Teryaki Seitan with Eggplant

I've had a box of store-bought seitan sitting in my refrigerator for about two weeks now, debating the best way to use it. Knowing it isn't as ideal for some recipes as homemade seitan had me thinking a little bit of how I could use it. I came up with a marinade loosely based on several other teryaki sauce recipes that I'd seen in cookbooks and online, so I decided to add some eggplant with the seitan to the marinade which was amazing. I've never marinated eggplant before, but since it's so spongy it absorbed the marinade really well and it tasted very good. Since I always try to have something green at every meal, I added some broccoli and a cup of a new (to me) frozen vegetable mix that I got at Trader Joe's last week. The mix is called "Greens with Envy" which is a mix of edamame, broccoli, green beans, and a little bit of spinach. There is a lot of edamame in the mix, so if you like edamame you'll be happy (I am), if not you could add more broccoli, or substitute some other green veggie in place of the "Greens..."

In the last couple of weeks I've been doing alot of research on cancer fighting foods. Did you know that Ginger, in addition to being good for settling upset stomachs, offers protection against colorectal cancer? And that Garlic strengthens your immune system which can help fight cancer? That said, I'll make this my submission to Sweetnicks Weekly ARF Roundup, taking place on her page later tonight. Drop by and see what everyone else is cooking up this week!

Teryaki Seitan with Eggplant

2 cloves garlic, pressed
1Tb freshly grated ginger
1/3C soy sauce
1tsp sesame oil
1Tb dry sherry
1/4C orange juice
1/4C water

1C seitan, homemade or store bought, sliced thin
4C eggplant, sliced into half moons

1C "Greens With Envy" or other green vegetable mix that has edmame
1C chopped frozen broccoli
2tsp cornstarch, mixed with 1Tb cold water

-Combine garlic through water in a bowl and mix well.

-Put eggplant and seitan into a plastic bag, pour the garlic mixture into the bag. Mix well, making sure to coat all of the eggplant and seitan.

-Allow to marinate for an hour, turning and mixing bag at least once.

-Heat a large saucepan over medium heat, then add the seitan, eggplant, remaining marinade, greens and broccoli. Stir together until eggplant is almost cooked and the greens mixture is thawed. Add the cornstarch and water mixture, stir in well and allow the sauce to thicken before serving.