It's been a while. Too long in fact. While I have been away from writing this blog, I have been busy starting a new school year, visiting South Korea, and finally I have had a little bit of time to do some experimenting in the kitchen. I am so happy to present to you two new flavors of Serenity Seitan-Spicy Mexican and Zesty Italian. 

I love the original flavor, the Savory in blue, but variety is awesome. To help customers change up in their kitchens, I wanted to bring in something Italian flavored, something for all of your pastas and pizzas. Make it into a meatball sandwich or a lasagna for a filling lunch or dinner. I also wanted to kick up the heat a little bit, for all of you spice lovers out there. Spicy Mexican is one you can use on anything south of the border style: tacos, nachos, burritos. Muy caliente! Makes me wish I had a Corona in my hand and a sombrero on my head (I think I have even seen pinatas at Carrefour). I hope it will have a similar effect on all that try it. 

The good thing is, you won't have to look very far to try these protein packed treats, as soon they will be available for delivery on Gusto Fine Foods' Shanghai Yummy site, as well as Artisan Eats and Boutique in Jinqiao. 

I could never forget the original flavor, so before I start posting recipes for the new flavors, here is an ode to the seitan that started it all:

Baked Lemon Seitan
Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 packages Savory Serenity Seitan
1/4 c olive oil
9 cloves of garlic, minced
1/3 c white, dry wine such as Chardonnay (I used cooking sake and it worked well)
Zest of one lemon
Juice of 2 medium lemons  (about 3 tbs)
1 and 1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp (plus some for sprinkling) salt
1 tsp fresh ground pepper
1 lemon, cut into 8 wedges

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 F 200 C
2. Over medium heat, cook the garlic in the olive oil for 1 minute, stirring to cook evenly, but not brown
3.  Remove from heat and add white wine or cooking sake, lemon zest and juice, oregano, and 1/2 tsp. salt. Mix well.
4. Pour mixture into a 9 inch by 12 inch glass baking pan.
5. Place seitan pieces into pan, and generously sprinkle salt and pepper on top. Wedge lemon slices in between pieces.
6. Bake for 30 minutes, or until edges of seitan are slightly golden
7. Take out and cover with foil for 10 minutes
8. Serve with remaining olive oil and spice mixture poured over the top

We had this with mushroom couscous and a salad. It was very light and refreshing. 

Until next time (which I hope isn't too long from now!), stay classy Shanghai. 

I am definitely Italian. Not the kind like, "My cousin Tony lives ova de in Jersey," but the kind like, "My grandmother was born in Italy." She met my grandfather in Italy during WWII. Hers is a crazy story of love lost, love found, and immigrating to America. I love my Italian roots. You can see it in my flailing hands when I talk (seriously, watch out), my generous nose, and my love of good food.

One of the things I really love about Shanghai is the sense of community you get here. As long as you are willing to put yourself out there a bit, and expand your comfort zone, you will have experiences you never could have imagined. When I moved to Shanghai I decided to start saying "yes", and it has really opened a lot of doors.

Through this opening-of-a-small-business process I have met so many amazing people who are willing to offer their advice, assistance and experiences. It has given me the courage to go out there and do something a little bit crazy. 

Something I am really excited about is the Serenity Seitan launch party at De Refter, which will likely happen in the second weekend of August. I will make three styles of seitan and De Refter will provide the perfect beer pairing for each one. Seitan and beer, another one of my favorite combinations. I am so thankful for their willingness to help me show others what Serenity Seitan is all about.

I hope that in the future I will be able to share my experiences and help others, but until then, I will rely on the amazing Shanghai small business community.

Wow. June is definitely here. The temperatures are rising and the humidity is consistently sticky enough to make me feel kinda gross. Summer in Shanghai...no one loves it, but we all get excited when it comes anyway. A lot of people also get excited about sandwiches in the summer. I wanted you to get excited about it too, so here it is, the perfect vegan sandwich stuffer, smoky maple seitan.


