Vegan Sausages

Vegan sausage with fries

How Yummy Were They?

I was doubtful about the sausages but man, these things are way better than any store-bought kinds we've tried. I LOVED them! But then, I'm not a fan of soy-based food, so the ones at the store generally stay right there on the shelves for the most part. We had them a couple times but they don't hold a candle to these.

This was our second meal of them and Missy happened to stop by so she got to try them as well. She also really enjoyed them. Definitely worth keeping the recipe - and sharing it for any of you who want to try. You'd be surprised how much you might enjoy them!

Sausages and onions frying

The sausages are boiled first then cooled, then fried. They puffed up a lot during the steaming and we found them to be pretty thick so we sliced them in half before frying, and found that they made a more manageable meal.

Vegan Sausage Recipe

Original recipe here.
Modifications to original recipe include:

• Added 2 tsp ground fennel 
• Added an extra tsp smoked paprika
• Didn't have chick peas; substituted 1/2 cup chick pea flour and 1/3 cup water
• Didn't have veg broth; substituted vegetable cocktail (like V8)
• Omitted the oil
• We're not sure the flour was gluten as the bag was unmarked

Ingredients:
½ cup chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 cup cold vegetable broth
1 TBSP olive oil
2 TBSP soy sauce
1¼ cups vital wheat gluten
¼ cup nutritional yeast
1 tsp thyme
1½ tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
2 bay leaves, finely crumbled
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tbsp smoked paprika
1 tsp sage
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground pepper

Directions:
Mix wet and dry ingredients separately, then combine. Roll into sausage shapes. Wrap in parchment paper and twist the ends to shape them. Steam for 40 minutes. Ready to freeze or refrigerate, then you can take them out and fry them or throw them on the barbeque.

Rolling sausages

We think they will be fantastic on the barbeque with some of my yummy homemade BBQ sauce.

Steamed sausages

My BBQ Sauce

1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2-3 tbsp brown sugar
1-2 cloves garlic, pressed through a garlic press
1/2 tbsp dijon mustard
1/2 tsp onion powder
Pinch of hot chili pepper

Vegetable Rice & Barley Soup

I made this soup today because I crave soup sometimes. It was inspired by spotting the aging carrots in the fridge which reminded me they needed to be used soon. After some debate about whether to use turnip and potato and turn it into a stew, I decided to keep it as a soup and use white onions, mushrooms, rice, lentils and barley. After serving it twice, I was told by Laura and Missy that the recipe needed to be documented for future reference.

Vegetable Rice & Barley Soup

Recipe

1 white onion, chopped

4 carrots, chopped

4 oz mushroom, sliced

1 tbsp sunflower oil

1 tsp sea salt

1 tbsp dried rosemary

1/2 tsp dried sage

1/2 cup long grain rice

1 cup red lentils

1/4 cup pearl barley

900 ml box of vegetable broth

2 cups garden vegetable cocktail (like V8)

2 cups water

2 vegetable boullion cubes

3 or 4 sprigs fresh thyme

4 sprigs fresh parsley

Sauté the onion, carrot and mushrooms in the oil then add the dried herbs. Add the grains, boullion and liquids, give it a stir and let simmer for 40 minutes until rice is cooked. The lentils will dissolve into the broth and the rice and barley will absorb most of the liquid. Keep an eye on it in case more liquid is needed and then add as necessary water, vegetable broth or vegetable cocktail, whichever you prefer. I prefer to add vegetable broth so as not to dilute the flavors. Add the fresh herbs near the end of cooking. Taste while cooking and season accordingly with more salt or herbs you like.

Soup and roll

We had this with rolls spread with vegan butter and it was fantastic!

Oatmeal Date Cookies

Any recipe that involves dates, I'm down with. This recipe turned out great and I'm sure I will want to make them again, so committing the recipe to the blog.

Oatmeal Date Cookies

Original Recipe

Here is the original recipe I went by.

I made the following modifications.

• Instead of oats I used a mixture of oats, spelt and rye flakes.
• I substituted the 3 eggs for 3 tbsp flax and 9 tbsp water.
• I omitted the walnuts as we didn't have any on hand.

My Adapted Recipe

Mix:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

In small bowl mix:
3 tbsp ground flax
9 tbsp water
Let sit 15 minutes to gel.

In mixer on medium speed cream together:
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Slowly add in flax mixture. Continue mixing.

Add flour mixture to creamed mixture until combined. Then add:
2 cups mixed quick cooking oats, spelt & flour
1 cup dates, pitted and chopped
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Drop by teaspoons onto baking sheet and bake 8 minutes at 375 degrees F.

Cookies cooling on a rack

This recipe got a seal of approval from both Laura and Missy. Worth noting that Laura said the ones that were cooked 9 minutes instead of 8 were better, crispier. The recipe made about 6 1/2 dozen cookies.

Carrot Cake

So, I am blogging this carrot cake because I made it and it tasted amazing and had a great texture. Since I don't want to lose the recipe, I shall blog it.

Vegan Carrot Cake

I followed this recipe but made some modifications. I didn't get a good pic of it because I didn't think to blog it until there was just this one tiny piece of it left. I used Laura's phone camera, which I'm not good at using.

