Adobo stew

I found a recipe for adobo in Veg News and I have to admit I never heard about this dish before but it looked and sounded good so I gave it a try. Adobo is a traditional Filipino stew and this case it’s made with seitan instead of meat. I changed the recipe a little as always but it was very comforting and warming.

1 cup red potatoes, diced

3 tbsp. vegetable oil, divided

2 cups zucchini

10 ounces, diced into ½-inch slices

3 tbsp. chopped garlic

1 tsp. fresh ground black pepper

2/3 cup Bragg’s liquid amino’s or any other mild soy sauce

¼ cup apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp. brown sugar

2 bay leaves

1 tbsp cornstarch

1 cup cherry tomatoes,

1 ripe banana, cut into slices

Cilantro

1 cup cooked rice

In a small pot, cover potatoes with 2 inches of cold water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes until potatoes are soft. Drain and set aside.

In a large saucepan or Dutch oven heat 2 tbsp. of the oil on medium heat and cook seitan until browned. Add zucchini and cook for 2- 3 minutes. Remove and set aside. Add 1 tbsp. of the oil and stir-fry garlic and black pepper for 30 seconds. Add potatoes, seitan and zucchini. Stir in soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar and bay leaves. Bring to a bubbling simmer and then reduce to low heat for 30 minutes. The sauce will reduce by about 1/3. Mix cornstarch with a little water until lump free and add to stew. Stir and simmer for another 5 minutes until stew has thickened.

Serve over cooked rice with cherry tomatoes, minced cilantro and banana slices.

Seitan Chorizo

My husband asked me to get some soy chorizo but when I went to the store to get it, I made a mistake (or not) and started reading the ingredients list and put the chorizo right back. With a list so long of additives that most I cannot pronounce or want to have in my body there is no way I’m feeding that to my family. So here I was no chorizo and a hungry crowed. I thought how hard can it really be to make my own. I mean I made seitan sausages before so for a chorizo I just needed to add tons of spices and flavors. I’m happy to announce that IT was that easy and IT resulted in some of the best darn chorizo ever without those nasty ingredients that I can’t pronounce.

Wet ingredients:

1 ½ cup vegetable broth

4 tbsp. ketchup

3 tbsp. olive oil

3 tbsp. red wine vinegar

6 garlic cloves, grated
1/5 tsp cayenne pepper

2 tbsp. Harissa paste or any other chili paste

1/4 tsp. liquid smoke

Dry ingredients:

1 2/3 vital wheat gluten

¼ cup garbanzo bean flour

¼ cup nutritional yeast

4 tsp. chili pepper

3 tsp. oregano

2 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. ground coriander

1 12 tsp. salt

½ tsp. black pepper

Preheat oven to F400. Mix first the wet ingredients in a small bowl and then the dry ones in a large bowl or in a kitchen aid. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones and work to glossy dough. You want to work the dough for a few minutes. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes and then remove dough from bowl onto a counter top and knead dough for a few minutes.  Divide dough into 6 pieces and shape into sausage rolls. Roll them up in small pieces of foil and twist the ends up. Bake in a baking dish for 25 minutes. Let sausages cool completely in the foil. Now you can slice then, BBQ or cook any way want.

Seitan in Balsamic Sauce

Balsamic vinegar is more than just a perfect addition to a salad dressing. I like using balsamic to make sauces because it adds a very nice sweetness to it. I served this dish with roasted potatoes and it was a super hit with both kids and adults alike.

1 tbs canola oil

2 cups seitan, cut into cubes

1/4 cups shallots, minced

1/2 cup aged balsamic vinegar

1 cup kale, stems removed and chopped

Salt & fresh black pepper to taste

1 tsp honey

1/4 cup sour cream ( I used tofutti sour cream)

Heat oil in a saucepan on medium and brown the seitan. Remove seitan and set aside. Saute shallots for 1 minute and then add balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper and honey and bring to a boil. Cook until reduce to 2/3 and it's kind of syrupy. Saute kale in the balsamic sauce until wilted, it just takes a minutes. Return the seitan and stir in the sour cream and let all reheat.

