samanthareddy87

Homemade Seitan

Seitan is my favorite meat alternative. As much as I love tofu, you can only eat so much soy before it gets old. Seitan is wheat protein that has all the starch washed away. If you have Celiac Disease or any other gluten allergy, it’s the exact thing you are allergic to, so sadly this tasty dish is not for you. But, if you have no issues with gluten, give “wheat meat” a try. It has a firmer and chewier texture, reminds me of chicken a little bit. Like tofu, it will take on the flavor of what ever you cook it in. It is sold in health food stores and you can find it in some normal grocery stores now too.

I have a hard time finding it in Hilo, so I decided to attempt to make my own. I actually made this awhile ago, but haven’t had the time to post it. I can’t remember where I first read about making your own seitan, but the idea stuck around in my head. I looked up some videos on YouTube and found the following to be the easiest to follow. I loved the final outcome but I have to admit, the process was a huge pain. The video says washing the dough takes 15 minutes but it took me more like 45 minutes. She says wash until the water is pretty clear, but trust me, wash that dough until the water is CRYSTAL clear. Any remaining starch (the stuff that makes the water whitish) will make your seitan tacky and gross. I had to make another batch because of that. So wash it more than you think is necessary, because it is totally necessary.

This is my version of the recipe in the video, it’s pretty close to hers though. I made my plain with no spices because I did not know what I was going to use mine in. So I omitted the spices in the actual dough. But I made sure I jazzed it up when I used it in the my final dishes.

Homemade Seitan

Dough:

8 cups white all purpose flour

3 tbs nutritional yeast

1/2 cup soy sauce

2 and 1/2 cups water

Cooking Stock:

4 cups vegetable broth

1/2 cup soy sauce

Follow this video, she explains everything very clearly and is easy to follow. Like I said earlier, wash until it is totally clear, not just pretty clear. It might take awhile, but it’s necessary. I cut mine into two shapes before boiling, steaks and nuggets.

I used my seitan for all sorts of things. I fried it up like chicken and had it with some BBQ sauce and green bean casserole one night.

I sautéed it in olive oil with garlic and basil, then served with tomato sauce.

I even ate the nuggets plain with some ketchup for lunch one day too. It’s always good to know what actually goes into the food you eat. Making your own of something ensures that there are no scary ingredients. Plus, I like the texture of my homemade stuff better than the store bought.

I think next time I am going to use it has taco filling….

Forks Over Knives

I finally had the time to watch the documentary Forks Over Knives. It explores the health benefits of a whole food, all plant-based diet. I will spare you all the preaching, but I will just say I am so glad I watched it. It affirms everything I came to believe in about veganism based on my own research. I strongly suggest this film, it’s not overly pushy or overly radical. A quote that personally stood out to me was, “I changed my health destiny by not engaging in the same habits,” said by a doctor who wanted to counteract her horrible family health history. This is actually why I went vegan, my family health history scared me so much that I knew I had to fundamentally changed.

When it comes to eating good food and staying healthy, just keep it simple. Tonight for dinner I had simple baked tofu and green beans, marinated in shoyu and garlic cloves, and a simple salad with homemade peanut butter dressing. A nice balanced meal, easy to make, and not lacking any dietary needs. Go educate yourself and make your own smart, informed decisions!

No cholesterol, no oil, low in fat, low in sodium, all organic and still plenty of food.

Go Ducks: Yell-O and Green Nachos

For the past 6 years of my life, every Saturday from September to December is taken over by Oregon Duck football. I am proud graduate University of Oregon and needless to say, I bleed green and yellow. I loved going to the games with my sorority sisters and yelling “O” until we went hoarse. I have sadly had to spend the past seasons and this one cheering from Hawaii. But just because I am in the middle of the Pacific doesn’t mean I don’t get all ducked-out. I either go to a local sports bar or watch from home, but regardless I have my jersey on and shout like a maniac.

Today the Ducks face off against LSU, a game that will sure deserve a special blog post. So I decided to make something green and yellow (U of O colors), and finally settled on nachos. I made queso sauce from nutritional yeast and used salsa verde for the colors. Plus some jalapeños for some spice and because they are little O’s. I wanted to top it all off with some vegan sour cream, but my store was sold out.

