Pita

I found this recipe here, the picture really drew me in and made me want to make something utilizing pita A.S.A.P. I really hate buying pita because it's alway much too dense, nothing like when you get it at restaurants. And I'm not too keen on the price point of store bought either. This recipe was really easy and couldn't be any cheaper.

This is the perfect recipe to go with seitan Gyros

1 tablespoon yeast
1 ¼ cup warm water
1 teaspoon salt
3- 3 ½ cups flour

• Dissolve yeast in warm water for about 5 minutes in the bowl of an electric mixer. 
• Add salt and 1 ½ cups flour and with the dough hook, beat to make a batter. Add additional flour until a rough, shaggy mass is formed. 
• Knead 8 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic. Add more flour if it is too sticky.
• Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide into six pieces. Form dough into balls, then flatten with a rolling pin into ¼ inch thick discs. Try and keep an even thickness as this is what helps them ‘puff’.
• Let rest on the floured surface 30-40 minutes until slightly puffed.
• Preheat oven to 425F.
• With a large spatula, flip the rounds of dough upside down on to a baking sheet. Bake 10-15 minutes until light golden. 

These store for up to two days well wrapped or frozen for three weeks.

Tips: I make a lot of dough so I always have a jar of yeast on hand and can easily measure out 1 tablespoon. If you only have the packets, those are 2 1/4 teaspoons, so you'll need to open two packets and you'll have 1 1/2 teaspoons leftover.

Learn from my mistakes, if you do keep a jar of yeast on hand, keep it in the refrigerator and toss it out after a while.

Gyro with Cucumber Sauce (Tzatziki)

My mother-in-law found this recipe and sent it to me and my whole family loved it. I really enjoy the seasoning of the seitan, it's much different than your typical seitan flavor. I make these with homemade pita.
It may strike you as a lot of ingredients or a lot of work when you see the recipe, but most of it is just seasoning and it's actually a really quick and easy meal.

For the sauce
1 cup soy yogurt, unsweetened
1/2 large cucumber, peeled and grated
1 tablespoon lemon juice, fresh
1 teaspoon dried dill weed
1/2 teaspoon salt
fresh ground pepper, to taste

For the seitan
1 lb seitan, shaved thin or ground
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon cumin
2 teaspoons oregano
1 pinch cinnamon
1 pinch nutmeg
1 pinch cayenne pepper
salt & freshly ground black pepper

For the sandwich
2 small tomatoes, diced
1 onion, diced
3 cups lettuce or spinach, shredded
6 pieces pita bread, warmed

• Peel and grate the cucumber. Put the grated cucumber into a strainer and set in the sink for 10 minutes to drain.
• Squeeze the cucumber to remove excess moisture and place into a small bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and stir well to combine. Cover and place in the fridge to let the flavors meld while you cook.
• Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the seitan and garlic and stir until the seitan begins to brown. Add all of the seasonings and stir well. Sauté until the seitan is well cooked and fragrant. Turn off the heat.
• Assemble the sandwich with the shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes and onions, cooked seitan and cucumber sauce. 

Disclaimer: I always triple the cucumber sauce recipe. 1, Because it's delicious and my family doesn't simply drizzle on a little, we heap it on every bite. And 2, I can only find plain soy yogurt in 24oz containers, what am I going to do with 16 extra ounces of plain yogurt? Besides, if I ever did end up with any extra, it would make a pretty yummy salad dressing...but I've never had extra so I can't say that for sure ;)