I have been sitting at the keyboard, thinking how I would begin this post.You could say I have been waffling over ideas( Har-Har-Har). Should I discuss honey, and how I once used to be marginally okay with using honey, till I had a moment of clarity and realized I opposed using honey? Should I write about the history of soul food, as this recipe is clearly an offshoot of soul food?
Or, perhaps I could just ramble about some marginally related tale that kinda-sorta involves the food at hand? Or maybe I just make up a story about how I was once lost in the middle of Alabama, my car over-heated, stuck in some imaginary vegan diner that served me the bestest-ever Chick’n and waffles?
Maybe I discuss how I had a cat named Trigger, who oddly enough loved chicken and waffles, and would only eat that, despite all the pricey and glamorous kitty food I bought for him?
Okay, I never had a cat named Trigger. I had a cat named Muffin, but she preferred tender vittles.
These all sound like they would be enjoyable or interesting ideas.Maybe.
Or…
…I could simply just get to the recipe, and be done with it.
On a side note, on the ingredients,I have discovered that I prefer using mimiccreme instead of yeast or some of the other ideas you often see with seitan recipes.It is basically of no flavor, but helps a lot with the texture.A big thank you to the book ‘Veganize This’ for the idea.
Ingredients.
– Chick’n–
- 1 cup of vital wheat gluten.
- 1 tablespoon of mimiccreme.
- 2 tablespoons of poultry seasoning.
- 2 tablespoons of celery salt.
- 2 teaspoons of thyme.
- 3 cups of vegetable stock.
- 4 cups of water.
- 2 cups of breadcrumbs.
- 1 teaspoon of thyme
- 1 teaspoon of rosemary, ground up.
- 1 teaspoon of paprika.
– Waffles–
- 1 cup of all purpose flour.
- 1/2 cup of chickpea flour.
- 1/2 cup of chickpea flour.
- 1 tablespoon of baking powder.
- 1 teaspoon of baking soda.
- 1 cup of water.
- 1 and 1/2 cups of soy milk.
- 3 tablespoons of apple sauce.
- 1/4th a teaspoon of nutmeg.
You will need a few of those wonderful inventions known as bowls.I think I pretty much say that at the start of every recipe post.Bowls have existed for thousands of years, probably one of our oldest tools, possibly.Anyways, grab some bowls.The seitan will take longer to make, so start there.
Start the broth, first.In a large pot add the water and veggie stock, as well as the thyme, celery salt, soy sauce,and poultry seasoning. In a bowl mix the gluten with one cup of the broth and the mimiccreme.Form into cutlets, around 4 or 5 of them. Bring the broth to a boil, add the gluten, and lower to a simmer, partially cover with lid, and let it cook. I mix mine around from time to time, and allow it to cook for about 45 minutes.
Mix the breadcrumbs, with the rosemary, paprika, thyme in a bow, then toss it with the seitan cutlets, and fry them in a frying pan in about half an inch of oil. Flip them, and cook till the coating is somewhat crispy.
Meanwhile, for the waffles, mix the dry in a bowl , and mix the wet in another bow, and heat up your waffle iron.You do not have a waffle iron? That could be an issue. Go buy one, or steal one from your family.
Mix the wet and dry, not over doing it with the mixing, a few lumps are fine. Cook in your waffle iron, and serve with the chick’n.
Now, about the sauce.
Sauce Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons of maple syrup.
- 2 tablespoons of agave.
- 1 and a half tablespoons of spicy brown mustard.
- 2 tablespoons of water.
This is easy, easy for anyone. Just mix all the ingredients in a small bowl, whisk away, and you are done.
Pour some over your chick’n and waffles and munch away.
Anyways, back to the start of this post, what are your feelings on honey?
If you were to take a look at definitions of the word pie, )and I do not mean the math term, nerds!) you would most likely find something along these lines: “A pie is a baked dish which is usually made of a pastry dough casing that covers or completely contains a filling of various sweet or savoury ingredients.”
