Tag: meatless

Veggie Pot Pie

Like I have said before, Michael is usually no help when it comes to figuring out something for dinner. But tonight he actually said pot pie! I had all the ingredients already so I was more than happy to oblige his request.

I made the crust using Bisquick because it was what I had on hand, and I used fresh veggies too.

This recipe makes two small personal-sized pies.

Veggie Pot Pie
Crust:
2 cups Bisquick
1/4 cup soy milk
Filling:
2 large carrots, chopped finely
1/2 medium onions, chopped finely
4 stalks of celery, chopped finely
1 large potato, cut into small pieces
5 tbs flour
1 can of veggie broth
Flat leaf parsley
Salt and pepper
2 veggies patties (I used black bean burgers)

Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees.

In a large bowl, mix together the Bisquick and soy milk. Once it comes together, transfer to a well-floured surface and knead until smooth.

Spray two ramekins or pie pans with cooking spray.

Roll out the dough into 4 circles. Make sure two of the circles can will fully cover the bottom and sides of the ramekins, with a little over hang. The other two need to cover the tops with a little overhang.

Cover the bottoms of the ramekins with the circles for the bottoms. Press the dough down firmly and seal the edges tight.

Heat some olive oil in a large pot over the stove.

Add the minced carrots, minced onion, mince celery, and the potato pieces. Saute until the veggies are soft.

Sprinkle the flour onto the veggies. Stir to coat thoroughly.

Add the can of veggie broth. Stir and break up any flour chunks.

Season to taste with the parsley salt and pepper.

Simmer for a few minutes until the gravy comes together. Remove from the heat.

Crumble up the veggie patties, add to the pot and mix together well.

Put half the filling into each ramekin. Cover each with the other dough circle. Seal the edges well.

Cut 4 slits into the top for ventilation.

Spray the tops with some cooking spray and place in the oven.

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

Creamy veggies and a crunchy golden crust! Yum!

Huli Huli "Chicken"

Out past Pahoa is one of my favorite spots on the Big Island, the Ahalanui warm spring. It’s a natural geothermal pool that has been retained by a cement foundation and is refreshed with ocean waves. I love going there early before all the people arrive and swim a few laps in the nice warm water—just be warned there are little fish that will pester you every time you stop.

On the drive to the warm spring, I’d always past this sign for homemade huli huli chicken, and always wondered what it was. One time I finally Googled it and learned it essentially Hawaiian barbecue chicken.  Huli means turn in Hawaiian and it’s called “turn turn” chicken because it is traditionally cooked on a spit so it would turn and turn as it cooked over a fire.

But, I am vegan there is no real chicken and I am broke college kid so no spit fire roasting. Instead, I used seitan strips and cooked it in a skillet over a stove. I have made this several times before and finally decided to post the recipe.

This makes 2 servings.

Huli Huli “Chicken”
2 servings of vegan chicken (any form is fine, I used strips)
1/4 cup ketchup
4 tbs soy sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbs white wine vinegar
1 1/2 inch piece of ginger, minced
2 cloves of garlic, minced

In a large bowl, mix together all the ingredients, except the fake chicken.

Now at the chicken and it it marinade for at least a half an hour.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.

Add the marinaded fake chicken and the sauce. Cook until the fake meat is heated and the sauce has thickened.

I served mine with cole slaw and rice. Tangy, sweet, and totally worth trying. I think Hawaiian barbecue is my favorite style.

Beefless Gyoza

When I was grocery shopping a few weeks ago, I had forgot my list so I was just browsing aisles trying to remember what I needed. I saw gyoza wrappers, and even though they were so not on my list, I wanted them. Fried little dumplings dipped in salty soy sauce, yum!

Gyoza are Japanese pot stickers. What sets them apart from the Chinese version is they tend to be more garlicky and satly. Since those are pretty much two food groups in my diet, so I like them better.

I had also bought  Gardein Beefless Tips and thought they would be a lovely filling for half the batch, the other half were filled with frozen veggies.  I highly suggest all of Gardein’s products. My omnivore boyfriend even likes their stuff.

