SEITAN PICCATA:

seitan:
2 cups vital wheat gluten flour
2 cups water
2 tbsp salt
2 qts veggie stock, salted to taste like soup

Bring the veggie stock to a simmer and season to taste. Mix the salt into the water until dissolved, and then mix with the gluten flour. Once combined, stretch the dough into a log, fold it back on itself and stretch again. Repeat this process until the dough is tough and elastic strands can be seen along the sides. Simmer the seitan dough for 20 minutes per pound, or until it is springy the whole way through. A good way to test is to grab it with a pair of tongs. If it tears, it isn't ready yet.

dredge:
2 cups flour
2 tbsp garlic powder
2 tbsp onion powder
2 tbsp smoked paprika or pimenton
1 tbsp aleppo pepper or chili flakes
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1 tbsp black pepper
2 tbsp salt

mix all ingredients to combine. Slice your seitan into half inch medallions and dredge in the mixture. pan fry on medium until golden brown on both sides.

Sauce:
1/2 cup vegetable stock
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tbsp capers
1 clove chopped garlic
2 tbsp vegan butter (Homemade is best!)
2 tbsp chopped parsley
1/4 cup shallots, diced

In the same pan you fried your seitan, remove the excess oil and begin caramelizing the garlic and shallots. Once they have taken color, add the capers and allow them to get a little crisp. Deglaze the pan with the wine, allow the alcohol to simmer off, and then add the stock and the lemon juice. Reduce the sauce by half, adjust the salt if necessary (be careful, capers are salty!) and turn off the heat before adding the butter. Now swirl the pan gently until the butter is completely incorporated into the sauce. It is important to move the pan constantly after you add the butter, because if it sits still the oil will not emulsify with the sauce. garnish with parsley and pour directly over your seitan medallions.


VEGAN BUTTER
1 cup homemade almond, cashew, or store bought soy milk
1 pint refined coconut oil
1/4 tsp soy lecithin granules
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
salt, if desired (for spreading)

combine the lecithin, xanthan gum, and nut/soy milk in the bottom of your blender and blend until dissolved. If you are salting your butter you can also add a tbsp now. Now start your blender on a low setting and begin drizzling the oil into the blender (if the oil is solid, steep the whole jar in hot water for 10 minutes prior to blending). As you add the oil, incrementally raise the speed of the blender until you have it set on high. Add the last of the oil slowly, as it can seize and break if you are too hasty, and if the butter turns solid in the blender and you can no longer see the vortex feeding down into the blades, then just stop and shut it off; that butter's done. (If you are feeling adventurous you can also add 2 tbsps of your favorite flavored oils like truffle oil before you add the coconut oil. great for spreading and finishing sauces.)


NUT MILK AND CREAM
1/2 cup blanched, peeled almonds or raw cashews, soaked overnight
2 cups of water

blend vigorously! If it's lumpy blend it again! and if it is still lumpy, strain it through a nutmilk bag or new (and washed) paint strainer. Making nut cream is the same process, but just use 1 cup of water.

NUT CHEESE
1 cup blanched, peeled almonds or raw cashews, soaked overnight
1/2 cup water
2 tbsp agar agar
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 a lemons juice, about a tbsp OR
1 tbsp rejuvelac (make rejuvelac by putting 1/4 cup of wheat berries in 1 cup of water and letting sit under a tea towel for 2 days.) OR
1tbsp live active vegan yogurt
1-2 tbsp salt, to taste

Simmer the water and add the agar flakes. Once they are totally dissolved, pour into a blender with soaked nuts, olive oil, salt and your choice of lemon juice or culture. Blend until very smooth. If it needs more liquid, add a splash of water a tbsp at a time. once combined, scoop with a 2oz disher/ice cream scoop into an ice water bath and allow to rest for ten minutes. Remove from bath, and serve or wrap in cheese cloth and age if you like!

CAPRESE ALLA VEGANERONI
5 large ripe tomatoes, cut into nice, large bites. Eight to ten pieces per tomato
4 2oz vegan cheese balls, cut into similar wedges
1/4 cup lemon juice
15-20 small leaves of basil
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and black pepper to taste
10-15 roasted cherry tomatoes

simply combine all ingredients and serve over a simple *roasted tomato sauce

ROASTED TOMATO SAUCE
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 sprig of rosemary
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tbsp salt
1 tsp chili flakes
1 pint of cherry tomatoes (try sungold tomatoes, if you can find them.)

preheat oven to 375. In a baking dish, dress the tomatoes, garlic and rosemary in olive oil and season with salt and chili flakes. Roast for 30 minutes, or until the tomatoes turn bronze. Remove 10 or 15 tomatoes for your salad, drop the rest in the blender with all the juice, and puree until smooth.

RISOTTO DI FUNGHI ALLA VEGANESE
1 diced onion
1# cremini mushrooms, cut into three flat slices each
2 cloves of garlic
2 cups arborio rice
1/2 cup white wine (red works too!)
1 1/2 quarts of mushroom stock
1 sprig of rosemary, leaves picked and chopped fine
3 tbsps vegan butter
1/2 cup cashew cream (optional, but makes the rice extra velvety)
salt and pepper to taste

over medium heat in a deep saute pan, begin to caramelize the sliced mushrooms in 5-6 tbsps of olive oil. let them roast until brown and crispy, about 4-5 minutes per side. Scoot the mushrooms into a pile in one corner of the pan (or remove from the pan to add back later) and add the onions and garlic. Season with salt and pepper and remove from pan (if you have really big pan, you can just move the onions to the side with the mushrooms. Otherwise remove everthing to a big bowl.) Pour the rice into the pan and allow it to toast for 2 minutes, then add the white wine. Season the rice, add everything back to the pan, begin adding the mushroom stock, 1 cup at a time. As each cup boils off, add then next, stirring constantly as you do so. After the last cup is in the pan (should take about 20-30 minutes) add cashew cream and butter. This is a great dish to use truffle oil in too. Just a tbsp or so at the end will add a great flavor.

Tamales

So for the past few weeks we have been running a small tamale factory out of our kitchen. It has been hellish work, countless stubbed toes, creaky necks, and cramped fingers. The results have been quite unfortunately outstanding, and so we had to rent a second refrigerator to store the hundred or so pounds of masa in our "facility" at any one time. The recipe is grueling ... unless of course you have access to a mexican grocery, in which case almost all of the ingredients we have been making from scratch can be bought in cans.

We have been selling three flavors of tamales, each as deceptively vegan as the next. The most popular flavors were chanterelle mushroom/poblano and roast corn/nopale con rajas. For our tamales we were ordering fresh made masa from Tortillaria Nixtamal, but if you are cooking at home you will have fantastic results with MASECA instant tamale masa.

CHANTERELLE MUSHROOM AND POBLANO PEPPER TAMALE: with pickled jalapenos and daiya cheddar cheese.

The Filling:
1# Chanterelle Mushrooms(you can substitute oyster mushrooms or any of your favorite kinds)
1 Medium onion, sliced into 1/8 inch juliennes (or just a medium chop if you prefer)
3 cloves of garlic, mince
3 Poblano peppers, roasted, peeled, and chopped (burn the skins over the stove and place the peppers in a sealed zip top bag for 5 minutes and the skins come right off.)
epazote or oregano to taste
salt to taste

Start by browning the garlic in the bottom of a large skillet with plenty of oil (about 1/4 cup. I use olive oil). Once the garlic is golden, add the onions and 2 pinches of salt. Stir the pan well to get the garlic off the bottom. once the onions have turned translucent and begun to caramelize, remove them from the pan with a slotted spoon and leave as much oil as possible (do not put the onions and garlic on a towel, just remove to a bowl). Now put as many mushrooms in the pan as it takes to layer the bottom. Salt the mushrooms lightly, and then just let them cook over medium heat for 3 minutes without touching them. Just walk away.

When you come back, flip each mushroom over, one at a time, with a fork, or just shake the pan and give it a flip. Now walk away again. Three minutes. Start your timers.

You're back? Did you set a timer? Timers are good for this kind of thing. GOOD! Now add the onions and the Poblano peppers into the pan, toss them all together, and add a quarter cup of water or white wine or lime juice, and turn off the heat. HUZZAH!

The Salsa
8 large tomatillos
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic
1 jalapeno
10 oregano or epazote leaves
1/2 a bunch of cilantro leaves and stems, chopped finely
salt to taste

place the pepper and the tomatillo in a roasting pan and put in a preheated oven at 450 degrees. Let them roast for 30-45 minutes, or until the skins are browned and blistered, and even starting to blacken. In the mean time saute the onions and the garlic in a pan over medium heat until golden brown. Add the onions, garlic, tomatillos, jalapeno, epazote or oregano, and the cilantro to a food processor or blender and pulse until combined. Season with salt and as much as 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil.

The Masa:
Remember how to make corn broth? well if you have a couple of quarts left over you can use it all over again.

2 cups instant masa for tamales
2 cups corn broth
2/3 cup coconut oil
2 tbsp salt
1tsp baking powder

Mix the tamale flour with salt and baking powder. Add the corn broth and mix with your hands until it is all incorporated. Next add the coconut oil and mix with your hands until thoroughly combined.  You may feel tempted to put the dough in a mixer, but I find it is faster and easier with my hands.

STUFFING AND STEAMING
You can roll your tamales in banana leaves (Oaxaca style), corn husks (Poblano and central Mexico), or even in chard leaves or collard greens. Just use a 1 ounce disher to put 2 scoops in your leaf and flatten the dough with the back of a spoon or your fingers. Add a scoop of filling, and a couple pinches of daiya cheese, and some salsa verde. Now roll up the leaf and fold over the bottom. Stand your tamales in a steamer, open side up, and steam them for 40 minutes. Serve with salsa verde and pickled jalapenos.

Buddha's Chili Black Bean Udon Soup

No Iron Chef Chinese is worth his weight in soup without chili black bean paste. Don't believe me? just ask Chen Kenichi, Iron Chef Chinese from the original Japanese TV show, "Iron Chef".
What's chili black bean paste, you ask? Well I'm happy to tell you! It all starts with thoroughly funky black soy beans, which are funky even before they are packed in salt and left to ferment. Don't do this part at home. It gets smelly. But you can go out and buy fermented black beans in your local chinese grocer, or online. And if you want to skip making your own sauce, Chen Kenichi might disapprove, but you can buy a jar of Lan chi Chili Black Bean Paste at Whole Foods for $7.00.

I ought to reiterate that this is not a recipe for the faint of heart. But if you decide to cut corners YOU WILL STILL BE REWARDED.

Chili black bean paste: Worth 12000 "Oh NO you DIDN'Ts" ! 
 or just buy Lan Chi from Whole Foods.

2 cloves of garlic, crushed and chopped
4 oz fermented black beans
1 oz Thai chili, chopped
1 oz xiaoxhing rice wine
1 oz peanut oil
First, fry your garlic and chiles in the peanut oil until it is crisp golden brown. Turn off the heat and empty the contents of the pan into your food processor. Add the beans. Drizzle in the rice wine and puree until it is a spicy, lumpy paste. Perfect!

Corn broth: Worth 4000 "Heck YEEEEEEAH" points!
You can also use sweet white miso instead of my highly recommended corn stock, and make this dish in about 20 minutes if you are quick at chopping veggies (I use a japanese manolin, and I am done faster than you can say "Shaved Finger Tips"). Just use 2 tablespoons of sweet miso and 1 leaf of kombu in 1 pt of water and skip to the xiaoxhing tofu!

Corn Stock:
10 Corn cobs, de-kerneled (save the corn kernels for the soup!)
5qts of water
3 star anise
1 tsp Sechuan pepper corns
1 cinnamon stick
10 cloves
1 tsp white pepper (optional)
Just add everything into a stock pot and bring it to a boil. Then lower the heat and simmer for 1 hour. Cool and strain. Season with 1/2c of the sweet soy sauce called "kecap manis".
You can keep fresh corn cobbs in the freezer and use them all winter for stock.

Xiaoxhing tofu: Worth 2500 "oh for REALS?"
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 inch ginger, minced
2 oz soy sauce
2 oz xiaoxhing rice wine
1 oz sesame oil
1 packet of tofu cut in half

Wanna skip this one? Buy 1 teriyaki baked tofu package from Trader Joe's. Put it in a plastic bag and simmer it in a pot of water for ten minutes. Open the bag and slice!

Mix the liquids together with garlic and ginger in a big ziptop bag. Put the tofu in the bag and marinated over night. You could also use strained or thawed frozen tofu for a meatier texture. Bake the next day at 350 for 45 minutes, basting when it looks dry. Let it cool, and ....

Buddha's chili black bean udon soup:
2 tbsp chili black bean paste (home made or jarred!)
1 pt corn broth (or try that sweet miso broth! It's way easy!)
1 xiaoxhing tofu steak, sliced (... or use the Trader Joe's method!)
3 oz dried upon noodle
and ...
Cilantro!
Sliced daikon radish!
Sliced winter squash!
Julienned cucumber!
1/4 fresh or frozen peas!
1/4 cup of corn!!
Crushed peanuts!
Bean sprouts!
Sliced scallions!
Julienned pineapple!
Sliced cabbage!
*Sliced green chiles with soy sauce and garlic and vinegar and sesame oil!
The Permutations are ENDLESS!

Simmer the broth, and in a separate pot, boil water and cook the udon noodles. When they are done, remove them from the pot and discard the water. Now it is an order of operations game. You can add whatever you like to this broth (and I find the more, quite often, the better), but you need to start with the things that take longest. So if you are using squash, start with that. Wait 3 minutes and add the cabbage. Wait another 3 minutes add the corn and peas. After 2 minutes more, turn off the broth. Serve the noodles in 2 bowls. Divide the broth and the cooked veggies between each bowl. Now you can pile on whatever you like. Just make sure that the last ingredient you add is a teaspoon of chili black bean paste. That's all you will need, but if you are feeling adventurous, keep it on the side as a condiment.

*Try it first. Still not spicy enough? So then try this:
slice up 2 green chili peppers, and set them in a bowl with 3 tbsp of soy sauce, 1 tbsp sesame oil, and 1 tbsp of rice wine vinegar. microplane in one clove of garlic. let them sit for 2 minutes before you start eating them like potato chips.

** as an end note, I am ashamed of how often I eat this. I just buy the miso and the trader joes tofu and the whole foods paste. Sometimes I just boil the tofu in its original packaging. It still tastes awesome. Don't Tell Danielle!