what the hell _does_ a vegan eat anyway?

Dinner

Seitan Rolls*
(stuffed with Mushrooms, Green and Black Olives, Sage, Thyme and Maderia)

Braised Fennel w/ Pine Nuts


* We made our own Seitan today with the packaged Wheat Gluten, rather than from Bread Flour, which eliminated the constatnt soaking in cold water, but made for a different texture to the finished product. We made 1/4" sheets about 4" x 7" then rolled them like a jelly-roll, tied them in string, seared the outside pretty well, and then baked in a 350° oven for 30 minutes (it probably could have been 45, but we were hungry at that point). The outside was done perfectly, but the inside could have used the extra 15 minutes.

The texture, as I mentioned, was different. It wasn't chewy like the commercial seitan, but with a rather delicate mouth-feel. It fried up beautifully, handled well and didn't break when handled, but definately a more "bready" flavor.

We're going to try it again next weekend with the traditional method to see how it works out...