Ode to Zacusca

A friend of ours is originally from Romania and introduced us to zacusca, a traditional eggplant and red pepper dip, and we really liked it. DH, the chef, went home and whipped up something that came close, but with a few additions. I’m no chef, but I made my version yesterday and it was yum. Here’s basically how to whip up your own zacusca-ish goodness.

eggplant(s)

red pepper(s)

garlic cloves

tomato paste

salt to taste

celery stalks (not in traditional zacusca)

garbanzo beans (not in traditional zacusca)

onions

olive oil (about 1 Tbsp.)

This is not so much of a recipe as an ingredient list because I was trying to use up some leftover eggplant when I made this and was just throwing things in. I put about 1 eggplant’s worth (maybe a little less), 1 1/2 – 2 red pepper’s worth (diced from the freezer so hard to tell), a bunch of tiny garlic cloves which probably equaled 4-6 regular-sized cloves, 1 pint of canned chick peas, a couple tablespoons (didn’t measure) of tomato paste, 3 celery stalks, about 1 onion’s worth and salt to taste. My ingredients made about 4-5 cups.

I put everything in a pot and cooked it all together till all ingredients were nice and soft and most of the water had boiled out, then I blended it with my stick blender. The recipes I saw didn’t call for blending the zacusca, but I like the smooth blended texture so it works for me.

I put in more eggplant than red pepper, but I have seen recipes that called for much more red pepper than I used. Some called for tomato sauce or fresh tomatoes instead of the paste and most called for the eggplant and peppers to be roasted. I didn’t roast either and it was still delish.

I hope you try it and if it comes out anything like mine did, you will not be disappointed!

My Other Bread

When I’m not making sourdough (which I need to get back into since the temps are nice and warm again), or when DH is tired of sourdough and is pining for “store yeast” bread, this is my bread of choice.

I think it’s loosely based on a recipe I found on King Arthur Flour website years ago, but it has morphed and changed a bit into what it is today.

Ingredients: 1 1/3 c. warm water handful rolled oats 1 Tbsp. molasses 1/4 c. sugar or honey 3 Tbsp. oil 2 c. whole wheat flour 2 c. white bread flour 1 1/2 tsp. salt

Before we moved where we’re living now, I used to make decent bread and I even had people willing to pay good money for a loaf or two, but since I’ve moved up here, not sure if it’s a location thing or if I have just forgotten how to make bread, but whatever the case, I haven’t been as happy with my breadmaking results.

The crumb has been crumbly recently and I’ve been longing for that lovely, gluteny, chewy tooth feel that I get with less healthy, White Mountain type, store brand breads.

I went on a mission to figure out what I was doing wrong. I think I’ve figured it out. I wasn’t kneading the bread long enough (or at least I wasn’t having my machines [either my Kitchenaid stand mixer or my Bosch Universal]) mix long enough to develop the gluten properly. For some reason my brain was telling me that my dough was cracking as it rose because I’d overmixed the dough, but I was doing just the opposite.

Also, in reading Tammy (of Tammy’s Recipes)’s rundown of natural dough conditioners, I remembered some of the dough conditioners I used to add to my bread (i.e. ground ginger, ascorbic acid powder…) so I’ve been adding those back in as I can get them.

I also have been reading how bread consistency is helped by a preferment and autolysing or soaking some of the flour before mixing all the ingredients together, so I tried it yesterday and was so excited by the results. It adds a little more work, but accomplishes my desire to have my flour (or at least most of it) soak for 7+ hours before baking thus minimizing the phytates in the flour, plus the texture is so So SO much nicer! If I can figure out how to soak my flour overnight, I might try that, but for now, what I’ve managed is:

Preferment: 2 c. ww flour 1 c. water 1 tsp. yeast Autolyse: 1/3 c. water (try 1/4) 1/4 c. honey 1 Tbsp. molasses Rolled oats Enough of 2 c. bread flour to mix with liquid   After Preferment and Autolyse have sat at room temperature for 3-4 hours, Add: 1/4 c. oil 2 tsp. yeast (dissolved in just enough milk to cover) 1 1/2 tsp. salt Pinch of ascorbic acid 2 tsp. pectin Rest of 2 c. bread flour plus enough to get right consistency 2 Tbsp. vital wheat gluten   Will try a.s.a.p.: 1 rounded Tbsp. Malted Barley Flour 1/2 tsp. ground ginger 1/4 c. lecithin granules (I might start with less, Tammy uses 1/2 tsp. per loaf for her bread recipe so 1/4 c. per here sounds like an awful lot!)