This recipes makes 16 dumplings, a nice entree for one or a side to share for two or three.

Vegetable and Beefless Gyoza
16 gyoza wrappers
Gardein Beefless Tips, thawed
1/2 cup frozen veggies (the standard carrots, peas and green beans works fine)
1 clove garlic, minced
soy sauce for dipping

In a small bowl, microwave the frozen veggies. Afterwards, add half the minced garlic and mix together.

In another bowl, add the thawed beefless tips and mix in the garlic.

Get a small bowl of water, which will be used to seal the dumplings.

Time to assemble…

Generously oil a skillet.

Take one gyoza wrapper and place it on a clean flat surface.

Either place one tablespoon of the veggie filling or one beefless tip in the middle. You might need to reshape the tip to fit properly, which is why I suggest you thaw them first so they are more pliable.

Then dip you finger in the water and make wet the edges of the wrapper throughly.

Now, there is a specific way to fold the gyoza, but if you are unfamiliar with the method, just close it up any way you can. Fold it half and seal or crimp the edges to make a half circle.

Now place it seal side up in the in oiled pan.

Repeat till all the gyoza are filled.

Now place the skillet on the stove and turn it to medium-high heat. Cook until the gyoza are golden brown on the bottom. Do not stir or move them.

Next pour in about 1/4 a cup of water and cover with a lid for the dumplings to steam all the wary through. They should be ready when all the water as evaporated.

To remove them, take the lid off and place a plate over the skillet. Flip it over and gently tap the bottom till they all pop out. 
Get yourself a little bowl of soy sauce to dip and enjoy! 

Thanksgiving 2011: Seitan Roast

I saw the recipe on VegWeb for a Holiday Seitan Roast awhile ago and thought it sounded interesting. I love seitan, as evident in my two other posts about it, so I decided this year I would give the roast a try. But I deviated a from the recipe quite a bit. I boiled the roasts (the recipes makes two small loaves) first because I like the texture of boiled then baked seitan. Overall, I REALLY loved this dish. It was easy to make, flavorful and juicy. It even sops up gravy well. I am definitely be making this again sometime.

Seitan Roast
Broth:
5 cups vegetable stock
1 tbs soy sauce
1/4 an onion, cut into chunks
1 carrot, cut into chunks
A small pinch of salt and pepper 
Dough:
2 cups vital wheat gluten
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 cup vegetable broth 
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp house seasoning
A small pinch of salt and pepper 
Baste:
2 carrots, quartered 
1 small onion, quartered and sliced divided

2 cups vegetable broth (you can use the broth you boiled the seitan in)
2 tbs low sodium soy sauce 
1 tsp cumin
1 tbs Italian seasoning

In a large pot, add all the ingredients for the broth together and set aside. Do not turn the burner on yet. 

In a large bowl, add the vital wheat gluten and nutritional yeast and mix together lightly. 

Add the remanning ingredients and stir until it is too thick for a spoon.

Knead the dough the rest of the way until it comes together and is smooth. This should only take a minute or two so don’t over knead. 


Divided in half and form into small loaves. 

Put the loaves into the broth, turn on the heat, and bring to a boil. Make sure to cover with a lid. 

Once it starts to boil, reduce to a simmer and keep the lid on. Boil for about 30 minutes total. 

While that boils, pre heat the oven to 350 and spray a baking pan with cooking spray.

Combine the all baste ingredients except the carrots and onion.

Remove the loaves from the broth and place them in the baking pan. Spread the quartered carrots and onions around the loaves and cover with half the baste.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the broth is absorbed. Cover with the remaining baste and bake for another 10-15 minutes.

Plate, slice, and serve. I topped mine with some mushroom gravy. I think I will make this again for Christmas. 

