There's nothing like having dinner ready when you come home. Since I'm a single parent, the only way that's going to happen is by relying on my long-time soul-mate: The Crock Pot. This little vittle definitely takes some prep time, so unless you're a super chipper morning person, I recommend making it the night before and sticking it in the refrigerator. The next morning all you have to do is plug it in! :o)
Olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced
2 russet potatoes, scrubbed well and thinly sliced
1 bell pepper (any color), quartered and sliced
3 large carrots, scrubbed and sliced (leave the peels on)
1/2 recipe Homemade Seitan or Cheater Seitan, or 1 package commercially prepared seitan, sliced into small cubes
BBQ Sauce (recipe will follow)
Pour a small amount of olive oil in a large skillet and bring to medium heat. Add onion, all at once, and cook until soft. If desired, cook until onion begins to carmelize, which creates a wonderful flavor for any dish. Put onion directly in the bottom of a 4 to 6 quart slow cooker.
Spread sliced potatoes on top of hot onions, followed by peppers, carrots and seitan (in that order). Prepare BBQ Sauce.
1 6oz can tomato paste
1 t. ground mustard
2 T. apple cider vinegar
1/4 c. molasses
2 T. Sucanat
1/8 c. soy sauce*
1/8 c. Bragg's Liquid Aminos*
1 c. hot water
Combine all ingredients except water in a medium-sized bowl. Whisk until combined. Add water, whisk again, and stir continuously until all sucanat has dissolved and all ingredients are combined.
*Note: I used a single 1/4 cup measuring cup and eyeballed it halfway with soy sauce and the rest of the way with Bragg's. You can use all soy sauce or all Bragg's or any combination. I like the flavor of the soy sauce for this dish but the health benefits of Bragg's, so I use them both!
Slowly drizzle BBQ sauce over layered veggies and seitan. Do not stir! Just do your best to cover all the seitan with the sauce. It will become moist as it cooks.
Cook on low setting for 6 to 8 hours. If making ahead and sticking in the refrigerator, allow an additional hour or so of cooking time. All crock pots vary, so start checking it as close to the end of the cooking time as possible. There's nothing ickier than trying to scrub burned BBQ sauce off a crock pot.
Tip: Those little green scrubbing pads you find in the cleaning section of the grocery store make quick work of scrubbing root vegetables like potatoes and carrots. When I get them home I cut them in half and boil them to eliminate any ickiness you wouldn't want to come in contact with your food then keep them handy for food prep. It may be obvious, but don't try to use them on softer foods - only sturdy root vegetables. :o)
Thursday, September 30
Monday, September 27
Banana Pudding
I'm not a huge fan of pudding, but this little vittle turned out pretty darn good. I think my bananas were a little too ripe, as the pudding had more of a runny consistency than I would have liked. I think having ripe but not brown bananas will improve the results.
1/2 c. Sucanat
1/2 c. hot water
4 bananas
1 package extra firm silken tofu, drained
1 T. vanilla extract
Combine hot water and Sucanat in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly, and cook until sugar is completely dissolved (this won't take long). Let cool for about 10 minutes.
In a food processor, combine bananas, tofu, vanilla, and sugar mixture. Process for 1 to 2 minutes or until completely smooth. Transfer to a bowl with a tight-fitting lid. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes before serving.
Makes about six servings.
Note: If using non-stick cookware for the Sucanat-water mixture, use a light hand when first stirring sugar into water. Sucanat is coarser than granulated sugar, and if not careful, you could scratch your cookware.
Note, Part 2: This is a very sweet dessert and the Sucanat brings a bold molasses-type flavor. If you like a less sweet pudding, simply reduce the amount of Sucanat to 1/4 cup.
1/2 c. Sucanat
1/2 c. hot water
4 bananas
1 package extra firm silken tofu, drained
1 T. vanilla extract
Combine hot water and Sucanat in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly, and cook until sugar is completely dissolved (this won't take long). Let cool for about 10 minutes.
In a food processor, combine bananas, tofu, vanilla, and sugar mixture. Process for 1 to 2 minutes or until completely smooth. Transfer to a bowl with a tight-fitting lid. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes before serving.
Makes about six servings.
Note: If using non-stick cookware for the Sucanat-water mixture, use a light hand when first stirring sugar into water. Sucanat is coarser than granulated sugar, and if not careful, you could scratch your cookware.
