Some Vegan Southern Cooking

The week after vacation is always a struggle. It takes me awhile to get accustomed to being productive for 8-ish hours a day. My sickness finally subsided today (Sunday) - meaning that I really wasn't in the mood to cook or eat all of this week. Early in the week I managed to move off of the couch long enough to make this emergency-type dinner:

BBQ Seitan:
1 package seitan
1 red pepper
1 yellow pepper
1 onion
1 clove garlic
1/2 cup good-tasting BBQ sauce


Saute veggies, add seitan, add BBQ.... DONE. Dave wanted some rice with it, but I just stuck to a serving of protein and veggies.

Let's ignore the fact that the photo is upside down and I can't figure out how to turn it right-side up on my P.O.S. Thinkpad.




BBQ Black-Eyed Peas Collard Rolls
After taking a full day off of work on Tuesday- I was ready to take on some serious cooking on Wednesday. My friend from work had made these for a Louisiana-themed dinner party before and I really enjoyed them. I spotted a huge pile of collards at the grocery store and decided the time had come to make them. However, I used almost EVERY pot in my kitchen, and made a gigantic mess. I would definitely not make this on a weeknight again. The BBQ sauce is pretty good - but doesn't come close to my favorite Sweet and Stick BBQ sauce devised by Vegan Dad.

The original recipe comes from Veganomicon, and can be found on this site. There's very little ingredients other than the BBQ sauce. Collards, cremini mushrooms, and black eyed peas.. all rolled up with some chopped collards in some steamed collard leaves. Try it out if you want to get dirty Southern faster than saying "why come ya'll ain't eat no meat?"

I served this with some whipped mashed potatoes. Red skinned potatoes, smart balance, better than cream cheese, parsley and salt and pepper. Yum.

Seitan and Polenta Skillet with Fresh Greens

A super quickie post- I was on Nava Atlas' web site yesterday getting inspiration for week-night dinners, and happened upon this recipe featured as the recipe of the week, originally from Vegan Express. I never made this particular dish because it sounded plain- but trust me, it is anything but. I won't repost the recipe- just follow the link. The only difference with my version is that I used a HUGE bunch of swiss chard in place of the bok choy and spinach. It was DELICIOUS - and only 332 calories. WIN!!!!

Seitan Stroganoff

I was craving this tonight - I made it vegan but it can easily be made dairy. The recipe (from mom way back when) Only with vegan ingredients subbed in:

1 tsp smart balance
1 package seitan
1 white onion
1/2 package sliced white mushrooms
1 Tbsp vegan worchestershire
1 cup veggie broth
2 Tbsp flour
1/2 tsp mustard
1/3 cup red wine
1/3 cup sour cream (I used the better than sour cream stuff- I like it)
Na++ and pepper
Noodles

Saute seitan in smart balance. Add onions and mushrooms and saute until soft. Add worchestershire and saute until all brown. Add flour to broth, then pour into side of pan and stir until thickened. Incorporate into the rest of pan. Add mustard (take it easy, it can overpower) and wine. Let reduce just a bit. Add sour cream, salt and pepper and that's it. Serve over noodles. Yum.

Stir-fry with seitan

I had been craving this dish for quite some time, even though I had only made it once before - way back in June. The original recipe can be found HERE on Eating Well.

The adjusted recipe

1/2 cup mirin1/2 cup water
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp lime juice
2 Tbsp hoisin sauce2 Tsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp Na++
2 Tbsp safflower oil canola oil, divided
1 package chicken flavored seitan
2 tsp minced fresh ginger
3 scallions
2 cerrano peppers, seeded and pith removed
4 sliced carrots
2 bell peppers, thinly sliced
1 cup steamed asparagus

Mix the ingredients: mirin-salt together and whisk. Add Tbsp of oil to pan (I use my cast-iron) and saute seitan until nice and browned. Add ginger and cook for a minute or two. Add vegetables and cook for maybe 5 minutes, until they are soft-ish. Add sauce to the pan and cook until thickened. Easy, and quick! Very, very delicious!



The beer wasn't mine, but husband Dave thought it complimented the color scheme of the food nicely. He had his over noodles, but I had it just in a bowl.

PS- I had this popcorn for an after dinner snack. mmmm

*ULTIMATE* Vegan Chili and corbread muffins. om nom nom nom

I'm sure everyone has had the experience when you are sick of having the "worst" day. That is- the day you feel your absolute worst out of all the crappy sick days. Well, hopefully today was the worst of this stupid sickness. I slept 12.5 HOURS last night- right through to 11:30 am this morning. Holy crap. I guess I needed it. I went into work for a few hours, and still had some energy to stand up when I got home, so I threw together tonight's dinner and placed it gently into the slow-cooker and laid back down. Below are my variations on recipes from Vegetarian Times' past February issue.

