Crispy Fried Cauliflower Wingz

This recipe is perfect for your upcoming holiday party! Or tuck it away until the Super Bowl. An indulgence, to be sure, but you deserve it. I've been meaning to work up a recipe like this since the cauliflower "wings" craze hit the interwebs a while ago, but I never got around to it. These are crispy and flavourful, and remain so even when they are no longer hot. The boys doused theirs in Buffalo hot sauce, while the rest of us stuck to a sweet BBQ sauce. Delicious! 

INGREDIENTS
- 1 large head of cauliflower, cut into florets

Brine
- 2 cups cold water
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 2 tsp smoked or seasoned salt
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp poultry spice

Batter
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup panko crumbs
- 1/2 cup chickpea flour
- 1/2 cup tapioca flour/starch
- 1 tbsp each: onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp white pepper
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 3 cups plain soy milk (more if needed)

METHOD

1. The day before: mix together the brine ingredients (I use a blender). Pour into a large freezer bag, then add the cauliflower florets. If your cauliflower is very large, you can make a 1.5 recipe of the brine. 

2. Remove as much air a possible so the brine is making maximum contact with the brine. Refrigerate for at least 12 hours, rotating the bag as needed for even brining. 

3. The Day of: drain cauliflower in a colander. Heat oil in a deep fryer to 350 degrees.

4. While cauliflower is draining, whisk together the dry ingredients for the batter (i.e. flour to white pepper). 

5. Dredge the cauliflower in the flour mixture in batches until coated. Shake off all excess and place on a baking sheet.

6. In a separate bowl, whisk together vinegar and soy milk. Add enough of the soy mixture to the remaining flour mixture to make a thickish batter. Add more soy milk if needed.

7. Add some pieces of cauliflower to the batter. Turn to coat. Leave the cauliflower in the batter for a few minutes to allow the batter to soak into the dredging flour.

8. Shake off excess batter and transfer to a cooking tray or plate. 

9. Fry in oil, 3-4 minutes per side, until deep golden brown. Make sure your oil is not too hot or the outside will burn before the cauliflower is cooked.

10. Drain on paper towels and serve while still hot.

NOTE 1: while one batch is frying, add another to the batter so it can soak. Repeat.

NOTE 2: add more soy milk to the batter, if needed. The dredging flour will thicken the batter a bit, so just thin it down again. 

Smoked Tofu Pizza

This is my favourite new pizza.  It's kind of a version of Pizza Alla Pugliese, a sauceless pizza with smoked cheese.  Instead, I use smoked tofu (another new favourite thing) and Daiya.  I'm usually not the biggest fan of too much ye olde vegan cheese on pizza, but this particular combo strikes me as delicious.  Use as much or as little as you see fit.  

INGREDIENTS

- pizza dough

- sweet onion, halved and sliced

- smoked tofu, grated

- Daiya 

- olive oil

METHOD

1. Saute onions over med-hi heat in some olive oil until lightly browned.  Place as much onion as you see fit on a pizza crust, top with as much grated smoked tofu and Daiya as you like.  Drizzle some olive oil over the toppings.

2. Bake on a pizza stone at 500 degrees until crust is done.

Baked Yeast Donuts

This weekend's experiment was to see if I could make a baked yeast donut that was as tender and tasty as its deep-fried counterpart.  The baked donut recipes I have seen all involve a donut pan and a batter (as opposed to a dough), but I wanted to go for the classic yeast donut.  I do have a donut pan that I have yet to try out (sorry, Tina.  I swear I will get around to it!), but I suspect such pans are not a common kitchen commodity.  The trick was to find the right method that would bake the donut without it developing a crust. The end result was pretty awesome, if I do say so myself.  Not as tender as a deep-fried donut (and, of course, lacking that wonderfully crispy outside), but still very tender and delicious.  Of course, the recipe is not fat-free (I'll leave that to more capable hands) but it certainly is fat reduced without the frying.  The ingredients are the same as the original, but I simplified the method a bit.


INGREDIENTS
Makes at least 12 donuts
- 3/4 cups soy milk
- 3 tbsp warm water
- 1 1/4 oz vegetable shortening
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp ground flax seed
- 2 1/4 tsp instant yeast
- 11.5 oz all purpose flour

METHOD

1. Heat soy milk, water, shortening, salt, and sugar in the microwave, or on the stove, stirring regularly until shortening melts. Whisk in flax, then whisk in yeast.  Let sit a few minutes, then whisk again until smooth.

