Bearette made me do it

I will dare you to cook seitan for your family! :D

I found this recipe at www.theveggietable.com. It sounded like it had both yummy and 'hide the secret ingredient' potential.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 T olive or vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup onion, minced
1 large tomato, chopped
6 cups mixed vegetables, finely chopped
some possibilities:
-bell peppers
-carrots
-celery
-corn
-green beans
-leeks
-mushrooms
-peas
-spinach
-zucchini
1 cup vegetable stock or water
1 t soy sauce
pepper
2 to 2 1/2 cups mashed potatoes
Garnish ideas: paprika, minced parsely, sesame seeds

Directions:
Heat 2 T oil over medium heat, add garlic, and saute for 2 minutes. Add onion and continue sauteing until soft, about 5 minutes. Add tomato and cook for 2 more minutes, stirring frequently. (If you need to make the mashed potatoes, start them now). Add stock and vegetables, bring to boil, lower heat, and cook until vegetables are tender, about 5-10 minutes. Add soy sauce and pepper, taste, and adjust seasonings as necessary. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Use remaining 1/2 t oil to grease pie plate. Arrange vegetables in it, then cover with a layer of mashed potatoes. Garnish. Bake until bubbly, about 30 minutes. Serve hot.

Notes: For a more substantial dish, you can add/substitute things like pre-cooked tofu, lentils, or seitan.





The presentation, as you can see (besides the blurriness of the photo), was impressive. It received rave reviews until the first spoonful was extracted. The "meat-like" substance was revealed. Jesse asked, "What is this?" and amazingly she tasted it before I had a chance to respond.

"Well, do you like it?"

"It tastes like poop. But I'll eat the mashed potatoes."

I personally thought it was o.k., but I'm not sure if I would bother cooking seitan again. Maybe I'll try it in some barbeque sauce or something. Does anyone have any favorite recipes to share?

Bobby was not home this evening to give his opinion. My guess is that he would have inhaled it before realizing that it wasn't actually meat. He is a teenage boy, after all. Everytime I've cooked tofu, he thinks it's meat. Did I mention that he's a teenage boy and eats pretty much anything that's placed in front of him? I especially like his technique of stabbing his fork into whatever large object is on his place and just gnawing away at it. The last time he did it, I told him that we have evolved a bit since the caveman days. I think we need to send him to etiquette class where he'll learn the proper use of a knife (or the use of one, period).

Ron's plate quietly revealed his opinion. Everything was consumed except for that meat-like stuff that tastes like poop.