Based on the aeration info here, I also tried to whip my preferment and autolysed mixes for about 3 minutes till they

were good and “fluffy” before I added the rest of the ingredients.

Then I added enough flour to get the right consistency and mixed on a 2 setting for about 10 minutes, let the dough rest for 5 minutes, then mixed for 10 more minutes (see here, then here) before transferring to a greased bowl for the first rise.

I’m not big on really crusty bread, I like a softer crust so have been in the habit of baking at 325 deg. for 20-25 minutes, but yesterday, I preheated to 475 deg. and turned the heat down to 325 deg. as soon as I put the loaves in. I think that helped with a little oven spring. Next time I might try an initial temp of 500 deg. Geo gave the crust 2 thumbs up. He said he usually doesn’t like crust, but this crust was nice and chewy like the bread, “kind of like Dad’s potato bread,” so it was just fine. I consider that a compliment :).

As far as more dough conditioners, I will add in lecithin granules and powdered ginger when I can get them from the store.

Another benefit from extending the time it takes to make a batch of bread is that I can slow the baking process down as needed (with the help of the fridge if need-be) allowing me to bake in the cooler evening parts of the day.

Mmmm, I’m anticipating this next batch of bread, can’t wait till it comes out of the oven…

ETA: Note to self--I really need to work on my loaf shaping technique. One thing at a time…

The oven spring wasn’t as high today as yesterday so I’ll go back to 475 deg. instead of 500 deg. for initial temp. Also, I think for the preferment, I might try adding less yeast  and more yeast when I mix everything together. Either that or I’ll just add a little more yeast to the recipe as a whole. When it’s time for the final rise, I would like to see things work a little faster than they did tonight.

Ok, just tasted it and…. yum! And DH gave it the green light as well. I’m glad that the dough conditioners I added (pectin & ascorbic acid) didn’t alter the flavor negatively.

Bread Soup (Pappa Al Pomodoro)

While looking for a way to use up stale bread, I stumbled upon an interesting recipe on Food.com. It’s basically an herby tomato soup with pieces of stale bread added near the end of the cooking time so it has time to soak up some of the liquid and become nice and spongy. The results are similar to a soup made with dumpling, but because it is a previously baked yeast dough, the dumplings are much more tender than the baking soda variety. My kids and I really like it, my husband not so much so ymmv. Here’s how I make it (for a tribe of 1 adult and 4 hungry yungins).

Ingredients:

     several cloves of garlic (4-6)

     1-2 onions, sliced

     a little olive oil for sautéing onions and garlic

     1-2 dashes red chili pepper seeds

     1 large can or 2 smaller cans tomatoes (whole, chopped,

             diced, whatever)

     stale bread, sliced, torn into bite-sized pieces (somewhere

             around 8 c.)

     12 c. water

     6 bullion cubes (beef flavor is nice, but vegetable is fine too)

     1 Tbsp. dry basil (called for 1 c. fresh leaves, torn in small

            pieces which I’m sure would be even tastier!)

Directions: (how I do ours)

    1)    Put onions and garlic with oil in a large pot, salt onions and garlic. Sauté with lid off for a little, then add lid so O&G don’t burn or stick; Before the O&G start to stick, add the tomatoes; add the basil; if using whole tomatoes, crush them with the back of a wooden spoon and stir; add water & bullion cubes; add more water/bullion if needed to make a liquidy soup; cook until the tomatoes fall apart (about 20 minutes).
    2)    Put the bread into the sauce; the bread will soak up the sauce; cook until the bread becomes a kind of mush (this is called 'pappa').