Note, Part 2: This is a very sweet dessert and the Sucanat brings a bold molasses-type flavor. If you like a less sweet pudding, simply reduce the amount of Sucanat to 1/4 cup.
Veggie Packets
I've always avoided recipes like this because they never seemed to turn out. These little packets turned out wonderfully. They would work wonderfully when camping, too. These can easily be assembled ahead of time, if desired, and refrigerated until ready to bake.
2 c. cubed seitan (1/2 recipe Cheater Seitan from this blog)
2 small eggplant, peeled and cubed
1 large russet potato, cubed
1 28 oz. can whole tomatoes, drained and cubed
1 bell pepper, any color, diced
1 small yellow onion, diced
Olive oil
Dried thyme
Garlic powder
Real Salt
Foil or parchment paper
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Wash and cut vegetables according to instructions above. Cut four pieces of foil, approximately 12" x 16". Fold in half like a book and then unfold.
On one half of the foil, distribute vegetables evenly. Drizzle a small amount of olive oil and season with thyme, garlic powder and salt as desired. Arrange seitan on top of vegetables, drizzle a little more olive oil, and add additional seasonings.
Fold foil over vegetables and fold edges, making at least 3 creases to keep juices in while cooking. Arrange foil packets on a baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
Note: Cooking time will depend on size of vegetable cubes. The 40 minute recommendation is based on very small chunks of vegetables. Eggplant cooks faster than potatoes, for example, so I left the eggplant a little larger and cut the potatoes very small. If you prefer larger vegetables just increase your cooking time.
Serving Suggestions: My kids love everything in a tortilla, so they took the contents of their foil packets and wrapped it in a tortilla with some of my homemade sour cream. I like sauce on my veggies, so I topped mine with some of the sauce from the Veggie Mac n Cheeze. Vegan Alfredo or Cheesy Bean Sauce would also be delicious.
2 c. cubed seitan (1/2 recipe Cheater Seitan from this blog)
2 small eggplant, peeled and cubed
1 large russet potato, cubed
1 28 oz. can whole tomatoes, drained and cubed
1 bell pepper, any color, diced
1 small yellow onion, diced
Olive oil
Dried thyme
Garlic powder
Real Salt
Foil or parchment paper
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Wash and cut vegetables according to instructions above. Cut four pieces of foil, approximately 12" x 16". Fold in half like a book and then unfold.
On one half of the foil, distribute vegetables evenly. Drizzle a small amount of olive oil and season with thyme, garlic powder and salt as desired. Arrange seitan on top of vegetables, drizzle a little more olive oil, and add additional seasonings.
Fold foil over vegetables and fold edges, making at least 3 creases to keep juices in while cooking. Arrange foil packets on a baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
Note: Cooking time will depend on size of vegetable cubes. The 40 minute recommendation is based on very small chunks of vegetables. Eggplant cooks faster than potatoes, for example, so I left the eggplant a little larger and cut the potatoes very small. If you prefer larger vegetables just increase your cooking time.
Serving Suggestions: My kids love everything in a tortilla, so they took the contents of their foil packets and wrapped it in a tortilla with some of my homemade sour cream. I like sauce on my veggies, so I topped mine with some of the sauce from the Veggie Mac n Cheeze. Vegan Alfredo or Cheesy Bean Sauce would also be delicious.
Friday, September 24
Veggie Mac N Cheeze
I already have a recipe for Mac N Cheeze on this blog, but I think this one is my New Favorite Thing. It's a great way to get kids to eat cauliflower - without having any clue they're eating it. It takes some time to make, but it is well worth the effort.
1 head cauliflower, core removed and sliced into large chunks
2 cups vegetable broth
2 bay leaves
2 c. dry macaroni noodles (whole wheat is best)
2 T. olive oil
1 T. dijon mustard
1 T. yellow or white miso paste
1/4 c. nutritional yeast (less if you find the taste of nutritional yeast to be too strong)
1/4 t. nutmeg
Real Salt (if needed)
Bread crumbs
Fill a large pot with hot water and bring to a boil. Put cauliflower pieces in boiling water and cook for 25 minutes, or until very tender. While cauliflower is cooking, bring broth and bay leaves just to a boil in a small pot. Once just starting to boil turn off heat and let sit while cauliflower finishes cooking.
Remove cauliflower from pot with a slotted spoon and put directly in blender. Keep water boiling and add macaroni noodles. Cook five minutes, drain, and soak in cold water to stop the cooking.
