Mexican Mac and Teese

Mexican Mac and Teese

It's so simple that you probably don't even need a recipe, but I'm going to give you one anyway. Just because it shows off the Cheddar Teese in all it's glory. If you put your water on to boil for the noodles, the sauce will be almost done by the time the noodles are. How's that for quick?

Mexican Mac and Teese
8 oz elbows, cooked and drained
2 Tbsp earth balance
2 Tbsp flour
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp mustard, dry
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
a little nutmeg
3 Tbsp pickled jalapenos, drained and cut
1 cup soymilk
1 cup cheddar style Teese
chopped tomatoes and crushed tortillas for toppers

Melt the earth balance in a saucepan. Stir in the flour and cook for a few minutes so it won't taste floury. Add the garlic, mustard, salt and pepper and jalapenos. Then whisk in the milk and the cheddar teese. Cook until the teese melts and it's all creamy. Check the seasonings then mix with the cooked noodles. Top with the extras.

I'd heard that Cheddar Teese made the best mac and cheese and it's definitely the most traditional tasting version I've had since going vegan. I'm looking forward to trying this when the Nacho style Teese is released, too.

Tonight's dinner: A roulade experiment

Simple Seitan Stew with Fire Roasted Tomatoes (or Not)

Simple Seitan Stew

I admit it. I have about 14 gazillion versions of seitan stews. It's no wonder. With long winters, stews make wonderful comfort food. Especially piled on pasta, another one of my favorite things. This one is super easy but full of flavor. After a few minutes of prep, you can go sit by the fire and watch the snow fall while it simmers.

Seitan Stew with Fire Roasted Tomatoes
Serves 2- 4, depending on how hungry you are

2 Tbsp olive oil
8 oz seitan, cut in bite sized chunks
1/2 an onion, diced small
1/2 a pepper, diced in 1/2 inch or so pieces
1/2 cup carrots, cut in 1/4 inch or so moons
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp herbes de provence
1/2 tsp rosemary
pinch chili powder
2 Tbsp flour
1/2 cup red wine
1 15 oz can tomatoes, diced- fire roasted are really good here!
1/2 cup broth
1/2 cup peas
salt and pepper to taste
pasta for serving

Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed soup pot then sear the seitan. Remove the seitan from the pot, turn the heat to medium and add the onions. These are cut small so the flavor goes throughout the stew (thank you, Emeril, for that tip!). Once they start to get a little translucent, add the peppers and carrots. Cook about 5 more minutes then add the mushrooms and garlic. Cook for about 2 minutes. You don't really want the mushrooms to get overdone. Add the herbs and flour and cook for a few minutes until the flour is pretty well dispersed. Add the red wine and deglaze, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Add the tomatoes and broth and reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for about 1/2 an hour. Add peas right before serving and heat throughout. Check for salt and pepper, then serve!

Openfaced Thanksgiving Leftover Sandwiches + Cranberry Orange Muffins

Openfaced Thanksgiving Leftover Sandwich

This picture isn't the greatest. I've noticed that I'm rushing around with colder weather and not taking my time with pictures. I have a thing for hot food so I hurry myself too much. I'm posting it anyway...because the sandwich is incredible!

I had some leftover roast from a tester and panfried a few thin pieces, like 2 per sandwich. Put thin in a pan in a 250 degree oven to keep warm. Add a little broth to the pan to keep them moist and cover with foil.

Heat up some leftover gravy.

Saute about 1 cup of sliced mushrooms. Don't let them get too done and add some pepper. In a different pan, saute about 1/4 cup onions and add some spinach to cook down. When it's almost cooked down, pepper it and add a couple of cloves of crushed garlic.

Make a couple pieces of toast and spread them with mustard. Pile on the seitan, then the spinach, some mushrooms and gravy. Yummmmm!

Making roasts is really, really fun! I'm thinking that I may try a different recipe one Sunday a month.