Some notes: I make this with my own stale homemade bread (2-3+ days old at least) and it works great. We tried English muffins once but weren’t too impressed with the results, they turned out rather gooey. I’m thinking it might work to add bread to any kind of soupy soup, but we’ve only ever tried it this way. I suggested it once and my kids said, “but I like the tomato soup!” so that kinda settled it for me.

My “This Can’t Be Sourdough Bread” Recipe

Since I started my sourdough journey on March 12 when a friend of mine showed up at a church social with a jar of starter for me (not something I had asked for, but I’m so glad she did!), it’s been a bumpy ride. At first it just sat in my fridge waiting for its weekly feed. One week I thought for sure I’d killed it because I let it go longer than a week between feeds, but I started feeding it again and it came right back to life. I’ve since learned that wild yeast isn’t that easy to kill and I could have neglected it for a few weeks and it probably, with some coaxing, would still have returned to its former glory.

I finally got brave enough to attempt a loaf of sourdough and used the recipe from S. John Ross’ Sourdough Baking – The Basics website. I actually did make some fairly decent bread to begin with and then the urge for more sourdough experimentation took over and I started trying other recipes and techniques (like baking inside my deep cast iron skillet with a lid on to trap steam), but either the taste (too sour), or the crust/crumb (too tough) weren’t just right and I started to feel downright deflated. My kids were pining for the fleshpots of commercial yeast bread . Also, my starter started to look a little peaked and I didn’t know what I was doing wrong. It wasn’t doubling in 4 hours like I thought it should, it was starting to separate which didn’t look like the Google pictures that I had seen of lovely, vital sourdough starter.

But, I’m not one to give up a fight easily. I had read some interesting reports on the nutritional value of sourdough bread over commercial yeasted breads and I wasn’t wanting to throw in the towel yet. I tried adding a little pineapple juice to my starter which did help some, I also ordered a food scale which, as soon as I started using it, seemed to have an amazing effect on my starter. I realized that I hadn’t been keeping my starter at 100% hydration like I thought, more like 120% or more. When I mixed equal weights of water and flour, the result was more like a wet dough, much less like a thick batter. It was almost hard to stir.

Finally my starter was doing better and I was now on the search for a non-sour (or mildly sour), soft, thin/light crusted sourdough. I tweaked John’s recipe to include an egg (lecithin), milk (dough conditioner), and baking soda (acid neutralization). I also took his advice of lower temps as I’d been baking at much higher temps and the crusts were always so crusty.

I’ve made this recipe a few times now and my kids have stopped wishing for the “old” bread and are quite happy with Mommy’s new wild yeast bread. Geo even got so into things that he’s started his own starter (we’re calling it a science experiment, lol). So, without further ado, here’s my 50%+ WW TCBS bread recipe:

2 c. (500 g.) 100% hydration starter (mine is almost 100% white)

3 c. (400 g.) whole wheat flour

1/4 c. (80 g.) honey (or molasses)

1 egg + milk = 2/3 c. (1 egg + milk = 160 g.)

Autolyze (rest dough) for 30 minutes, then add:

1-1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1 Tbsp. oil

Add more bread flour if needed.

Mix in bread mixer for 5-8 minutes or knead by hand for 8-10 minutes (ok, guessing here, lol).

Place in a greased bowl, coat both sides, cover with plastic wrap (or a plastic shower cap) and let it rest in a warm place (i.e. in the oven with the light on) for 30 minutes to an hour. Punch dough down, knead in bowl till dough firms up a bit. Cover and let rest again. Aim for 3 or 4 punch ‘n’ kneads (or stretch and folds) during the first 4-5 hours. Then turn dough out onto greased surface. Cut dough into half. Place one half back into bowl, take other half, cut side down, on your work surface. Roll out with rolling pin into a long, semi-rectangular shape. Flip bread over so cut side is now facing up. Begin rolling bread at top, rolling toward you all the way to the bottom. Pinch seams. Place seam side down into greased bread pan. Repeat with other 1/2 of dough. Place shower cap (or plastic wrap) on top of each bread pan. Let them rise in a warm place for 2-3 hours, till top of dough is at least 1 inch above top of pan. With a sharp knife or razor blade, slash top of bread in whatever designs you would like. Heat oven to 350°F and bake for 20 minutes. Let bread cool before slicing. Store any bread that’s left in plastic bags like these to keep the bread moist for a few days (if it lasts that long). If you don’t like heels and no one else wants them, they make great breadcrumbs after they’ve been dried.

