Satan, seitan, what are you?

I forgot to take photos of mine so you get to see the grocery store version.

EDIT: Photo added for the benefit of one of my friends who asked if seitan always looks like clay based on the first photo. :-)

Just last week I was talking to one of my childhood friends about protein options for vegetarians.  She said, "Have you tried seitan yet?"  Seitan (which is pronounced like Satan) is a protein made from wheat gluten.  You can buy it at some health food stores and grocery stores (the Kroger near us has it), but it's extremely expensive to purchase pre-made.  When I saw it at Kroger, I think it was about $5 for 8 ounces.  Not cheap!  Fortunately, I found this recipe to make it at home and I gave it a shot yesterday.  It was a little time consuming (about an hour and a half in all including cook time), but the outcome was great.  The process was actually very similar to making dumplings.  The recipe made made enough for about four meals for our family of four.  After it was cooked, I chopped it up into one inch pieces.  I used a quarter of it for a stir fry I made last night, and I split the rest between three freezer bags and put them in the freezer.  I intend to use it like I would have previously used chicken in stir fries, pot pie, etc.  The true test was would Red eat it?  I didn't tell her what it was up front.  She cautiously took a piece of seitan from the stir fry, put it in her mouth and chewed.  After a minute she looked at me and said, "Mommy, I like this chicken."  Not bad.  Not bad at all...plus it's fun to call up grocery stores and ask, "Do you stock seitan?"  I guarantee that you'll get a long pause and a puzzled "Excuse me?"