Southern Fried Seitan!

I said I'd restart this blog and then I didn't do a thing. Well, actually, I did lots of things: pack boxes, store them in a storage unit, rejoin the gym (ahem), watch the entire first season of Game of Thrones, visit the Mütter Museum in Philadelphia, canoe part of the Connecticut River ... just nothing to do with the blog. Oops. Better late than never, though.

So ...

I gave in. I got some of those Bragg Liquid Aminos. I'm still not entirely sold. I got it to try and to use as a substitute for soy sauce. Yeah, yeah: it's non-GMO and has all those healthy amino acids. But, for someone like me who is super-super-sensitive to sodium, it might be better to stick with low-sodium soy sauce. (Bragg has, as far as I can figure, 960 mg of sodium per tablespoon whereas low-sodium soy sauce has 575.) But since I now own this bottle and have to do something with it, I figured I'd use it, as so many have suggested, in the simmering liquid for seitan.

I'm feeling very Southern again today and I'm having friends over this afternoon for some champagne sipping and relaxing in the overgrown backyard (one thing I haven't done is yard work), so I figured I'd make some Southern fried seitan.

Mix and briefly knead:

1 c vital wheat gluten
1 c cold water

Bring to a boil:

4 c water
1/2 c nutritional yeast
4 T Bragg Liquid Aminos (yep, there they are!)
2 t onion powder
1 1/2 t sage
1/2 t white pepper
1 t thyme
2 bay leaves

Add the briefly kneaded vital wheat gluten to the liquid, reduce and cover. Cook at a simmer, stirring frequently, for about an hour, until most of the liquid is reduced. Remove from heat and let the seitan cool in the remaining liquid.

Yum.

I'm not vegan, so I'm using milk and eggs for the "fried chicken" part, but I don't see why you couldn't easily replace that with soy milk and egg replacer. (And here I'd like to give a thumbs up to Bob's Red Mill Farm Egg Replacer. I got some the other day to make a vegan cake for a friend, and although I've seen a few reviews in which people said it tasted odd to them -and one, at least to me, odd review in which the reviewer complained it made awful scrambled eggs [because I never would have expected to use a powdered egg substitute to make scrambled eggs] - I found it worked perfectly.

Mix together an egg, a cup of buttermilk (add a tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice to the milk, stir and let thicken for about five minutes to make buttermilk) and as much hot sauce as you like - the more, the better. In a ziploc bag (easy cleanup and yes, I do wash and reuse them), mix a cup of self-rising flour and whatever spices you like; I chose pepper, salt, paprika, cayenne, rosemary, garlic, and onion powder, but whatever floats your boat (or you have in the pantry). Dredge the seitan pieces in the egg mixture, then toss with the flour mixture. Dredge again in egg and toss with the flour mixture again to get a really crispy, layered coating. Fry in hot oil, drain, and eat.

Somehow it turned into a Southern food extravaganza, so in addition to the fried seitan, we had collard greens, biscuits with sausage gravy, deviled eggs and fried pimento cheese balls. I really was going to take pictures, but guests came early and, what with all that packing, I was hungry, so it all got eaten before I could take a photo of the side dishes.

I guess it's good I rejoined the gym ...

Back? Back!

I've missed my little blog, and now that I'm in the process of selling my restaurant, perhaps it is time to revisit it. After all, I've already begun playing around with new business ideas and I need some helpful folks to bounce ideas off of, if y'all would be so kind.

Now this idea is newly born and as-yet pretty undeveloped, but I'm thinking food truck.

Food truck in New Orleans, to be specific.

Five years in the snow and ice-filled (negative 23! negative 23!) winters of Vermont have pushed our attention towards warmer climes, and you can't get much warmer than New Orleans in the summer. Yep, we're trading those -23 degree winters for 101 degree summers. Of course, I grew up in Memphis, so I'm fine, but I am a little worried that the husband and dogs will melt. AC. We'll have lots of AC.

But back to seitan ...

I don't really want to spring into a new restaurant. Frankly, I don't think I ever want to own a restaurant again. On the one hand, it can be a very gratifying experience to cook your own creations for appreciative customers. On the other, though, the owner has so much other crud to deal with that she barely has time to cook, let alone plan menus. But I do love cooking ...

But what about a food truck? I know there are some veggie food trucks (although, I think, not in NOLA), but I'm wondering about a specifically seitanic food truck. Menu ideas (since it would be in NOLA and all) that come to mind include thinly sliced seitan roast beef po-boys with debris gravy, seitan fried chicken po-boys with creole mustard, muffalettas with seitan pepperoni, salami, ham, Swiss and provolone cheeses, and olive salad, and fried macaroni and cheese.

So, if you're reading this and would be interested in seeing those recipes (and similar) be developed, let me know and take a moment (please!) to give me feedback! And if it ever comes to fruition, well, come on down and have some foodies!

Farewell, little blog!

I've been neglecting this little blog, and I realized that it would be a kindness to put it out of its lonely misery rather than to continue that neglect. With the new restaurant, I just don't have the time to fit posting in between all my other jobs as chef, dog walker, house cleaner, laundress, driveway shoveler (because it seems it will never, ever stop snowing here), and cocktail lounge chanteuse.

If you're in the southern New England area, though, please stop by and enjoy some veggie cuisine: www.lunaazulvt.com

And thank you all, very much indeed, for your time and encouragement!

Laura

Pomegranate-Glazed Duck Breast Tacos

Poor little blog ... so neglected. I've been so very, very busy with the restaurant - and it won't even be open for another week and a half! I'll try to make an effort, though; it's not like I won't be working with food every day.