I just realized this is also fitting because our coach is named Chip.

Yell-O and Green Nacho
Queso sauce:
4 tbs vegan butter
1 and 1/4 cup nutritional yeast, divided

3/4 cup vegetable broth

1/2 cup unsweetened, plain soy milk

1/2 tbs garlic powder
1tps cumin
1 tps parkia
1 tps chili powder
1/2 tsp pepper
The rest of the stuff:
1/4 medium onion, chopped
1 cup soy” beef” crumbles (I used Smart Ground)
Tortilla chips
Salsa verde
Jalapeños
Vegan sour cream

To make the queso sauce, add the vegan butter and 1 cup of the nutritional yeast to saucepan over medium/low heat. Incorporate the two together to make a sort of roux. It should clump together and get a little golden.

Add the vegetable broth and soy milk. Whisk together so there are no lumps.

Add the garlic powder, cumin, paprika, chili powder and pepper. You can add salt if you like, but mine didn’t need it. Mix together well.

Reduce the heat to low. Let it reduce and thicken, stirring frequently. Taste it after awhile, if it need more “cheese” flavor, add some more nutritional yeast.

In skillet, lightly brown the chopped onion. Then add the soy crumbles. Cooked until heated through.

Once the queso sauce is smooth and thicken slightly, it’s time to assemble.

On a large plate or platter, scatter desired amount of chips. There is enough sauce for at least 5 serving so be generous.

Next sprinkle on the soy crumble mixture.

Now pour on the queso sauce.

Now add the desired about of salsa verde.

If your store didn’t run out of sour cream like mine did, add a few dollops.

Top with desired about of jalapeños so your nachos are yelling “O”.

Turn on the Ducks game, open a Widmer (or any other fine Oregon brew) and get ready to cheer! Win the days boys!

Cincinnati Style Chili

I had heard of Cincinnati style chili before, but never had the chance to try it. The other day I was trying to decide what I want to make next for my blog when I saw something on the Food Network about some restaurant in Ohio that famous for their chili (can’t remember the restaurant or what show it was) and thought it looked delicious.

Cincinnati style chili is more like a sauce than a chili. It was first made by Macedonian immigrants who wanted to expand their restaurant menus. It consist of not only traditional chili ingredients like chili powder and cumin, but has some unusual ones like chocolate, cinnamon, and vinegar. I like savory/sweet combinations so I knew I was going to like it. The real version has worcestershire sauce (not vegan since it is fish based, though there are some vegan versions out there) and ground beef. I omitted the worcestershire and used Smart Ground Veggie Protein Crumbles instead of beef.

The chili is normally served over spaghetti or a hot dog since it is more sauce-like, though it is good enough to eat on its own. I got to give it you Cincinnati, you make a very fine chili. I will definitely make this again sometime. This recipe is based on one from foodnetwork.com called Cincinnati Chili.

Cincinnati Style Chili

1 large onions, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tbs chili powder
1 tbs smoked paprika
1 and 1/2 fps ground cumin
1 fps ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp chili turmeric
1 package Smart Ground Veggie Protein Crumbles
1/4 cup red wine
1 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs cider vinegar
1 6-ounce can tomato sauce (I used a pasta sauce)
2 tablespoons chopped unsweetened chocolate
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat cooking spray in a large pot over medium heat. I made mine in sauce pan but I only made a single serving. Add the onions and garlic, cooked until the onions are translucent.

Add the chili powder, paprika, cumin, cinnamon, and turmeric. Thoroughly coat the onions and garlic.

Add the protein crumbles and cooked until the crumbles are heated through. Don’t worry if the spices start to stick to the bottom of the pot.

Add the wine, soy sauce and vinegar to deglaze the pan, make sure to scrap all the brunt/stuck stuff off the bottom of the pan.

Next add the tomato sauce and chocolate, mix together well.

Cook for about 15 minutes until the chili tightens up a bit more. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

I boiled up some pasta (ok, it’s actually ramen noodles, I didn’t have any spaghetti on hand and I am a college kid!) and slathered the noodles with the chili. Traditionally, the dish is then topped with kidney beans, onions, and TONS of cheddar cheese. I just went with some kidney beans to keep it healthier.