3. Put flour in a large bowl and add soy milk mixture. Mix together into a rough dough, then knead for about 5 mins until smooth, adding more flour or more water as needed.  The dough should be very soft and slightly tacky, but not sticky.  Aim for a moister dough than usual for a more tender final product. 

4. Transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover, and let rise for about 60 mins, until doubled in size.
5. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Lightly mist with oil.
6. Roll out the dough on a lightly oiled surface to about 3/8" thick. Cut out donuts with a donut cutter (see pic above).  Dough scraps (and holes) can be re-rolled and cut. Place on prepared baking sheets (6 per sheet) and cover. Let rise for 1/2 hour, or until just about doubled in size.
7. Preheat oven to 500 degrees with rack in the middle.   Bake donuts one sheet at a time.  Place one sheet on top of another (i.e. you are baking the donuts on two sheets--this will insulate the donuts and keep the bottoms from getting too brown) in the oven and reduce the heat to 425 degrees.  Bake for 5 mins, then gently turn donuts over.  Bake for another 3 minutes.  Donuts should be lightly golden (see below).  Return heat to 500 degrees before baking the second sheet as above (but make sure the second sheet is new/cold).
8.  Let cool, then glaze.

Baked Mini Corn Dogs

Son #1 wanted corn dogs for lunch this week.  I think they must be serving them in the cafeteria at school because "corn dog" really isn't in our vocabulary.  Now, you know that I don't shy away from frying things in oil from time to time (Mmmmmm.  Donuts . . . ), but if the kids were going to eat these every day for lunch (kids are like that) frying seemed like a bad idea.  Solution: a baked corn dog that is somewhere between a pretzel and the deep fried original.  These were/are a massive hit with my kids and hopefully will be with yours as well.  I also understand there is some major sporting event coming up this weekend which might lend itself to a a corn dog or two.

INGREDIENTS
Makes 24.  Weighing the ingredients (the flour in particular) provides the most consistent results.
- 12oz/340ml/1.5 cups plain soy milk
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp instant or active dry yeast
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- 1.5 tsp salt
- generous 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 9oz/255g/1.5 cups fine cornmeal
- 11.5oz/326g/2.5 cups white bread flour
- soy milk for brushing
- 12 veggie hot dogs, cut in half

OPTIONAL
- I have seen recipes that call for some cayenne in the dough, or some minced jalapeño.  These sound like great ideas but not the kind of things my kids like

METHOD
1. Warm up soy milk to between 90 and 100 degrees F, then whisk in vinegar.  When thick, whisk in yeast, oil, and sugar.  Let sit for 5 mins to allow yeast to dissolve.
2.   Meanwhile, whisk salt, baking soda and cornmeal in stand mixer bowl.  Add yeast mixture and mix well.  Let sit for 5 mins.
3. Add flour and mix into a rough dough.  Let sit for 5 mins, then knead with a dough hook for 5 mins on med-lo speed.  The dough should clear the bottom of the bowl and should be tacky but not be sticky.  Adjust flour as needed (I find the amount above to be perfect).
4. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl and turn to coat.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.  You can skip this step if you are in a rush and just let the dough rise at room temp, but I find that the overnight fermentation produces great flavour, lets the gluten relax, and allows the cornmeal to soften.  Also, since the dough is tacky, cooling the dough makes it much easier to work with.  You can also compromise between the two methods and refrigerate the dough for about 4 hours.
5. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  Place one oven rack in the second highest position, and one on the second lowest.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
6. Divide the dough into 24 equal pieces (around 40g each) then cover to keep from drying out.  Flatten each piece into a rectangle slightly longer than the veggie dog half and wide enough to wrap around the veggie dog.  Lightly dust the work surface with flour if the dough is too tacky to work with.  Wrap the dough around the veggie dog and pinch to seal the seam and ends.  Gently roll the dog back and forth in your hands to smooth out the dough as much as possible.  Place on the prepared sheet and repeat.  Put 12 corn dogs on each baking sheet.
7.  Brush each corn dog with soy milk (I pick them up and brush all sides).  Bake for 7.5 mins, then rotate and switch the sheets from one rack to the other (i.e. the sheet on the second highest rack will now be on the second lowest, and vice versa).  Bake for another 7.5 mins then transfer to a cooling rack.

