Vegan Buffalo Wing-less Cornbread Casserole

Louisiana. Hot. Sauce. Mmmmmm. Need I say more? What is it about this amazing condiment that so inspires? And please know that this photo just does not do it justice. It's a bit of a challenge for me to get a great shot of a casserole--but it IS tasty! I had a craving--wanted something spicy, not too time-consuming, and yummy as a leftover. And comfort food--was weighing the mashed potato, too--but this won me over. Of course, anything that comes from the oven for this girl works every time. This recipe idea originally came from Rachael Ray--I would love to veganize all of her recipes. Folks seem to have a love hate relationship with her--but for the most part, she can, and does, throw down some tasty food. So, I dug this out of my three-ring binder and looked at the ingredients. Of course the recipe called for chicken. Not a problem. I simply substituted with my good friend seitan. (If you say that out loud, it sort of sounds sinister--"My good friend say-tan")--anywho. On the cornbread topping--it has been a household classic since childhood, and my husband loves it--Jiffy Cornbread. Not any longer. It contains animal fat in its ingredients--why? Maybe I'll write and ask. Meantime, I am pretty picky when it comes to a good cornbread. Some will claim this or that in their recipe is amazing, and when you taste it, it's too crumbly, too dry and plain old bland. I like a moist bread, a little sweet, and a bit of corn pieces in it doesn't hurt. So, I turned to The Joy of Vegan Baking by Colleen Patrick Goudreau for inspiration. Sure enough, she had a great recipe, but I didn't like the fact that it used all-purpose flour and switched out some of it for whole wheat pastry flour, plus added some Tofutti Sour Cream. YUM!

Vegan Buffalo Wing-less Cornbread Casserole

1 package seitan drained

3 tablespoons cornstarch

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon Spike

2 teaspoons Jamaican Jerk Spice blend

fresh black pepper

First--add cornstarch to a plastic container with the seasonings and then add the seitan pieces. Be sure to chop your seitan up into "bite-sized" chunks. Add seasonings. Place lid on container and shake to coat seitan. Add oil to pan and on medium heat, saute the seitan until it is browned a bit. Remove seitan from pan and set on a plate. You can use the same pan to cook the veggies.

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion chopped

2 celery stalks cut thin

3 cloves garlic

2 medium carrots chopped

Spike seasoning (Or Mrs. Dash)

1 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon paprika

Add oil to pan you just cooked seitan in. Add chopped veggies. Saute until begins to soften, but not too soft--the veggies will bake later. Add cooked seitan pieces and set aside. Prepare the cornbread mixture.

1 1/2 cups soy milk

1 1/2 tablespoons white vinegar

1 cup cornmeal

1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour

3 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 tablespoons canola oil

2 tablespoons Tofutti Sour Cream

1/2 cup frozen corn

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly oil a casserole dish. Place the soy milk and vinegar in a bowl and stir then set aside while the milk curdles. Place the dry ingredients in a bowl and sift together.

Add the milk, oil and sour cream and fold in corn. Set aside. Now prepare the sauce.

2 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons flour

2 cups veggie stock--a bit more if mixture is too thick

1/3 cup Louisiana Hot sauce

Add oil to saucepan, then sprinkle in flour and whisk at the same time until all blended. Add veggie stock. Then add hot sauce. Let this come to a boil, remove from heat and set aside.

Add sauce to cooked veggies pan. Mix well. If the sauce seems thick, add more veggie stock about a 1/4 cup at a time. I would have liked more sauce with this, so if you want to make it a bit thinner, I think that would work--but be sure to taste to keep the hot sauce in proportion. Add the cornbread mixture on top. Bake uncovered for 35 minutes--keeping an eye on it, because nothing is worse than over-cooked, dried out corn bread!