On to the last of this series!

I got a comment from a reader through my contact form last week a few weeks ago:

Subject: Seitan, Tempah, & Tofu

Message Body:
All I can say is “ick”. I’m good with all grains, vegetables, etc. But how do I acquire a taste for these? All vegans I know use them and I just can’t stand the taste! Tofutti yes but not tofu in its natural state. Help! Example: I use lentils for taco “meat”.

Most of us aren’t born into veganism, so there’s a learning curve for most of us. I don’t know about you, but I didn’t grow up eating any of those.

Over the last three weeks, I’ve been giving an introduction to those foods for my readers, and some ways that I really like them. Today is seitan day! Check out tofu and tempeh days!

Without further introduction…

What is seitan?

It’s the protein part of wheat flour, also known as gluten. It’s made by using flour- often white and whole wheat, in combination (it needs to be a high-protein flour, so pastry flour won’t work), which is then “washed” of all the starchy part, leaving behind a gummy, glue-y substance, which is then baked, boiled, simmered or steamed, usually with some type of flavorful liquid.

This seitan is breaded and baked, served with
spinach and mashed potatoes.

An easier way to make seitan is using something called vital wheat gluten. This is the protein part of the flour, dehydrated, which you simply mix with a liquid and cooked however you like to make your seitan. You can also buy seitan pre made in any Whole Foods or natural foods store (but not Trader Joe’s, at least that I’ve ever seen). You can also buy it online- I’m really partial to Upton’s Naturals Italian Style seitan- I love it on pizza!

Seitan (wheat gluten) is also the primary ingredient in many mock meats, such as Field Roast and Gimme Lean.

Calorie for calorie, seitan is higher in protein than either tofu or tempeh. Of course, traditional seitan is off-limts for anyone with Celiac Disease or who otherwise needs to be gluten-free.

Why does it sound evil?

The emphasis is on the “tan.” It’s fully non-evil, but you may well get strange looks and comments when wearing a Praise Seitan t-shirt.

Even if it’s not evil, it sounds weird and gross. Am I right?

Like tofu and tempeh, it’s not gross!

It is however, not very flavorful on its own. This is why you have to cook it in a flavorful liquid, or add flavor to it when you’re cooking it up. My lemongrass-seitan sandwich is a good example- you can even take pre-cooked seitan and simmer it in flavored broth as you’re preparing everything else, and it can still take on a wonderful flavor.

Lemongrass-seitan, wasabi mayo and arugula on toasted French bread. Delicious!

How should I try seitan if I’ve never had it before?

In my early veg days, I first tried seitan in the Seitan Stroganoff recipe from Vegan with a Vengeance (sans mushrooms, of course). It’s still a recipe I like to make!

This used a slightly different recipe, but is really similar.

Buffalo seitan was also something I made a lot in my early vegan days. I served this a birthday party once- non-vegan friends couldn’t stop eating it!

It’s awesome with some ranch-style dip!

I don’t have a picture because I haven’t made it in ages, but I used to also like to make “seitan stew” just like a beef stew, as well.

Can I use seitan just like meat in recipes?

Seitan may look a lot like meat, but it’s not quite the same in a number of ways. Even very lean meat has fat (and cholesterol), which influences the way that it cooks. Since seitan is plant based, it won’t cook up quite the same way- it doesn’t release fat in cooking, which means that it won’t help thicken sauces or get crispy by the same means.

This seitan bourguignon needs some slightly different treatment than one made with beef.

Any other tips or inspiration for seitan?

Many!

Recently I’ve been eschewing store-bought meat substitutes in favor of less processed versions (and more veggies, of course), and seitan is ideal for making many of these!

There are two great recipes for sausages made with vital wheat gluten in Vegan Brunch, but there are so many more ways to use it.

I’ve been into making vegan ham out of seitan (recipe based on one in La Dolce Vegan!) fairly frequently. I served it just like traditional ham at Christmas, but I bet it would also be awesome in this wild rice soup!

