Reddit reviews Professional Vegetarian Cooking

Glad you're enjoying it. There's a whole world of vegan cooking out there to enjoy. I love to cook and I thought going vegan would put a damper on that but I've found it's been quite the opposite.

I've heard good things about the Forks Over Knives cookbook, but I keep forgetting to pick up a copy. I don't do a ton of baking and mostly do more 'improvisational cooking', so my favorite is http://www.hotforfoodblog.com/ - I really dig their philosophy on food and how they improvise and really get into being imaginative.

I agree that lots of vegan cookbooks are basic. A lot of vegan food (at least in my experience) is pretty simple and quick, and I guess those cookbooks are trying to 'sell' veganism as a convenient thing. Here are some that I think look interesting, but I couldn't tell you if they would match your skill level.

https://www.amazon.com/Vegetarian-Cooking-Academy-California-Culinary/dp/1564260380

https://www.amazon.com/Professional-Vegetarian-Cooking-Kenneth-Bergeron/dp/0471292354

https://www.amazon.com/Vegan-Gourmet-Expanded-2nd-Delicious/dp/0761516263

I'm big on trying to make things from different culinary traditions, so I also like sites like http://veganlovlie.com/ which is Mauritian fusion cuisine (!).

Sites like http://findingvegan.com/ might lead you to some cool blogs. I've definitely gone down that rabbit hole a few times.

Anyway, welcome and good luck and happy cooking. :D

I use a slightly modified version of the recipe from Professional Vegetarian Cooking.

dry:
2 c vital wheat gluten; 1/2 c white flour

wet:
2 T tamari; 3/4 c vegetable juice cocktail (I never have this, so I squirt about 1 to 1 1/2 T of ketchup in the bottom of a liquid measuring cup, fill to the 3/4 c line with water, and whisk it up); 1/2 c water; 4 drops liquid smoke

Mix the dry stuff separately, mix the wet stuff separately, then mix everything in a bowl. Knead until it's a homogeneous blob, then let rest for 15 minutes. Sculpt it into a log, and slice into "steaks" or strips with a serrated knife. Bring a large pot of stock to a boil, add the seitan, and let it come to a boil again. Simmer at a medium-low temperature for about an hour. Now cook it like it's meat! I think that this is a pretty good recipe, although keep in mind seitan generally won't have much taste anyway until you season it AFTER all of the boiling is done. One of my favorite ways to cook it is to pan-sear it in strips with extra virgin olive oil, tamari, and umeboshi vinegar (cook until all of the liquid from the tamari and ume is gone).

I don't bother with premade stock because if you cook with fresh ingredients enough, you will have everything you need to make it at home. Just save carrot tops/peels, celery tops, onion peels, garlic peels, parsley stems, mushroom stems, bell pepper innards, etc until you have enough to fill a pasta cooking sized pot about 1/3 to 1/2 full. Jack up the flavor by adding a couple garlic cloves and a sliced onion. Once I reused ginger that had been used to make ginger beer; stock making is pretty forgiving. Fill it to about 3/4 full with water, bring it to a boil, and let it simmer for about 45 minutes. Strain it well and compost the solids.