Broccoli & Rice au Gervaise

Ingredients

Vegetables

• 2 crowns of broccoli, finely chopped (about 3 cups)
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, diced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp lemon pepper
• 1/2 tsp red chili flakes

Rice

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3 cups water + 1 1/2 tbsp vegetable base (or 1 1/2 cups water and 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth)
• 1 cup brown rice
• 1/2 cup black wild rice

Garry Sauce

• 1/2 cup soy milk
• 1/2 cup Vegenaise or other mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
• 2 tbsp tahini
• 2 tbsp red miso
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp onion powder

Preparation

1: Heat oil for rice over high heat. Add in rice once oil is hot and coat rice with oil then pour in the broth. Cover. Allow broth to boil, then place on low or medium-low heat for 45 minutes

2: Prepare the vegetables. When chopping the broccoli only use the florets, discard any thick stems. Add oil to a hot pan on high heat, then throw in the vegetables, the Worcestershire sauce, and the lemon pepper. Saute for 6 minutes and set aside.

3: Combine all the ingredients for the garry sauce in a blender and process until smooth and consistent.

4: When ten minutes are remaining check rice, drop in the vegetables. Cover.

5: Once rice and vegetables have finished cooking, fluff rice and stir in garry sauce. Let sit for fifteen minutes to allow the flavors to meld.

6: Serve.

Notes

This version of garry sauce emulates a sharp cheddar-like flavor. For a less sharp version of the sauce, half the miso, lemon juice, and mustard and add 1/4 cup soaked cashews.

If more depth is desired, add in a cup of finely chopped mushrooms or carrots.

Southern Style Potato Salad

Ingredients

Salad

• 8 - 10 medium red potatoes
• 1 onion, chopped
• 5 sweet pickles, chopped
• 2 ribs celery, chopped (optional)

Dressing

• 1/2 cup Vegenaise or other mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup soy milk
• 2 tbsp stone ground mustard
• 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 2 tbsp lemon juice (optional)
• 2 tbsp fresh dill
• 1 tbsp paprika
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp black salt (optional)

Preparation

1: Chop potatoes into chunks and boil on medium heat for 20 minutes or until softened.

2: While potatoes are boiling in a bowl prepare the dressing, combine all the ingredients in the dressing. Mix well.

3: Add the onion, pickles, and celery. Stir until coated.

4: Drain the potatoes. Let cool for about 15 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and pour dressing over potatoes.

5: Place in refrigerator to chill for about 3 hours.

6: Serve.

Notes

Southern Style potato dressing is creamy, with a sharp mustard tang and notes of dill, lemon, and paprika. It is a flexible dish, and every household in the South has a different variation. This vegan version is punchy and pronounced.

Lemon juice helps brighten this dish, but some may find in combination with the mustard is unnecessarily sharp.

Black salt adds an eggy flavor to the dish, omit if you do not like eggs in your potato salad. You may also wish to half the amount for a less pungent flavor.

Cuban Black Beans

Ingredients

Black beans

• 2 cups dried black beans, soaked overnight
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 poblano or cubanelle chili (or green bell pepper), chopped
• 1/4 tsp liquid smoke
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 1/2 tbsp coriander
• 1 tbsp sambal ulek (or hot sauce)
• 1 tbsp mushroom powder
• 1 tbsp vegetable stock base
• 6 cups water
• 1 tsp oregano

Optional Toppings

• nutritional yeast
• scallions
• avocado
• cilantro

Preparation

1: Heat oil in dutch oven. Add in onion, garlic, and chilies. Saute on medium-high heat for three minutes. Add in liquid smoke, cumin, coriander, and sambal ulek. Saute another three minutes or until onions are translucent and the peppers soft.

2: Add in the powdered mushrooms and stock base. Mix well then add in the water and cover. Bring to a boil then simmer one hour on medium-low heat. Stir periodically to ensure bottom of the pan does not burn. Add in oregano during the last fifteen minutes of cooking.

3: Serve with the optional toppings or your own.

Notes

This meal is traditionally served with brown rice and fried plantains.

Chili Lime Plantains

Ingredients

• 4 plantains
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1 tbsp maple syrup (or molasses)
• 1 chipotle chili in adobo sauce, chopped (optional)
• 1 tbsp adobo sauce (optional)
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp corn starch
• 2 tbsp wheat flour
• 1 tbsp wheat germ
• canola oil for frying

Preparation

1: In a small pot or frying pan begin heating oil over medium-high heat.

2: Peel and cut the plantains into thick rounds, set aside.

3: For the batter add the wet ingredients into a small bowl: lime juice, syrup, chipotle, adobo sauce, chili powder, and salt. Mix well.

4: For the dry mix, in a separate bowl combine the cornstarch, wheat flour, wheat germ and mix. Combine the wet batter into the dry until thoroughly incorporated. Toss in the plantains and coat well.

5: Fry the plantains in batches. If using a large pan, no more than 8 or so rounds at a time to ensure they get that nice, crispy golden brown coating. If not deep frying, turn each round about 2 minutes through frying.

6: Once done frying transfer to a bowl lined with paper towels and let cool.

7: Serve.

Mushroom Gravy

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp. olive oil or vegan butter
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 chopped shallot
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tsp. thyme
• ¼ tsp. sage (optional)
• ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper (optional)
• 6 oz. oyster mushrooms, sliced thin or diced
• 6 oz. shiitake mushrooms, sliced thin or diced
• ¼ cup dry sherry
• 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp. brown sauce
• 1 tbsp. powdered mushrooms
• 2 tbsp. nutritional yeast
• 4 cups broth
• 1 ½ tbsp. flour
• 3 tbsp cold water
• ¼ tsp black pepper, ground

Preparation

1: Heat oil in sauce pan on medium-high heat. Add in onion, shallot, and garlic. Saute about 2 minutes.

2: Add in thyme, sage, cayenne pepper. Stir before adding mushrooms and continue to saute for 10 minutes or until mushrooms are browned.

3: Combine sherry, Worcestershire sauce, and brown sauce. Add to pot and cook until liquid evaporates down to a quarter reduction.

4: Combine broth with powdered mushrooms and nutritional yeast. Add to pot, bring to boil, and cook down to a half reduction, about 15 minutes.

5: Combine water and flour until smooth. Add to pot slowly stirring it into the gravy. Add pepper. Reduce heat to low and simmer until desired thickness or about 2 - 3 minutes.

6: (optional) Pour gravy into a blender for a smoother gravy if desired.

7: Serve.

Notes

While this particular recipe is very extravagant, incorporating a lot of flavors and ingredients it is very flexible and can be trimmed down into simple base components for creating other gravies and sauces. The resulting gravy will be a thick, hearty, with a chunky texture. A smooth, but thick gravy can be accomplished by blending the gravy.

Powdered mushrooms are easy to make and add a great umami flavor. Basically these are nothing more than dried shiitake, flower, or other mushroom of choice milled into a fine powder. You can find these dried mushrooms most Asian food stores and blend them yourself to make the powder.

Crandpass Source Code Has Been Moved to Github

Due to Google Code being shutdown the source code for “crandpass” has been moved over to GitHub.  The original fork to GitHub was made by LookTJ, whom I think for porting it over because at the time I was unable to move things over.  As such he maintains the branch used to make the Archlinux packages whereas my main branch covers packages created for OpenSUSE and Fedora via the Open Build Service.

Thanks for downloading, installing, and using my humble, minimalist, terminal-based password creator.

A Seitan How-To Guide

Vital wheat gluten, wheat-meat, or seitan as it is called in Japan is a vegan substitute for meat that is noted for its texture and ability to take on a robust meaty flavor that is so close to the Real Thing a lot of vegans and vegetarians dislike it for its likeness. It has been a popular stand-in used for decades by Buddhist monks, Seven Day Adventists, Mormons, and other people who followed the Pythagorean diet.

A Quick Note: Is Wheat Gluten Healthy?

Seitan has also gotten a bad rap among the “health conscious” community lately because of its composition being of gluten; however those assumptions about gluten being unhealthy and the overall concept of gluten intolerance has been always been in question and new studies are sealing the opinion that there is no such condition outside of allergies and Celiac associated with gluten consumption, or in the least actual gluten sensitivity is very rare and these people may not even be reacting with gluten but perhaps a specific type of carbohydrate. What we do know is that the seitan has been eaten for thousands of years across cultures around the world including Buddhist monasteries which actually had some of the highest average lifespans in the world. That being said, if you have Celiac disorder or are allergic to wheat: keep on doing what you are doing.

Where to Find Seitan?

Even though seitan has historically been a popular substitute for meat in vegetarian dishes, because of recent fears associated with gluten it has been slowly eclipsed in popularity by other stand-ins such as tofu, tempeh, quinoa, beans, etc. Prepared seitan will be the most difficult variety to find if you are looking for an unflavored variety but many faux sausages do contain it as well.
The good news here is that you can get wheat gluten in flour-form and its very easy to prepare and not at all messy. What you need to look for is “vital wheat gluten” or “gluten flour”. Some of the most popular brands include Bob’s Red Mill, but some grocery stores may also sell it in their bulk section: shout out to Winco in the Pacific Northwest! Also, check your grocer’s organic section as well or just ask an associate.

Making the Perfect Seitan

So this is the part you’ve been waiting for? I know, you’re thinking: “Gee, what’s with the exposition?” Well now its time to get your hands… well good news is this stuff doesn’t actually stick you your hands so they won’t be getting too dirty.
I really recommend to start that you purchase the flour form simply because it is far more pliable with what you can do with it. Basically what you need to know is that for every part gluten flour you add equal parts water per volume: So two cups seitan means you will need two cups of water.