I added a few things to the chili, mainly sweet potatoes and tomatoes- both of which I love. The seitan added a wonderful meatiness to the dish. I would highly recommend this for a fall dinner! My tomatoes:



Ultimate Vegan chili: Original recipe
2 Tbsp EVOO
1 large onion, chopped
2 sweet potatoes, microwaved until soft (about 5 minutes)
1 chipotle chili in adobo, drained and minced
8 oz. mushrooms
1 quart cherry tomatoes
1 cup chopped carrots
1 package seitan
3 Tbs. tomato paste
2 tsp. paprika
2 tsp. herbs de provence
1.5 tsp chili powder
3/4 tsp celery salt
1 can kidney beans
1 can black beans
1 can pinto beans
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp vegan Worchestershire
1 tsp cinnamon (trust me, it makes a big difference)
cilantro to garnish
sriracha for each serving

Heat EVOO, saute onion, chuck into slow cooker. Add mushrooms to pan with some H2O, saute until brown, add to slow cooker. Add the rest of the veggies and seitan, spices and everything else to the slow cooker. Put on high and let sit for 4 hours (ish). Garnish each serving with cilantro and sriracha.



Cornbread muffins: Original recipe
1 cup plain soymilk
1/4 cup vegan margarine, melted
2 Tbsp agave nectar (or maple syrup if you are made of money)
2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 Tbsp ground flax seed
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup frozen corn kernels

Pre-heat over to 375. Melt margarine in mixing cup. Add soy milk and the remainder of the wet ingredients, and mix with fork. In large mixing bowl, mix together dry ingredients. Add wet to dry. Put the corn kernels right back into the mixing cup and thaw in microwave. Add to remaining ingredients.

Pour ingredients into muffin pan. I don't use those little muffin cup things- I think that they make everything taste funny. So I just grease the pan and ladle the batter right in. Bake for 20 minutes - and let sit for 10. When they are done, it's time for chili. Then you can eat and go pass out on the couch, like I am about to.

Jerk-Spiced Seitan and gingered-coconut rice

This weekend I met a girl who didn't eat vegetables. No veggies, no fruit. She said she couldn't get them down. I was not involved in the conversation, so I didn't want to react and admit I had been eavesdropping... but seriously? No vegetables or fruit? I know one other person who does not eat fruit/veggies, and she was explaining her "diet" to a couple of us. Someone asked "you really just don't like them?" She answered a blase ""no." My question was: "aren't you concerned about your health one bit?" But I think a lot of people can find their answers in a pill. These ladies probably take a multivitamin and think they're doing just dandy. It's no wonder people are so confused as to why I chose to alter my diet to lower cholesterol rather than take medication. But, hey - even Bill Clinton is trying a plant-based diet to fight cardiovascular disease! As I served myself dinner tonight, picking around to get the most peppers, I really couldn't imagine a life without veggies.

This brings us to dinner tonight. I was surprised I hadn't posted this dish yet, since I love it so much and it turns out absolutely delicious each time I make it. It's another favorite from Vegan Express - by Nava Atlas. I flipped past it at first, but after seeing it looking so awesome on This is Vegan, I decided to make it myself and was not disappointed.

Tonight I served it with gingered coconut rice and chile-spiced asparagus. The rice is a recipe from another Nava Atlas cookbook, The Vegetarian 5-Ingredient Gourmet.

Jerked Seitan:

Jerk sauce:
1 Tbsp cornstarch dissolved in 2 Tbsp H2O
1/2 cup fruit juice (I like V8 fruit juice. Mmmmmm)
2 Tbsp molasses (it says you can use maple syrup, but why?)
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1-2 Tbsp lime juice (I only have lemon)
1 tsp Jamaican jerk seasoning (I use a whole Tbsp)

The goods:
2 Tbsp EVOO
1 onion - quartered and sliced thin
1 red pepper, sliced
1 yellow pepper, sliced
1 pound seitan (the cubed variety works better than strips)

First step: dissolve cornstarch in H20, add the remainder of ingredients and set aside. Saute onions and peppers in olive oil until nice and browned. Set aside. (Because I use my cast-iron skillet, I deglaze here with a Tbsp or 2 of wine. Who can argue when you are cooking with wine?)

Add seitan to the pan and brown on all sides. Add the sauce, thicken it until it is reduced by about 50% and smells great. Add onions and peppers - and serve at once.

Gingered coconut rice:
16 oz can of coconut milk (it says to use light, but light SUCKS. Full fat is the only way to go)
1.5 cups rice (I use short grain brown rice)
2-3 garlic cloves
1-2 tsp grated ginger
1-2 tsp curry powder

Mix together H2O and coconut milk and bring to simmer. Stir in remaining ingredients, put lid on pan and simmer. Simmer for about 35-45 minutes, until liquid is absorbed. The book says the recipe serves 6, but that is a lot of rice per person.

For the asparagus, I toss it in about a tsp of olive oil, chili powder and a little cayenne and roast at 400 for about 5 minutes, and voila! You're done. A dinner chock full of veggies and other goodness.