Black pepper and molasses pulled seitan

My husband always say it's not the meat dishes he's missing it's the sauce or spices it came with so I find it very easy to make traditional meat dishes vegetarian because all I really have do to is a great sauce. This traditional dish pulled pork I made by using some of my homemade seitan. I'm sure if you are nick picky you find it not really the right texture or flavor but what do I know and when it comes down to it it taste great and that's all the matters.

I found the recipe on Happy healthy mama who in her turn found it here. Basiclly this sauce is a BBQ sauce with smaller pieces of protein in it.The recipe is for a sandwich which I did not do but served it with veggies instead. Noah was not a big fan but everyone else was.

3 tbs ketchup
1 tbs apple cider vinegar
1 tbs prepared mustard
1 tbs molasses
3/4 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper 1/8 tsp ground ginger
12 ounces cubed seitan

Combine everything in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a low and simmer for 10 minutes. Place everything in a blender or food processor and mix just to create smaller pieces of seitan. return to saucepan and reheat.

Seitan and mushroom stew

I had two five year olds at home yesterday afternoon so I had to act like a referee A LOT.  Or at least until I finally had it and told them either they play nice or not but not to come to me anymore. It worked!!! I was very happy when it was dinner-pizza time and then a movie (Lady& the Tramp) so I got a little breathing room and they were kind of quiet...kind of:)

I didn't feel like pizza so I made a seitan and mushroom stew instead, served over pasta. It was perfect with many flavors and creamy sauce, just how I like it. I used the seitan I made the other day but off course store bought works as well. This is the kind of stew you can serve people very skeptical of vegan food and they will for sure be happy.

1 tbs olive oil 

2/3 cup shiitake mushrooms, sliced

1/4 cup yellow onion, minced

1/2 cup grated carrots

1 cup seitan, diced

1 tsp ground chili

Herb salt to taste

1 tbs dijon mustard

1 tbs ketchup

1 cup strained tomatoes

1/2 cup chopped kale

1/4 cup sour cream

Heat oil in a saucepan on medium heat and brown the mushrooms. Remove and set a side. Add garlic and carrots to saucepan and cook for 1 minutes. Add seitan, chili, salt and cook for a few minutes, stirring often. Now add dijon mustard, ketchup, strained tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes. Click in sour cream and let it melt. Toss in kale, mushrooms and blend well. Serve with pasta, rice or barley.

Seitan in a wine marsala sauce

Yesterday was the first time I used the seitan I made the other day and I'm very happy with the result and texture of this seitan plus it's so cheap to make. I made Italian food in the form of seitan marsala and it was divine. I served it with roasted potatoes and a side salad for us adults and steamed broccoli for the kids.

1/2 batch of homemade seitan, sliced thin

1 tbs canola oil 

1 tbs butter

1 cup white mushrooms, sliced

Salt & pepper

1/2 cup water

2/3 cup marsala wine

1 tsp honey

Salt & pepper to taste

1/2 cup sour cream

Heat oil in a skillet on medium heat and cook seitan slices. Flip them once and they are done when they're browned. Remove to a plate. Add butter and melt and cook mushrooms in a single layer until they too are browned. Remove and place with seitan.
Pour water in skillet and use a whisk to scrape up bottom pieces left behind from the mushrooms and seitan. Add marsala wine and honey and bring to a boil.
Cook until reduced to 2/3. Add salt, pepper and and let sour cream melt in sauce. Place seitan and mushrooms mushrooms in sauce before serving.

Homemade seitan

I've made seitan from scratch before but never been super impressed with the results until today. I just got fed up with the cost of store bought seitan so I did some research and found a super easy recipe on a Swedish blog. It just requires all-purpose flour and water for the base.

6-7 cups all-purpose flour
water

Blend flour and water until you are left with a shiny dough. This is where the work is, work that dough really hard because the more you work it the better result you'll have. I used a kitchen aid to help me out and probably ran it for about 20 minutes. I added more flour as I saw fit if the dough was too sticky. Cover bowl with a plastic wrap and place in fridge for at least 6 hours or even better overnight.