Red Lentil Sloppy Joes

Here is installment number two of kid-friendly meals for my newly veggie nephew. It is a marriage of my original recipe (made with tempeh) and Isa's lentil-based recipe from Veganomicon. I love this version because the red wine vinegar gives it lots of zip. Red lentils are also a great choice because they cook quickly and are pretty neutral in flavour. The trick here is to cook the lentils until they are soft enough but not too much so they go mushy.

INGREDIENTS

- 2 tbsp oil

- 1 onion, chopped

- 1 rib celery, chopped

- 1/2 green pepper, chopped

- 1/2 tsp oregano
- 1 cup red lentils, rinsed

- 1 cup ketchup

- 1 1/2 to 2 cups water (more if needed)

- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar

- 1 tbsp vegan Worcestershire sauce (optional)

- 1 tbsp brown sugar

- salt to taste

- freshly ground black pepper

- Tabasco sauce to taste

METHOD
1. Heat oil in a frying pan over med-hi heat. Saute onion, celery, green pepper, and oregano for 5-7 mins, until onion is translucent and pepper has softened.
2. Add lentils and mix well. Add ketchup, 1 1/2 cups water, vinegar, Worcestershire (if using), sugar, salt and pepper, and Tabasco.
3. Bring to bubbling, then reduce heat, and cover. Cook for about 30 mins, stirring regularly, adding more water if needed until lentils are cooked but still hold their shape.
4. Serve on toasted rolls, open-faced if you want.

Zucchini Mashed Potatoes

OK, I am sure you saw the pic tonight and thought, "what the deuce?" I was tempted to call these "Three Mile Island Mashed Potatoes" because they look like cooling towers and the attempt at a funky presentation was about as successful as America's foray into atomic energy. The plan was to add finely grated zucchini to mashed potatoes for extra nutrition and taste. But, I thought the boys might revolt at green specks in their potatoes so I tried to a kind of columnar presentation. As you can see it did not work out. The flour I added to make them stiffer made the potatoes too gummy, and the columns flattened in the oven. That aside, the idea is still good. After you make mashed potatoes, add in one finely grated zucchini and mix well. The flavours work well together and it is a way to get kids to eat zucchini.

Swedish Meatballs

I don't think I have ever had Swedish Meatballs, but I have often pined for them when shopping at IKEA. I don't know what it is about wandering through a maze of Swedish furniture that makes you hungry for just about anything. Traditional Swedish meatballs are served in a cream and beef broth sauce, so I have tried to duplicate a beefy type flavour here. The dish went over pretty well with the kids--meatballs and rice are always a winning combo.

INGREDIENTS
- 1 recipe perfect tempeh burger, made with 1/2 cup wheat gluten, shaped into about 24 balls
- 2 tbsp oil
- 4 cups water
- 1/4 cup Bragg's, or light soy sauce
- 2-3 tsp Marmite
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp allspice
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tbsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tbsp HP sauce
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 2-4 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 cup plain soy milk
- 3 tbsp flour

METHOD
1. Fry meatballs in 2 tbsp oil over med-lo heat for 15 mins, turning regularly, until browned all over.
2. While meatballs are frying, make the sauce. Combine water, Bragg's, Marmite, spices, sauce and cornstarch in a large pot and bring to bubbling. Whisk flour into soy milk and add to pot. Whisk until smooth and thick.
3. Add meatballs to sauce and simmer for 20 mins, uncovered. Stir regularly to keep sauce from sticking to pot. Be gentle so the meatballs don't break apart (they are durable, but not invincible).
4. Serve over rice.

Creamy Mac and Cheeze

I know there are a bunch of vegan mac and cheese recipe floating around out there on the internets and in cookbooks. I have tried many of them, but I always keep coming back to this recipe. The inspiration comes from my good friend, Sjanie, in B.C. (my only vegan friend, actually, aside from my blog readers). She was very supportive of my decision to go vegan and she would send recipes as we chatted via MSN Messenger, which I would hurriedly cut and paste, print off, and try out. The original print out is long gone because I started just pitching ingredients into a blender, adjusting as necessary to get the taste and consistency I wanted. I decided to finally measure and write down what went into the blender and share it with you. My kids love this dish slathered with ketchup, Canadian-style.

