Cooking on a Rainy Day

Saturday was a chilly, rainy day. The kids had a day of movies and playing in the garage. Jim dove into putting up the ceiling fan in our bedroom. I headed to the kitchen to get a little cooking done.

I made Gluten Roast from VegWeb. I hate getting my hand all gooky mixing this recipe but my kids think its fun. I doubled the recipe and made it in a 9 x 13 inch pan. Since the pan was shallow the cooking time didn't change. Everyone in my house loves this concoction. In the interest of less gooey fingers, I'd like to try mixing the all the ingredients, except the vital wheat gluten, together first and then adding the vital wheat gluten. I just always accidentally add the water first and then remember that I want to try this.

I also made Chikin Nuggets, another VegWeb Recipe. I'm not necessarily recommending this recipe but I think it makes a good springboard for kid friendly vegan finger food. I've tinkered with this recipe to the point where I like their texture and the way they hold their shape but the taste is still bland. A little ketchup or barbeque sauce makes this a fun treat for the kids but it still needs work. Here's the version I made yesterday, in case you feel like experimenting:

1 cup tvp
1 cup water
1 Tbs vegetable broth powder
2 tsp vital wheat gluten
1 heaping Tbs flaxseed meal

Combine the tvp and water, let sit until water is absorbed about 10 minutes. Add remaining ingredients. Combine:
1 Tbs cornmeal
1 Tbs nutritional yeast

Drop tablespoon size amounts of the tvp mixture into this and roll to coat. Flatten on greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, turn and bake another 15 minutes.

I want to try this recipe without rolling it in the cornmeal mixture. Its just too dry and gritty. I suspect you could just add the nutritional yeast to the tvp mixture and it would work just as well. I'd like to perfect this recipe and then make and freeze a ton of them.

I also made Cindy O's "Chicken" and Rice Soup for the Soul and Matthew's Spicy Tomato Peanut and Kale Pasta from La DOlce Vegan! by Sarah Kramer. These were so simple and so delicious!

Today was a nicer day and since I cooked so much yesterday, I spent much less time in the kitchen. Jim also got to take home a real variety of foods for his bachelor meals. That's a nice reward for installing the ceiling fan, don't you think?