Washing out all the starch cant take it's little time

Add cold water to dough and begin kneading and "washing" the dough from all the stretch. The water will get white so drain water and add more. Repeat this process until water is clear and you now have something resembling a large piece of gum and is the wheat gluten protein.

Looks strange

Combine seitan in a food processor and  any flavoring you want. I made it simple and just used a garlic and herb salt. Hold on to the processor and you blend in the flavors.

Ready to add some fun flavors

Now place seitan in a saucepan and cover with vegetables stock. Bring to a boil and cook for 1-1 1/2 hours. The seitan will float up to the surface when it's done.

You can use the seitan many different ways. You can slice it and cook in butter and spices in a frying pan. Cut into smaller pieces and use in stew. You can grate it and use and minced. There are endless possibilities:)

Ready to be eaten!

Herb grilled seitan & bulgur salad

Yesterday was a big day for us because first dropped off a couple of home made meals for friends who just became parents to a beautiful little girl name Violet. She was welcomed by her parents off course but also two older brothers.

In the afternoon some other friends came for dinner to celebrate their engagement. We're so happy for all off you and honored we got to be part of all the celebrations. With the nice warm weather we had yesterday I felt like a hearty salad and made this bulgur salad with tons of vegetables and topped with garlic and herb seitan. It was a perfect ending to a perfect day.

1 cup seitan, pieces

1 tbs olive oil

1 large garlic clove, minced

2 tsp herb salt

1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced

1 Endive head, chopped

1/2 cup corn

1 tomato, diced

1 cup sprouts

1 1/2 cup cooked bulgur

Dressing:

2 tbs hemp oil

1 tbs lemon juice

1/2 tbs honey

1/2 tbs Dijon mustard

Black pepper

Salt

Heat olive oil in a skillet on medium heat and sauté garlic for 1 minutes. Add seitan and herb salt and cook to brown seitan for a few minutes. Flip them a couple of times. Remove seitan and cook mushrooms until browned too. Mix everything for the dressing in a small bowl. Combine in a large salad bowl bulgur, endives, corn, tomato, sprouts. Toss with dressing and serve with seitan and mushrooms on top.

Amanda’s favorite pasta sauce

Yesterday we celebrated Noah’s first birthday with a huge pancake breakfast party. I know it’s 3 weeks late but because we were traveling from Sweden and he was sick when we got home and then we struggled with jetlag it just seemed like a good idea to wait to have his celebration. Since we all love pancakes and are early risers it also was natural to have a breakfast party. We made over 100 pancakes that were original, gluten free and then the third was my pear and coconut pancakes and they were they favorite. I told James before the party any leftover we can just freeze and eat next weekend or so. Believe it or not we did not have one single pancake left and that’s after James did not having any and I only 2!!!!! Well I guess others love pancakes almost as much as we do.

After making pancakes, lunch was a breeze and a very calm event so I made past and pasta sauce. This dish has no name yet but Amanda who works for me on Gree-mom.com always ask me to make “you know that yummy sauce that I like so much”. I always go blank for a moment before remembering what it is she’s talking about.  So for lack of better name, it’s now called Amanda’s pasta sauce. She also asks me to often to post in so she can make herself so sweetie this one is for you:)

1 tbsp. canola oil

1 large garlic clove, grated

¼ cup leeks, minced

½ cup grated carrots

½ cup grated green cabbage

½ cup corn

2/3 cup minced quorn, seitan or soy “meat”

½ cup light coconut cream

2 tbsp. honey mustard

2 tbsp. ketchup

1 tbsp. mango chutney

1 tsp. yellow curry powder

Salt & pepper to taste

Heat oil in a large skillet on low medium heat and sauté garlic and leeks for a few minutes until glossy, not brown. Add carrots, cabbage and corn and cook for 3 minutes. Add the minced protein, coconut cream, honey mustard, ketchup, mango chutney and curry powder. Blend well and simmer on medium heat for 5 minutes. Serve with pasta, rice, barley or quinoa and side of steamed vegetables.

