Thursday, August 31, 2006

Seitan Cacciatore


1 lb seitan, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/4 c white wine
1 28 oz can tomatoes, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 T oregano
1 T basil
hot pepper flakes to taste


Saute carrots, celerry, onion, and bell pepper in olive oil until onion becomes translucent. Add seitan and saute until seitan browns. Deglaze pan with the white wine and add the tomatoes, pepper flakes, and herbs. Simmer over medium heat stirring occasionally, and serve over whole wheat pasta.

Sunday, August 27, 2006

Lentil and Orzo soup


1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 c lentils
4 c vegetable stock
4 c water
1 bay leaf
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1 T fresh thyme
1/2 c tomato sauce or diced tomato
1/2 c whole wheat orzo
1 T fresh basil
1 c spinach or other leafy green


Saute onion, carrot, and celery in a small amount of olive oil until onion starts to turn translucent. Add lentils and saute for another 1-3 minutes. Add vegetable stock, 4 cups of water, bay leaf, rosemary, thyme, and tomato and bring to a slight boil. Add orzo and simmer for 6-8 minutes before adding spinach and basil and continue cooking until orzo is al dente. Remove the bay leaf and rosemary before serving.

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Kashi Kedgeree


1 c kashi 7 grain pilaf (dry)
2 c broth
1 c french lentils
2 c water
2 T olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
10 oz mushrooms
1 bunch purple kale, chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
2 T lemon juice
Bragg liquid aminos to taste


Cook the pilaf in the broth acording to package directions. Cook the lentils in water until tender and then drain. Sautee the garlic, onion, and carrot in 2 T olive oil over medium heat until onion is starting to color. Add the mushrooms, cumin, and coriander to the onion, garlic, and carrots, and stir to combine. Add Kale to the other vegetables and cover to steam for a couple of minutes, making sure nothing burns or sticks. Once kale is wilted, add pilaf, lentils, and lemon juice and stir to combine. For an extra kick squeeze a clove of garlic in a garlic press over the pot. Adjust your seasonings with a splash or two of Bragg's.


This recipe was inspired by Devra Gartenstein's Kegeree recipe. I've used the 7 grain pilaf and the french lentils for a little variety. I've also switched the powdered mustard for ground coriander because we were out of mustard and I love the way coriander works with lemon.

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Basic Stir-Fry




1 carrot, thinly sliced on the diagonal
1 onion, cut into thin moons
12 oz fresh mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 crown broccoli cut into small florets
1-2 cloves garlic minced
1 T freshly ground ginger root
sushi vinegar
toasted sesame oil
hot oil
tamari


The keys to a good stir fry are fresh ingredients, prepping everything before the oil hits the wok, and only adding 1 ingredient at a time.


Heat the wok on high and add a small amount of a high heat tolerant oil like canola or peanut oil. Add the onion, breaking up the moons into strips. stir til coated with oil and starting to wilt. Add carrots and stir to coat with oil and if you like your carrots softer than crunchy, cover the wok with a lid to trap steam for 15-30 seconds. Uncover, stir and add the mushrooms, stir until mushrooms reduce in size and release liquid, then add the broccoli, stir, and cover again for a few seconds. Uncover, stir add garlic, ginger, and sushi vinegar, sesame oil, hot oil, hot oil and tamari to taste.

Monday, August 14, 2006

Seitan Pot Pie




1 chopped carrot
1-2 chopped celery stalks
1 chopped onion
1 package seitan w/broth
1 package Imagine No-Chicken Broth
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup frozen spinach
1 bay leaf
1 tsp fresh thyme
1 sprig fresh sage
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1 tsp fresh or dried oregano
1 T fresh basil
1-2 cloves garlic


Tonight's dinner was made in the slow cooker. I sauteed the onion, celery, and carrot in a skillet. I added these to the slow cooker along with the bay leaf, seitan (Whitewave Chicken-Style), the broth from the seitan and the box of Imagine No-Chicken Broth. Cooked on low for 6-8 hours, then 1 hour before serving, add the rest of the herbs, garlic, frozen peas, and spinach. Remove the bayleaf, rosemary and sage, and serve with a nice crusty bread. For a special occasion, cook in a dutch oven or casserole, top with biscuits and finish in the oven according to biscuit recipe.


This is one of Paul's favorite meals. It's usually the first thing that comes out of his mouth when I ask for menu suggestions. It's a great meal that we can agree on. I love soups and stews and Paul loves the texture of seitan. I remember hearing about seitan as a teenager and looking up a recipe for it on the internet, so the first time I ever had seitan was actually completely home-made by using bread flour and kneading the dough while rinsing away the starches. Today, most recipes for seitan skip the rinsing step altogether by starting with the dry gluten available from companies like Hodgson Mill. I still think that first time was far better than anything I've come up with since, but far more labor intensive. A far simpler solution is to buy pre-made seitan from a company like Whitewave. I can get my local health food store to order it for me by the case and it freezes beautifully in the sealed packaging without changing texture like tofu.