Southern Discomfort Fried Tempeh Steak with gravy

Okay, so I'm straying from my seitanism for a short period, and I'm doing some rituals using tempeh (I got 3 packages for $5) so I'm doing some experimentation. This is the first thing I've made using tempeh that I truly like. It's a good old fashioned southern meal, a country fried steak with gravy and any other fixin's ya like!

**just a warning this recipe takes some preparation**

Ingredients:

1 Package tempeh

Marinade:

2 cups soy/almond/hemp milk

1/4 cup tamari or soy sauce

2 tsp worcestershire sauce

2 tbsp nutritional yeast

1 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp sage

Batter:

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup corn meal

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp basil

1/2 tsp oregeno

1 tbsp black pepper

1 tbsp bay seasoning

4 tbsp paprika

2 tsp garlic salt

1 tsp ground ginger

Gravy:

3 tbsp "butter"

1 cup flour

1 cup nutritional yeast

1 tsp onion salt

dash of black pepper

2 cups of not chicken broth

1 cup of marinade

To begin, take you tempeh and cut it in half, and then slice it through the middle making 4 equal slices. Now mix all of your ingredients for the marinade in a container that you can seal. Place the four pieces of tempeh into the marinade and store for AT LEAST two hours, but I like to marinade over night.

Now prepare your breading mix on a plate, and make sure to mix it all up evenly with a fork. The key here is to double bread. Take one piece of tempeh out of the marinade, coat both sides in breading, dip back into marinade and coat both sides with breading again. Repeat this step for all pieces of tempeh.

Next heat some oil in a skillet, just enough to cover the bottom with a little bit standing. Once it's good and hot add you breaded tempeh steaks, one at a time, or as many as you can put in the skillet without over crowding it. Make sure to fry on both sides until the tempeh steaks are golden brown.

Finally it is time to prepare the gravy. In the same skillet that you used to prepare the tempeh steaks, combine 3 tbls of "butter" and melt, whisk in the 1 cup of flour, 1 cup of nutritional yeast and spices. Once you have a nice roux going whisk in 1 cup of not chicken broth. Let this mixture thicken up a bit, if you want to give it a creamier texture whisk in about 1 cup of the marinade, or just 1 cup of soy milk.

Now serve and enjoy!

Suggested listening:

Eyehategod-In the Name of Suffering

classic southern filthy sludge metal, just what you need when making this meal.

I'M BACK FROM THE GREAT BEYOND!

So I'm finally back to updating this thing, I've been busy with work/school/bands and have been eating out or eating frozen food while on the run. I had a few dishes that I fixed before I went on a loooonnng hiatus but I didn't write down the measurements or all of the ingredients, so I'll be posting new things starting today!

This is a dish that if you alter just a bit you can feed a lot of people with it, or you can make it for two with some leftovers, which is what this recipe will make. This is a whole wheat spaghetti in a lemon white wine sauce, here we go!

Ingredients:

1/2 lbs. whole wheat spaghetti (or any pasta of your choice)

1 cup of chopped seitan

1 handful of mushrooms

1 handful of sliced black olives

1 cup white wine

Juice of 1 lemon

4-6 Tbsp "butter"

2 Tbsp minced garlic

1 tsp salt

1 Tbsp parsley

dash of black pepper

Dash of worcestershire sauce

Start by preparing your pasta according to the directions on the package. While your pasta is boiling heat some olive oil in a skillet and toss a handful of mushrooms into the skillet, cook until tender. Once the mushrooms are starting to get tender, add 1 cup of chopped seitan, grill until browned. Once your mushrooms and seitan are done add the handful of chopped black olives (you can also add some chopped cherry tomatoes if you like) mix everything up and turn the heat to low.

Now it's time to create the sauce. Begin by heating a small to medium size sauce pan on high, once it's hot add the cup of dry white wine and let it reduce, about 2-3 minutes, and reduce the heat to medium. Now add the butter and, about 4-6 Tbsp, 2 Tbsp minced garlic, and whisk together with the wine. Once the butter has melted and is thoroughly mixed with the wine add the juice of one lemon, just a splash of worcestershire sauce, 1 tsp of salt, a dash of black pepper, and 1 Tbsp parsley, whisk all ingredients together.

Hopefully by now your spaghetti is done and you have strained it. Turn the heat up to medium on your seitan/mushrooms/black olives mix and pour the lemon white wine sauce on top and mix together really well. Now add the spaghetti into a large pot, and pour the contents of the skillet on top of the spaghetti and toss well. I like to sprinkle a little bit of nutritional yeast on top, or if you have some vegan parmesan topping you can use that as well. Serve and enjoy!

Strokin' Off with the Dark Lord

This recipe is definitely a comfort food for me. It's also good for feeding large groups, if you have a band staying with you, or if you're just feeding a group after a black mass.

Ingredients:

1 1/2-2 lbs seitan

1 Box of spiral pasta

Enough Earth Balance to coat your pot

1 Onion

1 lbs mushrooms

1 cube of No Beef Bouillon(if you can't find it vegetable broth works fine)

2 cups water

1 Bag of frozen peas

1 cup of toffuti cream cheese

First, start boiling water in a large sauce pan to make your pasta. While you're doing that dice your onions, and chop your mushrooms. Once your water is boiling, put your pasta in and boil until al dente. Coat another pot with some Earth Balance or other vegan butter, and simmer your diced onion over medium-high heat. In a skillet, add a few Tbsp of Earth Balance and grill your seitan until brown. Usually during this step I add my favorite ingredient, Worcestershire sauce to add a more meaty flavor.

Once your onions are translucent add your chopped mushrooms and let them simmer a bit, add a little bit of salt to help the process along. Once your mushrooms are tender add your two cups of water and no beef bouillon/vegetable broth, making kind of a mushroom broth. Now add your grilled seitan and bag of frozen (now thawed) peas, put the lid on and let this mix simmer for about 5 minutes.

Once your mushroom broth has simmered a little bit, add your pasta, and toffuti cream cheese and mix it all up really well, then season with paprika. Now put the lid back on your pot, and simmer for about 20-30 minutes. After 20 minutes, you can now stroke it with the dark lord! This recipe should feed about 5 people, if you have more just double it!

Recommended listening: Burning Witch-Crippled Lucifer

Cubano Vegano Sandwich orrrr TWO BLOGS IN ONE NIGHT!

Wow you guys are in luck, I'm cranking out the blogs tonight and you're getting TWO, for the price of one...or well I guess I could put out 100 and you'd still get it for the price of one, since it is all free... Anyways, this is more or less just a nod to a new cook book that just came out, that I think everyone who is vegan, or interested in being vegan should go pick up. It's called Viva Vegan by Terry Hope Romero. I've been counting down the days, waiting for this book, since may of 2009, and it is finally here! Just came out this past Tuesday, April 27th, and it was well worth the wait. If you're a lover of all latin foods (like myself) this is the book you've been waiting for.

I've already got my eye on a few recipes, but I've only made one so far, and it was very VERY tasty. It's called the Cubano Vegano Sandwich, and I'm thinking it is the best sandwich I've ever had, vegan or otherwise. I've been trying to find the best sandwich for a while, and as of right now this one holds the crown. I'm not going to provide the recipe for it, because if you want to try it, YOU SHOULD GO BUY THE BOOK!

There was a new way of making seitan that I made to put on this sandwich; it required steaming instead of boiling or baking. It came out chewier than the seitan I included in this blog, but was very tasty once baked in a marinade. The only thing I changed up in my version than what was in the book was NO pickles on mine, and I used chibata bread instead of french bread.

Here it is in all it's glory:

As far as recommended listening for this monster sandwich I'd have to go with Ancestor because they're the only Cuban Black Metal band that I know of, I'm sure there are more, but these dudes are pretty badass.

BURNED AT THE CHEEZE STEAK!

After a few delays I'm back up and running! Our internet was supposed to be connected earlier in the week, but unfortunately our new house is a little older so they had to tweak some things and it took a little longer. Then, I pulled a ligament or tendon in my right arm, but as a good seitanist I followed the left hand path and used my left hand to cook up some new recipes!

So without delay here is a new recipe.