Brown Rice Sushi

If, hypothetically—not like that one of my friends ever did this—you are at a sushi restaurant that says each order comes with 6 to 8 pieces, don’t assume you get to pick whether you want 6,7,or 8 pieces. Because, hypothetically still, if each of you order 6 of your choice of sushi (thinking that means 6 pieces only) and say you had 3 people eating, that means you get 18 orders of sushi. Eighteen orders of 6-piece sushi would be 108 pieces and will take up two large trays. And, if this ever actually happens, don’t be the friend who just sits there even though it sounds odd when the waiter repeats back 6 orders of sushi each. But, if this does happen, make sure one of your friends can take home the remaining 10 orders of sushi and be forced to eat them for the next few days. Not that my friends and I ever let this happen….hahahaha

Anyways, my friend reminded me of this (hypothetical) story today, so I thought I attempt to make sushi again. I have tried a few times before and failed horribly. So I watched some videos on Youtube first and figured out what I was doing wrong.

I did not take pictures as I was making the sushi because, to be honest, I did not have high hopes for myself. But they came out good. Follow the steps in this video just like I did and you should be successful. I used different ingredients then what she uses in the video because hers are not vegan. You can put in whatever fillings you like really, these were just what I have on hand. You can use traditional or get creative. Mine aren’t typical but not too crazy. I used brown rice instead of white because it is more nutritious.

And I have no idea why the lady is cooking with her dog. At least the dog is cute!

Brown Rice Sushi

2 cups cooked brown rice

3 tbs rice vinegar

2 tbs sugar

1 tsp salt

2 sheets of toasted nori

Tofu, sliced into thin strips

Dried shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated (I marinated them in soy sauce, garlic, and ginger too)

Handful of kale leafs

Follow the directions in the video (just minus the meat and non-vegan stuff), it explains it better than I can. It’s not that complicated, you just need the right technique. My recipe makes about two, 1 inch rolls.

I wish I had some pickled ginger on the side, would have been the perfect finishing touch. I should have cut them a little smaller too. Oh well, next time. I am very proud of my first successful sushi meal.

Barszcz: Polish Beet Soup

I’ve always wanted to try borscht, called barszcz in Polish. I love the taste of beets and figured all those jokes about the soup being awful soup were from McDonalds-addicted, over-processed food lovers. Now that I’ve tasted it, I know that is exactly the case. It has a mild and slightly rich flavor, totally in love. My mom say it’s ok, but my grandma said she loves it too. Although she loves, my mom said she didn’t make it very much while my mom was growing up because my grandpa hates beets. Apparently he didn’t even want them in the house! I must confess that grating beets is a pain, so I shared my grandpa’s hatred while I was prepping everything at least. This recipe is based on one from cooks.com called Polish Beet Soup.

Barszcz
4 cups water
1/2 stick of vegan butter (I used Earth Balance)
4 good-sized beets
1 medium-sized onion
Salt

This part really sucks to do. I suggest wearing gloves so your hands do not turn bright red. Peel and grate the beets and onion.

Add the 4 cups of water to a large pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add the vegan butter.

Once the butter has melted, add the grated vegetables and salt to taste.

Cook for about 1/2 an hour, until the beets and onions are cooked.

If you want hot soup, serve it immediately. But I wanted mine cold so I made mine earlier in the day and then let it chill till dinner.

Top with some vegan sour cream (try Tofutti) and some dill or chives. My dad and I loved it, my mom wasn’t a big fan. I guess she takes after her dad.

One last Polish recipe posting up soon.

Polish Rye Bread

The Polish side of is calling out again. I am heading back to Hawaii in a few days and won’t have my lovely parents to cook for. So I decided to make Polish food for dinner tonight, embrace our heritage once again. Like I said on my pierogi post, a lot of polish food is not vegan so I need to change the recipes a bit. But despite the lack of eggs or pork here and there, they are pretty authentic.

