Braised Cabbage with Seitan

I like cabbage and I like seitan, so this Braised Cabbage with Seitan recipe from Appetite for Reduction seemed like a great fall dish.

First I made the Surefire Seitan also from Appetite for Reduction. I've made it before and loved it, but this time it didn't turn out! My dough never became elastic like it should. I used a different type of vital wheat gluten, so maybe that's why. It tasted good but wasn't as firm and chewy as it should have been.

The Braised Cabbage recipe is pretty basic. I started by sauteing sliced seitan in olive oil...but I hesitated when it called for adding two teaspoons of thyme to the seitan. I'm not a huge thyme fan so added only a half teaspoon and then some red pepper flakes. Then it was just a matter of adding vegetable broth and sliced cabbage and simmering until the cabbage was tender.

The final dish was pretty bland. All I really tasted was the thyme (damn that thyme!). I loaded my bowl up with salt and pepper, but it wasn't much better. Unfortunately, this recipe was a waste of seitan...and because my seitan was a flop, a waste of eight cups of vegetable broth!

Braised Broccoli with Lemony Tahini Sauce

Since I first made this recipe from Mark Bittman's Food Matters Cook Book, it's become one of my favorite broccoli recipes. It's quick to make and delicious. You can use either broccoli or cauliflower, and you can roast the veggies (toss with a little oil and toast at 400F for about 30 minutes) instead of braising the veggies. The recipe is very similar to this one from a 2006 issue of Vegetarian Times, which I've made many times and love. Today I modified Bittman's recipe a bit to use less oil and had it for lunch with leftover Tamarind Lentils (that I didn't love, but I hate to throw them out.)

Braised Broccoli or Cauliflower with Lemony Tahini Sauce
4 servings

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons olive oil (Bittman's recipe calls for 3 tablespoons)
• Vegetable broth for braising
• 1 large head (about 1 & 1/2 pounds) broccoli or cauliflower, cut into florets
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon (I didn't use zest)
• 1/3 cup tahini
• Salt and black pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

Instructions (with my modifications)

1. Coat a large deep skillet with cooking spray and heat 1 teaspoon oil over medium-high heat. Add the broccoli florets, stir to coat with oil, and cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to brown and get tender, 5 to 10 minutes. Once the oil gets used up, add a little vegetable broth so that they can cook without burning and sticking to the pan. Remove the broccoli.
2. Lower the heat to medium. Add the remaining 1 teaspoon oil to the pan along with the onion and garlic. Cook, stirring, until they soften, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the lemon juice, zest, tahini, a good sprinkling of salt and pepper, and 1/2 cup water or vegetable broth. Stir until a relatively smooth sauce forms and begins to bubble and thicken, 3 to 5 minutes. Add water or broth if it's too thick; thick sauce will clump and not spread easily over the veggies.
3. Return the broccoli to the pan, stir to coat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the broccoli is fully tender. Taste and adjust the seasoning and add the parsley if using. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Happy Herbivore Red Lentil Dal

I love lentils so have high expectations for lentil dishes. This one didn't disappoint. As promised, it was extremely quick and easy to make. It was ready in about a half-hour, including prep time and the time to cook the rice. The sauce was thick and full of flavor. (I used tomato sauce because tomatoes aren't in season, per the cookbook's suggestion.) It was a little spicy even without the dashes of cayenne I added at the end; the cayenne made it just spicy enough. This is a perfect after-work meal that I'll be making often. Omnivore husband liked it too. And it's only 3 WeightWatchers PointsPlus!

The recipe came from The Happy Herbivore Cookbook, but she's also posted it on her website.

And good news! The cookbook's author, Lindsay Nixon, is coming to Pittsburgh for a book signing! It will be at Right by Nature (what a perfect place!) on February 13 from 2 to 4. I'll be there!

Dinner Party: Hummus, Cupcakes & Shepherd's Pie

Last night my husband and I went to our friends Maya and Ryder's new house in East Liberty (a gorgeous house built in 1890...with a turret!) to watch the Steelers game then have dinner.

I made the hummus recipe from Veganomicon. I usually make this recipe from Vegetarian Times that uses no oil because I love the intense chickpea flavor. Veganomicon's recipe used oil and not very much tahini. It was less chickpea-tasting and had almost a batter texture (my VT recipe is a little chunky). It was good and everyone liked it, but I think I prefer the no-oil VT recipe.I also made cupcakes! I hadn't made them since Thanksgiving because I'd been baking so many holiday cookies, so I was excited to make them again. Maya likes citrus (me too!), so I made Lemony Vanilla Cupcakes with Lemon Buttercream Frosting. As with all of the recipes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, these were fantastic! Loved them. (Bonus: Steelers gold!)Maya and Ryder aren't vegetarian, but Maya not only made this Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie...she veganized it! Successfully! It was awesome. It had carrots, parsnips, pearl onions, mushrooms, and seitan in a rich, hearty, meaty-tasting-without-actually-tasting-like-gross-real-meat gravy, topped with potatoes. YUM! A simple tossed salad went with it perfectly.

Red Beans and Rice

Yesterday I made Red Beans and Rice from 125 Best Vegetarian Slow Cooker Recipes by Judith Finlayson. I'm not a big OMGer, but OMG--it was out of this world! My omnivore husband loved it too. This would be a great dish to take to a potluck--it will knock the socks off of people. I'm sure I'll go back to this recipe a lot. I served it with Easy Whole Grain Flatbread.

Red Beans and Rice
Serves 6

Ingredients

• 1 cup dry red beans, such as kidney, pinto, cranberry or romano (I used pinto)
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 4 stalks celery, diced
• 6 cloves garlice, minced
• 1 tsp dried oregano leaves
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cracked black peppercorns
• 3 cups vegetable stock (I used a flavorful stock I made using roasted veggies)
• 1 to 2 jalapeno peppers, finely chopped (I used 1 jalapeno and 2 chipotle chilis in adobo sauce, plus a few teaspoons of the sauce to give it a smoky flavor)
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped (I don't like bell peppers so didn't use them)
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar, optional (I had no idea what the difference in taste would be with the vinegar; I used about 3/4 tbsp)
• 1 cup long-grain rice, cooked
• Finely chopped green onion, parsley, or cilantro (I didn't use)
• Hot pepper sauce (original was very spicy; I didn't use)

Instructions

1. Soak the beans at least six hours; I soaked them overnight. Drain and rinse and set aside.
2. In a skilled, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions and celery and cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, oregano, salt, and peppercorns and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add beans and stir to coat. Transfer to slow cooker stoneware. Add vegetable stock and stir well.
3. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours, until beans are tender. (My beans were tender in just 5 hours, perhaps because of my longer soak.) Add jalapeno peppers, chipotle chili in adobo sauce if using, green pepper and vinegar if using. Cover and cook on High for 20 minutes, until pepper is tender. Stir in rice. Garnish with green onion and serve with hot pepper sauce, if desired.

Weight Watchers PointsPlus (I calculate points using the Recipe Builder tool on WeightWatchers.com): 4