Tofu Tuesday - Homemade Seitan

When you are trying to become a vegetarian it is important to try out lots of different "meat alternatives". After all, woman can not live on tofu alone. So, you've got your beans and your grains, your tofu and your tempeh. What else? Well, there is this other thing called "seitan". Ya, just a horrible name, isn't it? Doesn't it make you just want to run out and try some?

Yes, I'd like some seitan, please, with a side order of hospitalization.

I completely understand how you feel, because I've been totally afraid to try the stuff myself. But, recently I decided to get over my fear and try it already. I mean, other people have ingested the stuff and lived to tell the tale, right? So I got my package of ready-made seitan (which came already prepared and marinated in its own sauce) at the health food store and I mixed it up in a stir-fry of veggies.

And, you know what? It was good. No, really. I'm serious. Even Dave and the girls liked it and it didn't have to be all small and hidden (the way I usually have to prepare tofu for them) in order for them to like it. It had a nice, meaty, texture and the sauce tasted great. Wow. This was fantastic news. Fantastic until I re-read the label on the package and discovered that it had actually expired almost a year ago.

So now, we all just sat and waited for the dreaded "burps" to come on. But, I mean, it's wheat gluten. How does wheat gluten go bad? It was in a sealed package. In the fridge. But, sure enough, there was that horrible expiry date glaring at us (I glanced at it in the store and it registered in my brain as being about to expire in a couple of weeks...not that it had already expired 11 and a half months ago). Luckily, the evening passed, and the morning came, and none of us were any worse for wear. However, I decided the best way to make sure my seitan is fresh from now on is to make my own. There are many recipes around for homemade seitan. This one is from Isa Chandra Moskowitz's famous book, "Vegan with a Vengeance".



Ingredients:

2 cups vital wheat gluten flour
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup cold water or vegetable broth
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, pressed or grated on a Microplane grater
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
Broth:
12 cups water or vegetable broth
1/2 cup soy sauce

Directions:

In a large bowl, mix together vital wheat gluten flour, nutritional yeast, and all-purpose flour. In a separate bowl, mix together the wet ingredients through the lemon zest.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and combine with a firm spatula. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes until spongy and elastic. Let the dough rest for a couple of minutes. In the meantime, stir together the ingredients for the broth in a large saucepot (do not boil the broth at this point).

Roll the dough into a log shape about 10 inches long and cut it into 6 pieces of roughly equal size. Place the pieces in the broth. It is important that the broth be very cold when you add the dough, which makes for a nicer texture and ensures that the seitan doesn't fall apart. Partially cover the pot (leave a little space for steam to escape) and bring the broth to a boil.
When the broth has come to a boil, set the heat to low and gently simmer for an hour, turning the pieces every now and again.

Turn off the heat and let the broth and seitan cool for at least 30 minutes. This will produce a firmer seitan. It is best to let everything cool completely before removing the seitan from the broth.

What you do next depends on the recipe you are using. If storing the seitan for later use, slice it into bite-size chunks, put it into a sealable container, and cover with broth. Seal the container and place it in the fridge for up to five days.



See, homemade seitan that is fresh and tasty. Not so scary after all is it? Well, not unless you are a celiac.

For more Meatless Meal ideas, just click on the sweet little block of Tofu below.



Brought to you by...
Kaci@Ellyphant & Kelli@Gohn Crazy
Have a great day!

Fit Mommy Monday - Xtreme-ly Outta Shape.

It's Monday morning, that means its time for challenges and check-ins again. I have to say that this week has been a bit hard because 1) Dave brought home two huge bags of potato chips, including my nemesis "Sour Cream and Onion" 2) That darn Easter Rabbit came to our house and dropped chocolates all over the floor. I mean all over!

I've tried to be good. I never got myself a bowl of chips. But, when Dave offered me some - put them right in front of me - well, I'm weak. Weak I tell you! And, I've also had some of those chocolate eggs (but, really, only about 5-ish so that isn't so bad).

I watched Posh Spice being interviewed one time and she was asked if she ever, like, eats a chocolate bar or some cookies and she quickly replied, "No. Never". Jeez. Sucks for her. She's really too skinny, anyway.

Okay...here we go....

Last Week's Goal:

"This week's goal: 3 days of dvd workouts and one fat-burning session on the treadmill."

Check-in:

I did do 3 dvd workouts and the last one was kickboxing so it, i feel, combined both the "dvd" part of the deal with the "fat-burning" part of the deal. I must admit, I did not touch the treadmill. It's downstairs and it was too cold down there. Plus, it's not even plugged in. ;-)

This week's Challenge:

I am so out of shape. The three dvd's I did were Jari Love's "Ripped Slim and Lean"

and Minna Lessig's "Tank Top Arms, Bikini Belly, Boy Shorts Bottom"

and Amy Bento's "Kickbox Xtreme".

I didn't realize that the kickboxing one is 80 minutes long and that you are free to stop at any point and go to the cool down so I kept going, and going, and going until Dave pulled back into the driveway (he was gone for one hour and I thought I'd be long since finished by the time he got back...so he could then have the t.v. to watch The Masters). So, that was an hour of kickboxing and I could barely even lift my leg to kick anymore by the end of it. My foot even cramped up!! The weight lifting ones are fine because you can choose your weight. Whatever you can do with proper form, while still exhausting your muscles. But, the cardio...man, I'm brutal! So, it isn't even about fitting back into my pants anymore...I really need to get into better shape!

So, back to the point..

This week's Challenge:

5 days of work-outs, whatever they may be, including at least 3 cardio sessions!

This is pretty ambitious considering Dave is back to work, I have an ortho. appointment, and little Colie still likes to be held whenever she is awake, so I'll be happy with 3 cardio sessions - but I'm going to try for the 5 days so I can get in some muscle stuff, too.

(No weigh-in to report. I haven't been near a scale).

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter Everyone!

I hop you have a wonderful day with your families. My girls woke up plenty early, as usual, and went about the house on their hunt for Easter goodies. That silly Easter Bunny left foot-prints all over our house again! He even left them on the chairs and the couch and even on my blanket! That's okay, though. I don't really mind. After all...he always brings the girls so much nice stuff! Chocolates and candies and this year even some Hannah Montana socks and Hannah Montana underwear! Fantastic! How does he know the girls love Hannah Montana?

So, the girls are all excited about their loot, and about their day, but right now I think they are even more excited about something else!

The Fairy Blogmother's little girl (well, I guess she isn't so little anymore...she is 6 1/2, you know) got to be a Guest Writer on her blog! So, my girls would like to do some guest blogging of their own.

Well, alrighty!

First up...my little Jamie James...

Jamie and Mom lv eht other wen we hag eht other and Madlin 6 Jamie 4 Ncol0 lcs the zoo Jamie lcs jrafs.

(that says, "Jamie and Mom love each other when we hug each other and Mailyn is 6 and Jamie is 4 and Nicole likes the zoo and Jamie likes giraffes).

Thanks Jamie, baby.

Okay. Now we have our second guest blogger for the day...my big girl, Miss Madilyn Mae.

halo .me and my mom do fun stuff too getr. I LOVE MY MOM so mush!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ahhhh...

now that's a nice Easter treat for Mommy.

:)

Happy Easter!!

{Oh, jeez...before you go...you have to pop over to Laughing Leah Loves Lillies blog and check out her Easter funnies. I was really "LOL", especially at the last one!!}

Thankful Thursday - Two Grandmas.

It would seem that Thursdays are an especially busy day around my place. So much so that I haven't been very good about posting my Thankful Thursday posts! I am still very grateful for many, many, things but I just haven't been able to tell you about them. So, I'm going to try out this little "Post date and time" thingy-ma-bobber in blogger and see if I can't get my Thankful Thursday posts out on time, and as regularly scheduled, that way!

{edited to add: well, that didn't work. Seems I switched the "day" and the "month"}

Btw-
this whole project started as the result of an e-mail I received one day from Wondertime magazine which said:


According to research in "Thanks! How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier", regularly writing down what you're grateful for can increase your level of happiness by about 25 percent. (So can a chocolate martini, but we couldn't find that in the self-help aisle.)

A 25 percent increase in my own personal happiness?! Sounded good to me. Shan over at Tales from the Fairy Blogmother challenged me to make Thankful Thursday a weekly event but, being the excellent and outstanding (keener) blogger that she is, she has been posting her lists of gratitude far more often that I have. I'm going to try and change that.


So, let's get to it already!


1) I am thankful that the big chunk of change that we laid down for cloth diapers was not in vain. I was really worried that they just would not work out and Dave would have the opportunity to give me the big "I told you so" lecture. But, they are great! They don't leak any more than "landfill diapers" do (in fact, I think they are better), and they are definitely better at handling the big, explosive, kinda' poops. Plus, they are better for the environment. Better for baby's skin. And, most important of all...they are darn cute. {my review on them all will be coming up soon...}

2) I am thankful that it is now April which means winter is gone, baby! I'm not a fan of winter. I do not do well in the cold. At all. There have already been a few really, really, nice days where you could walk around outside in just a light jacket. Love it! Bring on the heat.

3) I am grateful for my sweet baby who is now, consistently, sleeping through the night. I feed her one last time before bed and she is pretty much good to go (to sleep!) until about 6 in the morning. So nice!

4) I am grateful that my mom has agreed to come up on Saturdays (while Dave and the girls are at ballet class) to sit and hold the little, cuddle-bug, Nicole Lily-Pie which allows me a block of a couple of hours to get stuff done around the house. Now, 2 hours per week is not enough to get this place in order (I usually just get all the laundry taken downstairs, clean up the kitchen and one bathroom, clean out bun-bun's cage, and that's about it), but it sure helps. Thanks Mom!


5) I am grateful that Dave's mom loves to take the girls on little outings. They have been many fun places together and it looks like Disney on Ice is becoming one of their regular trips. They've been before, but I'm not sure if they had seats this good! Right by the ice! Way to go Grandma K and thanks!




