Seitan is not the devil

Something happened the first time I ate seitan. And the second time. And I'm pretty sure there wasn't a third time because I had decided it tasted like dog food (considering the first tries were in an OSCA dining room, it's entirely possible that it did...). I swore the stuff off and turned my nose up at it when I read it on menus or about it in articles. I would have avoided it for the rest of my life but a couple of weeks ago my brother bought some seitan at the coop, left it in the fridge, and waiting for the expiration date to pass. And that's when I made my move. I got... a little curious. I wanted to see what this "wheat meat" was like cooked outside of a college coop, and by someone who was very hungry.

So I made seitan vegetable coconut curry. And guess what? Not only was it not bad, I even liked it! I know, can you believe that?

Here's the recipe I threw together last night at dinner.

1 can coconut milk
2 T green curry paste
1 c seitan, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 large onion, sliced
1 carrot, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
1 russet potato, diced
1 yellow beet, peeled and diced
1 T soy sauce
2 T peanut butter
1/2 c veggie stock

In a medium-large pot, heat 1/3 can coconut milk to simmer. Turn off heat once it begins to boil, and let cool a few minutes. Whisk in curry paste. Saute seitan and onion in curry liquid. Add the rest of the ingredients and the rest of the coconut milk. Bring to boil, and simmer 30 min. Serve over brown basmati rice and/or garlicky greens.