I read a very interesting blog today by a woman ( a Vegan) who was sick of being moaned at in cyberspace by the Vegan Police.( Happy Herbivore ) She was referring to the fact that she found she could never be 'vegan enough' to please everyone and so was just going to refer to herself as a plant eater from now.
It really struck a cord with me. So many meat eaters feel threatened when I say that Im a vegetarian, and I think that in some cases, its because they are waiting for the lecture. Well sorry guys, youve got a long wait. :)
I would love it if more people ate as vegetarians. One of my main reasons for becoming a veggie was because of the difference it makes to the planet. BUT thats my reason, and I honestly cant expect the entire world to eat the way I do for my reasons. I have a sincere objection to the PETA method of converting people to Veganism. They like to use horror flicks of chickens and pigs being slaughtered to convince people of the cruelty of eating meat. The problem with this approach.... people just switch it OFF. I know I do , I have no desire to see animals being killed, and so the message is lost.
A better approach is to live the part. Amaze people by not being the weak, pale and pasty wraith walking through the door, surviving on little more than morals and outrage. Rather invite people for supper, or gasp! actually go to a braai, and offer to share your lovely Vegan and Veggie food with the meat eaters. You'll probably find that they are surprised at how good meat free food can be, and will be more open to eating Veggie just once ot twice a week.
And thats all I can really hope for. Lectures and outrage dont work on teenagers, what makes you think they could EVER work on an adult :)
Tuesday, 8 November 2011
Sunday, 6 November 2011
In the whole scheme of things
I havent posted for ages, I have honestly felt like I dont have too much to say, and rather than blather on about nothing, I decided to say nothing at all.
My idea for this blog was really a place for me to experiment and share my adventures in Veggie and Vegan cookery, but, to be honest, I dont have the time to keep making "New and Exciting" recipes.
So , this blog is going to become a little more like me. In other words, its going to be a whole lot of different things at once. In fact , I'm going to make this my place to talk about the things that mean a lot to me, and hope that other people find them interesting too :)
Food is still vastly important to me, and I really have to say that I do like to cook, and make new and exciting meals. However one of the things that I have battled with lately is housework, and I find that I ended up hating cooking in the evenings because a) kitchen needed to be cleaned before I started, and b) I never knew what to cook until the 11th hour - pasta and sauce anyone????
Enter Stage left - www.flylady.net . While I do admit the thought of doing housework a little bit at a time seemed odd, it really does work. I used to leave everything till the last minute, and then plough through a mountain of work!! The FlyLady principles are simple, and really, it makes keeping my house clean a breeze.
The best part of this for me is starting little habits that add up to an easier life. Little things like making the bed, or doing 1 load of laundry every day ( I do admit that the ironing is still an issue ) all add up to a home thats under control. And my new favorite FlyLady habit?? Menu Planning !!!
www.flylady.net has a whole section on this, but let me break down for you how we did it in our house. DH , DD ( 5 years old ) and I sat down for supper, and I asked them what they liked to eat in the evenings. We ended up with a list of 20 meals without looking at a cookbook or searching ANYTHING, this was all just off the top of our heads. DD got to add her Veggie Hotdogs and Macaroni Cheese, and DH got to add his Roasted Potato and Tomato salad.
I then removed anything that was hated by anyone in the family ( Mac and Cheese went, but was replaced by Pasta Alfredo ) , or anything that took a lot of effort to cook, and then looked at the weekdays. On Tuesdays and Thursdays I am not at home for supper, so those nights our meals are things DH can make quickly, think Omelettes and Frys Schnitzels with veg. The rest of the week just got filled in randomly, but we did try to keep Friday to almost junk food, ie homemade Pizzas, Veggie Dogs and Lasagne. We also make extra Supper to take to work for lunch, so we dont have to buy anything from the shops during the day
Weekends we left free to try new recipes, and any of those that we like will just be added onto the rotation.