I have never had barszcz, Polish variant of borscht, so I thought give it a try. I love beets so why not try a beet soup? While I was looking for recipes online, a bunch more Polish recipes came up too. I asked my mom what kluski is and when she explained they are delicious little homemade noodles, I knew I had to make them. Then I thought well, what would a Polish dinner be without kapusta? Kapusta is pretty much just plain sauerkraut and it is delicious….makes the house stink though.

Then I thought a nice home-baked rye would go lovely with the barszcz so I added that to the list too. I love its dry but savory taste. Plus, my dad was practically drooling over some we saw on TV last night so I figured he would be happy.

Rye bread is not that complicated to make, just like with any bread you just need to be patience and not overwork it. And it’s already vegan! I found a recipe for a simple breadmaker version called Polish Rye Bread on Group Recipes, but adapted it for normal baking methods.

Polish Rye Bread

1 cup warm water

1 packet dry yeast

1 and 1/2 tbs molasses

3/4 cup rye flour

2 cups bread flour

2 tps caraway seeds

1 tps salt

1 tbs vegetable oil

Dissolve the packet of yeast into the warm water. I suggest doing this in a measuring cup. Add the molasses. Stir lightly if needed. Set aside until it all bubbly and frothy.

I did my mixing and kneading in a stand mixer. I wish I had one of these in Hawaii. Can’t wait to not be a broke college kid and have a real kitchen. In the mixer bowl, add both flours, caraway seeds, and salt. Mix together well by hand.

Turn on the mixer to the lowest setting and slowly add the yeast mixture. Use bread hook attachment. Then add the oil. Continue mixing until smooth and slightly elastic.

Remove the bowl from the stand, cover with plastic wrap (I suggest putting a rubber band around it too) and cover with a dish towel (ścierka in Polish, I’ve been taught a few random words). Put in a warm place like the laundry room to proof. If you live in humid place, that’s really not an issue so just set aside anywhere really. My bread proofs so quickly in Hawaii.

Momma rolled it out for me.

Once it’s risen, punch it down again. Sprinkle some flour on the counter and roll the dough out on it a bit. Shape into the size of pan.

Spray a bread pan with cooking spray and place in the dough.

Cover with plastic wrap and a clothe again, then set aside to proof a second time.

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Once it’s risen the second time, pop it in the over for 20 minutes. My mom made the suggestion of putting some hot water in a pot in with the bread to help crisp up the crust.

Next, remove the pot of water and remove the bread from the pan. Put the freed bread back in the oven and bake for 10 more minutes.

Your baking times may vary based on your oven.

My bread skills need some work…my bread came out kinda dense. But it was still pretty good. Like I said, if you are patience and take your time, your bread should come out lovely. I would suggest more salt, my mom thinks more molasses.

It smells so good.

I’ll post the rest of the Polish recipes later. Still in the process of cooking all of them!

Rhubarb Bars

I was looking through the new recipes on VegWeb and came across one called Rhubarb Bar for the Herbivore. There was a bunch of rhubarb in my mom’s garden that needed to be picked, so I thought I would give this recipe a try. I used whole wheat pastry flour and less butter in the crust to make it more nutritious. I also did not need as much sugar as the recipe calls for, and I thought my rhubarb was pretty sour to begin with. Just preference I guess.

Rhubarb Bars
Crust:
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
3 tbs powdered sugar
2 tbs vegan butter
2-3 tbs of water

Filling:
2 cups rhubarb, chopped
1 cup raw sugar
2tbs Enger-G egg replacer
4 tbs water
1/4 cup flour

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees and spray a small square pan with cooking spray.

In a small bowl, add the flour and butter. Then squish together by hand. Add the water as needed until the dough is crumbly.

Press the dough down into the bottom of the pan firmly.

Bake for 15 minutes. It should still be pale but a little firmer.

While that bakes, peel and chop the rhubarb into bite size pieces. Check out my Strawberry Rhubarb Pie post on how to prep rhubarb.

In a large bowl, add the rhubarb and all remaining ingredients. Mix together well. Taste for sweetness, you may need more sugar depending on preference and the sourness of your rhubarb.

Once the crust is baked, pour the filling in while the crust is still hot.

Bake for 35-40 minutes until the filling is bubbling.

Let it cool before cutting and serving. I topped it with a little powdered sugar for fun.

