QUICK SEITAN RECIPE

300g baked seitan - enough for two Sunday roasts

I needed some seitan for the coming week, so I thought I'd cook some up whilst the oven was on for a Sunday roast. (More seitan info.)

I used leftover spicy tomato sauce (from pizza-making yesterday), as a base.

Recipe:
200g vital wheat gluten
4 dessertspoons nutritional yeast (nooch)
2 teaspoons bouillon powder
2 dessertspoons curry powder (I like a lot of heat - add to taste)

Plus:
200g homemade tomato sauce - made with a tin of tomatoes, blitzed, with mushroom sauce, soy sauce, vegan pesto (Marigold), Lingham's chilli sauce, mixed herbs.

Method:
Mix the dry ingredients, then add 150g of this to the tomato sauce. Stirring with a table knife, I found this was too wet, so I added another 25g of powder. It was still too wet, so another 25g of powder were added - then I kneaded this into a dough.

300g of this were pressed into a small, oiled, roasting dish and baked, with a lid, for 30 minutes - whilst the oven was on for the roast potatoes, etc.

Cut into two pieces, one half for tonight's dinner, and the other in the freezer.

For Sunday dinner I have one of these halves, sliced, with some of the tomato sauce instead of gravy. The half in the freezer could be next Sunday's dinner or, chopped into chunks, become part of a chilli non carne.

The other 150g I rolled out into a cutlet Notes:
This made 450g of seitan, the other 150g, pressed out into a circle about 10cm across and dry-fried for about 7-8 minutes each side, will make a seitan cutlet, which I will have for dinner tomorrow along with some curried potato wedges.

You get a more even thickness if you use a rolling pin - don't believe those other websites which tell you that this makes it tough - not true. 

I had about 40g of the flavoured vital wheat gluten left. I've found it's always better to make more than you need, it saves having to flavour another 25g, then perhaps another 25g. I put the leftover in an old spice tub which I keep in the bag of gluten flour, so it's there next time I want to make seitan.

GIVING UP SUGAR - HARDER THAN GIVING UP ALCOHOL

Thursday 24th November 2016

Still in the zone - every meal I have without something sweet afterwards makes it easier. I was in Lidl today, and, although I bought a box of Turkish Delight for Christmas, I left the other stuff well alone. This is a first for me! :)

Saturday 19th November 2016
Well, it's only been one week, now - and I'm astonished! 

In that time I've had 4 squares of dark chocolate and several pieces of a homemade fruit soda bread - eaten as part of dinner.

My mouth no longer tells me it wants something sweet after a meal - it just doesn't! My desire for sweet stuff is getting easier every day.

This afternoon I made this 'cake in a mug' for my grandson - and I wasn't tempted in the slightest. 

So does it take just 7 days to ween oneself off sugar? I'm only a study of one, of course, but it does look very hopeful.

Thinking about it, what I was doing previously was a bit like a cigarette smoker trying to give up by smoking less - it just doesn't work. Every time you have another cigarette, you're reinforcing the nicotine addiction. Every time you have a biscuit/sweet/etc, you're reinforcing the sugar addiction.

Thoughts?

Saturday 12th November 2016
As regular readers may remember, for the past several months, I've been trying to give up - or severely cut down on - alcohol, sugar and snacking in the evening, using the 2:5 method.

I'm now down to 1 pint of stout and a small glass on wine on one day a week, and I only have a late night snack on Saturdays. But sugar has been a far harder nut to crack. I have cut out all snacking between meals, and only eating any treats after lunch or dinner. Once I start, however, despite all the tips I've learned over the past 4+ years, I'm not always able to stop.

The lead up to Xmas I find particularly difficult; Lidl have now introduced their Xmas fare, which includes several vegan treats including chocolate covered marzipan, chocolate liqueurs, marzipan fruits and Turkish delight. In previous years I've gone to town on these, reasoning that, since they're not available year-round, I should fill my boots, as it were. This year I've been more circumspect, but I still have all these goodies to hand, albeit in smaller quantities.

