You have sausages and oven fries for dinner. Not pretty I know, but I think it's important to share the dirty underbelly of veganism as well as the colorful vegetable-laden side. You can occasionally eat unhealthy too! And really, to be honest, this meal wasn't incredibly unhealthy, and I did have a salad for lunch, as did Paul, and I believe it's all about the overall balance. And you know what? Few things go better with a good beer on a Thursday night than sausages and fried potatoes. Those, by the way, are the Sundried Tomato Tofurkey Sausages that they sell at Trader Joes. With this variety I believe the best dipping sauce is a combination of vegenaise and ketchup. (Mix it together. Apparently they call it fry sauce in Utah.) If you're all fancy and are buying the Tofurkey Beer Brats from another store than you should definitely dip in a good hot mustard.
Now let's talk about the oven fries. Have we already had this discussion? We've been eating our fair share of oven roasted red potatoes tossed in a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper around here, so I've probably mentioned this before. But I must say, it bears repeating. I recently discovered the secret to reliable non-sticking oven fries: parchment paper. Which is funny, because just a few days before this discovery, I thought I had discovered the secret to reliable non-sticking oven fries: a lot of oil. I was so pleased with myself when that batch came off the pan so easily, and I proudly announced my new-found kitchen wisdom to Paul. Healthy Paul was less pleased with my discovery. So it was happiness all-around several days later when I read this post on Vive le Vegan! and discovered this much healthier secret. Alas, now oven fries are within our grasp as a regular side dish rather than the occasional treat. Please pass the fry sauce.
"Recipe" (Serves two)
3 medium-size red potatoes (If they're not organic, peel them. Apparently those nasty pesticides linger in the skin.)
About 1 Tbsp. olive oil-just a quick drizzle to somewhat coat
About a quarter to a half teaspoon of salt
Couple cranks of pepper
Heat oven to 450. Wash your potatoes really well so that you don't wind up with grit in your fries. Nobody wants that. Cut your potatoes into fry shape. Put them in a bowl. Drizzle the sliced potatoes with the oil, salt, and pepper. Shake the bowl to coat evenly. Turn out onto a parchment paper-lined roasting pan or cookie sheet. (Choose one that's big enough to get your fries in pretty much a single layer. They'll crisp up more evenly that way. And everybody wants that.) Cook for about 40-45 minutes, until they look lightly browned and fairly crispy.