I used to make this with a store-bought vegan ham sub with 293847293874 ingredients, but I can make ham-style seitan now. Much simpler!

Smoked Seitan Ham went along with dinner, made in a slow cooker, and then smoked in the stovetop smoker.

Seitan also works well ground up in the food processor for things like chili, sloppy joes, tacos, Bolognese sauce and other places you’d use “ground beef,” but you can get fancy with it too, like in this celeriac puree.

Mashed potatoes, ground seitan, celery root purée, golden zucchini and green beans. Just another way to have some seitan in your life!

The same recipe I use for the lemongrass-seitan I mentioned above can also work for making vegan pho. I made a batch of the lemongrass seitan in the slow cooker over night last night- in the middle of the night, I woke up smelling its divine goodness. I saved the (strained) broth for pho later this week!

Pho is a great way to get in vegetables! And yes, despite the title of that post, I know that’s not how you say “pho.”

Despite the fact that seitan is not technically a whole food, it’s a good one. It’s easy to make, and it’s really easy to to eat healthfully with it. I personally think no vegan kitchen is complete without it!

Now that you’ve learned a bit more about tofu, tempeh and seitan, I hope that you’ll try some of the recipes, especially if you’ve been intimidated by these foods in the past. And remember, the key to any balanced diet is variety, so don’t forget about beans, lentils, nuts and veggies, too! No vegan diet should be based on processed foods alone.

I got a comment from a reader through my contact form last week a couple of weeks ago:

Subject: Seitan, Tempah, & Tofu

Message Body:
All I can say is “ick”. I’m good with all grains, vegetables, etc. But how do I acquire a taste for these? All vegans I know use them and I just can’t stand the taste! Tofutti yes but not tofu in its natural state. Help! Example: I use lentils for taco “meat”.

Most of us aren’t born into veganism, so there’s a learning curve for most of us. I don’t know about you, but I didn’t grow up eating any of those.

Over the next week, I’d like to do some introduction to those foods for my readers, and some ways that I really like them. Today is tempeh day! Look out for seitan day soon!

Healthy Scrambled Tempeh

What is tempeh?

Unlike tofu, tempeh is a whole food. Yes, really!

Tempeh at its simplest is soybeans fermented with a bacterial starter into a large block. The hulls (skins) are removed, and the beans are split (as in they fall apart into two pieces). Brown rice or other whole grains might also be included. The process goes like this: soybeans are soaked, de-hulled and split, cooked (boiled), cooled, inoculated with a starter, pressed into a cake, and then left to ferment for about a day. That’s all there is to it!

Of course, it’s not quite that simple. I’ve tried making it from scratch, with disastrous results- but I am optimistic enough to want to try it again! You can read up on how to make it from scratch at tempeh.info.

How does someone called The Picky Vegan like something that sounds so gross?

It’s not gross!

I love me some tempeh reuben.

I don’t remember the actual first time that I tried tempeh. I think it was in a tempeh reuben, but I’m not positive. I do remember the first few times that I bought blocks of tempeh, I got a little afraid of them (since they’re covered in mold, essentially) and I ended up tossing them. Mostly, I ate tempeh when I could get it at a restaurant, usually in the form of a sandwich. I found that I really liked tempeh bacon (you can buy Lightlife Fakin’ Bacon in the store), but I was poor and couldn’t afford it much. There’s a recipe for tempeh bacon in Vegan with a Vengeance- I started using that on a regular basis, and then learned to make my own adaptations to make some really delicious food!

So why does it taste so gross?

It’s not gross!

Tempeh bliss: marinate in a flavorful liquid and then fry pieces in (refined) coconut oil. You’ll thank me. Ultimate liquid + fat!

