The Tree and Veggie Sausage

It is that last week of November, when the flurry of having Thanksgiving co-exists with the beginning preparations for Christmas at our house. Every year, I seem to have pumpkins, corn, autumn leaves, and the Christmas tree all decorating my house during this last week of November. I’ve learned through the years though, that if I don’t start pulling out the decorations from the attic on the Friday following Thanksgiving, our family gathered for Thanksgiving misses putting “their” ornaments on the tree. I get excited about re-visiting every ornament as it is brought out of the box. Each story of how… or when…or where…gets re-told as it ceremoniously is hung on a branch.

Even the dogs help…or better yet…

 sleep as we decorate!

Some families have very posh, designer trees right out of a magazine. I think these coordinated trees are very beautiful. Our tree is not one of those trees. Our tree is simple, ordinary, 

but OUR living history.

 A remembrance of people we have known.

A treasured collection of creations crafted by our children’s hands.

Our tree holds now 29 years worth of memories.

It is the most beautiful tree to me in the entire world! We all stand back when we are finished and "oooo" and "ahhh"!!

Then we go outside once it gets dark and view it from the street. The white lights twinkle 

through the picture window!

We then eat breakfast. Don’t you just love breakfast?? I LOVE eating breakfast for supper. Unless it is the weekend, or a holiday, we never have a big breakfast. Yes, I know it is the most important meal of the day, but we always just have simple breakfast meals, so to go all out and fix a big breakfast meal is a treat! Here was our menu: pumpkin waffles with apple cider/cranberry syrup, fried apples, tofu scramble, and “sausage”. I was again STUFFED!  I rationalized how hard we had worked carrying boxes down from the attic, putting up the tree, and exerting ourselves out of our usual Post-Thanksgiving prone position. I enjoyed every bite!! I told you I would share with you my sausage recipe. Here it is for your upcoming holiday breakfasts to come, or to use in other recipes in your entertaining days ahead. It makes great sausage balls, stuffed mushrooms, or to use to make my meatball recipe instead of the 

pre-made sausage.

To be honest with you, I said a little prayer to my grandfather Mohler (my mother’s father) when I created this sausage. He was a sausage maker by trade. He worked in a meat packing plant in Fort Smith, Arkansas and his recipe was never written down. A loss…probably one of the reasons I am writing down my recipes. I ate his sausage as a young girl every time we visited him and that spicy taste is still in my mind. I always remembered the red pepper flakes and so this has that same kick. If you don’t like things as spicy, just back off on the pepper, but it is really good and so much like his sausage – without the meat! Thanks, Grandpa Mohler!! (He looked just like Santa without the beard…

REALLY :-))

It seems a bit…well…overwhelming to make your own sausage, BUT in timing this, it goes together in 15 minutes. Cooks in just 14 to 16 minutes, so really you have no excuse to say making this sausage takes too much time! It is quicker than you think...and so worth it!!!

Veggie Sausage:

1 Cup TVP (Textured vegetable protein) 

(This is found near the dried beans in our grocery store –  Bob’s Red Mill brand)

1(scant) Cup boiling unsalted vegetable broth 

(I just heat broth for 1 minute in microwave oven)

(Allow TVP to absorb liquid while getting additional ingredients together)

1 15 oz. can of pinto beans (drain and rinse)

1 T. of vegetable broth

2 T. olive oil

1 T. maple syrup

1/8 tsp. liquid smoke

(Place all of the beans and liquids in food processor and process until smooth. Scrape sides down and process again to achieve a smooth consistency)

Add the beans to re-hydrated TVP.

The seasoning to make all of this taste like “sausage”!!!

(I know it looks like a lot of different herbs and spices, but you are making sausage out of vegetables so…TRUST me!! These are seasonings you should have on hand at all times, but especially during the Holidays!!

1 tsp. rubbed dried sage

1 tsp. poultry seasoning

1 tsp. dried basil

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. onion salt

1 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. fennel seed – (grind in mortar and pestle)

½ tsp. black ground pepper

½ tsp. red pepper flakes 

(again you can back off the pepper if you choose – but I highly recommend the heat if you can – sooo good!)

Mix  the spices into the mixture to distribute evenly.

½ cup vital gluten 

(This is used in bread making – found in the section with flour and yeast in our grocery store and also what is used to make seitan…wheat meat)

Mix vital gluten into the mixture.

Dust bench or counter with additional unbleached all purpose flour and knead lightly. Knead this mixture for 3 minutes or so to develop the gluten strands. I keep dusting with flour and scraping with bench scraper. The technique is like making bread. I use (depending on day and moisture in the air) about ¼ cup of all purpose unbleached flour to knead the veggie sausage.

The veggie sausage becomes firmer to the touch and I roll it into a log. The diameter is up to you, but I usually make it about 2 to 2 ½ inch diameter…like a roll of pork sausage.

Wrap in wax paper like a giant caramel – yum!

Refrigerate until you are ready to cook. With it chilled, you can slice it like pork sausage into small patties. You can also use it right away and the slices are a little more organic in shape. I do think the texture improves if given a bit of chilling time.

When ready to cook – pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees

Place a couple of Tablespoons of oil into a non-stick skillet. Allow oil to get hot and then place patties into the hot oil. Brown 2 to 3 minutes on each side.

A nice crust will be formed, but the middle will still be a bit soft and not completely hot, SO…place patties on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 10 minutes. If your skillet is oven-proof (and handles) you can drain grease and place skillet in oven. It is important that the grease is removed or the bottom of the patty will continue to brown and be too overly browned…learned the hard way…that is what I am here for… to help you not make my mistakes - hehe! I place veggie sausage patties on a baking sheet and then use that flavored veggie sausage oil to make the tofu scramble, but that is just what I do…you do as you wish.

The patties will become firm in the middle, hot, and ready to add to your breakfast meal in 10 minutes!!!

I started off this week’s blog by talking about putting up our tree. I want to share with you my gift today (my Christmas a..ha…moment) as I walked with our dog Grace and my neighbor from across the street. We walk almost every morning and last year about this time when we walked, we noticed a little tree in a yard in our neighborhood. It looked just like a Charlie Brown Christmas Tree. The little tree was crying out to be decorated. The tree just needed a little LOVE. So each morning when we walked, my neighbor and I took turns taking an ornament and placing it anonymously on the little tree. It was so much fun to sneak the ornament onto the tree. Day by day, the little Charlie Brown tree looked better and better. As Christmas day came near, my neighbor added a tree skirt just like Linus adding his security blanket in the story and the look was complete. