Crispy Sweet and Sour Seitan

I needed to try to make Seitan again. This time I tried a different recipe for the seitan itself and a recipe to deal with it.

This was pretty freakin good. It was similar in both texture and taste to A Single Pebble's "Buddha Beef". Which means I'm going to make this one a lot more. And I'm making it for company.

Seitan Recipe:

Crispy Sweet and Sour Seitan

Basil Blueberry Muffins

I knocked a basil out of the garden yesterday. We also had all these blueberries left over from picking in NH.

So, I googled "blueberry basil" and came up with these: Lemon Cupcakes with Blueberry Basil Filling & Basil Icing.

I changed them a little bit - instead of cupcakes I used the "Basic Muffin Recipe" from my Fannie Farmer Cookbook.


Blueberry Basil Filling

1/3 cup frozen or fresh blueberries
1 T water1/2 t lemon juice
1 1/2 T granulated sugar
6 large basil leaves, chopped

Put all ingredients in a small saucepan over med-high heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until the berries break down & the sauce thickens.

Makes about 6 t sauce.

Basic Muffins

2 cups white flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 cup milk
1/4 cup melted butter

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Butter muffin pans. Mix the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Add the egg, milk, and butter, stirring only enough to dampen the flour; the batter should not be smooth. Spoon into the muffin pans, filling each cup about two-thirds full. (I filled them 1/3 added some of the filling and then another 1/3 of batter)

Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes each or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Basil Icing

1/2 c powdered sugar, shifted
1 t lemon juice
2 large basil leaves, finely chopped
milk

Seitan

First attempt at seitan from scratch. It was ridiculously easy and very tasty. I will never buy the packaged stuff again. What we made certainly wasn't perfection - but it had some serious promise. I think I need to work on the consistency a bit. But I will be making this again soon.

Quick Homemade Gluten
(Makes 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 pounds or 2 to 2-1/2 cups)

This is the basic recipe for gluten.

2 cups gluten flour
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1-1/4 cups water or vegetable stock
3 Tablespoons lite tamari, Braggs liquid amino acids, or soy sauce
1-3 teaspoons toasted sesame oil (optional)

Add garlic powder and ginger to flour and stir. Mix liquids together and add to flour mixture all at once. Mix vigorously with a fork. When it forms a stiff dough knead it 10 to 15 times.

Let the dough rest 2 to 5 minutes, then knead it a few more times. Let it rest another 15 minutes before proceeding.

Cut gluten into 6 to 8 pieces and stretch into thin cutlets. Simmer in broth for 30 to 60 minutes.

Broth:
4 cups water
1/4 cup tamari or soy sauce
3-inch piece of kombu (a type of seaweed)
3-4 slices ginger (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan. Bring broth to a boil. Add cutlets one at a time. Reduce heat to barely simmer when saucepan is covered. Seitan may be used, refrigerated, or frozen at this point.

Total Calories per 4 oz. Serving: 77
Fat: 0 grams

Taken from www.vrg.org