So, since the restaurant IS opening up very, very soon, I thought I would take advantage of my husband as guinea pig and try out some specials that have come to mind. Thus, tonight's dinner and I give you Spicy Pomegranate-Lacquered Duck Breast Tacos.





I love the Mah Wah duck breast especially for its texture, although it's pretty good all-around. But perhaps because I never ate a lot of duck, I rarely do much with it - and so this was a perfect opportunity.

My restaurant is Mexican, but I'm staying as far away from overstuffed burritos, refried beans and numbered platters as possible. There are no piñatas hanging from the ceiling, nor any sombreros on the walls. Its a place that calls out for some specials like, well, the spicy pomegranate-lacquered duck breast tacos.

These were slightly time consuming, but really only in terms of marinating. They turned out to be absolutely delicious, though; the spiciness of the peppers matches the sweetness of the pomegranate perfectly. Plus, they're a great excuse to whip up some queso fresco, which I love. So, totally worth a try - yummy!

Spicy Pomegranate-Lacquered Duck Breast Tacos (serves two starving folks or four not)

1 May Wah duck breast, defrosted
1 16 oz. bottle POM pure pomegranate juice
1 heaping tsp. sugar
1 poblano pepper, roasted then peeled, deseeded and sliced
2 serrano or jalapeño peppers, roasted then peeled, deseeded and sliced
1/2 yellow onion, thinly sliced
olive oil

small corn tortillas
simple guacamole or avocado puree
queso fresco


Thinly slice/shred the duck breast and put it in a bowl; add pomegranate juice and allow to marinate, stirring occasionally, for several hours. Meanwhile, prepare the peppers. Roast them either under the broiler or over the gas, then wrap in plastic and cool before slipping off the skin (and washing out the seeds). Slice and set aside. Slice the onion.

Drain the duck into a saucepan and set aside; add sugar to the juice and, over high heat, boil to reduce till you have about a quarter cup of syrup. Set aside.

Heat oil in a pan; add onions and allow to cook for about three minutes, then add peppers and duck. Over high heat, saute till beginning to crisp. Pour atop reserved syrup. Reduce heat, stir and simmer about three more minutes. Remove from heat.

In another pan or on a griddle, heat a small amount of oil and then add corn tortillas. Let them cook till bubbling and browning, flipping halfway.

To plate, place the duck mixture in the middle of the tortilla; top with avocado puree and queso fresco. Serve. Go back for more.

Pâté en Croûte ... and it's vegan

Years ago, my first "fancy" culinary job was as the garde manger in a French-American restaurant, which was perhaps a bit ironic for a vegetarian but really good training in the "how not to be bothered by all sorts of innards" part of cooking for a living. Charcuterie seems to be one of those newly sexy culinary trends, but it wasn't so popular then, which might be why I got the job. I made lots of sausages and lots of terrines and lots of pâtés. Anything that called for forcemeat and a cornichon or three for garnish, well, there I was.

Those aren't dishes I've regularly thought about since then. Oh, veggie sausages are yummy and useful, but most veggie pâtés bore me. They always seem to be made from cannellini beans or red lentils that have been pureed with some herbs. They're good ... they're just not exciting to me. Plus, they're really not what I think of as "pâté." They tend more towards the hummus/bean dip side of the scale; they are to pâté what the lentil loaf of yesteryear's health food store vegetarian meal was to beef wellington.

Then the other day I discovered, some months after the fact, that PETA held a contest for the best vegan version of foie gras, with a prize of $10K. I rather wish I'd known about this *before* the contest ended, but at any rate, it started me thinking about the possibilities for vegetarian forcemeats. I decided that I wanted to make a traditional-yet-vegetarian pâté en croûte, no lentils involved.

As it happens, I needed a dish for a gathering with friends, so despite the fact that I should be cleaning the house and baking an enormous number of Christmas cookies for various destinations, I spent the morning making this, instead:



Now, one of my friends is vegan, so this pâté en croûte is vegan, not simply vegetarian. The only real difference, however, is that I used Earth Balance shortening (which, by the way, reminds me a lot of lard) instead of butter in the pâte brisée and for sautéing. You could use either one; I'd probably use butter myself, but that's just my taste.

This was a first attempt, so it needs a bit more work. It tasted good, but didn't turn out exactly as I wanted, that is, exactly like a meaty pâté en croûte. Next time, I'm going to use puff pastry rather than pie dough, and add more aspic to bind the filling. I've no earthly idea what to make for Christmas dinner, so perhaps I'll give this idea another go and post the changes next week. At any rate, this was a good starting point, so here 'tis:

Ingredients:

1 c "chicken" stock
1 oz dried porcini mushrooms
1 vegetarian duck breast
4 T butter or shortening, divided
2 large shallots, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 c marsala wine, divided
1 1/2 lb mixed mushrooms (I used oyster and cremini, since that's what I had), chopped
1/4 c chopped curly leaf parsley
3 T fresh thyme
3 T fresh rosemary, minced
1/3 c panko breadcrumbs
the juice from one large lemon
salt and ground black pepper

1 recipe pâte brisée (or puff pastry)

1 c "chicken" stock
1 t agar

* Bring the first cup of stock to a boil and add the porcini. Set aside to soak about 20-30 minutes.

* Chop the duck breast and toss in a bowl with 1/4 cup wine. Set aside.

* Melt 2 T butter or shortening over medium heat; add shallots and garlic, sautéing till soft and slightly colored, about 5 minutes. Remove to a large bowl. Wipe out pan and add remaining butter or shortening. When it's melted, add fresh mushrooms. Lower heat to low-medium and sweat them about 8-10 minutes. Turn heat up to high, add remaining wine and cook till dry (only maybe 2 minutes). Remove from heat.

