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.

Continental Split Pea Soup

Split pea soup is the quintessential autumn soup and this version is sure to be a crowd pleaser. With a little cayenne for an added warmth plus cumin and smoke flavor to give it the classic depth. It goes alongside rice or garlic flat bread for a full meal.

Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp olive oil.
• 1 medium onion, chopped.
• 3 medium carrots, chopped.
• 3 stalks celery, chopped.
• 3 medium red potatoes, chopped.
• 3 cloves of garlic.
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper.
• 1/2 tsp cumin.
• 1 tsp of Liquid Smoke.
• 2 cups split peas.
• 8 cups water + 4 tsp of vegetable base, or 4 cups vegetable broth + 4 cups water.
• 1 tbsp soy sauce.
• 1 bay leaf.
• 1 tsp oregano.
• 1 tsp basil.
• black pepper to taste.
• soy milk (optional).
  

Preparation:

1: In a dutch oven heat olive oil and add onions, carrots, celery, potatoes, garlic, cayenne pepper, cumin, and Liquid Smoke. Sauté for about 10 minutes or until vegetables are softened.

2: Add split peas, water, soy sauce, bay leaf to pot and cook at medium-low to medium heat covered for 45 minutes or until split peas have broken down. Stir occasionally.

3: Transfer half of the soup to a blender and puree until smooth.

4: Return blended soup back to pot. Add oregano, basil, and black pepper to soup and cook uncovered for 30 to 45 minutes or until desired thickness. Remove from heat.

5: Serve in a bowl with a dollop of soy milk.

Yields: 6 to 8.

The Seed and the Sea

Upon the high seas of despair and doubt
there floats a mustard seed amongst the waves.
The soil it seeks but finds not to sprout.
For shelter it finds not in rocks or caves
Yonder shores seem to only be a dream
As the tempest winds blow against its will,
the storm yields not to bleak hopes and esteem
Adrift in darkness its soul filled with chill
But every squall in time must subside
and through the current its path be bound
Gently swayed, the seed driven by the tide
The sway of the trees are a joyous sound
    And upon the gentle beaches finds land
    Its roots become buried within the sand.

Authors' note:

I do apologize if this one is a little rough, I might go back and explore this concept later.  This was my hand at attempting to write a sonnet which admittedly, structured poetry really isn't my forté, however I am working on changing that.  I will probably revisit this concept again sometime.

Avocado Cucumber Raita

This is a great side dish that goes with almost anything and is an analogue to the traditional avocado salad using mayonnaise. This variation has a bolder flavor with more tang. Overall I feel the yoghurt provides a far superior taste and dimension to the dish and gives it a more authentic character.

This dish goes great with almost any meal and can be made vegan by substituting with vegan yoghurt. I really recommend this as a side for tacos, chilies, and bean soups.

Ingredients:

1 cucumber

1 avocado

1 diced red chili, seeded

1/2 large onion or 3 - 5 sprouts of green onion

1 tbsp diced cilantro or parsley

3 tbsp Greek yoghurt

3 tbsp lime juice

fresh ground pepper

kosher salt

Preparations:

1: Chop up avocado and cucumbers into small cubes and place them in a large serving bowl.

2: Finely dice chili, onions, and cilantro and toss in serving bowl.

3: Add the yoghurt, lime juice, salt, and pepper into the bowl. You will want to use about half as much salt as pepper.

4: Mix all ingredients thoroughly in bowl and place in the refrigerator for 3 - 8 hours before serving to chill and allow flavors to meld.

Serves: 4 - 6.

crandpass V5 released!

Just completed the crandpass script.  I am considering this feature complete and have also not only releasing a tarball with this version but an RPM as well.  Repositories for the package can now be found on the OpenBuild service and hopefully I can get it in the mail OpenSUSE repositories for 13.1 since it is such a simple, elegant script.

From changelog:
VERSION 5: 20130803
  * ADDED spec file for rpm package creation.
  * CHANGED file structure of project folder.
  * CHANGED README file is now up to date.
VERSION 4: 20130802
  * ADDED hexadecimal password creation options (-H)
VERSION 3: 20130802
  * CHANGED default passwords created to 1. This is to make the program script friendly so that it can be re-used.
  * ADDED support for controling case
  * ADDED support for character control: letters, numbers, and symbols can now be includued or excluded.
  * ADDED symbol support.

Usage: crandpass -c 1 -l 32 -s random
  -h   print this help message
  -A   alphabetic characters options:
      0  x  exlude       exclude letters
      1  l  lower        use only lowercase
      2  u  upper        use only uppercase
      3  m  mix          use mixed case (default)
  -c   number of passwords to create (default: 1)
  -H   create hexadecimal passwords
      1  l  lower        use lowercase
      2  u  upper        use uppercase
  -l   length of passwords (default: 32)
  -N   numerical character options:
      0  x  exclude      exclude numbers
      1  i  include      include numbers (default)
  -s   source of the passwords (default: random)
      r  random          use /dev/random
      u  urandom         use /dev/urandom
  -S   symbol character options:
      0  x  exclude      exclude symbols (default)
      1  i  include      include symbols
  -v   print version number

As you can see, this new version as added options to create passwords of varying complexity using a very simple command structure.

Version 5 - MD5 sum: 3119dce71b76943e57c626b0d31eac6c
OpenBuild Service: http://software.opensuse.org/package/crandpass

Packages exist for: CentOS, Fedora, OpenSUSE, Mandriva, and Red Hat RHEL.

crandpass - A random password generator for Linux.

I had an itch to scratch the other day and wanted to create my own random password generator using BASH just so I could wrap my brain around this whole programming thing.  The end result was actually something usable, quite decent, and something I will be expanding on to allow for more features asap.

Right now, the script is on Version 2, and will produce as many passwords of a given length as one requests from it.  It can use either /dev/random or /dev/urandom as generators.  What it doesn't do now is give the user control over symbols (not yet supported) or case control.  It also will produce results with numbers.  The next few versions of the script will include more fine grain control over these types of options.

The code and the install script can be obtained from the Google Code repository here.  If you would like to package my script for a distro, just let me know.

For the tarball of the script:
Version 2  - MD5 sum: 7185e725fa079576053f0e20726501ea