BURNED AT THE CHEEZ STEAK

Ingredients

-2-3 cups chopped seitan

-1 or 2 green/red/yellow peppers chopped

-1 onion diced

-1 Tbsp Vegan Worcestershire Sauce

-Black Pepper

-Paprika

-Vegan Cheez

-Vegan butter

-Vegan Mayonnaise

-Hoagie rolls

Okay to start out you're going to need to put about a Tbsp of oil in a skillet and heat it over medium high heat. Dice on whole onion (I use yellow onion, but you can use whatever you like, or none at all) and saute in your oil. While the onion is sauteing seed and chop your pepper(s). Sometimes I also like to chop up about a cup of mushrooms at this time. Once the onions are translucent toss your peppers and if you'd like mushrooms into the skillet and saute until tender. Now add your seitan, and grill until brown. At this time I like to add my secret ingredient, worcestershire sauce! Most worcestershire sauce are no vegan, I use Wizard's Organic Vegan Worcestershire Sauce:

But you can also find other brands that are cheaper, as of the writing of this blog Kroger Brand Worcestershire Sauce is vegan. Also at this time season your seitan with black pepper and paprika to taste. You can also add some salt and garlic powder to taste if you so choose.

Once the seitan is browned, make a big pile of it in the middle of your skillet and put some cheeze on top of it, the more the better! I used tofutti mozzarella, but you can use your favorite brand of cheeze.

While the cheeze is melting on the seitan, cut open your hoagie, or whatever kind of bread you used (I cheated and used sub rolls) and slather the insides with earth balance. Heat up another skillet and place your bread face down and toast the insides until they're browned to your liking. Take the bread off the heat and slather it down with some vegan mayo. I could provide you with a recipe to make some vegan mayo, but I know you have church burnings to get to, so save yourself some time and pick up a jar of vegannaise.

Once the cheeze is melted scoop yourself up a hearty serving of cheezy seitan, peppers and onions and fill your bread. Now enjoy your cheeze steak!

Recommended Listening: Infernal Stronghold-Godless Noise

QUick update

I've made some more food and I've got pictures this time! But, I do not currently have internet at my new house because we are in the process of moving. So hopefully by wednesday I will have a new recipe or two with pictures this time!

For now, listen to more Roky Erickson

Seitanic Book I, Chapter I: The Basic Seitanic Ritual

Here we go, delving into the Vegan black arts and Seitanism. For the first post we'll start with the building blocks of all Seitanism, SEITAN ITSELF! This is an easy recipie that you can find pretty much anywhere on the intertubez, but hey, we have to start somewhere!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups of Vital Wheat Gluten (I use Bob's Redmill)

1/4 cup of Nutritional Yeast (Red Star FTW!)

2-3 Tbsp of Tamari (or soy sauce)

1-2 cups water

Broth:

10 cups of water or vegetable broth

4 Tbsp tamari

2 tsp salt

1 Tbsp basil

2 Tbsp bay seasoning

1 Tbsp marjoram

1 Tbsp Thyme

You can also add any other seasonings you would like, really just depends on the flavor you're looking for; or you can add some onions, garlic, carrots, celery or any of your favorite veggies to mix it up a little as well.

First combine your vital wheat gluten and nutritional yeast in a medium to large sized mixing bowl. You can also add whatever other spices you like, I generally use salt, pepper, bay seasoning, onion powder and garlic powder; it's up to your imagination, these black arts are not an exact science. Once all of your dry ingredients are mixed, mix in your tamari and slowly add water until the vital wheat gluten has absorbed it all. Knead the vital wheat gluten for 5-10 minutes until it is spongey. Let it rest for 10-15 minutes, and prepare your broth. Combine all of your broth ingredients in a large cauldron(or pot) but do not turn the heat on yet.

Cut your Vital wheat gluten dough into equal size chunks and roll into balls. Place them in the broth, and cover. Turn the heat on and bring to a boil, stir, reduce heat to a simmer and cover. Let the seitan simmer for at least an hour, stirring occasionally. After the hour is up remove from heat and let the seitan cool in it's broth. From here you have a few options: You can use the seitan immediately in a recipe; you can put it in an air tight container with it's broth and store it in the fridge for up to one week, or freezer for up to 6 months; or you can bake at 375º it to give it a chewier texture then store it in it's broth as mentioned in the previous step.

Recommended listening: Black Widow-Sacrifice(1970)