* After cooling slightly, put the mushrooms in a food processor and whirl till very fine. Add to bowl with shallot mixture. Add the marinated duck breast, the herbs, panko, and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

* Set oven to 350 F. Meanwhile, combine second cup of stock and the agar in a small sauce pan. Let it rest about five minutes, then bring to the boil. Lower heat and simmer another five minutes. Then, add to the mushroom-duck mixture, combining well. [Note: I did not use the entire cup, but I wish I had.]

* Line a pâte mold with the pastry dough, overlapping the sides a little bit and saving a piece for the top. Add filling, making sure it's even, then replace top piece of pastry and turn the edges over to seal. If you're feeling artsy, decorate it with additional pieces of dough. [I didn't have enough leftover, but really - it makes the whole thing look so much better.]

* Bake for 50 minutes and chill for a few hours before serving. Don't forget the cornichons!

Pollo Fritto alla Toscana

Pollo Fritto alla Toscana!


First of all, I realize I really need to change the description of this blog. Seitan, I love you so, but I've been cheating on you with other vegetarian meats ... It began innocently enough, with a little TVP here and a little tofu there, but lately, I must admit, I've been seeing a lot of (gulp) store bought veggie meats. I'm sorry; sometimes, you're just too time-consuming. And sometimes, I'm out of ingredients.

And it happened again last night, again with the Mah Wah veggie chicken legs. I really, really adore those things. They're great barbecued and make absolutely divine Southern fried chicken, both vegan and vegetarian versions. (I made a vegan version for a party some months ago; the meat-eating guests couldn't believe they weren't real chicken!) At some point soon, I'm going to have to try them in a stew. And I will have to ... I've got a freezer in my basement that's full of them. But, yesterday being Sunday, which often means Italian for dinner, I decided to try them fried in a slightly different style, namely Tuscan.

Everyone loves fried chicken, right? It's not a dish we Americans generally associate with Italian cuisine, but maybe we should consider it. There are a few versions I've come across, the main difference being that some use breadcrumbs and others don't. And the main difference between the American and Italian versions seems to be the marinade. And time.

It's time-consuming. Well, in terms of the marinade. If you want something NOW, go for Southern fried chicken (unless, of course, you're one of those people who marinate the chicken in buttermilk overnight ... but seeing as this isn't *real* chicken, you don't need to do that).

But, these were lovely - a nice change and seemed to be a good bit less greasy. And, as I'm currently finding out, just as good served cold for the next day's lunch. Better, actually.

The marinade gives it a light, fresh flavor. I probably should have made these in the summer, something to take to a picnic in the park along with a cannellini bean salad and a bottle of Chianti. But, as I sit here and look out at the trees, bare in the 25 degree weather, I can plan that picnic and enjoy this practice run.


Chicken resting in the marinade ... don't they look creepily like real chicken?


Marinade:

3/4 c extra virgin olive oil
1/2 c freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 T each: minced parsley, oregano, rosemary
2 T minced garlic
1 t kosher salt
1 t freshly ground black pepper

Chicken:

12 May Wah chicken legs or enough seitan for four people
all-purpose flour
2 eggs, beaten
1 t salt
1/2 t ground white pepper
vegetable oil for frying

Prepare marinade and add chicken. Let it rest, turning pieces regularly, in a large bowl or casserole dish, for at least two hours.

Prepare batter: flour with salt and pepper in one dish, beaten eggs in another. Let excess marinade drip off each piece before adding it to first the flour, then shake off the excess and dip the piece in the egg. Meanwhile, allow oil to come to temperature (about 350) in a large frying pan - you'll want about a 1/2 inch depth. Carefully add the pieces to the hot oil, cooking for a few minutes on each side. Place on paper towels to absorb excess oil and serve.

Beetroot Ravioli and Roasted Brussels Sprouts

So I'm trying to be a little healthier, which means I thought it might be a nice idea to incorporate a few more vegetables in my diet. In general, though, I don't really like vegetables so much. Or maybe I just don't like "healthy" (read: boring) vegetable recipes.

I do, however, really like beets and brussels sprouts, which is why, though there is no seitan anywhere in this meal, I'm posting this entry.




I had these ravioli on the menu of my old restaurant as a small plate, along with a pea puree and pea green salad, which means that serving ten of them for dinner made me feel very decadent. (We all have our vices.) The sweetness and the soft texture of the ravioli went extremely well with the crispy saltiness of the brussels sprouts, so if I ever put the ravioli back on a menu, it will be in this combination, or something very similar.

At any rate, if you are wary of beets and brussels sprouts or have only experienced them in horrible cafeteria-style dishes, I highly suggest you give these two recipes a go. (If you're reading this, Mama, this means you.) They're very simple, but most of all, absolutely amazing. And mostly vegetable. Probably not so healthful, but not too bad, either ...

Beetroot Ravioli

one bunch beets
2/3 cup ricotta cheese
3 T panko breadcrumbs
zest of one lemon
sea salt and cracked pepper
wonton wrappers

4 T butter
2 t poppy seeds
parmigiano-reggiano

Wrap beets in tinfoil and bake in a 400 F oven for an hour. Allow to cool, then peel. Grate the beets by hand or in a food processor, then add the ricotta, breadcrumbs, lemon zest, and salt and pepper.

Laying out a few wonton wrappers at a time, place a heaping teaspoon of the beetroot filling on each. Fold into a triangle, first wetting edges with water so they'll stick better. Place them on a sheet pan or plate lined with wax paper - careful not to overlap or they'll stick to each other if you're refrigerating them before cooking.