Seitan pot pie with kale and leeks

Today I cooked for an old friend of my mom and some other people. It's funny when I have guest and the first thing they say as I'm cooking is that they are worried I'm making vegetarian food. I guess it never occur to me I would not. Since I was, it made me very nervous but decided not to make a big deal about and not tell them. This way they would not have an opinion before hand and actually maybe enjoy what they eat.
I had made the bread I was blogging about yesterday and also a pot pie that came out really well and was very much enjoyed by my meat eating friends.

1/2 cup leeks, diced
1 tbs canola oil
1 1/2 cups seitan, chicken style
2 cups kale
2 tbs all-purpose flour or white spelt flour
1 cup water
1/2 cup sour cream
Salt and pepper to taste
1 package puff pastry, defrosted
Milk to brush pastry with

Preheat oven to F400
Heat oil on medium heat in a saucepan. Cook leeks for 1 minute. Add seitan and kale and cook for another 5 minutes stirring. Sprinkle flour over and blend. Pour on water, salt and pepper and mix well and bring to a boil while stirring the whole time. Cook until thicken and then remove from heat. Stir in sour cream and blend. Place filling in a baking dish. Roll out puff pastry and cover the baking dish complete. Use back of a fork to press down the edges. Brush top with a little milk. Bake for 10-15 minutes. Serve with a side of mixed salad.

Seitan masala

I hope you all had a great Christmas Eve, we sure did. We ate well, laughed a lot and open too many presents. On Christmas day we’re cooking for friends and planning a fun but more relaxing day as our trip is now more than half way through and we want to relax a little too in preparation for our trip home.

This seitan masala is what I’m planning to serve and it’s perfect for kids as long as you don’t add the red pepper flakes, which will make it spicy. I served it with jasmine rice and broccoli. It was the first time I cooked jasmine rice and I’m a big fan now. It smells so goodJ

2 tbsp. canola oil

1 tbsp. fresh ginger, grated

1 tbsp. garam masala

1 tsp. ground cumin

2 tbsp. agave nectar

1 tsp. garlic salt

Salt to taste

Red pepper flakes (optional; depends if you want it spicy)

1 can crushed tomatoes

½ can coconut milk

2 tbsp. dried and shredded coconut

2 cups seitan

Combine oil, ginger, garam masala, cumin, agave nectar and garlic salt in saucepan and bring to a simmer for 5 minutes on low heat. Add crushed tomatoes, red pepper flakes if using and coconut milk and bring to a boil on medium heat. Reduce to a simmer and put in the seitan and blend well. Simmer for 10 minutes on low heat. Serve over rice and vegetables and sprinkle shredded coconut over right before serving.

Lime & honey seitan casserole

I was making a marinade with honey and lime yesterday for my seitan when I had a thought about making a sauce with these flavors instead. It was a success so I made it into a casserole with black beans and seitan.

1 tsp canola oil
Juice and grated peel from one lime
1 tbs honey
1 tsp ginger powder
All seasons salt to taste
1/4 cup plain cream cheese
 2/3 cup cup cream
1/2 cup Seitan
1/2 cup cooked black beans
Grated cheese (optional)
Cilantro, chopped

Preheat oven to F400. Combine oil, lime juice and peel, honey and ginger in a sauce pan and bring to a boil while stirring. Reduce to  simmer and add cream cheese and cream and let the cream cheese melt. Whisk while simmer for 1 minutes. Place seitan and beans in a casserole dish and pour sauce over. Sprinkle with cheese if desire. Bake for 15 minutes. Sprinkle cilantro over before serving. Serve with a side of sweet potatoes, rice, millet, barley or quinoa as well as steamed vegetables.

Honey lime marinade

Great morning because I can breath through my nose again thanks to an amazing acupuncture treatment by Jackie Bensinger at Vibrational Healing Art. We don't take very much pharmaceutical drugs at home but rather trust in natural healing through herbs, food and acupuncture. I think it works because our kids are not sick very often and if they are they recover so fast.

Today is a stay at home day for Bella so we're having a lazy morning and later she is going to accompanying me to a yoga class and then lunch. Since daddy is home too, afternoon will be family time with games and I hope a long walk.

Dinner is already marinating in the fridge. We're having grilled honey-lime marinated seitan. I think I will serve it with roasted purple potatoes and other fun veggies. I think this marinade would work well with vegetables too.

1/8 cup olive oil

1/8 cup lime juice

Lime zest from 2 limes

1 tbs honey

Chili pepper

1 tbs Bragg's or tamari

Combine everything and marinate seitan or vegetables for at least one hour in fridge.

Tapena seitan stew

Yesterday was the first sign of fall with cooler temperatures and even a little sprinkle in the morning. We all enjoyed it. After kids were a sleep me and James watched the Mean season with Kurt Russel, an older movie in the light of candles, mmmm.

 For dinner we ate a seitan stew I came  up in the last minute when we were standing in the kitchen and asking what's for dinner. Stews are great for when you're busy because they taste better the longer they sit. This one I added black olive tapena and I know it sounds gross but believe me it was fantastic, even my olive hating husband thought so.

We have a fun filled weekend a head; today we're going out for a hike and tomorrow we're going apple picking in Julian.

Have a great weekend!

1 tbs canola oil
1 cup shitake mushrooms, cut into quarters
1 garlic clove, grated
1/2 cup leeks, diced
1 large carrot, diced
2/3 cup potatoes, diced
1 cup water
1 cup seitan, cut into small pieces
2 tbs black olive tapena
1/2 tbs dried Italian herbs
1/2 cup sour cream
Salt & pepper to taste

Heat oil in a skillet and sauté the mushrooms until slightly brown on medium heat. Remove mushrooms and set a side. Add garlic and leek and sauté for a few seconds. Add carrots, potatoes, tapena, seitan, herbs and water and bring to boil. reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes. Add sour cream, salt and pepper. Serve hot with a side of french bread.

White wine seitan

I've been so tired all day after Noah woke up, well it felt like 100 times but probably was more like 5 times last night. Teething is hard times for both baby and parents and now all I can do is trying to keep my eyes open.

I needed comfort so comfort food was in order. For me a warm dish with a lot of flavor is comfort to me and this white wine seitan is right up there. We ate it with steamed fusilli pasta and steamed broccoli.

1 lemon, washed and sliced

1 tbs olive oil

1/4 cup green onions, minced

1 large garlic clove, sliced thin

1 cup white wine

2 tsp dried rosemary

1/2 bouillon cube, crumbles

Salt & pepper to taste

1/2 cup cream

1 package chicken style seitan, drained and cut into small pieces

1 tbs fresh chives, minced

Heat oil in skillet on medium heat and sauté lemon slices and give them just a slight color. Remove from skillet and set a side. Add onions and garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Pour white wine, rosemary and bouillon. Bring to a boil and cook until it's reduced to about 2/3. Add cream, salt and pepper. Blend and reduce to a simmer for 1 minutes. Place seitan in and sprinkle chives over and place lemon sliced on right before serving. 

Seitan in a mustard and herb sauce

James is out of town so I'm alone with the kids for the first time. It gives me very little time for anything but cleaning, caring, cooking and feeding my kids. For dinner we ate seitan and beans in a a mustard and herb sauce. I served it with sprouted brown rice and steamed vegetables.

1 package seitan, chicken style

1 tbs canola oil

1 large garlic, grated

1-2 tsp herb salt

1/4 cup water

1 cup cream ( I used mimic unsweetened)

1 tbs honey mustard

2 tsp dried Provencal herbs

1/2 cup kidney beans ( cooked or canned)

Heat oil in a skillet and sauté garlic for 30 seconds. Add seitan, herb salt and cook until they are slightly browned. Remove from pan and set aside. Pour the water into the skillet and use a spatula to scrape up the bottom. Add mustard and cream and reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes. Add herbs, beans and more salt if needed.

Seitan with white wine and herbs

God morning everyone! I'm a little slow today because I went out with my friend Jess last night for dinner so I went to sleep late. I feel like such party princess because I now been out two nights in a row :-0 I put Bella to sleep last night and then left James and Noah to have a boys night at home.

Right now I should be preparing a pancake breakfast for friends who are coming in one hour but instead I'm ready blogs and drinking tea and enjoying the calmness in this home because everyone is still sleeping.

I forgot to blog about Thursday's dinner which was seitan in a very light wine sauce. Perfect for hot days like these. Hope you all having as nice morning as I'm!

