June 29th--BBQ Seitan "Wings" and Vegan Mac and "Cheese"

Dave: Enough with these light and airy European dishes. Crepes are great, ceviche is delightful, but sometimes you need some good old fashioned American barbecue! Tonight I'll be preparing a BBQ of an all American red blooded favorite: Vital Wheat Gluten! Wait, what?

Lauren: You heard right! Tonight seitan will be playing the part of chicken in "Wings of Fire: Extreme Heat."

Dave: And nothing goes better with fiery hot wings than quinoa and corn pasta in rice protein cheese substitute! It tastes a lot better than it sounds, folks. Actually, the spicy seitan wings are a take on the Buffalo Seitan at the Chicago Diner (meat free since '83) but we're happy to be able to make it in our home.

Lauren: The mac and cheese is a recipe I've made so many times, I can almost do it in my sleep, but the substitution of vegan cheese adds a new level of cheese sauce challenge.

Easy BBQ Sauce:

1 1/2 Roma Tomatoes (diced)

3/4 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar

1/4 Cup Mixed Berry Preserves

1/2 Tsp 100% Powdered Cayenne

1 Tsp Hungarian Hot Paprika

1/2 Tablespoon Chili Powder

1/2 Tbsp Minced Garlic

1/4 Tsp Black Pepper

1/4 Tsp Salt

Put tomatoes and vinegar in a saucepan and cook on high. Add the preserves and continue cooking until the sauce has reduced to about half of its original volume. Add all of the spices and continue cooking until the sauce has reduced in half again. Put the sauce into a food processor and blend until smooth.

Seitan Wings:

3 Packages Upton's Naturals Traditional Seitan

2 Green Onions

1 Tsp Tomato Paste

1 Tsp Olive Oil

Put all ingredients in a high walled fry pan and cook until sietan is noticeably brown.

Put "wings" in glass baking dish and cover with sauce. Bake at 350 f for 15 minutes. Stir and serve hot.

Mac and Cheeze (that's right, it's got the faux dairy "z")

1 box elbow macaroni (we've used the corn/quinoa blend, whole wheat, rice - all are equally delicious)

1 12 oz. package Silken Tofu, Soft

2 Tbsp. Margarine

1 1/2 to 2 cups cheddar cheese substitute (we used a rice cheese, but have had success with soy-based cheeses as well)

1 green onion (white part only)

Hot paprika

Sweet paprika

Salt and pepper

Panko bread crumbs (optional)

Carefully drain tofu, then puree in food processor. Transfer to saucepan or double boiler and add margarine. Stir in cheese and green onions; add salt, pepper and paprikas to taste. (This is one of those recipes where I really can't tell you what proportions of the spices should be added; tinkering and frequently tasting will get you the most satisfactory results.) Cook until cheese is melted and onions are soft.

In a separate pot, boil water and cook elbow macaroni.

Preheat oven to 350F; combine sauce and macaroni in an oven-safe vessel. Sprinkle top of macaroni with bread crumbs. Cook for about 10 minutes, or until bread crumbs are browned. (I also added a sprinkle of chili powder, just because.)