Hummus Croutons w/Lemon Vinaigrette (Whole-Wheat, Gluten-Free Option)

Croutons are so easy to make - if you have a crusty or even soft loaf of bread you can make an addicting salad topper. When it comes to "homemade" food, nothing is better than warm, well-seasoned crispy toasts. Combined with tomatoes, greens, Italian herbs and lovingly coated with a nice lemon vinaigrette, this makes an excellent snack.

(Hummus Croutons Ingredients)

• 4 Slices of Whole Wheat or GF Bread
• 5 tbl Olive Hummus
• Minced Garlic Cloves
• Garlic Powder, Italian Seasoning and Salt
• Olive Oil (optional)

(Lemon Vinaigrette Ingredients)

• 1/4 cup Olive Oil
• Juice from 1/2 Lemon
• 1/2 tsp Dijon or Stone-Ground Mustard
• Minced Garlic and Basil
• A pinch of Salt and Pepper

(Directions)

• Cut your bread into thick pieces.
• Coat with the above ingredients and bake at 400 degrees until crispy.
• Meanwhile whisk your vinaigrette ingredients together, making sure that everything has time to meld and that the olive oil is the first thing in the bowl.
• Allow the flavors to meld for about an hour, then combine with your favorite salad greens, croutons and enjoy.

Lunch With Totoro

I planned on making a bigger bento but forgot to buy a few things so I just stuck to some of the key characters and parts from "My Neighbor Totoro". Since I normally see Totoro made with black sesame seeds I decided instead to use cocoa powder and soy sauce (it tastes like coffee) to create a rather tasty Totoro. Next it was a vegan Chu Totoro egg. What? A vegan egg that isn't tofu? Yes, ladies and gentlemen - it's true. But first we have to get through the rest of the bowl. I made a catbus head out of couscous and store-bought hummus that was absolutely delicious, wrapped it up in plastic and stashed it in the fridge to keep it fresh. Next I added a nice English cucumber that you normally see in oi sun or Japanese pickles. I added radishes to symbolize the seeds and carrots for stability and a s a filler. As another filler and a double-agent I also used cauliflower for clouds. Nori and cheese made up the rest of the Totoros and then you're done.

I peered through two recipes for the vegan egg but ended up with my own combination. Because I didn't have soy creamer like most of the recipes required I ended up with an off-white egg instead. Still cute though, right?

Shin's Vegan Egg Recipe:

1 tbl Agar Agar

1/2 cup Soymilk

2 tbl All-Purpose Flour

2 tbl Cold Water

A pinch of Salt

Let the agar agar mix with the water for about 5-10 minutes and start to boil your soymilk with the flour, once that is done you can add the agar mixture and cook it for about 2-3 minutes. Whisk it together a few times and strain it into your choice of mold. I didn't have any actual egg molds that were shaped like eggs so I decided to use some of those 30 cent "eggs" used to hold pantyhose. After snapping on the tops and making sure that they didn't move, I stashed them in the fridge for about 2-3 hours and made my own Chu Totoro as per AnnaTheRed's instructions here, subbing soy cheese for the kamaboko and the whole egg for the agar mixture.



Other Recipes Links:
First Egg Recipe (that I found)
Second Egg Recipe (that I found)

Enjoy!

Signed,

<3 Bou Shin <3

Where The "Buffalo Wings" Roam

*New picture will be added soon*

It's sweet, spicy, tender, full of garlic flavor and has just the right size and texture for this sort of seitan. The best part about this meal is how quick it is, provided that you have all of the ingredients ready. It's almost impossible for you to miss any of the ingredients, but even so - it will still be a great meal. I was craving something hot and spicy for this meal and if you're feeling the same way then take a look!


Seitan Wings Recipe:
1 and 1/4 a cup of Vital Wheat Gluten
1 cup of Cold Veggie Broth
1/8 a cup of Nutritional Yeast (make it 1/4 if your yeast doesn't look powdery)
1/2 a cup of Washed and Mashed White Beans
1/2 a teaspoon of Iodized Salt

Combine all of the ingredients together, making sure to add the broth last and to stir carefully so that you don't toughen up the seitan too much. After that, prepare your steamer with the rest of your broth and shape your "wings" to the shape and size of your thumbs (or any shape of your choice), just keep in mind that the seitan will expand to about twice its original size.

This recipe makes a pretty substantial amount of seitan pieces (I have small thumbs), so make sure not to crowd your steamer with too many at one time. More than likely you will have the put each piece in at intervals, but the wait is definitely worth it. Steam each set of seitan chunks for about 30 minutes or so, then let it cool on a cold pan while you put the raw seitan into the basket. After the final set of seitan is done, let them all cool for about 15-20 minutes to let them set up on themselves and to draw in more moisture.

While you're allowing your seitan to cool, begin to mince a small onion together with a clove or two of garlic, and soften them in a pan over medium heat with some olive oil. Once the onions have softened enough, add about 1/2 a teaspoon of cumin and a pinch of sugar with 1/4 a cup of sriracha sauce to the pan. After the mixture has been brought together, feel free to add whatever you do to make your food special to you. You could add some vegan margarine or just toss in your newly-cooled seitan. If you want your seitan wings to be extra-saucy then you can keep them like that, but if you want them to be more similar to store-bought buffalo wings you can fry the sauce into the seitan and allow it to permeate the pieces all of the way through.

You could also leave it like that, but then you would be missing your delicious creamy dipping partner. This hummus recipe brings a more garlicky punch to the party but can be adjusted to suit your tastes.

Hummus Recipe:
1 16oz can of Drained and Washed Chickpeas (save a small amount of liquid before you wash them)
1/2 of a tablespoon of Tahini
2-3 cloves of Minced Garlic
1/4 a cup of Olive Oil (non-fruity)
A splash of Lemon Juice
Salt to taste

Mince the garlic and place it into the food processor, giving it about three runs to ensure that no large chunks will get in the way of your delicious hummus. Afterwards, add half of the chickpeas to the mix and blend it together into a sticky and chunky paste. Once it looks like that you need to add the left-over liquid and a splash of lemon juice. Process that together and then add the tahini, and after you've given that a few turns -  add the olive oil and mix it all together. Taste it, and if it seems flavorless then you can add the salt.

Combining these two flavors seems like it would never work, but when you have a creamy but garlicky dipping mixture tying together the other garlic flavors already in the buffalo seitan it's like they belonged together from the start. The cumin also manages to help get rid of the heat from the wings and presents two Asian flavors surrounding a classic American bar food.

                             Signed,

<3 Bou Shin <3