Vegan help

[fabrisse]

I wish I could remember the name of the vegan who referred to herself as a "Minion of seitan," but at the moment I can't.

While I'm not vegan, nor even vegetarian, I seem to be heading toward a more vegetable based diet. Some of it's my heart condition; most of it is a change in my palate.

I like tofu. I eat it occasionally, but I want to work with seitan more. I see different types of it at the market and would love to know more recipes and understand the differences among them.

So, does anyone have any seitan tips? Recipes they like?

Comments

[lauradi7.livejournal.com]

I'm not much of a cook, but I like to have a box of this
http://www.tofutown.net/index.php?id=93
(cut seitan up into little pieces)with vast quantities of spinach (fresh or frozen), some garlic, and brown rice.

[fabrisse.livejournal.com]

Thank you. That looks like a good place to start. I bet collard greens would be good with that, too.

[aizjanika.livejournal.com]

Could it be Brother Ron Pickarski? I really have no clue.

I have not often used store-bought seitan. I know how to make it from scratch with whole wheat flour, but the best way is to buy gluten flour and/or flavored gluten flour and make your own "instant" seitan.

My favorite place to buy it is the Mail Order Catalog. I buy the Harvest Direct seitan mix or (more usually) the plain gluten flour here.

I recommend two cookbooks: Cooking with Gluten and Seitan by Dorothy R. Bates and Colby Wingate and Friendly Foods by Brother Ron PIckarski, OFM. (The second one is not specifically a seitan cookbook.) One of my other favorite recipes comes from The Real Food Cook Book by Jurea L. Dawson, but this was a self-published book that I bought from a friend many years ago.

I'm going to see if I can get my recipe program to export the recipes, but if not, I'll just type them up.

[fabrisse.livejournal.com]

That's a very useful link. Most of the packaged seitan is expensive. That would be much more economical, though I'd still need to learn more about it (and how to add flavors to it).

Thank you so much.

[aizjanika.livejournal.com]

heh I just noticed you said "herself" in reference to the first thing. I guess it's not the guy I suggested. :-)

[aizjanika.livejournal.com]

This is not my favorite way to make gluten/seitan, but it's a basic recipe for making seitan, possibly for use in other recipes.

Basic Gluten

Book: MasterCook Recipes
Chapter: American

Makes 4 servings
From Cooking with Gluten and Seitan by Dorothy R. Bates and Colby Wingate

1 cup instant wheat gluten flour (vital wheat gluten)
1/8 cup water or vegetable stock
6 cups vegetable broth

Stir together thoroughly in a bowl:

1 cup instant gluten flour
1/8 cup water or vegetable stock

Knead a minute to blend. Divide into 16 to 20 balls, stretching and pressing to flatten into cutlets.

Drop the gluten cutlets into:

6 cups vegetable stock

Cover the pan and bring the stock to a simmer. Reduce the heat to very low and simmer the cutlets gently for about 50 minutes. Drain and cool before using.

From book:

Per serving: Calories: 103, Protein: 28 gm., Carbohydrates: 5 gm., Fat: 1 gm.

[aizjanika.livejournal.com]

This is a basic recipe for a gluten roast. I have another recipe that I have used more often, but I have to search for it. Yet another casualty of the messed-up computers. heh I can't access my old MasterCook, which is where that recipe would be. Grrr... I'm going to try to install it again and see if I can import the old cookbook. Hopefully that will work.

Sorry that the ingredients are listed twice. I was trying to keep it exactly the way it was in the book, but in order for the recipe program to analyze the ingredients, they have to be entered into the ingredient list at the top.


Pot Roast with Vegetables

Book: MasterCook Recipes
Chapter: American

From Cooking with Gluten and Seitan by Dorothy R. Bates and Colby Wingate - An old-fashioned hearty meal with a tantalizing aroma as it cooks. Leftover pot roast is excellent to slice, cube, or grind for other recipes.

2 cups instant wheat gluten
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon onion powder, optional
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 cups warm water
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce (I use low-sodium tamari.)
5 cups water
2 tablespoons soy sauce (I use low-sodium tamari.)
2 tablespoons olive oil
8 wholes potatoes cut in quarters
6 wholes carrots cut in 2" chunks
3 mediums onions cut in halves
1 tablespoon arrowroot
2 tablespoons cold water

Stir together thoroughly in a 2-quart bowl:

2 cups instant gluten flour
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon onion powder (optional)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon black pepper (I omit this or use less of freshly ground pepper.)

Measure into another bowl:

1 1/2 cups warm water
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce

Mix wet and dry ingredients together all at once, adding a spoonful or two of water if all the dry ingredients are not moistened. Knead a minute to blend and shape into an oval loaf. Lightly oil the bottom of a large oven roasting pan that has a tight fitting cover. Place gluten in roasting pan.

Preheat oven to 350° and mix for the cooking broth:

5 cups water
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce

Pour broth over gluten and cook uncovered for 30 minutes. If gluten puffs up, prick with a fork all over the top. Remove from oven and carefully turn the roast over. Surround with:

8 potatoes, cut into quarters
6 carrots, cut into 2": chunks
3 medium onions, cut in halves

Baste the vegetables with the pan liquids, cover the roasting pan, return to oven and bake 1 hour more, basting roast and vegetables once or twice during the cooking time. Remove roast to a platter and surround with vegetables.

To thicken the cooking liquid for gravy, mix:

1 tablespoon arrowroot
3 tablespoons cold water

Slowly add 2 - 3 cups cooking liquid, cooking and stirring until it thickens and bubbles.

Per serving: Calories: 296, Protein: 32 gm., Carbohydrates: 34 gm., Fat: 7 gm.