That Seductive Seitan!

WARNING: If you are gluten-sensitive or gluten-intolerant, close your eyes now, 'cause I'm about to hit you with a mega-dose of gluten-y goodness.

When I started eating an entirely vegan diet in 1997 (I am no longer a strict vegan, but I'm still in the habit of eating only plant-based foods most of the time), there were not many "fake meat" products available anywhere.  It was tofu, tofu, tofu, and after I'd cooked that up about a thousand ways, I was tired of it.  I wanted chewiness, I wanted density, I wanted meaty-ness.  So I flipped out when I found Veggie Ribs dry mix in the health food store, because it was exactly what I wanted.  The mix was essentially vital wheat gluten flour (made from wheat protein, with the bran and starch removed) with spices and flavoring added.  I had no idea what gluten flour was and I didn't care--I just knew that when I mixed it with water and tahini, it turned into good, chewy, fake ribs. I later learned that this is called "seitan" or "wheat gluten".

Over the years, a million vegan blogs and cookbooks popped up and taught me that I could actually make my own seitan, from scratch, from plain ol' wheat gluten flour.  I was intrigued.  I started buying the stuff in bulk and experimenting with the various methods (boiling, baking, steaming, deep-frying) and realized that the possibilities are absolutely endless with this stuff.  It didn't hurt that seitan was also lower in calories and fat than meat, plus it had 16 grams of protein per 3 oz. serving.  Bitchin'!

As much as I love gluten, I only eat it about once a week because it can make me a little tired and big-bellied if I eat more than a small serving (which I always end up doing because I make it so damn good). Some people say it makes them feel crappy. Other people can eat it daily, no problem. And, yet, others (the 1% of Americans with Celiac Disease) can't eat it at all without severe gastrointestinal pain.  Bummer.

Controversial food, eh?

Behold, the "Seitanic Super Bowl Spread":

Saucy Seitan Wings with "Bleu Cheese" Dip, 
Asparagus, and Watermelon Radishes
HOT WINGS (melted Earth Balance & Louisiana Hot Sauce)
SESAME WINGS (tamari, maple syrup, ginger, garlic, sesame oil & sesame seeds)
SPICY BBQ WINGS (Bulls-Eye, Sriracha, yellow mustard)

I used to follow an exact recipe for the seitan, but now I change up the ingredients every time I make it. I'll add oil or peanut butter for a fattier texture, or use red wine in place of water, or use twice as much onion powder, whatever, it doesn't matter, it always comes out GOOD.

 Instead of boiling the kneaded seitan in broth, I cut up the dough into wing-sized pieces and baked them on a cookie sheet for about 15 minutes at 350.  I then slathered them in their sauces and put them back in the oven for 3 minutes.  The "Bleu Cheese" Dip is 1/2 soy yogurt, 1/2 Vegenaise, and a spoonful of preserved bean curd. Um. Really good.  My husband and I may have eaten that entire platter.

And if you're in the mood for pepperoni...

Spicy Seitanic Pepperoni

While I was cooking tomato sauce for some pizza the other night, I thought that spicy pepperoni sounded pretty excellent, and luckily I still had some gluten flour.  I used the basic seitan recipe that floats around in my head, but added sausage-y ingredients, like: crushed red pepper flakes, smoked sea salt, fennel, thyme, oregano, nutmeg and olive oil.  Rolled a few chunks into links and wrapped them tightly in foil, then just put them in the toaster oven at 375 degrees for about 12 minutes.  Opened up the foil and let them cook 3 more minutes. They sort of steam themselves this way, but the outer layer gets nice and toasty.  I love love love the way these came out and I want to use them in a pasta dish or stuff them in a sandwich soon.


Of course, since I was already making sauce and pepperoni, I figured I should experiment with some "cheese" for my pizza....

Seitanic Pepperoni Pizza with Nut Ricotta

(on whole wheat crust, courtesy of Trader Joe's)

I've heard than macadamia nuts make great spreads and "ricotta-like" cheeses when blended up, so that's what I went for.  In the Magic Bullet, I mixed macadamia nuts, siken tofu, water, onion and garlic powders, preserved bean curd (for that cheesy flavor), nutritional yeast, salt & pepper, oregano and umeboshi plum paste (nut butters and pastes always seem a little sweet for me, so the tart umeboshi helps balance it out).  Yep.  I will make this again.  It was perfect on the pizza and even turned a little golden in the oven, but it's  also good just as a cold spread or dip.  It's even better two days later when the flavors have really meshed, aww yeah. 