However, this still didn't square with my stated aim of giving up sugar.

Finally, last Saturday, I thought, right, time to take drastic(ish) action. I bundled up all my goodies in a plastic bag and threw them on top of a tall kitchen cupboard*. All I've had since then has been 2 squares of dark chocolate (I find it easy to stop after one square) - one on Sunday and one yesterday. Since I'm fasting, no chocolate for me today.

Although it's only been three days, I really feel that a corner has been turned.

IS VEGAN THE NEW VIAGRA?

Basically, men who consume meat have lower testosterone levels than their vegan counterparts, take more medications for diet-related conditions, suffer from diminished sexual performance, potency, and erectile dysfunction, are subject to smaller or deformed genitalia in utero, inclined to halitosis/body odor, have enlarged prostates which makes urinating difficult, and tend to be overweight/obese - which elevates oestrogen levels. As Dr. McDougall says, "Now isn't eating meat a manly thing to do!"

(Source)

(See WHY A WHOLE FOOD PLANT-BASED DIET IS ESSENTIAL)

BREADMAKING SESSIONS with the Taunton Association for the Homeless (TAH)

Wednesday 19th October 2016
2 students today, Becky again and her friend (whose name I've temporarily forgotten) made pizzas:

Pizza no. 1 for Becky

And pizza number 2.
When making the dough she added too much water, so she had to add a fair amount of flour to make it into a manageable dough - enough for two pizzas!

Becky's friend's pizza - nibbled a little bit.

She also made this fruit loaf in a frying pan.

Becky didn't make a fruit loaf, saying she didn't like sultanas. However, when she tasted the fruit loaf her friend had made - she really enjoyed it. 

2ND VEGAN BREADMAKING COURSE at The Planet Cafe, Taunton

Tuesday 20th September 2016
Arrived late tonight - traffic in Taunton was pretty well grid-locked, due to Station Road closing to allow a new bridge being placed in position. A couple of the students were also late - but with breadmaking being such an easy activity, we soon got back on track.

Focaccia and Chelseas tonight:

Not sure who loaf this belonged to - but it's a well-risen loaf

Another good loaf - and this time I can identify it to Sarah H

(Note: I ask the students to place an initial on top of each batch of bread - for two reasons; firstly, so the students can be re-united with their own bread - but also so that I can identify these breads when I'm putting these pics up on here.)

FANCY DINNER ROLLS AND SHAPES

Ingredients:
200g or 1 mug strong flour – either all white or a mix of white and wholemeal

¼ teaspoon salt

125ml or 1/3rd mug lukewarm water

1 tsp yeast, fresh or dried

Method:

1 Measure the water and stir in the yeast. Place the flour and salt into a mixing bowl and pour in the yeast liquid.

2 Have a little water to hand to add if necessary, remember, it is better for your dough to be wetter (slack) rather than drier (tight). Begin to mix by stirring the ingredients together with a knife, cutting through the dough as it forms. When it gets too stiff for the knife, use your hand to squeeze the mixture together. As it forms into a solid mass, keep turning it over and pressing it down to pick up the flour at the bottom of the bowl – but make sure it stays soft. Don’t be afraid to add more water to keep it soft! When all the flour has been mixed in, wipe the bowl around with the dough, turn it out onto the worktop and begin to knead.

3 Knead by flattening the dough out, folding it over and flattening it again. If the dough is too sticky, instead of putting extra flour on your worktop, place some in the bowl, put the dough back in and turn it round to coat it all over. That way you keep the flour under control and you won’t be tempted to add too much. Knead until the dough becomes smooth – and then stop before you get fed up!

4 Divide the dough into 6 pieces with the side of your hand and give yourself plenty of room on your worktop. Take one of the pieces in each hand and flatten them down with the palms of your (flat) hand. Keeping them pressed down, gently move them round in a circle. After a couple of circles, start to ease the pressure off. Still moving in circles, let your hands form a hollow shape. Gradually cup your hands and relax the pressure, whilst still making the circular movement. Your little finger and thumb should make contact in turn with the side of the roll as it tightens up. Ease off the pressure altogether, and you should have a couple of bun shapes! Place the rolls either on greased bun trays or on oven trays lined with baking parchment.