Cranberry Orange Nut Muffins

These muffins are a tester from Isa and may be the best muffins yet. Seriously good! The original recipe includes nuts but being the hater I am, I only put those in 1/2 the batch. I even liked the ones with nuts. Shocker! That shows just how good these muffins are.

Tonight's dinner: Pasta and Bean Soup. The latest incarnation includes an extra can of beans, smoked paprika and some dried jalapeno. Perfect for this weather!

Finally! The Soap Winner and Larb Na (or Nua?)

An adapted Larb Na

Geez, I can't believe the 20th came and went I didn't draw a winner! Sorry about that...I just haven't been on the computer much. So just now I wrote all the names on little slips of paper and had Jim draw....the winner is Vegan Noodle! I'll send you note right after I make this post. The prize is 5 bars of handmade soap. The contest was a lot of fun and maybe I'll do them more often. Thank you to all six of you who entered! I wish I could send every one of you a prize.

Lazy Smurf posted this awesome looking recipe for Larb Na. I'd never even heard of it and suddenly I wanted it for dinner. Be sure to check her site for the original...mine was an adaptation because I didn't have some of the ingredients. And of course, I had a couple vegetables that I wanted to use. Even with my changes, it was wonderful! I wanted to have it again for the next 3 days!

I checked around on the net and couldn't find larb na. I did find a larb nua, but wasn't really sure it it was the same thing. As much as I love Asian food, the names of it really trip me. If you know the real story, enlighten me!

In the meantime, here's my version.

Larb Na with thanks to Lazy Smurf!
1 # rice noodles (I used linguini)
2 Tbsp peanut oil ( I used less)
1 # tofu, drained and pressed
1 bunch of greens (I used bok choy and added sugar snaps)
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 Tbsp sugar
4 Tbsp tamari
1 Tbsp stir fry sauce
1 Tbsp black bean paste
1 tsp chili oil
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 Tbsp sherry
1 Tbsp hoisin
white pepper
1/4 cup broth with 1 Tbsp cornstarch

Do the noodles however the package says, drain and set aside.

Mix all the sauce ingredients from the sugar through the hoisin in a small bowl and set aside. If you've got some cool asian sauce ingredients in your fridge that differ from mine, use those instead. I pretty much used some of nearly everything I had.

Mix the broth with the cornstarch and set aside.

Heat the oil in the wok and stir fry the tofu (cut however you like) until lightly browned. Remove from heat and set aside. Add the greens or whatever vegetables you are using to the wok. When they start to cook a little, add the garlic. Add the noodles and the tofu back to the wok. Add the mixed sauce ingredients and stir together. Then add the broth/cornstarch, stir and cook for a couple more minutes. I topped it with sesame seeds and green onions....and it was delicious!

Tonight's dinner: Tacos, Fajitas, other Mexican snacks.. and bowling with friends!

The Big List of Vegan Thanksgiving Recipe Links

With Thanksgiving right around the corner... and all kinds of holiday cooking around the next corner, I thought it might be helpful to have a list of websites filled with fall and winter recipes. I haven't made any of these so I can't vouch for them personally (yet). Most of these came up on a Google search, but I know there are gazillion more out there. If you happen to have tried any of these or know of other sites, please mention them!

Mercy for Animals - a loaf, gravy, garlic mashed potatoes, stuffing, green bean casserole and pumpkin pie

Vegweb - a ton of stuff. You'll have to see for yourself on this one.

About.com - even though it's technically vegetarian, that won't stop an industrious vegan!

Vegan-nutritionista - has the usual holiday sides and some links to Vegan Dad's seitan roasts.

A Deep Fried Tofurky - no, I'm not kidding.

VegCooking - has you covered, course by course.

Tofurkey Take 2 - I've never had a tofurky, but this sounds like a great recipe. There are some delicious sounding sides here, too. Cumin braised brusselsprouts? Mmmmmm....

Bryanna - too many to list, but take a look. Nobody does seitan like Bryanna.

