Seitan and Broccoli Bowls

I received The Complete Guide to Vegan Food Substitutions for Christmas--a book that I recommend you all check out!  More than just a cookbook, it's a how-to guide for working without dairy, eggs, meat, and animal by-products. Plus, it labels recipes as gluten-free, soy-free, etc.

We decided to try out the book's recipe for "Beef" and Broccoli Bowls, or, as my version is called, Seitan and Broccoli Bowls.  I made a few adjustments to the original recipe, as detailed below.

Seitan and Broccoli Bowl topped with Sesame Seeds and Scallions

Recipe:
Seitan and Broccoli Bowls

• brown rice (enough for 6 servings)
• 6 cups frozen (or fresh) broccoli florets 
• a heaping 1/2 cup agave nectar
• 6 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 1/2 cup white wine (or vegetable broth)
• 1/4 cup sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons corn starch
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1.5 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
• 24 ounces chopped seitan
• 3 scallions, chopped
• toasted sesame seeds, for garnish

First, begin preparing the rice according to the package instructions.  When about 15-20 minutes remain in the cooking time, set the broccoli to steam.  As the broccoli and rice are cooking, move on to prepare the sauce.

To make the sauce, whisk together the agave, soy sauce, wine, oil, corn starch, garlic, and red pepper flakes in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.  When the sauce begins to boil, turn down the heat and simmer, stirring often, until the sauce thickens a bit.  Then, add the seitan to the sauce and continue cooking until heated through.

Finally, layer the rice, broccoli, and saucy seitan in a bowl, top with scallions and sesame seeds, and serve.

Yields 6 servings. 

Comments:

Taste:            

This flavorful, umami-filled dish is sweet, spicy, and satisfying.  The seitan, broccoli, and rice come together into a nice, substantive, healthy bite.  

Accessibility:            

While you can make seitan from scratch, we ventured to Whole Foods to buy prepared seitan (sold in the refrigerated section, often near the produce); it's not sold at other nearby grocery stores.  Don't let the agave nectar scare you--we had no trouble finding it at our regular grocery store, in the syrup/honey aisle.  Also, we found a small (single/double serving?) box of wine at the grocery store, meaning we didn't need to buy a whole bottle just for this recipe.

 Ease of Preparation:       

While there are several things going on at once in this recipe, they are all pretty low-maintenance and easy to do.  Using "instant" brown rice can speed things up.

Non-vegan friendliness:            

I'm intentionally calling this recipe Seitan and Broccoli Bowls, rather than "Beef" and Broccoli Bowls: seitan isn't the same as beef, so there's no need to force a comparison between them.  This healthy, tasty dish is satisfying on its own. 

Baked Tofu -- Yea or Nay?

We made Sweet and Sour Purple Cabbage with Baked Marinated Tofu last night for dinner (a variation of this: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/03/health/rice-bowl-with-sweet-and-sour-purple-cabbage-recipes-for-health.html?ref=health) in order to try out my new tofu press.  Unfortunately, the tofu came out soft and floppy rather than firm and crispy, as I usually like it--and as it usually comes out when browned with oil in a skillet.

Does anyone have any advice on baking tofu?  One of the problems might be that we used firm tofu instead of extra-firm, but I'm not sure that's the whole problem.  What's your recipe for success?

Quinoa and Black Bean Chipotle Chili

Having lived in Minnesota for about ten years, I'm quite conscious of the fact that a high temperature of 39 degrees is nothing to write home about.  And yet, here I am, writing about how the cold, windy mornings and the dark, crisp evenings make me long for a warm bowl of chili.

Here's a recipe for Quinoa and Black Bean Chipotle Chili--a hearty, protein-filled dish that will warm you up in an instant. 

Chili garnished with scallions

Recipe:
Quinoa and Black Bean Chipotle Chili

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 onion, diced
• 1.5 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 tablespoon ground coriander
• 1 - 14.5 ounce can fire-roasted tomatoes
• 2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1.5 chiles from a small can of chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, minced
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 2 medium sweet potatoes, cut into bite-sized cubes
• 1/4 cup quinoa
• green onions, chopped, for garnish

First, heat the oil and garlic in a large soup pot over medium-high heat.  Once the oil is hot, add the onion and cook until it begins to brown, about 6 or 7 minutes.  Then add the chili powder and coriander, and stir.  Cook for another minute.

Next, stir in the tomatoes, beans, chiles, oregano, salt, sweet potatoes, and quinoa.  Add 2 cups of water, cover, and bring to a boil; then reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes and quinoa are cooked through.  (Add more water as needed if the chili becomes too thick.)

Serve hot with green onions as garnish.  Yields 4-5 servings. 

Comments:

Taste:           

We all thoroughly enjoyed this dish.  The addition of the chipotle chiles--with their smoky, spicy flavor--really makes a difference.  The incorporation of the quinoa right into the chili also gives it a nice thickness, while the sweet potatoes help vary the texture.  With all of these components together in one dish, it's a one-pot meal.

Accessibility:            

We had no trouble finding these ingredients.  Fire-roasted tomatoes can be found among the cans of diced, crushed, and other tomatoes.  We found chipotle chiles in the grocery store's hispanic food section.

 Ease of Preparation:       

This straightforward recipe is also pretty quick to make.  Just make sure you have the ingredients chopped in advance, as always.

Non-vegan friendliness:           

Chili-lovers of all kinds would enjoy this filling, flavorful dish (I might even make this again for a chili cook-off later this month.).  As a pretty customizable dish, chili is a crowd-pleaser.  Rachel and Simon both added a dollop of sour cream to their bowls; you could also serve it with chopped cilantro or vegan cheese as added garnishes.

Crispy Potato Latkes with Chunky Applesauce

In light of Hannukah (get it?), we made latkes last week!  I'd never made homemade latkes before so I was a bit worried about how they would turn out (egg is usually used as a binder to hold each latke together), but happily ours came out and held together well.  Just remember to pat each one with a paper towel to remove excess oil... 

A trio of piping hot latkes topped with applesauce.

I recommend making the applesauce first so it can cool a bit while you make the latkes. 

Recipe:
Chunky Applesauce

•  1 tablespoon canola oil
• 5 large Fuji apples, peeled and diced
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice

First, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the apples, stir, and sauté for two minutes.  Add the cinnamon and cloves; cover and reduce the heat to medium-low.  Allow the apples to cook for about 15 minutes (until they are tender).  Then, uncover the skillet and cook for another 10 minutes, or until the applesauce has thickened.  Stir in the sugar and cook for two more minutes.  Finally, remove from heat, stir in the lemon juice, and cool.

Crispy Potato Latkes

• 4 large russet potatoes, peeled
• 1 onion, peeled and quartered
• 3 tablespoons chopped parsely
• 1 egg equivalent (we used Ener-G Egg Replacer powder)
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 cup canola oil, plus more as needed, for frying

First, grate the potatoes and onion using the grating attachment of a food processor (or a regular hand-grater).  Alternate between the onion and potato while grating.  Transfer the grated ingredients to a colander.

One handful at a time, remove the grated ingredients from the colander, squeeze to remove as much liquid as possible, and place the mixture in a large bowl.  Then stir in the parsley, egg equivalent, flour, baking powder, salt, and pepper. 

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat in order to fry the latkes.  To form each latke, use a large slotted spoon to compress potato mixture into a pancake.  Then carefully place the latke into the pan and flatten using the spoon.  Fry the latkes for 4 minutes on each side (use two spoons/spatulas to turn them over to avoid oil splatter), or until very crisp on the outside.  Set the cooked latkes on a paper towel-covered plate while cooking the rest.  

Serve hot with applesauce.  Yields 18 latkes. 

Comments:

Taste:           

This recipe was a success.  The latkes were crisp on the outside, cooked on the inside, and nicely flavored.  I loved the homemade applesauce on top of the latkes: it adds a nice contrast in texture and temperature to the dish.  I wouldn't change anything about this recipe!

Accessibility:            

The ingredients in this dish are not difficult to come by.  Just be prepared to go through a lot of oil while frying. 

 Ease of Preparation:      

This is a pretty labor-intensive dish to prepare, though using a food processor to grate the onions and potatoes is certainly a time- and energy-saver.  Be sure to be cautious and delicate when dealing with the latkes in hot oil! 

Non-vegan friendliness:           

Simon, our resident latke expert, says that these taste as good as traditional non-vegan latkes, but they may not have held together quite as well.  Also, just as a note, Simon and Rachel ate some of their latkes with sour cream.

Another Reason to Visit the Bay Area:

Cinnaholic--Berkeley's very own vegan cinnamon bun bakery.  Need I say more?

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bun + S'mores Bun

San Francisco: A Vegan's Best Friend

Greetings from San Francisco!  Simon and I are on a trip to California--a place I've been only once before for a conference, so this is effectively my first time here. 

I'm happy to report that San Francisco is one of the most vegan-friendly places I've ever been.  So far, I've had vegan ice cream and a vegan sausage (see below), both at omnivore-centric restaurants. 

Chipotle Vegan Sausage with Hot Peppers and Grilled Onions from Rosamunde Sausage Grill

Plus, there are friendly dogs everywhere.  So far, so good!