Grilled Seitan Cutlets with Cilantro Lime Sauce and Summer Corn Saute

Blog issues...The photo of the flowers below and the Summer Corn Saute are only showing part of the picture and it's not letting me delete it and re post a new pic.  Frustrating!  Oh well, It's Friday! 

I'm still working from our laptop, I prefer our desk top PC.

Certified Organic Flowers from the Farmers Market

Grilled Seitan Cutlets with Cilantro Lime Sauce

When you are looking for something with texture, flavor and something to satisfy that carnivore in your life, grilled seitan smothered in a sauce seems to do the trick.  For a quick seitan recipe I love to use the Seitan Cutlets from Veganomicon.  Dave loves grilled seitan smothered in some kind of sauce.

Cilantro Lime Sauce

In a food processor I blended 1/3 C. cilantro(don't be shy make sure the  cup is packed high), 1/4 c. sweet onion, 4 garlic cloves, 1/2 jalepeno, juice of 1 large lime, 1/4 C. olive oil and s & p to taste. 

In a small casserole dish I poured about 3/4 of the sauce over the seitan cutlets and let it sit for about an hour.  Use the rest of the sauce over the grilled seitan.

                                                                 Summer Corn Saute

This kind of reminds me of a succotash but there are no beans.

The market down the street was selling locally grown corn 3 for 98cents and the cashier said they were so sweet and good we bought a few more.  I usually use up fresh corn the day I buy it because the older it gets the more starchy and less taste it has. So just make sure to wrap it up well and store in the refrigerator if not using the same day you buy it. Thinking of how to use the rest of the corn besides grilling it again, Succatosh came to mind.  I didn't have any bean to use in it so I just thought of what would go well with it and I ended up with a sweet and flavorful dish.

Summer Corn Saute

3 fresh corn on the cob, corn sliced off into bowl
1 T. olive oil (if more is needed use water a little at a time instead)
1/2 large sweet onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped
1 Italian red pepper, diced
1 small tomato, diced
1/4 tsp. oregano
1-2 T. chives
1/4 c. cilantro
salt & pepper to taste

In a small saucepan heat water and add sweet potato, cook until almost done.  Strain and set aside.

Heat a cast iron skillet and add 1 T. olive oil, you will probably want to use more oil but I usually add some water a little at a time instead.  Next add the onion and garlic, saute until just translucent. Then add the Italian pepper, corn and sweet potato, cook until corn is fully cooked. Add the tomato and oregano, stir until soft. Turn off heat and stir in the chives, cilantro salt and pepper.
Enjoy!

Black bean burgers

First I must say this isn't the best picture. I really need a new camera.
Spring weather. Warm days, cool nights. ahhhhhhhhhhhh. Getting ready for the bbq and stove top instead of that oven that heats everything up. First up, Spicy Black Bean Burgers one of my husband's favorites, he's been begging me to make it. Another one of our favorites is her Mushroom Pecan Burgers. This recipe is from Colleen Patrick-Goudreau at Compassionate Cooks. I love Colleen, does that sound weird? Well I say this because I found her website and started listening to her podcasts shortly after becoming vegan. She really helped realize that I did make the right choice in becoming vegan. Anyways, back to the food. I make my own focaccia bread and brush olive oil, oregano and red pepper flakes on top. For the burger part I made a cilantro pesto, spread that on the inside of the bun, then add the black bean burger, lettuce, red onion, tomato and avocado. Also if you have some of that spicy miso mayo you can squirt some of that on there too if you choose. YUM!

WHITE BEAN & SPINACH ENCHILADAS and CILANTRO LIME BROWN RICE

These are great enchiladas to make for spring or any time if you like. These were a hit at Easter one year, everyone said how much they loved them and there were none left to take home. So here's to Karina at Gluten Free Goddess http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2007/03/enchiladas-griegos-for-two.html for very tasty encho's. My version is down below eliminating the dairy and tweaking it a bit. Do to the cannelini beans these are more on the creamy side. I do add a few tablespoons of tofutti sometimes if I want it even more creamy. Also I have used the original recipes sauce and it is really good but the green sauce makes it a bit lighter.

Next CILANTRO LIME RICE! When I saw this recipe in VegNews months ago I knew I had to make it. The result? Ahhhhhhhhhhhh Gooooooooooooood! We all loved it! This went so well with the enchiladas I made. I am already planning to make this for my in-laws and for many future guests.

Recipe for Enchiladas

Preheat oven to 375
Makes 10 Enchiladas

1 lg can green enchilada sauce
10 corn tortillas
1 med yellow or white onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 16 oz. package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 15oz cans cannelini beans
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp sage

dash of nutmeg

1/4 c. cilantro(optional)

1/4 c. tofutti cream cheese (optional)

sea salt & ground pepper to taste

Heat a T. olive oil in large skillet over med. heat and add onion, garlic and red bell pepper. Cook until the onions are on the soft side. Next add the spinach, stir a bit until most liquid is gone. Thoroughly stir in the seasonings then add the beans. Take off heat and mix in the cilantro and tofutti if you choose to.

Coat the bottom of a large casserole dish with sauce. Next heat up half the sauce in a med saucepan, just until warm. Take a corn tortilla, dip into the warm sauce just to coat, then fill with mixture. Repeat until all the filling is used. Pour the rest of the sauce(you probably won't use all of the sauce but use however much you like) over the enchiladas and cover with foil. Bake until cooked through about 30-35 min. Take out and let it sit for about 10min. or so.

Stuffed Bell Peppers

Stuffed peppers are one of our family favorites. It's so easy too! Usually I use vegan sausage, for this, one of the rare times I use store bought faux meats. I didn't have any on hand so I crumbled tofu and mixed with herbs and sauted in pan. Here is the recipe that again I got from Karina at Gluten Free Goddess, and just changed it up. Oh these are a picture before they went into the oven. I forgot to take one after and well, we ate them up!

Serves 6

3 whole bell peppers, cut in half and seeded

3 cups cooked brown rice or white

1 med. yellow onion, diced

1 cup corn, cooked

2 T. pine nuts

2 tsp. cumin

1 1/2 tsp. oregano

2 T. cilantro

1 package of vegan sausage crumbled

If using tofu I used firm and crumbled it and add following herbs: oregano, red pepper flakes, sage, garlic, fennel, caraway seeds, soy sauce, cumin, olive oil. and sauted until cooked through.

salsa

tofutti

Preheat oven to 375. First saute sausage through or tofu. Put into a bowl and set aside. In another pan or saute onion & garlic in oil. Add corn and saute. Add pinenuts and saute for about min. Next add cumin and oregano for a couple more min. Add rice, sausage and cilantro to the pan a stir through.

Lay the halved bell peppers in a casserole dish. Fill up peppers. Top off with a Tablespoon or so of tofutti and salsa.

Pour hot water into the dish about 1/4 inch or more and cover with foil. Bake for 1 hour until peppers are soft.