Homemade Gluten Ribs

My family has been asking me to blog about this one for a while now, and I'm finally getting to it. I've been making this recipe for about a year, but way back when I made it for the first time, I liked it so much that I made it again the very next week when my family was out visiting us. We've always been a big grilling family and I liked the idea of my husband and dad out in the back yard grilling up some meat while my mom and I made veggies and potatoes inside. Yes, I am just that traditional at heart. Anyway, my parents are pretty adventurous when it comes to trying strange vegan foods, but the true testament to how much they liked this is that my mom has since taken to making it herself back in Boston. I'm very proud.

The first time I ever heard about gluten, it was in the context of gluten-free. I know there are a lot of people out there who can't eat gluten, so I'm sorry about that -- this recipe is not for you. For those who can eat it, I highly recommend gluten as a fun alternative to soy and other usual vegan protein sources. It's really quite easy to buy the gluten flour and to make homemade seitan. From there, you can dress it up any way you want. In all honesty, I'm not a huge fan of the seitan I've had in restaurants. Most often you see it in BBQ sandwiches (not too bad) or in Asian stir-fry or curry dishes (pretty bad), and I'm just not a fan all the way around. I have to admit that I've never even had the nerve to buy the pre-packaged seitan they sell at my natural food store. It looks so grey and slimy that it honestly turns my stomach looking at it. BUT, this recipe for homemade seitan (which came pretty much directly from Susan Voisin at Fat Free Vegan) tastes nothing like any seitan I've ever eaten. It's chewy and firm and just a perfect texture. Slather it in barbecue sauce and slap it on the grill and I promise you a delicious cook-out that will satisfy all of your cravings and please your meat-eating guests. Hey, it's almost summer. Break out the grill and give this a try!

First you have to make the seitan. Think of it as a very dense loaf of bread. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Mix together the dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately, then mix them together.

1 cup gluten flour (vital wheat gluten)

2 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. chile powder

2 Tbsp. nutritional yeast

2 tsp. dried onion flakes

1 tsp. garlic powder or 2 tsp. fresh garlic, minced

3/4 cup water

2 Tbsp. tahini

1 tsp. liquid smoke

1 Tbsp. soy sauce

Once the ingredients are mixed, go ahead and knead the dough with your hands for a good 2-3 minutes. You will notice the gooey, stringy texture of the gluten holding everything together. Lightly spray a square 8x8 baking pan and use your fingers to stretch the dough to fill the entire square pan. Next, take a knife and scar the dough once down the middle and then 7 times across. This will help the ribs cut apart more easily at the end. Bake the seitan in the oven for about 25-30 minutes. When it's done you should be able to easily lift the entire thing out of the pan with a spatula.

If you want to make your own barbecue sauce for this dish, go ahead. Myself, I'm pretty happy just using the All Natural Barbecue Sauce from Trader Joe's. Either way, you need about a cup of it to make these really tasty. Fire up the grill and let it preheat for a while. Brush the ribs generously with barbecue sauce on both sides and grill for about 8-10 minutes or so. Flip the ribs and give them another coat of sauce and grill until you think they look done. I like them pretty well done where the sauce is getting crispy and there are dark black grill lines. Serve it up with some baked or mashed potatoes and some veggies and you have yourself a pretty awesome vegan version of an American classic. My dad even liked it. I bet yours would too.

More Love for the Baby-Q: Portobellos, Asparagus and Peaches

This post is not so much a new recipe, because all of these items were so easy that I feel the word recipe is an overstatement. It's more a chance for me to go on and on and on about the Baby-Q one more time and to try to convince all you city-dwellers that you too can enjoy backyard barbecues just like the people who have actual backyards. First of all, I have to say that J is finally home from tour!! It's been two and a half weeks since I've cooked a dinner for the two of us and I was very excited. The only issue was that San Francisco decided to make up for a whole "summer" of 50 degree weather by giving us two 95 degree days. San Franciscans...which I do not claim to be yet...do not handle hot weather well. I will admit that I tend to agree with them mainly because this city is not well equipped for heat. No one has air conditioners and our home, just like everyone else's, has umpteen windows which seem to let all of the heat in and none of it out. I consented last night and decided that I would grill a simple meal rather than cook something fancy because it made sense to spend time outside.

I decided on marinated portobellos, grilled asparagus

and sweet potato fries with grilled peaches and maple syrup for dessert. There couldn't be a simpler meal to create, or a more delicious summer feast. I marinated the mushrooms in the same fantastic mixture I used for the Vegetable Kabobs. Equal parts olive oil, balsamic vinegar and soy sauce with salt, pepper, oregano, garlic and hot pepper flakes. Be sure to marinate the mushrooms for a full 24 hours. It begins to break down the firm flesh and really infuse the flavor. I usually cut little slits in the tops of the mushrooms to let even more marinade in. The result is the most incredibly juicy grilled mushrooms you can imagine. You can eat these on a bun like a hamburger or on bread as a sandwich. Often times I just like to eat them alone with a knife and fork.

There is really no recipe for the grilled asparagus. Sometimes I put a little oil on the asparagus before I grill it, but this time I decided not to. It really doesn't make much of a difference. I sprinkled some spices on there, but I don't really remember which ones. Any good steak rub which includes some salt is great in a pinch; I like Montreal Seasoning from McCormick.

