It's hard for me to not make a pun every time I write the word "seitan" (I still hope I can come up with a recipe to justify "Seitanic Verses" but "gluten" is almost as bad (Glutenous Maximus) and also suggests the sound of something thick and viscous oozing down the side of a bowl.
So guess what I had for dinner last night!
Standard seitan recipe with about 3 Tbs chili powder and 1 tsp whole cumin seed mixed into 2/3 cup of gluten. Then I added some cold stock with a couple of dashes of vegan Worcestershire Sauce. Then I kneaded it. steamed it and fried about half of it as a small steak for a sandwich. Some of my tofu spread mixed with a spoonful of Skhug kept it from being too dry.
I found a wonderful benefit to putting my stock in a bottle in the refrigerator. My wife jumps to the conclusion that the dark liquid is ice coffee. Considering the amount of cream and sugar she uses, I suppose it tastes nearly the same.
Dec 13, 2011
Dec 11, 2011
Day 63/240: Damn, Damn, Damn!
There's a little restaurant in Ipswich that I really like. Since I have chosen to be herbivorous, I have only been there for lunch. They have some good sandwiches that fit my needs.
This afternoon my wife and I were out on some errands and decided that, damn the expense, we'd have a second dinner out this week.
When we got the dinner menus, I got a bit of a jolt. After five there were only three choices that could be considered vegan. One was a side salad and the other two were pastas. I decided that there wasn't enough egg in the pasta to distress me too much and I ordered Eggplant Ravioli. It was described as: "Filled with roasted eggplant, roasted garlic, red peppers and olives. Topped with pimavera sauce."
I was hungry but, on about the third ravioli, I realized that something wasn't right. I checked and realized that what they had served me was a dish of ricotta-filled ravioli in a primavera sauce that was filled with chunks of eggplant. I ate the sauce.
So, once again my diet has been compromised. I figure that I probably ingested about 2 tablespoons of cheese. It's not the end of the world, just damned irritating. I mean ... I like this place and they lied to me.
Anyway, I was still hungry when we got home so I made myself another hummus roll-up.
No agonizing this time. I am NOT going to reset for such a trivial amount of cheese. I just have to be more diligent.
This afternoon my wife and I were out on some errands and decided that, damn the expense, we'd have a second dinner out this week.
When we got the dinner menus, I got a bit of a jolt. After five there were only three choices that could be considered vegan. One was a side salad and the other two were pastas. I decided that there wasn't enough egg in the pasta to distress me too much and I ordered Eggplant Ravioli. It was described as: "Filled with roasted eggplant, roasted garlic, red peppers and olives. Topped with pimavera sauce."
I was hungry but, on about the third ravioli, I realized that something wasn't right. I checked and realized that what they had served me was a dish of ricotta-filled ravioli in a primavera sauce that was filled with chunks of eggplant. I ate the sauce.
So, once again my diet has been compromised. I figure that I probably ingested about 2 tablespoons of cheese. It's not the end of the world, just damned irritating. I mean ... I like this place and they lied to me.
Anyway, I was still hungry when we got home so I made myself another hummus roll-up.
No agonizing this time. I am NOT going to reset for such a trivial amount of cheese. I just have to be more diligent.
Day 62/240: Chickpea Curry
Stuporific day. Unable to overcome inertia. Threw cooked chickpeas and leftover rice in skillet with onion, garlic, and oil. Sprinkled curry powder on top. Stirred. Added stock. Spooned into a bowl. Topped with shreds of raw carrot and zucchini. Ate. Watched a movie. Went to bed.
Day 61/240: Roasted Beets and Cheela
This was not my finest meal, but it did teach me some interesting things.
First let's talk about the cheela. This is an Indian pancake made with gram (chickpea flour) and seasoned with some turmeric, garam masala, cayenne, etc. and mixed with about an equal amount of water. Then I added some shredded turnip and finely diced onion, mixed it well and spooned it into a skillet on medium high heat.
There were some problems. I was chintzy with the water and made the batter too thick. I added way too much vegetables (by volume). Last, but not least, medium high, on my stove is too hot.
I ended up with cheela that were too thick; crisp and brown on the outside and runny and underdone on the inside. I can correct these and I'll try again next week. If it works better I'll post a formal recipe.
About the beets ... (TMI alert)
I have had a significant UTI in the not so distant past. It was, therefore, disconcerting and a bit frightening when I started producing bright red urine. It took me several minutes to remember the beets that I had sliced and roasted as an accompaniment the the pancakes. I headed for the computer and soon had my mind relieved ... but then reading further I realized that beets were also high in oxalic acid and I have a history of kidney stones.
It looks to me as if the pretty red root is going to have to join rhubarb and spinach in my "Forbidden Food File".
First let's talk about the cheela. This is an Indian pancake made with gram (chickpea flour) and seasoned with some turmeric, garam masala, cayenne, etc. and mixed with about an equal amount of water. Then I added some shredded turnip and finely diced onion, mixed it well and spooned it into a skillet on medium high heat.