Actually, tempeh is probably a lot less “gross” than tofu, as it doesn’t have a soft or weird mouthfeel. If you’ve eaten beans, you’re probably down with the texture of tempeh. Like tofu, it has a pretty bland flavor on its own, though it’s slightly nutty and slightly bitter. The beans and grains are generally both a little undercooked, so there’s some trick to preparing tempeh so that it tastes good- namely adding some kind of moisture (and maybe some fat). I had the good fortune to take a class on tempeh at the Natural Gourmet Institute last year, and that really helped me learn how to prepare it well.

How should I try tempeh if I’ve never had it before, or I had it and it grossed me out?

Tempeh bacon.

As I mentioned before, you can buy Fakin’ Bacon at the grocery or natural foods store. If you can’t find it, there is the above mentioned recipe, but I’ve developed my own recipe that I like better! In my recipe, the microwave steaming helps add critical moisture to the tempeh, as well as flavor from the marinade- I think it gets in much better this way than just simple marinading.

Sriracha-Maple-Cider Glazed Tempeh. This recipe uses the same process as the bacon with different flavors and a glaze.

Any other tips or inspiration for Tempeh?

While tempeh doesn’t lend itself to quite as many applications as tofu, it’s still amazing. You can use it in so many different ways!

Like tofu, you can crumble it and use it in things like chili, sloppy joes, or as taco meat, though I would suggest steaming it before sautéing it.

Smokey tempeh over yellow split pea soup. Just like the tempeh bacon recipe, but finished off in a Stovetop Smoker

It’s much hardier than tofu, and lends itself to some different applications. Like, vegan pork-chop-style, buffalo-wing-style, piccata, braising, and it even works in this scrambled tempeh recipe from Vegan Brunch!

Piccata style!

This is tempeh crumbled up and molded into a cake, topped with rice and snow peas- from the tempeh class I took at NGI.

The best part about tempeh- it doesn’t take long at all to make a really flavorful dish. It’s definitely a staple around my kitchen, even if I was scared of cooking with it at first.

I got a comment from a reader through my contact form last week:

Subject: Seitan, Tempah, & Tofu

Message Body:
All I can say is “ick”. I’m good with all grains, vegetables, etc. But how do I acquire a taste for these? All vegans I know use them and I just can’t stand the taste! Tofutti yes but not tofu in its natural state. Help! Example: I use lentils for taco “meat”.

Pad Thai. An example of pan-fried tofu. Tasty!

Most of us aren’t born into veganism, so there’s a learning curve for most of us. I don’t know about you, but I didn’t grow up eating any of those.

Over the next week, I’d like to do some introduction to those foods for my readers, and some ways that I really like them. Today is tofu day!

If you want to know even more about tofu, head over to the Wikipedia article for more info!

How on Earth can someone named The Picky Vegan like tofu?

When I was in college, my mom started experimenting with tofu. Once when I was home on break, she made chili. Beef chili, which at the time, I generally enjoyed. Except she threw big chunks of tofu into it. I was totally grossed out, and I swore I’d never eat tofu again. My only other early experience with tofu had been the chunks floating in hot and sour soup at various Asian restaurants, which I would simply pick around (I was picky long before I became vegan!), because it just looked gross.

It took me years before I was willing to try it again, but I find now that I enjoy it. I’ll walk you through what it is and some of the ways I enjoy it.

So what is tofu?

Tofu is a processed food. It’s made by soaking, boiling, blending and straining soybeans into soy milk, and then adding a coagulant, like gypsum or epsom salts, and then pressing the curds that form into a block and discarding the extraneous liquid. The amount of liquid left determines the softness or firmness of the tofu.

If you go to the grocery store, you’ll typically find tofu in two different places: in the refrigerator case, where it’s typically in a plastic container that houses a block of tofu and some liquid, or on the grocery shelf, where it’s in a tetra pack. Both are perfectly fine to use, and they come in anything from soft to firm or extra firm, and everything in between. I find that the refrigerated variety has a much less bean-y flavor, so that’s what I almost always use.

Bonus: what’s silken tofu?