Bring a pot of water to the boil and add ravioli, no more than a dozen at a time; cook for about two minutes. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a saute pan and stir in poppyseeds. When the ravioli are done, carefully lift them out of the water with a slotted spoon (note: these are delicate and do NOT do well swished around or tossed into a colander) and gently toss with the butter. Plate them and add a little freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano.


Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Okay, this is too easy to be so delicious, but there you are. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Trim brussels sprouts and halve (or quarter, if they're on the large side). Toss with olive oil, kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Turn out onto a sheet pan, spread them out a little and roast, shaking the pan once or twice, for about 35 minutes. Add a little bit more salt when they're done. They're amazing: try them.

Melanzane Farcite Alla Mozzarella E Salsicce, Orecchiette Alla Pugliese

Between my camera dying and the rather dull but time consuming chores of daily life, I haven't had an opportunity to post. But, little blog, I haven't abandoned you. There's mostly good news: I got a new camera, and (excitement, excitement!) I finally, after much frustration, have an appointment for the health inspection on my new restaurant. Of course, the less good news is that this camera seems to take mostly bad, blurry, oddly-colored photos (I might have some role in this, but due to circumstance outside my control, I also have no manual, which I probably wouldn't read anyway) and that, while the inspection has, as of eight minutes ago, been scheduled, it won't take place for several weeks, which means several more weeks of twiddling my fingers and being asked, again and again, by well-meaning but accidentally irritating people as to when the restaurant will open. No, I should be all positive: I have a chance to learn new photography skills and an opportunity to finally get the house organized before the culinary craziness begins.

Anyway.

If you could only eat one sort of cuisine for the rest of your life, what would it be? For me, Italian, always Italian. Oh, I'd miss all the rest ... I adore Ethiopian, particularly fasolia wett and gomen with beautiful, spongy injera and a glass of honey wine ... French, especially delicate crepes filled with mushrooms ... German, Japanese, Greek, and so on. But always Italian. I was obviously born in the wrong country, not to mention that my parents didn't even have the decency to be of Italian descent. But, no matter; I'm making up for it in my meals.

Lately, I've been obsessed with meatballs, but sadly, I don't really have any good pictures, so I'll have to leave that for another time. The key is lemon zest, though. Now (as if I needed an excuse), I will have to make them again so I can try for better pictures to go with the recipe.

Last night, though, we had roasted eggplants stuffed with mozzarella and veggie Italian sausage along with orecchiette with broccoli rabe, tomatoes and black olives. Now, I'd love to say that I invented the best-ever vegetarian Italian sausages, but I can't. That honor, at least in my opinion, goes to the Field Roast Grain Meat Company, whose Italian sausages are made with eggplant, red wine and spices - deliciousness! But, for those whose local stores don't carry Field Roast products, I recommend trying Julie Hasson's recipe, which is also quite delectable.



For the eggplant -

1 medium eggplant
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 oz. fresh mozzarella, diced
2 Italian sausages, ground in a food processor or a small dice
1/2 cup prepared tomato sauce
olive oil

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Halve eggplants lengthwise and carefully scoop out flesh to leave two intact shells. Dice the flesh and set aside. Heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil over med-high heat and add garlic. When fragrant, add eggplant flesh. Saute till soft and golden, about eight minutes. Remove and wipe pan. Add another T or two of olive oil and, when heated, add sausage. Saute till browned. In a large bowl, mix eggplant, sausage, mozzarella and tomato sauce. Fill eggplant shells and, in a lightly oiled pan, bake uncovered for 30 minutes. Easy, fast, yum!

For the pasta -

Orecchiette pasta
one-half bunch broccoli rabe
olive oil
2/3 cup black olives, roughly chopped
one tomato, chopped
red pepper flakes
parmigiano-reggiano

Prepare the orecchiette according to the directions. Meanwhile, remove a couple inches of the rabe's stems, then cut the rest into pieces. Blanch in boiling water for two minutes, then drain and rinse in cold water to halt the cooking. When the pasta is done (or nearly done), heat oil in a saute pan and add garlic. Saute one minute, then add broccoli rabe and red pepper flakes to taste. Saute for a couple more minutes, then add the olives and tomato. Saute for another couple minutes, then add the pasta. Toss, drizzle with a touch more olive oil and serve with a little parmigiano on top.

Deep Fried Pimento Cheese Balls

I love-love-love pimento cheese. I can't help it; I'm Southern, so along with biscuits and white gravy, fried pickles, and Moon Pies, pimento cheese is part of my DNA. I made a batch for a party last weekend, but the recipe makes so much that I had a lot leftover. What to do? Keep on eating pimento cheese, veggie bacon and avocado sandwiches for lunch each day? (Maybe. There's nothing wrong with that.) Or ... I could fry it.

Generally, I'm a bit appalled by some of the over-the-top fried, heart attack-inducing and artery clogging foods I see. Really, does a double bacon cheeseburger NEED to have the bun replaced by a glazed donut? Or does bacon even really need to be battered and fried and dipped in ranch, the universal dip for fried foods? Probably not, but I'm biased and so I decided pimento cheese needed to be fried. I experimented a bit with panko, as called for in the only similar recipe I could find on the internet. It didn't work out so hot, as that recipe didn't start with authentic pimento cheese itself, but a mixture egg whites. The balls just dissolved in the hot oil.



