Back to Basics

This is what I hear at work all day - "Back to Basics". We're a telecom after all, and selling our products and services is as important as selling our image. Not to say that the cute bunnies, friendly hippo, and catchy tunes don't do the trick but, well, customers need to feel that way throughout their time with us.

What I'm getting at here is the fact that I too tend to be too focused on the intricate, the different, and the innovative sometimes. Sometimes we need to focus on having a hearty, consistant meal. Lucky for me I think my ventures turn out well most of the time, but I might be a little biased ;). Sometimes the basics are what we need. Think supper after a long day of work... or just a lazy weekend. Whichever it is, I do have to warn you of one little thing - there is a little prep-work involved (what, you really expected less?).

Here's my favorite vegan-sausage recipe, which just so happened to be served alongside spaghettini and a fresh tomato sauce the night it was made. Like I said, back to basics. Think of this as your home's equivalent to spaghetti and meatballs.

Vegan Sausages:

makes 6

• 1/2 cup pinto beans (can also use kidney beans)
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 1tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1 1/4 cup wheat gluten
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1 1/2 tsp fennel seeds, lightly crushed (mortar & pestle works well)
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp paprika (smoked if possible)
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp coarsely ground peppercorns (mortar & pestle works well with this too)
• salt to taste

Bring a steamer (or steaming apparatus) to a boil.

Puree pinto beans in food processor untill a smooth consistancy is reached. Mix all but wheat gluten in large bowl, adding pureed beans. Mix to blend. Add wheat gluten and mix well untill completely blended.

Cut 6 12"x6" pieces of aluminum foil. Divide the sausage mixture into 6 equal parts, shaping into 5"-long cylinders. Place each sausage on a peice of aluminum foil, wrapping losely. Place in steamer for 40 minutes to cook.

Can be broiled, barbecued, fried, broken up for 'sausage meat', etc.

Sausages can be kept in fridge 4 days, or frozen for up to 3 months. Recipe can easily be doubled. Can also be varied to include cheddar and brocolli (non-vegan), maple syrup and apples, or into a merguez variant where the fennel seeds are substituted for cumin seeds, thyme for the oregano, roasted red pepper coulis instead of the soy sauce, tumeric instead of pepper, and adding 1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper.

Enjoy!

Passover ... the Joys of Not Cooking

So passover started on Wednesday night (April 8th), and being vegetarian, and Ashkenazi (of eastern-european Jewish decent) on the same holiday makes things... a little complicated. Fulfilling food becomes something of a commodity, but I figured I'd take advantage and write-up my recipes for my 'beef' and 'chicken' seitan faux-meats. Not doing much cooking makes you stop and think about everything you've already made, instead of the usual strive for something new and excitting... and completely and utterly un-kosher for passover. Four more days and counting...

Chicken Seitan: (makes 4 'breasts')

• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup wheat gluten

Cooking Broth:

• 2 cups water
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 heaping tsp sauge
• 1/2 tsp thyme

Prepare cooking broth first, mixing all ingredients in a large pot. Place on stove on high heat and begin preparing seitan; broth should be at a boil once seitan is ready to be cooked.

To prepare seitan, combine water and wheat gluten in a bowl forming a rubbery dough. Knead approximately 2-3 minutes. Cut into 4 equal parts and flatten each with the palm of your hand. Once cooking broth is boiling, reduce heat to a simmer and gently place dough into broth with a slotted spoon. Cover, making sure not to allow seitan to boil as it will become rubbery. Cook for 50-60 minutes or untill the broth has been completely absorbed. This may take as little as 20-30 mintues, while sometimes it may be necessary to partially uncover the pot for the last 10 minutes to allow the liquid to boil down.

Once finished, remove from heat, drain any remaining liquid and allow to cool completely before storing. Keeps in fridge 5 days max, or can be frozen 2-3 months.

The Last Piece of the Pie ...

I finished the last piece of pie I had from Thursday's 'tourtiere du Lac St Jean' (aka french-Canadian meat pie), and I have to say I'm sad. It satisfied a craving I'd had, and did it with a delightfully flaky, moist crust, and playfully chewy, flavorful morsels of 'meat. And by meat, I mean vegan-friendly meat alternatives. And by vegan-friendly meat alternatives, I mean a combination of Yves brand Original flavor Ground Round, and both 'chicken' and 'beef' flavored seitans (made from scratch, recipes to come). Combine these with Yukon gold potatoes, Calabaza squash, and thick brown gravy. Oh, and don't let me forget - truffles(!!!).