It’s made very similarly to the tofu described above, but usually salt water is used as the coagulant, and much less water is pressed out. As above, you’ll find it both in the aseptic packs and the refrigerator packs. Silken tofu is best for things like sauces, dressings, puddings and as an egg replacer in baked goods.

Extra bonus: seen any blocks of tofu floating around in a ton of water at your local natural foods store or Asian grocery? That’s fresh tofu. It’s usually of a firm consistency, and usually has a very delicate taste.

So why does it taste so gross?

By itself, tofu doesn’t taste like much of anything, except perhaps a slight bean flavor. I don’t think it’s the taste that gets people so much when they first try it, but rather the texture. That’s what grossed me out so much about the aforementioned chili.

How should I try tofu if I’ve never had it or been grossed out by it before?

The first kind of tofu that I tried that I liked was Sesame Tofu- fried pieces of tofu smothered in a sweet and spicy sesame sauce. Back in the day, I preferred to freeze the tofu first, then defrost and drain before using- this changes the texture significantly, and makes it more “meat like.”

I love, love, love this stuff.

This “tofuffalo” is basically made the same way-
fried and smothered in sauce.

Aside from the sesame tofu, you can use the same method to fry the tofu and use whatever kind of sauce (or dip) you like. You could also season the flour/cornstarch you use to coat it to add a little flavor as well.

Another option when you’re first starting out is to use it in a crumbled form. As my reader noted, she often uses lentils as “taco meat.” You can crumble up tofu and use it in the same way- spiced and sautéed in a little oil anywhere that you might use ground meat- like in chili, spaghetti sauce, sloppy joes, and of course, tacos. Personally, I’d say if you’re already using lentils that way there’s no need to switch to tofu, as lentils are a whole food, but if you’re just looking for a way to get used to tofu, it’s not a bad way.

How about some other ways for the more adventurous?

If you’re not going to smother the tofu in a flavorful sauce, it’s important to add flavor via a marinade, or your tofu just won’t taste like much of anything. My favorite way right now is to marinate, bake, then broil for a couple of minutes, like in this masala baked tofu from Appetite for Reduction.

It gets this awesome chewy texture, and takes on the flavor of whatever you marinate it in.

One thing you’ll need in order to make tofu like this is a way to press the water our of it. Some people put it on a plate wrapped with paper towels and with heavy items on top- like a cast iron pan or a cutting board with a few cans on top- but I’ve found that to be a great way to break a perfectly good plate. Others swear by it. Fortunately, there’s another option- the Tofu Xpress. I have two. They’re also handy for making tofu, it you want to try your hand at doing it from scratch.

Marinated and grilled presents another delicious option! Just press the liquid out, marinade in your favorite marinade, and grill on a grill pan or outdoor grill. Make sure you lightly oil or spray whatever you’re grilling with and your surface is really hot before putting the tofu on, or it will stick something awful.

This was marinated in jerk seasoning, first.

Other options: Stir-fry, Tofu Scramble,and fritattas. Tofu lends itself well to breakfast!

How about those sauces and dressings with silken tofu?

If you’ve never had tofu or you’re not a big fan, don’t go with these first. I know others will say otherwise, but I think they tend to be too strongly flavored with soybean, and they’re a turn off for many. Including me in the beginning, but I tend not to taste it anymore. If you’re adventurous enough to venture down this path, do yourself a favor and stay away from the shelf-stable tetra pack tofu, and go with the water-packed variety. It’s got much less of a strong flavor.

From the Happy Herbivore Cookbook, Fettucini Alfredo.

I don’t really do dressings with tofu- I prefer Veganaise or soaked, blended cashews for a creamy base, but I find tofu works well in creamy pasta type sauces. Aside from the above Fettucini Alfredo, this Macro Mac & Cheese also uses silken tofu in its sauce.

Recipe from Blissful Bites.