Add olive oil, mustard, miso, nutritional yeast, nutmeg and salt (if using) to the cauliflower in the blender. Add broth (remove bay leaves first) and process on medium speed for about 1 minute or until completely combined. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
Coat a 13x9 cooking dish with a small amount of olive oil or with non-stick cooking spray. Pour sauce over macaroni noodles, stirring to combine. Pour noodles and sauce into baking dish - the sauce will be runny and there should appear to be a little too much sauce for the noodles (remember, they're not totally cooked yet). Top with bread crumbs - about 1/2 cup or less should do it.
Bake macaroni in the oven at 400 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until macaroni is tender, sauce is bubbly and bread crumbs are starting to brown. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.
1 head cauliflower, core removed and sliced into large chunks
2 cups vegetable broth
2 bay leaves
2 c. dry macaroni noodles (whole wheat is best)
2 T. olive oil
1 T. dijon mustard
1 T. yellow or white miso paste
1/4 c. nutritional yeast (less if you find the taste of nutritional yeast to be too strong)
1/4 t. nutmeg
Real Salt (if needed)
Bread crumbs
Fill a large pot with hot water and bring to a boil. Put cauliflower pieces in boiling water and cook for 25 minutes, or until very tender. While cauliflower is cooking, bring broth and bay leaves just to a boil in a small pot. Once just starting to boil turn off heat and let sit while cauliflower finishes cooking.
Remove cauliflower from pot with a slotted spoon and put directly in blender. Keep water boiling and add macaroni noodles. Cook five minutes, drain, and soak in cold water to stop the cooking.
Add olive oil, mustard, miso, nutritional yeast, nutmeg and salt (if using) to the cauliflower in the blender. Add broth (remove bay leaves first) and process on medium speed for about 1 minute or until completely combined. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
Coat a 13x9 cooking dish with a small amount of olive oil or with non-stick cooking spray. Pour sauce over macaroni noodles, stirring to combine. Pour noodles and sauce into baking dish - the sauce will be runny and there should appear to be a little too much sauce for the noodles (remember, they're not totally cooked yet). Top with bread crumbs - about 1/2 cup or less should do it.
Bake macaroni in the oven at 400 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until macaroni is tender, sauce is bubbly and bread crumbs are starting to brown. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.
Tuesday, September 21
Veggie Fajitas
This recipe uses Seitan - pick either the Homemade Seitan or Cheater Seitan from this blog, or use commercially prepared seitan. Use many colors of bell peppers to make the dish look interesting. I could eat this for days and days - and the boys didn't complain. Win-win!
1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 bell pepper, any color, thinly sliced
1/2 recipe Cheater Seitan thinly sliced, about 2 cups
Olive oil
Southwestern Seasoning
Heat a few tablespoons olive oil over medium heat in a large frying pan. Add onion and pepper and cook, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes or until onion and pepper start to become soft. Add seitan and southwestern seasoning to taste. Cook an additional 5 minutes or until seitan is heated through. It may be necessary to add some additional olive oil if seitan begins to stick to the pan.
Serve immediately with tortillas, vegan sour cream, avocado, tomatoes, guacamole, vegan cheese, or any other fajita toppings.
Makes about 6 fajitas.
1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 bell pepper, any color, thinly sliced
1/2 recipe Cheater Seitan thinly sliced, about 2 cups
Olive oil
Southwestern Seasoning
Heat a few tablespoons olive oil over medium heat in a large frying pan. Add onion and pepper and cook, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes or until onion and pepper start to become soft. Add seitan and southwestern seasoning to taste. Cook an additional 5 minutes or until seitan is heated through. It may be necessary to add some additional olive oil if seitan begins to stick to the pan.
Serve immediately with tortillas, vegan sour cream, avocado, tomatoes, guacamole, vegan cheese, or any other fajita toppings.
Makes about 6 fajitas.
Cheater Seitan
I guess I'm on this seitan kick lately - it's so healthy! I call this Cheater Seitan because it's simply too easy. It's still time consuming, because of the boiling time, but it primarily consists of inactive prep time when you can be doing laundry or chillin' with a good book or whatever else it is you do. The seitan can be made ahead and will keep in the refrigerator or freezer. It's more expensive than regular Homemade Seitan, only because vital wheat gluten costs more per pound than wheat flour, but it's great if you don't have time for the "long" method.
1 cup vital wheat gluten flour
1 t. powdered ginger
1 t. garlic powder
3/4 cup warm water
2 T. Bragg's Liquid Aminos
8 cups broth or stock
1/4 small yellow onion
1 scant t. liquid smoke
Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Combine wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients all at once, and stir to combine. It will be necessary to use your hands to completely mix the ingredients together. The dough will be rubbery.
