ABC Stuffing

I was trying to come up titles and it was super long...Apple Barley Stuffing, Cranberry Barley Stuffing, Apple Curry Seitan, Apple Curry Barley Seitan Stuffing.  All the words started with A, B, C, S.  Hehe.  Hence the ABCs.  

So Hannah from BitterSweet gave a challenge a few days ago for barley stuffing.  I was too late posting it...that's what happen when you do everything at the last minute!  Anyway, I really like seitan and had been wanting to try it in a stuffing, so this was as good a reason as any to make it.  I'm not totally in love with the original Seitan O' Greatness recipe (although I love it baked, the texture and everything is great).  I made some substitutions, curry powder and sage (equal amounts) instead of paprika and allspice, apple butter instead of tomato paste, and a lot less pepper.  I also used some liquid smoke (only about 1 tsp) instead of the worcestershire, and added an extra tbsp of water.  

Apple Curry Seitan

ABC (Apple Barley Cranberry) Stuffing

The recipes goes something like this:

1 cup barley

2 tsp veggie bouillon (I use organic better than bouillon)

3 cups water

1/2 recipe Seitan O' Greatness (however you like it)

1 apple, chopped

1 large onion, chopped

4 stalks celery hearts, chopped

1/2 cup cranberries

1/2 cup sliced almonds  

1.5 tbsp olive oil

1.5 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp cumin

1 tbsp dried parsley

salt and pepper to taste

(you may want to add more spices, I just kind of added until it was good).  

The directions are obviously pretty simple.  

1.  Cook the barley according to directions (btw, my barley says it takes 1 1/4 hours, and it never takes more than 45 minutes). 

2.  Soak cranberries in a bowl of water (not necessary, but I do it to wash off some of that sugar.)

3.  Preheat oven to 350.  

4.  In a large pan brown the onions and seitan.  

5.  Add apples, celery, and spices to pan until combined.  Adjust seasoning to taste.

6.  Throw everything into a big bowl, add olive oil and almonds, toss until well combined and looks pretty.  

7.  Add stuffing to a large baking dish, bake for 15 minutes, until warm and a little crispy on top. *I like my stuffing baked, you can definitely skip this step.    

I calculated the nutrition facts based on 6 servings.  But those cute little ramekins in the picture?  One serving fills two of them.  So you may want to consider it 12 servings...in which case you would just cut everything in half!

Nutrition Information:  342.1 Calories;  10.8g Fat;  1.1g Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  614.5mg Sodium;  46.0g Carbohydrates;  10.8g Fiber;  19.3g Protein

I have more pictures today!  

I've been having a really heavy breakfast the past few days, Muesli (from my [me]&Goji post, with blueberries with the HiLo cereal from my Shopping Trip on Monday.  So, I've been feeling pretty full by lunchtime and have been having salads.  Organic raspberries were on sale today so I made a big spinach salad. 

Raspberries, spinach, pepitas, and....well I don't know if you want to know what that is, haha.  It is actually the Tofu Whipped Topping from Joy of Vegan Baking.  Yeah, I know it sounds gross, but I swear it tasted good.  

Lastly, I don't know if I have mentioned, but I currently live with 5 cats.  Zoe, my cat, is to the right, but she has a bunch of compatriots in my parents' house.  Yesterday I took the cutest pictures of Zany, my brother's cat.  We found him abandoned outside of a hotel in Zainesville, OH.  We drove him all the way back to NY with us, and he is incredibly sweet. 

My parents are having the house painted, one of the places being the hall closet, so he curled himself up under some snow pants had been piled up!

I can't believe Thanksgiving is in a week!  This month has been flying by for me.