Seitan Stew

Here's one of my favorite winter time stews.

Seitan Stew 

18 oz. package chicken style seitan with liquid, chopped

4 c. water or veggie broth (including the seitan liquid)

3 stalks celery, chopped

2 leeks, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

1 potato, chopped with skin

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 T. dried parsley

1 tsp. each dried savory and marjoram and sage

1/2 c. water

3 T. whole wheat flour

1 T. tamari sauce

Put the seitan, 4 cups of water, vegetables, and herbs in a large pot.  Bring to a boil.  Turn the heat down and let simmer until the veggies are soft.

Meanwhile, whisk together the 1/2 cup water, flour, and tamari until very smooth.  Stir into the simmering stew until well combined.  Let simmer until the stew is slightly thickened and the veggies are very soft.

A Nice Long Weekend (and another recipe)

I've had a very nice, long, and relaxing weekend.  I got to hang and have a sleepover with 2 of my sisters!!  How fun that was!!  Visited my parents.  Visited the in-laws.  Got some cleaning done.  Watched Star Wars III.  But, mainly, I caught up on my sleep.  So lovely.  It really is amazing how good you can feel when you are well rested.  I highly recommend it.

Course, that was all interrupted by The Squirrel Incident last night.  Some day I may be able to talk about it.  Today is not that day.

On that mysterious note...  Ready for another recipe?  Here's one for greens and beans. 

Greens and Beans 

 

2 – 3 bunches mixed greens (such as kale, collard, chard, spinach), washed and chopped

1 T. olive oil

1 can veggie broth

2 cloves garlic, minced

salt to taste

2 1/2 c. cooked white beans (about 1 cup raw, soaked and then cooked)

dash cayenne pepper

 

Heat the oil in a very large pot.  Throw in the chopped greens and cook until slightly wilted.  Add the veggie broth, garlic, and some salt.  Cook until the greens are darkening in color.  Stir in the cooked beans and cayenne pepper.  Simmer for about 1 hour or until the greens are very soft.  Adjust the seasonings.

Does anyone have any special recipe requests?  Have a particular type of food you are wanting to use?  

Butternut Squash Pasta

I haven't made this for a while, but it is so tasty.  It's a great winter dish since it uses butternut squash, apples, and onions.  All of these items are perfect winter storage items.  Serve it with a salad or some cooked greens.

Butternut Squash Pasta

1 medium butternut squash

Bake the squash in the oven on 375 degrees for about an hour, or however long it takes to get soft on the inside.  Slice it open, scoop out the seeds, and scoop out the flesh.  Mash the flesh with a potato masher.  Set aside.

1 pound short and stubby pasta like rigatoni or rotini or shells...

Boil the pasta.

While the pasta is boiling...

4 medium apples, peeled and diced
1 large onion, diced
4 T vegan margarine (such as Earth Balance), or your favorite buttery thing
salt to taste

Saute the apples and onions in the butter until both are soft.  The apples and onions will start juicing to create an unconventional, but lovely, broth.  When they are soft, mix in the cooked and mashed butternut squash.  Heat thoroughly.  Adjust seasoning.  This sauce is supposed to be fairly thick - like a puree, but sometimes if one of your ingredients is too dry (usually your squash), the sauce can be come out extra thick.  If your sauce is a bit on the too thick side, stir in a bit of water.  Mix the sauce into the pasta and serve hot.

You can add fresh parsley to this dish if you have it.  It adds a nice flavor while providing extra color interest.

Hearty Navy Bean Stew

It is the time of year for warming soups and stews.  Eating a bowl of hot soup can really ground you during this season of cold cold temps and snow all over the place.  Although they can be quick - cooking only for about an hour - you can start a soup early in the morning, or just after lunch, and let it slow cook aaaaaaaalllllll day.  It makes the whole house smell yummy.  Just walking by that bubbly stew can instantly warm your soul.

We have been eating soups or stews nearly every night this week.  I really could eat them every day.

