Breakfast Links

I first started making my own breakfast links about a year ago.  I was curious to see if I could save money by doing so.  What I found out was that I could make about 75 links for the same amount of money that it cost to pay for one pack of six vegan breakfast links at the store.  That was a no-brainer: no more store-bought breakfast links for us!  I played around with different ingredients until I finally created a recipe that mimics the taste of the store-bought kind pretty darn closely.  My secret ingredient, to get the texture just right, is tofu.  As far as I know, I have never seen tofu used in a seitan recipe before.  So, if I'm right about that, and then you see tofu-seitan recipes popping up all over in money-making cookbooks, tell them to throw ol' BlessedMama a dime or two.  :-)  (I was actually advised to hold on to this recipe, but who am I kidding?  I'll never have a cookbook.  So, I'm sharing!)  Having the gluten flour, tofu and beans makes for a really tender piece of seitan.  You can serve these as an accompaniment to a breakfast meal, or you can make them for my Brothy Beans with Sausages dish.  We love these, and they can freeze well.  Hope you save money and like them too.

Breakfast Links

I make my links about three to four inches in length.

Once rolled out, they get twisted up into their own foil packets.

Here's a big pot of them, getting ready to get steamed.

Breakfast Links

Ingredients:

1 pkg. extra-firm tofu, water-packed, drained
1 cup of slow-cooked pinto beans
2 cups of vegetable broth
2 and 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1 Tbs. salt
1 tsp. pepper
2 and 3/4 cups gluten flour
Canola oil

Directions:

Put the first six ingredients (tofu through pepper) into a blender, and blend until smooth.  Pour into a large mixing bowl.  Add the gluten flour, and stir until well mixed.  Knead (you can do it right in the bowl) for about three to five minutes, to make sure there are no super wet or super dry spots.  Pull off a small ball of dough, smaller than a golf ball, and roll out to a sausage link size, about three to four inches in length.  Prepare a large pot with a couple inches of water in the bottom and a steamer basket inside.  Once you have several links rolled out, put each one at the end of a small strip of aluminum foil.  Roll the link up, so it makes at least two complete turns, and twist the ends closed.  Start filling up your pot.   Complete this cycle for the rest of the mix, until you have a pot full of foil-wrapped links.  Cover with a lid.  Turn the heat on to medium, and steam for 40 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Heat up about a tablespoon of oil in a large pan.  Unroll several links and put them in the pan.  Fry them for a minute or two, turning them, until they are browned on all sides.  Do this with all the links, adding a bit of oil, as needed.  Can be served alongside pancakes or tofu scramble for breakfast.  Freeze unused portions.  Simply thaw and reheat in microwave or oven.  So tasty.  Feeds five hungry vegans for several meals.

Seitan Pasta Sauce Over Angel Hair

Here is a very hearty pasta sauce that goes a long way. I used homemade seitan, but feel free to use your favorite store bought brand. If you've never added fennel seed to one of your pasta sauces, I highly recommend it. The heavy sauce is balanced out by the light angel hair pasta. I served it alongside my Summertime Corn Salad for another light addition.




Seitan Pasta Sauce Over Angel Hair
Ingredients:

2 Tbs. olive oil
3 and 1/2 cups of seitan, chopped small
1 green bell pepper, chopped small
4 cups mushrooms, sliced
2 - 29 oz. cans tomato sauce
1 - 28 oz. can petite diced tomatoes
1 - 6 oz. can tomato paste
1 - 4.25 oz. can chopped olives
1 - 7 oz can diced mild green chiles
1 and 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. fennel seed
1 lb. pound angel hair pasta

Directions:

In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the seitan, green bell pepper and mushrooms. Saute for several minutes until the bell pepper softens and the mushrooms release their liquid. Add the remaining ingredients, except for the noodles, and turn the heat down to medium low. Cook for at least another two hours, stirring occasionally. A few minutes before the sauce is ready, prepare the pasta according to package directions. Serve the sauce over the pasta. I recommend a light pasta and a light side dish to offset the heartiness of the sauce. Makes a big pot of sauce, definitely enough to feed five hungry vegans!

Seitan Noodle Soup

Here is definitely a family favorite - one of our top five dishes we love. My oldest daughter actually requested this when she got one of her extremely rare colds recently. It's good and chunky and so yummy. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Seitan Noodle Soup
Ingredients:

1 and 1/2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
4 packages of seitan, chopped into bite-sized pieces
3 carrots, chopped
4 stalks of celery, chopped
1 - 6 ounce pkg of very small pasta, like stars or alphabet noodles
1 - 32 ounce box of vegetable broth
water to cover
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 Tbs. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. dried thyme

Directions:

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the seitan and veggies and cook until the seitan begins to brown and the veggies just become tender, about ten minutes, stirring occasionally. In a separate small pot, cook the noodles according to package directions; set aside. In a large pot, put in the seitan, veggies, broth and spices. Add enough water to cover an inch or so. Cook over medium heat for another twenty minutes, or until the veggies have become more tenderized. Add the noodles to the pot and cook until heated through, about five minutes. Add more water if necessary. Serve with oven-heated rolls. Deeeelicious! Feeds five hungry vegans.

Tropical Seitan Pasta Salad

This is truly a family favorite. I made this dish for Christmas, and I wrote at the time that I would post the recipe soon. Well, I just made it again for my sister-in-law's birthday, so I thought I'd post it now. I am planning on playing around with making homemade seitan over the summer break, but for now, I'm very pleased with the brand I use. This has a bit of zingy flavor at first due to the brand of peanut sauce, but it's the best for this dish. I've tried other brands, and they haven't been up to par. I hope your family enjoys this and requests this as much as mine does.

Tropical Seitan Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

1 lb. of linguine
2 pkgs. of liquid packed chicken-style seitan made by Westoy
1 Tbs. of canola oil
1 red bell pepper, halved widthwise and julienned
2 papayas
1 bunch of cilantro, leaves coarsely chopped
1 jar of House of Tsang peanut sauce
3 limes

Directions:

Cook pasta according to package directions, drain. While pasta water is heating, heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Drain the liquid from the seitan packages. I reserve the liquid for later uses, such as a base for gravy or stock for soup. Chop the seitan into bite-sized pieces and saute them until brown, about five minutes or so. Meanwhile, while the pasta and seitan are cooking, you can prepare the fruit and veggies, unless you're organized and done this ahead of time. In a large bowl, put the julienned bell pepper and cilantro leaves. A quick way I remove the cilantro leaves from the stems is to hold the entire bunch of stems in one hand, and take a sharp knife and quickly slice down towards the cutting board. I turn the cilantro around to get all sides. If I get small chunks of stem, they get chopped up into the dish as well. To prepare the papaya, slice in half lengthwise, and scoop out the seeds. Then cut in several long, narrow wedges. Take your paring knife, and carefully slice the fruit from the peel, then cut in each wedge in half widthwise. Add these to the bowl. When the seitan is cooked, add it to the bowl. Pour the hot noodles in as well, before they have time to stick together while cooling. Gently toss all the goodies together. Pour the entire bottle of peanut sauce over everything, and toss to thoroughly coat. Cut each lime into quarters, and squeeze the juice over the pasta. Mix once again. Can be served at room temperature or chilled; both are delicious. Now you have one of my family's all-time favorite recipes. Treat it with care and love! Feeds at least five hungry vegans.