If you have never had rhubarb before, I would not suggest this recipe. But if you like a little tartness, give this a try. It’s a nice change from a big heavy dessert.

*PS, my dad pretty much devoured this tonight. When he really likes something, he will eat the whole thing. So if you are a rhubarb fan, this is the dish for you.

Parents’ 27th Anniversary Dinner, Part 2: Antipasto and Pizza

Sorry it took a couple days to post part two of my parents’ anniversary dinner, I got distracted spending time with my family. The dinner was delicious and my parents were very happy. My brother had to work, so it sadly was not a family dinner. I made an antipasto platter with some marinated veggies, and provolone and prosciutto. I didn’t eat the meat and cheese, that was for my parents. Like I’ve said before, if you are crazy oversensitive about veganism, no one will like you. If you don’t ever let others have meat or dairy near you, they just won’t have you around. I like eating meals with my family and friends, so I just let it go. Just because they are eating meat and cheese, doesn’t mean you have to.

Anyways, I also made them a pizza margarita with real fresh mozzarella and fresh basil from my mom’s garden. For myself, I made two mini pizzas. One was a based on a recipe I saw in Cooking Light for a Summer Veggie Pizza with fresh grilled veggies. The second was a fake BBQ chicken pizza. There was small oven-transferring accident for the summer pizza so I do not have a final picture of pie, but I promise it was good.

I must confess, I did not make the pizza dough. I had so much stuff to make, the last thing I wanted to do was watch yeast proof. I also did not pre-bake the dough this time because my mom has a pizza stone so the oven gets hot enough to make a crunchy crust the first time.

Pizza Margarita (Non-Vegan)
1 ball of pizza dough
1 cup tomato sauce (I made my own, I’ll post the recipe sometime)
2 medium balls of fresh mozzarella
2 medium roma tomatoes
Handful of fresh basil

Pre-heat the oven as high it will go. If you have a pizza stone, pop it in too.

Roll the pizza dough out into desired shape and thickness.

Spread on the tomato sauce.

Cut the mozzarella balls and the tomatoes into semi-thin slices.

Place on the mozzarella slices, then top with the tomatoes.

Next lay on the basil leafs. I left them whole but you can chop them up too.

Bake for 10-15 minutes, until the crust is golden and the cheese is bubbly.

My parents said the pizza was delicious. They almost forgot to save my brother a few pieces!

Summer Pizza

1 red pepper

8 asparagus stalks

1/4 of a small red onion

1 ear of corn

1 ball of pizza dough
1 tbs olive oil
1 clove garlic, chopped
Salt
1/2 cup vegan mozzarella (I used Daiya)
Fresh basil

Roast the red pepper, either on the grill or under the broiler, until the skin blackens. Once it is cooled, peel off the brunt skin. Then remove the stem and seeds, then chop into strips. Add to a small bowl.

Roast the asparagus, once again either grill or broiler, just until tender. Chop into 1/2 inch pieces. Add to the bowl.

Remove the corn from the bowl. I suggest doing this in the bowl so the kernels do not fly everywhere.

Cut the onion into slices. Add to the bowl and mix together.

Pre-heat oven as high it will go. If you have a pizza stone, throw it in too.

Roll the dough out into desired shape and thickness.

Spread the olive oil and garlic on the dough, season with some salt.

Top with the veggie mixture.

Sprinkle on the cheese and top with the fresh basil.

Bake for 10-15 minutes, until the crust is golden and crunchy. Because it is non-dairy cheese, it will not get bubbly so do not leave it in too long.

Like I said, this pizza had a small accident but what remained was so good. I am so making this pizza again.

BBQ “Chicken” Pizza
1 ball of pizza dough (I use half since it was a mini pizza)
1 cup vegan chicken strips (I used MorningStar Farms)
1/4 white onion, sliced
1/2-3/4 cup BBQ sauce (depending on taste, I like mine saucy but my mom said it was bit much)
1/2 cup vegan mozzarella (I used Daiya)

Pre-heat oven as high as it can go. Once again, if you have pizza stone, throw it in.

In a large bowl, mix together the onion slices, chicken strips, and BBQ sauce together well.

Roll the dough out to desired shape and thickness.