Carrot Cake 

Wet Ingredients
2 tbsp ground flax
2 tbsp chia seeds
1/2 cup water
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract

Dry Ingredients
2 cups of flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
3 cups grated carrot
1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:
Combine the ground flax and chia seeds together with 1/2 cup of water and let set for 10 or 15 minutes until gelled and the texture of eggs. This is the egg replacement.

Mix wet ingredients in a bowl. Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. Mix wet and dry ingredients together. If it's too dry add water a couple tbsp at a time until it's the consistency you want, like cake batter. Mine was very thick and chunky, but pour-able.

Pour into greased and floured 9 x 13" pan and bake 1 hour at 350 degrees F. Let sit for about 15 minutes then transfer to a baking rack to cool. Transfer to a cake plate and frost when completely cool.

Icing

1/2 cup non-dairy butter, softened
8 oz non-dairy cream cheese, softened
4 cups icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup candied walnuts

Mix butter, cream cheese, icing sugar and vanilla with beaters or mixer until fluffy. Spread of cooled cake and top with walnuts.

Reviews

Two people besides Laura and I tried this cake and they both loved it. One said she would not have known the cream cheese was non-dairy. She asked for the recipe and also said I needed to make it again...and again. The other one was my sister, who is allergic to eggs, so she would appreciate that they were replaced with something else. There was no frosting on her piece because of her soy intolerance so no review on the frosting, but she did post this on my FB timeline:

Roast "Beef" Sandwich

I think I gave up beef about 5 years ago. I have not had a roast beef sandwich in a very long time. Now, it may be the case that I don't really remember what one is supposed to taste like, but I don't think that is the case. At all. In fact, I had a couple other people try this sandwich and they both agreed it was pretty darn close if not just like the real deal. Only again, no beasts were harmed.

Roast "Beef" Sandwich

Seitan Mushroom Roast

Laura made the seitan roast for Easter dinner. It was good although it didn't have an exact roast beef taste or texture. But, it was comparable.

Mushroom Seitan Roast recipe here.

Seitan Loaf

The next day, I had the idea to slice it thinly and use it to make a sandwich. And wow. It was the most amazing thing! The texture was very believable, the taste, with the mustard, was crazily similar to real beef, and I was in heaven to find another of my old favorites revamped to be enjoyed as a vegan meal.

Sandwich & Potato Salad

Was so good served with a scoop of potato salad!

Eggless Potato Salad

You might not think an egg-free potato salad would be as good, but you'd be surprised. I don't let many people try it because it's really too good to share, but any who have tried it absolutely loved it and three of them have asked for the recipe. And, since it's my favorite potato salad recipe now too, I thought I'd put it here.

Potato Salad

The Making of the Perfect Potato Salad

In this potato salad recipe you omit the eggs and use an egg-free mayonnaise, like vegenaise, which I love, love, love.

This recipe makes a pretty small salad. You may want to double it.

Mix in a large bowl:
8 potatoes, peeled and boiled
1 small onion, minced
1/4 cup minced red pepper
1 tbsp capers or minced green olives (optional, but not really)

Mix in a small bowl:
1 cup Vegenaise or Hellman's vegan mayonnaise
1/3 cup vinegar
2 or 3 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp dijon
1 tbsp yellow mustard
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Add small bowl mixture to large bowl mixture - don't add it all at once, just add it until your salad is the consistency you like.  You know how potatoes come in many sizes. Combine well.

Top the salad with something to make it look pretty, or interesting, like pepper, paprika, or some extra capers or olives. Maybe a sprig of parsley.

Chill.

Potato Salad

Potato Salad

You are welcome.

Lemon "Chicken"

I made a big batch of cauliflower "chicken" today (178 pieces) using 2 heads of cauliflower, which was on sale at Atlantic SuperStore for $2.49/head. I did all the breading and baked them, then Laura used about 18 of them to make Lemon "Chicken". So amazing!

Lemon Cauliflower 

We served the cauliflower with basmati rice and green beans. It was truly delicious, and really does have a boneless wing or popcorn chicken sort of texture, without the need to devour any animals.

Lemon Sauce recipe

Here is the process:

Prepare the Cauliflower
1. Cut cauliflower into bit-sized pieces.
2. Soak in 10 parts water to 3 parts vinegar for 15 - 20 minutes to clean it well. Any insects that were missed in the cutting step will come out as well.
3. Dry the pieces on paper towel.

Coat the Cauliflower
(this is the time-consuming part of the process if you're doing a lot of them at once)
4. Mix equal parts flour and water in an enormous bowl. I used 5 cups of each since I made a huge amount. Like I said, 178 pieces.
5. Place about 15 pieces of cauliflower in the bowl and stir to coat each piece completely with the batter.
6. Dump a bag of panko bread crumbs into another large bowl.
7. One piece at a time, remove the cauliflower from the batter, shake off excess batter and place into the crumbs. Roll around until completely coated.
8. Place a sheet of parchment on a baking sheet.
9. Place each piece of breaded cauliflower on the parchment, spaced so they don't touch each other.

Bake the Cauliflower
10. Bake 15 minutes on 400 degrees F.
11. Turn over.
12. Bake another 15 minutes on 400 degrees F.