestershire sauce, 2T, Balsamic vinegar, 4 T, olive oil, 4 T ,garlic, 2 cloves minced, or 1 T powder, seasoned salt, 1T, Nutritional yeast, 1/4 cup, 1 block extra firm tofu. Marinate in all ingredients for a half hour or more. sear in hot pan on both sides. sprinkle with a little extra nooch before cooking to form a little crust.

sofrito----> Onions, Tomatoes, garlic, carrots, bell pepper, salt, pepper, olive oil, agave syrup, Fresh basil and parsley added at the last minute

quinoa----> 4 cups salted water, 1 1/2 cups quinoa. boil water add quinoa and 2 T olive oil and minced garlic. After finished cooking add chopped sundried tomatoes and fresh spinach that will wilt perfectly in the quinoa. Finish with more olive oil and seasoning.

Assemble---> Eat---> Enjoy

Moussaka and more Teese

So, I have been trying to use up the huge block of Teese for a while and I finally finished it. Last night was a pretty fast simple dinner.... because the moussaka was frozen from when i had made it a while ago. I am not the one to like frozen foods, but this actually worked out well and the flavors stood out really well.

Assembled Teese, WW Bread rubbed with olive oil and a garlic clove, sliced vine tomatoes, and fresh basil from the garden.( Tomatoes aren't quite ready yet...cannot wait though)
Beautifully melted Teese on the simply delicious Crostini Margherita .
Here is the finished plate.

Moussaka recipe.

2 large eggplants, sliced lengthwise 1/2 in thick
3-4 Large zucchini , sliced lengthwise 1/2 in thick
2 lbs yukon gold potatoes, boiled, mashed with 2 tbsp EB and 2 tbsp unsweetened soymilk
1 onion, large, chopped
prepared basic tomato sauce: tomatoes, olive oil, basil, oregano, salt and pepper
1-2 cups diced seitan, or crumbled veggie burger, or any of that ground soy meat
2-3 cloves minced garlic
cinnamon
allspice
oregano
salt and pepper
bechamel sauce: roux of EB and flour in equal parts, unsweetened soymilk whisked into cooked roux, fresh nutmeg at the end
Vegan mozzarella

Method:
Roast zucchini and eggplant in 425 degree oven with olive oil salt and pepper for about 20 minutes or until soft but not mushy.
Meanwhile, add seitan onion and garlic to saute pan. Cook for 10 minutes or so, add tomato sauce to moisten but not too much. About 1- 1+1/2 cups. Cinnamon, allspice salt and pepper and oregano.
Once ready, layer the moussaka with seitan sauce first then roasted veg then mashed potatoes then more seitan sauce. Repeat and end with potatoes. Top last potato layer with bechamel, cheese, and vegan Parmesan. Put into preheated 350 degree oven for about 30 mins. Once done let cool for about 5-10 mins then cut and enjoy.