Take two, though, was a success! I know this has absolutely nothing to do with seitan and it probably has nothing redeeming about it as good food, but damn! I pulverized Morningstar veggie bacon strips and Cape Cod Sweet and Spicy Jalapeño potato chips, then mixed in a little flour. The pimento cheese balls were dipped in egg, then rolled in the bacon-chip mixture. I froze them -a very key step- for about three hours before frying them in hot oil for about 30 seconds. I dislike ranch dressing (more for overexposure than for flavor), so I served these with blue cheese dressing, but that was unnecessary. These things were so amazingly delicious! So, next time you have a hankering for over-the-top Southern yumminess, whip up some pimento cheese and fry away!


Laura's Pimento Cheese

8 oz. monterey jack cheese
8 oz. extra sharp Vermont cheddar (white)
6 oz. sharp NY cheddar (yellow)
1 - 1/2 big kosher dill pickle (preferably Claussen's)
1 - 4 oz. jar pimentos, drained
3 cloves garlic
6 oz. cream cheese

1/2 c. mayonnaise (I'd prefer Duke's, but you can't get it up here, so I used Hellman's
1 tsp. red wine vinegar
hot sauce to taste (I always end up using a lot more than I'd guess because the fire really gets subsumed by the cream cheese)
1-2 tsp. veggie worcestershire sauce

1) Using a food processor with a grating blade, shred monterey jack and both cheddars. Add pickle, pimentos and garlic. Add the cream cheese, pulsing.

2) Turn mixture out into a large bowl. Blend in mayonnaise, red wine vinegar, hot sauce and worcestershire sauce.

Beef Seitan and Cremini Stroganov

Suddenly, it has become cool enough that I can again cook in my own kitchen. (I'd like to be excited about this, and I kind of am, but then I remember that all too soon it will be below freezing when I wake up and there will be two feet of snow outside. I should stop being so weather-whiny.) Anyway, this means I can get back to trying out more dishes, and last night's dinner was Beef Seitan and Cremini Stroganov.





Okay, so I'm going to go ahead and say that this dish was awesome. It took almost NO time to prepare (assuming you have the seitan on hand already) and was really rich and delicious without being super-heavy. There were no leftovers, although next time I might double the recipe so that, not only could we have had second helpings, we could have it for lunch the next day. And by "we," I mean "I."

Beef Seitan and Cremini Stroganov

one recipe beef seitan (about 9 oz)
1-2 T flour
8 oz. cremini or button mushrooms, sliced thickly
1/4 c red onion, minced
1-2 t garlic, minced
1 T olive oil
3 T butter, divided
3/4 c vegetarian beef broth
1/4 Marsala wine
2 t vegetarian Worcestershire sauce
1/4 c plain Greek yogurt
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper


Cut seitan into cubes no bigger than an inch square. Toss with the flour to coat and set aside. Slice mushrooms, mince onion and garlic.

Add olive oil and one tablespoon of butter to a saute pan over medium heat. When butter has melted, add mushrooms, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, till they exude their juices, about 7 minutes. Add Marsala and raise heat to high; stir well, scraping up any mushroom bits, as they absorb the wine. When all the liquid is absorbed, remove the mushrooms to a bowl and turn the heat back to medium-high.

Add the remaining tablespoons of butter to the pan; melt and add red onion and garlic. Cook, stirring well, about two to three minutes. Add seitan cubes. Tossing gently, let seitan brown (about five minutes). Add mushrooms and broth. Raise heat to high and let the broth reduce to about a third. Remove from heat, stir in yogurt and Worcestershire sauce. Serve over noodles. Yumminess.

Dongting Stir-Fried Duck Breast

I know ... it has been a very long time since my last post. That's partially because I've been rather busy, but mostly because, in the summertime, our house heats up incredibly quickly whenever I use the kitchen. This means that, for the most part, we're cooking on the grill (or getting takeaway ... thanks, local pizzeria and Chinese restaurants, for doing your part to help me gain some weight). It also means I don't make seitan at home; that hour or so that it simmers on the stove would turn my kitchen and living room into a steam room.

Even though it's been on the warmer side lately, the evenings are cool, so I've started back with some stove top cooking - but it has to be quick, so homemade seitan's still out. I'm still enamoured of May Wah veggie meats, and yesterday I received a great big package of seitan "duck breast." Hmm, stir-fry?

I've only ever eaten real duck once in my life, and I only vaguely remember it. I think my parents had guests or relatives in town and decided to take them to a new (read: not the neighborhood place with the flaming pupu platter I loved and cockroaches I didn't, but fashionable and located in what was then the suburbs) Chinese restaurant. I got the duck. The only reason this has stood out in my rather fuzzy collection of childhood memories is because of how grossly fatty I found it. Crispy skin, yes, but oozy, squashy, just plain nasty fatty. Yuck. Okay, I know some people love that; I'm not one of them.

The seitan duck has no such drawback. It came frozen in a big (seven pounds?) bag, so I'll be trying lots of recipes, but last night, I used one "breast" to make Dongting stir-fried duck breast. While this version comes seasoned, I think you could easily used homemade chicken seitan because the marinade changes its flavor.





Marinade: I didn't measure, but I'd say a couple tablespoons each if not otherwise noted

soy sauce (some recipes call for a mix of light and dark; I only have the one)
dry sherry
a splash of rice wine vinegar
a splash of chili sauce

Ingredients:

one large seitan duck breast (or chicken seitan)
6 scallions
4 chilis, deseeded and thinly sliced (I used a mix of sweet red chilis and spicy yellow)
1 bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1" piece of ginger root, peeled and minced
vegetable oil for cooking
sesame oil for finishing

Thinly slice the seitan and add it to the marinade ingredients; stir well and let it sit while you prepare the vegetables.

Thinly slice the scallions; keep the white bits separate from the green, as you'll add them separately during cooking. Prepare the garlic, ginger and peppers.

