THERE IS NO WRONG WAY TO WORSHIP SEITAN

Seitan is a great source of protein and can be a delicious part of any meal. It can easily take on different flavors and textures depending on how you prepare it. In our previous post in this series, we covered making seitan at home (it’s actually pretty easy!) and buying it pre-packaged from the store. Once you have prepared seitan in your fridge, you can turn to these fun and fresh ideas on how to sprinkle in that gluten-magic into your favorite meals. 

Seitan is made from wheat, a plant which might first conjure up images of bread or wheatgrass shots. Seitan is special because it’s made from the natural protein found in wheat (giving it the nickname “wheat meat” or "grain meat"). This protein is known as vital wheat gluten, or just gluten for short. People who are diagnosed with Celiac disease have an autoimmune disorder that prevents them from ingesting gluten without sustaining damage to the digestive system (and this means they are unable to eat seitan). For everyone else, seitan is a good source of protein, iron, calcium, potassium, and several B vitamins, while also being low in fats and low in carbohydrates.

The process of getting the natural protein from wheat is straightforward, if a bit tedious. It’s simple enough that you can extract the pure gluten from standard all-purpose flour at home with no special equipment. Here’s a ten-minute video of a guy washing away the starch granules from regular flour to yield just the protein using just a bowl, a colander, water, and his kitchen sink.

If you’re pressed for time, don’t worry. You can just buy vital wheat gluten to make your own seitan. Bob’s Red Mill makes a wonderful Vital Wheat Gluten and your local grocery might stock it. I’ve seen the Bob’s products at most health food stores, and at the major chain groceries like Whole Foods, Wegmans, Stop & Shop, Star Market, etc.

You also have the option to buy pre-made seitan at the grocery store. It’s found in many faux meat products and is often the primary ingredient (e.g. Impossible Foods, Upton Naturals, and Field Roast use seitan as the base for many of their products). Sometimes the packaging on commercially available meat-alternatives is confusing because the product is labeled with a traditional meat name, like “sausage.” You know it’s not a sausage, but you don’t know what it is exactly, and that confusion can distract you from enjoying the food.

But now you know: seitan is the hero! Bartleby’s favorite source of natural protein, made from the friendly wheat plant, can be prepared in a variety of delicious ways with different textures and flavors. We’re keen on a savory, southern-fried version that our devils enjoy in our signature sandwiches and nuggets, but seitan works with so many dishes and cuisines. Yum!

Keep following our series and learn how to prepare seitan and make it a part of your favorite meals.

What a year, dear devils! Our wicked little hearts are bursting with happiness. We’re so grateful for the enthusiasm with which you embraced our new business. You showed us how hungry Boston is for more plant-based dining options, and you showed us what is means to be a Sauce Boss. We are so excited to move into 2019 and we’ve got lots of ideas on how to be bigger and better in the new year.

Here are our New Year’s Resolutions:

1. See More of You in Hell! And by that we mean see more hungry customers at the truck, at great events and festivals, and for catered celebrations. While we’re off the road during the winter months, we’ll be sorting out our weekday service schedule and building a year-long calendar of events. We served just over 10,000 meals in 2018, and we want to increase that number by 50% in 2019, reaching for 15,000 meals over the calendar year.
   
2. Make Bartleby’s Available In New Ways. We love being in the streets of Boston during weekdays to feed you happy devils, but we know not everyone can make it to our regular locations. We’re exploring some new partnerships with local brick-and-mortar restaurants who will carry our products on site. That means you’ll have a chance to pick up nuggets and other items at a location and at a time that’s convenient for you.
   
3. Share the Love of Seitan. Registration is open now for our Seitan School. Beginning in February, we’ll offer cooking lessons on how to prepare our favorite protein-packed meat-alternative at home. Embracing a plant-based diet doesn’t need to be complicated or expensive, and we hope that our Seitan School will make the vegan lifestyle a little more accessible.

Matchstick Market in Clinton, MA is a weekly farmers and artisans market that is hosted all year long. The mission, in their own words, is "to cultivate an empowering space that is family-friendly, supportive of our local economy, and gives farms, artists and entrepreneurs a platform to positively contribute to our community." The magic Matchstick crew seeks out vendors who prioritize sustainability, environmentalism, and ethics as part of their business models, so we were honored to be a part of the scene a few weeks ago. The November 11th installation of MM was called Salvaged Salvation, and included vintage dealers, artists specializing in upcycled goods, recycled apparel, and other awesome things.

It's so well organized and curated! I recommend everyone goes. Among the group of talented vendors were Jennifer Lee's Bakery, specializing in allergen-free goodies, and The Plant Deli, serving up incredible handmade vegan meats and cheeses. My only regret about Matchstick was not being a part of more of their Sunday markets. Our one visit was on a beautiful, sunny, but wicked cold day. Lots of devils were excited to see Bartleby’s parked out front, and most people returned to the truck to take more food to go! That warm response brought me so much joy, that it honestly didn’t seem so cold out after all. I can’t wait for next season at Matchstick Market, because I will be sure to dedicate many more calendar days to attend.