Sesame Seitan Using Homemade Seitan

I love trying to replicate recipes.  Especially those that I really miss being able to order since moving away from NY.  I used to get this awesome sesame vegan chicken recipe from a place called Zen Palate which would deliver directly to my apartment on my days off or whenever I felt too tired to make dinner.  Since coming back to Michigan, the ability to purchase vegan "meats" isn't as easy, so whenever I get the chance, I stock up.  I've also been making several batches of seitan and freezing small portions of them so I can prepare a quick, tasty meal.  This meal came together very fast thanks to that prepared seitan.  Yum!

 

 



Tasty, Crispy Yummy Sesame Seitan


2-3 Servings of seitan, homemade or store bought
Canola or refined coconut oil for shallow frying

Broccoli or other veggies to have on the side, steamed

White or brown rice to serve.

Sauce:
1/2 cup filtered water
1 cup unchicken broth
2-4 tablespoons rice vinegar (I used 3)
1 tablespoon tapioca starch
1/2 cup organic sugar or agave
2 tablespoons tamari
2 tablespoons sesame oil (un-toasted)
1 teaspoon chili paste
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons sesame seeds, plus additional to garnish
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder


1.  Prepare the sauce: in a medium sauce pan add all of the ingredients.  Whisk together well. 
2.  Turn the heat on medium and cook until the sugar dissolves and the sauce thickens considerably.  Set aside to cool slightly until ready to use.
3.  Cut the seitan into small pieces, dry well.  Briefly pan fry in a small amount of canola or refined coconut oil until crispy.  Place on a paper towel lined plate to drain.
4.  Once all of the seitan is cooked, place in a bowl with a generous amount of the sesame sauce.  Toss well.
5.  To serve, place a portion of the rice on the plate, followed by a serving of the sesame seitan and the steamed vegetable.  Top the seitan with additional sesame seeds.  That's it!

A close-up of the deliciousness.

Enjoy!

Koko

Steamed Romanesco

I am Gorgeous!

Last Sunday my Husband and I attended a vegan potluck with the TC Vegans.  I believe we have gone to three of the potlucks so far since we have moved to Michigan, and this one was definitely the best so far.  So much tasty vegan food!  I made a couple tasty things too.  An Israeli cous cous salad (recipe coming soon) and Peanut Butter Cream Pie.  We also had some vegan gf lasagna, sweet potatoes, homemade baked beans, a sort of enchilada casserole and I'm sure a couple other things I am forgetting.  One of the lovely ladies there made a tasty stir-fry using romanesco and was talking about how much she liked the vegetable.  I told her I wasn't a fan of the vegetable and she gave me a piece of it raw, before she added it to her stir fry.  I was pretty sceptical, but tried it, and was pleasantly surprised by the flavor - a cross between broccoli and cauliflower.  Perhaps the one I tried all those years ago wasn't super fresh?  I was fortunate to have the Hubby bring one home from work and decided to try it again.  But since Thanksgiving was so close, I didn't want to make something super involved.  So I simply steamed it and tossed it with olive oil and sea salt.  It was very simple and tasty!   Hubby thought it was a little plain, so he added some tamari and red pepper flakes.  Simple and tasty - I'll definitely have to make something out of it again, once I feel more like cooking after the Thanksgiving food coma goes away!





Simply Steamed

Steamed Romanesco:

1 head romanesco, separated into florets

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Sea Salt
Seasoned Salt, Red Pepper Flakes, Tamari, Chipotle Pepper as desired

1.  Steam the romanesco in a steamer basket over boiling water till just tender.  Remove from steamer basket, drizzle with a small amount of olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt (or other desired toppings). 

 

Koko

Last Hurrah in NYC with my Besties

Two days before I moved, I was very fortunate to have a last amazing, delicious vegan lunch and dinner with two of my besties, Kumiko and Eileen.  I have had the pleasure of knowing these beautiful, intelligent women for over  five years, and even though we were not always able to get together because of the ridiculously busy NY lifestyle, whenever we were able to get together, we had a blast.  And we would always be eating the tastiest vegan food!   Kumiko took me to a very classy, expensive Japanese restaurant in Manhattan called Kajitsu, which was "on her husband" - meaning we could spend as much as we wanted (love those two!).  We ate an amazing, gourmet meal.  It was such a different culinary experience for me, but also such a blast.  It is a kind of restaurant Kumiko has never been to.  She says that even Japanese people only go to a restaurant like that one or twice in their lives, so I was honored to share the experience with her.

After we ate, we walked around and around and around Manhattan, with me soaking up every little detail and trying to memorize everything.  We went to May Wah on Hester Street in Chinatown - the first time for Kumiko and likely the last time in a while for me (sad sad!).  I got a couple things that will hopefully last me a couple months into living in my new city and remind me of the city I'm leaving behind.  We parted ways very sadly, but with both of us promising to visit each other.

I had dinner with Eileen at Peacefood Cafe - Union Square.  Dinner was tasty, but not exactly picture-worthy, and we were too busy blabbing and blabbing to take the time out.  The cafe was mad busy and we had a great time.  It wasn't as homemade oriented as Kajitsu, but definitely tasty and a nice send off.  Enjoy the pictures of my last vegan meal in NYC.  I'll bring my awesome vegan tasty treats with me to Michigan and introduce everyone here to the tastiness!






Tomato and Bell Pepper "Tofu" in a delicious broth with
Basil Tempura.

 

All of the tastiness together - with Miso Tofu Skin Soup, Rice, etc.



The entree: zucchini in a yuzu broth with all kinds of delicious,
unfamiliar ingredients and herbs.    



Dessert: Mochi with Adzuki Bean Filling. Tasty!

The dessert out of the banana leaf.  Served with super strong
Green Matcha Tea.

We walked around and found a gf bakery. 
Not too impressed, sorry to say.



Blueberry Muffin, Spinach Sundried Tomato Muffin,
Vanilla Cupcake, Date Crumb Bar - all gf



Enjoy!

Koko

Crepes with Homemade Nutella

These pictures are admittedly from the very first time I made vegan crepes for the family I was cooking for almost a year ago now.  You can tell from the first picture that the first couple were thicker than they should have been, but they were still crazy delicious!  Now you may be wondering how or why there is nutella in the middle of the crepes, since nutella isn't vegan - it contains both skim milk and whey.  That's why I made my own vegan nutella, which turned out amazingly!  It wasn't as smooth as the nutella that comes in the jar, but is was just as delicious as I remember it being, probably even more so because it was sweetened with agave and was both dairy and soy free. 

I made another  batch several weeks ago when Hubbs and I were testing smoothie recipes for our cafe.  We wanted to make a breakfast coffee chocolately smoothie and everything we had tested so far was pretty terrible to be honest.  Then I had the brilliant idea to put some of the nutella I made in it and it was crazy delicious!  Smoothie approved for the cafe!  Yay!  So, I'm not going to include the recipe for the crepes, because they came from the vegan brunch cookbook, but I am including the recipe for the vegan nutella.  Make it and soon because it is so freaking delicious!



Crepe filled with delicious chocolatey vegan nutella!


Vegan Nutella

Yields about 2 cups

8 oz. raw hazelnuts

1/2 oz. cocoa powder
2 1.2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/2 teaspoons canola oil
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
heaping 1/3 cup agave
heaping 1/3 cup hazelnut milk

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Place the hazelnuts on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until the skins come off easily.
3. Allow the hazelnuts to cool for several minutes, then remove the skins.
4. Place the still warm hazelnuts in the food processor and process for several minutes, until the hazelnuts turn into a butter.
5. Add the remaining ingredients: the cocoa powder, vanilla extract, canola oil, sea salt, agave and hazelnut milk.
6. Blend for several more minutes, or until completely smooth.
7. Season to taste.
8. Place in a sealable container. Allow the mixture to cool for several hours in the refrigerator before using, to thicken.




Pile o' vegan crepes!




Look at that deliciousness!


Enjoy!

Koko