Seitan Roast...Again, Only Different!

The roast I'd made before got devoured so very quickly I knew I'd want to try another version soon. Then there's my addiction to these in all their forms:Tofurkey pita sanwiches or wraps. A little Vegannaise, leafy greens, tomatoes, cukes, red onions, avacado, sprouts, shredded carrots, whatever we have on hand, and it's the easiest, tastiest lunch ever. But Tofurkey ain't cheap, and I don't see any reason to buy any longer something I can totally surpass nutritionally in my own kitchen.

Thanks to Bryanna's recipe!

I don't have a clay pot or roasting pan so I just tossed my 4.5 qt. crock pot's pot and cover into the preheated oven and roasted for 3 1/2 hours turning twice. After the first turn I was a bit concerned. Where was that sauce that I was gonna end up with at the end? Mine looked a tad dry and I held my breath as I carefully turned it over once...then later again....to this...
Mmmmmm, and I cannot even begin to tell you how amazing it smelled throughout the house as it was cooking. All that yummy garlic simmering in the juice....sigh.

I thought I'd be slicing this the very next day for a sandwich but once lunch went by the wayside as we had a lengthy meeting with our realtor (cross your fingers, we'll need all the help we can get in this market!) I found myself dreaming up this version insteadI thinly sliced it and briefly heated the setian in skillet with the teeniest bit of olive oil, then removed and placed on a bed of brown rice, sauteed some broccoli (shocking, i know!) with a ton of garlic and then deliberately drizzled a quick Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook's easy cheeze sauce, tho, for the life of me, I cannot remember which one...basically chickpea flour, nutritional yeast, water, onion powder, garlic powder, thyme and oregano, olive oil, miso lemon juice. It's tangy and a wonderful compliment.

This was soooo good! I look forward to my lunch tomorrow when I finally make that pita or wrap. Having already munched on this roast while cold a little bit (but froze half so we wouldn't have seitan all week long...'cause we would, ya know!) I know it will be just as good as I've dreamed it up to be in my mind. ;)

Berry Good, Need to be Better!

For the past four years that we've lived in this house I've complained that we are surrounded by farmers and no organic produce. I, instead, have to rely on our large grocery chain for organics which, often times, are spoiled and rotten, sitting on the shelves causing me to stray from the organics a LOT.

I just found out, however, that there IS a farm not fifteen minutes from our home that uses no pesticides or harmful chemicals (they say they are not certified organic due to cost....how much does that suck!) that specializes in greens, lettuces, tomatoes, herbs, and berries! Sadly, these are not their berries. They are the sweet and lovely but not even close to organic berries from our big chain grocery. I'm hoping they will be the last of the ones I buy there. The cap'n and I are looking forward to visiting the local farm and seeing what they have to offer very soon. Yet another reason I can't wait to move back to a 'big city' and join the CSA there....but for now, yay for local organic growers!

Seitan Marsala, Anyone?

In case you were wondering, I opted to make the Cap'n Seitan Marsala over a curry upon his most recent return home. We went with the wine base option as he had to fly all day the following day, and I'm thinking that spicy and long hours in the cockpit? Not a good combination....ahem.
Anyway! While the pic surely looks entirely too much like the Burgundy Seitan dinner from the other night, rest assured that this version is EVEN BETTER! Granted, this Italian girl is all about the Marsala. I just love the tanginess of it. I've included a kinda recipe as it's something I don't ever measure out so much but easy enough to wing it, even if you've never made it before. This was served, not surprisingly, over a bed of whole wheat pasta and a side of garlic sauteed broccoli. What can I say? We're a couple of broccoli fiends!

Seitan Marsala (serves four)

Your favorite 'beefy' seitan, sliced thin (I used 1/4 Ellen's best unchuck roast in the crockpot)
10 oz. 'shrooms (white or baby bellas are perfect)
1/2 small onion, sliced thin
2c. Marsala cooking wine*
4 T vegan margarine
5-6 T flour
sea salt & pepper
couple pinches parsley (i had dried on hand)
pinch or two rosemary (again, dried)

1. Pour wine in bowl and immerse seitan (add some broth that you store it in as well, this will give you a deeper sauce, and more of it!). Then chop veggies.
2. In a skillet on med to med-hi heat, drop 2 T of the marg. and saute veggies until onions become a bit softer and 'shrooms begin to sweat.
3. While they're cooking, put flour, salt, and black pepper in large ziploc baggie, add seitan, seal, and shake to coat thoroughly.
4. Remove veggies from oven and place in wine/broth.
5. melt remaining 2 T marg in pan and brown coated seitan about 5 min per side and remove (you can keep it in if ya like, but I was low on room in this particular pan.
6. add wine and veggies (and seitan if you removed it) to pan and simmer until sauce thickens**.

