Your Vegan Mom

School Night Cuisine: sweet potato chipotle sausage

Three Ways:

For dinner: grilled, with a side of swiss chard and corn

For breakfast: scrambled, with tofu, chard, more grated sweet potato, corn, hot sauce, about a teaspoon of nutritional yeast, and a bit of salt, served with a grilled corn tortilla

For cocktail hour: chopped and fried, served with a creamy avocado dipping sauce to accompany margaritas

This recipe is adapted from the Everyday Dish segment on Italian Sausage. You will find not only directions there, but also, a video tutorial to help you make your own sausages. I am so excited about this recipe. It is so versatile, easy, and delicious, I fear that you may see a lot more variations here in the future. Actually, you can now find this blog under the name, "your vegan-sausage-eatin' julie-hasson-lovin' mom."

Here are the ingredients for the sweet potato chipotle variation:
1 c. + 2 T. vital wheat gluten
1/4 c. nutritional yeast
2 T. chickpea flour
2 t. unchicken broth powder
1/2 t. onion powder
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. cumin
1/8 t. allspice
1/2 t. salt
ground black pepper

1 c. grated sweet potato
1 chipotle chile, minced
2 t. adobo sauce
1 T. canola oil
1 T. black strap molasses
1 c. cool water

Follow the instructions for italian sausage on the Everyday Dish site. I halved the original recipe and made 8 smaller sausages.

To Market

I think there's a pie in your future.

Eating at 15 Months

Today for lunch, Desmond had half a container of peach soy yogurt (Paul bought a few convenience foods over the weekend while we were under the weather) and a sunflower seed butter and apricot jam sandwich on whole grain. He will eat as many tangerines as offered. And covets, successfully pleas (or more accurately, screeches) for just about anything that anyone else is eating which leads me to make much healthier choices than I probably would otherwise, left to my own devices. Oh but when the boy sleeps, then, out comes the pudding.

Butterscotch Pudding

*******Caution: this recipe under construction. I made it over the weekend following my directions and it did not turn out right. It will be repaired as soon as possible. I apologize for the inconvenience. Might I suggest coconut tapioca instead? ********

I've been sick all weekend. Now it looks like Desmond is coming down with it too. And it's been raining, which normally I love, but when you're feeling predisposed towards melancholy, only compounds things. Thank goodness there's been pudding.

The Recipe
1/4 c. Earth Balance
2/3 c. brown sugar
1 1/2 c. unsweetened soy milk
1 T. soy creamer
2 T. corn starch
2 T. extra-firm silken tofu
1 t. vanilla

In a saucepan over medium heat, melt margarine and brown sugar, stirring constantly. Let cool slightly while you whir the soy milk, creamer, cornstarch, and tofu in a blender until smooth. Stir the milk mixture into the marge mixture a little at a time. Return to heat and stir constantly until the mixture begins to bubble. Continue to stir over the heat for about a minute, until the mixture has thickened to just about pudding consistency (it will still firm up a bit in the fridge). Stir in vanilla. Pour into individual cups or bowls and chill for at least 2 hours. If you don't like a pudding skin on the top, then put a little round of parchment on the surface of each.

Serves 4. Unless you're me, in which case it's really best not to think about how much margarine you just consumed. But if you do get to thinking about how much margarine you just ate, then, by all means, make chocolate pudding to balance things out. It does not require nearly so much margarine because most of the fat just comes from the chocolate itself. I'm sure that will make you feel much better.

Have a great week. I hope there's some pudding in it.

The Margarita

In our house the margarita shifts and changes with whatever citrus we have on hand. Back when we lived at my grandma's with the meyer lemon tree out front, the margarita contained no traditional lime juice. Now that my citrus is coming from Thys' Ranch in Fallbrook via the Torrance Farmers' Market instead of the front yard, I have a mixture of various limes and lemons and oranges about. Reflecting that bounty, here is our current house blend:

The Mix:
4 oz. (1/2 c.) lime juice
4 oz. (1/2 c.) meyer lemon juice
1 oz. (2 Tbsp.) orange juice
3 oz. (6 Tbsp.) agave nectar
3 oz. (6 Tbsp.) simple syrup

Shake it. In a jar until blended. Makes enough for 6 margaritas.

The Margarita:
2 oz. mix
2 oz. tequila
1/2 oz. triple sec

Shake vigorously with ice. Serve on the rocks.

Cheers.