Seitan Holiday Roast

This is one of my favorite versions of seitan. It is time consuming, so I don't make it very often. I call it a "holiday roast", because I tend to make it for special occasions. However, it is a great recipe to make any time of the year. The seitan comes out very moist and can be used a variety of ways (cold or warm). It freezes nicely as well.

First:
Pre-heat oven 325 degrees

Second:
Blend the following ingredients (I used a medium size bowl & an immersion blender, but you can use a food processor or a blender)
~ 1 box silken FIRM tofu
~1.5 cups water
~ 3 Tablespoons soy sauce (or Tamari)
~1 Tablespoons Olive Oil

Third:
In a large mixing bowl, combine the following ingredients (stir thoroughly)
~ 2 cups vital wheat gluten
~ 1/2 cup nutritional yeast  powder (flakes are fine too)
~ 1/2 cup garbanzo bean flour or soy flour (Bob's Red Mill makes both)
~ 2 tsp onion powder
~ 1 tsp garlic powder
~ 1/4 tsp white pepper (optional)

Fourth:
Combine wet ingredients with dry. Mix with spoon to get all the dried bits into the dough. Knead dough until all ingredients are combined. Let dough sit while you do the following....

Fifth:
Mix the following ingredients together for the basting broth..........(you can use the bowl from the wet ingredients)
~ 2 cups hot water (or warn enough to dissolve a bouillon cube)
~ 1 faux chicken bouillon cube (I get these at Food Fight)
~ 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
~ 1 Tablespoon Sesame Oil (if you don't have this, just use Olive Oil......but why don't you have this?? Your kitchen NEEDS this!!)
~1 Tablespoon No-Salt seasoning (I use the organic seasoning from Costco that has a blend of various spices)
~1 Tablespoon garlic powder

Sixth:
Knead Dough for about two or three minutes. Place dough into a LARGE roasting pan and stretch dough to fit the entire bottom of pan. Pour all of the basting broth over the dough. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake in oven for 1.5 hours. Remove from oven, cut roast in half and flip over in pan. You should still have plenty of basting broth. Cover with foil and bake for approximately 1.5 more hours. Be sure to check on it periodically to make sure there is still basting broth left. 


When done, there should be very little basting broth left (if any). The seitan tastes better the next day, so you can make this a day ahead and rewarm by using a little broth. The seitan can be sliced as a roast but can be chopped cold in a salad, fried with batter, etc. It is extremely versatile. 

Corn Pudding (side dish)

I made this side dish for ThanksLiving and it was a big hit. I've had several people ask me for my recipe. It is gluten-free and soy-free. Veganomicon has a yummy Southwestern Corn Pudding (pg. 151), which I LOVE and highly recommend. However, for ThanksLiving I wanted something that was similar to the maize pudding I sampled as a child on a field trip to Plymouth Rock. Therefore, I modified the recipe to emulate the flavors and textures I remember from that cold day in New England back in 1976.

So, here's how I made it....

First....
~Turn on your oven to 350 degrees
~Sauté two bags of frozen organic sweet corn in a skillet w/ a little olive oil. Cook until corn starts to get a little browned from caramelization. 


Meanwhile......in a large mixing bowl......combine the following dry ingredients....
~1/4 cup corn starch
~1/4 cup corn flour (Bob's Red Mill makes this)
~1/2 cup cornmeal
~1 tsp salt
~cayenne pepper (add according to your liking or leave out)

Then........Add the following to the bowl and mix
~the sautéed corn
~1 can light coconut milk (Trader Joe's sells this for about a buck)
~2 tablespoons REAL maple syrup
~(for sweeter pudding, add a little agave)

Pour into casserole dish and cook uncovered for 40 minutes. Let cool for approximately 10 minutes before serving. Tastes good cold, but I prefer it warm.