That seems about right, right?
Which side do you fall on? Do you enjoy a sweet pie, or a savory pie? Honestly, frankly, sincerely, I would say I fall down on the side of savoury. I should say savory, I am an American.But, savoury makes me sound refined, and possibly British. I mean, it would have, if I had not just mentioned I was American.Ooops.
So, I like savory pies. What does that mean? It means I like pies stuffed with tasty veggies, such as potatoes, carrots, and swiss chard.No, you are probably saying to me; ” Hold up, pal. Swiss Chard?” Yes, swiss chard.
Okay, an admission, an admission that could possibly get me kicked out of the Vegan world.I am not all that fond of kale.I just do not like it.It nags and bothers me, I hate the taste, I hate everything about it.I hate kale.
Okay, now that I have let out that deep dark secret , let us get back to talking about pie, and chard. Yes, you can drop the swiss part, if you want.It makes you sound like you are closer to the chard, too.
Anyways, pie has been around for quite some time. Egyptians, some time around 9500 Bc began making pies.But, it was the Greeks who really kicked it up a notch when they realized adding fats to flour and water makes what we now know as a pastry. They would wrap these pastries around meats and other foods, and they would be perfect for long trips, such as long journeys on the sea.
You also can make pies and cook them fairly easily with one pot or pan, over a fire, so pies really caught on.
So, let us jump to a huge conclusion, and say that it was in-fact pies that made the Greek civilization what it was.Clearly, pies fueled the greatness that brought the world such great minds as Plato and Aristotle.
There you go, now you know a bit more about pies, kinda.
As for chard? Well, you are supposed to have leafy greens, right? Well, I would probably go insane if I ate spinach every time.We now know I dislike kale, so where else can I go for my leafy greens need? Why not chard? It is also really easy to grow in a home garden, for you growing veggies at home folk.
I like chard.You should, too.
Now, perhaps this is not the most healthful use of leafy green vegetables, but it sure is a tasty way.Mimiccreme and Daiya cheese give this a Mediterranean feel to it.Kind of Greek-sh, kinda.I do not know.I just know it was tasty.That should be the end of the story.
Okay, we should get to pie making.
Swiss Chard Pie
- 2 cups of all purpose flour.
- 7 tablespoons of Earth Balance.
- 2 teaspoons of kosher salt.
- 1/3rd cup of ice cold water.
- I would say about 5 large handfuls of chard.
- 1/2 a cup of chopped almonds. I actually used almond slivers, and chopped them up.
- 4 tablespoons of chopped raisins.
- 1/2 a cup of mimiccreme.
- 1/2 a cup of Daiya Mozz cheese.
- 3/4th a cup of Daiya Cheddar.
- 1 teaspoon of nutmeg.
You will need to find a bowl, first. I know, that is an exciting first step.IN this now infamous bowl, mix the flour, salt, and the butter.Fork in the butter, the flour should be a bit clump, keep using the fork and it will make the flour appear to be crumbly.Now, pour in the water, mix and kneed well, wrap in plastic and let it cool in the fridge for an hour.
The filling takes no time at all, so when the crust has cooled in fridge for an hour, preheat oven to350 degrees, and start your filling.
Chop up the chard, into somewhat small-ish pieces, and steam for a few minutes.Do not over-steam.You just want the chard a bit more tender.Now toss it in a bowl with the mimiccreme, raisins, both Daiya cheeses, and the nutmeg.
You should always keep dough cooled till you are ready to roll it out, so remove it from the fridge, and roll it out.Fit two-thirds of the dough into your sprayed pie pan.Shape and tuck it so it fits correctly, and then sprinkle the chopped almonds onto the pie base.
Fill the pie with the chard filling, and cover with the remaining dough.Using a wet fork, seal the top pastry piece to the pastry pie base.Cut off any extra pastry.