Note: I aim to have my bread in a pre-cooked dough state for at least 7 hours to give the phytates in the wheat time to neutralize. I personally don’t like my bread to go much longer than 12 hours before baking as that increases the sour taste and we’re not fans of that at this point. I generally aim for 7 hours total dough time, but lately, with the weather being as unseasonably cool as it has been, my bread has inched up closer to the 12 hour mark. Unfortunately for me, the light in my oven is blown. Lately I’ve been mixing the dough first thing in the morning (around 8 a.m.) and then into the loaf pans around 12 or 1 and bake around 3 or 4. It would also work to mix it up before going to bed in the evening, then shaping into loaves in the morning and bake 2-3 hours later, but you’d have to do without any punching down of the dough which I think helps develop the gluten strands.

Another use for ramen noodles

My dear hubby happened upon this lovely way of gussying up the ever budget friendly, but very basic, ramen noodles. Here's what he does:

Take 2 stalks of celery (cut in chunks), 2 carrots (peeled, cut up), 1/2 to 1 onion, and he's either used fresh asparagus on one occasion or mushrooms on a couple of others (I also made it with just celery, carrots and onion and used Buddha's Delight gluten & vege/mushroom mix and it turned out decent too). Cook these up with some salt or seasoning salt till the carrots are nice and soft. Blend everything in the blender to make a nice "gravy." Add one of those small cans (I'm guessing 8-10 oz.) of Chinese Braised Gluten or Mock Duck or some such thing (I think you can get them in the Asian section of the supermarket), mix with about 3 packages of cooked, drained, ramen noodles (minus the seasoning packets), and there you have it, a yummy meal (cheap too), and sure to please all eating.

Meal Planning

I've never been great about this and in the past would find myself about 11:55 am scratching my head wondering what was for lunch. Day after day that gets to be really old fast. So I gathered up some of my/our favorite recipes that were also really simple and easy to make (and pretty inexpensive too) and threw together a menu plan. Fwiw, here is my 8 week cyclical menu plan (I'll try to post recipes for some of these when I get time in the future (lol):

Week 1

• Sunday: Spaghetti (make bread)
  
• Monday: Biscuits & Egg &/or mushroom gravy
  
• Tuesday: Egg salad sandwiches, Soup (Broccoli, potato, or tomato)
• Wednesday: Patties (Gluten, potato/egg, rice /potato/egg/tofu...)
  
• Thursday: Haystacks (taco salad/tacos/tostadas/burritos)
  
• Friday: Mac n Cheese ( like the Tofu Rarebit recipe), Green beans, Corn on the cobb (or frozen corn)
  
• Sabbath: Special K (or Cottage Cheese) Loaf, Green Bean Salad (or just green beans and/or salad), Mashed Potatoes
  

Week 2

• Sunday: Pizza, Make Bread
  
• Monday: Shepherd's/Pot Pie, Mashed P&G
  
• Tuesday: Egg & Tomato, Sandwiches, (Soak beans for tomorrow)
  
• Wednesday: Black Beans & Rice
  
• Thursday: Curry (Egg, potato/chickpea or lentil...) & rice, Chipaties
  
• Friday: Muffins, fruit & soup (usually a supper, not sure what to do for lunch, leftovers?)
  
• Sabbath: Potato/Tomato Galette
  

Week 3

• Sunday: Spaghetti, Make Bread
  
• Monday: Tater tot casserole
  
• Tuesday: Egg salad sandwiches
  
• Wednesday: Patties (Gluten, potato/egg, rice /potato/egg/tofu...)
  
• Thursday: Haystacks
  
• Friday: Mac n "Cheese", (make extra cheese), Asparagus, (Soak beans)
  
• Sabbath: Conch Stew, Rice & Beans
  

Week 4

• Sunday: Pizza, Make Bread
  
• Monday: Shepherd's/Pot Pie, Mashed P&G
  
• Tuesday: Tomato Soup, Grilled "Cheese" Sandwiches (Cheese leftover from Mac n Cheese), (Soak beans)
  
• Wednesday: Cornbread & chili, Salad
  
• Thursday: Chicken a la king, Broccoli, Salad (tomatoes, lettuce, mayo/catsup /soymilk dressing)
  
• Friday: Lunch: Perogies w/ "Nice Spaghetti Sauce," Peas & Corn
  
• Supper: Muffins, fruit & soup
  
• Sabbath: Special K Loaf, Green Bean Salad, Mashed Potatoes
  

Week 5

• Sunday: Spaghetti, Make Bread
  
• Monday: Something with rice (make extra rice)
  
• Tuesday: Egg salad, sandwiches
  
• Wednesday: Patties (Gluten, potato/egg, rice /potato/egg/tofu...)
  
• Thursday: Fried Rice (add broccoli, scrambled eggs, onions, slivered carrots, frozen peas...)
  
• Friday: Mac n Cheese, Brussels Sprouts
  
• Sabbath: Pierogies
  

Week 6

• Sunday: Pizza, Make Bread
  
• Monday: Biscuits & Egg gravy
  
• Tuesday: Egg & Tomato Sandwiches, Soak beans
  
• Wednesday: Black Beans & Rice
  
• Thursday: Haystacks
  
• Friday: Supper: Baked Rice Pudding
  
• Sabbath: 1 Dish Meal, Salad, Bread (rolls?)
  

Week 7

• Sunday: Spaghetti, Make Bread
  
• Monday: Tater tot casserole
  
• Tuesday: Egg salad sandwiches
  
• Wednesday: Patties (Gluten, potato/egg, rice /potato/egg/tofu...)
  
• Thursday: Chicken a la king, Broccoli
  
• Friday: Mac n Cheese, (make extra cheese), Spinach
  
• Sabbath: Special K Loaf, Green Bean Salad, Mashed Potatoes
  

Week 8

• Sunday: Pizza, Make Bread
  
• Monday: Shepherd's/Pot Pie, Mashed P&G
  
• Tuesday: Tomato Soup, Grilled "Cheese" Sandwiches (Cheese leftover from Mac n Cheese)
  
• Wednesday: Cornbread & chili, Salad
  
• Thursday: Fried Rice
  
• Friday: Supper: Muffins, fruit & soup
  
• Sabbath: Pierogies

Alternatives: Alternatives:

Spanish Veggie Rice
Tofu Stuffed Shells & Sauce
Sloppy Joes
Polenta
Mexican Lentils & Rice
Taco Style Lentils & Rice
Tomato Rice Pilaf
Meatloaf

Soup Ideas:

Lentil Soup
Potato Soup
Tomato Soup
ABC Soup
Cream of Broccoli Soup
Vegetable Soup with Dumplings

Once a Month Treat:

Banana Bread
Dilly Bread
Cream of Wheat pudding
Fruit soup (breakfast)

As American as Apple Pie

Our church had a social yesterday which got the kids and I out of a wedding that DH said was actually very nice and he was able to meet up with a bunch of friends he hadn't seen since academy and college. So good for him, but the kids and I had a really nice time at the social. It was at the pastor's house and the weather couldn't have been nicer. The kids played, there were veggie-hotdogs and accoutrements, and a pie contest. I took an apple pie and, while I didn't win, I overheard someone saying (not knowing I'd made it) that it was just about the best apple pie they'd ever had, and someone else agreed with them that it was really good and someone else told me that they really liked it too... so I guess it wasn't too shabby :) I was happy with it. The kids had fun even though they looked like they were going to fall apart at one point, but they kept it together and ended up having a really good time. After it was all over, I got directions to the wedding reception (a back way/shortcut) and we went and picked DH up. So we all ended up having a good time (tho poor DH came home with a headache from all the smoking that was going on at the reception). We stayed up last night taking the washer apart, then I conked out at midnight or so... feeling like a nap right about now!

