Barley and Seitan Stirfry

Hearty and filling, you can make it a low-sodium affair by omitting the soy sauce in favor of sodium-free veggie broth.

1 Cup Cooked Barley
1 Cup Stirfry Veggie mix (I really like Marjon Stirfry Vegetables)
1/2 Cup Mushrooms
2 servings Seitan
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon Regular Mayo
1/2 teaspoon Sesame Oil
1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 Tablespoons Low Sodium Soy Sauce

1. On medium high heat,  heat the olive oil. When at temp, sautee the seitan until lightly browned. 
2. Add the mushrooms, barley and veggies, stir to combine and let sit for a minute.
3. Add the soy sauce and lemon juice and stir
4. Cook for another 5 minutes or until vegetables are cooked to your liking.
5. Remove from heat
6. Combine Mayo, ginger and Sesame oil into a sauce and add to the pan. Stir to coat
7. Serve!

Maple Cinnamon Overnight Oats

I hate breakfast. Well, not really; I hate the effort to make breakfast on workday mornings. It's bad enough I have to get dressed and shower- I'm supposed to COOK too??

I used to get sick if I ate too soon, but I actually have a morning appetite since cutting out most meat in favor of meat-free protiens and adding back in more complex carbs. So, what's a hungry, unmotivated-to-cook girl to do?

Overnight oats. Instead of boiling the oats and eating them hot, you let them soak in liquid and your seasonings overnight. They're light, tender and you exert no more effort in the morning other than cutting a bit of fruit if you want. I've experimented for a few days on this, and here's my favorite version. I use real Maple Syrup (I like Grade B- it's richer in taste and cheaper. Score.) good Cinnamon and fresh Nutmeg here. Good ingredients make a difference!

You'll need:

1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup milk (3/4 cup if using Greek Yogurt)
1/2 plain, unsweetend yogurt
1 Tablespoon maple syrup
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon fresh nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Dash salt

1. In a regular soup or cereal bowl, combine all the ingredients.
2. Cover and chill overnight. 
3. Serve with fruit or whatever you'd like!

Stupidly easy. It takes me all of 3 minutes to get this whipped up after dinner. It's fast and very customizable. Basically, the 1/2 cup each formula of milk, yogurt and oats works the best for me. You can season and sweeten however you'd like! Just please use the dash of salt. Bland oats will destroy us all.

Barley and Tomato Salad

7 cups of cooked Pearled Barley (I cooked up one bag of Publix Pearled Barley per the directions on the side of the bag).
2 cups chopped tomatoes (you can use canned if you'd like- just get the low sodium kind)
Juice of 2 limes
Tablespoon of Red Wine Vinegar
2 Tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
a handful of fresh Cilantro (basically, a 1/4 cup, chopped)
1-2 cloves of chopped garlic according to taste
salt and pepper to taste

All you do is combine the ingredients, stir and then chill. The nice thing about grain salads like this is they're good warm and hot, are easy to throw together and are really good for you!

If you don't like raw garlic, lightly saute it in the olive oil before adding.

Homemade Fresh Cheese

This isn't a recipe that I developed, it's a variant on a theme that I've seen for cheeses of this type. It's basically Cottage Cheese/ Ricotta, but it's amazing and will ruin you for store-bought for life.

It's very simple- I did this in about an hour, most of that time waiting for the milk to heat. I used white vinegar instead of rennet because I think it's easier to find, lasts longer and is cheaper. It also takes out the element of animal vs vegetable rennet, which could infringe on some meatless diets. White vinegar is also a neutral-tasting vinegar, so it doesn't take away from the milk. But, it's so simple to make and modify- you can use a different vinegar, add herbs and spices, whatever you want. I've seem citrus being used as well, but I like the availability, predictability and stability of the vinegar used in the basic recipe. Although, lemon is quite refreshing. It's worth playing with to be sure! It's made me want to try more cheeses!

Makes about 16oz and is good for a week.

