Vital Wheat Gluten

I've often read about vital wheat gluten in American cookbooks. It seems that rather than knead a ball of flour in a bowl of cold water for hours to get seitan, you simply mix the powder up with water and you're good to go.

You can buy it online, but it would mean ordering a load of other stuff to make the postage worthwhile. Then today I wandered over to the market to purchase some oats and noticed they had gluten powder! I can't wait to give a go. I'll be able to make loads of recipes I've dismissed in the past. Yippee!

I tried the cauliflower and millet mash again last night. This time I dipped it in flour prior to frying ass suggested by Rose Eliot. It ended up being more like a hash and actually rather reminded me of my Dad's corn beef hash. This was probably due to the large quantity of veggie Lea and Perrins added. It was certainly more tasty then the original but still not something I'll be breaking my neck to produce one the two tubs in the freezer are gone.

Cauliflower and millet mash

I bought some millet a while back for making a lemon tease cake. It turned out OK but not something I'm rushing to make again. I was flicking through Rose Eliot's Fast, fresh and fabulous last week when I spotted a recipe for cauliflower and millet mash. Cauliflower is in season so it seemed the ideal lunch solution.

Alas I had a portion for lunch today (and there are 3 more in the fridge) and it wasn't very nice. It was edible but not something I'd want more than a small portion of. It's left a funny taste in my mouth.

I take great pride and pleasure in lunch preparation so I really dislike this sort of thing happening. The other three portions will be going in the freezer (think it might be OK as a shepherds pie topping on night's Dear Heart is out) and I need to think of something I can eat for lunch for the rest of the week. I have two frozen portions of nice soup so I'm half way there.

The moral of this tale is never cook huge portions of a new recipe. Maybe it's something about millet? I've still got a bit left so I shall be visiting vegweb in my ongoing quest to discover a way to make it tasty.

Unfinished thoughts

I've gotten into the bad habit of getting an idea for a post, adding it as a post and then saving it as a draft to polish and post later. But, and this is the problem, I don't. I let the idea sit there idling. I dislike this and want to clear up the unfinished ideas in the same way that I like to use up abandoned packets at the back of the cupboard.

I've had a very good couple of weeks. A few days at home making a top from scraps of fabric. A visit from my grandparents which included a huge bag of fabrics and trimmings they were clearing out. A sample of hair conditioner given to me while buying new soap in Lush. An afternoon at the Theatre (The Vortex -must add some Coward songs to my ipod). A lovely new green coat from Dear Heart's mother. Very garlicky home made spread.

My new favourite blog is Gala Darling's Icing. I love the weekly resolution that she is currently posting. I write my jobs for the week in a little notebook (often sprayed with perfume). These posts have made me think a bit more about my list and to move on from simply listing dull routine tasks. It's nice to be able to tick off having done the washing but better still to tick off written letter to friend or repaired boots pushed to back of cupboard.

I think my first resolution for the week is to complete at least one abandoned post. I also want to write a long letter to my friend Sean and take the bags of stuff under my desk to a charity shop or two.

Have a marvellous Monday, dear readers.