I thought it would be fun to make baked sweet potato fries to go along with this meal. I have to admit that I've never done this before, but assumed that it would be very easy. I wouldn't say the result was a failure because they were actually quite delicious. But it would a stretch to call them "fries" of any sort. More like yummy baked spears of sweet potato. All I did was to coat them in a little canola oil and bake them at about 400 degrees for about 45 minutes, then sprinkle them with salt and pepper. What did I do wrong people? Has any one had success making baked sweet potato fries that actually turn out with any degree of crunchiness to them? I am open to all suggestions! In the mean time, we just ate these babies with our fork and knife and called it a day.

The perfect end to this meal was a plate of sweet grilled peaches. I cut the peaches into 4 slices each and wrestled the pits out of the center. I grilled them for a few minutes on each side, then drizzled with maple syrup. Simple, but delicious.

I know this post was pretty light on the actual recipes, but it just goes to show that a really good meal does not have to be complicated. When you have great fresh ingredients and a Baby-Q, the possibilities are endless. Happy Summer!

Vegetable Kabobs

I have to admit that I made this dish over a week ago while J was still in town. I do eat a lot myself, but not this much! After all the salads, I figured it was time to get back to a dinner food again, and in keeping with my "If I eat as though it is summer maybe it will feel like it is summer " strategy, I thought something from the grill was fitting. This is one of my absolute favorite dishes to grill, particularly because you can really use anything in the world that you want on kabobs. The other great thing about these is that you can bring them anywhere. I've brought them to friends houses for barbecues and I've brought them in my pack backpacking. They are versatile, delicious and and excuse to use the Baby-Q!

I have to take a moment now to express my love for the Baby-Q. First of all, there's the name; Obviously I was destined to love this thing...but I won't dwell on my obsessions with all things baby-sized (that is except actual babies). Back before we got married, when we first moved to San Francisco, I saw the Baby-Q on Amazon, where we had our wedding registry, and I instantly decided that we needed it. I grew up eating grilled food all the time and ever since I'd left home I had wanted a grill. It was pretty much out of the question in New York, and I didn't really stay in Charleston long enough to set up a home; This was the perfect time! Nevermind that we didn't have a yard or a patio, we had a small area on the back steps of our apartment building that leads down to the trash cans and I thought that was sufficient for my needs so long as the grill was small- hence the Baby-Q. It's amazing! Small yet powerful, portable and easy to use. Unfortunately, J did not share my opinion and he adamantly argued that I should not add it to the registry. "What," he asked "would vegans need a grill for?" Needless to say, a few months after we got married, he broke down and I went ahead and bought the Baby-Q anyway. And of course, quite to my delight, he has had to eat his words (literally haha) over and over as I lovingly prepare one delicious grilled dish after another. It is not often in relationships that one person can truly declare victory in a disagreement, but this is one of those times. I was right!

For these kabobs, you can really use any vegetables you want which makes it a great way to clean out the fridge of random vegetables you have around. If I plan in advance, my mix usually includes mushrooms, red peppers, red onions, zucchini or yellow squash, snap peas and sometimes baked tofu and/or pre-boiled potatoes. I love using that baked tofu they sell in the stores now because it's easy, firm and soaks up the marinade just the right amount. Cut each block into 9 squares and simply add to the rest of the mix. When I use potatoes, I use small red, yukon gold, or purple potatoes. Chop them in half or quarters and boil until tender, but not done. They will cook the rest of the way on the grill. I omitted the potatoes this time because J requested a pilaf and I didn't think I needed both.

The obvious key to good veggie kabobs is the marinade. I have amassed a number of good marinades over the past couple of years, but this one is still my favorite. I have no idea where it came from, but it's so easy to remember that I never even wrote it down. It's the simplest recipe in the world and it works on anything. I dare you to find something (savory mind you) that doesn't taste good marinated in this sauce. Especially try it on portobello mushrooms for the best grilled portobellos on the planet. So, the night before you want to grill, cut up your vegetables and whisk together equal parts:

soy sauce

balsamic vinegar

olive oil

Then add:

2 garlic cloves, pressed

1-2 tsp. oregano

1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

black pepper to taste

Pour over the vegetables and refrigerate for as close to 24 hours as you can. Then thread onto wooden skewers, grill until done and enjoy! In a pinch, you can also cook the vegetables in the broiler of your oven (believe me I have done this when the propane runs out mid-grill). When we take these camping, we just pack the whole mess including the marinade in double ziplock bags, then wrap them in foil packets and throw them in the coals of the fire. There is nothing better in the world than a big plate of this stuff with couscous after hiking all day. A great side-benefit of eating vegan is that you don't have to worry about the dinner food spoiling while you hike! I've posted one picture here from a recent camping dinner. I hope you do try this recipe and experiment using this marinade on anything you can think of. My mother called me a few weeks ago asking what I thought she should do in order to grill a regular block of tofu and I recommended this marinade for that as well. All reports say that it was a runaway success. I'm telling you, it's impossible to go wrong with this recipe. Enjoy!