Melt a tablespoon of Earth Balance, and brush this along the top of the pie and sprinkle on some kosher salt.You may cut a slice along the top,or not. I did not, and I did not have any problems.But, if you fear your pie blowing up like a balloon, please do so.
Cook for 45 minutes, let cool a few minutes, and serve. I find that pies like this are best when eaten the day they are made, unlike say, a pot pie, which is just as good the next day, if not better.
Many years ago, in a different time, a different land, I knew someone who did not like corn. No corn bread, no corn on the cob, no grits, no creamed corn, and I assume, no polenta.Now, I do not even speak to this person anymore, it has been years, and that is more than likely for the best. I mean, really? What kind of sociopath does not like corn?
Let me put myself n the record, here, now. that I think you may be marginally if not completely insane if you do not like corn. Sure, you can like one way it is made more than another. Sure, you can be hesitant about corn syrup, and sure you can prefer grits to polenta. Well, I do not know about that last one as they are pretty much the same thing.
Before Europeans came to the new world, they were already making polenta. It was just being made with other grains.Yes, corn is a grain. It is technically not a vegetable despite what we may sometimes think.But, and I would think you would agree, corn really makes polenta. I mean, they used to make polenta with chickpeas. That is not polenta, that is hummus!
On a personal note, I used to be somewhat ambivalent, or not that much a fan of polenta. Like a joke book for 2nd graders, I found it a bit corny.
That was a pretty bad joke, eh?I doubt it is worse than the title for this post, which really has nothing to do with it, other than being a horrific pun.
Anyways, I have grown to enjoy it, and I hope you do, too.I have seen polenta with chili, tomato sauce, and even as a pizza.I have in-fact made polenta pizza.It wasn’t bad. But, this time i thought it would be super with some green beans and tomatoes.I think you will agree.You better.Or else.
Polenta Ingredients.
- 4 cups of water.
- 1 cup of cornmeal.
- 2 teaspoons of kosher salt.
- 2 tablespoons of Earth Balance butter.
- 1 tablespoon of grated vegan parmesan cheese.
First, so you do not forget, set the oven to 350 degrees, and spray or grease a small-ish bread pan. Yeah, I like to bake my polenta.Deal with it.
Now, bring the water to a boil, and when it does, add the cornmeal.I use a whisk to stir it, nearly constantly, as it thicken, then I use a spoon.Once the cornmeal is thick enough for you to stick a spoon it it and stands on it’s own, add the remaining ingredients.
Pour the cornmeal into the pan, let it set, and cook for 45 minutes or so.It should have a nice toasted , brownish hue to the top.
The baked polenta is done, but what about the tomatoes and green beans? Well, hold your horses, please. That is not a very vegan-friendly saying, is it? Umm, okay, hold your tempeh, here comes that recipe.
Tomatoes and Green Beans Ingredients.
- 1 medium onion, chopped.
- 2 large tablespoons of minced garlic.
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
- 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar.
- 2 tablespoons of sugar.
- 1 tablespoon of dried basil.
- 2 teaspoons of kosher salt.
- 1 can of diced tomatoes. I think it was about 15 ounces.
- 1 small can of tomato sauce, it was about 8 ounces.
- Half a cup of sliced black olives.
- 1 and a half cups of green beans. Not too small, but not too long , either.
Heat the oil over medium heat, adding the onions.Saute them for about 5 minutes, till they begin to be translucent, then adding the minced garlic, cooking till you can really smell the flavors.You can do that, right? Of course, you can.
Now, add the sugar and caramelize the onions, this should be a few minutes, or so.Pour in the balsamic vinegar, or you cold use red wine vinegar, if you feel balsamic is played out.You can be cool like that, pal.
Pour in the diced tomatoes and the juice they came with, the tomato sauce, salt, and the basil.Cook for five minutes, add in the green beans if frozen, and cook another 5 minutes.
If, you are not using frozen, but fresh green beans, I would steam the beans for a few minutes before tossing them in.But, that is just me.
Plate the tomatoes and green beans, salt and pepper, then top that with a slice of the polenta.
Succotash, a common New England, and apparently southern food, is pretty old. Do you know where the word comes from? Well, I did some hard work, and have the answer for you. I know, I know, I am wonderful like that.
Well, the word comes from the Narragansett word, msíckquatash, which apparently stands for “boiled corn kernels”. Okay, I got that from Wikipedia, in a few minutes, but still!
Now, I know corn is often a part of succotash, but generally, we, or at least me, think of it as something with a lot of Lima beans in it.I used to be forced fed them when I was young, I really hated them.
Oh, how times have changed?!
Before, we go on, or rather, I go on, I feel I should give a bit more information about those who named this dish: The Narragansett, as they were native to this region.This region, as in New England.
Generally, when one thinks of the Native American people of New England, I think people generally, if they even recall a tribal name at all, will recall the Wampanoag, or perhaps the Mohegans.Well, the Narraganset were kid of in-between both of them, mainly living in Rhode Island. Duh! Thus the name of the large-sh bay and also the name of the craptastic swill passed off as beer.
Now, the Narragansett were a relatively large tribe, for this region anyways, till King Phillip’s War, which pretty much ended and destroyed the native American inhabitants of New England. See, you hear all about the chummy, best-buddy relationship of the pilgrims and Wampanoags.You rarely hear about the bloody war that wiped out most of the Wampanoags later, many years after the pilgrims sat down and had their thanksgiving. You should go and read about it, maybe.
Anyways, so this comes from the Narragansett, and is often enjoyed, oddly enough, at New England Thanksgiving dinners, etc. Which, when you think about that war, which also wiped out the Narragansett, is kind of strange.It was not really succotash that has ever suffered, but this land’s native populations.
Oh, my. This post has become quite serious, hasn’t it? I supposed I should have stuck to my original idea about discussing a cat with a speech problem.I even kept the original title.Oh, well.
Alas, I did not, and that is the way it is.So, here is a recipe, and so on.
Succotash Ingredients.
- 6 tablespoons of Earth Balance.
- 2 cups of Lima beans.
- 1 tablespoon of sugar.
- 3 cups of diced tomatoes.
- 1 cup of corn.
- A few dashes of kosher salt.
Well, I am pretty sure anyone can make this, and in reality, I would say you could even fancy this up, with quite a bit of ease.
Take 5 tablespoons of that butter, and add it to a pan, with the Lima beans, and cook for ten minutes over medium heat. I stirred every once and a while, not sure it was needed or not.Next, toss in the tomatoes, sugar, and remaining tablespoon of butter.Cook for a further 10 minutes, then add in the salt, and corn, let that heat through, and you are finished.
But, wait!
Time for the crepes.
Crepes Ingredients
- 1 cup of chickpea flour.
- 3/4th a cup of water.
- 1 tablespoon of soy milk.
- 2 teaspoons of thyme.
- 2 teaspoon of freshly grated ginger.
- A few dashes of salt.
- A few dashes of pepper.
- Half a teaspoon of sage.
Now, I am pretty sure that some master French baker or chef would strangle me with what I call crepes, but whatever! I am ready for you, Frenchie!
Heat up a skilled, or a crepe pan, if you have one. Spray it with some cooking spray, and heat it up over medium heat.
Mix the water and chickpea flour, using one hand to pour, and the other hand to mix.You do not want it too thick, nor do you want it too lump. Now add and mix in the milk and seasoning.
Pour about a 4th of a cup of the batter out, swirling it by tilting the pan, or using a spoon to spread it out if its a griddle type thingy.
Let it cook for about two minutes, you will see some bubbling, and the edges should start to turn up, flip and cook for another couple of minutes.
Put on a plate, cover, and repeat.
