Seitan Sausage Recipe

In the photo I shared of the Avocado Cous Cous last week, it was served alongside sautéed greens with veggie sausage. I also shared this photo on facebook & got asked, “How do you make veggie sausage?” I should be more clear, while it is vegan sausage, it is not made of vegetables.

I have been making this recipe a lot lately. While I love the Field Roast brand sausages, they are $5-6 for a pack of 4. This is a much more cost effective option & SUPER simple.

The original recipe I use for seitan sausage can be found here. I have loved every recipe from this site I’ve tried.

1/2 cup cooked white beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup vegetable broth
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/4 cups vital wheat gluten*
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
2 cloves fresh garlic, finely grated
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
Several dashes fresh black pepper

4 squares aluminum foil

Fill a pot with water & add steamer basket, bringing to a boil.

While the water is coming to a boil, throw everything else together. In a large bowl, mash the beans. Add other ingredients in order listed & mix with a fork (I usually use my hands & kneed it a bit to get a good dough consistency).

Divide dough into 4 equal pieces. Place one part of dough on edge of an aluminum foil square & shape into log, leaving a couple inches on each side. Wrap dough in foil & twists ends.

Place sausages in steamer basket, cover & steam about 40 minutes. Ta da!

I add this to stir fry, greens, pasta & they make a great Panini.

* Vital wheat gluten is derived from wheat. It is basically powdered wheat protein. It looks like flour & can be found on the baking isle near other specialty flours (do not confuse with gluten flour). I buy mine in the bulk section. It is typically mixed with broth & seasonings & boiled or steamed to make a meat substitute called seitan (say-tan).

Adventures - the Chocolate Shoebox & Chaco Canyon Cafe

Monday was President’s Day which meant a day off work. While I had plenty of chores, I also wanted to have some fun. My mom & I ventured to Seattle to check out the Chocolate Shoebox on Phinney Ridge and have lunch at Chaco Canyon Organic Café in the U-District.

I didn’t think to take pictures at the Chocolate Shoebox (still new at this blogging thing). It is a shoe store with all animal-free, cruelty-free shoes. On a limited budget, I did not get any shoes but there is definitely a few pairs I have my eyes on. They also carry some accessories, T-shirts, nail polish & vegan CHOCOLATES. Fancy bars, truffles, caramels, and these…

Amazing hot chocolate cups. I got the caramel latte & cinnamon dark chocolate. Both delicious & left me wishing I’d bought more & tried the espresso flavor.

Next was lunch after driving around lost for a while. Chaco Canyon Organic Café was a cute place. You order at the counter & take a number back to your table. Food is brought out & you bus your own table. I love going to 100% vegan restaurants because I don’t have to ask a million questions about the menu. This is a place I think my non-veg friends would enjoy. They have a selection of sandwiches, soups, grain bowls, salads & do fresh juices & smoothies. The bakery fridge was out of order so their desserts were being held in the back fridge. I’m glad I couldn’t see them or I would have been much more likely to cave for the Coconut Caramel Cheesecake Cup.

I did however have a smoothie which was really more like a milkshake. The Choco-Maca smoothie was banana, raw cocoa powder, raw maca powder & house made hemp milk.

For my meal I had the Cucumber & Sea Veggie salad made with spinach, cucumber, nori & sesame seeds marinated in tamari & lemon juice.

I also had the Squash & Corn Chowder. I was surprised to learn the cup of soup comes with choice of quinoa or rice on the side. It was hard to choose a soup as all 4 specials sounded delicious, the Squash & Corn Chowder, Red Lentil, Black Bean Chili or Ocean Chowder. I got the taste the Ocean chowder as my mom ordered that; also good.

I will definitely be back to Chaco Canyon. The food was fresh & delicious & there are many more menu items I want to try. They also have a West Seattle location.

Avocado Cous Cous

I got the inspiration for this recipe here, but of course I altered it to fit my likes & what I had in the kitchen. Seen here served with sauteed greens & veggie sausage.

1 box Israeli cous cous
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1 jalapeno, seeds removed
1/4 cup cilantro leaves
1/4 cup basil leaves, chopped
1 clove garlic
3 limes, juiced (~3 tbsp)
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
2 avocados
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
salt & pepper to taste

Cook cous cous per package directions. While it's cooking, prepare sauce by blending jalapeno, cilantro, basil, garlic, lime juice, vinegar, avocados, nutrition yeast, salt & pepper in a food processor until smooth. Once cous cous is done, stir in sauce & tomatoes.

This made plenty of sauce so I saved some for quinoa the next night. For those of you reading who loath cilantro (I know there's at least one), just use twice as much basil.

Easy Weeknight Meals

Ask & you shall receive. I was asked by a friend for a week’s worth of healthy dinner ideas.

My day starts at 5am with a full day of work plus a 2 hour round trip commute. When I get home at 4:30 I do not want to spend my night in the kitchen. My requirements for a weeknight meal are quick, easy & healthy. I especially love one-pot meals that require little cleanup.

Here are some of my go-to meals as well as a directory of websites I frequent for ideas. Of course what I share here will be plant based. I promise if you are veg or not, these meals will satisfy.

Crockpot 3 Bean Chili

A great way to use of some of those dry beans from my last post. This is a recipe I made up so the measurements are my best estimation. This makes a HUGE batch, enough for my husband & I to both take in our lunch for a week. You can eats this for a few nights, take for lunch or freeze some for another week. I have listed cans of beans but I use dry. 1 can = 1 ½ cups.

2 cans black beans, drained & rinsed

2 cans kidney beans, drained & rinsed

2 cans garbanzo beans, drained & rinsed

1 can diced green chilies

28 oz can

1 bottle favorite BBQ sauce, I use Trader Joe’s

1 small can tomato paste

1 Tbsp cumin

1 tbsp oregano

1 cup quinoa

1 bell pepper, any color, cored & diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

6 cups water or vegetable broth

Throw everything together in crockpot & cook on high 4 hours or low 6-8 hours.

BBQ Pizza w/Caramelized Onion & Pineapple

Yes, there is such thing as delicious pizza without cheese. This is one of my favorites. Even my husband exclaimed, “I don’t usually like caramelized onions, but for some reason when you make them I do.”

1 prepared pizza dough of choice, I’ve used both the refrigerated one from Trader Joe’s and frozen varieties

½ cup BBQ sauce

½ cup diced pineapple, fresh or canned

1 onion, thinly sliced

1-2 Tbsp water or broth for sautéing onions

Prepare pizza crust per package instructions. Meanwhile, sauté onions over medium high heat until soft & yellowed, add additional water as needed to keep them from sticking to the pan. Top crust with BBQ sauce, onions & pineapple & bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes until edges are browned.

Lentil One Dish

After chopping some veggies, it couldn't get any easier than this! Throw everything together & leave it alone for a bit. Apologies that I do not recall the original source of this recipe.

1 cup uncooked lentils, rinsed

3 cups sliced carrots

1 lb kale, destemmed, & chopped

1 lb swiss chard, destemmed & chopped

1 packet onion soup mix

1 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup uncooked brown rice

3 cups water

1 tsp dry basil

Place all ingredients in a large pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover & cook until rice is done, 20-30 minutes.

Stir-Fry

This is a loose recipe for stir fry. Choose 3 or more of your favorite vegetables, cut into bite size pieces:

Broccoli

Zucchini

Carrots

Bell peppers

Bok choy

Cabbage

Mushrooms

Water Chestnuts

Onion

Green onion

Asparagus

Snow peas

Stir fry in a wok or large pan over medium-high heat until veggies are tender. I like to keep my sauce simple with a bit of low sodium soy sauce & garlic, sometimes ginger. I do not use oil to stir-fry & instead add a bit of water or broth to the pan. Keep adding a bit more if the veggies begin to stick.

Serve over a whole grain like brown rice or quinoa. Or sauté with Field Roast brand vegan sausage. It is a Seattle based company that makes delicious whole ingredient sausages in Mexican, Apple Sage & Italian flavors. They are very delicious & flavor the whole dish; eliminating the need for soy sauce.

Also see my posts for Black Bean Balls & Avocado Pesto Pasta which are super easy.

Short on ideas? Try these websites & blogs. I never run out of inspiration.

www.choosingraw.com

www.veggie-wedgie.com

www.theppk.com

www.veganyumyum.com

fatfreevegan.com

www.eatingwell.com - not just veg recipes, well rounded site