5 Cover and leave to prove until the rolls have doubled in size, then bake at 220C, 425F or gas mark 7 for between 15-20 minutes.

Why not make some shapes - Fancy Dinner Rolls:

Roll each piece of dough out into a long thin rope, long enough to tie a knot in it – Lover’s Knot

Roll the dough out a bit longer and roll it up from one end – Whirl

Roll the dough up from both ends – Twirl

Roll the dough up on top from one end and underneath from the other – Swirl

Pick up the dough in the middle and twist one end around the other – Twist

And of course, you can invent your own shapes!

VEGAN 'MACARONI' CHEESE

For two:

30g flour
25g vegan spread
200g soya (or other vegan) milk
(I used 50g soy cream + 150g water)
1 dessertspoon nooch
1/2 teaspoon bouillon powder
2 heaped teaspoons wholegrain mustard
Black pepper + other spices to taste (I'm a great fan of cayenne pepper)

Plus:
100g pasta of your choice (I used fusilli, since that's what we had in), cooked just how you like it.

Method:
Place all the ingredients except the pasta into a small saucepan over a low heat, and start stirring as soon as any bubbles form. Keep stirring as the sauce thickens, adding more water if it thickens too much. Taste and adjust seasoning as required.

Drain the pasta, add it to the sauce, stir and serve.

For some reason, I have to have fresh (well, defrosted) wholemeal bread with this. :)

(This is adapted from Jacqueline Meldrum's recipe.)

BUBBLE AND SQUEAK - WITH HUMMUS!

Had some leftover veg to use up, after our Sunday roast, so I thought I'd turn it into bubble and squeak.

I generally flavour it with nutritional yeast (nooch) and curry powder, but today I left out the nooch - and included a good dollop of hummus. It was superb! This is definitely the way to go.

Bubble and squeak with hummus and fried tomatoes - and fresh, wholemeal bread. Mmm...

One of those meals you just don't want to end!

BREADMAKING VILLAGE

This, just in from Jane:

This was obviously before her son, Tom, caught sight of them! I wonder how many are left now...

Wednesday 3rd August 2016

Another good session with once again, just the 5 students attending. The students made pikelets:

The students made a mix of plain and fruit pikelets

And sizzlers (cheese and tomato or mushroom wraps):

Hazel's sizzlers put to prove...

And baked!

Jane's sizzlers

Nicola's

And Brian's

BREADMAKING AT THE PLANET CAFE, (Taunton's newest vegan cafe)

Tuesday 26th July 2016 - 5th session
No pics this time - phone failure, I'm afraid.

Parathas and pasties and Swedish tea ring

Pasty filling:

Potatoes/onion/mushroom/red kidney bean

Potatoes/broccoli/onion/peas/celery/carrot

Red lentils, potatoes, onion

Hi folks,

Ingredients for the last session - 26th July.

We’re making a Swedish tea ring and paratha/pasties, so:

Sultanas

Sugar

Cinnamon

Flaked almonds

Icing sugar

You will need to prepare a pasty filling - my favourite is curried lentils and potato hash:

http://nobreadisanisland.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/lentil-hash.html

But these combinations are also good:

Potatoes/onion/mushroom/red kidney bean

Potatoes/broccoli/onion/peas/celery/carrot

(Basically, anything cooked ‘en croute’ enhances the filling every time.)

Plus the usual flour/yeast/olive oil/salt

Tuesday 19th July 2016 - 4th session

Croissants and choice of Rye bread or ciabatta.

Michele had been asking about rye bread - which I make very infrequently, if at all. Since rye on its own can be quite tricky, I thought it best if she were to make it with a mixture of rye flour and wholemeal. Janet made a similar loaf whilst the others went for ciabatta.

Here are some of the ciabattas: