seitan schnitzel

European Night

My parents were restaurateurs their entire lives and they operated Hungarian restaurants exclusively. Wiener Schnitzel was on the menu at every place we had that I can remember. Not that Schnitzel is Hungarian originally, but let's face it, Europe is not a huge continent and its countries are not expansive; food travels over borders without much exception.

I haven't checked, so I hope it has been a month since the last time I made fried food. Schnitzel is a breaded and deep fried dish. I made the Tender Seitan and cut it as thin as I could and in a way that got me the biggest slices that I could get. I dredged them in flour, then in diluted yogurt and in a seasoned bread crumb mixture. I deep fried the slices at 390 degrees for 3 minutes. This was a throwback to my childhood - my Dad would serve these huge slices of Schnitzel, almost as big as the plate it was placed on.

I did good.

I served these with parsley potatoes, something my Mom used to make, and with a Hungarian Tomato and Cucumber Salad. The tomatoes are from our garden; they are Hungarian Heart heirlooms. Just thought I'd brag a little.

Cost Breakdown:

potatoes: $3

parsley, Earth Balance: $2

tomato: $2 (from store)

cucumber: $1

onion: $.50

seitan: $3

bread crumbs, yogurt, flour: $3

coconut oil: $3

Total to feed 8 people:

$17.50

grilled pizza

The weather has been so lovely here, in the seventies, no humidity, thinking-about-wearing-a-sweater-in-the-morning type of weather, that I am fearing it is the end of summer and we haven't grilled a pizza, yet! Yikes!

So, tonight, in honor of the ebbing summer days, we grilled pizza. Pizza night is always a cause for great rejoicing in our home, and tonight was no exception.

Grilling pizza is so easy! It is actually easier than baking them in the oven and can even be done indoor on a grill without having to heat up the house. Just because summer is ebbing does not mean it has ebbed.

The key to grilling pizza is to grill one side first, flip and then add your toppings. To help melt our non-dairy cheese, I inverted a metal bowl over the pizza to keep the heat in.

The kids had their usual toppings - pepper-NOT!-i and Daiya cheese-sub, but I wanted something with a little heat.

I made a quick (really) tomato sauce using Bionaturae Organic Strained Tomatoes in a glass bottle because I found out that while Eden Foods does not add BPA to the lining of their beans, there is trace amounts in the lining of tomatoes. I added chipotle peppers to the sauce because I have such an affinity for those smoked little jalapenos. My pizza sang with the melody of sweetness, spiciness, crunch and the grill. Music to my mouth.

Cost Breakdown:

dough: $3

Daiya: $5

tomato: $2

Yves Pepperoni: $3

onion, garlic: $1

herbs, spices, chipotle: $1

Total to make 6 pizzas:

$15.00