Vegan Italian Beef W/ Homemade Hot Giardineria (Fat-Free Option)

This has got to be the best "slow-cooked" seitan that I have ever had - its so tender and juicy from the broth I made, with little to no chew so it literally melts in your mouth. The juiciness helps reactivate more of the creaminess and meltiness from the flavored cream cheese (chive and garlic)  that I spread upon the buns before toasting them to an utmost crispness. The light spice from the peppers and the kick from the salt and vinegar make this an extremely addicting sandwich that anyone could love.

(Italian Beef Ingredients)

• 1 cup of Vital Wheat Gluten(Bob's Red Mill)
• 1/2 tsp of Salt
• 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
• 1 tsp of Basil
• 2 tsp Garlic Powder
• 3 tsp Italian Seasonings
• 1 tsp Olive Oil or Chilled Chickpea Broth

(Broth Mix Ingredients)

• 5 cloves Crushed Garlic
• Black Pepper, Garlic Powder, Salt and Italian Seasonings
• Molasses to darken the broth
• 1 gallon of Cold Water

(Italian Beef Directions)

• Mix your dry and your oil together and slowly add in your cold water. Knead lightly about 30-35 times and keep whatever liquid comes out in the bowl with the seitan.
• Combine your broth ingredients together in a large pot and bring to a boil. Then add in the seitan and leftover liquid. .
• Place a pot top on the seitan and turn the heat on low, then check about 20 minutes in to see if it has expanded, if it has you can spoon a little broth on top and make sure that nothing has over boiled. Let this cook for about five more minutes until well-browned and it looks cuter.
• Remove the pot lid, then turn the heat to the highest degree and cook for exactly one minute.
• Return the pot top and cut off the heat, letting it sit from two hours to the whole night
• When you are ready, place your large piece of seitan on a plate and squeeze the water out of it - but do not drain your broth at all.
• Take a fork and a knife and cut the seitan in half, then scrape the "skin" and "meat" off from each other, away from you. If a piece gets bigger than your thumb, chop it up.
• Place into a nice pasta drainer or fryer net and allow for your seitan to warm up in the broth as you turn the heat on medium. Once it has warmed, you can get some of the extra liquid out by cooking it in a dry, non-stick skillet.
• When the seitan has come to your liking, place atop two well-toasted buns that have been schmeared with cream cheese or vegan margarine and then delicately lay on your giardineria.

(Homemade Giardineria Ingredients)

• 2 stalks of Diced Celery
• 1 small Diced Carrot
• 1/2 Diced Green Bell
• 1 (half) De-Seeded Jalapeno Pepper
• 2 cloves Diced Garlic
• 1/4 Diced White Onion
• Diced Green Olives and Cauliflower
• Oregano, Black Pepper and Salt
• 1 cup of White Vinegar
• 1/2 cup of Olive Oil (add none if you want fat-free)

(Homemade Giardineria Directions)

• Pour boiling water on your vegetables, dip them in cool water then combine all of the ingredients in a jar.
• Let it sit in the fridge, untouched, for 2-6 days or until you believe it is ready. Serve atop your Italian beef and enjoy!

American Stir-Fry (Low-Fat, Fun, Simple)

American stir-fry actually originated in Thailand somewhere around the 1960's for American soldiers. Normally it contains hot sauce, hot dogs, fried chicken, rice and possibly macaroni - but they all vary and just about anything can be considered that style of stir-fry nowadays. Its meant to provide a lot of dense, nutritional value that is easy to eat and it was used to provide a 'homey' feeling for the soldiers. It is still served in some restaurants, but its popularity varies.

Here is my version of a "breakfast" American stir-fry

American Stir-Fry Recipe:
1 Handful of Cooked Veggie Sausage
1 large Collard Green
1/4 package of Tofu
Cooked Brown Rice
Turmeric
Bell Peppers, Onions and Garlic
Salt, Pepper, and Garlic Powder

*Nutritional facts will be configurated later

If you wish, you can season it with soy sauce and a yummy, spicy garlic sauce instead or do as I did and pour a mix of the two and Louisiana hot sauce on it.

Three Single-Serving Lemon Squares (Low-Sugar, Low-Fat)

This was a simple recipe that made use of a lot of leftovers, so technically the only thing I cooked was the lemon-filling. It won everyone's hearts over and now they might go into the "List of Party Things" so that I won't be mauled by guests. I'm not particularly a fan of lemon-squares, as I've had a few bad incidents with the boxed mix but I was prepared to see if mine was any better. While I'm still not a fan - I conclude that I was better.

(Lemon Filling Ingredients)

• 1/4 cup of Lemon Juice
• 3 tsp of Stevia
• 1/2 tsp of Orange Zest
• 1/2 Medium-Sized Orange Juice
• 2 tsp of Cornstarch Slurry
• 1 tbl Powdered Sugar

(Shortbread Topping Ingredients)

• 1/4 batch of shortbread recipe in Homemade Twix

(Crust Ingredients)

• I used an animal cracker recipe with 1/4 the oil and a bit of applesauce. You can use this tart recipe

(Directions)

• For the lemon filling, heat everything except sugar until thickened. Then, remove from heat and add sugar.Set aside.
• Prepare your pie crust.Free-form into squares and then chill your pie crust.
• Poke a few holes in it, then bake in the oven for about 12 minutes.
• Spoon some lemon filling on top followed by crushed shortbread topping.
• Enjoy!