Ingredients:

1 package Serenity Seitan
2 tbs. maple syrup
2 tbs. olive oil
1/2 tsp. cumin
1 pinch cayenne pepper
2 tsp. liquid smoke (optional, but so good)
1 tbs. reduced sodium soy sauce
1/2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Slice seitan lengthwise into very thin slices, using a serrated knife
2.  Mix all ingredients, except the seitan in a shallow dish
3. Add seitan to dish and mix well, making sure all pieces are coated well
4. Let marinate for 10-20 minutes
5. Heat 2 tsp. of olive oil in a pan
6. Only layer at a time place seitan strips in pan, cooking for about 1 minute on each side. If desired, add a small amount of leftover marinade to pan to each batch.
7. Remove from pan, sprinkle lightly with salt (if desired)

We had it on a multigrain loaf of bread with lots of lettuce and tomato. It was delicious! My husband was sad when he found out that we were out of bread, so he couldn't have seconds.  He then proceeded to eat all of the seitan.

Whew! What a week. Monday was Zumba after a long day of teaching. Tuesday was graduation, Wednesday was a meeting at Big E (that place is so much fun by the way: backlight mini golf, laser tag, KTV), and found out that I may be able to have a Serenity Seitan and beer party (one of my favorite combinations) at De Rafter in the fall. Tonight was my first night home and I wanted to try making something sweet and salty (another one of my favorite combinations). I have been wanting to try this for a while, it sounded really interesting. It is, and also tasty.

Cashew Crusted Apricot Seitan

Ingredients:

2 packages Serenity Seitan
6 oz. apricot preserves
2 tbs. dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. curry powder
1/2 c. coarsely chopped cashews

Directions:

1. In pan, stir together apricot preserves, mustard, and curry powder. Cook on low for 5-8 minutes, stirring constantly, until mixture is smooth.
2. Preheat oven to 375 F (190 C).
3. Dip each piece of seitan in the pan, and place on a baking sheet lined with foil.
4. Sprinkle evenly with chopped cashews.

Makes 4 servings.

This would be really delicious paired with green beans sautéed in butter/olive oil and brown rice. Alternatively, try couscous cooked in vegetable broth and steamed asparagus.

Tonight my husband and I had dinner at a friend's house. Luckily for me, they really like Serenity Seitan, so I made it three different ways. I made good old spicy buffalo style, BBQ style, and I think I finally found an Asian orange seitan recipe good enough to share. I really should have snapped a photo when the plates were full of deliciousness, but I had to take a bite first. Then one turned in to two, which turned into four, and...you get the point. 

I hope you like it as much as we did!

Asian Orange Seitan

Ingredients:

2 packages Serenity Seitan
1/2 c. soy milk + 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1/2 c. flour
1 and 1/2 c. panko bread crumbs (can be found at some City Shops)
1 and 1/2 c. orange juice (fresh is best)
1/4 c. low-soduim soy sauce
3 tbs. light brown sugar, packed
1/2 tsp. orange zest
3 tbs. white rice wine
2 tsp. chili garlic paste
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 and 1/2 tsp. fresh ginger, finely grated
1 tbs. corn starch
3 tbs. water

Directions:

1. Cut seitan pieces into irregular 1 inch by 1 inch pieces
2. Dip 4-5 pieces at a time into the soy milk mixture, then dredge in flour and panko mixture, coating each piece completely
3. Place on a baking tray, making sure the pieces are not touching. Bake at 190 C (350 F) for 20 minutes or until outside is slightly brown and crispy.
4. While seitan is baking, start on the sauce. In a medium pan, mix together orange juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, orange zest, rice wine, chili garlic paste, garlic and ginger. Bring to a slow boil over medium heat, then turn to low and simmer for 5 minutes.
5. In a small bowl, mix together corn starch and water. Once mixed well, pour into orange sauce and bring to a boil, heating until the sauce thickens. Turn off heat.
6. Once seitan is finished, place in serving dish and with a large spoon, cover seitan with orange sauce and mix until all pieces are coated. Add more sauce as needed.

Best served with steamed rice. Serves 4.

...I know I did. Last week was one hectic week. I helped to organize the Battle of the Bands for Heart to Heart (another one of my favorite charities), and it was rockin'. But now I am faced with that, I just got hit with a truck feeling. My body was craving something hearty, crunchy...and fried. I pulled myself off of the pavement and dusted myself off. It was time for some home cookin'.

