1. quick dinner: sticky sweet smoky maple-mustard seitan & brussels loosely chop up 1 small onion, 1 small bell pepper, 1-2 cups seitan, and mince two medium cloves of garlic. cut off the hard ends of 1-2 cups brussels sprouts, cut the sprouts in half if you have big ones. i suggest making the seitan in bulk on a sunday afternoon - it saves a ton of time over the week! toss the ingredients in a sautee pan on high heat with 1 tbsp olive oil for about five minutes, stirring occasionally. let the veg cook down & crisp on the edges. once a bit browned, give it a couple squeezes of lemon, a dusting of garlic & onion powder, and stir in 2 tbsp maple mustard. you can either buy this mustard, usually at farms/farmer’s markets, or just mix together pure maple syrup and a tart mustard at a ratio of 1:3. WARNING - do not use yellow mustard in this, go for a milder mustard with a kick of tartness at the end, like a nice dijon. after about 5-7 more minutes of cooking, splash on a few drops of liquid smoke and sprinkle on a heaping pinch of sea salt & freshly ground pepper. the brussels should be just a bit crunchy, but soft. stir in a heaping teaspoon of the mustard, to coat. serve hot to 1-2 people.want to see more quick meals, behind-the-scenes, and what we eat on an everyday basis? follow along on instagram! we hope you’re having a great new year - we’ve got lots of diy posts planned (and some in the works currently) for 2013!
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    quick dinner: sticky sweet smoky maple-mustard seitan & brussels

    1. loosely chop up 1 small onion, 1 small bell pepper, 1-2 cups seitan, and mince two medium cloves of garlic. cut off the hard ends of 1-2 cups brussels sprouts, cut the sprouts in half if you have big ones. i suggest making the seitan in bulk on a sunday afternoon - it saves a ton of time over the week!
    2. toss the ingredients in a sautee pan on high heat with 1 tbsp olive oil for about five minutes, stirring occasionally. let the veg cook down & crisp on the edges. once a bit browned, give it a couple squeezes of lemon, a dusting of garlic & onion powder, and stir in 2 tbsp maple mustard. you can either buy this mustard, usually at farms/farmer’s markets, or just mix together pure maple syrup and a tart mustard at a ratio of 1:3. WARNING - do not use yellow mustard in this, go for a milder mustard with a kick of tartness at the end, like a nice dijon.
    3. after about 5-7 more minutes of cooking, splash on a few drops of liquid smoke and sprinkle on a heaping pinch of sea salt & freshly ground pepper. the brussels should be just a bit crunchy, but soft. stir in a heaping teaspoon of the mustard, to coat. serve hot to 1-2 people.

    want to see more quick meals, behind-the-scenes, and what we eat on an everyday basis? follow along on instagram! we hope you’re having a great new year - we’ve got lots of diy posts planned (and some in the works currently) for 2013!
    January 14, 2013
  2. This is that kind of meal that used to worry me. Will the potatoes be soft at the same time as the brussels? Will the tofu have enough time to absorb all the flavors it needs to? How do I make all of this come together? Timing is everything in cooking, and making a meal like this makes me feel pretty good in the kitchen. Not only that, but this breakfast demonstrates exactly what a tofu scramble is best at. I never would have dreamed in my life that I’d ever be eating brussels sprouts, let alone at breakfast. But tofu scrambles have this weird power, making me excited to add vegetables to my morning meal. It really made me love vegetables, even the most hated of all vegetables, the brussels. Try this out on your next cold morning, and I think your mind will be changed about greens at breakfast too.2 large sweet potatoes 4 cups small (I’d even say tiny!) brussels sprouts 1 cup super firm tofu, or 2 cups firm tofu 3 tbsp olive oil spices to taste, I used: turmeric, cinnamon, mild curry powder, sea salt, and freshly ground pepperPrep your ingredients. Cut your brussels off the stalk and cut off any tough stems, slice them in half if you get any large ones. Dice the potatoes. If using firm tofu, press it. Coat the potatoes in olive oil and a heaping pinch of sea salt. Cook them on medium heat for about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they’re soft. Meanwhile, steam the brussels. Put a steamer basket in a pot with an inch or two of water in the bottom. Cover the pot and turn the heat to medium. Let steam until the brussels are soft and bright green, about the same amount of time it’ll take the potatoes to cook. When the potatoes are pretty soft and getting crisped a bit on the edges, break in the tofu and add the spices. (Remember: this meal is all about flavor from the foods, so spices are pretty secondary. The ones I listed are what I thought worked best, but feel free to create your own mixture. That’s the point of cooking, right, learning what you like?) Pour in the strained brussels. Stir and let cook for another 5 minutes or until everything is flavorful and awesome. Add more salt as needed. Serve hot and enjoy! This makes enough for four people, or two hungry people. ;P
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    This is that kind of meal that used to worry me. Will the potatoes be soft at the same time as the brussels? Will the tofu have enough time to absorb all the flavors it needs to? How do I make all of this come together? Timing is everything in cooking, and making a meal like this makes me feel pretty good in the kitchen.

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    October 28, 2012
  3. It’s been getting really cold here. We even had to flip the ceremonial furnace switch after blankets and sweatshirts couldn’t keep us warm enough. Today, I decided to remedy the cold (which I love, personally!) with a hearty, hot dinner of rosemary, lemon, & garlic potatoes and brussels. If you haven’t noticed, we haven’t posted a baked good in a while. Our oven has been broken for almost six months now, mostly because we can’t afford to fix it, so we’ve gotten by with raw cookies and slow-cooking stews. This recipe is no exception - but if you have a working stove, feel free to roast your potatoes and brussels instead of pan-frying. This cold week calls for a hot oven, I think. All of the elements here can be easily translated to roasting, and I trust you can figure it out. If not, message me and I’ll explain it. Otherwise, here’s what I did. Boil a bunch of potatoes. Doesn’t matter how many or what kind, that’s up to you and how many people you’re feeding. I cooked about 6 large potatoes, which will feed 3-4 people just fine. (The rest of the amounts below will follow that 3-4 person serving size.) You’ll know when they’re “done” when you can stick a fork easily through the potato. While the potatoes are cooking, prep the rest of your ingredients. Pluck the brussels sprouts off their stalk, then slice off the hard woody bottom on each one. Chop 1 large red onion into small pieces. Chop 4 medium-large cloves of garlic into smaller pieces. Mince enough fresh rosemary to make about two heaping pinches. Take one large lemon and thinly slice it. Once the potatoes are done, drain out the water and loosely cut them up. Toss them in a pan with your prepped ingredients, 2 tbsp olive oil, 2 tsp salt, a dusting of onion and garlic powder, and some fresh ground pepper. Mix everything so it’s all evenly coated. Let cook on medium-high heat for 20-30 minutes, stirring every five or so minutes to keep things from burning. Sprinkle on a tsp or two of sugar, salt to taste, and mix together again. Let cook until the brussels are getting soft. (Yes, you can eat one to test it out!) They’ll be bright green and won’t smell like the overcooked gross cabbage your parents used to make. (Was that just me?) Serve piping hot. This would go really well with a fresh tomato soup or corn chowder. Stay warm and enjoy!
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    It’s been getting really cold here. We even had to flip the ceremonial furnace switch after blankets and sweatshirts couldn’t keep us warm enough. Today, I decided to remedy the cold (which I love, personally!) with a hearty, hot dinner of rosemary, lemon, & garlic potatoes and brussels.

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    October 10, 2012