Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Seitan O'Greatness

My husband is so silly sometimes.
This year my birthday fell on Easter Sunday. You'll never believe what was included in my birthday present.

I never even thought something like this existed.

It even has poseable arms and gliding action!!


I have been having a lot of fun with this around the house. Simon is very interested in the Jesus action figure, but I've put him up high so he doesn't end up like the leprechaun.

My entire present wasn't based on silliness. Jim did also include this DVD.


I haven't even had time to watch it yet and I'm dying to. I wonder if there's a Freddie action figure? Hmmm?
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I've been trying different seitan recipes to find the one that I really like. There has been a trend with bloggers lately with baked seitan. The first time I read about this was on Jess's blog. From what I understand, the original recipe appeared on the PPK forums. Several other bloggers have made this, adapting the recipe to suit their tastes and have raved about it. Look at what Crystal did with hers. Bazu, Laura, Kris and Mary, just to name a few, have all given their take on this new recipe. I was intrigued and had to try it. I wasn't sure what I would use it for in the end, so I decided to keep the spices fairly simple.



I did add paprika so it would get that nice reddish colour that everyone had with theirs.


With the wet ingredients I pretty much followed the original recipe.


Mix them together.

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Knead and make a log shape. Wrap in foil and bake. Easy enough and minimal clean-up - even better.



Voila! Seitan O'Greatness.

I cut it in half and wrapped each piece well and threw it in the freezer because I didn't have any immediate plans for it. I did cut off a slice to try it and it was rather good. Flavour was nice and quite neutral and the texture was very different from any other seitan I had made.

So the seitan o'greatness sat in my freezer for about 2 weeks. We'd had a fairly hectic week, so one night I decided on a simple dinner of spaghetti. First I sauted some onions and red peppers until just barely tender. In another pan, I sauted chunks of the seitan that had been sprinkled with an Italian seasoning blend. I mixed both of those with a jarred sauce that I like and let it simmer away while the pasta cooked.



















This dish turned out really well! The seitan had a nice "sausage-like" texture and tasted quite authentic. Even my omnivores (Jim & Jade) ate this up like there was no tomorrow.


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The wine I picked is a real steal. This is a medium to full-bodied red wine from the Puglia region of Italy. It goes extremely well with pizza, pasta, burgers on the BBQ. It sells at the LCBO for $8.45. Can't beat that. It's one of the best wine deals out there.





10 comments:

Shananigans said...

I love the Jesus action figure, I’ve seen him in a few head shop windows (because, you know, I wouldn’t be caught dead actually in one of those places ;) Reminds me of Buddy Christ from Dogma.

I’ve yet to try the seitan o’ greatness in pasta sauce, but I bet it’s good and sausage-y! DF picked up some more nutritional yeast today so another loaf will be coming soon. I love this stuff!

bazu said...

My friend Tony brought home that Jesus action figure when we used to be roommates- he's hilarious! I bet you could find a Freddie Mercury action figure somewhere... like Ebay or something! I am in love with the seitan o'greatness- I've never made boiled seitan, and now I may never have to! I'm trying to figure out a flavor profile for the next one- I love your pasta idea.

Mary Worrell said...

I've seen those before...at a toy shop, actually! They also have a Sigmund Freud action figure...what a child would need a Freud action figure for, I have no idea.

scottishvegan said...

I must make this seitan soon! Everyone in the world is making it but me! I love the Jesus action figure!!

KleoPatra said...

Oy, that action figure!! Jim's too funny to get you that. Keep it away from Simon, yah!? I've seen Jesus as an action figure like the one you have as well... there's even a Web site that has other Jesus action figures playing sports with kids. It is different, bizarre, interesting & hilarious!

LOVE yer seitan o'greatness, Carrie, on the spaghetti in the sauce. That is my kind of meal there. I can imagine the chewy sausage-like vibe. I totally appreciate the play-by-play of you creating this, by the way. I've yet to try it but now that i can kinda see how it's done... maybe i can do it!?!? THANKS!

Have fun with Jesus... unless you keep him in the package there. Best keep any scantily-clad Barbie dolls far, far away. Wouldn't want to "tempt fate." Heh.

Michelle Ann said...

Not exactly sure what seitan is, but it looks good to me. Plus, when paired with a really good wine, you'll have me at the dinner table.

One time I gave Craig a Nunzilla...It was a nun in full dress that you wound up. Tt made growling noises while it stomped towards you... We laughed our asses off!

Everyday Superhero said...

Ha! I love the action figure. A few years ago somebody brought one to our party and we focused the party around the figure (many alcohol beverages were consumed by this point). For Christmas this year I bought my husband the Jesus pencil toppers.

aTxVegn said...

Happy Birthday, Carrie! I hope you're enjoying your gift. I just recently made the seitan too. I love your idea of using it in spaghetti.

River said...

Wow, that action figure is creepy! Do the eyes follow you too? I love the idea of the Sigmund Freud action figure btw - we spent some time roaming around the Freud house/museum in Vienna about three (?) years ago - my dh would love it!!! Mind you, my favourite pics from the visit were repro photos of Freud with his dog, which shows you what my particular biases are :)

About your seitan - have yet to try it that way, since I usually casserole it in the oven (covered) so that it soaks up pretty well all the cooking stock. It'd be chewier your way, right? Love the idea of seitan 'sausage' in pasta - and your photo shows it to be very very yummy.

And I voted for your blog - of course I did. Good luck.
Love and hugs.

laura k said...

Jesus action figure--seriously??!! Ay yi yi... Craziness. I could go for the Queen DVD, though.

Glad you tried the seitan and liked it. Your pasta dish looks so old-fashioned and yummy... I'd totally try it.