Sunday, November 8, 2009

Seitan and Romanesco casserole

developed to utilize leftover tomato sauce and french bread from a previous nights spaghetti
totally effing delicious.

1 head Romanesco broccoli
1 10 oz. package traditional seitan
1 12 oz package whole wheat spiral pasta
3 tbls. breadcrumbs
4 slices tofutti mozzarella
1-2 cups tomato sauce (any pasta or pizza sauce works well for this)
crusty bread (last nights half loaf of garlic bread is perfect, as well as the last few pieces of a any loaf that needs to get used up.)
2 cups Nutritional Yeast cheese sauce (recipe located on most packages)
2 tbls italian seasoning
1 tbls braggs liquid aminos
3 cloves crushed garlic 
1 tbls olive oil


Boil pasta to al dente, drain and return to pan.

Wash romanesco florets and saute together with garlic and olive oil over med-high heat until slightly browned on edges, adding water to pan as needed. (NOTE: Romanesco is high in vitamin C which is water soluble, so use as little as necessary to avoid nutritional degradation.)
roughly chop Seitan and add to pan, continue to saute until Seitan is lightly browned and then add Braggs along with the italian seasoning. Toss together until liquid disappears.

Add stirfry to pasta pan with tomato sauce and nutritional yeast cheese sauce. Mix well to combine and transfer to an oiled 8" by 8" casserole dish.

top with slices of tofutti mozzarella and sprinkle with breadcrumbs

cook at 350 for 30 minutes then turn on broiler and broil under supervision until breadcrumbs are dark and crisp.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Too much tabbouleh soup

originally developed to utilize a ton of tabbouleh I had leftover, but I've found this soup also works with leftovers you have of most any grain.
I've tried it using both quinoa and brown rice with excellent results.

chop up:
one entire bunch of celery stalks
one large onion
3-10 cloves of garlic (depending on your personal tastes)
3 cups mushrooms
one whole leek
one bunch carrots (chop and reserve greens, don't toss)
NOTE: experiment with substitution! pretty much anything you have in the vegetable compartment can sub for anything on the list that you don't.

in large soup pot saute leek slices, onions, and garlic in two tbls. olive oil over med-high heat until onions become transparent. add mushrooms, carrots, celery and a splash red wine and saute two minutes more, stirring consistently.
Cover well with water, water line should be a good five inches above vegetable line.
add one whole orange peel to pot(eat the orange)
Boil uncovered until vegetables are well cooked.
add leftover tabbouleh or other cooked grain in the amount you have to utilize.
NOTE: I just dump in whatever I have left and need to utilize. As a general rule you should aim for no more than six cups and no less than two.
add:
2 tbls rosemary
1 tbls sage
1 tbls onion powder
1 tbls coriander
1/2 cup braggs liquid aminos
1/2 cup brewed coffee

simmer for 30 minutes
add 1 cup nutritional yeast and carrot greens
stir and remove from heat
remove orange peel before serving!

season to taste and serve.