Heat a couple tablespoons of vegetable oil in a wok or large saute pan till hot. Add the marinated seitan and cook, stirring, for a few minutes till it has begun to brown or crisp slightly. Turn the heat down to medium-low and add the peppers. Stir and cook for a couple of minutes, till peppers seem to be softened. Add the garlic, ginger and scallion whites. Cook a further minute, then add scallion greens. Stir to incorporate and turn off heat. Serve with a small drizzle of sesame oil atop.

I served it with brown rice, but noodles would be just as good.

Now I guess I need to explore the world of, well, what the heck one does with seven pounds (minus a little) of duck breast. I think crispy duck might require the oven, so that's out for now, but perhaps there are some moo shu duck pancakes in the future.

Fried Chicken - an update

I made the fried chicken again. In fact, this time, I made tons and left it in the fridge for my husband, who was out of town/getting back in town as I left town. I figured there'd be some leftover, though; there wasn't.

I didn't bother with the panko, but went ahead and did a simple Southern-style: flour with spices and herbs, shallow-fry in a pan on the stove. And my goodness - it's good! Not much else to say about it, other than, damn, it's good! And I'd really like some more. I just felt like putting up the photos since I managed to take some (probably only because I made so much).

When we lived in Brooklyn, there was a vegetarian Asian restaurant - Vegetarian Palate - around the corner from our apartment and it delivered, which is particularly nice after a long day and a four story brownstone. I was particularly fond of their Orange Tangerine Beef and their Hawaiian Chicken. Even better, there were two veggie restaurants near my school and office in Manhattan: Red Bamboo and Vegetarian Paradise 2, both (oddly) located on the same block of 4th St. (I figured if any of y'all travel to New York, you might like the names of some tasty veg places.) At all three, the variety of mock meat dishes amazed me and I longed to be able to reproduce them. Now, I'm kind of less impressed with their chefs' skills because I just ordered an immense quantity of mock meats from May Wah, and it's like having these restaurants in my freezer.

I know, I know - this has nothing to do with seitan other than that many May Wah products are made from seitan. But, I'm so excited that it must be shared. Last night, I made soy-agave lacquered salmon with sesame noodles and a cucumber salad. Unfortunately, we were starving, so it got eaten before it got photographed. The mock salmon is weirdly salmony, although it would never fool someone. It was pretty good, though.




However, of all the things we've tried so far, the absolute, stand-out best has got to be the chicken drumsticks. They're so good, in fact, that I just ordered a case. They even have a little "bone" made of sugarcane so that you can hold them like a real meaty drumstick! (That might appall some; I liked it.) I tried them fried (and will do so again) and barbecued, which was amazing. I have quite a bit of yuba sitting in the pantry, so I also plan on covering them with "skin" before frying them as an experiment.

So, just a shameless plug for May Wah - www.vegieworld.com. Try it - tis fabulous!

Capt'n Crunch Fried Seitan

Capt'n Crunch Fried Seitan. Okay, not gourmet and definitely not healthful. But good. So, apparently there is (or was?) a chain of restaurants called Planet Hollywood that I somehow never noticed the existence of, and this chain was famous for their chicken fingers made with breakfast cereals and a creole mustard sauce.

Capt'n Crunch Fried Seitan with Potato Salad and Coleslaw

I'm not a big fan of chain restaurants; I venture into them extremely rarely, like once a year, and generally only because I'm staying in a hotel located in the middle of Nowhere, New Jersey, whose only nearby restaurant with a bar (very important when visiting family) is T.G.I. Fridays, or because my friends and I have ventured across the state line into the land of box stores (hello, Target!) and are now too tired, overwhelmed by commerce, and starving to make it back home and thus instead must graze at the next-door Chili's.

Anyway, so all that is to say that not only have I never heard of the recipe, I never heard of the restaurant ... except, mentions of this dish keep turning up lately and thus I had to make it, or something like it. Much like the explorations of restaurant-style General Tso's, I came up with a lot of similar recipes. I just couldn't bring myself to buy two kinds of sugary breakfast cereals, since we're more of a English muffin and egg kind of household. (I actually just threw away a giant box of breakfast cereal; we bought it three years ago for my nephews when they came to visit. Apparently two small kids don't need the family size box.) So, I did use the Capt'n Crunch, but substitute panko for cornflakes. And the spices seemed a little dull, too, so those got upped with additions of oregano and paprika.

And the sauce just seemed to complicated ... I mean, who really needs a FIFTEEN ingredient dipping sauce for fried chicken? It's supposed to be a "creole mustard sauce," but while that's as may be, I don't quite know if that's really going to make or break the dish. So we went with honey mustard. All in all, this was pretty damn tasty, if a little sweet - probably a honey mustard/dijon blend would have been better, but I was out of dijon.

I'm catering a luncheon for mostly kids this week (an end of school celebration), and I've been wondering what to make for the veggie adults coming - and this is it.

Chinese Take-Away

Hoisin "Chicken" in Lettuce Wraps & Scallion Pancakes

For most of my adult life, I haven't been a huge fan of Chinese food. In comparison with Vietnamese or Japanese or Thai choices, it seemed to be the most boring (and gloopy) option out of local Asian restaurants. But, my husband likes it, plus we now live in a town with fewer choices, so we've been getting take away from this one place fairly often. And it is good, although like all overly salted, sugared, sauced, greased, and generally unnecessarily fattened up foods, it leaves me feeling a little disappointed. It isn't that I mind consuming extra calories - I mind wasting them on something like an undeserving dish. I'd rather have a giant slice of Opera Cake than one of those nasty pastas-in-a-bread-bowl from Domino's.