Tools:

• Stainless Steel Pot with a nice, thick bottom.
• Cheesecloth (or some other kind of thin fabric to strain with)
• A colander (you line this with the cheesecloth)
• A thermometer, if desired 

Ingredients

• Half-Gallon Whole Milk
• 4 oz white vinegar
• salt to taste

Method:

1. Line the colander with the cheesecloth.  
2. Slowly bring all of the milk to just below a boil. Make sure the milk does not scorch.
3. Once the milk reaches an almost boil (steaming and frothy. About 190°F if you're using a thermometer) , remove from heat and add the salt and vinegar and stir well. You'll notice that the milk will instantly separate into chunky bits and yellow liquid. This is supposed to happen; the yellow is the whey that will be drained off. If it doesn't separate, then there's not enough vinegar- just add a little more. (Yes, yes- it's scary and weird-looking. Cheese is weird and we're not even dealing with molds.)
4. Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes.
5. Carefully (it will splash a tad) pour the mixture into the cheesecloth-lined colander and let it drain for 15 minutes.
6. If you choose to add more flavorings (I like fresh black pepper and Italian Seasoning), do so now. The mixture will be very liquid still.
7. Pull the edges of the cheesecloth up and twist to the cheese is in a ball and slowly squeeze out more liquid. 
8. Turn out your newly-formed cheeseball into a bowl, cover and chill

Hail Seitan!

Yes. You read that right: Seitan. Wheat Meat. Fake meat. Mock Duck.

Yes, I eat it. It's good. Yes, I also eat Carnitas.

See, I'm not a vegetarian, but I do have meatless days. I used to cook this a LOT a while back, but got out of the habit. No reason for it, really- you can get a good large batch ready in an hour and let it sit ready in the fridge- once it's cooked, it's nothing but a quick sauté and it's done! And you can sub it for quite a bit. You can also make it taste however you want, so you can make it your own very easily.

This version I made to be beefy and rich; it's the kind of vegetarian food that reminds me that it's not all carrots and lentils. This is stick-to-your-ribs stuff, here!

You can get the vital wheat gluten and nutritional yeast at any health food store. When I lived in the city, you could get both at larger supermarkets.

You'll also notice that I use salt-free broth. I prefer low-sodium/ sodium free ingredients because I can then add the salt how I want. Keep in mind that the broth will also infuse more flavor and salt into the Seitan, so you might find you need less salt than you think. Experiment here.

Recipe updated 8/5/2012 


"Beefy" Seitan

For the Seitan:

• 3.75 cups Wheat Gluten
• 3/8 cup nutritional yeast
• 2 teaspoons each onion and garlic power
• heavy pinch freshly ground black pepper
• 5 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 oz lemon juice
• 5 tablespoons reduced sodium Soy Sauce

For the broth:

• 4 cups veggie broth
• one cup of soy sauce
• 3 bay leaves
• 2 cloves of garlic
• dash on onion powder

Method:

1. Combine ingredients for the broth and start to heat
2. Combine all dry ingredients for the Seitan in a bowl.
3. In a separate bowl or measuring cup, combine all wet ingredients for the Seitan (you should have a full cup of liquid.)
4. Add wet to dry and combine until just mixed. 
5. Knead dough until everything is combined; dough should be mildly dry (if it's too wet, you'll get soggy Seitan. And no one wants soggy Seitan).
6. Separate dough into two logs.
7. Add both logs to simmering broth and cook covered at just a simmer for 45 minutes to an hour, turning occasionally.

And there you go. Take it out, drain, slice, sauté and serve. Or take it out, drain, slice and refrigerate. Whichever.

If you find you want a less-dense product, try adding a little oil to the dough or adding a tad more liquid.

(really, really needs to do something with this...)

Roasted Broccoli

I have yet to find a veggie that doesn't do well in the oven. Things like this are nice because they don't require much skill, attention, preparation or time, but it's hard to mess up and it's always good. And hey- one less thing hogging the stovetop.

I love roasted broccoli because there are so many things that happen to it while roasting- it gets sweeter and richer without being bitter and there's a little bit of texture with the charred bits and the caramelized bottom. It's everything steamed and boiled broccoli want to be but can't.


Roasted Broccoli

Ingredients:

• One broccoli top, cut into medium-sized pieces.
• Enough Extra Virgin Olive Oil to lightly coat broccoli
• Salt (Kosher or Gray is best here), Fresh-Ground Pepper and garlic powder* to taste
• Juice of half a lemon (or to taste)
• Crumbled goat cheese to top (optional)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 400F
2. Drizzle oil on broccoli and mix to cover evenly
3. Sprinkle on salt, pepper and garlic as desired
4. Roast for 10 minutes or until the tops are just starting to char and the broccoli has just darkened from the super-bright green stage.
5. Drizzle with lemon and cheese
6. Serve and enjoy

Obviously, you can use whatever cheese you want. I like the bright fresh creaminess of the goat cheese, but whatever floats your boat.

*Okay. So, fresh garlic vs powdered. Fresh garlic tastes amazing, but it a situation like this, it will burn and not taste good at all. The dry stands up to the heat better and won't burn. Besides, the dried gives a more subtle flavor without overpowering the food in this circumstance.You'll thank me later.