My recipe for Apple Pie

1 bag of Granny Smith apples (bought cheep from Aldi), peeled, cored, sliced
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 Tbsp. flour

Mix the dry ingredients together and either alternate layers of apples and sugar mixture in pie pan, or mix them all together in a big bowl and pour into pie plate.

Crust:

3 c. all purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1-2 Tbsp. sugar
3/4 c. oil
a little milk, maybe 1/4 c.

Mix dry ingredients together. Add oil, mix till well combined. Sprinkle cold milk onto dry/oil mixture, mix with a fork till it starts to come together. Mix with your hands gently, don't overmix. Form a ball and separate it into two halves slightly more in one lump for the bottom crust and slightly less for the top crust. Roll out dough between sheets of wax paper. Lift wax paper from one side, flip over and remove wax paper from other side, place pie plate upside down over crust, carefully slide hand under wax paper and flip pie plate and crust over, carefully remove wax paper and gently nudge the crust into the shape of the concave pie plate. Fill with apple mixture, repeat procedure with top crust. Dot apples with a few pats of butter (helps pie not to bubble over all over your oven and tastes great too :), put top crust on. Trim crust to 1/2" from edge, fold under and flute the edge with fingers or fork to seal it and make it look pretty. Poke some holes in the top of the crust to let out steam. Bake in a 400° oven for 40-50 minutes. Place aluminum foil on top of the pie or at least around the edge to prevent over browning. Let pie cool before serving. Mmm, mmm, good.

My current favorite pasta sauce

I found this recipe for "Nice Spinach Spaghetti Sauce" a few weeks ago and tried it as I had some fresh tomatoes & parsley and even though I didn't have fresh basil, it was still mighty tasty! It's very fresh tasting, like nothing I'd ever had till then, not the same old same old pasta sauce.

This is how I made it:

2 tsp. minced garlic (from a jar in my fridge)
1 Tbsp. dried basil (I'm sure fresh would be way better)
1 can diced tomatoes
about 1 c. frozen spinach, defrosted
1/4 - 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup of olive oil
1-2 fresh roma tomatoes

I wizzed this all up in the blender, then either warm on the stove or lightly heat in the microwave. It turns a slightly yucky color, not nice and red, but the taste more than makes up for it.

Tonight tho I didn't have the jar of tomatoes, but did have some leftover spaghetti sauce and some tomato juice from a can of diced tomatoes, didn't have olive oil so just used vegetable oil and didn't have any fresh roma tomatoes, but it still turned out pretty good, had it with homemade gnocchi; not too shabby.

Tater Tot Skillet Dinner

Saute (salt the onion and sweat it over low heat) 1/2 onion, diced

Add:
Diced carrots (2) & celery (2 stalks)

Cook till soft (I added some water & turned up the heat)

Add (cook till soft):
Zucchini or yellow squash, diced (1) -or-
Frozen asparagus, cut up in small pieces
Frozen peas (1-2 c.)

Add:
2 c. tater tots
Gravy

Cook till mixed & thicker. Tater tots will fall apart and resemble rice (test to make sure they are completely cooked).


Gravy:

1 can cream of mushroom soup (I use Amy's organic brand or make my own)
1/4 c. mayonnaise
1 tsp. parsley flakes
1/2 tsp. veg. broth powder
1 can Worthington Diced-Chick (or diced chicken with 1/4 c. gravy)

Cook together in a pan, whisk till well mixed.

I've kicked the can

Canned soup that is. Canned soups are hotbeds of MSG and related substances so, for the last few years, I just haven't had a need for them. Except that for some reason, I find it hard to replace cream of mushroom soup. I found a natural version at Kroger which is ok, but not dairy free, and just the other day I came across this recipe from vegsource. I'm really so excited to find this, it seems such a simple thing really, but to have a crutch really helps me, so "thanks, Bryanna, you've done it again."

