[Firebird Rising]

Fat-Free Sausage

Okay, my brother made these from a friend's recipe for an Easter potluck brunch at my parents' church. I was hooked so I had to make them as soon as I got home. I've tried them in two different recipes so far.

2 1/2 C Vital Wheat Gluten (Do-Pep if you call it such)
1/4 C Nutritional Yeast
1/2 C Unbleached white flour
2 TB Veggie Stock or Beef flavor powder (I used Bill's Best Beaf)
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp black pepper
3 tsp paprika
1 1/2 tsp oregano
1 1/2 tsp basil
1 tsp parsley

2 1/2 C cold water
1/2 onion, diced small
6 cloves garlic, smashed or diced small
2 TB Soy Sauce

Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside. Mix wet ingredients in another bowl. Mix dry & wet ingredients together. Take a piece of aluminum foil about 10" square andplace 1/2 C gluten mixture on it. Roughly form into a sausage shape, then roll up the foil tightly encasing the "sausage" and forming it into a standard sausage shape. Twist the foil at each end to seal the sausage. Steam the packages in a steamer basket for 30 minutes. The sausages can be eaten at this point, but I recommend frying them in a pan. They can be stored in the fridge for 7-10 days or indefinitely in the freezer.

No pictures with this, sorry. I'm going to get some to add next time (I'll do the apple/potato ones) but you will see pictures in the next two recipes I'm posting in just a bit.


---------- Post added at 11:57 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:50 AM ----------

Apple Sausage Pancakes/Waffles


Approximately 3-4 sausages sliced into 1/2 in slices (recipe above)
1/2 c maple syrup
1 apple, chopped into 1/2 inch chunks
waffles or pancakes

Pretty easy recipe. Spray a frying pan with Pam, dump the sausages in, fry them until they are just slightly browned, add the maple syrup and apple and saute until the apples are soft.



Serve over pancakes or waffles. This recipe is REALLY simple and all measurements are approximate, so play around with it. You could probably do pineapple instead of apples, I would think. The boys LOVE it.

---------- Post added at 12:11 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:57 AM ----------

Sausage-Potato Sauerkraut



4 medium sized potatoes

1 cup cashews
2 cups water
salt to taste (see below)
1 small can mushrooms, reserve approximately half of the juice (stems and pieces)
3-4 sausages
32 (?) oz sauerkraut

Cut the potatoes in half, put them in water to boil until they are just soft enough for a butter knife to slide into.

While potatoes are cooking, blend the cashews in the water until completely creamy and no cashew grit is present. After blended, add salt, approximately 1 tsp, until the mixture is JUST slightly saltier than you would like. Pour cashew mixture into a saucepan, add mushrooms and juice. Cook on medium-low, stirring/whisking frequently to prevent sticking/scorching on the bottom. Cook until this sauce slightly thickens.

Slice sausages into about 1/2 to 3/4 in slices. Fry until otasty brown.

Don't forget the potatoes. Drain them, cool them enough to cut and chop them into 1/2-1 inch cubes.

Combine everything into a big bowl and combine (a stout wooden spoon is the best utensil I've found so far). Throw into a casserole dish and bake at 350 degrees for20-30 minutes.

Again, you can play with amounts, this is not rocket science.

This has received RAVE reviews at potlucks.

**Note: If you are not vegan, you can replace cashew/water/mushroom mix with a can of reconstituted cream of mushroom soup although I'm not sure how much you would need.