Knead several times and let stand for five minutes. Meanwhile, bring broth or stock, onion and liquid smoke to a boil in a very large pot. Cut seitan dough into four pieces and stretch out until very thin (dough will expand A LOT when cooked).
Place dough directly into boiling water. Cover pot and cook for one hour, or longer if necessary, until seitan is firm and no longer doughey. It may take as long as 90 minutes depending on the size of your seitan pieces.
Drain and allow to cool. Slice thinly and use immediately, or store in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days or in the freezer for several weeks.
1 cup vital wheat gluten flour
1 t. powdered ginger
1 t. garlic powder
3/4 cup warm water
2 T. Bragg's Liquid Aminos
8 cups broth or stock
1/4 small yellow onion
1 scant t. liquid smoke
Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Combine wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients all at once, and stir to combine. It will be necessary to use your hands to completely mix the ingredients together. The dough will be rubbery.
Knead several times and let stand for five minutes. Meanwhile, bring broth or stock, onion and liquid smoke to a boil in a very large pot. Cut seitan dough into four pieces and stretch out until very thin (dough will expand A LOT when cooked).
Place dough directly into boiling water. Cover pot and cook for one hour, or longer if necessary, until seitan is firm and no longer doughey. It may take as long as 90 minutes depending on the size of your seitan pieces.
Drain and allow to cool. Slice thinly and use immediately, or store in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days or in the freezer for several weeks.
Monday, September 20
Chi-hua-huas
This is similar to Happy Dogs in a Blanket, but fundamentally different enough that I wanted to post it. The boys love Chi-hua-huas and they are so easy.
1 package (8 count) veggie dogs
4 slices non-dairy cheese
8 whole wheat tortillas
olive oil or cooking spray
Fill a medium saucepan halfway with water and bring to a boil. Add veggie dogs and cook until heated through.
Heat tortillas in the microwave for 10 seconds each, or heat in a large skillet over medium heat. Place 1/2 piece of cheese in the center of a tortilla and top with veggie dog. Fold tortilla over each end of the veggie dog, then roll like a burrito. Secure with toothpicks. Repeat for all 8 dogs and tortillas.
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Arrange Chi-hua-huas on a cookie sheet (lined with foil, if desired). Brush lightly with a pastry brush dipped in olive oil or spray with a generous coat of cooking spray. Bake for 5 to 7 minutes, or until tortillas just start to brown. Watch closely to prevent burning. Serve immediately.
1 package (8 count) veggie dogs
4 slices non-dairy cheese
8 whole wheat tortillas
olive oil or cooking spray
Fill a medium saucepan halfway with water and bring to a boil. Add veggie dogs and cook until heated through.
Heat tortillas in the microwave for 10 seconds each, or heat in a large skillet over medium heat. Place 1/2 piece of cheese in the center of a tortilla and top with veggie dog. Fold tortilla over each end of the veggie dog, then roll like a burrito. Secure with toothpicks. Repeat for all 8 dogs and tortillas.
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Arrange Chi-hua-huas on a cookie sheet (lined with foil, if desired). Brush lightly with a pastry brush dipped in olive oil or spray with a generous coat of cooking spray. Bake for 5 to 7 minutes, or until tortillas just start to brown. Watch closely to prevent burning. Serve immediately.
Homemade Seitan
I've wanted to try Seitan from scratch for a long time, but the recipes have always seemed so overwhelming. We were bumming around the house yesterday and I finally just decided to go for it. I was amazed with the results! I will definitely be making this again. And again. And again. And probably again.
3 cups freshly ground whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups water
Mix flour and water in a large bowl until a soft dough forms. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes, or until dough is smooth.
Return dough to the bowl and cover with warm water. Let sit for 20 minutes. Place bowl in the sink and knead the dough in the bowl full of warm water until water turns white. Replace with fresh water and continue kneading the dough under water, changing water each time it turns white (the water gets white very quickly).
I will note here that the dough is going to start getting mushy and looking like it wants to fall apart. This is NORMAL. I almost threw the batch out halfway through, but even though it has an ugly appearance, stick with it.
After six, or eight, or ten (okay, I totally lost count), the water will eventually be clear when you are kneading the dough - but it takes a long time! Don't give up. For good measure, I spent some time squeezing it under warm running water to try to eliminate some of the little wheat flakes that will inevitably remain. In retrospect, they won't make much of a difference one way or the other. The important thing is that the water is no longer white. This indicates the dough you are left with is gluten.
Okay, it doesn't look so yum when it's a ball of raw seitan. Actually, my son thought it looked a little like a dead brain. Appetizing, right? Well, once you cook it the appearance improves a little. Boil the seitan in a very large pot of broth, with a few pieces of sliced onion, some garlic, soy sauce or whatever else you like. Cook for at least an hour or until no longer doughey. Use a very large pot with a lot of broth as the seitan will about triple in size. You can also cook it in a slow cooker for 6 hours or so.
Seitan is high in protein, has zero fat, and has a chewy, meat-like texture. It will absorb the flavors of whatever you're cooking. You're not going to fool anyone into believing that seitan is meat any more than mushrooms are meat, but it makes for a very hearty, filling meal.
Update: I have learned that soaking the finished ball of raw seitan (prior to boiling) in cold water for about 15 to 20 minutes will help tighten up the gluten, making it easier to slice and cook. This step is optional, but it is totally worth it if you have the extra time. :o)
3 cups freshly ground whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups water
Mix flour and water in a large bowl until a soft dough forms. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes, or until dough is smooth.
Return dough to the bowl and cover with warm water. Let sit for 20 minutes. Place bowl in the sink and knead the dough in the bowl full of warm water until water turns white. Replace with fresh water and continue kneading the dough under water, changing water each time it turns white (the water gets white very quickly).
I will note here that the dough is going to start getting mushy and looking like it wants to fall apart. This is NORMAL. I almost threw the batch out halfway through, but even though it has an ugly appearance, stick with it.
After six, or eight, or ten (okay, I totally lost count), the water will eventually be clear when you are kneading the dough - but it takes a long time! Don't give up. For good measure, I spent some time squeezing it under warm running water to try to eliminate some of the little wheat flakes that will inevitably remain. In retrospect, they won't make much of a difference one way or the other. The important thing is that the water is no longer white. This indicates the dough you are left with is gluten.
Okay, it doesn't look so yum when it's a ball of raw seitan. Actually, my son thought it looked a little like a dead brain. Appetizing, right? Well, once you cook it the appearance improves a little. Boil the seitan in a very large pot of broth, with a few pieces of sliced onion, some garlic, soy sauce or whatever else you like. Cook for at least an hour or until no longer doughey. Use a very large pot with a lot of broth as the seitan will about triple in size. You can also cook it in a slow cooker for 6 hours or so.
Seitan is high in protein, has zero fat, and has a chewy, meat-like texture. It will absorb the flavors of whatever you're cooking. You're not going to fool anyone into believing that seitan is meat any more than mushrooms are meat, but it makes for a very hearty, filling meal.
Update: I have learned that soaking the finished ball of raw seitan (prior to boiling) in cold water for about 15 to 20 minutes will help tighten up the gluten, making it easier to slice and cook. This step is optional, but it is totally worth it if you have the extra time. :o)
Thursday, September 16
Black Bean Hummus
I know I already have hummus on this blog, but the Black Bean Hummus was just too good not to post! Use it as a spread, a dip for veggies, or even just eat it straight off a spoon! I recently started heating hummus before eating it, and I almost like it warm better than cold.
1 1/2 c. black beans
2 T. lemon juice
2 T. minced garlic (yes, it's a lot of garlic, so this is not a date-friendly food)
1 t. cumin
1 to 2 t. Real Salt
2 T. Olive Oil
water
Place all ingredients except water into a food processor. Turn on low and process for about 30 seconds, or until beans are well mashed. Stop food processor and scrape down the sides. Add a few tablespoons of water and continue processing on low or medium speed. Add additional water as necessary to reach desired consistency, stopping periodically to scrape sides. Do not add too much water or the hummus will be too wet and become crumbly.
1 1/2 c. black beans
2 T. lemon juice
2 T. minced garlic (yes, it's a lot of garlic, so this is not a date-friendly food)
1 t. cumin
1 to 2 t. Real Salt
2 T. Olive Oil
water
Place all ingredients except water into a food processor. Turn on low and process for about 30 seconds, or until beans are well mashed. Stop food processor and scrape down the sides. Add a few tablespoons of water and continue processing on low or medium speed. Add additional water as necessary to reach desired consistency, stopping periodically to scrape sides. Do not add too much water or the hummus will be too wet and become crumbly.
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