Lentil Burgers and Homemade French Fries

As awesome and convenient as frozen, pre-made veggie burgers are, they are still a processed food. Just because something is meat and dairy free, doesn’t mean it still doesn’t have preservatives and fillers. On occasion when you are working late or in a hurry, they can make a fine dinner. But, the best way to get a good meat-free burger is to make it yourself. My favorite alternative burger is lentil. I first had one in this little restaurant by the Opera House in Sydney, Australia. It had great flavor and a meat-like texture. Like beef, it will take on the flavor of whatever you season it with, so you can make Southwest burgers with chili and cilantro, Indian with cumin and curry—or any other flavors you like. These are just basic burgers, so feel free to experiments with the spices. This recipe makes about 2 burgers and can be easily multiplied.

And what would a good burger be without fries. Making your own fries is just as easy as opening up a bag of processed frozen ones. Just cut, soak, season, and bake. And yes bake, not fry. Baking is so much healthier, no one needs to be eating deep fried foods. This recipe makes one serving and be easily multiplied as well.

Lentil Burgers

1 cup dried lentils
1/4 cup breadcrumbs (I used Italians ones, but it plain is fine)
1/4 cup onion, pealed 
2 cloves garlic, pealed 
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp house seasoning

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees.

Rinse and pick through the lentils.

Cooking the lentils according to the directions on the package.

Drain the lentils and let them cool for a bit.

In a food processor or blender, at the lentils and remaining ingredients. Process until blender and fairly smooth. It’s okay if there are some big chunks.

Form into patties and let them chill in the fridge for a few hours. This allows them to firm up and hold up better while cooking.

Now, you can fry them in a pan but I get better results baking in the oven. Lightly spray a baking sheet and place the patties on. Bake in the oven for 10 to 12 minutes, flipping half way through.

Since you have the oven all hot, might as well be efficient and throw some fries on the pan too.

Homemade French Fries
1 small russet potatoes
Water
1 tsp salt
1-2 tsp house seasoning, depending on taste

Wash the potato very well.

Cut the potato in 1/4 inch strips.

In the small bowl, add enough water to submerge the potatoes and then stir in the salt. Add the potatoes and soak for 15 minutes. This will add some flavor and remove some of the starch.

Drain the potatoes well and lightly dry.

In small bowl, add the potato sticks and house seasoning. Coat the sticks well.

You can cook them at the same time as the burgers on the same baking sheet. Spread the sticks in an even layer on part of the baking sheet.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, same as the burgers, until golden.


I didn’t have any buns, so I just ate mine plain. But I suggest a nice whole wheat bun, lettuce, tomato, red onion, and a good pickle on the side. I dipped my fries in some mustard and sweet chili sauce mix. If you go for ketchup, get the unsweetened all natural stuff. A lot of the big commercial brands are loaded with sugar and high fructose corn syrup.

A classic American meal with a fantastic healthy twist. Loves it!

Homemade Seitan II: Seitan Ribs

Awhile ago I posted a recipe for homemade seitan where you wash the starch off all purpose flour dough. It makes a very tasty meat substitute, but it is time consuming and annoying to do. There is an easier way to make your own seitan: vital wheat gluten. It is simply gluten flour, flour that already has the starch removed. I have not bought it before because plain flour is usually cheaper. But I found a small box on sale for $2.99 at my local health food store (two hippies got into a fight in the check-out line so I stepped behind to display to get out of their way and noticed the box on the shelf).

The beauty of vital wheat gluten is there is no washing necessary. Just mix the ingredients, knead lightly, and boil. Takes at least half an hour off the prep time. Awhile ago I saw a blog for BBQ seitan ribs, which I magically cannot find again, so I decided to made a similar recipe.

Vital Wheat Gluten Seitan
1 cup vital wheat gluten 
3/4 cup vegetable broth 
2 tbs soy sauce
2 tps smoked paprika 
1 tps chili powder
1 tps garlic powder
6 cups water or vegetable broth
2 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs paprika
1 tps garlic powder
1 tps cumin
2 cloves of garlic, skin removed and crushed

In a small bowl, add vital wheat gluten. Shift through it a bit to get any clumps out.

Add the remaining 3/4 cup vegetable broth, 2 tps soy sauce, smoked paprika, chili powder, and garlic powder. 

Knead the ball for a minute or so, just until it all comes together and is smooth. 