Okay, you can open your eyes now!  I think in order to make up for the serious seitan overdose, I will have to make my next post entirely gluten-free.  Ideas?  Anyone craving something that is hard to find sans-gluten?  I'm up for the challenge...

MO' BETTA MOVIE SNACKS

Love the movies, hate the snack options.
I adored candy, soda and concession stand nachos as a kid, but now that stuff gives me a queasy stomach, sugar headache and acid reflux before the opening credits are even through.  I'm not exaggerating for dramatic value, and I'm not a cranky, finicky old lady, either, I swear!  That stuff ruins me!  And it's expensive, geesh.

However, eating while watching movies is a pleasure that I don't ever deny myself, so...I bring my own goods to the theater. Don't judge me--you do it, too.  I know you.  I hear your plastic baggies.

Here is an easy, gooood-tasting alternative to Peanut M&Ms, the old fave that I've only recently let go of (I must admit):

Chocolate Nutty Nuggets!

(yep, just three ingredients: chocolate chips, peanut butter and dry cereal)

Melt a couple handfuls of semi-sweet chocolate chips (next time I'll use grain-sweetened, these were still slightly too sugary for me) in a saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly.  Add a big, heaping tablespoon of peanut butter and stir it in until completely mixed. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.  Crush up some cereal (I used Nature's Path Corn Flakes in the cubed nuggets above, and Health Valley Rice Crunch-Ems in the rounder nuggets, below) by hand or in a food processor and stir it in to the chocolate peanut butter.  You can then spread it on a small casserole dish, chill until firm, and cut up into cubes.

Or...you can roll up little balls by hand, like I did below, which takes a lot of time, but makes for a more authentic M&M result.  

The cereal surprisingly makes it crunchy, like the candy coating on Peanut M&Ms.  

Who knew?

And hey, as long as you've got the Rice Crunch-Ems out (ugh, "healthier" products always have such dumb names), why not make some...

BBQ Snack Mix!

Just like your old pal, "Chex Mix", but without the migraine headaches from the MSG! What a concept!  

EASY:

In a large bowl, mix together 4 parts BBQ sauce and 1 part olive oil, plus a little hot sauce if you like.  Dump the cereal into the bowl and toss well to coat thoroughly.  Spread the cereal mixture on a cookie sheet and put in a 200 degree oven for 45 minutes.  Stir it around every 15 minutes, or it will slightly burn and ruin the flavor.  Let air-dry and cool completely before mixing it with whatever you like---I added wasabi peas, raisins and dried cherries.  I love this stuff.

Hey, we always buy seltzer and other stuff from our friends at the independent theater, too (nutritional yeast popcorn FOREVER). We're not total jerks.  And we can't help it if a tiny flask follows us to our seats, either.

Hit me with some more movie snack ideas!

Mochi Mania!

   I broke my promise about a "movie snacks" post, mostly because Lane and I ate everything before I photographed it, but I will deliver this week! Going to see the Serge Gainsbourg flick on Friday, and I will definitely need to be armed with superior alternatives to the candy counter. But until then...

 Mochi! Pronounced "mo-chee", this is something I've been eating every day for a week and I can't get enough. I'm not talking about those little flavored ice cream spheres you order at sushi restaurants, though those aren't bad, either. I'm referring to Brown Rice Mochi, a 1-inch thick "cake" made from cooked, pounded grains that you chop up and cook until puffy, gooey and crispy. How did I not know of this genius Japanese invention before now? It's so versatile! So quick to cook! Relatively cheap! My mind can't wrap itself around the culinary possibilities of this food, so this post will just have to contain five variations.

I have yet to bake or deep-fry mochi, my only method has been pan-frying with a little sesame or olive oil. It's very simple--just slide the sheet of mochi out of its package and slice it up however you like (although anything larger than a 3" square will be too soft-centered and will not give you the best gooey-to-crispy ratio). Pan-fry over medium heat with a little oil, about 3-4 minutes each side. I find covering the pan after flipping makes the mochi puff up a little more, which I like.

At this point, you can do whatever you want. I drizzled a mixture of tamari, Sriracha and dijon mustard on the mochi and and tossed it up with sesame seeds and green onions. Then I died. It was awesome.

Triple Sesame Mochi
(garlic-sesame flavored mochi cooked in sesame oil with sesame seeds)

I have plans to make Three Bean Chili and put garlicky mochi on top, sort of like croutons (hey, beans and rice! complete protein!) and I'll also add them to vegetable skewers...ahh, the possibilities. Grainaissance makes a whole line of flavored mochi that I've seen in several stores here in Eugene, so I'm assuming this is a widely available thing?

Mochi for breakfast, please.

Cinnamon-Raisin-Apple Mochi

Cinnamon-Raisin flavored mochi with stewed apples, raisins and barley malt syrup. Roastaroma tea!  So much more filling than I had anticipated.

And then I came across THIS at the market today:

WHAT.  Chocolate Brownie Mochi with WALNUTS.  Oh great, now I was totally forced against my will to think of a dessert.
I went ahead and pan-fried my 2"x1" rectangles of mochi in virgin coconut oil and decided I'd slice them open on one side and stuff them with cherry jam and almond butter.  But, as soon as I got out the almond butter, I started thinking about cashew cream, and then I started  to consider complementing the walnut flavor in the mochi, so I started thinking figs, but you can't have figs without balsamic vinegar, so I had to make a maple-balsamic reduction to drizzle on top...
in the end, I had three different desserts on one plate.  Poor me.

Mochi Brownies three ways
(Cherry Jam w/ Almond Butter;  Walnut-Fig w/ Maple-Balsamic Sauce; Vanilla Cashew Cream w/ Chocolate Chips)

These look really sweet and rich, but they're pretty balanced and almost mellow.  I dislike sweet-sweet stuff (most cake, cookies & candy) so these turned out perfect for me.  Although the brownie mochi contains cane juice, it's just enough to bring out the chocolate flavor and that's it--any additional sweetness came from my fillings, which were pretty simple:

Cherry-Almond: cherry 100% fruit spread, almond butter mixed with maple syrup, crushed almonds
Walnut-Fig: sliced dried black mission figs, chopped walnuts, balsamic vinegar mixed with maple syrup (reduced to a thick syrup over medium heat)
Cashew Chocolate Chip: cashews pureed with vanilla extract, maple syrup and water (into a smooth paste), crushed semi-sweet chocolate chips

There is no way I can pick a favorite, but I know I'll definitely be messing around with that Vanilla Cashew Cream in the future. Really crazy good. Lane was like, "What IS this?" It was practically frosting.

Oh mochi, I'm so glad we met.  Anyone else eat this stuff? How do you cook it? What do you like to add?  I'm so smitten!

Introduction To My Mind, Man.

I've been interested in creating a cooking blog for years now, but I always end up deterred by the task of weighing, measuring and writing down every single ingredient and process involved in each dish. I guess that's called a recipe or something.

I'm not big on recipes. No offense to anyone who follows exact instructions 100% of the time, but recipes feel a bit like "paint-by-number" to me. The outcome is essentially the same each time you do it, and that just doesn't satisfy my artistic need! I want a little mystery, a bit of worry, a few mishaps, maybe a pleasant surprise.
So, I cook by brain.

What exactly does that mean, "cooking by brain"? Hey, thanks for asking, nobody! Basically, "cooking by brain" means trusting your ideas enough to spin them into delicious tasting food. It means seeing a good-looking dish somewhere and then trying to make it yourself, without instruction. It means following a craving and seeing what happens. It means adding and adding until you get the flavor you like.
It means freestyling, bro.

I imagine most people do this in some form or another, on a daily basis. Everyone has their special thing, right? You love mixing salsa into your hummus to go with tortilla chips. You add sliced apple to your grilled cheese. You throw frozen corn into the chili you're heating up. You top your toast with peanut butter, Sriracha and chopped garlic (okay, nope, that's just my husband).
Anyway, these are all examples of small ways we cook with our brains. I like taking it a step further and making multi-course dinners, party food, themed brunches, etc., all with the power of MY MIND!

That said, I am 34 years old. I do have quite a bit of cooking experience and I've certainly followed my share of recipes. I know that baking powder makes cupcakes rise, and I know that sweating onions in oil is the first step to good marinara. My shelves are bursting with cookbooks of every variety and I frequently pore over them for ideas. Lately, however, I rarely derive pleasure from cooking someone else's recipes exactly as  they're presented. The fun is all in the challenge, and so these days I cook almost entirely by brain.

How 'bout some breakfast?

This morning I wanted something Benedict-ish, but without the eggs and without the hollandaise. I ended up  sauteing thick slices of yam and red onion in olive oil (adding a little balsamic vinegar and salt at the end of cooking) and putting it all on sprouted wheat toast. The sauce is avocado, almond milk, apple cider vinegar, red onion, nutritional yeast, tamari, cumin, and of course a little Sriracha (all blended in the genius Magic Bullet). Topped with cilantro and black pepper. Success!