Lemon Pepper Chicken and Broccoli over Fettuchini Alfredo

Original recipe: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Chicken-and-Broccoli-Alfredo-533

Seitan and Broccoli:

1/2 c wheat gluten
2T nutritional yeast
1T curry
1T cumin
1t sage
1t thyme

2 heads of broccoli

Mix 1 T braggs in 1c measuring cup, fill up with water and slowly add to wheat gluten mix until doughy. You wont use all of the water (I like to have extra water just in case)

Place seitan in large pot of water, boil and then simmer for 45 minutes. Drain and squeeze out extra water.

cover rimmed baking sheet with 1T olive oil and juice from half of a lemon. rip off pieces of seitan, stretch out to make chicken strip shapes and put on pan. cook at 350 for 15 minutes uncovered, flip seitan, cook for 5 more minutes while getting broccoli ready. add broccoli, 2T black peppercorn, more olive oil and more lemon juice, cover with tin foil and bake for 10 more minutes at 400*

Pasta:
A couple handfuls of fettuchini noodles
A bunch of water!

Boil pasta while making the sauce.

Monterey Jack Alfredo Sauce:

1 package silken tofu
6 cloves garlic
1/2 c nutritional yeast
3T olive oil
1 C cashews
1/2 of a lemon juiced
1T tahini
1t onion powder
1t mustard
1/2 c unflavored soy milk

Blend all ingredients. Heat in sauce pan.

Parmesan:
1/4 c nutritional yeast
1/4 c almonds

Blend

To serve, place pasta on dish, top with chicken and broccoli, pour sauce over, sprinkle with parmesan.

Popcorn Shrimp

1/2 cup whole unsalted cashews, soaked 8 hours (or overnight)
1/3 cup flour
half a sheet of nori, finely chopped (optional)
3/4 tsp salt
large pinch of pepper
large pinch of paprika
1/3 cup water
oil, for deep frying

Heat oil to 180 C / 350F. Drain the soaked cashews.

Mix flour, nori, salt, pepper and paprika in a bowl. Add water and whisk until smooth. Stir in cashews. Drop one at a time (so they don't stick together) into hot oil and fry for 2-3 minutes, or until golden. Drain on paper towels. Serve hot.

Sweet & Sour Pork

This is a vegan version of the Americanized version of Sweet & Sour Pork. If you want a more authentic Chinese version, don't make this one.

For the Sweet & Sour Sauce:
1 440g (15oz.?) can of pineapple rings in juice (NOT syrup!)
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar*
1/4 cup water
3 Tbsp ketchup
3 Tbsp brown sugar
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tsp grated ginger
1 Tbsp cornstarch or arrowroot

Drain pineapple, reserving juice. Set aside pineapple rings, combine remaining ingredients (including pineapple juice...there should be 1/2-2/3 cup of juice), and simmer or microwave until thickened. You can add some red food coloring if you want that unnaturally bright color you see at restaurants.
*Disclaimer: This sauce is a little more sour than sweet. If you want it sweeter, decrease the vinegar and/or add more sugar to taste.


For the "Pork":
360g (0.75lb) seitan (I used the whole batch of this recipe: http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=7545.0)
3/4 cup self-raising flour
3/4 cup water
1/2 tsp salt
flour, for coating
oil, for deep frying

Cut seitan into 1-inch chunks. Fill a pan about 3 inches deep with oil and heat to 375 F/185 C (if you happen to have a deep frying thermometer. Otherwise, just guess). Whisk together the self-raising flour, water, and salt. Toss seitan pieces in flour, then dip in batter and fry in batches until golden, about 2-3 mins per batch. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels or a wire rack.

For the rest:
the pineapple rings that you set aside while making sauce
1 green bell pepper
2 carrots
Rice, for serving

Roughly chop the pineapple and green pepper and slice the carrots. Stir fry on medium-high until hot but barely cooked. Spoon veggies over rice, top with "pork", and pour sauce over all.

Serves 4-6

Vegan Clam Chowder

scant 3/4 cup diced yellow onion
1/3 cup finely diced celery (about one stalk)
4 slices Yves' Deli-Style "Ham", diced
6 Tbsp Earth Balance margarine
6 Tbsp flour
1/2 tsp powdered sage
1 lb. Dutch creamer potatoes (or any other variety), cubed
4 oz Tofutti cream cheese (1/2 container)
1 1/4 cups unsweetened soymilk
2.5 cups water plus 1.5 packets (12 g) konbu dashi stock seasoning
(or 2.5 cups liquid konbu dashi stock*)
2 cups diced oyster mushrooms
fresh chives, for garnish

In a medium bowl, whisk together the soymilk and cream cheese - there will still be little bits of cream cheese, but it should mostly mix. Set aside.