INGREDIENTS

Makes enough for a family of 5 with leftovers. Cut in half if needed.

- 1/2 cup raw cashews

- 2 tbsp sunflower seeds

- 2 tbsp pine nuts

- 2 cups soy milk

- 2 tbsp olive oil

- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast

- 1 1/2 cups firm tofu (does not have to be silken)

- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard

- 1/2 tsp tumeric

- 1 tsp paprika

- 1/2 tsp garlic powder

- 1 tsp onion powder

- 2 tbsp miso (something mellow)

- 1 tsp salt

- 1 tbsp cornstarch

- 3 cups uncooked macaroni

METHOD

1. Cook macaroni, as per directions, until al dente.

2. While macaroni is cooking, place all other ingredients in a blender and blend for 5 minutes, until very smooth. Make sure all nuts and seeds have been blended.

3. Drain macaroni and return to pot over medium heat. Add sauce and bring to bubbling. Cook, stirring constantly, until sauce thickens and reduces a bit (about 5 mins)

A FEW NOTES

1. I have never done this, but if you like cooked mac and cheese, I think you could add the sauce to the noodles, transfer to a greased casserole, top with bread crumbs, and bake for 30 mins or so (until bubbling).

2. The mac and cheese will be very saucy at first. If you are planning on eating some of the leftovers for lunch tomorrow, remove some mac and cheeze from the pot after it comes to bubbling and store in the fridge. The sauce will absorb into the noodles overnight, but still be creamy when re-heated the next day.

Snickerdoodles

The first cookies I ever made by myself, at around 12 years of age, were snickerdoodles. Around that time my Mom went back to work, leaving my brothers and I in charge of cooking dinner for the family. She would leave step by step instructions for simple meals, and a hot dinner would be ready for her and my Dad when they got home. This is how I learned basic kitchen skills and where my love of cooking began (a love of eating had already been established). I soon began making desserts from my Mom's Betty Crocker cookbook (enter the snickerdoodles), and from a box filled with my great grandmother's recipes for Boston Cream Pie and other delightful sugar and fad-laden treats. So when I saw this snickerdoodle recipe on Have Cake, Will Travel, I immediately tagged it. I finally got around to making them today for a nice after lunch treat. They are crisp yet soft, and are everything a snickerdoodle should be. I did add a tsp of canola oil to a double recipe because the dough seemed too dry, and I made bite-sized cookies that fit perfectly into the kids' lunch bags for school. Thanks, Celine!

Shaved Seitan BBQ Sandwich

You may not want to make the veggie lunch meat I posted yesterday for your daily brownbag at the office, but you will definitely want to make it for this recipe. I guarantee that you will be overwhelmed by its sweet and messy awesomeness.

INGREDIENTS

- 1 recipe sweet and sticky BBQ sauce (but don't strain out onions)

- about 4 cups thinly shaved veggie lunch meat

METHOD

1. Make the BBQ sauce and let it simmer while you cut the seitan (use a very sharp knife). Don't worry about cutting whole slices, just shave off thin bits and pieces. The meat is tough enough to hold up in the sauce, and the thin slices make for a perfect texture.

2. Add seitan to sauce. Add enough so there isn't a lot of excess sauce, but enough to thickly coat the seitan (like you see in the pic above). Let simmer for as long as possible, covered. Pile onto toasted buns and enjoy!

Veggie Lunch Meat

What is it with kids and not wanting to take adventurous lunches to school? Last year, Son #1 would only take PB&J to school. Every. Single. Day. All nuts are banned at his school this year, due to allergy concerns, so all he wants is veggie meat with vegenaise and mustard. Now, you may remember my post on Solae (made by DuPont) and the fact that Yves and other companies use Solae soy. So I thought I would try my hand at making my own lunch meat. I figured I could just make a huge seitan log and steam and bake it until done. Just like a huge veggie sausage. I didn't try to make it like chicken or beef or anything, just plain ol' veggie meat. I think the end product was pretty good, but perhaps a tad dry. I think I could lower the gluten a bit and bake it a bit less. Still, the recipe is very postable and Son #1 has been eating it up this week.