I also made a quick sauce, basically I just melted a couple tablespoons of Earth Balance put in a teaspoon of thyme, a few dashes of salt, and poured that over the crepes.
Many years ago, around 200 or so years ago, actually, there was a battle. A really big battle, with soldiers, and cannons, and shooting , and lots of people getting shot. This battle took place in Europe, and it involved a few countries including France, and Great Britain.
France, lead by the evil genius French Emperor , Napoleon, and his cronies, fought Great Britain, and their cronies, lead by this Duke Wellington person.They fought at this place called Waterloo, and they fought hard. Or something.
Wellington and the Brits were victorious, and in doing so, he had this meat and pastry dish named after him. Or so goes the legend.
The truth of the matter is no one for sure really knows where the Wellington came from. Was it named after him, was it named after the type of boots he and his troops wore? Was it invented in New Zealand? No one really knows, but the story pervades to this day that it is named after the victorious Duke.
Napoleon had a dessert named after him, apparently, but that is a story for another time.
The Wellington, beef, or otherwise, is basically some dead animal wrapped in a puff pastry.If you watch enough Hell’s Kitchen, you know that professional jerk chef Gordon Ramsay is obsessed with them, and they often pop up on many cooking shows. I watch cooking shows, so I see this. Do not question me on this.
So, one day, a light bulb popped into my head, and I thought to myself, I could veganize this.Sure, why not? So, I did.
But, where does one begin? Oh, that is right. You will need puff pastry. Sure, they sell some vegan puff pastry, and if you are lucky you will find it, but what if you are as lucky as Napoleon at Waterloo? You have none to buy? Well, it is rather easy to make,so just make some.
This is a two day project, mainly waiting for important components to be ready, and some actual time preparing.It is no last minute meal, but the hard work is worth it.
Okay, let’s make some.
Puff Pastry Ingredients.
- 1 and a half cups of all purpose flour.
- 1/2 a cup of high gluten flour.
- 1/2 a cup of Earth Balance shortening.
- 3/4th a cup of Earth Balance butter. I used the sticks variety.
- 6 tablespoons of ice cold water.
- A few dashes of kosher salt.
- 2 teaspoons of lemon juice.
I tend to prefer mixing in bowls, as I often say, often ignoring my pretty yet rarely used kitchenaid mixer. I know, I know, I just simply enjoy getting my hands messy for some reason. But, this time I did use it, and so you could, too. Or, just a bowl and mixer, or whatever.
I cut up the shortening and butter into tablespoon sized pieces, and put that with the flours in the mixer, and mixed that for a few minutes, then adding the ice water, salt and lemon juice, till it had made a sticky-ish dough.
Place a piece of parchment paper down on a flat surface, place the ball of dough on the parchment paper, and cover with another piece of parchment paper.
Okay, now roll out the dough till it is about 2 inches by 14.It should be relatively thin, though to be honest I did not measure it.So I will not give you an exact measurement.
Lightly flour another spot, nearby, and removing the top parchment paper, flip it onto the floured surface, and then remove the other parchment paper.
Cut the dough into a rectangle if it is not already in that shape, and fold it so it is now 14 inches long but only about 4-5 inches wide.
Now fold and roll it up till it is 4inches or so by 4 inches, or so.
Now, with a hand or roller, flatten the dough till it is about half an inch or so thick.Cover with plastic and let it cool it in the fridge. I would say at least an hour , or two, but I just let mine sit in the fridge overnight.
You have made the puff pastry for the Wellington, or for whatever else you wanna use it for.We can move on.
Now, I have to admit, I am no Wellington expert, and so I did some reading, here and there, and came up with one that would have a “Beef” and it would be wrapped in a ” Prosciutto” and Duxelles.
What the fuck are Duxelles? It is like a mushroom paste/pate.Or so I hear, as I thought the same fucking thing as you most likely did.
Duxelles Ingredients.