I headed to City Shop to get a few ingredients and I could barely contain my excitement. It didn't help that "Who Let the Dogs Out" came on to my iPod while I was walking down the produce aisle. I was bobbing my head, and probably mouthing the words, but I didn't care, I was about to eat some fried seitan!

This recipe is ama-a-a-h-h-zing (yes, with an h). Here you are...Country Fried Seitan

Ingredients:

2 packages Serenity Seitan
1 heaping tablespoon *nutritional yeast (optional)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 c. water
1 and 1/2 tbs. spicy brown mustard
1 tbs. baking powder
3/4 c. plain bread crumbs or panko
1 and 1/2 c. vegetable oil

Directions:

1. If seitan cutlets are thick (1 inch or more), slice into thinner pieces, widthwise
2. In a large bowl, mix flour, nutritional yeast, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Mix thoroughly.
3. In a separate bowl, mix water and mustard
4. Add 1/2 of the dry mix to the wet mix. Mix thoroughly.
5. Add breadcrumbs and baking powder to remaining dry mix
6. Heat oil in large skillet
7. One at a time, dip each seitan piece in wet mixture, then fully coat each piece in dry mixture
8. Fry seitan, two pieces at a time, for 2-3 minutes each side.

Do you remember Field of Dreams? I loved that movie, and last weekend I couldn't get its most infamous line out of my head, "If you build it, he will come." If you read my post from a few weeks back, you know I was worried I had made my dreams too big to accomplish. Last weekend I could not get that quote out of my head, so for a little inspiration, I took a trip back to the 90s and watched the film. 

If you remember, everyone thought Ray (Kevin Costner) was crazy for plowing down his corn field to build a baseball field. He was also hearing voices, which did not help matters. Now, my story is a little different, I just bought  a lot of things from Taobao and Metro and started making seitan. Instead of me hearing voices, I whispered, "If you build it, they will come," into my husband's ear throughout the day, all day, last Sunday. What Ray and I do have in common is the belief that you have to build something in order to make things happen. 

This doesn't just happen in the movies.

Last night, I had the pleasure of meeting a real life hero who built his dream into a reality. His name is Jimmy and he started The Renewal Center, an amazing charity that is doing amazing things for Shanghai's homeless men and women. I listened in awe as Jimmy told the story of how they started the operation 5 years ago. He wanted to do something big to help those in need, so he set about building his dream. The Renewal Center is way more than a shelter. It does exactly what the name says, it renews the lives of those that enter the program. The Renewal Center does so many things, but to name a few, it provides clean clothes, job training, and a safe place to spend time with friends. I am lucky enough to have been there once before. It filled me with so much joy to see how happy the people were. They read newspapers, played Uno and table tennis, and drank tea together. I knew then that I wanted to help.

Last night I told Jimmy about Serenity Seitan, and that once things get off the ground, I would like to donate 1 kuai from every package sold to The Renewal Center. I truly believe in what he has built, a place for those who need it. And they come.

We can build amazing things together. 

Shanghai in the spring is one of the most fabulous places on earth. The winter coat can finally be put away, my toes have feeling once again, and everyone seems to smile more.

Yesterday at Jiashan Market, the weather was beautiful, with a small breeze coming in to chase away the stifling heat that is waiting to pounce. I met so many great people, both vendors and market customers. I got to spend the day with Ada, who works with Mealbay (a food delivery service that is better than Sherpas). She is an energetic woman who made selling at the market feel like fun and not like work.On the other side of me was Shanghai Young Bakers, an amazing charity that trains students from rural villages how to become master bakers (they made my wedding cakes, which were delicious!). All of the vendors have something unique and different, and they are all so friendly and willing to share their ideas and advice. Friends came to the market to support me at the Serenity Seitan table, a musician and his guitar made us sing. I got to see people enjoy the food I made (and buy it!). I couldn't help but thinking, life is good.

The good news doesn't stop there. On Wednesday I dropped my card off at Avocado Lady's along with a package for her to try. Two days later I received an e-mail from a woman who saw my card there, and she and her friend will be picking up two packages each. When I told people at the farmers market that I would be selling there, they just nodded their heads. Everyone knows and loves the Avocado Lady, especially me.

Thank you to everyone who has bought Serenity Seitan! See below for some yummy photos of some satisfied customers' Serenity Seitan dishes!