Anyway, since I hate that feeling, I started making some of the dishes we order most often - scallion pancakes and General Tso's. I had never even had scallion pancakes till my husband ordered them, and I was pretty unimpressed. Why eat this bland, greasy, doughy, chewy triangle that only tastes like the soy sauce you dip it in? I made them for him anyway, though, and - oh my - homemade and fresh from the skillet, those things are good! And they freeze well, too. Just layer them with parchment paper and freeze flat (obviously) in a ziploc bag - they defrost in the microwave in seconds before frying.

I start out liking the General Tso's at restaurants, both the tofu and seitan versions, but by the time I get even halfway through the dish, the sauce seems to be weighing me down - plus, the protein's almost always deep fried. Don't get me wrong; I love deep fried foods. I'm just not sure they belong everywhere.

But that's what GT's like, isn't it? The versions I made at home were pretty much the same, which of course was the goal - getting the recipes from internet sites like Allrecipes.com, they were advertised as being "just like the restaurant version!" And they were. The amounts of sugar, soy sauce and cornstarch most versions call for is insane, but since they all read like that, I made it like that until I tried Emeril's recipe last week. Okay, so this is a total plug for his recipe, but really - it was a completely different and much improved dish. Obviously, I used chicken seitan rather than chicken chicken, but that's not a particularly big difference. So try his version.

Finally, last night I wanted something to go with the leftover scallion pancakes that I knew were lurking in the freezer, but I didn't want a heavy dish (aka, anything with rice or noodles) or one that took much time. Voilà - Hoisin "Chicken" in Lettuce Cups! My mother used to make something like this when I was little, and I thought it was awesome. I still do - I wish I had her recipe. But while this one was a little saucier, it came together in minutes and was not only rather tasty, but fun to eat.

Hoisin "Chicken" in Lettuce Cups

1 T vegetable oil
1 T fresh ginger, minced
1 T fresh garlic, minced
4 scallions, chopped

1-2 c seitan, diced
1/2 can water chestnuts, diced
4 large cremini mushrooms, diced (I'm sure you can use whatever - I had cremini)

1/4 c hoisin sauce
1 t rice vinegar
1 t vegetarian Worcestershire sauce
a couple shakes of sesame oil

1 head Boston Bibb,Romaine or Greenleaf lettuce, washed and leaves separated

In the vegetable oil over high heat, saute the ginger, garlic and scallions for about a minute, till fragrant. Add the seitan, water chestnuts and mushrooms and continue to saute, stirring, for about five minutes. Add the liquids, incorporating well, and cook another one to two minutes.

Place a generous spoonful on each lettuce leaf (but not too generous, or you'll end up with a mess) and serve.

Sureloin Gyros

Soul Vegetarian restaurant in Atlanta makes this scrumptious seitan they call kalebone, but they don't seem to want to share the recipe, making me and several other folks I know very sad. I don't miss all that much about living in Atlanta (it was fun and I liked it while there, but haven't felt the need to move back ... yet), but their kalebone gyros top the list of things I wish I could experience again. So yummy ... sigh.

Anyway, I figured that I'd like to have something similar at my new restaurant - not a fake chicken or a fake beef, but a unique seitan that diners could order in substitution for real meat - ie, their choice of beef, chicken or seitan quesadillas. I wanted a name, though, so I polled friends on Facebook and got a lot of humorous suggestions as well as some really good ones. I decided to go with "sureloin," although if you have any more ideas, please let me know!

Having a name's one thing, but more important is the actual recipe. I've been experimenting, trying to come up with the perfect sureloin, and by total accident, I think I stumbled upon the secret of kalebone yumminess: mushroom stock. Of course, I obviously need to take a trip to Atlanta and do a taste test comparison, but at least from fond memory, this tastes pretty similar. At any rate, it has a pretty nice umami flavor and good texture without imitating meat.



Since after this, I've been craving gyros, that's what I decided to make for dinner. I made the tzatziki earlier this afternoon with mint and basil from our sadly neglected garden. I'd forgotten how good tzatziki is. Since Soul Vegetarian is actually vegan, they use a different kind of cucumber sauce, but the real stuff reminds me of pre-veggie childhood and getting freshly carved gyros from the little cart at festivals. Thick and rich and tangy with lemon and garlic and herbs ... I don't know if I will make it till dinner time, but I'll try to at least take some pictures of the finished product before scarfing it down!


Gyro Fixings



The Gryo Itself



My Greek Dinner Platter: Gyro, Hummus, Falafel and Olives

Involtini di Melanzane

So it isn't made from seitan and it certainly isn't a summery dish, but my goodness, involtini di melanzane (or eggplant rollatini for us English speakers) has to be one of the best dishes ever created. When I lived in Brooklyn's Park Slope neighborhood, I was lucky enough to live around the corner for a bustling, family-style Italian restaurant. I don't even remember the name, but I still long for their involtini which was, hands down, the best I've ever had.

I had an eggplant, a bunch of basil growing in the aerogarden, and a little time on my hands, so I decided to try to recreate their involtini for last night's dinner. Some recipes I found have you bread the eggplant; some fry it. After slicing it as thinly as possible, I dipped them in flour, then egg whites and baked them in the oven. Meanwhile, I mixed together spinach, ricotta, mozzarella, parmigiana-reggiano, another egg white, basil, and seasonings. One meets the other, the rolls get popped in a pyrex dish with tomato sauce and topped with more mozzarella and parmigiana-reggiano, and 45 minutes later, we had dinner.




