The Creative Housewife

Well, not that creative. But what to do when you don't have homework (yippee), you don't have to drive to class (yahoo!), your husband is doing the laundry (wooohooo!) and you and your husband just finished a 10 mile bike ride? You get creative in the kitchen, of course, and since my mind has been food storage-related lately I actually was inspired to do some work with wheat meat.

Wheat meat, in yuppie circles, is called "seitan", but I just call it wheat meat because I live in Arkansas. When (if) I move to New York or Los Angeles I will call it seitan.

The best time to experiment with wheat meat is when the children are at school or outside playing, otherwise all you will hear in the kitchen is groaning and complaining.

Wheat meat is the gluten (protein) part of ground wheat. My first batch ended up disintegrating and sliding down the kitchen drain. The 2nd and 3rd were much better. I even used the starch and bran in a loaf of bread I was making at the same time. I also added some 9 grain cracked cereal to the bread, so I am excited to taste how it turned out. I think it is going to make yummy, yummy toast. It baked perfect!

I decided to try "jerky" - which smells delicious, but I will have to add more pepper next time. It really does look like real meat!

My second batch was steamed and I ground it to make ..... I am not sure. I have options. I think I am going to make a gluten crunch, then add it to melted carob, freeze it, and make homemade (healthy) CRUNCH candy bars. What good is food storage if you can't have desserts too?

In the past I have made chicken fried "steaks" which are very good and you can't tell the difference. Of course, anything with gravy and potatoes can't be all that bad, right?

How much does it cost to make a bag of jerky? In the store it will run you a good $7.00, but a bag of wheat meat jerky is only 20 cents. And better for you (provided you don't have a gluten intolerance, of course).