1 package seitan, chicken style

1 tbs canola oil

2 garlic cloves, sliced

6 scallions, chopped

1 cup white wine

1 cup vegetable broth

1 tbs fresh thyme

1 tsp fresh rosemary

1 cup cherry tomatoes

1 cup sugar snaps, ends and tops cut off

Grate from 1/2 lemon

Salt & pepper

Heat oil in a pot and sauté seitan pieces until light browned. Add garlic, scallions, wine, broth and herbs and reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, sugar snaps, salt, pepper and keep simmering for another 5 minutes. Add lemon grate before serving. Taste wonderful served with a slice of bread.

Lemon seitan and caramelized carrots

Yesterday was my day of physical activity, I biked 6 miles in the morning, took a yoga class in the afternoon and still had energy to take Noah for a 20 minutes walk so I could mail a letter. Not bad, but boy am I sore today but it feel so good to be that active again which I used to be before Noah came along.

All that work out made me STARVED but dinner filled me up. We ate lemon marinated seitan and caramelized baby carrots served on a bed of rice and steamed cauliflower. I love the combination of sweet and sour on a plate. Bella who normally is hit or miss on carrots loved them and said they taste like candy:)

Lemon seitan:

1 package seitan, stir fry pieces

1 tbs agave nectar

Grate and juice from one lemon

1/2 tbs canola oil

1 tsp fennel seeds

1 tsp dried or fresh parsley

1/2 tsp salt

Mix everything for the marinade and place seitan in as well. Let it rest in fridge for at least one hour before cooking. Cooking in a frying pan with marinade on medium heat until slightly browned.

Caramelized carrots;

1 1/2 cup baby carrots

1 tbs olive oil

1 tbs agave nectar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to F400

Blend carrots with oil, agave, cinnamon and salt and make sure they all are coated. Place in a baking dish and cook in oven until golden brown, about 10-15 minutes. Use a spatula to turn the carrots once during cooking.

Seitan cutlets

I'm sick as a dog and feel miserable. I don't know if I got what Bella had last week but sure hope it goes away soon. Off course Noah decided it was day of short naps today but was still a happy little boy thank god.

I did not feel up to cooking something complicated so we ate creamy cauliflower gratin and seitan stripes with BBQ. I used Sweet Earth's seitan cutlets and it was the first time I bought them. I really like the texture and flavor of the cutlets and there are endless possibilities for them. Tonight I simply, sliced into stripes and fried them in a little canola oil and them poured BBQ sauce over.

Father's day lunch

I don't think James could have been more celebrated as a father than he was today. He spend the whole day cuddling with the kids and eating his favorite meals, one after the other and on top of that...he also got a massage. Happy Father's day sweetie, you are the best dad there is for sure:)

For lunch we had an amazing french potato salad which is not mayo based since James does not like that. The potatoes came from our own garden so it was extra special. We also enjoyed marinated seitan and beets in a pesto cream sauce.

Happy Father's day everyone!!!!!!

French potato salad

3 cups small red potatoes, cut in half

1 1/2 cup green beans, tops and bottom cut of and cut into half

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tbs apple cider vinegar

1 tbs honey

1 tbs dijon mustard

1 tsp Herbs provencal

1 tbs capers

Salt & pepper to taste

Cook potatoes and steam green beans until soft. In a small bowl, mix oil, vinegar, honey, mustard, herbs provencal, capers, salt and pepper. Place cooked potato and beans in a larger bowl pour dressing over. Blend well but carefully. Can be served cold or semi-warm.

Marinated seitan

1/4 cup hoisin sauce

1/8 cup canola oil

2 tbs Bragg's liquid amino's or light soy sauce

1 1/2 tbs honey

Salt to taste

cayenne pepper to taste

2 cup seitan pieces

Mix, hoisin sauce, canola oil, bragg's or soy sauce, honey, salt and cayenne pepper in a zip lock bag or large bowl. Add seitan and blend well. Marinate for at least one hour. Cook in a frying pan on medium heat in a single layer to get a nice color on seitan. Repeat until all seitan has been cooked.