INGREDIENTS

- 1 cup white beans

- 2 cups water

- 1/4 cup oil

- 2 tsp salt

- 2 tsp paprika

- 2 tsp onion powder

- 1 tsp garlic

- 1/4 tsp tumeric

- 1 tsp ground fennel

- 1 tsp sage

- 1 tsp pepper

- 1 tsp soy sauce

- 2 3/4 cup vital wheat gluten

METHOD

Get water steaming in your steamer.

1. Place all ingredients except the gluten flour in a blender and process until smooth. Pour into a bowl. Add gluten flour and work into a dough.

2. Shape dough into a log and wrap in heavy duty foil like a tootsie roll. Try to make the roll as thick as possible. Steam for 1 hour.

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees in the last 15 mins of steaming. Remove seitan from steamer and bake for 45-60 mins. Seitan should swell and press against the foil.

4. Cool and slice as needed for sandwiches. This seitan holds up very well and can be shaved very thin. Store in the fridge

McChick'n Nuggets

I was leafing through a Homemakers magazine today from a few years ago. You can pick up old magazines for dirt cheap at the thrift store and look through the recipe section to see what the non-vegan world is up to. Sometimes it can lead to new ideas and inspiration for vegan dishes. This particular issue did not have any good ideas, but it did have a McDonald's ad that made me snort. The ad shows a young boy, around seven years old, with his face and hands all amess from the BBQ sauce he has been dunking his McNuggets into. The caption reads, "At least what made it in him was all white seasoned chicken breast." Well, that's not all he is getting (and, seriously, I used to eat McNuggets. I find this chicken breast claim dubious). According to McDonald's own website, McNuggets contain "chicken meat, chicken skin, salt, flavour [hydrolyzed plant protein (corn, soy, wheat gluten), disodium inosinate, disodium guanylate]. Coated with: wheat flour, water, toasted wheat crumbs, modified cornstarch, corn starch, yellow corn flour, salt, vegetable oil shortening (soybean), sodium bicarbonate, sodium aluminum phosphate, spices, sodium aluminum silicate (manufacturing aid), modified milk ingredients, wheatstarch. Cooked in 100% vegetable oil (Canola oil, corn oil, soybean oil, hydrogenated soybean oil with THBQ, citric acid and dimethypolysiloxane)." All of this boils down to 310 calories, 19g of fat (29% daily value for an adult!), 45mg of cholesterol, and a whopping 670g of sodium. And let's not forget the fries and the drink. Needless to say, I felt compelled to make chickenless nuggets tonight.

INGREDIENTS

Makes 24 nuggets

- 1 cup vital wheat gluten

- 1 tsp poultry spice

- 1/2 tsp garlic powder

- 1 tsp onion powder

- 1 tsp salt

- 1 cup water

- 2 tbsp olive oil

- 2 cups panko bread crumbs

- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast, crushed between your fingers

- 1/4 tsp tumeric

- 1/2 tsp paprika

- 1 tsp ground flax seed

- 1 1/2 cup soy milk

- 1 tbsp oil

- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar

METHOD

1. Whisk together flour and spices in a bowl. Whisk together water and oil and a separate bowl and add to flour mixture. Stir and bring into a dough. It's rather hard to knead this dough, so I stretch out the sides and then fold them into the centre. I then press down to mold it back together again. This works the gluten and helps mix everything together.

2. Roll dough out into a long log, about 12-14 inches long. Let rest while you mix together the bread crumbs, nutritional yeast, tumeric, and paprika in one bowl, and the flax seed, soy milk, oil, and vinegar in another.

3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees, line a baking sheet with foil and spray lightly with oil.

4. Slice dough into 24 pieces (about half inch each). Press down a bit to get a nugget shape, dip in soy milk, then lightly roll in bread crumbs. Repeat with all pieces of dough.

5. Re-dip nuggets back in soy milk (let it soak up so you get a thick breading), and roll again in the bread crumbs. Press the nugget into the crumbs to get a nice thick coating and to maintain the nugget shape. Place on baking sheet.

6. Bake for 10 mins, flip, then bake for another 10 mins. Flip again and cook for 4 mins, then flip and cook another 4 mins (this keeps the breading from browning too much).

