TGRWT # 16: "Chicken" and Rose

Caught up in my post-class malaise, I was >THISCLOSE< to not revisiting this month's flavor combination of chicken and rose. But I had made that delightful batch of chik'n seitan last night, and my first attempt was just good enough to make me want to continue experimenting. Home from class, I hopped in my car and picked up some raspberry jam for a raspberry rose water glaze that turned out to be the perfect complement for my seitan. Interestingly, this had actually been my first inclination when I thought about the pairing, but then I over-thought it and made that failed cream sauce. Let this be a lesson to follow your gut! (Ha, get it?)

The taste of the glaze with the chik'n really popped. Substituting jam for frozen raspberries pronounced the raspberry flavor and kicked it up a notch with that little added sweetness. While the raspberry was certainly the main focus, the rose was like a smooth bottom note that gave the raspberry's flavor volume. When they were combined with the chik'n, the fruitiness of the rose-raspberry combo really stood out and the chik'n lost some of its salty, savory quality - which wasn't a bad thing at all. Like I said yesterday, I'm not sure if vegan "chicken" can combine with raspberry the same way regular chicken can, but the flavors worked together in SOME way that I found very pleasing.

I served the seitan with my favorite salad at the moment: sunflower seeds, raisins, tomatoes, and cucumbers over mixed greens. Ideally, I would eat this with a tahini-based dressing, but tonight I went with Annie's Goddess Dressing because it's what I had on hand. To be fair, with this salad the Annie's is a close second to a tahini dressing, so I am not complaining. Definitely give this a try; there's something about having all four elements together that makes this salad really exciting. I've tried it in every combination with one ingredient missing, and it's simply not the same. This salad rules hard. Hard. Eat it anywhere, everywhere, always.

Okay, now for the recipe you really care about:


CHIK'N-STYLE SEITAN WITH RASPBERRY-ROSE GLAZE
+ 2 servings of chik'n style seitan
+ 2 T raspberry jam
+ 1 T rosewater
+ 1/2 t Earth Balance
+ 1/2 t corn starch

01. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease up a baking sheet. Place the seitan on the baking sheet, then set it aside.

02. In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the jam, rosewater, and Earth Balance. Pop it in the microwave for about fifteen seconds, and then stir them until well-mixed. Dissolve the corn starch into the warmed jam mixture.

03. Return to your baking sheet, and evenly spread the glaze across both sides of a piece of seitan. Repeat with the other piece, and then pop the baking sheet in the oven and wait ten minutes. Remove, cool, and enjoy.




This serves one lonely little person.

Coconut Whipped Cream: A Variation on an Old Theme

After eating about seven scones and nearly a quart of chik'n noodle soup yesterday, I was feeling pretty guilty when I woke up this morning. Today would require modesty and balance, I decided. The day had been going pretty well, and making fruit salad for dinner made me feel like a good little vegan. But then my demon sweet tooth kicked in and said, "How about a little whipped cream on that salad?" I think it goes without saying that whipped cream is to fruit salad what Ranch is to vegetable salad.

However, I had recently read about Vegan Dad using coconut cream as, essentially, whipped cream. I'm pretty sure he's not the first vegan to do this, but actually looking at it on some of his delicious treats, I thought, "What an inspired idea!" When I was grocery shopping Sunday night, I bought a can of coconut milk for this express purpose, and since coconuts are pretty good for you in moderation, I reasoned it was okay to include them in my fruit salad.

Also in the "international" aisle Sunday night, I noticed a German product called Whip It, which advertised itself as a stabilizer for whipped cream. At the time, I thought of using it for custard-y/mousse-y type things, but when I sat down to make my whipped cream tonight, it occurred to me that perhaps this would help it achieve a texture closer to the one I remember. Having also purchased some rose water in the international aisle (seriously, best spot in the grocery store, especially if you're vegan), I decided to make a vanilla version and a rose water version. They were both successful (not that I had many doubts), and I will definitely be using Whip It in other confections.


WHIPPED CREAM
+ 1 can coconut milk
+ 4 tbsp confectioner's sugar
+ 1 packet of Whip It
+ 1+ tsp flavor of your fancy

01. Keep the coconut milk in the fridge until you're ready to use it. When it's time, the water and cream will have separated, and you can just scoop the cream off the top. Put that in a bowl, and add to it the confectioner's sugar, Whip It, and flavoring.

02. According to the Whip It packet, it needs some vigorous action to get it going, so stir with enthusiasm to combine these ingredients. I did mine for a minute or two, but you can go however long you need to, hot shot. After all, the longer you go, the more beautiful your xveganx muscles will be.

03. Serve immediately or return to the fridge so the whipped cream can set. To illustrate my point, the first picture in this entry immediately followed making the whipped cream, but after about an hour in the fridge, I ran a fork through my cream and it left a fork print. Texturally, I preferred the latter, but it doesn't make a big difference either way. Enjoy!