rants & recipes

Awww, I miss the Vegan MoFo image - I can't believe how I just gave up on the month of food, but I was studying for a mid-term along in there and just got out of the habit. One good thing that's come of Vegan MoFo, I think, when I do blog about food, I like the in-line photo format better, so I'll try this for a while.

Yesterday, I made the most amazing bread. I failed to proof my yeast (water wasn't warm enough) and the loaves took longer to rise. But definitely worth the wait.

I had parsnips to use up, so I decided to use them in bread. Here's the recipe:

Parsnip Rosemary Bread

• About 230 grams peeled, chopped parsnip and 30 grams peeled, chopped carrot - cooked in microwave for 3 minutes (which may have been too long - the more you cook parsnip, the less flavor it has. Next time I might try 1.5 minutes). I covered my bowl with a plate to retain moisture.
• Blend roots in a food processor with 70 grams of Earth Balance (I was going to use 50 grams canola oil but I was out)
• 135 grams of potato cooking water
• 2 tbsp rosemary (soaked in potato water to soften)
• 1/4 warm water and 45 grams sugar in which to proof:
• 3 1/2 tsp yeast

I thought the above amount of liquid would be enough, but ended up having to add approximately another half-cup of water during kneading.

• 365 grams bread flour
• The following, with whole wheat flour to total 345 grams:
  • 1/4 cup wheat bran
  • 1 tbsp gypsum
  • 2 tbsp wheat germ
  • 3 tbsp ground flax
• 2 tsp salt

Double-rise, baked 20-25 minutes, in oven preheated to 500 degrees and turned down to 425 degrees when loaves went in.

The house smelled amazing and christmas-y all afternoon.

To go with this bread, I made some seitan sausage. I used this recipe - I was happy that it called for cooking in a pressure cooker - still the same foil usage but pressure+15 minutes is much better than 90 minutes worth of gas, in the oven.

I keep looking back over that recipe to make sure I didn't leave out, well, a lot of stuff.  I did not. I even used some marmite and soy sauce in place of 1/2 cup of the water, which adds flavor. I used pita bread-bread crumbs of varying sizes because my food processor had a hard time with them. Actually, though, I'm pleased with that. And the texture of these sausages was really good. I'll give them that. But they had absolutely no flavor. None. I couldn't believe it. Nonetheless, with such great texture and pressure cooker cooking method, I will probably revisit them. Next time, though, I'll just bring more flavor!

Flavorless Seitan Sausage

• 1 tbsp onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp ground fennel
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 2 tsp sweet paprika
• 1/4 tsp red pepper
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat bread crumbs
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup marmite water (from reconstituting soy curls - think some mixture of soy sauce and marmite and water)
• 6 1/2 ounces vital wheat gluten

Mix, form into 8 logs, roll in aluminum foil. Pressure-steam for 15 minutes after pressure is attained.