So, what's your favorite comfort dessert? Are you a fan of sweets other than lemon squares like me - or do you fawn over the sweet and tart tastes of this classic?

Veganopolis

I decided to do something a little off the range of food that I've created - and so I've created Veganopolis! You may link to this post but you aren't allowed to post it anywhere else or state it as your own. All of these pages were written and illustrated by me but are meant for fun - nothing political. Enjoy!

Line 1: I want Superior!
Line 2: Gah! She took it!

Line 1: Eat the beans!
Line 2: Not organic!

Line 1: Stay organic.
Line 2: Ohohoho! Stupid face is right! GMO's are bad!

Line 1: *Fart Noise*
Line 2: Organ...ic?

When It's Chilly Eat Some Chili!

Simple and basic chili meant to warm you up and still entertain your taste buds. Normally when I make chili I don't measure anything as it depends on everyone's tastes if it will be good or not, but I'll try for you.

Chili Recipe:
1 cup of Texturized Vegetable Protein (boiled for ten minutes, washed and drained)
1 can of Diced Tomatoes
1 handful of Fresh Tomatoes
1 Fresh Jalapeno Pepper (half de-seeded if you want a bit spicy)
1/2 tbl of Cinnamon
1/2 a tsp of Chili Powder
2 cloves of Minced Garlic
1/2 of a Minced Large Onion
1/2 of a Small Green Bell Pepper
A dash of Paprika
Olive oil (or preferred olive oil)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Sauté the fresh ingredients together in a pot with olive oil until they are tender, then add all of the spices and seasonings except for the cinnamon. Once the smells of the seasonings mixed with the vegetables have begun to permeate through the air, add the canned tomatoes and the texturized vegetable protein (plus a bit more Paprika). Let that stew together for about 5 minutes, adding liquid as you want - then add the cinnamon in increments, tasting (with a different spoon) as you go. Once it is heated up and has come together, serve it in a bowl with those delicious and cheesy crackers, and eat until your heart's content. If you want to add a brighter and much fresher flavor, definitely add some sliced green onions on top - don't use chives.

Enjoy!

Signed,

<3 Bou Shin <3

Sloppy Joe Is Sooo Sloppy

He's so sloppy that you need two hands to eat all of the tasty and spicy "meat" between two Okara buns. He doesn't need anything else to sop up his delicious paprika and garlic spiced flavor, just those two fluffy wheat buns - and you. You can change him though, and make sure that Joe becomes a clean man on your plate! One little nibble and you'll want more, although you find that you're full after one burger, you will also find a system to try to eat as many as possible.

(Sloppy Joe "Meat" Ingredients)

• Texturized Vegetable Protein (that has been covered in boiled water for 10 minutes, then washed and drained)
• 2 cloves of Minced Garlic
• 1/2 of a Small Minced Onion
• 1/2 a tsp of Crushed Red Pepper
• 1/4 a tsp of Black Pepper
• 1/4 a tsp of Greek Oregano
• A dash of Paprika
• Salt and Garlic Powder to taste
• 1/2 a Cup of Chunky Spaghetti Sauce (your favorite)

(Okara Buns Ingredients)

• 1 cup of Raw Okara (cooked is fine as well)
• 1 packet of Rapid-Rise Yeast
• 1 Cup of Warm Water
• 1 tbl of Brown Sugar
• 3 tbl of Unflavored Oil (for coating the pan)
• 1 tsp of Iodized Salt
• 1 and 1/2 cups of All-Purpose Flour
• 1 and 1/2 cups of High Protein Wheat Flour

(Directions)

• For the "Meat": Normally I would have precooked and seasoned the garlic and onions, but instead I decided to keep them as is. With the TVP to give more texture and flavor.
• After the TVP has been washed and drained, add the vegetables and the pre-measured spices and mixed them together. Then coat a pan in olive oil and set it on medium-heat and add the meat.
• Once it begins to cook add the salt and pepper and the spaghetti sauce, only allowing a few chunks of tomato into the recipe as I went.
• Let the dish cook for about 5 minutes and then served it on top of Okara buns.


• For the Buns:Mix all of the dry ingredients except for the brown sugar together in a large bowl, then add the rest of the ingredients (except the oil) to a smaller dish, mix them together and allow the yeast to eat the sugar for about 3-5 minutes.
• After the yeast has grown, create a hole in the middle of the flour mixture as you would for biscuits and slowly mix in the yeast. After it is all thoroughly mixed together it should be quite wet, in that case move it to a warm area and preheat the oven to about 320 degrees.
• After 30-40 minutes are up, take the bread dough out of its warm area and punch it down, knead it with some flour until it is elastic, split into equal pieces and shape them into buns then let them sit on an oil covered pan for 15-20 minutes to allow them to proof once more.
• Once time has elapsed, cross the buns with a knife to make sure that everything is together and then place them into the oven for 15-30 minutes. To be sure that they're done, peek every few times and once they start to change color, move them around to see if they stick and look lighter, and if you're still not sure - place a knife into the center-most bun as you would do a cake.


• Serve them together and enjoy!