Let it rest for 5 minutes, then knead a few more times. 

Divide and mold into desired shapes. I tore mine in half, flatten out one half into slab for my rips, and made a patty and nuggets with the other half. 

Add combine the remaining ingredients into a large pot. Add the seitan pieces and cover with a lid. 

Bring to a boil over medium heat. Once it starts to boil, reduce to simmer and cook 45 mins to 1 hour. 

Turn off the heat, leave the lid on and let it cool in the stock.

Once cool, remove the stock. It’s ready to be used right away or can be stored for later.

Seitan Ribs
1 large, flat seitan steak 
BBQ sauce(used any style or brand you like, I used a sweeter one)
BBQ rub (again, any style or brand you like, mine was just a mix of random spices I had in the pantry: paprika, chili powder, turmeric, cumin, and chipotle)

Pre-heat the oven to broil or heat up the grill.

Cut the strips into the steak like rips.

Now brush on BBQ sauce. 

Rub the seitan steak with the BBQ rub. And yeah I know, traditionally you don’t put sauce on it if you have a rub but that what I recipe I based this on said and I like the combination.

Bake for 30 minutes or so, until the seitan has a crunchy blacken crust. I am not sure on the grill time since I don’t have a grill. I really wish I could the site I got this recipe from.

I think I like seitan better this way, but in the end I will go with whats cheapest. So unless vital wheat gluten is on sale, I will just make the flour dough and wash the stretch out. But I will totally make these ribs again sometime. They are chewy and smokey, so delicious. 

Seitan ribs, green beans, and olive bread. 

Feel Better Vegetable Soup

I’ve felt kind of crummy all weekend, I think I caught a cold or something. So, I decided to make the best thing for a cold, soup! There is tons of research on the healing properties of vegetable and chicken soups—but since I am a vegan I am only going to talk about vegetable soup. Since soup is largely liquid based, it helps keep you hydrated, which is key to fighting a cold. The vegetables also can act like anti-inflammatories and help lessen congestion and soreness. The protein in the seitan also helps boost your body’s ability to fight off sickness as well. I’ll post some links at the bottom.
Besides all those wonderful health qualities, who doesn’t love a big steaming bowl of soup? That’s the main reason I decided to make this. It conjures up happy memories of my mom bringing a bowl of her homemade soup and kissing me on the forehead to make me feel better. It’s also proven that thinking of happy memories helps your immunity too (I watched a very good documentary recently called The Science of Healing with Dr. Esther Sternberg on the subject).
I guess this is based on my mom’s chicken soup recipe, just minus the chicken. It’s pretty much the standard vegetable soup recipe and it’s very easy. I wanted more of the seitan I posted yesterday, I made up another batch to add more protein to the soup. I made my own broth because it makes all the difference in the world. Plus, there is way less sodium than the stuff in the box or can. 

Vegetable and Seitan Soup
1 large onion
3 large carrots
4 stalks of celery
2 cloves of garlic
1 half inch piece of ginger
8 cups water
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 cup seitan

Peal the onion and chop off the ends. Cut into quarters. Cut the ends off the carrots and celery, cut into quarters as well. Peal the finer and chop off the ends. Peal the ginger. Throw everything into a large pot.

Add the water, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning.

Cover and turn on the heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook for about an hour, until the veggies are tender. 

Remove the veggies. If you strain them, make sure you do not accidentally throw out the broth. Set the veggies aside to cool. Taste the broth and season with salt and pepper as needed.

Once the veggies are cooled, chop into bite size pieces. Some people discard the garlic and ginger, but I chop it up too.

Add the veggies back to the broth.

Add the seitan and turn the heat to low. Let it cook for a few minutes, just to warm everything back up.

I served mine over wild jasmine rice, but noodles would be wonderful too.

I hope I feel better tomorrow. And if not, I have plenty to soup to help me feel better.

Links on Cold Cures:
Today Show: The Truth About Six Common Cold Remedies
Mayo Clinic: Common Cold
10 Simple Ways to Cure Cold

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….