Vegan Philly Cheese Steak

I made some beefy seitan today--it has a real "meaty" texture (if you are into that kind of thing), and is perfect for this meal. I ate a cheese steak at a vegan cafe in Philly on a research trip, and it was not anywhere as good as this. The seitan recipe comes from Bryanna Clark Grogan who posted it here.

DRY MIX:

- 2 and 1/4 c. vital wheat gluten powder

- 1/2 c. minute tapioca

- 1/2 c. granulated TVP

- 3 T. nutritional yeast flakes

- 1/2 tsp. onion powder

- 3/4 tsp. garlic powder

WET MIX:

- 2 c. cold water

- 1/3 c. vegetarian stir fry sauce

- 2 T. soy sauce

- 1 T. vegan gravy browner, such as Kitchen Bouquet

COOKING BROTH:

- 6 c. very hot water

- 2 T. Marmite or other yeast extract

- 1/3 c. soy sauce

- 1/3 c. ketchup

- 2 T. gravy browner

METHOD:

1. Mix the Dry Mix ingredients in the bowl of your electric mixer with dough hook attachment, or place them in the bread machine in the order given. Add the Wet Mix and knead for about 10 minutes. Let rest for about 1 hour, covered. You can make your Cooking Broth at this time and have it ready. Then knead it for 10 more minutes.

2. Cut into several pieces, then flatten those pieces with wet hands into "steaks." Cut into as many pieces as you like, as thin as you like (they should double in size and thickness).

3. Cook in a crock pot on low for 6-8 hours, turning once halfway through. Cool and use in whatever recipe you want.

For Vegan Philly Cheese Steaks

Makes 4 cheese steaks

1. Preheat broiler. Thinly slice half a sweet onion, and half a green pepper. Saute in 1 tsp of oil for 5-8 mins, until onion is golden brown. Remove from pan and set aside.

2. Thinly slice seitan steaks--about 4 cups worth. Saute in 2 tbsp of oil for 10 mins until deep brown and crispy. Mix in onion and green peppers.

3. Put 1/4 of the mixture on a sliced crusty sub roll. Top with a slice of Tofutti mozzarella cheese. Place under broiler for a few mins to melt the cheese and toast the bun.

4. Top with whatever suits your fancy and serve. I used sliced tomatoes and vegenaise.

Grilled Pesto Veggie Skewers

We are still chowing down on last night's jambalaya, so here is what we had for lunch. Tomorrow is shopping day, which always seems to leave us in the odd position of trying to clean out the fridge that seems to be full of nothing. We bought a whole bag of discounted zucchini last week for 97 cents that was still kicking around, as were a bag of mushrooms. The logical thing seemed to be to make pesto and BBQ everything. I added some onion chunks, and if I had any cherry tomatoes I would have added them for some colour variation.

I like the pesto from Vegan With A Vengeance, which is similar to this recipe posted on the PPK website.

Waffles and Blueberry Sauce

Who doesn't love a lazy Saturday morning that begins late and ends with homemade waffles? Ahhh . . . . Of course, I should point out that sleeping in for us means 7:00am. Oh, parenthood . . . . These waffles are very tasty, easy to make, and taste great with this blueberry sauce.

Vegan Blueberry Waffles
Makes about 16 waffles
INGREDIENTS
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 4 tbsp sugar
- 4 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 4 tbsp ground flax seed
- 2 2/3 cup rice milk
- 1/3 cup oil

METHOD
1. Preheat waffle iron.
2. Mix together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.
3. Mix liquid ingredients and flax seed in a small bowl. Add to dry ingredients and mix until just moistened. Let batter sit for 5 mins to let the flax seed absorb some liquid.
4. Cook according to whatever waffle iron you are using. I oil the iron down with a pastry brush, and use 1/4 cup of batter per waffle square.

Blueberry Sauce
Put 1 1/2 cups of frozen wild blueberries in a saucepan with scant 1 cup of water and 1/2 cup of sugar. Bring to bubbling. Dissolve 1 1/2 tbsp of cornstarch or arrowroot powder into 2 tbsp of water and stir into the blueberry sauce. Stir in 1 tsp of lemon juice.

Jambalaya, Cajun Carrots, and Cornbread

We are feeling a bit better today, but a bit congested. Well, there is nothing like a little spice to clear out the sinuses. Let the Cajun fest begin!

Chickpea and Sausage Jambalaya

INGREDIENTS

- 1/4 cup vegetable oil

- 2 large yellow onions, chopped

- 1 green pepper, chopped

- 2 celery stalks, chopped

- 2 tsp salt

- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (more if you want it spicier)

- 1 pkg Yves veggie sausages, thickly sliced

- 1 can chickpeas, rinsed

- 3 bay leaves

- 1 1/2 tsp dried thyme

- 2 tsp parsley

- 3 cups uncooked white rice

- 6 cups water

- 4 green onions, sliced

METHOD:

1. Heat oil on medium heat in a stockpot. Add in onions, bell peppers, celery, salt, and cayenne. Cook for 20 minutes, stirring often, until veggies are a deep golden brown.

2. Add in sausage and cook for 5 mins, or until sausage begins to brown.

3. Add in chickpeas, bay leaves, thyme, parsley, and rice. Stir until rice is coated.

4. Add in water, cover, and cook on medium-low heat, covered, for about 30 mins until rice is soft and liquid is absorbed.

5. Remove bay leaves and stir in green onions. Serve.

Cajun Carrots

Thickly slice 6 large carrots and boil or steam until soft. Drain. Mix with 1 tbsp margarine, 1 tbsp maple syrup, 1/2 tsp dried thyme, 1/2 tsp paprika, pinch of cayenne, and 1/4 cup chopped pecans.

Cornbread

I made Isa's cornbread from the PPK, but I did make a few changes. 1. I baked it in a 10" cast iron pan that I pre-heated in the oven before I poured the batter in. 2. I upped the maple syrup to 1/4 cup to make it a bit sweeter.

Veggie Stuffed Pitas and Smoothies

Well, the inevitable happened. Vegan Mom and I have the boys' cold. Blah. The motivation to cook was pretty low tonight, and the fridge is starting to get bare. So, we thawed out the leftover pitas from a few night ago, made some hummus, chopped up veggies, and went crazy. The pita pictured here has hummus, tomatoes, cucumbers, avocado, and alfalfa sprouts. We make the hummus from Vegan Lunch Box because the kids like it. I like something more garlicky, or with roasted peppers.

We supplemented the meal with a smoothie. This is a great way to get fruit into the kids, and it feels great on a sore throat. Into a blender I put:
- a ripe mango, peeled and cut into chunks
- 1/2 cup frozen blueberries
- 3/4 cup frozen raspberries
- 1/3 pkg of silken tofu
- 3 cups soymilk
- sugar to taste