- 2 cups of mushrooms, bella, whatever.
- Half a cup of onions.
- 2 teaspoons of thyme.
- 1 teaspoon of balsamic vinegar.
- 3 tablespoons of olive oil.
- 2 tablespoons of Earth Balance butter.
- A few dashes of kosher salt.
- Teaspoon or two of ground pepper.
Stick the onions, mushrooms, thyme, balsamic vinegar , and one tablespoon of oil in a processor until it is finely chopped.Heat the remaining oil and butter in a pan, over medium heat, and add the mushroom mixture to the pan, and cook for about ten or so minutes, till most of the liquid is gone.Now, add the salt and pepper, stir, and place in a bow. You can leave this out, or place in fridge till you need it.
As for the Prosciutto, I came up with a fairly simply idea, and it worked out pretty well. You will need some of those vegan bacon bits.
Prosciutto Ingredients.
- Half a cup of “bacon” bits.
- Enough water to barely cover the bacon bits in a small bowl.
- Half a cup of vital wheat gluten.
- 1 teaspoon of garlic powder.
- 1 teaspoon of onion powder.
- 3 teaspoons of smoked paprika.
I soaked the bits in water over night, you should soak them for a good few hours in the very least.
Once again, in your trusty processor, pour in your bacon bits with the water, and try and break them down as much as possible, the smoother the puree the better.Now, add in the remaining ingredients, and use your processor as basically a mixer.
Place some parchment paper on a flat surface, placing the gluten mix on top, then covering with another piece of parchment paper, and roll and flatten out this mix till it is as flat as you can get it.It will not get as flat as real Prosciutto, but that is how life is. It will be fine.
You can put this aside while you make the final part of the Wellington, the “beef”.
Now we must make the center, the ” beef” part of the Wellington. I wanted something a bit more tender, so I added lentils.
” Beef” Ingredients.
- Half a cup of cooked lentils.
- 3/4s cup of vital wheat gluten.
- 1 tablespoon of steak sauce.
- 1 tablespoon of mimiccreme.
- 2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce.
- 1 teaspoon of garlic powder.
- 2 teaspoons of onion powder.
- Few dashes of table salt.
- Few dashes of ground pepper.
- 2 teaspoons of molasses.
Process the cooked lentils till they are a puree, and then toss them in a bowl.Add all the remaining ingredients, and mix with your hands.Form into a thick sausage-like shape, then roll the prosciutto around it, trimming if you need to.Try and seal up the edges with your hands and a little bit of water, if need be.
Then, wrap in tinfoil. Make sure you wrap it tightly, as you do not wish for the seitan to grow too large when steaming. I even added some kitchen twine, so this would not happen.
bring a pot of water with your steamer to a good boil, medium or a bit lower heat, and add the tinfoil wrapped seitan.Steam for about 45 minutes, adding water when you need to.
You can unwrap it from the tinfoil, and pre-heat your oven to 425 degrees.
You have no made all the components, and it is now time to put it all together and cook it.Huzzah, yay, or whatever your general term of excitement is.
Now, if you wished to make your own “beef” recipes, or have some other ideas, you probably could have skipped to this part.Maybe I should have mentioned it. My bad!
Take your puff pastry out of the fridge, and lay it out flat on a surface. You will notice it is not as sticky as when you placed it in the fridge.Cool, huh?
Spoon duxelles onto the puff pastry, spreading it out thinly across its entire surface.Place the “beef” into the middle of the puff pastry, then proceed to roll the pastry, somewhat snugly around the “beef”. Pinch in the ends, and seal them, as well as sealing up the edge that runs along the entire rolled pastry.
Melt a few tablespoons of Earth Balance butter.Brush it entirely with the melted butter, and place it on a baking pan, edge side down.Slice a few slices into the top to allow steam to escape, and sprinkle some kosher salt on.