Starting Out: Dry Ingredients

To begin, just like any other recipe involving flour you are going to dump all your dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix them well. The most common starting spices are onion power and garlic powder. Most recipes call for about 3 tbsp of each if you are starting with two cups of seitan. You’ll also want to add in some nutritional yeast here to improve nutritional quality and add a bit of sharpness to the dish. If you want to go lighter flavors herbs like sage, tarragon, marjoram, and thyme will do the trick. If you want something more hearty add in chili powder, cumin, coriander, basil, oregano, paprika, etc. It really is the spices that make seitan what it is.

The Wet Mix

Once your have compiled your dry mix, its time to prepare the wet ingredients. For this you can just use water, but using vegetable broth works much better. Popular add-ins to bulk up the seitan include tahini (around 1/4 cup for two cups gluten flour), soy sauce, tamari, and olive oil. If you want a heavy beefy flavor, adding in tomato paste with a darker broth with create a hearty rib that would pass with any meat-lover. I guarantee it. You can also add in a teaspoon or so of liquid smoke here as well if you want a nice smoky flavor.

Mix & Knead

Now that both your wet and dry ingredients are prepared, it is time for the fun part. Just pour your wet ingredients into the dry and mix. You will end up with a dough with a nice clean consistency that should not stick you you hands. Begin kneading for five minutes, let the dough rest for five to ten minutes. Repeat until you have kneaded three times.
You will know if your dough is ready because it will be elastic, firm, and want to snap in place. At this point it is ready to cook or you can put it in the refrigerator to work with at a later time. If you do this make sure you take it out of the fridge, let it sit to warm up to room temperature, and then give it a good kneading. You may need to add a teaspoon or tablespoon of water to the dough, but test first. You can also simmer the dough as well (keep reading) then place if the fridge.

Cooking Seitan

You’ve prepared the seitan and are ready to cook it. First, cut the dough into serving sized pieces for whatever you are going to use it in. If you are serving as an entrée like ribs give them a nice sausage. If you are making a stew, cut them up into little pieces. There’s not much you can do wrong here. If you want a more moist experience and are grilling or baking them you can go a couple steps further here:
Before you place seitan on the grill or in the oven you will want to either give it a nice simmer or steam. The steaming method is good for larger cuts like steaks, logs, and such. You will want to wrap the seitan in aluminium foil and place into a steamer for about 30 minutes. Make sure you do not wrap the foil too tightly because the steam will expand it in.
The more traditional, and easier method is to simply drop the seitan into a slowly simmering pot of broth. Its best to use the same broth as the one you added previously to your seitan if you did use broth earlier. Make sure you simmer on low or medium-low heat. Allowing the seitan to boil will turn it to mush. Let simmer for about 45 minutes covered, turn off heat and let the pot cool for 15 minutes with the lid off. This is another point at which you could place the seitan in the refrigerator as well.

To the Grill, Griddle, or Oven

Now for the second part of the cooking process. Once you have steamed or braised your seitan you will want to bake it or toss it on the griddle, grill, or even fry it up. This is pretty self explanitory. Basically, you will just add whatever dry-coat seasoning, marinade, sauce etc you want then bake, grill, or fry to your liking. If baking the general rule here are about one hour at 350 °F, turn half-way through. You will want to give them a good baking or grilling first if you are adding them to a stew as it will prevent them from turning to mush.

Experiment!

The great thing about seitan is that it is a great palette to experiment with. It incorporates flavors very well and there is so much you can do with it. You can be as lazy or as detailed as you like with it and still make an excellent meal. One thing I like to do is make seitan rings and fill them in with mashed potatoes and gravy on the plate. A little imagination goes a long way.

Recipes

For some great recipes I suggest you check out my friends over at One Green Planet for more great ideas. They even have their own how-to which does cover most of the same information. However to give you some inspiration I will provide a basic example recipe for seitan dough.

Example

Dry Ingredients

• 2 cups vital wheat gluten flour.
• 3 tbsp onion powder.
• 3 tbsp garlic powder.
• 3 tbsp nutritional yeast.
• 3 tbsp chili powder.
• 1 tbsp thyme.
• 1/2 tsp finely ground black pepper.

Wet Ingredients

• 2 cups water + 2 tsp vegetable bullion, or 2 cups broth.
• 1/4 cup tahini.
• 1/4 cup soy sauce or tamari.
• 1 tbsp vegan Worcester sauce (optional).
• 1 tbsp olive oil.
• 1 tbsp tomato paste.
• 1/2 tsp liquid smoke.

Preparation

1: Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. Then mix wet ingredients in a separate bowl and combine the wet into the dry.

2: Knead the dough for five minutes and let it rest five to ten minutes, repeat three times.

3: Cut into servings and broil, steam, or bake as desired. For this recipe I recommend adding a little dry rub, your favorite barbecue sauce and tossing in the oven but you can do whatever you like.