You don’t need to be nearly as adventurous to enjoy this one- I don’t think you’d even know this omelette from Vegan Brunch is even made from tofu.

I was someone who was scared of tofu for the first several years that I was vegetarian. Now I eat it at least once a week- and not usually in one of those fried forms, which should be considered a treat. Believe me, if I can do it, you can do it too!

Another one for intuitive cooking.

I was at my mom’s last weekend, and she had just done a big produce grocery shopping, and thought it would be nice if we made a healthy stir-fry for dinner on Saturday. I had us pick up some ginger and miso, as I’ve been finding that it makes a great combination for a stir-fry sauce.

The veggies here were peppers, onions, carrots, cucumber (yes, cucumber works well in stir-fry!) and bok choi.

Served over sweet potato noodles, and topped with some srirachca. Pan seared tofu is also there.

This is intutite cooking, so I am not adding amounts- do what seems right!

Ginger-Miso Stir Fry Sauce

• Yellow miso
• minced or grated ginger (as much or as little as you like)
• a splash of tamari
• a little more than a splash of rice wine vinegar
• a drizzle of sesame oil
• water or vegetable broth to thin
• optional (and not used this time): agave or brown rice syrup to taste

1. Spray a small pan with oil and brown the ginger.
2. Add the miso, tamari, vinegar and sesame oil.
3. Add a small amount of liquid and stir to dissolve the miso. Do not bring to a boil.
4. Add enough liquid more to bring to a consistency you like; add sweetener if desired.
5. Heat, but do not boil. Add to your veggies when they are ready.

I probably used about 2 tsp of miso. You can use more or less if you like! I’ve done this sweetened before, but it really doesn’t need it.

I know intuitive cooking can sound intimidating, but with a list of basic ingredients, I’m sure you can do it!

File this one under intuitive cooking.

I’m trying to use up stuff that I have around the house before I go grocery shopping again. I have a bunch of different root vegetables that keep well, and among them was some celery root (celeriac). I really wanted something that could be poured over mashed potatoes last night. So, I stood in front of the fridge, figuring out what I had on hand. I came up with the celery root, some frozen seitan, and some frozen veggies. This is what it turned out to be. The seitan was ground up in the food processor before being added.

Mashed potatoes, ground seitan, celery root purée, golden zucchini and green beans. Weird combination, but it works!

I looked for celery root (celeriac) purée recipes, but didn’t find exactly what I was looking for. I don’t think that spreading the purée on the plate would have been all that attractive with mashed potatoes, plus I wanted something smother-worthy, so it’s used like a gravy, although it’s not really a gravy, either. But is was interesting!

Are you wondering what celery root is? It’s exactly what it sounds like. It smells like the more traditional celery, but it tastes much milder, and there’s none of that stringy stuff.

This purée is gluten-free, and the entire meal can early be made gluten free by using tempeh or tofu instead of seitan.

Since this is intuitive cooking, I’m not giving amounts- use what you have on hand. I’ll explain.

Celeriac Purée

• celery root, chopped
• onion, minced
• garlic, minced
• water/veggie broth
• salt and pepper, to taste

1. Spray a pot with oil (or heat a small amount of broth/water with which to sauté).
2. Sauté onion until brow; add celery root and continue to sauté. Add garlic as celery root begins to soften.
3. Add enough water/broth to cover veggies. Cook until celery root is fork-tender.
4. With an immersion blender, blend all until a purée consistency. Taste for seasoning. You can add anything like seitan, tofu, tempeh or veggies at this point, if you like.

This whole intuitive thing is about using whatever you have on hand rather than an actual recipe. I had a little more than 1/2 of a celery root, and used a lot of onion, because I like it. I used about 3 cups of broth, but I might use slightly less in the future.

By now you’ve probably heard the news: Paula Deen has Type II Diabetes. She’s had it for years, all while she’s been hawking her brand of fat and calorie laden nightmarish food. Okay, that’s not fair. Lots of people love that kind of food, but you must know how bad for you it really is.

From their website, right under Paula’s smiling face and in bold print:

In animal studies, Victoza® caused thyroid tumors—including thyroid cancer—in some rats and mice. It is not known whether Victoza® causes thyroid tumors or a type of thyroid cancer called medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) in people which may be fatal if not detected and treated early. Do not use Victoza® if you or any of your family members have a history of MTC or if you have Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia syndrome type 2 (MEN 2). While taking Victoza®, tell your doctor if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, hoarseness, trouble swallowing, or shortness of breath. These may be symptoms of thyroid cancer.

Um, do you really want to have to take a drug with that kind of a potential side effect?

Who am I to be pointing that out? After all, I prescribe psychotropic medication to children, for crying out loud. They have terrible side effects (including that some cause diabetes). I know, you’re thinking: pot, meet kettle.

All medications have side effect, and some are more serious than others. When you’re someone who prescribes medication, you’re constantly doing a risk-benefit analysis, e.g., is the risk of harm from what I’m treating greater than the risk of harm from the treatment? Is there another treatment that might work as well or better with less harm? Will the patient be able to benefit from this other treatment before harm is done?

With Type II Diabetes, there is a non-drug alternative for many people. Regardless of how you got it- genetics, overweight, inactivity, etc.- changes in lifestyle will often be all you need to manage your diabetes (I know that you know that you have to be working with your health professional on that. You didn’t? Well, now you do).

But let’s give Paula some credit: it looks like Paula wants to de-stigmatize diabetes. That’s good, right?

You shouldn’t have to be ashamed that you have diabetes. There may come a point in your life with some factors that make it really difficult to avoid. Some medications might make it impossible to avoid, even with good lifestyle choices. And maybe you already have it. On the other hand, if it is within your power, you want to do everything to avoid or delay its onset.

A plant-based diet and some moderate exercise can go a long way towards thwarting diabetes.

I’m hoping that I don’t need to list out all the reasons you want to avoid Type II Diabetes, because I’m sure you know about things like blindness, limb amputation and heart disease. So how about we let Paula do what Paula has to do, and we’ll all work towards living healthy lives?

On Friday I headed over to New Haven, for a one-day work-related conference at the Omni-New Haven Hotel. I was happy enough to be going to New Haven to check out a couple of my favorite places there, but I was also excited to check out the new Veg restaurant in town- Red Lentil- which just happens to be a couple of doors down from the Omni. Once I knew I was going, I decided that was what I was doing for lunch!

As it turns out, lunch was served as part of the registration price at the conference, so I ended up going by myself, as my colleagues that I was with decided to stay for the free one. At least one turned out to be pretty jealous, as the hotel sandwiches turned out to not be very good.

Red Lentil is more or less an upscale American cuisine restaurant, with some Asian and European influences. The lunch menu is fairly simple, so I ended up ordering a combo of appetizers and sides, since I knew it would be a while before I would be able to get there again. I was not disappointed!

I started off with a house salad. Of course, salad would have been an option had I stayed at the conference for lunch, but this was just the tip of the iceberg! (Har har.)

I also ordered Sesame Encrusted Seitan Strips. They were phenomenal! They were served with a horseradish sauce. The waitress said to go easy with it because it was really hot, but I think she’s just a wimp. Don’t worry, I still left a good tip.

I also went with the sweet potato fries. They are very thick cut, with a crisp skin outside and creamy-soft inside. Served with barbecue sauce. Delish!

I had to get back to the conference, so I got a piece of carrot cake to go. It was light and fluffy, not dense like most carrot cakes, but very carrot-y! The frosting wasn’t overly sweet, either. Good cake, in my opinion! My colleagues who stayed for the free lunch did not enjoy their (hotel-served) cakes as I did mine.

I only wish that I could have gone back for dinner, because the dinner menu looks off the hook.

It’s important to know that this is not an entirely vegan restaurant, but it looks as though almost everything can be prepared vegan, and many items are gluten-free or can be prepared gluten-free as well.

Score one for a healthy weeknight meal.

Not the best picture, but excellent, chewy, tasty ribs. And look for better picture quality coming soon!

I find that if I’m not vigilant about how much I put in my mouth and how much I move my body, I start gaining weight again, so I’m being careful now. I know that’s the unpopular thing to do right now among certain crowds, but I have to do what’s best for my health, and being conscious of how I’m eating and moving is a big part of that. And yeah, it involves tracking calories. Otherwise I eat way too many!

To that end, I’ve been trying to do healthy weeknight meals again (well, and for other meals too). Sometimes though, I’m trying to schedule my after work hours just so, and ease is important!

I bought myself a new rice cooker (had a gift certificate to Amazon for selling my old iPhone to Gazelle), and it’s a nice one! I’m hoping to be able to use it in more creative ways in the future, but for the test run, I made some plain ‘ol rice.

I used to have a rice cooker I got for about $20 at Walmart back in the day, but I got rid of it when I got a pressure cooker, and space was at a premium. I also wasn’t too fond of the crust the rice would develop. My mom got a Zojirushi a couple of years ago and swears by it, so I decided to take the plunge as well. I’ve only made the plain rice, and so far I am not disappointed! If you take the rice out right away, it doesn’t develop that chewy crust (though if you like that, it appears to develop when you leave it on keep warm). Plus it doesn’t spray starchy steam everywhere! Rule!

On the flip side, rice takes much longer- it was over an hour for my brown rice to cook.

But, that gave me time to Skype with vegan boyfriend, and then pop those delicious looking seitan ribs from my freezer into my oven. They’re from Veggie Brothers, and they have a bunch of tasty entrees (among other things) that would go perfectly with some veggies and a side.

For the new year 2004, I became vegetarian, making that New Year’s Eve my last taste of meat. By that time, I was mostly vegetarian, eating the occasional meat when someone else made it for me. I was at a party at a friend’s house, and noticed somewhere around 10PM that I hadn’t had any meat all evening, and if that was going to be my last night as a meat-eater, I might as well have something. I ate some meatballs. I think I might have spit them out- they weren’t very good at all. I haven’t looked back since!

(It took me another 3 years to get to veganism, which was much harder, but I’m glad I did).

2011 has been a tough year for many, but I’ve been blessed to have mostly good fortune.

I’ve chosen a post from each month of the last year to highlight how my year has been!

Vegan Pizza Day, January 2011. Looking forward to another one in a few weeks!

Southeast Asian Vegan Banquet, February 2011. The first class I took at Natural Gourmet Institute!

The Green Smoothie Experience, March 2011. I started using my VitaMix for what I actually bought if for!

Box Office Cafe, April 2011. It’s a terrible picture, but it’s a great reminder of spending time back home, as well as reconnecting with the music therapy community at a conference held there.

Could You Eat Real Food For 100 Days? May, 2011. May was a slow month on the blog, but it got me thinking about what read food actually is, and how I haven’t done the best job of eating more whole foods. It’s a goal for the next year, for sure!

Brunch at Kaya’s Kitchen, June 2011. It’s only available during the summer, and I’m not near them every weekend, so it’s really a treat to be able to have brunch at Kaya’s.

Mini Chocolate Raspberry Cake, July 2011. My birthday is in July. Of course I’d pick that as my favorite…

Vida Vega Conference, August 2011. This not only was the best vegan blogging conference ever, it was also my first trip to Portland. I couldn’t just link to one post!

Health At Any Size? September 2011. I talk about health a lot on this blog, and I hope that no one is offended, because one of the topics I often post about is weight. I think you’re beautiful as you are, and being skinny isn’t the point- but I want all of us, and the generations to come be as healthy as possible. Look for more health topics in the new year!

VeganMoFo, October 2011! My fourth year of MoFo participation. Again, it’s hard to pick just one post! I look forward to this every year.

In Depth Herb & Spice Class, November 2011. The fifth class I took at NGI. I have learned so much about food this year!

Christmas, December 2011. So that was just last week, but it was a really nice day. Here’s to many more!

I hope that everybody has a happy, healthy and safe 2012, and may things only get better from here!

The uncut pie looks rather uninteresting, but there’s plenty of goodness inside!

December has been all about the comfort food.

The seitan I made for Thanksgiving was rather huge, so I cut a bunch of it up into chunks with the intention of making seitan pot pie later. I ended up having to freeze them until I had both the time and the inclination to make it, but I’m glad that I did!

You know, I’m not sure that I’ve ever made a pot pie from scratch? Mostly I’ve had the frozen variety. They’re a bit tricky to make!

Believe it or not, I made this after work. I had made the pie crust the night before, so that just had to be rolled out (I used the olive oil crust from Vegan Pie in the Sky, using white whole wheat flour). I had also cooked the veggies the night before, so that left the gravy to be made, the veggies and seitan thrown in, and then the whole thing to bake. It was fortunate that it happened to be a day where I didn’t come home starving hungry from work, too, as it does take while to bake.

Seitan Pot Pie

• 1-double pie crust, bought or homemade
• 2 cups seitan, cubed (use less if you need to, such as if you’re using store bought)
• 2-3 carrots, sliced
• 1-2 stalks celery, diced
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 2 cups veggie broth
• 1/2 cup non-dairy milk
• 2 Tbs margarine
• 1/2 of an onion, minced
• 2 Tbs flour
• salt, pepper, celery seed, thyme, rosemary to taste

1. Preheat oven to 425F
2. Prepare the pie crusts. Have bottom crust ready in the pie plate.
3. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add carrots, cook for 15 minutes; add peas and celery for the last 5 minutes; drain and put aside. Mix with seitan.
4. Melt margarine in a skillet; add onion and cook until translucent. Sprinkle flour and mix well with the margarine/onion mixture.
5. Slowly pour in the broth, whisking as you go and making sure to break up all clumps of flour. Do the same with the non-dairy milk. Add in spices.*
6. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly as the sauce thickens and comes to a boil. When it looks like gravy, it’s done. Taste for spices/salt, and then add the seitan/vegetable mixture to the gravy.
7. Ladle the gravy/veggie/seitan mixture into the prepared pie crust. Put the top crust on, trim, and pinch together/flute the crust. Cut at least 5 slits in the top of the pie to vent steam.
8. Bake 45 minutes, or until crust is browned and flaky.

*If you’re cool, you’ll add dry spices to the pan when you’re sautéing the onions. Leave fresh for the end!

I won’t call this a healthy weeknight meal, as there’s a lot of fat (crust), and it’s not easy to make when you get home from work unless you’ve done all the prep work ahead of time. It would be nice for a Sunday dinner, though!

Note, you can also make this up to the point to baking and pop in the freezer, then put it directly in the oven when you’re ready to bake. If you are using a glass pie plate, do one of two things:

1. Put a layer of aluminum foil in the bottom of the pie plate, with a layer of plastic wrap on top, then put in your bottom curst, as proceed with the recipe. Cover with more plastic wrap and foil before freezing, and once frozen, lift the whole pie out of the pie plate, and put the pie back in the freezer as is. Remove foil/plastic and plop back into pie plate when ready to bake, and bake in a preheated oven (will take longer than regular recipe).
2. Alternately, no foil/palstic in the bottom of the plate, just to cover when in the freezer, leave pie in the pie plate. When ready to bake, put the frozen pie/pie plate in a COLD oven, then turn up the heat. Never, never put a glass pie plate straight from the freezer into a hot oven.

There you have it! This is a really flexible recipe- you can add in whatever veggies you like/have on hand. Pasrnips or potatoes would be good, for sure!