Crust:
for deep-dish 9" pie mold

• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour (can replace with white spelt flour)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces*
• 1/2 cup chilled solid vegetable shortening, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 4 tablespoons (about) ice water

*Omit butter and replace with shortening or margarine if a vegan crust is wanted.

Combine flour and salt in large bowl to blend. Add butter and shortening and rub in with fingertips until very coarse meal forms. Sprinkle with 3 tablespoons water; toss until moist clumps form, adding more water by teaspoonfuls if mixture is dry. Gather dough, divide in half, and flatten into disks. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour. The dough can be made the day before, keeping refrigerated. Soften slightly at room temperature before rolling out.

Filling:

• 1 pkg (350g) Yves brand Original flavor Veggie Ground Round
• 1 1/2 cups 'chicken' seitan, cubed
• 1 cup 'beef' seitan, cubed
• 1 cup french shallots, coarsely chopped
• 2 large Yukon Gold potatoes (approx 2 cups), cubed
• 1 cup Calabaza squash, cubed
• 1 (approx. 50g) small-medium sized desert truffle (between the size of a golf and tennis ball), thinly sliced
• 1 cup (approx.) brown gravy

Gravy:

• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1/4 cup water + 1/2 tsp vegan 'beef' bouilion powder
• 1/2 tsp ginger powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp fennel seeds (lightly crushed)
• 1/2 tsp marjoram
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp cornstarch

Combine ingredients omitting cornstarch in saucepan over med-high heat, bringing to a boil. Remove a few spoonfuls of liquid and mix with cornstarch in a separate bowl, blending well (making sure no clumps remain). Add to gravy mixture. Continue boiling until thickened, about 5 minutes. Should make approximately 1 cup of gravy. Set aside.

***

Preheat oven to 400*F

Preparing the 'Meats':

Heat non-stick skillet and cook seitan until well-done and lightly crisped, cooking 'beef' and 'chicken' separately (only required if textures differ, thus cooking time/temperature). Cook veggie ground round next, approximately 7-10 minutes, stirring constantly (effectively removing moisture and slightly 'crisping' meat).

Assembly:

Roll-out the dough on a lightly floured surface, fitting first half into pie dish, leaving approximately 1/2 inch overhang. Roll-out second half of dough and set aside. Combine meats with shallots, and pour 1/3 of quantity to form first layer of pie. Cover with slices of truffle. Combine potatoes with squash, and add half the quantity forming the next layer. Continue alternating meat, truffle, and potato-squash layers until complete. Pour gravy over contents, pouring evenly across filling. Top with layer of crust, crimping edges inward with fingers, and finishing by pressing edges with fork, sealing. Perforate top crust with knife, cutting approximately 12 1 inch slices trough dough.

Bake pie uncovered at 400*F for 10 minutes. Lower oven temperature to 375*F and continue cooking for 25 minutes. Lower temperature to 300*F and cover pie with aluminum foil, baking an additional 1 hour. Remove from oven and allow to cool.




Voila! Enjoy devouring :).

Sunday Morning

Seeing as its Sunday, I was in the mood for something just mildly sweet, mildly savory, and definitely on the grain side of things. Last night's meal had an accompaniment of corn-based 'Johnny Cakes', and it gave me an idea - porridge griddle-cakes.

*Makes about 8

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup mixed whole grains / rolled grains, lightly cooked
1/2 cup stone ground corn flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp maple syrup
1/3 cup fresh espresso (about 1 shot) + enough milk (or soymilk) to total 3/4 cup
optional small handful raisins, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 2 tsp shredded coconut, 1 tsp sesame seeds

First make your mixed whole grains (or rolled grains) - I used equal parts rolled barley, spelt, rye and kamut, topped with about 1 tbsp each of quinoa, wheat bulgur, and spelt bran. Add about 1/3 cup boiling water and mix well. Let the mixture sit, covered for about 5 minutes to cook.

Next, mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl, add the cooked grains, maple syrup, and the coffee/milk mixture.

Heat a non-stick pan to medium heat and drop mixture by large spoonful, cooking until bubbles start appearing on the surface of the griddlecakes. Flip and cook another 2-3 minutes, until golden brown.

Top with maple syrup, agave syrup, or just sprinkle with a mixture of sugar/lemon zest.

Yumm!