HOMEMADE SEITAN!

This recipe is not for the gluten intolerant or for those who don't like to get their hands messy while cooking. It IS for those who love delicious seitan on the cheap and easy! Holy cow, the first time I made this I couldn't believe how good it was. And seriously, you can make a ton of it for under $10 (including all ingredients!). AND it freezes well, AND it comes together super quick, AND you can add it to just about anything you want a meat-like consistency for, AND it is super high in protein...whew! The first time I made it, I shaped it into little bun-sized sausages. They turned out great, but I ended up just cutting it up for other recipes anyway, and it was way more time consuming wrapping each individual one up. This time I created a handful of mini "loafs" about the size of my fist. It saved time and tin foil. I will just cut the cooked seitan into the shapes I want to use for cooking later (strips, cubes, slices, etc.) before freezing. The seitan takes on the shape of the tin foil as it steams. It is pretty neat. You can change the spices in any way you see fit--I think there are probably a million possibilities you could create with different herbs and spices. I stick with the old tried and true Italian sausage spices, but I keep it on the mild side--feel free to experiment and spice it up! Also, keep about an additional cup of vital wheat gluten nearby when you are making the dough, you may need to adjust, depending on how wet or dry the dough ends up. You should TOTALLY make this stuff--seriously! It is great in fajitas, casseroles, stews, risotto, pasta dishes--you name it. Yum!

You will need:
-tin foil
-a hand masher
-a large bowl
-a steaming apparatus (I use a mesh colander in a pot of water and a steaming basket in a pot of water)

SEITAN RECIPE (adapted from Vegan Brunch by Isa Chandra Moskowitz):

(makes 8-10 fist sized (or smaller) loafs)

-1 15 oz. can of white beans (I used Cannelini)
-2 cups of vegetable broth or water
-2 Tbsp olive oil
-4 Tbsp soy sauce or tamari
-3 cloves of garlic chopped (or 1 tsp garlic powder)
-2 3/4 cups vital wheat gluten (I buy mine super cheap in bulk)
-1/2 cup nutritional yeast flakes
-3 tsp fennel seed
-1-2 tsp red pepper flakes
-2 tsp oregano
-salt and pepper to taste (I only add a couple shakes of pepper)

In a large bowl, mash the white beans until they are a refried bean consistency. Add all other ingredients (in order listed), then carefully mix with a fork until it comes together as a sticky dough. Add a bit more vital wheat gluten if the dough is still very sticky. It should be somewhere between sticky and bread-like. Divide the dough into 8-10 mini loafs. Prepare the tinfoil according to what shapes you plan to make. You want to make sure the foil will completely cover all of the log. Put the log on the tin foil, wrap/roll around it, and seal the ends with little twists (like an old fashioned candy wrapper). Carefully place the logs in the steamer (it is okay if they overlap a bit, but I wouldn't stack them too much), add water, and steam for 60 minutes. Check for done-ness: they should be firm and cooked all the way through. If they are still really sticky inside, steam an additional 5-10 minutes. When they are done, carefully unwrap them, let them cool, and cut them how you would like for use or for freezing. If using right away, I think they are best crisped up a bit in a frying pan first or baked in a sauce in the oven. If freezing, put the cut (or whole) seitan on a cookie sheet and freeze for a couple of hours. Pull the frozen pieces out and put them in a plastic freezer bag for later use. Now go make a seitan casserole or stew or something, would ya?!? :)

***Note! This time around, most likely because the loafs are larger than the sausages I had made before, the cooking time was quite a bit longer. If you poke at the loaf in tinfoil and it feels squishy, keep going until it is firm. Or you can take it out and carefully cut it to check the middle. It shouldn't be doughy at all--firm and meaty all the way. You can keep steaming it until the right consistency is achieved--just make sure you don't run out of water. I am pretty sure you could steam them for a long time and they would still be okay!

Dinner tonight was so good tonight that I decided to post it! I have to say, adding ricotta to quiche works really well, I was surprised. I purchased it for a new Smitten Kitchen recipe for raspberry scones with ricotta, but I had half of the container left. I also only used 2 eggs, as I was hoping it would turn out a bit lighter and summer-like. I think it did! You can use any vegetables you want, but this combo worked really well, and everything was in season and local. Our sweet neighbors left a bag of green beans and a zucchini by our door yesterday--so that was my main inspiration...The green bean salad was inspired by a traditional Caprese salad--substituting peppers for tomatoes and adding green beans for a more substantial side dish. I used local fresh mozzarella that came in small balls that I sliced into fifths. You should try these recipes--so many yums!

Green Bean Salad:
1/2 lb. - 1lb. fresh green beans, snapped in half
1 small red pepper, chopped bite size
1 small yellow pepper, chopped bite size
1/4 small white onion, sliced thin
2 tbs. basil, chopped coarsely
4 oz. fresh mozzarella, chopped bite size
scant tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper

Lightly steam the green beans. Drain well and add all of the other ingredients. Add salt and pepper to season.


Summer Vegetable Ricotta Quiche with Whole Wheat Crust:

Crust:
1 c. white whole wheat flour
1/4 c. oil or melted butter
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/4 c. cold water
Herbs of choice (I used 1 tsp. dried oregano)

Preheat oven to 400. Mix together flour and salt. Add oil and water. Mix (but don't over mix) until it all comes together. Press dough into the bottom of a pie pan. Bake for 5 minutes at 4oo. Take crust out to cool while preparing the rest of the quiche. Then turn oven down to 350.

Quiche:
2 eggs
1 c. ricotta cheese (I used organic, whole milk)
1/2 c. milk (I used unsweetened soy milk)
1/4 c. parmesan. separated
Fresh herbs, as much or as little as you like (I used chopped basil)
1/8 tsp. sea salt, a few shakes of black pepper
1 small zucchini, sliced thin
1 baby eggplant, sliced thin
3 mushrooms, sliced thin
1/4 small onion, chopped
1 tbsp. butter

Saute the onion in butter for 1 minute, then add mushrooms and and eggplant. Saute for 3-4 minutes. Add zucchini and saute for another 3-4 minutes under slightly tender, but still a bit crisp. Season with sea salt and pepper to taste.

Whisk eggs and milk, add salt, pepper, herbs and ricotta. Whisk until ricotta is broken up into small-ish pieces. Add half of the parmesan to the mixture.

Arrange the vegetables on top of the crust. Pour the egg mixture on top of the vegetables. Sprinkle with remaining parmesan. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. You did it!