Quinoa Spaghetti with Pecan-Crusted Seitan and Kale

This was one big plate of yum! This is the pecan-crusted seitan from The Kind Diet (her recipe comes from Candle 79) that I had wanted to make the other day, but didn't have the time. It was the weekend, so three hours of marinating time was just fine. I served the seitan over quinoa spaghetti noodles and simple marinara sauce from Veganomicon. For the kale I just sauteed it with a tiny bit of peanut oil, then added garlic powder, soy sauce and a splash of mirin. I ended up changing the seitan recipe quite a bit because some things I didn't have on hand (orange juice) and for others the amounts just seemed wasteful (the marinade and the dry mixture for dredging before frying). Here's my take:

Pecan-Crusted Seitan

serves 4

2 loaves seitan from Viva Vegan! (1/2 recipe, about 1 pound), cut into 1/4-1/2 inch slices

1 6oz can tomato paste
1/4 cup umeboshi vinegar
1/4 cup red wine
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup soy sauce
10 garlic cloves, peeled
1 tablespoon dried Italian Herb mix (rosemary, oregano, basil, whatever strikes your fancy)
1 tablespoon dried tarragon

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup ground pecans (I blended in the dry container of my Vita Mix)
1 tsp dried Italian herbs of choice

olive oil, for frying

1. Combine tomato paste through tarragon in a blender and blend until smooth. Transfer marinade to a dish and add seitan slices. Coat on all sides. Cover and place in fridge for at least 3 hours.
2. After marinating, combine flour, salt, pepper, pecans, and herbs in a small bowl.
3. Heat oil in a cast-iron skillet (enough to cover bottom).
4. Dredge seitan pieces in dry mixture and coat on all sides. Add to skillet and sautee until golden brown on both sides.

These were fantastic and tasted great over pasta. Enjoy!

Risotto with Oyster Mushrooms, Leeks, and Green Peas and Ume-Drizzled Baby Bok Choy

I had another little ingredient mishap in the kitchen with this risotto dish from The Kind Diet. Arborio rice is something I usually have on hand, so when I went to the store after work I picked up all the fresh stuff needed and headed home. When I went to cook, the jar I keep the Arborio in was empty...I opted instead to make this a brown rice risotto (which Alicia suggests, but offers no additional directions). Had I known that was what I was going to be doing before starting I think that this would have gone much better. I would have cooked the brown rice first, then added the other ingredients, but alas I had already started before realizing I was going to be needing to use brown rice. So, I added liquid like Arborio and let it cook for a bit, then added more, it took forever and I was out of liquid (5 cups!) before my one cup of rice was even cooked all the way through. I just served it al dente, so it was a bit disappointing. The flavor was good, but not as good as other risottos I've had so I don't think I'd revisit this one. Instead of fresh mushrooms I used dried (a mix of oyster and others) and added the water I used to rehydrate them to my water that was used for the rice. I also used additional leek in lieu of onion because I already had it chopped up and I like leeks.

The bok choy however was amazing. It was lightly steamed then tossed with ume vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, black pepper, and toasted sesame seeds. I will definitely be preparing bok choy this way again. Super yummy.

Seitan and Broccoli in Spicy Orange Sauce

So, I made my own seitan! For the first time ever! I'd been a little intimidated, but after hearing that it really is easy and since it's so expensive in the stores, I went for it. I followed the recipe for the red seitan from Viva Vegan! to fabulous results. It's a little messy in the beginning, but then I ended up with 4 loaves like the one above. It was absolutely delicious. So much more flavor than the packaged variety, a better texture too. I'm converted, I will always make this from scratch now if possible.

My original plan for dinner was to make pecan-crusted seitan from The Kind Diet (on loan from the library), but that needed to marinate for three hours and I just didn't have the time for that. I did plan accordingly later in the week, so that will be coming up.


Instead I made the seitan in spicy orange sauce from Vegan Fire & Spice. I steamed some broccoli and threw that in near the end as well. This dish was nice and simple, tasted great over rice, but was nothing amazing. I would have liked if the sauce got a little thicker. It had corn starch in to thicken it, which it did, but it was still pretty runny even after cooking for a bit. I didn't want to overcook the broccoli that I had already added, so I pulled it off and served it as is. I also didn't think this was spicy at all, so I added sriracha to mine.