BBQ Baked Veg Cutlets

There's nothing more satisfying than making something from scratch; when you make something from a box, you can never have that soul-satisfying ability to say "I made that!”

This recipe uses the cutlet recipe I previously posted along with a recipe for some home-made Maple BBQ Sauce that I made up on a whim because I was feeling too lazy to go to the store and buy some. If you have an empty Heinz ketchup bottle hanging around, I highly recommend cleaning it out and pouring your BBQ sauce into it. The recipe makes about ¾ of a bottle (which is more than you will need) and this way you can pour as needed. You must wait until the BBQ is totally cool before bottling it.

Enjoy this recipe with mashed potatoes, grilled vegetables, or anything else your heart desires. The picture you see here is of a cutlet with "Eazy Mac & Cheeze" - a recipe that I am still perfecting and will post as soon as it's ready! Take care!


This recipe makes 8 cutlets/servings; if 8 servings are too many, simply half the recipe. Actually, you can half almost all the recipes here if you need to (except for baked goods)!

BBQ Baked Veg Cutlets

Time: 1 Hour | Yield: 8 Servings | Difficulty: Low

For Cutlets:
2 Cups Vital Wheat Gluten
1 Block Extra Firm Tofu
¼ cup Soy Sauce
1-2 tablespoons Marmite*
1 tablespoon Garlic Powder
1 tablespoon Onion Powder
1 tablespoon Nutritional Yeast
1 teaspoon Black Pepper
1 teaspoon Thyme, dried
1 teaspoon Sage, dried
1 cup water, or more if needed

For Maple BBQ Sauce:
1 small (5.5 oz) can tomato paste
1 cup ketchup
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup maple syrup
1/3 cup red wine vinegar (add more if you like more tang)
4-5 dashes of liquid smoke*
1 tablespoon Earth Balance buttery spread
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon chili powder
¼ teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup water


Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In food processor, add all ingredients for cutlet except gluten. Blend until the tofu becomes a thick but still pour-able paste, adding more water if necessary. Taste the paste and season more if necessary. Please note that if it tastes too strong, it’s probably perfect. Once you add the gluten, the flavours will diminish significantly. So you want to have enough oomph in the paste to withstand the addition of gluten.

In a large bowl, pour the tofu mixture and add the gluten. Mix well, and when it becomes a non-sticky dough begin to knead, flouring the counter if necessary. It will probably be so well incorporated you won’t need flour to knead it.

Knead for about 10 minutes, or until the dough becomes very elastic. Let sit for another 5-10 minutes.

While the cutlet mixture is resting, heat water in a sauce pan on medium and add tomato paste. Once dissolved, add all remaining ingredients for the BBQ sauce and stire until sugar is dissolved, about 5 minutes. Place aside to cool.

Cut in cutlet dough in half, and from each half make 4 cutlets, using your hands to stretch and pound them flat.

Using a sauce brush, brush bbq sauce on all cutlets, both sides, and place on a greased baking sheet. You may need two baking sheets if making all 8 cutlets. Bake in oven for 30 minutes, turning every 10-15 minutes and basting with additional BBQ sauce. Serve.




VARIATIONS:
- add molasses instead of maple syrup to BBQ sauce
- grill the cutlets after baking, if desired
- you can sub any form of pureed bean for tofu, at any time

The Ultimate Vegan Cutlet!

I humbly offer my recipe to the long traditions of cutlet recipes. What I love about this recipe is that it is the best of both worlds: it includes tofu and gluten (Seitan), meaning not only does it hold well texture-wise, it also absorbs the flavours it marinades it. Using an array of herbs and spices, this recipe transforms the generally accepted as bland tofu and gluten into powerful a culinary constituent! It is a cinch to make and I hope you find it as useful as I have.

Note:  If 8 Cutlets (Servings) are too many, this recipe can easily be halved or quartered. 

Veg Cutlet

Time: 1 Hour | Yield: 8 Servings (Cutlets) | Difficulty: Low

Ingredients:
2 Cups Vital Wheat Gluten
1 Block Extra Firm Tofu
¼ cup Soy Sauce
1-2 tablespoons Marmite*
1 tablespoon Garlic Powder
1 tablespoon Onion Powder
1 tablespoon Nutritional Yeast
1 teaspoon Black Pepper
1 teaspoon Thyme, dried
1 teaspoon Sage, dried
1 cup water, or more if needed
2 tablespoons olive oil

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Celsius.

In food processor, add all ingredients except gluten. Blend until the tofu becomes a thick, but still pour-able, paste. Taste the paste and season more if necessary. Please note that if it tastes too strong, it’s probably perfect. Once you add the gluten, the flavours will diminish significantly. So you want to have enough oomph in the paste to withstand the addition of gluten.

In a large bowl, pour the tofu mixture and add the gluten. Mix well, and when it becomes a dry-ish dough (not sticky to touch) begin to knead, flouring the counter if necessary.
Knead for about 10 minutes, or until the dough becomes very elastic. Let sit for another 5-10 minutes.

