hot dog!

Following a ppk post on variations for vegan sausage, I'd like to try these hot dog spice mixes. The idea is to amend Isa's sausage recipe in the (highly recommended!*) Vegan Brunch cookbook with the alternative spices.

FRANKFURTERS/HOTDOGS (1)
1 tsp paprika
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp garlic powder or granules
½ tsp white pepper
½ tsp ground celery seeds
½ tsp mace (can sub nutmeg)
1/2 to 1 tbsp prepared mustard


FRANKFURTERS/HOTDOGS (2)
½ tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder or granules
¼ tsp ground coriander
¼ tsp mace (can sub nutmeg)
¼ tsp marjoram
½ tsp ground mustard seeds
½ tsp paprika
½ tsp white pepper
2 tsp sugar



* The tofu scramble recipe in this book is our favorite so far - and in fact, I made it and shared it with my omni family Christmas morning, along with homemade pumpkin cinnamon rolls - everyone thought both were great! Also, the bagel recipe is one I've been using weekly & have done countless variations on - there's a batch of cinnamon-raisin bagels in the breadmaker right now, in fact. I made people bagels as gifts, giving each family 2 little bags with a total of 8 bagels, 2 of each kind: cinnamon raisin, pumpkin pie with walnuts, sundried tomato, and carmelized onion. I don't add extra sugar, just the spices, and that worked out really well.

Sausage

choices, choices... today I'd like to try making some sausages (and some hotdog buns to go with) from a recipe on Isa's PPK blog. Maybe I can make them more hot-dog sized.


Spicy Pinto Sausages

Makes 4 big sausages
1/2 cup pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup vegetable broth
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, grated (with a microplane, or very finely minced)
1 1/4 cups vital wheat gluten
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons fennel seed, crushed
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Several dashes fresh black pepper

Before mixing your ingredients, get your steaming apparatus ready, bring water to a full boil. The rest of the recipe comes together very quickly.

Have ready 4 sheets of tin foil. In a large bowl, mash the pinto beans until no whole ones are left. Throw all the other ingredients together in the order listed and mix with a fork. Divide dough into 4 even parts (an easy way to do this: split the dough in half and then into quarters). Place one part of dough into tin foil and mold into about a 5 inch log. Wrap dough in tin foil, like a tootsie roll. Don’t worry too much about shaping it, it will snap into shape while it’s steaming because this recipe is awesome.

Place wrapped sausages in steamer and steam for 40 minutes. That’s it! You can unwrap and enjoy immediately or refrigerate until ready to use. I refrigerated some of mine in wrappers and some out of wrappers to see if there would be a difference, but there really wasn’t. They’re really great sliced up and lightly sauteed, and this weekend I’ll be trying them on pizzas.

another variation is here (well, actually this is the original, and the inspiration). I had been thinking I needed that 'chicknish' seasoning called for on Julie Hasson's excellent site, but after seeing Vegan Dad's variation, and Isa's, I'm really pleased at the thought that I can go ahead with this! I don't have a steamer - I will have to rig something up. hmmmm.

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Just made this terrific variation - next time I'll add some hot pepper flakes, though, or a T of whole grain mustard - it needs some 'punch'. I steamed these and then grilled them, basting with garlic-infused olive oil, topped off with carmelized onion and grilled tomatoes with fresh lemon sage, served on crusty grilled French bread:

2 1/2 c. vital wheat gluten
1/2 c. nutritional yeast
4 T. chickpea flour
4 t. unchicken broth powder (I used chicken seasoning, and you could just use sage)
1 t. onion powder
1 t. garlic powder
1 t. cumin
1/4 t. allspice
1 t. salt
ground black pepper

2 c. grated sweet potato (1 medium sized)
2 chipotle chiles, minced
4 t. adobo sauce
2 T. canola oil (I used olive oil)
2 T. black strap molasses
2 c. cool water