JERK SEITAN with COCONUT RICE, SWEET POTATO & SWISS CHARD

To get back into the swing on blogging regularly I needed a theme or idea. I also needed something realistic. For a while there, I had lost my way. Vegan Mofo 2010 was great but I think I burnt out and then was overwhelmed by how many blogs there were.  I got to a point where I was worried that my photos weren’t good enough, that I wanted better light than my tiny kitchen has for perfect photos all the time, who was reading this anyway, would people get bored, I make too much stuff from a cook book, it’s a hassle – all of that just made me give up for a while. Then it occurred to me that it didn’t really matter. The internet is full of stuff and I need to make my little section, my tiny blog, fun for me. I really appreciate the few people who may read my blog, it is amazing to think people take time out to read something I have written, but there aren’t many – I’m too small and quiet, but that doesn’t mean I can’t have fun!
Anyways, after perusing a lot of vegan blogs going crazy for Mofo I found this awesome idea on Vegan.In.Brighton– randomness, picking a random cookbook and a random page number. What a great idea? It would be exciting each week to see what numbers came up and would be a good way to go through some of those books I have forgotten! I decided that I would do this for one meal a week on a Sunday. Sunday is the best day, as I have Mike to help with the dishes and I have all day. So I can do any kind of recipe whether it be snack, cake or meal. Also, during the week our schedule can be a little random so I need to be able to plan meals in accordance with that.
So all excited I created a spreadsheet to generate random cookbook numbers and page numbers. With high anticipation Mike and I sat down on Saturday morning and pressed F9 (calculate) to see what would come up……..

Randomness Wk 1

The Book:Vegan with a Vengeance
The Page Number: 156
The Recipe: Seitan
The Meal:

• Jerk Seitan
  
• Coconut Rice
  
• Jacket Baked Sweet Potato (on Monday though, I cut it into chips and roasted them, quicker but still yummy)
  
• Swiss Chard with Raisins and Capers (Viva Vegan!)
  

Seitan

I have decided not to post recipes here as they can be found somewhere else on the web. Just Google it and you will find them easily. A modified version of the seitan recipe can also be found on the PPK.
This recipe boils the seitan rather than steaming it. I haven’t tried to boil seitan before and was a little unsure of how it would work. I absolutely love the seitan in Viva Vegan and was a little worried about the texture of this one. As the recipe, made 1.3kg of seitan I decided to halve the recipe, which may have messed around with the consistency a little, but it still worked. The seitan actually came out really nicely. It was a little mushier than steamed seitan but went fabulously well in the Jerk Seitan. I think, as it was a little less firm in consistency, it soaked up and held the marinade a little better than streamed seitan. A perfect seitan mixture for full flavoured, saucy marinades and stews. It also can be made and eaten in the same day, whereas the steamed seitan is better if left to rest in the fridge overnight. That being said, this takes an hour to cook, so you will most likely prepare it in advance on the weekend or a day you have at home.
Note that I didn’t take any photos of the seitan…….. it is pretty ugly:) 

Jerk Seitan

This was yummy. I’m not sure why we haven’t tried this recipe before cause it is really nice! The marinade is easy to make and doesn’t need any exotic ingredients. My knowledge and experience with Caribbean cooking is limited. All I know I have learnt from Vegan in the Sun and Caribbean Cooking Made Easy, but when any recipe has All Spice in it I immediately think Caribbean, so to me this tasted and smelt like a quick and easy Jerk marinade. I made only a few changes to the recipe, a) red capsicum rather than green, b) Chilli flakes rather than cayenne powder, c) 1/2 tsp of nutmeg rather than 1 tsp (I swear the ground nutmeg packet I bought must have been made from nutmegs on steroids – it’s so strong).
The only down side is that it needs an hour to marinade. Not a 30 minute meal, but it takes no time to cook after this.  I’m guessing you could marinade it overnight though or process the marinade and leave it in the fridge so it’s ready as soon as you get home.

Coconut Rice

This rice was really nice and went well with the seitan. It’s lightly flavoured and easy to make. I used Basmati Rice, instead of Jasmine Rice, as I have a lot in the cupboard at the moment. It probably wasn't the best rice to use as it has a ‘strongish’ flavour and wasn’t subtle enough for the other flavourings. It still tasted good though. I also make a Caribbean Coconut rice from Vegetarian Times which I think I like better. The recipe from Vegetarian Times takes more work, with the addition of ginger and garlic, so the VWAV one is great for when you have multiple dishes on the go or can’t be bothered. The VWAV rice also uses an entire can of coconut milk so there is no waste.
It’s a little funny that the random generator bought up a book that we use a lot. This was one of the first books I bought as a vegan but I only go to it for a few favourite recipes. It was great to try something new and I think I’m a big fan of these two!  If you own this book and you haven’t tried it, put it to the top of you ‘thing to try next’ list. So far randomness has been a success!