The end result?? I how have a spreadsheet of meals that lasts for 4 weeks, with no repeats!! I will continue to add to this, and yes, I will put absolute favorites on a monthly rotation, so we dont miss them too much!!
Once a week, I look at what we will be eating the next week, and I do all the shopping at once for the week, which saves me a fortune because there is no wastage.
So , all in all, this makes me happy!!
My idea for this blog was really a place for me to experiment and share my adventures in Veggie and Vegan cookery, but, to be honest, I dont have the time to keep making "New and Exciting" recipes.
So , this blog is going to become a little more like me. In other words, its going to be a whole lot of different things at once. In fact , I'm going to make this my place to talk about the things that mean a lot to me, and hope that other people find them interesting too :)
Food is still vastly important to me, and I really have to say that I do like to cook, and make new and exciting meals. However one of the things that I have battled with lately is housework, and I find that I ended up hating cooking in the evenings because a) kitchen needed to be cleaned before I started, and b) I never knew what to cook until the 11th hour - pasta and sauce anyone????
Enter Stage left - www.flylady.net . While I do admit the thought of doing housework a little bit at a time seemed odd, it really does work. I used to leave everything till the last minute, and then plough through a mountain of work!! The FlyLady principles are simple, and really, it makes keeping my house clean a breeze.
The best part of this for me is starting little habits that add up to an easier life. Little things like making the bed, or doing 1 load of laundry every day ( I do admit that the ironing is still an issue ) all add up to a home thats under control. And my new favorite FlyLady habit?? Menu Planning !!!
www.flylady.net has a whole section on this, but let me break down for you how we did it in our house. DH , DD ( 5 years old ) and I sat down for supper, and I asked them what they liked to eat in the evenings. We ended up with a list of 20 meals without looking at a cookbook or searching ANYTHING, this was all just off the top of our heads. DD got to add her Veggie Hotdogs and Macaroni Cheese, and DH got to add his Roasted Potato and Tomato salad.
I then removed anything that was hated by anyone in the family ( Mac and Cheese went, but was replaced by Pasta Alfredo ) , or anything that took a lot of effort to cook, and then looked at the weekdays. On Tuesdays and Thursdays I am not at home for supper, so those nights our meals are things DH can make quickly, think Omelettes and Frys Schnitzels with veg. The rest of the week just got filled in randomly, but we did try to keep Friday to almost junk food, ie homemade Pizzas, Veggie Dogs and Lasagne. We also make extra Supper to take to work for lunch, so we dont have to buy anything from the shops during the day
Weekends we left free to try new recipes, and any of those that we like will just be added onto the rotation.
The end result?? I how have a spreadsheet of meals that lasts for 4 weeks, with no repeats!! I will continue to add to this, and yes, I will put absolute favorites on a monthly rotation, so we dont miss them too much!!
Once a week, I look at what we will be eating the next week, and I do all the shopping at once for the week, which saves me a fortune because there is no wastage.
So , all in all, this makes me happy!!
Friday, 1 April 2011
Human Polar Bear
I found this speech on the news today....
I dont have to say much more, Lewis Gordon Pugh was eloquent enough
http://lewispugh.posterous.com/standing-up-to-goliath-speaking-out-against-s-0
I dont have to say much more, Lewis Gordon Pugh was eloquent enough
http://lewispugh.posterous.com/standing-up-to-goliath-speaking-out-against-s-0
Monday, 28 March 2011
Getting ready for Samhain
It’s nearly time for Samhain in the Southern Hemisphere, and this year we will be celebrating those we've loved and who have passed on with a Samhain Supper at my home.
I decided that rather than a bring a plate, I would ask everyone coming for a flat fee, and with that I will do all the cooking. It’s amazing, everyone thinks I'm nuts but I am really excited about cooking for a crowd. The other thing is that I also can then be sure that my family can eat everything that’s served without a problem :)
So this meal is being served backwards. That’s right, we are starting with dessert, which is a Chocolate Fountain, with fresh fruit and as a sop to the carnivores, Marshmallows. Maybe
Next up is the Main Meal, and I’m going for the ultimate in warm comfort food. We will be having supper on the patio, and I do think that it will probably be cold.