Cut in half, and from each half make 4 cutlets, using your hands to stretch and pound flat.

Coat cutlets with olive oil and place on a baking sheet.  Bake cutlets in oven, turning once, for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
VARIATIONS:
-     You can replace the tofu with 1.5 cups of any kind of pureed bean (I recommend chickpeas or navy beans); make as normal.
-     Instead of oil, you can use any sauce you prefer and bake these as normal.  Make sure to grease the baking sheet.  BBQ recipe to follow.


*Marmite can be found in most normal grocery stores. I usually find it in the baking aisle, near the spices. If you cannot find Marmite, use Vegemite - and if you cannot find that, sub the Marmite for extra soy sauce.

Food Facts: Seitan

Seitan... to be honest I find most people (Vegan or otherwise) don’t really know what Seitan is, but have probably tried it at some point. It is popular in Asian (particularly Chinese, and even Buddhist) cuisine under the pseudonym of “mock duck”.

What is Seitan? Seitan is the protein (gluten) of wheat. It is an ancient, natural food that is an excellent analogue to meat (particularly beef). Traditionally, Seitan is made by making dough and running it under a stream of water until all the sugars (starch, carbs) wash away and all that is left is the gooey, stringy protein known as gluten.

Seitan is a phenomenal source of protein with about 31 grams of protein per 4 oz serving. Beef has about 36 per 4 oz serving so it's a great comparable. Isn’t that awesome!?

While meat is slightly higher in protein, it also contains nasty additions like saturated fat, cholesterol… and bad karma (ok judgement call on me, you certainly don’t have to agree). Seitan on the other hand is zero fat, and has no cholesterol or saturated fat. It has a few carbs in there, but it comes from flour so this is to be expected.

The downside to Seitan is that it is not a complete protein, like soy, for example. That being said, as with other sources of plant proteins – this fact is hardly an issue as long as you eat a varied diet of legumes and leafy greens!

Of course, a warning: if you are allergic to gluten (celiac) then please do not eat Seitan! I suppose this is obvious, but I understand that the awesome-ness of gluten is tempting to try!

So, what does gluten taste like? Firstly, the texture is chewy and a slightly tough; like overcooked meat. You need a sharp or serrated knife to cut through it easily (especially raw). The flavour, (which is always subjective) to me, is pretty bland but slightly yeast-y? Even nutty. The blandness is good for incorporating it into meals - although it is definitely more flavourful than tofu.

My opinion is that home-made Seitan is much better than store-bought. This may sound gross but I personally feel like store-bought is reminiscent to dog food. So I never eat store bought Seitan plain. When I am in a jam, I grind it in the food processor and make it into a “veef” – which is my version of veg ground beef. Recipes to come!

I hope you enjoyed the info on Seitan and encourage you to try it and see for yourself. Happy Cooking!



References:

http://www.essortment.com/all/whatisseitan_rkgb.htm
http://www.vegan-nutritionista.com/vegan-protein.html
http://www.archure.net/salus/protein.html

Easy Banana Bread

Happy belated Easter!

Ok, well this isn't a real meal (or it could be, if you have a big sweet tooth) but I had to share this recipe because it is so unbelievably delicious; not to mention super moist! Banana bread recipes are generally run-of-the-mill, but I'd like to share with you this particular one that has slowly evolved in my kitchen. That being said there is nothing too fancy about it.

Chef's Tip: I have seen many other vegan chefs use the cider/soy milk mixture to create a make-shift buttermilk, so I have used that idea here. It helps create a super moist cake.

While I know this is a vegan blog, perhaps you'd like to know what buttermilk really is. Buttermilk is not 'buttery milk' (fattening), but rather the residual milk left after a person makes butter (back in the olden days). It is actually very low in fat. It is thicker due to bacteria (almost like watered down yoghurt). Of course, in the modern age, bacteria are added to force fermentation. This is no longer a natural occurrence.


Easy Banana Bread

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cups sugar, preferably raw
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup soy milk, full fat (not fat free)
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 cups super ripe bananas, mashed (about 4 bananas)
1/4 cup canola oil
1 tbsp maple syrup
1/2 - 1 cup chopped walnuts

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and grease a loaf pan.

In a large bowl (you will eventually add all ingredients to this bowl), mix together soy milk and apple cider. Let stand for at least two minutes (for soy milk to curdle) while you prepare the other ingredients.

In a medium sized bowl, mix flour, sugars, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.

Once 2 minutes have passed, add bananas, maple syrup, canola oil and vanilla to the soy milk mixture and stir well to combine. Add the dry ingredients and mix only until just combined (never over mix cake batter!), quickly but gently fold in walnut and pour batter into the bread loaf.

Bake for an hour, or until a knife comes out clean. Let the loaf stand for about ½ hour before serving.

Yummy Lazy Fajitas

Bonjour! I hope everyone (Michele) has had a great week! I have been busy working out and trying to get healthy… and I have more or less neglected the blog. My apologies for this.

So, today's recipe is for delicious vegan fajitas! They are extremely easy and I am quite sure they will make its way into your usual culinary repertoire. Enjoy!

Vegan Fajitas [Serves 4, or 2 really hungry people]

Ingredients:
4-6 Four Tortillas
1 tbsp Canola oil
3 Bell peppers (assorted colours), sliced
1/4 lb Mushrooms (your favourite kind), sliced
2 Onions, sliced
2 cloves Garlic, diced
1 Can Refried Beans
1 tbsp garlic powder
2 tbsp onion powder
1-2 tbsp chilli powder
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp pepper
1/2 tsp coriander (optional)
1/4 cup water

Lettuce, chopped, for topping
Salsa, for topping
Guacamole, for topping

Preparation:

Heat oil in a pan over med-high heat. Add bell peppers and sauté until they become soft, about 5 minutes. Add onions and mushrooms and continue sautéing until onions are translucent; add garlic and continue cooking for 5 minutes longer or until vegetables have caramelized to your taste.

Add spices and continue cooking for about 2 minutes. Add the water to deglaze the pan and add refried beans. It will be slightly difficult to mix the beans into the mix, but as it warms it will incorporate into the vegetables.

Your filling is now complete. Warm the tortillas and spoon filling onto them, along with chopped lettuce, salsa and guacamole. Roll up and serve. Enjoy!

VARIATIONS:

- Add a can of corn (drained and rinsed) for extra flavour

- Add Seitan or Tofu to up the protein (although there is a good quantity as is)

- To make these into Enchiladas, roll up each tortilla (without lettuce) and place into a deep baking pan. Pour over enchilada sauce (most are Vegan) and sprinkle Vegan cheese over top. Bake at 375 until the cheese is browned and bubbly.


PS -I have figured out how to add pictures - so they will be coming soon! :)

Herbed Pasta Salad

Happy Sunday!

This Herbed Pasta Salad is a variation of a pasta salad in Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's book "The Vegan Table". I hope you enjoy it!

Herbed Pasta Salad [Makes 6 servings].

Ingredients:
16 oz vegan penne (or similar)*
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup fresh basil
1/2 cup fresh Italian parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cucumber, chopped
1 red onion, chopped
2 bell peppers, chopped
1 can artichokes, drained and chopped
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup pine nuts

Optional: 1 block tofu, squared and fried

Preparation:

Begin with cooking pasta according to instructions.

Meanwhile, in a food processor, combine oil, vinegar, lemon juice, fresh herbs, salt, pepper and sugar. Blend until the herbs look finely chopped and ingredients are well incorporated.

When pasta is cooked, allow to cool and combine all ingredients (including tofu, if using). Mix thoroughly and serve.



* Dried pasta is usually Vegan, but check the ingredients just to make sure. Rice pasta is almost always Vegan.

Black Bean Quesadillas with Pico De Gallo

Happy New Year to all! I went grocery shopping at Whole Foods down in West Vancouver - such a nice store, but far and expensive. Decided I would try it out and compare the purchase price to that at the normal grocery next time I shop for the same ingredients. I will let you know.

Today I made some super easy quesadillas and Pico de Gallo, which is a rustic salsa. The entire meal took less than an hour to make and clean. It was absolutely delicious! I came up with this recipe a while ago actually - and if it's of any value, Dan said he'll be happy eating Vegan if all meals are as yummy as this one! I served the quesadillas with some home made coleslaw.

Black Bean Quesadillas w/ PDG & [Makes 4 Servings]

2 cans black beans, drained
2 small onions, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, diced
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1.5 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
Cayenne, to taste
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup shredded Vegan cheese (optional)

4 flour tortillas

3 medium tomatoes, quartered
1 small red onion, quartered
1 garlic clove, finely diced
2-3 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
Juice of 1/2 a lime (and more to taste)

Preparation:

Heat a pan on medium-high heat. Add ½ the oil, and sauté onions until translucent then add garlic, continuing to sauté until the onions caramelize slightly. Add the black beans and sauté together until heated through. Add water and stir in the cumin, pepper, salt, and cayenne. Bring to a boil and cook until most of the water has evaporated (this allows the beans to break down a little).

In a large pan (large enough to hold one tortilla), heat remaining oil on med-high heat. Place one flour tortilla in the pan and sprinkle vegan cheese on half (if using). Spoon ¼ of black beans onto the same half and fold over, allowing the bottom to brown, about 4 minutes. Flip over to brown the other side, another 4 minutes. Follow the same directions for the 3 remaining tortillas, adding more oil if needed. Place each complete quesadilla onto a plate.

Meanwhile, add in the red onion, tomatoes, garlic, cilantro, and lime juice in a food processor. Pulse until the contents are evenly chopped and begin to look like fresh, delicious salsa.
Serve immediately with prepared quesadillas.