Hail seitan!

One of the weirdest questions I get as a vegan is: what do you eat?
...
Well, lots of things. People seem to think that a meal can't possibly be satisfying if it doesn't have some sort of "meat-like" centerpiece. That's ridiculous.
There's also a school of vegetarians and vegans who insist you're not truly vegetarian (or vegan) unless you really eat only vegetables. And meat and dairy substitutes are cheating or something.
Well, welcome to the 21st Century, folks. I frequently tell disbelievers: anything you can make, I can make vegan —deliciously. And it's true.So it came to be that I found seitan. A more safe-sounding name: wheatmeat. Seitan is made from vital wheat gluten. It's very high-protein and low in everything else. Since gluten itself is essentially flavorless, you can flavor it like anything. So be creative with your seasonings. I've added fresh herbs and replaced some of my veggie broth/soy sauce mix with tomato sauce with great success. Just make sure your proportions are right. Today I'm boiling my seitan, it makes a nice, soft wheatmeat that slices like chicken and fits perfectly into stir-fries, soups, pretty much anything you can imagine.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cup vital wheat gluten
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp celery salt
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tbsp soy sauce (I recently got a big bottle of dark soy sauce, so my seitan might look a little darker than yours.)
  
• 1 cup veggie broth

Preemptive step: Put a big pot of water on to boil. The seitan will increase in volume, so make sure it's a nice big pot. You can season this with soy sauce, veggie broth, herbs, ginger —whatever you like to add more flavor (carrots and celery work well, even just the "throw away" parts).
Step One: Mix your dry ingredients. In a bowl, mix together the gluten with your nutritional yeast and spices or herbs.
Step Two: Add wet ingredients. Heat the soy sauce and veggie broth just a little, get them warm but not hot. Add the veggie broth mix to the gluten mix and stir it up. You may have to use your hands as it gets rather doughy.
Step Three: Knead and rest. Knead the mixture for 10-15 minutes. Seitan shapes up faster than most bread, so as you knead you can tell the consistency is becoming more cohesive and smooth. After kneading, the seitan should become a nice smooth ball. Divide your seitan into several pieces (use a bread knife to slice it if it's difficult to tear) and let it rest for about 15 minutes.
Step Four: Boil. The water should be close to boiling by now so slip your seitan pieces in and let the water come to a boil. Boil the seitan over medium-high heat for about 1 1/2 hours. When it's ready, the seitan will float on the surface of the water and be doubled in size. Store it in water + a splash of soy sauce in a plastic container —it keeps for about a week in the fridge. Use it however you like.