Spring day in Atlanta

Atlanta has been warming up recently. It is a nice feeling since we had what we might consider a brutal winter. It snowed, twice. I hope that does not mean that the summer is going to be more stifling than usual.

I got a chance to get out and play a little basketball and soccer during the afternoon. I brought the basketball and Ashley brought the soccer ball. Apparently, she was quite the soccer star back in high school. Then it was home to cook dinner. Genius struck and I lugged my table outside along with my chairs to eat on the nice brick patio in the backyard. It was a great meal and really nice to eat my first meal outside on the patio.

Tonight was more Seitan Steak and salad. The development of the Seitan Steaks have been precious. It has really given me a lot of pleasure to develop some interesting and fun recipes that use something that I created. There is something satisfying about it. Ashley and I gobbled up over half of what I had made. Then Jamie stopped by later in the evening to finish it off! It was a hit all around. I love making food for the people in my life.


Shepherd's Pie

3 med red potatoes (cubed)
2 large Seitan Steaks (not yet fried)
1 can of cream style corn
1 kale leaf
2 cups of water
1/2 cup of soy milk
1/3 cup of vegan margarine
1 tablespoon of nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon of paprika
1 tablespoon of vegan mayonnaise
1 tablespoon of vegan sour cream
2 teaspoons of oil
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
1 teaspoon of onion powder

Pre-heat the oven at 400 degrees.

In a pot, bring the water to a boil adding the potatoes. Boil for about 20 minutes until potatoes are tender. Strain and set back into the pot. Add the soy milk, nutritional yeast, vegan margarine, vegan mayonnaise, vegan sour cream, 1/2 of the paprika, 1/2 of the garlic powder and mashed until lumpy.

In a saute pan, heat the oil on med heat. Chop the seitan into very small chunks. Add the seitan to the oil and fry for 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the remaining garlic powder, remaining paprika, and onion powder and fry for another 2 minutes.

In a baking pan, lightly sprinkle a little oil on the bottom then add the seitan. Spread the seitan evenly over the bottom. Then pour the can of creamed corn over the layer of seitan. Break the kale into pieces the size of a half dollar coin and evenly make a layer over the corn. Then spread the mashed potato over the top. Sprinkle a little paprika and olive oil on the mashed potato if you would like.

Bake for 25 minutes. Turn to broil and bake for an additional 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes.