Seitan, Apples, and Squash...twice

I love seitan.  I've only tried it a few times, but I love it.  Mainly for it's huge protein content.  It makes creating high-protein meals a no-brainer.  

Friday was my second attempt at making it myself.  I tried boiling it once, and results were not good.  I made the Seitan O' Greatness that's been floating around the internet for awhile.  I think it came out pretty well, although I think it needs a personal seasoning adjustment.  It was a place to start though!

I took the above log, put half of it in the freezer, and then set to using up some of the rest of it.  I thought it might go well with some acorn squash I had.  The first recipe I made up before going to a Halloween party on Friday night.  

Seitan and Apple Stuffed Squash

1/2 roasted acorn squash

1/2 apple

1/8 log of Seitan O' Greatness

1/4 cup chopped spinach

1/2 tsp brown mustard

1 tsp vegan mayo

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tsp brown sugar

salt & pepper to taste

cinnamon  

1.  Preheat oven to 350.

2. Chop up the apples and seitan.  

3.  Whisk mustard, mayo, vinegar, and brown sugar, add salt and pepper to taste.  

4.  Stuff acorn squash, sprinkle with cinnamon and bake for around 10 minutes.  

As you can see in the picture, this made more than could fit in my 4" acorn squash, so I put it in another little bowl.  The seitan is a tad spicy for my taste.  Not bad, just wasn't what I was looking for.

Nutrition Facts:  313.9 Calories;  4.3g Fat;  0.6g Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  751.4mg Sodium;  53.0g Carbohydrates;  10.7g Fiber;  24.9g Protein.  

The second recipe I made last night.  It isn't as pretty, but it was quite tasty. 

Roasted Acorn Squash with Seitan and Apples

1/2 roasted acorn squash

1/2 apple

1/8 log Seitan O' Greatness

1/4 cup pepitas

cinnamon

1.  Preheat oven to 350.  

2.  Line baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray.  Slice apples and seitan , then place on sheet, spray with cooking spray, and sprinkle with cinnamon.  Bake approximately 10 minutes, or until it starts to smell good.  

3.  Plate, sprinkle with pumpkin seeds.  Eat.  

I'm not kidding myself, I realize that these are pretty similar dishes, I just liked the combo of the seitan and apples and squash.   

Nutrition Facts:  461.7 Calories;  19.9g Fat;  3.6g Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  436g Sodium;  50.7g Carbohydrates;  10.4g Fiber;  31.2g Protein.

Today's Cooking Song of the Day:  I Believe in Symmetry - Bright Eyes.

Bulgar Wheat and Soy is your friend

In all honesty, breakfast for me is pretty boring.  It's usually my workout fuel, and I like to keep it simple.  Today isn't a gym day, so I decided to use up some tofu in my fridge to make a scramble (which I actually usually have for lunch or dinner).  

Anyway, regardless of what I am having for breakfast, this is one of my staples: 

I seriously love this stuff, it is delicious.  Cooks in 15 minutes, 115 calories per serving, and 10g of protein.  How could you go wrong?  Well that was what I thought when I bought it, and it has been a major part of my diet for over a year now.  

My tofu scramble, I don't think is anything special, but I do like it.  It's one of the few things I can say I "made up" myself.  

Tofu Scramble for one

4 oz Extra-Firm Tofu

1/2 medium onion

1 tsp water

1 tsp low sodium soy sauce

tumeric, salt, pepper

2 green onions

1.  Spray nonstick skillet with cooking spray.  Add onions, water, and soy sauce.  Cook until tender

2.  Squeeze water out of tofu and crumble into pan.  Sprinkle with tumeric and mash, adding tumeric, salt, and pepper, until reaching desired taste and coloring. 

3.  Chop green onions and mix into scramble.  

This was a deviation from my usual (I'm getting wild here).  I usually put in peppers with the onion, but I didn't have any.  The green onions were for color more than anything, plus they were going to be thrown out if I didn't use them.  

To top this off today I had some broccoli, one serving of Bulgar Wheat and Soy, and a little salsa.  

Nutrition Information (just scramble):  150.7 Calories;  5.7g Fat;  0.7g Saturated Fat;  0mg Cholesterol;  292.2mg Sodium;  10.5g Carbohydrates;  3.1g Fiber;  13g Protein

Nutrition Information (full  meal):  340 Calories;  7.7g Fat;  0.9g Saturated Fat;  0mg Cholesterol;  507.6mg Sodium;  47.9g Carbohydrates;  12.8g Fiber;  27.9g Protein.

Today's Cooking Song of the Day:  XFire - The Bens

 

 

Introduction

I tend to have a hard time with self-editing.  Keeping my little bio short enough that people might read it was tough.  So, to compromise with myself, I am making a short(ish) introductory post, so I can get everything about me out there!  

I have been a vegetarian since May 2007.  I like to say it was the 24th.  My ventures in veganism are only a few months old.  

I didn't cook at all until after I got married, which was in 2006.  My husband is great, he will eat anything, never complains.  He is in the Army, and we are actually stationed out of Hawaii right now.  We lived there together for about a year, but when he deployed, I came home to live with my parents to save money.  Its a lot more difficult to make 4 people happy than it is 2.  My mom doesn't like anything remotely spicy, and doesn't like when her vegetables taste like vegetables.  My brother is 15, also anti-spicy, and hates sweet potatoes (random).  My dad is pretty open to new things, but likes really strong flavors so....we have competing palates in this house.  Regardless, I am welcome to cook whenever I please because my mom hates it.  I'm not exactly the most creative cook, its something I need to work on.  My hopes for this blog are to showcase what I do make, and hopefully someday start posting my own recipes.   

I also like to take pictures.  I'm no photographer, I just use a little point and shoot digital, but I love taking pictures, and I plan on posting them often.  Here is a couple from this summer:  

Onto the title of my blog though, Vegan Strong.  Okay, so it sounds a little silly, but my other passion besides cooking is working out; weight lifting specifically.  For some reason, it is pretty widely believed that vegans don't get enough protein to function, let alone enough protein to be active and build muscle.  Well, I shall prove them wrong.  I will try to post about my gym life every now and again, but I plan on this being very food focused.  I try to keep my meals high in protein,  moderate in calories, and just healthy in general.  I bake from time to time, but it usually doesn't come out too well because I try to "healthify" it too much.  Oh, and I chose the pictures of the bamboo for the heading (also one of my pictures, from St Lucia) because I thought it perfectly exemplified Vegan Strong.    

Completely un-blog related, I am a secondary education graduate student.  I got my BS in Chemistry, so you'd think maybe I'd have some drive of experimentation in me, but I am totally wary.  I feel like I can't experiment because I don't have all my cooking facts yet.  I am hoping to be a middle school science teacher, and although I am getting my certification now in New York, my husband and I are planning on moving to Baltimore when he done with the military in May of 2009.  I am already counting down the days.  

I also love music, and I always have it on while I'm cooking.  Today there is no cooking song of the day, but hopefully tomorrow!  My music taste is pretty diverse, but I am a huge Ben Folds fan.  

Alright, so that is a little about me.  I doubt anyone will get to read this for awhile, but if and when you do, welcome, and I hope you enjoy something about my blog!