Vegan Mongolian Seitan

Dinner was a hit tonight, even to my meat eating husband!

Seitan:
1 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
16 oz Seitan, cut into 1" chunks

In a skillet, heat the oil over medium heat, add seitan and cook 5 minutes each side.

Sauce:
2 tsp Vegetable Oil
1/2 tsp Ginger, minced or grated
3 cloves Garlic, minced or grated
1/4 Onion, diced
1/4 tsp Red Pepper flakes
1/2 cup Low-sodium Soy Sauce
1/2 cup Sugar
Toasted Sesame Seeds

Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat, add ginger, garlic and onions for 2-3 minutes.  Add soy sauce and sugar and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add browned seitan to saucepan and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Sever with rice and vegetable.

Vegan Seitan

Emily has been making vegan seitan for about a year and I figure it was about time that I start experimenting.  This is my first attempt.

• 1 1/2 cups cold vegetable broth
• 2 Tbsp olive oil

Whisk together broth and olive oil and set aside.

• 1 1/2 cups vital wheat gluten
• 1/4 cup chickpea, potato or rice flour
• 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 1/2 tsp poultry seasoning
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 Tbsp sea salt

Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl, mix well, and create a well in the center.  Pour wet ingredients into the center well.  Stir until mixture pulls away from sides of bowl.  Knead the dough for 2-3 minutes.  Let the dough rest for 10 minutes and kneed for another minute before shaping into desired nugget, cutlet, or loaf.

Steam in vegetable broth for 30 minutes.

Remove from steamer and cool for 30 minutes.

Store in refrigerator up to 2 weeks or freeze up to 4 months.

Suggested recipes using Seitan:

• BBQ Flavored Seitan & Avocado Wrap
• BBQ Seitain Ribs
• Chicago Dinner Radical Ruben
• Roasted Seitain, Peppers & Portobellos
• Seitan Meatballs
• Vegan Buffalo Wings

Apple Butter

Nothing says fall season like the smell of slow cooking apples and spices!  When making apple butter I like using a variety of apples, like Jonathan, Winesap, Fuji, Gala, MacIntosh, Homeycrisp, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, etc.

12-15 Apples, large, peeled, cored and cut into chunks
2 cups Apple Cider, Apple Juice or Water
2 cups Brown Sugar
2 tsp Cinnamon, ground
1/2 tsp Allspice, ground
1/4 tsp Cloves, ground
1/2 tsp Nutmeg, ground
Pinch of Salt

Combine all items in a slow cooker and cook with cover on medium heat for 6-8 hours.  Puree mixture until smooth, using a blender or immersion blender.  Cook an additional hour uncovered to thicken.

Sterilize jars and lids for 10 minutes in a hot water canning bath.  Fill hot jars with apple butter leaving 1/4" space on top.  Run knife around the inside of jar to remove air bubbles.  Wipe rims of jar to remove food residue.  Place sealed jar into large stockpot with boiling water and boil for 15 minutes (half pint/8 ounce and pint/16 ounce jars).

Vegan Chili and Cornbread

I have been vegetarian for years, but in an effort to become healthier I am trying to become vegan.  I have been worried about becoming vegan for the lack of variety.  But I am quickly discovering that is not the case.  Tonight dinner was a success and very tasty.

Vegan Chili

• 4 cups Hot Water
• 2 cups Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP)
• 2 Tbsp Ketchup

In a large bowl, poor boiling water over TVP flakes, add ketchup, stir and set aside.

• 2 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
• 1 large Onion, chopped
• 1 Bell Pepper, chopped
• 1 Jalapeno Pepper, chopped
• 2 Carrots, chopped
• 2 stalks of Celery, chopped
• 1 cup Mushrooms, chopped
• 2 cloves Garlic, chopped

Heat a large Dutch oven, add oil and saute veggies a few minutes.

• 1 Tbsp Chili Powder
• 1 tsp Cumin
• 1 tsp Oregano
• 1 tsp Cayenne Pepper
• 2 - 28 oz cans Tomatoes, Chopped
• 2 - 16 oz cans Red Kidney Beans with Liquid

Add spices, tomatoes and beans to saute vegetables and stir.  Drain and dispose of liquid from soaking TVP.  Add TVP to Dutch oven mixture and stir.  Cover and simmer for 30 minutes to one hour.

Cornbread

• 1 1/4 cup Cornmeal
• 1 cup All Purpose Flower
• 1 cup unsweetened Almond Milk
• 1/2 cup Sugar
• 5 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
• 2 tsp Baking Powder
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 3/4 cup Corn, fresh or frozen
• Water as needed, to thin mixture

Preheat oven to 400F and lightly grease a 8" by 8" pan.

In a large bowl, stir lightly, do not over mix.  Add a few tablespoons of water if mixture is to thick and dry.  Power into the greased pan and spread evenly.

Bake 25 minutes and let cool 15 minutes before serving.

Lemonade Concentrate

We go through a lot of lemonade in this house, and being we live in Southern California with citrus trees readily available, I decided to start making our own concentrate.

• 1 cup of Water
• 1 cup of Sugar
• 1 cup of Lemon Juice
• 1 Tbsp Lemon Zest

Boil water and sugar in a heavy saucepan on medium heat until sugar has dissolved.  Set aside and allow to cool completely.  Stir in fresh squeezed lemon juice, lemon zest, mix well and fill 16 oz canning jars leaving a one inch head space and freeze.

Defrost frozen lemonade concentrate and mix one 16 oz jar of concentrate with three 16 oz jars of water and enjoy.