Epicurious - 8 pages of recipes!

Joni's Festivous Loaf - looks like a winnner!

Allrecipes - has a ton of stuff! Considering my soft spot for Penzey's, I'll be making these green beans soon.

Gentle Thanksgiving - has all the traditional recipes.

Robin Robertson - I know I mentioned this one yesterday, but since today is my comprehensive list, here it is again. Roasted Sweet Potato Sticks? That's for me.


If you're eating vegan this Thanksgiving, or any day, this Mother Turkey and her babies thank you. And so do I.

Are You in the Mood for Mexican? Maybe Italian?

First up, this delicious cheesy dip, a tester for Robin Robertson. Check out the homemade chips on the side. I didn't plan to make those, but it was make them from flour tortillas or run to the store. You can tell which idea won out. They are so much better homemade and I had no idea! I may be ruined for life. This was a great side to our leftover chili for lunch.

By the way, if you're looking for some Thanksgiving ideas, check out this page from Robin.

Cashew Sundried Tomato Salad Dressing

My addiction to using cashews in salad dressings is ongoing. When we were having that Puttanesca for dinner last night, I had to stick with the Italian theme.

Cashew Sundried Tomato Salad Dressing
2 Tbsp cashews
1/4 cup broth
1 Tbsp nooch
2 Tbsp sundried tomatoes with 1 Tbsp of the oil they're packed in
2 Tbsp white vinegar
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 basil.
Salt and peppper to taste
Dump all in the blender and blend until smooth. If it's too thick, add a little more broth.

Puttanesca Scramble

Clearly, the star of the show, this scramble is the new-fangled style and is awesome! I'm still adjusting to cubed tofu in scrambles rather than crumbled, but this one might make me a convert. Cubing seems to be more of a West Coast thing probably caused by something in their water. Even though it's a tester for Vegan Brunch, this made an incredible dinner. On the side is a garlicky orzo with peas.

Tonight's Dinner: I think I'm going to try Lazy Smurf's Larb Na. I've never heard of it before, but I can tell it's totally my thing. After all, it's Asian!

Bread, Bread and More Bread (Testers)

This post is mostly just going to be a bunch of photos of bread testers from Robin Robertson. I can't say much about them because of the fact that they're testers.....but the photos kind of speak for themselves.

In the back is Ash's Cinnamon Swirl loaf...yum!

Super easy, and it will be great for entertaining.

Am the only one who has a spider plant that struggles to survive?

Tonight's Dinner: Puttanesca Scramble!

MeMeMeMeMeMeMe - It's Seven Things All About Me!

Guess what? I was tagged for this fun MeMe! Thank you, Thrifty Living! I look forward to watching your blog and learning how to be more self-sufficient. I'm sure it will be a life long process, considering I don't even have a vegetable garden yet!

First off, the rules. Let's get those out of the way! I'm telling you up front that I'm not tagging anyone.... except for you, dear Reader, if you haven't been tagged. But to make up for not tagging, I'll give you a bonus thing about me: I hate rules. Unless they're my rules.

• Link the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.
• Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself.
• Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links.
• Let each person know that they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

It's really hard to think about things that might be interesting to others....but here's hoping!

1. My earliest memory takes place in a kitchen. My mom was cooking/baking something and I'm guessing I was 3 or 4 years old. We had a countertop range and for some reason (most likely I wiggled there), I ended up sitting on one of the burners. My legs dangled over the edge and bumped one of the knobs to on....and I felt some heat. It's not like I got burned or anything...just a little toasty.

2. Also when I was little, I started my own library. My parents had gotten me a name stamp with my name and address on it for some reason (probably because I wanted it) and I used it to stamp inside my books. Then I sealed envelopes closed, cut them in half and glued them in my books. All very odd for one who was so reverent about books, not writing in them or even loaning them to my friends. I made up a sign up sheet and was pissed when nobody signed them out. (I also had a Nature Club, a Hiking Club, a Tree Climbing Club, a Biking Club, a Muscular Dystrophy Carnival.....you get the picture. Since kids actually joined in on these activities, we must have had a very boring neighborhood.)