7. Serve with dipping sauce of you choice. These are a bit chewy when they are piping hot, but firm up nicely when they cool down a bit.

A NOTE ON BREADING: the key to a good breading is to keep one hand wet and the other dry. Use one hand to dip the nuggets and place into the breading. Shake the bowl to coat the nugget in crumbs, then use your dry hand to handle/press the nugget.

Baked Tofu for Kids

Let me just say that the maple leaf shape of tonight's meal inspired many ideas as to what to call the dish. But, in my attempt to help people who are Googling their way through the interwebs looking for easy vegan kids meals, I went with the more boring yet descriptive title above. Tossed on the scrap heap were "Tofu for Hosers," "Baked Tofu, eh?," and "Tofu Night in Canada." Of course, these may only be funny to Canadians (and maybe not even then). Anyway, the problem I tried to solve tonight was how do you get kids to eat tofu? The answer? Make sure it doesn't look like tofu! A funky shape, some breading, and a good dipping sauce will go a long way. I prepared these two ways--crispy fried and oven baked. I liked the crispy fried but the kids liked the oven baked hands down.

INGREDIENTS

- 1 pkg extra firm tofu

- 1 funky metal cookie cutter

For Crispy Fried

Cut tofu into 1/4" thick slices, then stamp out shapes with cookie cutter. Toss tofu shapes in cornstarch then place on a plate or cutting board. Let tofu sit for a few mins to let the water from the tofu soak into the cornstarch and make a coating. Fry in oil over med-hi heat until golden brown.

For Oven Baked

INGREDIENTS

- 1/2 cup soy milk

- 1/2 tsp lemon juice or apple cider vinegar

- 1/2 tsp ground flax seed (optional)

- 1 tsp onion powder

- 1/2 tsp garlic powder

- 1/2 tsp salt

- 3/4 to 1 cup bread crumbs

METHOD

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly spray with oil

1. Combine soy milk, lemon juice/vinegar, flax (if using), onion and garlic powder, and salt in a bowl. Put bread crumbs in a shallow baking dish.
2. Cut tofu into 1/4" slices and stamp shape with cookie cutter. Dip tofu shapes in soy milk mixture, then toss in bread crumbs. Place on baking sheet and spray lightly with oil.

3. Bake for 10 mins per side, or until crispy and golden.

4. Serve with your kid's favourite dipping sauce. I used my sweet and sticky BBQ sauce.

WHAT DO I DO WITH THE LEFTOVER TOFU?

Gather all the scraps leftover from the shape cutting and make some eggless salad. See? Now you have lunch for tomorrow.

Tandoori Seitan

This is the final installment of kid-friendly Indian dishes. Obviously this dish was inspired by my insistence that people, and in particular kids, like to eat things off of sticks. I also wanted to experiment with BBQing seitan, operating on the rationale that baked seitan tastes pretty darn good so how much different would it be to BBQ it? So, can you BBQ seitan? The answer is yes, but with two caveats. First, you really have to keep the heat low. Seitan is not meat and thus does not ooze fat and blood and whatever else comes out of flesh when you cook it. Therefore, if you go firing up the BBQ like you are grilling a steak, then you, my friend, are going to end up with a dry, crunchy, and altogether unpleasant meal. Second, you need to regularly turn and baste the seitan to keep it hydrated. The end result was a very meat-like skewer. Maybe too meat like. They were a little chewy, but the kids absolutely loved them--especially because they could poke each other with the skewers when the meal was over.

INGREDIENTS

- 6 mini bamboo skewers

- 1 1/4 cup vital wheat gluten

- 1 tsp salt

- 2 tsp tandoori spice mix (my father-in-law bought me some at an Indian grocery in Brampton--make sure it's not too spicy-hot for the kids, and use less if it is.)

- 1 tsp soy sauce

- 2 tbsp oil

- 1 cup water

- 1/3 cup soy yogurt

- 1 tbsp oil

- 1 tbsp tandoori spice mix (or to taste)

- salt to taste

- 1/2 cup water

METHOD

1. Put your skewers in a pan of water and set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, mix flour, salt, and spice mixture together. In a separate small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, oil, and water.

3. Add wet to dry and mix well. This will result in a pretty tough and rubbery seitan. If everything isn't perfectly mixed and the seitan looks marbled, don't sweat it it will still taste good.