It was good, but not a patch on the restaurant's version. I'm pretty certain the ingredients were the same - sort of. This turned out to be a real lesson in sacrificing flavor for healthier foods. Summer is (hopefully) coming soon, so in a fit of winter flab angst, my last grocery trip netted fat free ricotta and fat free mozzarella. (Real parmigiana-reggiano, though; it will be a cold day in hell when I buy that powdered crap in the green shaker.) On the plus side of fat free ricotta, I didn't need to drain it ... of course, that means that it is dry, dry, dry already. And fat free mozzarella turns out to be flavor free mozzarella. Using whole eggs rather than egg whites might have made a slight difference in flavor, but it is really down to the cheese.

I love cheese.

Next time, I'll make this with fresh mozzarella and whole milk ricotta. Or maybe I should just head back to Brooklyn - purely for research, of course. There are probably lots more restaurants' involtinis I never tried.

Cashew-Coconut Crusted Chicken

In an attempt to pretend that summer is here and that we live somewhere a bit more tropical, I installed a flock of plastic pink flamengos all around our deck. Really, all this did was prove that my mother's despair over my taste is valid and that all those finishing school-type activities were a waste of their money and my time. I like my pink flamingos; I did not like cotillion. Anyway ...

To go with the tropical theme, I tried another version of the coconut crusted chicken seitan: cashew-coconut crusted chicken! Okay, so it isn't that different; I added crushed cashews and used panko instead of ground up Fiber One this time, all for a more tropical/less-healthful version. Plus, I liked the combination of salty cashews with sweet coconut.




But, it was good - and easy. Take seitan chicken, dip in egg, dip in a mixture of cashews, coconut and panko, then bake at 400 F for twenty minutes, turning halfway. I dipped it in an Asian sweet chili sauce, but honey mustard was also tasty - one of the diners preferred them mixed together.

It's 47 outside and I'm freezing inside, thanks to drafty windows and a lack of insulation, but I'm going to keep making tropically seitan dishes and staring at the flamingos ... eventually, hopefully, it will be summer.

Seitan Chicken Paillards with Artichokes and Tomatoes

Nearly a month since I last posted ... it isn't that I haven't been cooking so much as it is that I am just not a good photographer. Pictures turn out blurry; the food looks weird and inedible. My husband thinks we need a new camera, but he thought that before, which is why we bought this one. I think we both need to admit our lack of photography skills.

But, last night's pictures turned out *okay* so ...

I'd made a bunch of seitan chicken earlier in the day and wasted much time wondering what I'd do with it. I had all sorts of fancy ideas, but by the time 5:30 came around, I was tired and hungry and digging in the pantry.

These days, I always seem to have a can of artichoke hearts in the cabinet. I used to always have a can of water chestnuts. In fact, at one point, I had over half a dozen, some of which had moved with me from the United States to Ireland and back again. I finally gave them to a food drive; now, I keep forgetting to buy more and wish I had some. But, apparently artichoke hearts have replaced water chestnuts as that random canned food item that lurks at the back of the shelves and occasionally, how I know not, reproduces. I swear I don't buy artichoke hearts, but open the cabinet door and you'll find several dusty cans clustered guiltily together.





I sliced the seitan into paillards, then dredged them in seasoned flour before sauteing them in a little olive oil and butter. I usually avoid butter for sauteing, but hey. When the paillards browned, I set them aside and added garlic and thinly sliced red onions to the pan, deglazing it with dry vermouth. I added half the can of artichoke hearts, a diced tomato that I'd found lurking in the fridge, and a cup of vegetarian chicken broth. A few minutes to reduce, a little basil and pepper, a bit more butter (apparently, I was on a butter kick) and dinner was ready.

I'm not a huge fan of artichoke hearts (which is why, I suppose, they cluster in the cabinet: to taunt me), but the sauce turned out to be really good - very rich without being heavy. I kind of wish I'd doubled it ... but since I have all those artichoke hearts, I suppose I will be making it again.

Coconut Crusted Chicken

A few months ago, I took my husband to Key Largo for a surprise 40th birthday trip. Coming from chilly, snow-covered New England, I didn't care that the temperatures were "below normal" - hey, if 65 in February is below normal, you are still incredibly lucky. We rented a house on a canal where we cooked out a lot, drank wine by the water and watched the fish jump and birds fly. Every day, we did something outdoorsy (snorkeling, swimming, boat trips) and went somewhere on the waterfront for either lunch or dinner.

Now, it's a tourism economy down there, so there are lots and lots of restaurants ... some good, some bad, all serving variations on a theme: lots of seafood, a good measure of steakiness, some chicken for those boring "I'll just have the chicken" people, and (laud!) an assortment of vegetarian dishes, oddly seemingly all based around eggplants. I love eggplant; I just don't associate it with the Florida Keys. Anyway.

The weather here is getting warmer, and it makes me long for real heat. I hate that, even though it is a good deal warmer than, say, two months ago, I still have to wear jeans and a sweater. Tonight's low is supposed to be 26, for goodness sakes. I want summer! And so I find myself wanting hot weather foodies, as if I can conjure up some 85 degree afternoons just by cooking. I find myself wanting to be back in Key Largo, sipping champagne by the canal.

I decided to try my weather conjuring skills out on coconut crusted chicken. I mixed together orange juice, coconut milk and egg whites in one bowl, sweetened grated coconut, breadcrumbs and spices in another. I double dipped the chicken seitan in each and baked it for about twenty minutes, during which time I made a sauce of apricot preserves, sriracha, and Dijon mustard. Sweet potato fries (yes, from frozen) and coleslaw on the side completed the meal.

Coconut crusted chicken is definitely a keeper, plus it turned out to be delicious cold, too! Sadly, while the coconut chicken is good, my weather working skills obviously aren't, but I suppose I'll just have to keep trying.