A Seitan Adventure

Greetings! This is my introductory post, and I thought I would start it off with something that encapsulates my vegan experience: NEW. I am new at blogging (relatively), I am new at exercising (after 7 years!), and I am new at veganism, so bear with me as I explore and muddle through to find out what works for me (and maybe you too)!

A weeks or so ago, I figured I would try my hand at Do It Yourself Seitan. I used the Fluffiest, Juiciest Gluten Steaks You've Ever Tasted recipe by Susanne Swisher over at Vegweb.com. Now, at this point, I had no idea if I even liked seitan, or what it was for that matter, I just wanted to explore some protein options. I took LOTS of pictures, because if you are anything like me, visuals help when you are making the unknown from scratch. Here is how it all went down:

I gathered the ingredients for the broth, placed them in a large pot and brought them to a boil.
2 quarts hot water
3 onions, sliced, not chopped
3/4 cup soy sauce or liquid aminos*
1/4 cup brown sugar, molasses or other sweetener of your choice
3 cloves garlic, minced
*I used soy sauce...I know it isn't vegan, but I just went vegan in January, and I am trying to use up the non-vegan stock that is in my cupboard instead of replacing everything all at once. So things like white sugar, white flour, soy sauce and breadcrumbs may sneak their way into my recipes for the time being.

Meanwhile, while the broth was simmering, I gathered the stuff for the gluten steaks: vital gluten flour (I used Bob's Red Mill), water, two bowls - one for the gluten and one for draining, a towel (for wiping my hands on. highly recommended.) and a whisk, which turns out to be completely unnecessary: I found that the gluten clumps up and gathers on the whisk. Just use your hands.
Mix the cup of water and the cup of Gluten until smooth, and then take handfuls and wring out the excess water (this is where the draining bowl came in handy! ..and that towel). Notice my Sunday morning coffee with Coconut creamer. yum.
when all the gluten is wrung out, press the balls together to form a log. shape the log, then slice it into small steaks. I originally thought I would skip this part the next time I made this, because the sliced "steaks" looked so small. I figured I would save myself a step, but it turns out that they e x p a n d, so smaller is better.
Drop the steaks into the broth and simmer for 30-45 minutes. When they were done, I took two of them and made sandwiches with vegetable hash, but you can store them in their broth for a few days.

All in all, I was not super fond of the texture (believe it or not, they were too juicy!), so next time I think I will make them thinner and use them mostly for stir fries and grated into casseroles. I am, however, super fond of the process of making my own gluten steaks. I felt very connected with my food, which is a new experience for me. If you try this out, let us know how it goes here at Vegan Groupthink!