Vegan Eggrolls

I miss egg rolls. A lot.

We were ordering Chinese take out one night and I finally decided to use the wheat wrappers I found to make myself some egg(less) rolls. It's really actually quite simple. I decided to pan fry these, I was just not in the deep frying mood. Nor did I want that much oil.

Vegan Egg Rolls

• 1/2 cup seitan, finely shopped
• 1/2 cup shredded cabbage
• 1/2 cup mushrooms, finely chopped
• 1-2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
• Bragg's Liquid Aminos (or soy sauce), to taste

Mix seitan, cabbage and mushrooms together in a small mixing bowl and drizzle with just a small amount of Bragg's. In a large pan over high heat, briefly saute the mixture in the sesame oil. Cook about a minute or 2, just until it's hot and a bit wilted looking. Scoop mixture back into the bowl, and prepare your wrappers. Spoon about 1-2 heaping tablespoons into the middle of the wrapper. Then fold. I had a hard time folding, but there is a great tutorial here. I'll have to work on that part. 

Spray a large pan with cooking spray and heat over medium high heat. Add rolls to the pan, but try not to crowd, I was cooking 4 at a time. Cook a few minutes, flip and cook, until all sides are evenly cooked and about a golden brown. 

My rolls, were delicious, but not very pretty looking, so no photos of this round. But don't worry I''ll be practicing...

Seitan Stir-Fry

If I had a signature dish, this would be it. It is a regular, go to, I'm starving right now, busy weekday, feel too lazy to cook, quick and easy meal. The ingredients are few and pretty basic, plus it is also really versatile, and can be adjusted to suit your own taste. Let's have a look...

Seitan Stir-Fry

• toasted sesame oil  
• 1 package seitan (I used WestSoy chicken style, feel free to sub your favorite brand or homemade)
• 1 cup mushrooms, sliced (cremini, white button, or baby bella)
• Bragg's Liquid Aminos (or soy, tamari, etc)
• freshly grated ginger, to taste
• 1-2 bunches broccoli, chopped into small-ish florets 
• sesame seeds

Heat a drizzle of sesame oil over medium high heat. Add seitan and cook until browned about 10 minutes. Be sure to keep the seitan moving in the pan, it will stick to the bottom otherwise. Add another drizzle of oil if needed, and scrape the bottom on the pan for the good browned bits. Add mushrooms and continue to cook another 5-7 minutes, until shrooms are nice and softened. 

Remember, keep moving the food around with a nice sturdy rubber spatula. Add a light drizzle of Bragg's, just enough to cover the bottom of the pan. It will sizzle, just give it a good mix. Grate your ginger right into the pan. A little ginger goes a long way, so don't over do it, kay? Stir, stir, stir. At this point add the broccolli, mix, then add another drizzle of Bragg's. Throw a top on the pan for about 2-3 minutes, this will steam up the broccoli. Remove the lid, and give everything a good toss. Plate up and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Now, devour. Omnomnom.

Soup Day

I woke up this morning craving my mom's spinach egg drop soup. It was the perfect thing on a cold day or anytime you're feeling under the weather, which for me is actually pretty often. Since my mom is 300 miles away, and I can't find a quick & easy substitution for "egg drop", into the fridge it was to whip up a new soup. Here's what I came up with.

Sick Day Soup

-3 scallions, roughly chopped

-3 carrots, cut into small coins

-2 cloves garlic, grated/minced

-handful of mushrooms thinly sliced (I used cremini, about 10-12)

-a bunch of baby bok choy, roughly chopped

-1 cup of barley

-Braggs to taste (optional)

Saute the scallions and carrots in a drizzle of olive oil over medium high heat for about 5 minutes. Add garlic, saute for a minute then add mushrooms. Cook the mushrooms until they are nice and soft, about 5-7 minutes, then fill the pot with water ( you can also use some vegetable stock, I just didn't have any). Bring to a boil then add barley. Give it a quick stir, after it boils a minute turn it down to a simmer. When the barley is almost done, add the bok choy. At this point, I just left it on a low simmer until I was ready to eat (as you can tell I wasn't exactly timing this one). I finished it off with a splash of Braggs, a couple of shakes of celery seed and a few generous cracks of freshly ground pepper.

Miso Soup & Garlic Toast

 I was sent home early today with a fever. Good thing I made that soup last night! It made for a delicious and soothing breakfast this morning when my throat was on fire. Anyway...
After a quick stop at the co-op for some of my go-to cold remedies, (garlic, ginger, lemons...) I came home to another steaming hot bowl of miso. I completed my lunch with some garlic toast, one of my favorite snacks and sore throat remedy. I'll be in bed the rest of the day with my tea...

Feeling a cold coming on? Try this...

Ginger Miso Soup
-water (about 6 cups)
-Bragg's liquid aminos (or tamari/soy sauce), to taste
-1 generous tablespoon miso paste (whatever kind you prefer/have around)
-1/2 block of extra firm tofu, cut into small cubes
-fresh grated ginger, to taste
-1 small piece kombu, rinsed and cut into thin slivers (optional)

Combine water and Braggs in a soup pot over high heat. Mix miso paste with a little bit of warm water in a glass or measuring cup until miso is dissolved. Add miso to water with tofu, ginger and kombu if using. When the soup begins to boil, turn it down to low and simmer until you are ready to eat.

Garlic Toast
-2 slices whole grain bread
-Earth Balance margarine
-2 garlic cloves, finely minced or grated
-dash of freshly cracked sea salt

Toast your bread and while still hot spread with Earth Balance and garlic. Sprinkle with salt and enjoy while still warm.

Time for me to gargle some cayenne...