1. Spring is finally in full effect, and the farmer’s market stands sure show it. There were so many great-looking pieces of produce, and I went all purple. This warm, fresh dish would be great to eat outside, or by an open, breezy window. Full of purple cabbage, purple asparagus, red onion, red radish, and peppered with rich seitan and cashew cheese, it’s sure to fill you up before a long bike ride. Some notes: Color isn’t everything - if you can’t find purple asparagus, it’s no big deal. The flavor is very similar, if not the same, if you use different colors! If you ~totally hate~ cabbage, we beg you to think again. It’s crisp and flavorful and really fills out a plate, and it’s really cheap, too! If you haven’t acclimated yourself to eating cabbage, we suggest making a cole slaw or spring rolls first to test the waters. The cashew cheese and seitan are essential to making this meal feel full and give it a lot of deep flavor. My suggestion is to make A LOT of it in one day, then have it ready for the next week or two. It saves a lot of time and stress later, trust me! Yesterday I put the seitan on to cook, then made a few juices, pickle relish, and the cashew cheese while it was simmering - it took less than two hours for a week’s worth of food. Worth it! .Serves 2Ingredients2 tsp coconut or sesame oil 1 medium red onion, chopped into petals 1-2 cup piece of seitan, broken into bite-size pieces 2-3 tsp sesame seeds 10 stalks purple asparagus, ends snapped off 1/2 small head of purple cabbage, shredded drizzle of soy sauce 1-2 tsp mustard 1-2 dollops cashew cheese a few radishes, optionalInstructionsToss the oil, onion, seitan, sesame seeds, and asparagus into a sauté pan on medium heat. Let cook down until the onion is transparent, about ten minutes. Stir every so often to prevent burning. Whisk together the soy sauce and mustard. Toss in the cabbage and soy mixture. Cook until the cabbage is soft but still a little crunchy, about 5-10 more minutes. Serve warm with the cashew cheese swirled in, and if you want garnish with radish peel. Enjoy!
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    Spring is finally in full effect, and the farmer’s market stands sure show it. There were so many great-looking pieces of produce, and I went all purple.

    This warm, fresh dish would be great to eat outside, or by an open, breezy window. Full of purple cabbage, purple asparagus, red onion, red radish, and peppered with rich seitan and cashew cheese, it’s sure to fill you up before a long bike ride.

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    May 10, 2013
  2. 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

  3. Hey, I just wanted to know if are you guys making a Seitan "How-to" video, or post. Ive been wanting to make it but im just so confused with it.

    we may in the future! for now, i’ll point you to this great video made by working class foodies. it’s truly from scratch, where you make the seitan straight from regular flour, but also gives a vital wheat gluten shortcut (start it out at 2:10). once you make it a few times, it’s really not that intimidating.

    the basic steps to making seitan:

    1. mix together the vital wheat gluten with veggie stock, soy sauce, nutritional yeast and spices until it forms a ball of dough.
    2. knead the dough for a few minutes, then let it rest for a few minutes. 
    3. bring the pot to a boil while it’s resting.
    4. cut the dough into small pieces, then put them into the pot. turn the heat down to a simmer.
    5. let simmer for about 45 minutes to an hour, turning occasionally. 
    6. from there, you can fry, bake, steam, or whatever else you want. (i like it simply sauteed in a little olive oil!)

    here’s the specific liquid amounts/spices recipe we often use. hope this helps a little!

    or if you’re not up to it, try working with beans - like chickpea burgers!

    January 18, 2012