Oh la la, I got major brownie points for this one! We have been eating a lot of big, hearty salads lately and this is my newest creation. BL really liked it, spinach, lettuce, shredded carrots, crunchy noodles and crispy chinese fried ‘chicken.’

A word on frying: make sure your oil is hot enough. I use a thermometer to ensure that the oil is around 360 degrees. When the oil is too cold, more oil is absorbed by the food. Plus, unsaturated fats ARE beneficial! Polyunsaturated oils like Canola is a good choice.

Oriental Chicks Salad

Ingredients:

Marinade:
Seitan Patties (from Our Veggie Kitchen)
¼ cup water
½ cup hoisin sauce
1 tbsp. soy sauce

1 cup flour
1 tbsp. baking soda
3 tbsp. nutritional yeast

Salad:
Greens: leaf lettuce, spinach, arugula, cabbage
5 carrots, shredded
Chow mein noodles
Crispy wonton strips
Sliced almonds
3 scallions, thinly sliced

Dressing:
¼ cup rice wine vinegar
¼ cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp. siracha sauce
2 tbsp. soy sauce
2 tsp. fresh ginger
½ cup oil

Combine the soy sauce, hoisin and water in a bowl. Cube the seitan and place in the marinade mixture. Let sit 20 minutes while you prepare the vegetables and dressing.

In a food processor or small blender, combine the ingredients for the dressing. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the greens, shredded carrots, chow mein noodles, almonds, and wonton strips.

Heat 1/4 cup oil in a heavy bottomed pan until the oil reaches at least 350 degrees (but not more than 400 degrees) Combine the flour, baking soda and nutritional yeast. Remove the seitan pieces from the marinade mixture and cover with the flour mixture. Drop the coated pieces into the hot oil and cook 2-3 minutes each side until golden and crispy. Remove from the pan and place on a plate covered with a paper towel.

Add the crispy seitan pieces to the salad and toss with the dressing. Top with scallions.

Confession time: we probably eat stir-fry at least twice a week. It’s a great way to pack a ton of vegetables into a meal and the warm, spicy sauce tastes like comfort food to me. I recently made this  for our stir-fry night and it was a big hit. I used seitan in this recipe, but you could substitute any protein you have on hand.

Sweet and Sour Stir Fry

1 lb seitan, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups sugar snap peas, halved
3 carrots, sliced
2 tbsp. oil or vegetable broth

Sweet and Sour Sauce:
2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. corn starch
3 tbsp. ketchup
3 tbsp. maple syrup or other liquid sweetener
1/4 cup water

Mix together the ingredients for the sweet and sour sauce and set aside. Heat a large skillet or wok to medium heat. Add 2 tbsp. broth or oil. Once heated through, add the garlic and quickly toss for 1-2 minutes. Add a pinch of salt and stir.

Add the seitan to the garlic oil and fry for 5-6 minutes until the seitan cooks through and has a nice crust on it. Add the carrots, stir and cook for 2 minutes. Add the sugar snap peas and cook for another minute. Turn the heat down to medium low and add the sauce. Stir and let cook for 5 minutes until the sauce has thickened.

Serves 4. Per serving: 240 cal, 7g fat, 33g protein

Soup seemed like the best idea to use up my thanksgiving leftovers. Thus came two soups: cream of butternut and whirled pea soup. I don’t know which one I prefer better, the creamy, nutty taste of the butternut or the spicy split pea. Try them both! Or try hosting a soup party. We did this once and it was a lot of fun and a perfect to get friends together before the holidays.  Have everyone bring over a soup or an appetizer and dig in.

Cream of Butternut Soup

1/2 cup cashews
1 cup warm water
1 butternut squash, cubed
5 stalks celery, diced
1 yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp. sage, (fresh or dried), chopped
1 tsp. curry powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
4 cups vegetable broth

Tempeh bacon for garnish, optional

Begin by placing the cashews and warm water into a blender. Puree until mixture becomes smooth, set aside. Heat a small amount of broth or 1 tbsp. oil and saute onion and garlic until translucent. Add carrots and squash and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Add vegetable broth, curry powder and sage to the pot. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 20-30 minutes. With an immersion blender or stand blender, puree soup until creamy. Return back to pot and whisk in cashew cream. Continue to stir over low heat 5-10 minutes until cashew cream is incorporated and thickens the soup. Ladle into bowls and top with crumbled tempeh bacon.

W.P. Whirled (Split) Peas Soup

Split Pea and Seitan Soup

1 package dried green split peas (I’ve also used yellow. Use what you have on hand)
1 package seitan or homemade seitan
2-3 4 0z. cans chopped green chilies
4 carrots, sliced
3 celery ribs, sliced
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. ground coriander
1/8 tsp. ginger
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. dried oregano
salt and pepper
4 cups vegetable broth or water

In a stock pot, heat 1 tbsp. oil or broth and cook garlic cloves and onion until translucent. Add carrots and celery, stir and let cook an additional 5-10 minutes. Add peas, water or broth, spices and simmer for 1- 1 1/2 hours until peas are cooked and soup has thickened. Stir, add chopped seitan and cook an additional 20-30 minutes until seitan is heated through.

* For a creamier soup like pictured here: before adding the seitan, puree the soup in batches in a blender. Return to the stove and add seitan. Cook an additional 20-30 minutes.

Enjoy!