Sauté the onion and celery in 2 Tbsp of the Earth Balance over medium-low heat until soft and lightly browned. Add the sage and "ham" and sauté until fragrant (about 1 minute). Add the rest of the Earth Balance and flour to make a roux. Once the flour has been lightly toasted, add the water, dashi seasoning, and potatoes, and bring to a boil. Turn down to simmer (and stir often to prevent the flour from burning), until the potatoes are soft, about 10 minutes. Add the soymilk/Tofutti mixture and oyster mushrooms. Return to a boil and then simmer for about 10 more minutes, until the mushrooms are soft and the soup is thick. Add salt to taste, and garnish with chives.

For an even "fishier" flavor, you can add flaked dulse to taste at any point in cooking.

Serves four.

* recipe for home-made dashi stock: http://japanesefood.about.com/od/soup/r/konbudashi.htm If using this, use the same amount of kelp but only 2.5 cups water (not 4 cups as stated) to make a more concentrated broth.

Gyros

Seitan:
1/2 c wheat gluten
2T nutritional yeast
2T oregano
1T lemon pepper
1T cumin
1t sage
1t thyme

1T braggs + water

1T olive oil
juice of 1/2 lemon

Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl, mix wet ingredients in a 1c measuring cup. Slowly pour liquid into dry until doughy. Put seitan in a pot of water, bring to a boil and simmer for 45 minutes. Drain seitan and squeeze out extra water. Rip seitan into long bite sized strips. Bake uncovered in pan with olive oil and lemon juice at 350* for 15 minutes, flip seitan, bake for another 15 minutes.

Tzaziki sauce:

3/4c sour cream, nayonaise or yogurt
1/3c chopped cucumber
as much garlic as you can handle
juice from half of a lemon
salt

French fries:
2 potatoes
canola or vegetable oil

Slice potatoes into french fry form. Fry in oil. Dry on paper towels to take out as much oil as possible.

Sandwich (put together in this order):
Pita bread
French fries
Seitan
Tzaziki sauce
Tomatoes chopped

Beenie Weenies

1 can pinto beans
1 tomato
1/2 onion
1/2 pound Seitan
Basil
olive oil
3 TBSP BBQ sauce
choice of meat seasoning(pork is preferred)

Sautee onion and Seitan in a pan with poultry seasoning and just enough OLIVE OIL TO COVER pan.

wash and drain beans. add to Seitan and turn off heat.

Meanwhile, dice tomato and mix with just enough Olive oil to cover them. add BBQ sauce and more seasoning to taste.

Once tomatoes have gotten mushy, add beans to tomatoes and stir over medium heat until combined.

Chocolate cake (with a vegan twist)

½ cup melted Earth Balance spread

1 cup Florida crystals (or other white sugar)

¼ cup vegan brown sugar

2½ teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1½ teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups finely shredded zucchini

½ cup water

Frosting
5 tablespoons Earth Balance
¼ cup vegan powdered sugar
~ 2 teaspoons non-dairy milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
¼ cup cocoa powder

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9x13 inch baking pan.

2. For cake, mix together the melted Earth Balance, sugars and vanilla until well blended. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; stir into the sugar mixture. Fold in the zucchini, and mix in water. Spread evenly into the prepared pan.

3. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until the cake springs back when gently touched.
   

4. For the frosting, cream the Earth Balance and powdered sugar with whisk or mixer. Add the cocoa and vanilla. Whisk in non-dairy milk (a teaspoon at a time) until frosting is desired consistency.

Vegan Clams!

In thinking up my favorite family dish to veganize I found myself torn between two old favorites; my mother's very basic clam dip or my Nana's linguine and clam sauce. To that end I created something versatile enough to be used for both and much much more!

Seitan Clams.
Ingredients
1/2 cup Vital Wheat Gluten
1/4 cup Garbanzo Flour
2 tsp Seaweed - I crumbled half a sheet of toasted nori
1 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast Flakes
1 tsp Garlic powder
1 tsp Onion powder
1 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Celery Seed
1/4 tsp ground Mustard
1/2 tsp Lemon Pepper - no salt variety is best
2 tsp Malt Vinegar (can use Brown Rice Vinegar as well), separated
1 tsp HP Sauce or vegan Worchestiershire Sauce
2 tsp Lemon Juice
1/8 tsp Maramite
3 cups and 6 Tbsp Water, separated
1 Vegetable Bullion Cube or Watered down stock at a 2:1 ration water to stock

Directions
Bring the 3 cups of water, 1 tsp vinegar and the bullion to a low simmer in a 2 quart pot. Combine the dry ingredients and whisk together. Combine the rest of the wet ingredients and whisk to blend it thoroughly. Mix the small wet mixture into the dry to incorporate well. Kneed for 2-4 minutes. Drop by flattened and pinched pieces into the slowly simmering broth. These should be about the size of your thumbnail and flat. Simmer in the broth for five minutes. Turn off the heat and allow to cool in the broth for 15-30 minutes.

At this point you have a chewy small mouthful vaguely resembling the sea flavor of clams. You can utilize them in a multitude of recipes as noted below!

Mom's Clam Dip
Ingredients
Half a batch of Seitan Clams, minced if desired
1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
2 tsp Garlic Salt
8 oz Tofutti Better than Cream Cheese, softened

Directions
Blend all the ingredients together well, stirring the cream cheese well first then incorporating everything else. Serve with Wheat Thins or Fritos.


Nana's Linguine and Clam Sauce
Ingredients
1 batch Seitan Clams, minced if desired
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 cup Onion, minced
1/4 cup Garlic, fresh minced
1/4 cup Earth Balance Margarine
1/2 cup Seitan Clams broth liquid
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Pepper
2 tsp Lemon Juice
8 oz linguine or other pasta of choice
1 -2 cups water

Directions
Make the clams and removed them with a slotted spoon to reserve for later. Ladel out half a cup of the broth and reserve this for later as well. Bring the cool broth up to a boil, adding 1-2 cups of water if needed. Cook the pasta in this watered down broth. Saute the onion in the oil until translucent. Add the garlic and saute a minute more but do not brown! Add the butter, clams and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the broth a bit at a time to make enough sauce to coat the pasta. Once the pasta is cooked move it with a slotted spoon or tongs into the clam pan. Shake and flip to combine the two well. Season with salt, pepper and lemon. Serve hot and garnish with lemon slices.


The best thing about these clams are that they do not have that rubbery or gritty tooth feel. They are lightly chewy with a hint of ocean from the seaweed but mostly just a rich flavor from the broth. You can also fry these rather than simmer them, making them a great appeziter to pop right in your mouth or dunk into tartar sauce. I also envision the ability to make clam chowder, adding these at the very end to make a realistic addition.

Steak Stew

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:
2 tbs. olive oil
12 oz. of your favorite steak strip substitute, chopped into bite-sized pieces
1/2 c. onion, coarsely chopped
8 oz. mushrooms, sliced
1 c. frozen peas
1 c. carrots, cut into 1/4 inch rounds
1 c. celery, cut into 1/4 inch pieces
1.5 c. potatoes, cut into 1/4 inch cubes (I used a mix of red, yukon gold, and russian blue)
8 c. favorite mushroom soup (I used Imagine Organic - 2 boxes)
1 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. garlic granules
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. dried parsley
salt to taste
optional: for a creamier soup, stir in a few tablespoons of vegan sour cream before serving

Directions:
Heat oil in a large Dutch oven or soup pot until shimmering. When the oil is ready, add the steak strips and onions, cooking until onions begin to brown. Add mushrooms and stir until mushrooms begin to give up liquid. Add remaining ingredients and simmer until potatoes are tender (about 30 minutes). Check seasonings and add 'sour cream', if desired. Serve with a salad and garlic bread.

Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Scallops

Scallops:
1 block (12oz) Tofu, firm but not frozen
1/4 c Earth Balance Margarine, softened
1/2 t Miso paste
1/2 t Lemon Pepper
1/2 t Salt
1 t Lemon Juice
1 T Vegetable Oil
1 Vegetable bullion cube
1/4 c Seaweed, crumbled
1 c Water

Directions for Scallops:
Blend the margarine, miso, lemon pepper, salt, and lemon juice into a thick paste. Cut the tofu into thick blocks and cut into circles with a biscut cutter, washed can or shot glass. Spread the paste all over the tofu circles and let sit 30 minutes in the fridge. After that time bring the oil to medium heat in a grill pan and add the scallops. Sear on both flat sides until golden. Add the bullion, seaweed and water and poach in the hot liquid for 10 minutes, stirring and spooning the broth around and over the tofu. Remove the tofu and strain the liquid to use in something else, like a side dish or vegetable. Return the pan to the stove and return to medium heat.

Seafoodesque Stuffing:
1 c Tofu Scraps made from cutting the circles out
1 c Garbanzo beans, cooked and drained
1 T Veganaise Mayo
1 t Garlic powder
1 t Onion powder
1 t Brown Rice Vinegar
1 t Lemon Juice
1 t Lemon Pepper
1/2 t Mustard powder
1/2 t Celery seed
1/2 t Mustard seed
1/2 t Basil
1/2 t Smoked Spanish Paprika

Directions for Stuffing:
Mash together well and set aside.
(Note: This makes a lot more than is needed by the scallops above. Reuse the rest by adding more condiments and enjoy!)


Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Scallops
1 or more batches of soaked, browned and poached scallops.
1 batch Seafoodesque Stuffing
1 package Smart Bacon by LiteLife
2 t Vegetable Oil

Insert the stuffing into the scallops by cutting halfway through the poached circles and inserting a small amount with a spoon. Press the flat sides together, compressing the stuffing slightly. Wrap the bacon strips around the circumfirence of the scallop and secure with a toothpick. Shallow fry the bacon on the edges in the oil until browned all over and crispy. Remove the toothpicks before serving!