So, the taste test for Main meals has started.
No 1.............
To blow my own trumpet, this really turned out well. The cashews added a really nice bite to the mix. and the eggplant added to the overall flavour without being all that visible - pretty good as my husband doesnt like eggplant.
The sauce is very rich, and oddly enough, seems almost buttery, which makes it very lucious , but without the added kilojoules
All in all, I think this had made it to the short list for Samhain :)
I'm one happy little pumpkin!!!
Mushroom Stroganoff
1 tbsp Olive oil
1 Onion sliced
1 Carrot diced
1 stick Celery, diced
2-3 cloves garlic crushed
250g small white mushrooms
250g Small Portobello mushrooms
1 med eggplant, cup into large dice
1 cup red wine
1 tin canned chopped tomatoes
2 cups Stock (I used Ina Paarmans Chicken Stock, vegetarian but not vegan)
2 Tbsp Cornflour
1 cup raw cashews
Sour cream or Greek yoghurt
Fry onion in olive oil over a med heat for a few mins until it starts to soften. Add celery, carrots and garlic and fry for another 5 mins. Add mushroom and eggplant, fry until beginning to brown.
Add the red wine and allow the alcohol to cook off. Add the tomatoes and stock. Allow to reduce until about 1/4 of the liquid has gone. Mix cornflour with a little water. Add, mixing to the pot.
Add cashews and cook for another 10 mins.
Serve with Mash or noodles, top with sour cream or Greek yoghurt (double cream plain yoghurt has only about 8g fat per 100g, so I think it’s a great way to get flavour if you are going low fat :)
I have been trying to up my protein because of my weight training, so I just added about 1 cup of cooked white beans to the final few minutes of the potatoes, and then mashed as usual. You could also add some Danish feta to the sour cream/yoghurt topping to get some more protein, but this is a very rich dish as it is, so you may end up overdoing it!!
I decided that rather than a bring a plate, I would ask everyone coming for a flat fee, and with that I will do all the cooking. It’s amazing, everyone thinks I'm nuts but I am really excited about cooking for a crowd. The other thing is that I also can then be sure that my family can eat everything that’s served without a problem :)
So this meal is being served backwards. That’s right, we are starting with dessert, which is a Chocolate Fountain, with fresh fruit and as a sop to the carnivores, Marshmallows. Maybe
Next up is the Main Meal, and I’m going for the ultimate in warm comfort food. We will be having supper on the patio, and I do think that it will probably be cold.
So, the taste test for Main meals has started.
No 1.............
To blow my own trumpet, this really turned out well. The cashews added a really nice bite to the mix. and the eggplant added to the overall flavour without being all that visible - pretty good as my husband doesnt like eggplant.
The sauce is very rich, and oddly enough, seems almost buttery, which makes it very lucious , but without the added kilojoules
All in all, I think this had made it to the short list for Samhain :)
I'm one happy little pumpkin!!!
Mushroom Stroganoff
1 tbsp Olive oil
1 Onion sliced
1 Carrot diced
1 stick Celery, diced
2-3 cloves garlic crushed
250g small white mushrooms
250g Small Portobello mushrooms
1 med eggplant, cup into large dice
1 cup red wine
1 tin canned chopped tomatoes
2 cups Stock (I used Ina Paarmans Chicken Stock, vegetarian but not vegan)
2 Tbsp Cornflour
1 cup raw cashews
Sour cream or Greek yoghurt
Fry onion in olive oil over a med heat for a few mins until it starts to soften. Add celery, carrots and garlic and fry for another 5 mins. Add mushroom and eggplant, fry until beginning to brown.
Add the red wine and allow the alcohol to cook off. Add the tomatoes and stock. Allow to reduce until about 1/4 of the liquid has gone. Mix cornflour with a little water. Add, mixing to the pot.
Add cashews and cook for another 10 mins.
Serve with Mash or noodles, top with sour cream or Greek yoghurt (double cream plain yoghurt has only about 8g fat per 100g, so I think it’s a great way to get flavour if you are going low fat :)
I have been trying to up my protein because of my weight training, so I just added about 1 cup of cooked white beans to the final few minutes of the potatoes, and then mashed as usual. You could also add some Danish feta to the sour cream/yoghurt topping to get some more protein, but this is a very rich dish as it is, so you may end up overdoing it!!
Wednesday, 23 March 2011
And so it starts
One of my reasons for starting this blog was to have accountability in my path towards health.
But that got me thinking, isn't it sad that I am more likely to stick to a healthy lifestyle if I have people watching over me, and that my own opinion is not enough to keep me on the straight and narrow. I suppose that is a thought for another day, I just cant contemplate the inner working of my motivation right now.
However, its working to use the blog to keep me going to gym, because I did a great workout today.
I used to train weights and know how beautifully it can sculpt my body, so I have found a beginners program to start with. Please not that although I find Nicole inspiring, I have no desire to get that "bulky" but her programs are a great starting point, and so I will be following them for the next few months .
This is her website, if anyones interested. Fitness with Nicole. Take a look at the downloads and you'll see what Im doing!!
No food today guys, Brett took the camera to work so I cant take pictures, and thats almost as fun a part of food blogging as the recipes
But that got me thinking, isn't it sad that I am more likely to stick to a healthy lifestyle if I have people watching over me, and that my own opinion is not enough to keep me on the straight and narrow. I suppose that is a thought for another day, I just cant contemplate the inner working of my motivation right now.
However, its working to use the blog to keep me going to gym, because I did a great workout today.
I used to train weights and know how beautifully it can sculpt my body, so I have found a beginners program to start with. Please not that although I find Nicole inspiring, I have no desire to get that "bulky" but her programs are a great starting point, and so I will be following them for the next few months .
This is her website, if anyones interested. Fitness with Nicole. Take a look at the downloads and you'll see what Im doing!!
No food today guys, Brett took the camera to work so I cant take pictures, and thats almost as fun a part of food blogging as the recipes
Monday, 21 March 2011
Sweet sweet Public Holidays
I LOVE Mondays that are public holidays , it feels so decadant to be able to loaf around and not contemplate work.
Today Brett feels the need for nutrients, so for him that is Raw Food. We have been trying to incorperate more raw food into our diet, and todays lunch/supper is from Kristen Suzanne's EASY Raw Vegan TRANSITION Recipes
We are having the Protein Pesto Pasta, to which we've added our own twists. To start off with, I havent been able to find Hemp Seeds, so we're leaving those out, and secondly we added lots of extra raw veggies, for bulk but also for flavour. Instead of hemp seeds we are using raw pecans, and that is going to affect the amount of protien in this dish, but I have no idea by how much, and no desire to look it up.
Protien Pesto Pasta
250 g uncooked pasta
3 cups tomatoes diced
250 g white mushrooms halved
200g fresh Broccoli cut into small florets
Pesto
4 cups Fresh Basil
1/2 cup raw pecan nuts
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 clove garlic crushed
1 tsp Balsamic vinegar
1/2 Himalayan rock salt or to taste
1/2 tsp fresh lemon zest
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 c olive oil
Cook Noodles as usual. Place in a large bowl and add the tomatoes, broccoli and mushrooms
Place all pesto ingredients except olive oil in food processor with the s-blade attachment and process briefly.
Leave Motor runnning and add the olive oil in a steady stream. Do not over process. Add pesto to Pasta and Veg and toss gently before serving.
This was almost perfect. My only complaint is that I really dont think it needed the Balsamic, so I'm going to try leaving it out next time.
Tomorrow its back to work, and I have the feeling this is going to be even better tomorrow after the flavours have had some time to develop!!
Added 22.3.2011 - Sadly the next day this wasnt great. The mushrooms were a bad idea on my part, they seemed very dry , and made everything else dry as well. I rescued the salad somewhat by removing the mushrooms and adding 1/2 full fat greek yoghurt, but this does need a re-think somewhat as it wasnt anywhere near as good as I expected
Today Brett feels the need for nutrients, so for him that is Raw Food. We have been trying to incorperate more raw food into our diet, and todays lunch/supper is from Kristen Suzanne's EASY Raw Vegan TRANSITION Recipes
We are having the Protein Pesto Pasta, to which we've added our own twists. To start off with, I havent been able to find Hemp Seeds, so we're leaving those out, and secondly we added lots of extra raw veggies, for bulk but also for flavour. Instead of hemp seeds we are using raw pecans, and that is going to affect the amount of protien in this dish, but I have no idea by how much, and no desire to look it up.
Protien Pesto Pasta
250 g uncooked pasta
3 cups tomatoes diced
250 g white mushrooms halved
200g fresh Broccoli cut into small florets
Pesto
4 cups Fresh Basil
1/2 cup raw pecan nuts
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 clove garlic crushed
1 tsp Balsamic vinegar
1/2 Himalayan rock salt or to taste
1/2 tsp fresh lemon zest
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 c olive oil
Cook Noodles as usual. Place in a large bowl and add the tomatoes, broccoli and mushrooms
Place all pesto ingredients except olive oil in food processor with the s-blade attachment and process briefly.
Leave Motor runnning and add the olive oil in a steady stream. Do not over process. Add pesto to Pasta and Veg and toss gently before serving.
This was almost perfect. My only complaint is that I really dont think it needed the Balsamic, so I'm going to try leaving it out next time.
Tomorrow its back to work, and I have the feeling this is going to be even better tomorrow after the flavours have had some time to develop!!
Added 22.3.2011 - Sadly the next day this wasnt great. The mushrooms were a bad idea on my part, they seemed very dry , and made everything else dry as well. I rescued the salad somewhat by removing the mushrooms and adding 1/2 full fat greek yoghurt, but this does need a re-think somewhat as it wasnt anywhere near as good as I expected
Comfort Food part 2
The weather improved yesterday morning, but by evening the rain was back and it was getting cold!! Luckily we had some of the Vegan Sausages I had made, so I decided on more rich yummy food. In a word, Cottage Pie.
I kept it simple, but this was a HUGE hit with both Hubby and Child, so it’s a recipe I'm going to use again.
Oh, one thing about me, I tend to be a wing it kind of cook, so I only really pay a lot of attention to exact measurements when I’m baking, in most other cases it’s more a best guess.
Cottage Pie
Glug Olive Oil
1 onion, diced
2 sticks celery sliced
2 large carrots, sliced fairly thick
250g white mushrooms
4 Vegan Sausages
About a glass of red wine
1 cup Ina Paarmans Chicken Stock (Vegan)
1 Tbs Bisto (Veggie, not sure about Vegan)
11/2 Tbs Cornflour (I started with a tablespoon but added more, the sauce needs to be fairly thick)
About 1 kg Potatoes
¼ Cabbage chopped
Olive oil/butter and Milk for mashing
1) Heat olive oil, add onions carrots and celery and fry on a low heat for a few minutes. Add mushrooms, fry for about 5 mins. Add Turn up the heat, add the red wine and the stock and reduce for a minute or 2. Add chopped Vegan Sausages
2) Mix cornflour and Bisto with 100ml (more or less) cold water. Add to the pot and stir until its boiling again. You want the sauce to be thick and almost lush, so if you need add some more cornflour mixed with water.
Turn into a baking dish. I like to use a lasagne style dish because I love this with LOADS of mash on top
3) Boil potatoes until, soft, about 5 minutes before they are ready throw in the cabbage. Drain then mash with Olive oil/Butter and milk. Pile on top of the Sausage mix and make at 180c for about 30 -45 mins, until the top starts to brown. Feel free to cheat, I got hungry and stuck mine under the grill for a few minutes to speed things up
The Sausage mix before adding the mash
I like my mash quite robust and chunky, so I tend to use smaller potatoes and leave the skins on. Also the cabbage does stop you from getting smooth mash, but it does add a nice flavour to the topping. However, feel free to do your mash as you wish...I’m not the type to get precious about someone adapting my recipes
You have no idea how difficult it is to get a
decent picture of Cottage Pie.....
I kept it simple, but this was a HUGE hit with both Hubby and Child, so it’s a recipe I'm going to use again.
Oh, one thing about me, I tend to be a wing it kind of cook, so I only really pay a lot of attention to exact measurements when I’m baking, in most other cases it’s more a best guess.
Cottage Pie
Glug Olive Oil
1 onion, diced
2 sticks celery sliced
2 large carrots, sliced fairly thick
250g white mushrooms
4 Vegan Sausages
About a glass of red wine
1 cup Ina Paarmans Chicken Stock (Vegan)
1 Tbs Bisto (Veggie, not sure about Vegan)
11/2 Tbs Cornflour (I started with a tablespoon but added more, the sauce needs to be fairly thick)
About 1 kg Potatoes
¼ Cabbage chopped
Olive oil/butter and Milk for mashing
1) Heat olive oil, add onions carrots and celery and fry on a low heat for a few minutes. Add mushrooms, fry for about 5 mins. Add Turn up the heat, add the red wine and the stock and reduce for a minute or 2. Add chopped Vegan Sausages
2) Mix cornflour and Bisto with 100ml (more or less) cold water. Add to the pot and stir until its boiling again. You want the sauce to be thick and almost lush, so if you need add some more cornflour mixed with water.
Turn into a baking dish. I like to use a lasagne style dish because I love this with LOADS of mash on top
3) Boil potatoes until, soft, about 5 minutes before they are ready throw in the cabbage. Drain then mash with Olive oil/Butter and milk. Pile on top of the Sausage mix and make at 180c for about 30 -45 mins, until the top starts to brown. Feel free to cheat, I got hungry and stuck mine under the grill for a few minutes to speed things up
I like my mash quite robust and chunky, so I tend to use smaller potatoes and leave the skins on. Also the cabbage does stop you from getting smooth mash, but it does add a nice flavour to the topping. However, feel free to do your mash as you wish...I’m not the type to get precious about someone adapting my recipes
You have no idea how difficult it is to get a
decent picture of Cottage Pie.....
Sunday, 20 March 2011
Vegan Sausages
I’ve been a vegetarian for over 2 years now, and one thing I’ve never been able to perfect is the Veggie Sausage.
They end up tasteless, or fall apart, make a mess and are generally painful to behold. I found a recipe a while ago for vegan sausages using Wheat Gluten powder and Nutritional Yeast, but at the time couldn’t find either of these ingredients so gave it up as a bad job.
Now those of you who live on Joburg will know we’ve had a week of cold weather, and that, for me is time for comfort food. And what better than good old fashioned Bangers and Mash with Gravy??
So I went in search of my missing ingredients, and to my heartfelt and utter delight found Wheat Gluten (made by Natures Choice) at Health Shop in Rosebank Mall. It was just below Exclusive books, and a packet cost me R30. I also found nutritional yeast made by Health Connection at the Health Shop opposite Dischem at Fourways mall (about R30 for 1 batch of sausages ...I know a little pricy, but I was desperate for some sausages.
The first batch I made was an eye opener :) I used Vegan Dads recipe Vegan Dads Homemade Sausages and the texture was awesome, and the base was tasty, and they were amazingly easy to make.
However, there was way too much fennel in here for my liking, and it overpowered what was a fairly good first attempt,
For my second attempt I Googled a bit more and found these Spicy Italian Sausages
I really liked the sound of these, but wasn’t ready to leave the beans out of the sausages as yet, so I combined both recipes and this is what I came up with.
Vegan Sausages
1/2 cup cooked or canned beans (I used haricots) rinsed and drained.
1 c cold water
2 tsp Ina Paarmans chicken flavoured stock (it’s Vegan, I checked)
2 Tbs Soy Sauce
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 & 1/4 cups Wheat Gluten
1/4 cup Nutritional Yeast
2 tbsp granulated onion
1 to 2 tbsp fennel seed, optional
2 tsp coarsely ground pepper, preferably freshly ground
2 tsp ground paprika
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp Himalayan Rock Salt, Crushed
1/8 tsp ground allspice
Method
1) Get everything ready. These are really quick to make so get the water boiling and your steamers ready. I used bamboo steamers, but I’m sure any kind would work.
2) Get 6 sheets of tin foil ready, I made mine about 30 x 20 cm in size. In a large bowl, mash the beans until fairly well mashed. Add the rest of the ingredients in the order they are listed, and mix with a fork
3) Divide dough into 6 or 8 pieces, depending on how big you want the sausages to be. Place one portion in a piece of tin foil, shape it more or less like a log, and then roll up in the foil. Twist the ends like a Christmas cracker and that’s it. Repeat with other sausages.
4) Steam for 30 mins.
These were fantastic. I served them with my Vegan Gravy, which is superb, and Potato Mash. It was comfort food at its best :)
They end up tasteless, or fall apart, make a mess and are generally painful to behold. I found a recipe a while ago for vegan sausages using Wheat Gluten powder and Nutritional Yeast, but at the time couldn’t find either of these ingredients so gave it up as a bad job.
Now those of you who live on Joburg will know we’ve had a week of cold weather, and that, for me is time for comfort food. And what better than good old fashioned Bangers and Mash with Gravy??
So I went in search of my missing ingredients, and to my heartfelt and utter delight found Wheat Gluten (made by Natures Choice) at Health Shop in Rosebank Mall. It was just below Exclusive books, and a packet cost me R30. I also found nutritional yeast made by Health Connection at the Health Shop opposite Dischem at Fourways mall (about R30 for 1 batch of sausages ...I know a little pricy, but I was desperate for some sausages.
The first batch I made was an eye opener :) I used Vegan Dads recipe Vegan Dads Homemade Sausages and the texture was awesome, and the base was tasty, and they were amazingly easy to make.
However, there was way too much fennel in here for my liking, and it overpowered what was a fairly good first attempt,
For my second attempt I Googled a bit more and found these Spicy Italian Sausages
I really liked the sound of these, but wasn’t ready to leave the beans out of the sausages as yet, so I combined both recipes and this is what I came up with.
Vegan Sausages
1/2 cup cooked or canned beans (I used haricots) rinsed and drained.
1 c cold water
2 tsp Ina Paarmans chicken flavoured stock (it’s Vegan, I checked)
2 Tbs Soy Sauce
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 & 1/4 cups Wheat Gluten
1/4 cup Nutritional Yeast
2 tbsp granulated onion
1 to 2 tbsp fennel seed, optional
2 tsp coarsely ground pepper, preferably freshly ground
2 tsp ground paprika
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp Himalayan Rock Salt, Crushed
1/8 tsp ground allspice
Method
1) Get everything ready. These are really quick to make so get the water boiling and your steamers ready. I used bamboo steamers, but I’m sure any kind would work.
2) Get 6 sheets of tin foil ready, I made mine about 30 x 20 cm in size. In a large bowl, mash the beans until fairly well mashed. Add the rest of the ingredients in the order they are listed, and mix with a fork
3) Divide dough into 6 or 8 pieces, depending on how big you want the sausages to be. Place one portion in a piece of tin foil, shape it more or less like a log, and then roll up in the foil. Twist the ends like a Christmas cracker and that’s it. Repeat with other sausages.
4) Steam for 30 mins.
These were fantastic. I served them with my Vegan Gravy, which is superb, and Potato Mash. It was comfort food at its best :)
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