Tuesday March 26 Seitan Beef Stew and Biscuits Rating: 4.25

I grew up in the Northeast but I quickly developed a love for Southern grub when I moved here to the South, except grits and collards – those are just nasty. But other than that, how could you not love the cuisine of a place where Mac & Cheese is considered a vegetable? (Seriously, go to any proper Southern restaurant and it’s listed there right next to the green beans.) Anyway, these days it’s vegan mac & cheese for us, and we don’t consider it a vegetable, but still. So, loving Southern food and being vegan, we naturally love Cookin’ Crunk. We first tried the beef stew back in February and loved it. The first time I made the beef-style seitan, it came out a bit spongy, which was totally my fault. I decided to give it another go, in spite of having a package of Upton’s Naturals seitan I scored in a Vegan Cuts deal. This time, my seitan came out much better, but I really should have made smaller pieces, because they were a little more than bite sized. The stew is pretty standard, potatoes, carrots, seitan, onions, but it also adds a lot of kale, which just makes me happy. I put extra in there. We love this stew recipe, it’s hearty and comforting and perfect for a chilly night. Being proper southerners, I made a batch of biscuits (Vegan Diner has my go-to recipe) so we could soak up the stew and enjoy their fluffy goodness.