Here's a recipe for a bean stew that uses seitan as a protein source in addition to the beans.  Seitan is a wheat gluten protein, so if you are sensitive to wheat or gluten, steer clear!  You can find seitan at any health food stores or major grocery stores.  The kind I prefer to buy is a "chicken-style" seitan.  It's been 18 years since I've had a piece of chicken, so I can't really tell you how it really compares.  My guess is that you can't even think of it as chicken in any manner of ways - even though it's labeled with those words.  Seitan has a very chewy texture.  It usually comes in a vacuum packed container in the refrigerator section, packed in a broth.  It does contain salt, so make sure you adjust the salt that you would add accordingly.

I usually start this soup by soaking a cup of dry beans the night before, draining and rinsing them the next morning, and cooking them.  Once the beans are tender (after about 1 hour), I throw everything else into the pot, and cook it for about an hour.  Sorta changes up the directions, I know.  The recipe below calls for canned beans for quickness.  Use whichever you prefer.

Hearty Navy Bean Stew

2 T. olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

1 sweet potato, chopped with skin

1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes

1 15 oz. can vegetable broth

1 15 oz. can white beans with liquid

1 10 oz. package frozen spinach

1 12 oz. package regular seitan, chopped

1 T. dried basil

1 T. dried parsley

2 bay leaves

salt to taste

In a large pot, heat the olive oil and sauté the onion and sweet potato over medium-high heat until the onion is soft, about 5 – 10 minutes .  Add the next four ingredients.  Cook until the spinach is thawed.  Add the chopped seitan and spices.  Simmer until all the vegetables are soft, 45 – 60 minutes.

Frittatas

A frittata is a Mexican omelette.  You can get way creative with frittatas!  You can fit it into any season, using seasonal ingredients.  Or, use up things in the fridge that are on the verge of being compost.  Once you make a few, you'll get the idea of how they turn out best.  They are quick and easy for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Spinach and Onion Frittata

1 T. canola oil

1 onion, diced

1 clove garlic

1 10 oz. package frozen spinach, thawed and well drained

6 eggs

3 T. milk

1/2 c. shredded cheddar, Monterey jack, or Colby cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Heat the oil in a 10 inch cast-iron skillet (my favorite), or an oven-proof pan, over medium heat.  Sauté the onion and garlic until soft, about 5 minutes.  Put the spinach in the pan and heat through.

Meanwhile, beat the eggs with the milk and cheese.

When the spinach is heated, pour the egg mixture into the pan.  Stir slightly to make sure the all the veggies get coated with egg.  Cook for about 2 minutes without stirring.  Put the entire pan into the hot oven and bake for 10 minutes.  Let the frittata cool a bit before cutting.

More Frittata Ideas:

You can’t really go wrong with the veggies in a frittata.  For each frittata you’ll need about 3 cups of veggies, 6 eggs beaten with about 3 tablespoons of milk, and 1/2 cup cheese.  You can add extra cheese if you’d like, or leave it out all together.

-  Spinach and sweet potato

-  Pepper and onion (hot peppers are great too, if you like that sort of thing)

-  Swiss chard, white potatoes, and onion
-  Mushrooms, onions, and garlic

Greens and Roasted Red Pepper Pasta and Other Random Notes

It's the month for recipes.  I've decided (realized is more accurate) that I am not consistent enough do a daily column over on the sidebar.  It's good to know our limitations...

In other news, I have not been doing a whole lot of anything except catching up on laundry, cleaning, dishes, and generally relaxing and enjoying the rush free aspect of the post holiday season.  We took down our decorations.  Homeschooling has begun again.

I have been looking for a history program/books that I am happy with.  And, I finally found them!  I finally feel much more relaxed about teaching history to my children.  Whew!

Here is a quick and healthy pasta recipes.  You could use dried beans instead of canned, but then it's not really a quick recipe.  I usually roast my own peppers and can them when they are in season, so I have them on hand whenever I want to use them.

