Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Seitan Roast

I don't like the term "meat substitute". When I eat tofu or seitan, I'm not substituting for the meat I could be eating. I'm eating tofu and seitan because I like it. I don't want to be eating muscle and body fat. I'm sure the reason I ate meat as a kid had a lot more to with spices or sauce than with the taste of the actual flesh. In fact some things remind me of meat to the point where it kind of grosses me out. From veggie patties and tofu are all foods in their own right. I don't substitute anything for meat. I just eat plants.

I've mentioned before that I was an extremely picky eater. The worst. I did what I was told, was graded very well in school, never was much of a trouble maker, didn't utter a cuss word until years after my classmates were cussing up a storm...you get the picture. Yet, looking back at my childhood I am sure that I was a complete and utter pain to my mother. She never said it, but being a mother for over 11 years now I can completely empathize with the stress my fussiness must have caused her. She attempted to feed me something that resembled a nutritious diet three times a day. The woman was a saint. I hated pretty much all vegetables, but I had a special dislike of cooked carrots - raw was great, but cooked was yuck to the point of gagging. I didn't look forward to the obligatory 70's pot roasts since they included cooked carrots. I loved cooked carrots now, but I never thought to make a roast until I noticed the seitan roast recipe in Vegan on the Cheap. I don't use my slow-cooker very often since I don't think 8 hours ahead what I'm going to make that day and I like the act of cooking, but throwing everything into a slow-cooker has its advantages. Rob and I had a mini date night last night so I thought it was a good day to make this for the kids and my sister (who is a rock star for watching the kids on a week night).
Slow-Cooker Seitan Roast from Vegan on the Cheap
 Slow-Cooker Seitan Roast take two (pre-cooking)
They all gobbled it up and Parker asked me to make more for his lunch tomorrow. I used mushrooms both times (which the recipe doesn't call for) and this time added some purple potatoes Vicky and Greg gave us.

2 comments:

Nada (One Arab Vegan) said...

I agree - why does there have to be a meat "substitute" when we can sustain ourselves perfectly without it. I've never tried seitan but I do love tofu especially in a scramble.

VeganLinda said...

Nada, Glad to see I'm not the only one. :-) We went a long time without eating much seitan, but now there are so many great recipes and ways to make it, the possibilities are endless. I have to agree tofu scrambles are the best.