There were some problems. I was chintzy with the water and made the batter too thick. I added way too much vegetables (by volume). Last, but not least, medium high, on my stove is too hot.
I ended up with cheela that were too thick; crisp and brown on the outside and runny and underdone on the inside. I can correct these and I'll try again next week. If it works better I'll post a formal recipe.
About the beets ... (TMI alert)
I have had a significant UTI in the not so distant past. It was, therefore, disconcerting and a bit frightening when I started producing bright red urine. It took me several minutes to remember the beets that I had sliced and roasted as an accompaniment the the pancakes. I headed for the computer and soon had my mind relieved ... but then reading further I realized that beets were also high in oxalic acid and I have a history of kidney stones.
It looks to me as if the pretty red root is going to have to join rhubarb and spinach in my "Forbidden Food File".
Day 60/240: Hummus Roll-ups with Skhug Yarok
I made a supply of hummus today. A pound of cooked chickpeas formed the base to which I added 2 Tbs of tahini, about 1/4 cup olive oil, a tsp of ground cumin, a dash of cayenne, and four minced cloves of garlic. This should last me a couple of days.
Then, for the very first time I made Skhug Yarok. This is the hot green sauce that you get at traditional felafel stands. The last time I had some was in Israel many years ago. Someone reminded me of the sauce and some searching got me a couple of excellent recipes which I tweaked very slightly.
DAMN that stuff is good. It is going to be my new "go to" condiment, and the recipe is dead simple, it's just a pesto that substitutes green chilis for the cheese.
Skhug Yarok
Ingredients
Preparation
I purchased some tomato-basil flatbreads and spread the hummus down the middle of one, added some avocado slices, a little tomato, and a beautiful green stripe of Skhug Yarok.
Bliss, my friends ... just bliss.
Then, for the very first time I made Skhug Yarok. This is the hot green sauce that you get at traditional felafel stands. The last time I had some was in Israel many years ago. Someone reminded me of the sauce and some searching got me a couple of excellent recipes which I tweaked very slightly.
DAMN that stuff is good. It is going to be my new "go to" condiment, and the recipe is dead simple, it's just a pesto that substitutes green chilis for the cheese.
Skhug Yarok
Ingredients
- 1 bunch cilantro
- 6-8 hot green peppers (choose them to your own capsaicin tolerance)
- 6-8 cloves of garlic
- 2 tsps cumin seed
- 2 tsps coriander seed
- 1 tsp black peppercorn
- 2 tsps cardamom seed
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 2/3 tsp salt
- EV olive oil
Preparation
- Wash the cilantro and let it drip dry while you ...
- Clean and seed the peppers.
- Toast coriander, cardamom, and cumin seed.
- Grind all seeds in a suribachi or mortar.
- Mince garlic.
- Put everything into a food processor.
- Process to a paste adding a small amount of olive oil until your preferred consistency is reached.
I purchased some tomato-basil flatbreads and spread the hummus down the middle of one, added some avocado slices, a little tomato, and a beautiful green stripe of Skhug Yarok.
Bliss, my friends ... just bliss.
Day 59/240: Dinner out
Having dinner out is turning into a bit more of a challenge than I thought it would be. Our favorite local restaurant has very few choices that exclude animal products. When we went out to dinner on
Wednesday, I ended up having an interesting but lackluster "hummus" made with edamame. It was an interesting idea, but I probably would have enjoyed it more if my expectations hadn't been set by the name. The edamame ground up with the chickpeas gave it the consistency of one of those particulate coleslaw recipes so favored by clam shacks in New England. It was good and surprising, but the part that was good was not surprising, and the part that was surprising wasn't all that good.
For the other part of dinner I had vegetable spring rolls: rice wrappers filled with asparagus, basil, mint, cucumbers, carrots, rice noodles and cilantro pesto, chilled and served with peanut dipping sauce. These were very good but they will get a little wearing with repetition.
I guess the entire dinner was flavored with bitter tears as I realized that I had just eaten two of the three choices available that would fit my diet.
Wednesday, I ended up having an interesting but lackluster "hummus" made with edamame. It was an interesting idea, but I probably would have enjoyed it more if my expectations hadn't been set by the name. The edamame ground up with the chickpeas gave it the consistency of one of those particulate coleslaw recipes so favored by clam shacks in New England. It was good and surprising, but the part that was good was not surprising, and the part that was surprising wasn't all that good.
For the other part of dinner I had vegetable spring rolls: rice wrappers filled with asparagus, basil, mint, cucumbers, carrots, rice noodles and cilantro pesto, chilled and served with peanut dipping sauce. These were very good but they will get a little wearing with repetition.
I guess the entire dinner was flavored with bitter tears as I realized that I had just eaten two of the three choices available that would fit my diet.
Day 58/240: Repetition
Tuesday night I had a simple stir-fry over rice. It was nothing exceptional, just a good meal.
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