Greens and Roasted Red Pepper Pasta 

2 T. olive oil

1 lb. mixed greens, chopped (kale, Swiss chard, spinach, and collard work well)

1/2 - 1 c. vegetable broth

1 15 oz. can of great northern beans, with liquid

4 cloves garlic, minced

dash cayenne pepper (or to taste)

1 tsp. salt (or to taste)

2 roasted red peppers, coarsely chopped

1 lb. penne pasta (linguini is also good)

Boil the pasta according to the directions on the package.

Heat the oil in a large heavy skillet on medium heat.  Sauté the greens until soft, adding 1/2 cup of the veggie broth.  Through the cooking, add enough veggie broth so that the greens don’t burn.  When the greens have significantly wilted, after about 15 – 20 minutes, add the beans with liquid, garlic, cayenne pepper, and salt.  Place the cooked, drained pasta into a bowl.  Add the greens and the roasted red peppers.  Adjust the seasonings and serve hot.

Some Words on Eating Vegetarian

A friend of mine emailed me the other day asking for some vegetarian recipes.  She and her family will be going meatless for the first 21 days in January.  Being a long-time vegetarian and avid (to put it mildly) cook, I (naturally) said I would oblige.  So, for the first 21 days of January, I will be throwing in some veggie recipes for lots of fun things as well as some meal planning ideas.  I'm thinking of putting a "What's for dinner" column on the sidebar to show our daily dinners.

Vegetarian cooking doesn't have to be difficult or intimidating.  Many things we eat can be easily made vegetarian - soups, pizza, pasta, stir-fry,...

Today, I thought I'd give you a brief description of what is in my pantry/fridge/freezer, with a strong emphasis on what I consider must-haves.  There is a ton of variation on what you can stock a vegetarian pantry with.  Some people have the time and desire to make many things from scratch.  Some people choose to purchase things ready made.  Either approach can work.  They both have their advantages and disadvantages.  Meal preparation should be enjoyable.  And the more you enjoy preparing your meals, the better they will taste!  So, do what you feel you can and would like to do as far as the basics.

I always try to keep in mind: the more whole the food is, the better it is for you.  Choosing the least processed foods will keep your pantry stocked with healthy options.

Please note that these lists are not complete lists of what I stock.  Just highlighting the basics here.

Basic Pantry:
dried beans (I most often use garbanzo, lentils, green split peas, navy, and black beans)
*note:  canned beans can replace dried beans for convenience, but they are more costly)
cans of refried beans (because I don't have the desire to make my own)
tomato sauce (I can my own, but any that you like will be wonderful)
tomato puree (ditto above)
tomato paste (I don't can my own of this...)
veggie broth
oats
flours for breads, muffins, and other yummy treats
cornmeal
quinoa (pronounced keen-wa.  a grain that can be used in place of rice.  more on quinoa later)
rice
popcorn
herbs and spices
packaged pasta
salsa
applesauce
canned pears
olive and canola oils

My Freezer (contains lots of fresh-frozen garden veggies):
brocolli
cauliflower
green beans
corn
sliced peppers
shredded zucchini
whole wheat tortilla shells (oh how we love to use these!)
sliced fruits and berries
homemade veggie burgers


The Fridge:
local organic eggs
local organic cheeses
homemade yogurt
fresh veggies especially including beets, carrots, lettuce, cabbage
tofu
seitan (a wheat gluten protein)
soy and rice milks
earth balance (a vegan butter substitute containing no hydrogenated oils)

I tend to shy away from the soy meat products that are flooding the market today.  They are tasty and fun, and we do partake in them on occasion.  But on the whole, I don't think they are very healthy.  Often, they contain way more salt than one wants to consume.  They are highly processed, and typically contain soy protein isolate - which is when they extract the protein from the soybean.  I am a whole foods advocate in general, and can't help but think that there is something mainly unhealthy about extracting only one part of a whole food.  The jury is still out on whether or not this type of protein is beneficial or harmful.  You can find both arguments out there.  I, for myself and for my family, prefer to eat them only every so often.

I'm sure there is a lot I have forgotten to list.