3. Further proof that we did have a very boring neighborhood...one summer my mom suggested I write letters to famous people to keep me occupied. I did. And got some amazing responses! I had a letter from Dr. Suess, Charles Schultz, Mamie Eisenhower, etc. The big prize was a 3 page hand written letter from Judy Blume!!!! I have no idea what happened to the scrapbook that I kept my letters in. It survived a few moves, then I lost track of it.

4. I am an Ooops Baby. My brother and sister were are 12 and 10 years older than I am. This rocked. I pretty much had attention when I wanted it. They (mostly my brother) also paved the way for any shenanigans I might have pulled by the time I got to high school. It also made me a more advanced child. I say advanced, others might wrongly say precocious. It also made me hipppie-esque. A clean hippie, of course, since I make handmade soap, but with a hippie sensibility. I was enamored with movements like Earth Day, No Nukes, Equal Rights, the Vietnam War....that kind of thing. Which leads me to.......

5. I became a vegetarian because I thought it would help end World Hunger. Over the past 28 years or so, I've had several bouts of veganism and one of macrobiotics, but the veganism didn't stick until this time around.

6. Before becoming vegan, I hated cooking. I mean Hardcore Hated cooking. My philosophy was that I wouldn't cook anything that took me longer to cook than it would take us to eat. The only exception is if we could get two meals out of it. Not smart, because I hated leftovers, too. The result was a lot of sandwiches, pastas, soups and eating out. Now I love cooking and find myself wanting to cook more often than I can eat.

7. Probably the weirdest thing considering the world as it is, my husband is truly my best friend. We have fun together. Except when he beats me in our nearly nightly Scrabble games. That part isn't so fun.

Since you've stuck with me through all this Me'ness and you now know more about me than you ever wanted to, let me reward you with some wonderful bread. It's a test recipe for Robin Robertson and it makes the best toast.


By the way, consider yourself tagged!

Mexican TnT Soup

Mexican TnT Soup

This recipe is going to look like a lot of work. I know. But believe me, it isn't. It's going to look like a really long ingredient list. I know. And you're right it, it is. But this is soup! It can't be that much work and if you are a spice fiend like me, you probably have everything you need for this soup all the time, except the tomatillos and jicama. Even if it requires you to get a different spice than you're used to (I'm thinking the smoked paprika), it's so worth it! You never know, it could start a whole new spicy love affair. So here's the recipe. Don't let it scare you!

Mexican TnT Soup (Tempeh and Tomatillos, get it?)

1 8 oz package tempeh, steamed and cut in bite sized cubes
1 Tbsp cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp chili powder
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup broth

Mix up the spices and the liquids in a plastic container or bag. Add the tempeh and let this marinate as long as you can, hopefully over night. (See, this is easy!)

When you're ready to make the soup....
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 cups onions, diced
1/2 cup celery, diced
3/4 cup tomatillo, diced small
2 Tbsp jalapeno peppers, diced
1 cup diced potatoes
5 cloves garlic, crushed or minced
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp cilantro
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp Bryanna's Chicken Broth Powder
6- 8 cups broth, depending on how thick you like it
1 14.5 oz can diced fire roasted tomatoes with chilis
1/2 an adobo with sauce, minced
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (optional, but good!)
1/2 cup corn kernels

It's just your usual soup process. Heat the oil, saute the tempeh and remove it. Some of the tempeh will have crumbled and will stay in the pan. That's fine. Then in the still hot soup pot, add the onions, celery, tomatillos, jalapenos and potatoes. Saute a few minutes, then add the garlic, cumin, cilantro, oregano and salt. Stir a few more minutes. Then add a little of the broth to deglaze the bottom of the pot. Add the chicken broth powder, the rest of the broth, the tomatoes, the tempeh, the adobo and the red pepper flakes. Reduce the heat to simmer. About 5 minutes before serving, add the corn.

