Dillweed Ranch Style Seitan Salad

We have all tried the popular mayo style chicken (hopefully mock) salad or even the fancy curry version. I have used tempeh before but I also really enjoy using home-made seitan instead. I thought a ranch style sauce infused with dill would make for a great salad. This dish is perfect for those hot summer months. Throw it over a fresh bed of veggies and enjoy!

Dillweed Ranch Dressing:
1 Cup veganaise
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon dillweed (2 tablespoons of fresh dill)
Directions: Mix everything together in a bowl. Add milk slowly, add more for dressing style and less for sandwich style seitan salad.

Home Made Seitan
Seitan:
1 3/4 Cup vital wheat gluten
1/4 Cup Nutritional yeast
1 Tablespoon tapioca flour
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 Cup water
1/4 Amino Bragg (soy sauce or tamari works too)

Broth:
12 Cups of water
3 cloves garlic, cut ends and remove peel
2, 1 inch squares of fresh ginger
3 Green onions, cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2 Cup of Amino Bragg (soy sauce or tamari work too)
Directions: First, start with broth and bring to soft simmer over low to medium heat. Then for seitan, mix all dry ingredients well. Mix all wet ingredients separately and add to wet ingredients, mix well. Knead ball until well combined. Divide seitan into 3-5 balls (I like to additionally knead each individual ball to ensure its tight) and place in broth. Bring broth to boil momentarily then bring back to simmer. Do not allow to boil again, this will ruin seitan and make it soggy. Simmer for 45 minutes to one hour or until desired firmness is reached.

Dillweed Ranch Style Seitan Salad
2-3 balls of cooked seitan (cooled)
Dillweed Ranch
3 green onions chopped
1 bowl of freshly prepared greens ( I suggest red leaf lettuce, spinach, cucumbers and carrots)
Directions: Cut seitan into small cubes. In medium-sized bowl combine cubed seitan, green onion and ranch dressing. In another bowl prepare salad greens. Chill both for best results before serving. The Dillweed Style Seitan should be spooned over fresh bed of greens but of course can be used for sandwiches as well.

Faking the Bacon

There isn’t much that beats a sandwich spread with veganaise, piled on with freshly cut veggies and a few crispy strips of smoked goodness. Obviously bacon is dirty word as far as vegans go but there are all sorts of delicious ways to satisfy those crispy smoked desires. Of course, we could always run out to the store and grab some Morning Star Veggie Bacon Strips (which are not vegan due to egg whites) or Organic Smoky Tempeh Strips which I highly recommend. However there are many benefits to making your own. You can avoid the high costs of premade foods as well as pesky things like preservatives and high amounts of sodium. Also, for folks with food allergies it’s difficult to avoid things like soy or wheat gluten with purchasing premade foods. Plus when we make our own foods, especially things like sauce and so on, we can boost the outcome by catering to our individual tastes.

There are two main components involved in making crispy smoky strips; the actual strips and the sauce. We have lots of room the experiment within the realm of strips and sauce but obviously you must have both to make it work.

The Strips. There are many possibilities when it comes to strips. I will list the main ones I enjoy using and I hope that you will post others that you have tried and enjoyed.
Wheat & Grains- Premade seitan or tempeh work well and are rather inexpensive. When using seitan, you first have to steam the tempeh for a few minutes in order for the sauce to catch on. I suggest using the Lightlife organic tempeh. For seitan, I make my own using vital wheat gluten and then thinly slice and soak it in sauce. Both taste best when cooked in a skillet with a little olive oil until browned and crisp. The longer you soak the strips in the sauce the more flavourful they become.
Vegetable Alternatives- As I mentioned before, folks with food allergies often have difficulties with soy, wheat gluten or other ingredients involved in tempeh and seitan. Some healthier and more simple alternatives would be eggplant, I also would like to try cucumbers. Peel the vegetables and then cut into 3 to 6 inch long pieces about a quarter-inch thick. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and bake for ten minutes on each side or until browned. Allow to cool and then dip in the sauce and place back in the oven for another 10 minutes. Keep an eye on your strips while in the oven, especially if you don’t like them extremely crispy. All varieties of strips work well and I’m sure there are many more out there that would be great. Be sure to post if you have tried one that works well.

The Sauce. Sauces can be as easy or complex as we want. I have made ones that consisted of simply liquid smoke and soy sauce to a combination well over a dozen ingredients. The key ingredient when making strips of crispy goodness is the liquid smoke. I prefer Wrights brand of Hickory Seasoning. Whole Foods carries the Wrights brand. Common ingredients for BBQ sauce include fire roasted tomato, ketchup, tomato, molasses, maple syrup, onion and so on. Just throw them in a blender and you’re good to go. If you’re short on time, I suggest using Annies brand. Be creative, there are lots of great sauce combinations yet to be discovered.