THE UNCANNED CONDENSED MUSHROOM SOUP
(use as a substitute for same)

This recipe is adapted from the book “Whole Foods for the Whole family” (NAL Books), a la Leche league international cookbook, for which I served as an editor. The recipe is a combination of recipes of mine, and 3 other contributors.

THICK WHITE SAUCE BASE:

2 T. Earth Balance or other vegan margarine (I used palm oil)
3 T. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
dash white pepper (I left out)
1 and 1/4 c. non-dairy milk (if you want a really mushroomy sauce, use 1 c. rich soymilk, such as Vitasoy Original, or even a soy non-dairy creamer, plus 1/4 c. liquid from soaking dried mushrooms) (I used the mushroom liquid from a 4 oz. can of sliced mushrooms)

ADDITION:
1 T. minced onion
1/2 c. minced mushrooms (from 4 oz. can)
a little oil or margarine (I sprayed a little spray oil on the onions)

Saute the onion and mushrooms in a little oil or margarine until soft. Set aside. Melt margarine in a small saucepan. Stir in the flour, salt and pepper and cook over medium heat until bubbly. Whisk in the “milk” slowly. Whisk and cook until thick. Stir in the onion and mushrooms.

Gluten Wheat-Meat "Chicken"

I tried a recipe that I found here called Bryanna's New Seitan "Chicken." After reading through several of the recipes, I figured out that when the poster had posted, something happened to the amounts so some of them are a little wacky. After reading thru most of this post as well as thru some of Bryanna's other recipes from vegsource.com and her own website, this is what I came up with and notes of how I did it (based on my ingredients on hand):

2 1/4 c. vital wheat gluten
1/2 c. Minute tapioca
1/2 c. old-fashioned rolled oats
2 Tbsp. "chicken-style" veggie broth powder
2 Tbsp. garlic powder
2 Tbsp. nutritional yeast flakes
1/2 tsp. onion powder

2 1/4 c. cold water
1/4 c. raw cashew nuts
a few dashes of homemade Kitchen Bouquet
3 Tbsp. mushroom sauce (one of Bryanna's recipes from the cycling website I think)
a few asparagus tips, will probably add more next time

Mixed the wet together into the dry in my Bosch Universal mixer and mixed on 2 for 10 minutes, let it rest for an hour, then mixed again for another 10 mintues. Then I took it out, cut into 3 long loglike pieces and boiled in:

1 c. asparagus juice (from canned asparagus)
about 1 c. mushroom sauce
5 c. "chicken"-style broth
7 cloves garlic, chopped
a few dashes of homemade Kitchen Bouquet
3 1/2 Tbsp. nutritional yeast flakes

I cooked the wheat-meat logs in the broth in my slow cooker on high for about 6 or 7 hours till they had swelled up and started to float. I tested them and they were done when they were more meaty and less like edible rubber (not that there is such a thing).

I like it because it kind of reminds me of the consistency of Worthington Chickettes which I used to love, but didn't love all the additives. It slices in deli-slice thickness with ease, and was very delightful in some chicken a la king that I made today. Yum-o. I want to keep trying more recipes, but this one did turn out pretty good. A far cry from the really spongy blobs I used to make that I had the nerve to call gluten steaks.

The only thing I find distressing about this is that I read the other day that slow cooking of protein creates free glutamates (like in MSG) and this is something I try to avoid so I'm not going to go overboard with gluten, but it's nice to have something to fill the "meat" gap when trying to follow non-veggie recipes (and the kids and hubby love it).

Patty, thrifty mom's best friend

My kids just love "Patties day" and my little secret is that it's really "use of as many leftovers as possible in the fridge day." Bwahahaha... But they're really pretty yummy. I usually make sure I have some leftover rice or mashed potatoes and then throw in any leftover casserole-type foods or side dishes or veggies... into the mix, add some salt if needed, bread crumbs, tofu if I have it, an egg or 2, bread them and fry in a Pam sprayed pan. Et voila, bye-bye space hogging leftovers (that no one really usually wants anyway, hello yummy patties. Just another of my dirty little secrets, lol. And in related news, a recently discovered ingredient of pot pie... leftovers.