While this soup is great just like this, if you really want to take it over the top, make these jicama strips. They take about 5 minutes and really add texture and a different flavor dimension.

Jicama Strips
1/2 cup jicama matchsticks
1 Tbsp lime juice
1 Tbsp scallions, minced
1 Tbsp fresh cilantro, minced
pinch of salt

Toss all this together and top the soup with it.

I know, it looks like a lot. A lot of work, a lot of ingredients, a lot of prep.....but this soup is unlike any other soup I've ever made. It's worth it. Give it a try. It's a perfect fall/winter soup! By the way, it goes great with that horribly ugly (but so delicious) Jalapeno Cheddar Teese Bread.

Crazy Jalapeno Cheddar Bread Contest (and Cookies!)

Your Caption Here!

Contest! Contest! Contest!

We had this amazing Jalapeno Cheddar (Teese) Bread with lunch yesterday. It pretty much erupted like Mount Vesuvius, if you can't tell. I made it using the same old bread dough and it was delicious alongside a Mexican soup I'll post in a day or two. Even though you missed out on the fun of eating it, it can still win you a prize. All you have to do is write a caption for that pretty ugly looking bread photo and post it in the Comments. On the 20th, I'll randomly pick one person to win some of my handmade soap.

What? You'd rather have cookies for a prize? Like these new Chocolate Chip Cookies from Isa's blog? Well, I don't blame you.....and since she was nice enough to post the recipe, you can make them, too. That Isa. She's just the best, huh?



Tonight's dinner: Pizza!

What We Probably Won't Have for Thanksgiving

This is what I probably won't be having for Thanksgiving, as much as I'd like to. We always go to my sister's and I try to be a good guest and avoid arm wrestling for oven space and stuff like that. Speaking of oven space, last year we ended up with 3 apple pies for Thanksgiving. Everyone brought one. But I digress.....the plate above is a Celebration Roast topped with this wonderful Golden Gravy (tester) from Joanna. We'd never even seen a Celebration Roast before so we grabbed it even quicker than we'd grab a piece of Obama toast!


We were really surprised at how delicious a 'processed' food could be. I'd buy one again in a minute, if I'm lucky enough to see them again. I'm actually toying with the idea of taking enough of the above food in a foil pan and reheating it. Rudeness be damned! This is way better than a crockpot full of whatever I usually take.

Let me tell you about that gravy. Oh my goodness, it's good! It's smooth and silky and rich. It was perfect with the roast and mashed potatoes.

Watch, this year nobody will bring an apple pie.

I'm going to go try to make my own Obama toast.

French Style Seitan Stew

French Style Seitan Stew

This is one of those wonderful recipes that you can vary a million and one ways. It was also born out of an empty fridge, so that's a real indication of the flexibility. But it's still tasty and hearty. With the weather turning, there's nothing like a stew simmering on the stove to get your tastebuds jumpstarted.

French Style Seitan Stew
3 Tbsp oil (reserve 1 Tbsp)
12 oz seitan, cut in bit size chunks
1 onion, diced (about 1 cup)
3/4 cup red pepper, diced
1/4 cup celery, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 Tbsp thyme
1 tsp tarragon
1 tsp herbes de provence
1/2 cup red wine
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes, not drained
1 cup broth
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp tamari
1 Tbsp fresh parsley (for garnish)
salt and pepper
flat noodles for serving, if desired

Heat 2 Tbsp oil in a heavy bottomed soup pot. When hot, sear the seitan until lightly browned on all sides. Remove from pot and set aside. Reduce heat to medium. Add the onions, red peppers, celery. (Add the extra oil if the vegetables are sticking to much. A little sticking is OK). Saute a few minutes until the onions start to get a little limp. Add the garlic and dried herbs, stirring for a few more minutes. Add the red wine, scrape up any bits from the bottom and reduce by about half. Add the tomatoes, broth, vinegar, tamari and salt and pepper to taste. Reduce heat to a simmer and simmer for about 1/2 an hour. It should thicken up nicely. Serve over noodles and garnish with parsley.

Last night's dinner was a Pretend Thanksgiving. Photos tomorrow!

2, 2, 2 Testers in One Post!

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Light and lovely muffins with a lemony mouth burst. These muffins have terrific texture and a really nice crumb. Yes, I said 'crumb'. Ooooh la la. That's almost like an official food word. These are an Isa tester and are delicious!

Buffalo Pizza

Let me start off by saying, I wasn't sure if I should post this picture. After all, unless you're a hard core seitan lover, this photo won't do it for you. But then I looked closer and noticed that you can see the awesomeness that is the crust under all that piled-high and wonderfully seasoned seitan. Besides, it tasted too incredible not to post. This one is a tester for Joanna and may be the first hit single of the album when it's released. In the meantime, I've got extra pizza dough in the freezer so I can keep replaying it.

I thought I'd take a minute to thank the cookbook authors who generously allow me to test recipes for them. Because of Isa's book and any recipe testing that followed, I've actually learned to be a thinking cook. Because of them, I've tried ingredients I had never even thought to use. By extension, I've tried combos that stretch the limits of my imagination. When I stop to think how many times I've made pad thai, then realize I could do a tester for dinner instead, I get a jolt of excitement. Don't get me wrong, I love pad thai, but I guess I love the sense of food adventure even more. Thank you for launching me on this cooking journey.

And thank you, if you are reading this blog and sharing the travels with me.

Deliciously Decadent Cinnamon Swirl French Toast

Cinnamon Swirl French Toast

A million or so years ago, when we just vegetarian and beyond broke, my grandmother would have us over for dinner once in a while. She would always make spaghetti or french toast. Wonderful french toast. And that's where the decadence comes into this recipe. The secret is to fry the battered bread in more oil than you normally would. She used to use about 10 cans of crisco, but all I needed was about 1/4 inch of canola oil in a nonstick pan. I say "only", but I know that's a lot. Since this isn't something we have every day, it's worth it. To get the lightest taste and the best crispness, be sure the oil is really hot before adding the bread.

Of course, any bread will work, but I used the cinnamon swirl. Why not go all the way?

Cinnamon Swirl French Toast
Serves 2-3, depending on your appetites

6-8 slices of day old (or a few days old) bread
canola for frying bread
1 cup soy milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar OR 1 tsp lemon zest OR 1 tsp orange zest (all optional, none necessary)
2/3 cup flour
1 tsp cinnamon

Dump the milk in a low flat pan that you can mix your batter in, like a pie plate. Add the vanilla, salt and sugar or citrus peel if you are using any of them. Add the flour and the cinnamon, then mix together lightly with a fork. You don't want to get the lumps out, just get everything combined. If you get down to the last pieces of bread and the batter seems too thick, add a little more soy milk and mix. When the oil is really hot in the frying pan, douse the bread in the batter and fry until light brown. Turn over to brown the other side, then enjoy with earth balance and maple syrup!

Tonight's dinner: Buffalo Pizza, a Yellow Rose Recipes tester.

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

This is a really happy improvisation on the Soft Sandwich Bread in Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day. I made 1/2 a recipe and used the first part to make the 3 sandwich rolls for the brats. This is the final destination for the rest of that dough. Guess who's having cinnamon swirl french toast tomorrow?

Dinner from a few nights ago was the Tempeh Cacciatore from Vegan Fire and Spice. We tend to really like cacciatores and this one is a little on the spicy side, making it even better! The picture looks like a bunch of red goop on noodles, but the taste was great!


Now if only I knew what we were having for dinner tonight.....

