Tuesday, April 08, 2008

BBQ Cake Sausage!

Not all at once, though! Haha, I just thought that was a really funny, disturbed image.

We've been enjoying some unseasonably pleasant weather that has me not hating Michigan as much as usual! It's amazing what being outside can do for your psyche.

Backyard BBQ Grilled Tofu, Sauteed Southern Greens and Garlic Toast

That pretty much says it all! This was our first grill of the season. I'm a bad vegan (minus 10 points!) because I never, ever press my tofu. I know, I suck, I just seriously have a problem with planning ahead. So this was extra firm tofu that I pressed myself in a dish cloth (like for 5 seconds per slice), and it was really, really firm. I brushed on the leftover Backyard BBQ sauce from Vcon and we grilled it on aluminum foil on the grill, brushing more sauce on as needed. I thought it was a little bland still on first bite, but brushing on a bit more sauce was all that was needed. This sauce rocks! As the Dalai Mama said, I will never buy bottled again!

Pumpkin Crumb Cake with Pecan Streusel and My Favorite Morning Beverage
Ok, so this cake from Vcon? To DIE for. It is so moist and packed with spicy goodness and the crumbly pecan topping....it's just awesome. I took a tip from Vegan Dad and made a little confectioners sugar icing to drizzle over the top for maximum sinfulness (I just used 1/2 C confectioner's sugar and 2 tsps almond milk). And it rocks. Seriously, go make it now. Especially if you are a fan of The Best Pumpkin Muffins from VwaV - this is basically those muffins, in cake form, with crumbly sugary goodness on top. Yeah, like that.

And I wanted to brag about my new favorite morning beverage, even though it's so weird! So I think I've mentioned that my husband is allergic to caffeine, right? Well, so when I met him he had all these weird coffee-like substitutes in his apartment - like postum and this other one, Pero. They kind of vaguely in some way remind one of coffee - the color, the bitter, the hot - but you really wouldn't food anyone. In any case, I've developed a taste for it over the years (Pero, that is) and this week I stumbled upon my favorite new way of drinking it: I dump about 1-1/2 T of pero in the cup, fill the mug halfway with boiling water, then almost to the top with Unsweetened Chocolate Almond Milk, then a little bit of soymilk creamer and stir. A little sugar, and I swear it's like the best mocha ever. I feel like I'm skipping class or cheating on my "diet" every time I have it, it's that good! Even if you don't have Pero in your cupboard (and if you do, you're my hero), I bet this chocolate almond milk method would be worth a try with the real coffee.

Spicy Chickpea Sausages!
So ever since I saw Julie Hasson's video of how to make your own sausages (like Tofurkey or Field Roast), I've been dying to try it. I was a little worried about how long it would take (with a toddler constantly screaming "Mama! Up! Mama! Play! Mama! Blocks!" you have to be really careful with the time you invest in the kitchen, y'know?!) so I'd been putting off making them. Well, this Sunday morning I did it. And they are easy and awesome! And so ripe for experimenting with. I used Isa's recipe for Spicy Pinto Sausages, but used chickpeas since I had some open already (and it doesn't require a whole can). I love that you can make them any size you want to suit your needs. Next time I make this particular recipe I will probably cut way back on the red pepper flakes - it was really delicious, but Silas thought some bites were too "picy." And that kid loves seitan. It was funny, our vegan friends stopped by the other day on a bike ride, and their 2-year-old, who is not such an adventurous eater, tried some of the seitan - and ate a ton! None of us could believe it, he was like a squirrel stuffing it into his face. Praise seitan!

We ate our sausages pretty much plain on a picnic Sunday afternoon, with some fresh italian bread. Then last night I sliced up our lone remaining sausage and put it on top of pizza with sauteed portabello mushrooms, sundried tomatoes and chopped garlic. Yum!

7 comments:

carrie said...

The sausage is on my menu for Friday this week.....glad it's good. My DH was a sausage lover before we went veg, he's going to be hard to fool!!

Jen said...

Hmm, Pero? I would have never considered it but your concoction sounds very yummy (and addictive)!

ChocolateCoveredVegan said...

haha, when I read your title, I was like, “A barbecued cake?” I was conjuring up all sorts of strange things in my mind! But luckily your food looks much much better than my mental images!

Rural Vegan said...

Personally, I love the title. Though, I'm debating which would be the bigger culinary breakthrough: BBQ Cake Sausage, or BBQ Sausage Cake. Hmmmm....

Lindsay (Happy Herbivore) said...

Julie's sausages are taking over! I really need to try to make some... everyone keeps raving about it!

sign me up for anything with BBQ

Susan Chipley said...

That tofu looks awesome! I think we need to buy a grill.

Chessa said...

Carrie: I can't wait to hear what your DH thinks of the sausage!

Jen: I know, I win like 1,000,000 hippie points for drinking a toasted grain beverage! The things we get used to...

CCV and Rural Vegan: Glad you guys liked the title!

HH: Yeah, I think you could put this BBQ sauce on anything and it would be good! Make the sausage! I'm sure you'll have an awesome variation that we're all going to have to try!

Dalai Mama: Yeah, the grill is awesome. I think ours was a gift to my husband from his parents on his 21st birthday - Not long after he became vegetarian. Kind of ironic. But truthfully, we use it all the time in the summer!