Cook in the oven for 45 minutes, or so, till the pastry is a nice golden brown.Remove from. oven and let it cool for about ten minutes, then slice up, and of course, eat.
This would be good with mashed potatoes, or roasted potatoes, I suppose. A good gravy would also be nice.But, that is your call, not mine. You can do whatever you want, especially if you went and spent the time making this for yourself. I guess.
I dunno about the Napoleon dessert, but I feel like as with Waterloo, Wellington got the better end of the stick this time, too.
The chickpea,ceci bean, garbanzo bean, whatever name you wish to call it, has been a favorite of mine for a long while. I cannot say for how long, but I can safely say it has been a while. You should take my word on this, I mean, you do not have to, but why in the world would I be lying about this?
Seriously.
Did you know they have found chickpeas in caves in France that are thousands of years old? Well, I did not really either, till i googled that shit and read the wiki on chickpeas. Hell, Charlemagne even mentions them, and I heard Charlemagne was important. Or something.
The fact of the matter is chickpeas have been around a long time, not just in my rotation of foods I eat, but in what the world has ate.
You just learned some history, kinda. You can thank me later, as right now you will be thanking me for this recipe, I hope.
Now, I have made chickpea balls, before, and posted chickpea recipes here before, from sausages, to tacos, etc, etc , etc.
Chickpeas are tasty, and from what I read, once again on wiki, pretty healthy. I would say the healthful part would be the main reason I enjoy and eat them, but then I would be lying.I mean, really, really lying. Like huge ball of lies, wrapped up in more lies. But, they being healthy is a good thing, I suppose.
I mean, who knows how healthy they are after I am done with them, but that is a story for another time, that time being never.
I was gonna link to some of my other chickpea recipes, but I am lazy, and you can just do a search.Yeah, I know.You should just be thankful that this time I did not feel the post with lots of yummy, tasty balls innuendo. In- Your- End- O.
Glazed Chickpea Balls
- 2 cups of soaked, cooked, rinsed chickpeas.
- 1 tablespoon of oregano.
- 2 teaspoons of thyme.
- 2 teaspoons of basil.
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
- 3 tablespoons of vital wheat gluten.
- 1 tablespoon of vegan Worcestershire sauce.
- 1/4th to 1/2 cup of panko bread crumbs.
- 2 slices of bread.I used wheat.
- Tablespoon or two of olive oil.
Glaze Ingredients.
- 1/3rd a cup of ketchup.
- 1 cup of water.
- 2 tablespoons of agave.
- 1/4th a cup of maple syrup.
- 1 teaspoon of allspice.
- Few dashes of pepper.
- Few dashes of kosher salt.
- 1 tablespoon of brown mustard.
- 1 teaspoon of liquid smoke.
- 2 tablespoons of corn starch.
This is simpler than one would imagine, honestly.I basically add all the balls ingredients to a processor, minus the breadcrumbs, gluten, and two slices of bread, and process it.Easy, eh? Then I move that to a bowl, and using my hands, mix in the bread crumbs and gluten.I then cover, and place in a fridge for a couple hours, as this will give the breadcrumbs and other ingredients time to really soak in the flavors.
You could rush and cook right away, but believe me, this waiting period is worth it.
Now, in the processor, process up the two slices of bread.Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees, and spray a baking pan, or as Alton Brown did on Good Eats, spray a mini muffin pan.
Brush the balls with olive oil, lightly, and then roll them in the breadcrumbs you made with the two slices of bread.Place on pan, and cook for about 20 minutes, maybe 15, depending on your oven.
meanwhile, add all the glaze ingredients to a pot or pan, and bring to a boil, whisking now and then. See, this is easy, and easy is good, I hear.
Once you have your balls cooked, and the glaze has thickened,place your balls in a bowl, and pour the glaze over them, mixing them, carefully.
Now, I just fried up some onions and peppers for mine, but you could just eat these with a toothpick, place in a sandwich with some slaw, whatever.