Hi MisawaMama. You can purchase prepared seitan in broth or in packages in the refrigerator section.  I never do that any more, partly because these days we easily go through a pound and a half at one meal.  To make it yourself, there are two ways:  from scratch and using a short-cut method that starts with vital wheat gluten.  The from scratch method involves combining whole wheat flour with a little bit of white flour, kneading, and then rising the dough under hot and cold water until all the germ has washed away and you are left with the gluten protein.  The "shortcut" method involves starting with "vital wheat gluten" and adding liquid to make a dough.  In either case, once you have the ball of gluten it can be poached, boiled, steamed, fried or baked.  There are a lot of seitan recipes on thsi site, both for how to make it and what to do with it when you've made it. The ppk.org also has a bunch of seitan recipes.

Usually when I am making straight-up seitan I boil it in broth. I like to use Better than Boullion vegetable boullion.

I never just wing it when making seitan--I always have a recipe.  If the ratio of liquid to gluten is not right it seems the texture is not right. The easiest way of making seitan is to bake it, but my family prefers the texture of boiled seitan.

One of my family's favorite ways to enjoy it is if i slice the cooked seitan into thin two-inch slices and marinate them in barbecue sauce, and then pan-fry them in a little bit of oil and add steamed broccoli and a good melty kind of cheese and serve over rice. I think I put the recipe on this site a while ago.

You should definitely not be afraid of making seitan and it adds a whole new dimension of meal possibilities.