My First Brat Ever

Beer Brat (tester)

Until today, I'd never had brats before and frankly, didn't think I was missing anything. I was so wrong! These are a tester for the second Yellow Rose Recipes cookbook. Lucky for you, dear Reader, Joanna also posted a variation of them on her website several months ago. They have a mellow hint of beer, a great spice blend and a terrific texture. I'm always a sucker for texture in food. We had them with sauerkraut and mustard. If you're one of those simmered seitan haters, you'll be fine with this because they're steamed.

Check out that sandwich roll, too. I made it from Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day using the soft white sandwich bread base. This is my bun/roll recipe for life.

Bring on the cookouts! With these recipes, we'll be ready.

I didn't happen to get a photo of it, but we also had her Autumn Vegetables and Tofu Roast. We flipped over that one.

Tonight's dinner: We traditionally have soup on election day. But we rarely win an election. I'm hoping if we ditch the soup we might end up with the President we want. I'll try anything. (In other words, I have no idea what we're having for dinner. There, I said it. )

Snap! Seitan Cutlets

Snap! Seitan Cutlet

Need a quick dinner? Do you have some seitan cutlets in the freezer? Pair this with a grain and vegetable and I've got your covered! If you can marinade this over night, you can have dinner on the table in no time.

Snap! Seitan Marinade
1/4 cup white wine
1/4 cup broth
1 Tbsp tamari
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp parsley
1 Tbsp kitchen bouquet (optional)
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder (I used toasted from Penzey's)
pepper to taste
oil for the pan

2 seitan cutlets, either beef or chicken style

Mix the marinade together and let the cutlets marinate for as long as you can, preferaby at least an hour. When you're ready to eat, heat the pan with enough oil to panfry the cutlets. Fry them on both sides, then add the rest of the marinade and let simmer until mostly absorbed. That's it!

If You Love Bread, You Need This Book: Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day

Master Dough

Earlier this week, I happened upon this post over at the PPK. Ok, "happened upon" isn't quite true. I jumped on it. But really, it was about making bread and the idea of doing it in 5 minutes because you have dough stored in your fridge. Being the bread lover I am, I had to get the book.

So far, I've made 4 breads from the book, all starting with the master recipe. The photo above is right before I put it in the fridge. From here, you can grab a hunk and bake with it for up to two weeks.

I got a better container to store it in. I couldn't sacrifice my soup pot even for bread. The soup pot gets used 3-4 times a week. As much as I love bread, I couldn't let that pot be out of rotation.

The first loaf on a new pizza peel

Here's the very first loaf, a boule. I should have cut the top better, but that didn't affect the taste. Fantastic crust, great flavor and a really nice soft crumb.

Fresh from the oven

Warm and wonderful fresh baked bread!

Then I tried ciabatta. No photo on that one, but let me tell you, it's the best ciabatta I ever made. I have a hard time getting nice air bubbles in ciabatta and this had them!

Now it was time to try adding stuff to the bread. My first attempt was the olive fougasse, but I didn't have quite enough olives so I subbed in some sundried tomatoes. This is the my favorite loaf so far and I neglected to get a photo of it. But it had this wonderful salty, buttery thing going on and we ate it really fast. It goes great with wine!

Last night's bread was the real olive fougasse and it got rave reviews from a bunch of omnis. Personally, I liked the one with a few sundried tomatoes a little better, but this one was a big success, too.

Oversized loaf of Olive Fougasse

The inside shot

I wish I could share the recipe with you, or offer you some bread. Instead, all I can do is post their blog. A huge thanks to Pickled Treats for sending out the alert on the new bread book.

Disclaimer: the book isn't entirely vegan. Some of the recipes use 'enriched dough' which contains eggs or dairy. I haven't tried to veganize any of the other recipes yet, but I think it will probably be do-able. If you get the book and try one, please let me know!

And....this was going to be my Halloween post but I never got around to posting them because I was so busy making bread. They are tester cookies for Isa and Terry's cookie book. The orange sugar is my own crazy idea.

City Girl Snickerdoodles