These babies are great for everything from sandwiches to toppings for pizza and salads. Have fun making crispy smoky strips!

The Ultimate Seitan Burger

This burger was actually the third in a series of experiments resulting from my girlfriend telling me that her mom was in need of a veggie burger that didn’t feel or taste like a veggie burger but a regular beef burger. I thought it would be fun to see how close, well as close as a vegan can guess, to a beef-like vegan burger. There were two major factors involved in making this a success, mimicking both taste and texture. And so The Ultimate Seitan Burger was born. The taste is very similar (as far as I remember), though, I am still working on the texture, because the seitan actually turned out to be much firmer than it’s not so vegan burger alternative. So please give it a try and let me know what you think. As I mentioned before, I wouldn’t simmer it as long as I did but it’s up to you. Enjoy!

For burgers:

• 1 1/2 Cups of vital wheat gluten
• 4 teaspoons of nutritional yeast
• 2 teaspoons of onion powder
• 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon of pepper
• 2 tablespoons of tapioca flour
• 1 1/4 Cup of water
• 2 tablespoons of amino bragg
• 1 tablespoon of soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons of ketchup

For broth:

• 9 Cups of water
• 1/4 Cup soy sauce
• 1/4 Cup amino bragg
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 garlic cloves or 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon of veggie bullion
• 1/4 cup of ketchup

Instructions:

1. Combine all broth ingredients in large pot and bring to boil over low to medium heat.
2. While broth is heating mix all dry ingredients for burgers and mix in all wet ingredients.
3. Once burger mix is well combined knead into patties of size desired, remember seitan will expand when simmering.
4. Place patties into water and allow to boil for 5 minutes.
5. Reduce heat so that broth is simmering.
6. Do not allow broth to boil again, it will affect the texture of the seitan.
7. Let simmer for 30 – 45 minutes or until firm to the touch.

Pizza in a Pot

My mom used to make this for my siblings and I when we were kids. It’s almost everything you look for in a recipe; fast, simple, fun and delicious! Feel free to mix things up and throw in whatever your favourite pizza toppings might be. I think next time I may try some home-made tempeh sausage instead of Big Stick Pepperoni from Vegan on the Cheap. Have fun and enjoy! Be sure to post any other combinations you’ve tried.

What you need:

• 1 pound of your favourite noodles (I used Gemelli)
• 1 jar of tomato sauce (or marinara, whatever your preference)
• 1/2 a block of shredded Follow Your Heart mozzarella Chreeze
• 1-2 cups of your favourite pizza toppings!

Instructions

1. Fill large pot with water and bring to boil, add noodles and boil until done (7-10 minutes)
2. Preheat oven to 500 degrees (hot enough to melt chreeze)
3. In a large oven safe bowl combine all ingredients and mix.
4. Cover bowl with foil and cook for 30-45 minutes or until bubbly.

Tomashew Burgers

Looking for a down to earth burger that’s packed with flavour? You should really try this one. They are fun to make and even more fun to chow down on. I highly suggest slicing up some fresh tomato, red onion, sprouts and spring lettuce mix to dress up your burger. Don’t forget the veganaise!

Here’s what you need:

• 1 Cup of cashews
• 3/4 Cup of xtra firm tofu
• 1/3 Cup of sunflower seeds
• 1/3 Cup of sesame seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon of sage
• 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of onion powder
• 1 Cube of veggie bullion
• 2 Tablespoons of tomato paste
• 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt
• 1/2 – 1 Cup of water
• 1/2 Cup of tapioca flour

Instructions

1. Blend together all ingredients EXCEPT tapioca flour.
2. Blend until reach desired consistency (add water slowly as needed).
3. Transfer blended mixture to bowl. Stir in tapioca flour.
4. Heat skillet to medium heat, add small amount of oil or Earth Balance.
5. Form burger mixture into patties.
6. Cook patties in skillet until evenly browned on both sides.

Banana Chocolate Chimp Bars

Banana, chocolate and peanut butter are some of my favourite sweets ingredients but many of the recipes I have contain sugar. In experimenting to find the perfect balance of omitting sugar while maintaining that soft, chewy texture every dessert deserves I created these tasty treats.

You will need:

• 2 Cups of flour
• 2 teaspoons of baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1/3 Cup coconut oil
• 3 frozen bananas
• 1/2 Cup of water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 Cup of maple syrup (Agave can be used instead)
• 1/2 – 1 Cup vegan chocolate chips
• add 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg and cloves if desired

instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In blender, combine coconut oil, bananas, water, vanilla and maple syrup.
3. Blend until bananas completely blended.
4. In bowl mix flour, baking soda and salt (nutmeg and cloves if using).
5. Add in blender mixture, whisk until combined.
6. Stir in chocolate chips.
7. Bake in oven for 25 minutes (or until toothpick comes out clean) in 9×13 pan.

I highly suggest using frozen bananas, they play a key role in the final texture of the bars. I also highly recommend sticking with the coconut oil, it is much healthier than olive or vegetable oil and provides a lighter tasting bar that won’t sit heavy in your stomach. I really enjoy this recipe. The bars don’t take long to make and I don’t feel guilty about eating them. Give them a try!

Thrive Fitness: The Vegan-Based Training Program for Maximum Strength, Health, and Fitness

My girlfriend and I have been training for the Warrior Dash (5K full of various obstacles). She has been doing an awesome job training and looks great where as I have not! For her birthday I got her this Thrive Fitness: The Vegan-Based Training Program for Maximum Strength, Health, and Fitness book as we had been discussing training and proper foods and so on.

The conversation had stemmed from an article I had read in the Men’s Journal called “The Rise of the Power Vegan.” I was impressed by the information contained with in the article. Usually, any articles dealing with veganism and athletes is negative and states it’s impossible but this was not the case. The article continued on to debunk most of the common myths about vegan and athletes and went on to support and provide more information on the benefits of being a vegan athlete. Needless to say I was impressed.

Anywho, back to Thrive Fitness: The Vegan-Based Training Program for Maximum Strength, Health, and Fitness. If you are a fitness buff and vegan or just considering it I highly recommend this book. Veganism has many benefits for athletic individuals but just like with any other diet we have to be mindful of what we eat. Getting the right amounts of protein and other nutrients can be a struggle but there are many surprising and delicious sources to meet the bodies needs.

This book has many amazing things about it. It does include work out routines, as with any other fitness book, but what I find to be most helpful is its dietary advice. The book is full of recipes and lists the benefits of each. It also goes through each ingredient it uses and when it should be used. It also explains the differences between long-term and short-term energy and when various recipes should be used (pre and post workout).

If you’re looking into being more athletic and vegan or are a high performance athlete and considering switching over to vegan give this book a try. It’s packed full of all kinds of helpful information.

Vegan on the Cheap

I purchased this book along with The 30 Minute Vegan on Amazon.com. I actually own the Vegan Planet, another cookbook written by Robin Robertson. I am very cheap and am very budget oriented so I really do enjoy this book. If you are new to the concept of budgetting this would be a great resource for you. Robertson does an great job of breaking things down and explaining the benefits of budgeting yourgrocery list. She gives a lot of tips that definitely have helped me to stretch my food budget even more. For example measuring of and freezing whatever tomato paste I have left over and freezing it in tablespoon portions. I have also cooked up different varities of her Pot O’ Beans and frozen them in half cup portions. Both save me lots of time and money, no more purchasing a bunch of canned goods everytime I shop.

The recipes themselves are also delicious. One of the nice things she does is breaks down the price per portion on each recipe. I have cut down on my luxury items thanks to her recipes like Big Stick Peperoni and quick versions of Seitan for recipes. Buying premade vegan foods can be very expensive and making them yourself doesn’t take very long at all. Plus I can season things however I want! This book is a steal, I got a copy for under thirteen bucks. I would definitely check out this book if you can especailly if your looking for big taste on a little budget.

The 30 Minute Vegan

Another new cookbook! I purchased this book a few weeks ago on Amazon.com along with Vegan on the Cheap and have already fallen in love with it. One of the things I really liked like about the book is the raw food and live recipes. I was surprised to honest, I hadn’t had a lot of raw food up to that point but it’s great! I strongly suggest trying the raw pastas and “rawvioli.” Also, the live cinnamon rolls make for an awesome weekend breakfast. A word to the wise, they are very sweet! If you aren’t a fan of sweet things I suggest first trying them with out icing Great book to add to your collection if you’re able, I was able to get it for under fifteen bucks.

Gandhi Bowl

The Gandhi Bowl is becoming another favourite dinner recipe out of the Native Foods Restaurant Cookbook. I highly suggest checking it out and grabbing a copy if you can.

First I start off with cooking a cup and a half of brown rice. Then I whipped up a batch of Petrovna’s Gandhi’s Curry sauce made up of coconut milk, cilantro, safflower oil, water, soy sauce (I used amino bragg), maple syrup, garlic, curry powder, ginger and red chili. I heated up my skillet and added a package of tempeh (crumbled) and two cups of frozen stir fry vegetables. Mix it all together and dinner is served!

The Gandhi Bowl is an awesome combination of flavours. I highly suggest getting a bag of good stir fry veggies like edamame, carrots, bean pods, bamboo chutes and so on. She suggest cranberries but I left them out. If you into them then give it a try I’m sure it’s good either way!