Spread the BBQ mixture onto the dough and top with the cheese.

Bake for 10-15 minutes, until the crust is golden. Once again, the cheese is not dairy so it will not get bubbly.

I had been craving a BBQ pizza and this was exactly what I wanted. So simple but so good.

Love you mom and dad! May you have many many more anniversaries to come!

Parents’ 27th Anniversary Dinner, Part 1: Strawberry Rhubarb and Marion Berry Pie

On August 4, 1984, my two wonderful parents began their lives together as husband and wife. They met back in high school and have been happily married for 27 years now. They are the two most amazing people I know and I am so thankful for the wonderful childhood they gave my brother and I. So they definitely deserve a nice dinner. They drooled over the food in the recent episode of No Reservations in Naples and requested I make traditional pizza margarita and an antipasto platter. My parents are not vegan and since it is their day, some of the recipes are not vegan. The things I am going to eat are vegan though. Since I am making quite a few dishes, I decided to break up the recipes into two posts. This first one is the dessert since I made the pies this morning.

Chuckie and Amelia like rhubarb apparently.

My dad requested his favorite thing in the whole world, strawberry rhubarb pie. The filling is vegan, but I suck at pie crusts so I used a Pillsbury one, which is not vegan. And some how I still managed to screw up a pre-made crust. The rim stuck to the foil in the oven for some reason. Not sure how that happened. My mom said it still tastes good, just doesn’t look so pretty. Still pretty good for my first attempt. I picked the rhubarb fresh from my mom’s garden, and my kitties decided to help me. The recipe is based on the one from How to Cook Everything.

For myself, I made a marion berry pie. Marion berries are a caneberry hybrid developed by Oregon State University in the 1940s. They are pretty much just an Oregon version of a blackberry and they are fantastic. They grow wildly all over Oregon now too. They will stain your hands a lovely purple color so be careful. If you can’t get marion berries, you can use blackberries but any Oregonian will tell you they aren’t the same. I also used a pre-made gram cracker crust for this pie too.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
2 pre-made pie crust doughs
2 and 1/2 cups rhubarb, peeled and diced
3 cups strawberries, siced
1 cup sugar, more or less depending on sourness of rhubarb
3 tbs cornstarch
Milk
Sugar

Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees.

Wash and slice the strawberries. Add to a large bowl.

Wash and peel the rhubarb. The easiest way to peel is just to pull off the outer tough strings by hand. Just keep pulling off little pieces until you can’t easily grab strings anymore. Dice into small pieces. Add to the large bowl.

Add the sugar and cornstarch, mix together well. Taste for sweetness. If the rhubarb is really sour like mine was, you may need more sugar.

For the crust, unroll the pie crust and fit into the pie pan. Press the dough down well and press the the edges down firmly to seal the crust.

Pour the filling into the pan and smooth so it’s evenly spread.

Cover with the other pie crust. Seal the edges down once again.

For some decoration and help the seal, press a fork around the edges.

Cut 4 slits in the center.

Brush the top with some milk and sprinkle on some sugar.

Cover the edges with foil so they don’t burn.

Bake in the oven at 450 for 10 minutes, then drop down the temperature to 350 and make for 40-50 minutes. Removed the foil the last 10 minutes. It’s done when the filling is bubbly and the crust is golden.

Not sure why the crust came out all weird…

Vegan Marion Berry Pie
1 vegan pre-made gram cracker pie crust
1 pint Marion Berries
4 tbs sugar
1/2 tps ground cloves
1/4 tps fresh grated ginger
1 tbs corn starch
Vegan whip cream

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Wash the berries and add the to a large bowl.

Add all remaining ingredients, except the crust obviously, and mix together well. Taste for sweetness but ripe marion berries should not be sour.

Pour the filling into the crust and smooth so it’s evenly spread.

Bake for 30-40 minutes until the filling is no longer jiggly.

Top with vegan whip cream, and garnish with some more berries or mint.

Almond whip spread and mint from my mom’s garden.

I have been craving a marion berry pie for awhile now, should be delicious! And I know my dad will be happy when he sees his pie too. More posts to come, but here is another pic of my cats “helping” me in the garden.

So cute, even if they do come in all dirty.