Using a quarter of my roast, this made four good servings.

*I've used both the fancy, expensive Marsala wines and the cheapo bottles found in the oil/vinegar section of the grocery store. Honestly? (and I may very well be insulting my ancestors as I type this) I really prefer the cheap stuff. It just seems to give more flavor when reduced versus the more pricey varieties.

**If you just can't wait any longer for the sauce to thicken (read: your broccoli and pasta are done and the wine is reducing but just not working with the flour in there to thicken up fast enough) you can mix one T cornstarch with one T cold water and add that to simmering sauce once you've let it simmer already for about ten min. You want to reduce it a bit before serving to get the best flavor....but sometimes, we can only wait so long! ;)

You could also skip the coating seitan with flour step and just brown on it's own for a healthier version. In this case, I'd definitely rely on the cornstarch/water addition to thicken the sauce up nicely.

enjoy!

Nuts About These Cashews

Now, I know it's not exactly the 'season' for such a recipe, but every time we've had company for the last few months I can't help but treat them to these, rosemary cashews...

and everyone has become inevitably addicted to their absolute and total yumminess.

Rosemary Cashews

1 lb. unsalted raw cashews (when I don't have those and am in a pinch I use a tin of salted and just omit the salt from this recipe)
1 scant T salt
2 T minced fresh rosemary (it's gotta be fresh)
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 tsp light brown sugar
1 T vegan margarine

Preheat oven to 350.
Spread cashews on a baking sheet in one single layer and bake for about five minutes, just enough to get them nice and hot.
Melt marg. in micro and whisk in remaining ingredients.
Remove nuts from oven and toss with margarine mixture.
VERY IMPORTANT STEP: walk away.
seriously, you'll want to eat them right then but I promise you that the wait is so worth it.
These get better and better as they sit for a bit and come down to room temperature. Only then will you taste the complexity and blending of the flavors.

I've even had guests scarf down any and all remaining stray nuts for breakfast! They're just that good!

Perfect Summer Soup & Skewered Seitan, Two Ways

Wanna beat the heat and revitalize your palate before a hearty BBQ (or broiled in our case, hehe) dinner? Try this Cantaloupe Almond Milk Soup. Cantaloupe & Almond Milk Soup
makes 8 smallish servings or 4 big ol' bowls

2-3 c. plain Almond Milk (depending on how thick/thin you want it)
1 cantaloupe, seeded, removed from rind, and chopped
3 T agave nectar
1 T fresh lime juice
1 tsp. lime zest
lime slices for garnish

combine all but lime slices in a bowl and mix with hand blender (or just toss in regular blender) until desired consistency is reached (i like it reeeeally thin).
garnish with lime and enjoy!

This same night we also used up the last of the seitan roast I'd thawed from the freezer. I sliced it thin and marinated half of that in The Artful Vegan's Peanut Butter Coconut sauce (from their seitan appetizer recipe) and the other in a store bought BBQ sauce.Still sans grill, I skewered the seitan about an hour or two later with some baby bellas, a zucchini, and a red bell pepper, half with the coconut sauce, half with the BBQ sauce then broiled it all, basting as I went.
Would have loved to have broiled it all a bit more but the wooden skewers I'd soaked for as long as my seitan marinated were beginning to burn.

We enjoyed this with some quick brown rice. I knew the BBQ sauce would be a hit with the Cap'n (I'm not the world's biggest fan but it's ok on occasion) and we both LOVED the Artful Vegan's sauce.We're heading up to TN for a family wedding this weekend...be back Tuesday some time with pics of all the yummy vegan foods I'm trekking up there with us! Have a safe and happy weekend everyone!