What are you Thankful for this Thursday?



Please sign Mr. Linky below so we can go check-out your list. I'd be very grateful! ;-)

Fit Mommy Monday - Goals and Check-ins.

Well, I got some good news and I got some bad news. I'll start with the bad news first. I weighed myself on the scale at our family doctor's office last Wednesday when I took Nicolie in for the second part of her vaccine. Now, this is a different scale so I'm trying not to flip out about it too much, but it wasn't good. At my ob/gyn's I was 132. After a week of no junk and Jari Love workouts (on the family doctor's scale) I was 135. Yep. 135. So, that means I have 17 pounds to loose instead of 14. Really, 14 seemed bad enough...but it was closer to 10 than 20. 17 sounds like a whole lot more. And, not only that but I've retaken all my measurements and it would seem that my waist is actually 1/2 an inch bigger than it was a week ago. Was I sucking it in before or something? So sad.

But, on to the good news...

you can't suck in your butt and my hip measurement is now a full inch smaller than it was a week ago, and so is my thigh! A full inch off my thigh! Thank goodness for that bit of news. That's enough to keep me going.

Last week's goal: 3 days of Jari

Check-ins: I got 2 days of Jari done

{Excuse: my back was sore on Saturday - i think there may be too many dead-lifts in her video to do it all the time - and I had company on Sunday}.

This week's goal: 3 days of dvd workouts and one fat-burning session on the treadmill.

And why this is all worth it...

I love my little Nicole Lily-Pie. Did you hear that she has started to sleep through the night? Yep. All night. Friday and Saturday. And just one wake-up last night around 2 am.

Knowing Me - Knowing You / The April Edition.

Time again for the monthly interview project started by Shan over at Tales from the Fairy Blogmother. Here are my answers, and once you've done your own be sure to head over to Shan's blog and sign Mr. Linky so we can all see them.

1. Who does the grocery shopping in your family? That depends on the time of year. In the summer (when Dave is working more) it is usually me. In the winter (when Dave is working less) it is usually Dave. Sometimes we even go wild and head out together. Getting the grocery shopping organized (like, with a plan and a list) is one of those things I keep thinking I'm going to do. One of these days. I'll probably get to that about the same time as when I come up with a proper, working, system for all the laundry.

2. Are you watching American Idol? If so, who are you picking to win it? Yes. I have watched most of the seasons of AI. The best year was the one when Taylor Hicks won. I just loved watching Taylor. He was so much fun. Soul Patrol! Soul Patrol! And, this year, I'm picking Danny to win. I know Adam has a lot of fans, but I just prefer the sound of Danny's voice. I also prefer a man who wears less make-up than I do. But, that's just me...

3. What is your favourite type of fruit? Hmmm... I love fruit, so that is a tough one. I'd probably have to say bananas because I eat them every day. I love my Balkan-style plain yogurt with just a touch of honey and a banana chopped up inside. Then again I also love some good watermelon in the summer, and nice, tasty, grapes, oh...and fresh plums and peaches...so good. I also love me some cantaloupe or honeydew cut in half, seeds scraped out (to make a bowl), and filled with vanilla ice-cream. drool.

4. Are you a night owl or a morning person? Let's see...what does Dave's caller I.D. say when I call him? Oh ya, "Night Owl". Well, I guess if that is my nickname it's probably safe to say I am a confirmed creature of the night. I hate mornings. I can't seem to ever open my right eye until I've been awake for a good 10 minutes. I cannot speak until I've had some coffee. And, I don't find Dave skipping around and singing the least bit entertaining at any time before 9 am. And, yes, Dave is a morning person. Should make for an interesting ever after.

5. Speaking of bed -- when you're sleeping do you have your socks on or do you take them off? Well, I wouldn't wear socks that I've had on my feet all day to bed. That is just icky. But, sometimes I will wear socks that I've just put on into bed to keep my tootsies warm. We turn the heat down really low at night (like, 61 degrees) so when I first get into bed it is super cold. But, then the duvet, the man, and the baby heat things up so I usually wake up and pull them off at some point during the night.

And that's it for this month! Thanks Shan.

Fooled Ya'!!

Okay...

another quick one here. I may have just a moment to share with you the evil April Fools joke I pulled on my poor little girls.

Hey Girls! We're having cupcakes for dinner!

(Cupcakes were really little Shepherd's Pies with coloured mashed potatoes on top to look like icing. Jamie took a bite and said, "Mommy, these cupcakes are icky". Once I explained that they weren't really cupcakes, but meat and potatoes she was able to eat them but, boy, was she mad at me. "You tricked me!" she said while giving me her best scowly face. I was killing myself laughing. Mean Mommy!!)

Okay, I'll make it up to you! You can have spaghetti with meatballs for dessert.

These were really mini-angel food cakes with icing for spaghetti, and jam for the sauce, and little round chocolates for the meatballs.

The girls thought that was a much better trick.