Starting with the easy methods, and working up to making seitan from scratch, I'll outline the diversity of flavor and texture you can get from seitan in your kitchen. Vegetarians should not be resigned to slimy tofu, or rubbery, "fake meat" for their culinary endeavours.

When wheat berries are floured, bran and gluten are often washed off to make white flour. This gluten is highly nutritious and very starchy, making it self-binding. Mixing it straight with water would yield a very dense loaf that's nothing like bread, and a bit like Silly Putty. Cutting it with flours, sugars, and unstarchy powders and liquids, can create a diverse array of savory and decadent proteins for your meal -- experiment!

This uses my vegan version of veal as the base for a very comforting Tuscany comfort-food. It served about 25 (small-medium portions) at a recent event, but could easily be dinner for 12-15.

First, what you'll need for the recipe:

• 1 shank of seitan veal from the seitan recipes I've made here
• 1 oz dried porcini
• 1/2 oz dried chanterelle
• A few glasses Chardonnay (and one for the doctor)
• 1 sweet onion
• 3 tbl Italian parsley, minced
• 2.5 tbl thyme
• 2 Bay leaves (for Americans: Northern Bayberry or California Laurel might grow wild and huge near you -- pick some)
• 1 large red Jalapeno (or any hot red pepper, just the red parts, diced)
• 4 tbl basil, minced
• 2 lbs soaked (or two cans) Cannellini beans
• 3 lbs diced (or two big cans) tomatoes
• 4 or 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 3/4 lb. Orecchiette (or any small, shell pasta)
• olive oil
• sea salt and black pepper to taste
• white flour

This is a sweet and plumpy sausage substitute. The quantities are all approximate, but a best-guess for getting the right consistency and flavor.

Ingredients:

This mostly-impromptu recipe seemed to be a big hit at a recent party here, so I thought I'd post it. I served it with rosemary roasted potatoes and a cashew-crème sauce.

First, the ingredients:

Seitan

Yes, it really is that good.

Here are the ingredients:

Very simple, and probably one of the best and most intense things I've tasted. Not that I'm bragging, it's just that...you know...I rule your world.

Ingredients:

It's basically an immediate hit, from self-proclaimed-carnivores to raw-macrobiotic-vegan hippies. I usually break out this Pate when there's a party.