Sausage, Pepper, & Onion Hoagie

The faux meat products in the vegan aisle are increasing in numbers and while I seldom venture into experimenting with them, I do occasionally purchase something just to see if it tastes like the real thing. I'm usually disappointed. For while the vegan meats are alright, few reach my standard of what tastes like the real thing.

As I did last week, I want to introduce you to a product that is new to me and which will now always be in my refrigerator. While I've tried other vegan sausages and been disappointed, I cooked up some of this sausage and did the happy dance all over the kitchen.

First off, I cut off a good portion of the sausage roll, flattened it into a patty and cooked it over low heat so it would get hot all the way through. All I added to it was salt and pepper. Doggone, it smelled like sausage, looked like sausage and tasted like sausage. I was a happy camper. I made myself some toast, spread it with jam, poured myself a fresh cup of coffee, and sat down to what, in my world, is called breakfast.

The next night I decided to make sausage, pepper, and onion hoagies. I even fed them to some friends who stopped by. We all made pigs of ourselves. The sausage is so perfectly seasoned that all I added was a pinch of fennel seeds to the stir fry pot and then scooped all that deliciousness onto some warm, crusty hoagie rolls. I served a side of fresh fruit and called it good.

SAUSAGE, PEPPER, & ONION HOAGIES

Break the sausage roll into small pieces and fry in 1 Tbs. of olive oil. Don't use a cooking spray. The sausage needs the oil to brown up and give the faux meat the mouth feel of real sausage. Set the sausage aside.

Slice:

2 red bell peppers

2 green bell peppers

1 large onion of your choice

1 zucchini--just because I had it and it needed to be used

Salt and pepper to taste

Stir fry in the same pan you used to cook the sausage. I used a bit of vegetable stock to help with the stir fry so the ingredients wouldn't stick to the pan.

Add the sausage back into the skillet. Add in a pinch of fennel seeds if desired. Cook everything together for about 5 minutes. 

Scoop the mixture into crusty rolls and enjoy. You'll need a good supply of napkins. These things are messy. But they sure are good.

Serves 3

Vegans are always on the lookout for something new to try

Once A Week Vegan wants to state that we do not advertise on this site, nor do we receive free products to try and write about. Any product written about in this blog was personally purchased and our reviews are forthright and represent the blogger's personal opinion.

Clean Out The Frig Stir Fry

This stir fry is so good
it can be eaten as is
or with the teriyaki
sauce poured over top.

I love nearly every ethnic cuisine. You've seen me post veganized Mexican and Italian dishes but not many Asian ones. I particularly learned to appreciate Asian food when we had a Filipina nurse who took care of my husband with his advanced Parkinson's Disease. She is likely one of the best nurse/cooks we ever employed. Her recipes were awesome. Little wonder. Her mom is a caterer in the Philippines and whenever Maryann wasn't sure of an ingredient, she'd call her mom for advice.

I learned much just by watching as she stirred things together. So yesterday, when I decided I once again needed to use up leftover things hiding in the frig's deep recesses, I purposely put an Asian twist on them by doing no more than creating a sauce that screamed Chinese, Japanese, or Philippine. At least that's my opinion. Whatever I named it, the resultant product was decidedly delicious--or so the people I served it to said. Let me know what you think.

VEGGIE, SEITAN, AND TOFU STIR FRY

Boil 2 cups of water or vegetable stock in a saucepan. Add 1 cup of jasmine rice. I used white because I was out of brown. Bring everything back to a boil, cover, turn the burner to its lowest point and  let the rice steam for 15 minutes. DO NOT PEEK. Lifting the cover will destroy the steam build up that will cook the rice. Follow these instructions and you will end up with fluffy rice that's soft and tender. This recipe works every time. You do not need the expense of a rice cooker.

Prepare the rest of the ingredients for stir frying.

1 cup carrots, cut into bite sized pieces

1 cup broccoli florets, in bite sized pieces

1 cup of sugar snap peas, left whole

3 green onions, chopped, both green and white parts

1/2 cup seitan, cut into bite size pieces

1/2 cup extra firm tofu, cut into bite size pieces

1/2 of a small jalapeno, diced, seeds and ribs removed

1/2 of a small red bell pepper, cut into bite sized pieces

Stir fry the above ingredients in 4 Tbs. neutral oil in a large wok or skillet, adding the vegetables in order of their cook time. I began with the carrots and added the rest in increments, ending with the seitan and tofu. Cook the mixture till everything is lightly brown. To serve, put a large amount of rice in a bowl, top with the stir-fry ingredients. Drizzle the sauce over the top, as much or as little as you like.

TERIYAKI SAUCE

Into a small bowl, put:

1 Tbs. corn starch

1/2 cup water

Mix together and set aside.

Mix together in a small saucepan:

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup vegetable stock

1/2 cup mirin

1 tsp. fresh ginger, grated

1 garlic clove, grated 

1/4 cup agave nectar as a replacement for honey

Place the saucepan on a burner and bring to a low boil. Add the corn starch slurry, beating as you add it in. Continue stirring until the sauce thickens. Don't leave it unattended or you'll have a lumpy teriyaki sauce. Place the sauce in a gravy bowl so those who want it can pour on the desired amount. 

Serves 2

You can use any vegetables hanging out in the refrigerator. I added the seitan and tofu because it was there and needed to be used. It was a good choice because the stir fry had the mouth feel of meat in it.

Vegan in New Zealand

Since New Zealanders call themselves and their money kiwis, I was determined to see one while I was there. I quickly found out not only are they endangered and extremely rare, but they live deep within the forests and only come out to forage for grubs at night. I couldn't imagine myself traipsing alone in the wilderness with night vision goggles, so here is a picture of one taxidermied in the Domain Museum. I hope this doesn't offend vegan pacifists. We'll never know if this bird suffered when it died. I was impressed with their size though. Like a big chicken or rooster. Another interesting fact, their breast bone is flat, allowing no air born wings to attach themselves there as with all other birds.

We flew direct from LA to Auckland (12 hours and pictured below, right). My companion's sister and hubby picked us up and took us to stay at their place, in the Mount Albert neighborhood. Most everyone I was with were ova-lacto vegetarians. The first meal Nick made us fooled me into thinking they were gourmet cooks. As it turned out, he bought frozen soy "chicken " nuggets which he fried and skewered on sticks. Heated up canned peanut Thai satay sauce to go with. He pan fried ready to serve udon noodles with another store bought jar of pad Thai mixed in. We were hungry and it was delicious. Later when I offered to cook, I noticed they didn't even keep fresh garlic on hand! It is always fun to check out foreign markets, in your home country but especially abroad. I got familiar with their corner grocer pretty quick and delighted with Lim's Asian market a few blocks away. On the way to Lim's there was a Vegetarian grocer as well. Down their hill, a yummy organic breakfast house, Trinity of Silver beckoned us more than once.

I was very fortunate to have a friend to visit way up north, with whom I spent 5 days with at the bay of Hourhora, a very small village. They started out in 1974 as fisherman and women. Then they got into Avocado farming. Now they are in semi-retirement, which worked great for me. After showing me the northern most tip of their country, pictured below, they took me to Ninety Mile Beach, which everyone drives on. Think of Pismo Beach, Ca on steroids. Vast hard sand, large surf from the Tasman Sea, usually windy too. They cooked every night. When I offered to take them out to dinner, they laughed. The only take away (take out) in their village wasn't worthy of their interest. The nearest town was a 20 minute drive south to Kaitaia and since I couldn't offer to drive, (I'm not brave enough to rent a car when they drive on the other side of the road from us) it made perfect sense to hang in and enjoy the local fare. We dined on the local yams, and salad with fish and meats. they used to be vegetarians when they were young hippies, but that was a long time ago. They grow their own herbs and summer veggies like tomatoes, but August is winter down under. We ate a really lovely and easy cabbage salad that lasted several days in the fridge.

Cabbage Salad

Cabbage 1/2 head

carrots 2-3

one red bell pepper

one apple

a couple of sprigs mint (or cilantro or parsley)

1 tablespoon olive oil

the juice of one lemon or lime

Garnish with avocado slices (optional)

Shred finely the cabbage. Grate the carrots. Chop the red bell, apple, and fresh herb into small pieces. Throw into a large bowl. Add the oil and juice and toss together. Garnish with thin avocado slices. So refreshing and delicious!