4. Mix together yogurt, oil, and spice mix in a bowl. Cut seitan into 24 chunks and add to bowl. Coat well to keep the seitan chunks from bonding with one another in the bowl. Let marinate for 30 mins in the fridge (less if you are in a hurry). Remove seitan from bowl and put four pieces on each skewer. Add 1/2 cup of water to the marinade left behind and mix well.

5. Heat grill on low. You want the temp to be about 400 to 450 degrees. Oil the grill well and place skewers on grill. Close lid and cook for 3-4 mins. Flip skewers over, lightly baste, and cook for another 3-4 mins. Keep going like this until you run out of marinade. The seitan should cook for about 20 to 25 mins, and you may not need to baste each time you turn. Just make sure it looks hydrated.

Super Easy Channa Masala

If your kids are like mine then they have developed an irrational hatred of certain foods served certain ways. Take tomatoes, for instance. Son #1 loves ketchup, tomato soup, and spaghetti sauce, but place diced or sliced tomatoes in front of him and the whining begins. You may try to rationalize with him about how tomatoes are in many of his favourite foods, but you will always end up exasperated and about ready to throw all of the tomatoes right out the window. I have found that the best thing to do with kids is to get rid of all suspicious chunks and lumps in sauces. Whenever they look at a chunky sauce they say, "I hate this dish! (pause) Ummm . . . what is it?" So to save yourself much grief and blend everything up like I have done here.

INGREDIENTS

I have kept the spicing mild for the wee ones. Feel free to adjust.

- 3 tomatoes, diced

- 1 small onion, diced

- 1 clove garlic, chopped

- 1 tsp salt

- 1/2 tsp chili powder

- 1/4 tsp cumin

- 1/2 tsp garam masala

- 1/2 tsp coriander

- 1 2/3 cup cooked chickpeas (i.e. the rest of the can if you are making the naan triangles as well)

- 1-2 tbsp tomato paste

METHOD

1. Place tomatoes, onion, garlic, and spices in a food processor and blend until smooth. Transfer to a saucepan and bring to bubbling over medium heat, stirring frequently. Simmer for 5 mins to allow the onion to cook and mellow a bit.

2. Add chickpeas and cook for 10 mins, uncovered, stirring frequently. Add in tomato paste until desired consistency is reached. Serve over rice.

I pressed the rice into a metal ring with the back of a spoon to make the presentation more interesting for the kiddies. Works every time.

Naan Triangles with Dal Filling

I have been craving Indian food (probably because the weather is finally getting hot around here) but I also want to keep this month's quest to make kid-friendly meals in mind. So, this is an attempt to introduce kids to mild Indian flavours with a convenient hand-held presentation. The recipe calls for tumeric which adds a nice flavour but is almost impossible to get out of clothing (or carpet) if your food spills. So if you have messy eaters or real young kids you might want to hold off on the tumeric until more food ends up in their mouths than on the floor. I have also kept the spicing mild for the kiddies, so you can adjust to your own taste.

INGREDIENTS

- 4 naan bread (see note below)

- 1/3 cup red lentils (the wee tiny ones)

- 1 cup water

- 1 small onion, finely diced

- 1 clove garlic, minced

- 1/2 tsp tumeric

- 1/3 cup chickpeas, mashed with a fork

- 1/2 tsp chili powder

- 1/2 tsp coriander

- 1 tsp salt

METHOD

1. Rinse lentils in a mesh sieve then put in a saucepan with water, onion, garlic, and tumeric. Bring to bubbling and simmer, uncovered, stirring regularly, until lentils are cooked and starting to break down into a paste.

2. Add mashed chickpeas and spices according to taste. Stir well and remove from heat.

3. Spread half of the lentil mixture on a piece of naan. Top with a second piece then cut into 6 triangles. Repeat with remaining naan and lentil mixture.

A NOTE ON NAAN

I made the naan recipe found here and it was spectacular. The dough is easy to make and the method makes for a light, puffy, and slightly crisp naan. Just sub soy yogurt for dairy yogurt, and melted Earth Balance for the ghee. Also, after rolling out the naan, let them sit for 20 mins on the counter--this will help them puff up in the oven. I removed my naan from the oven about 30 seconds after they puffed up so the top was still soft.