My Lonely City

So tonight I’m trying to make seitan. (‘Say-tan, like the fallen archangel, only with the last syllable “tan” as in tanning booth, rather than “tin” as in tin cup.) It’s a protein dish made from gluten, which is the protein found in wheat. The recipe warned that it would expand when cooking, and to use a big pot.

Well.

I used the biggest pot I have, but unwisely put all three of my hand-sized “cutlets”. Oh. My. Gosh. It was like part ghost busters, part science experiment; all three swelled up to four or five times their original size, big enough around to fill the entire pot. I left them all in for a while, hoping they would … I don’t know. But then I decided to cook one at a time, and let it get all the way “done” before cooking another. Then, I changed my mind again, and put them all three in again.

I think I’ll throw this batch out, and start again later – when it’s not after bedtime when I begin! Ack.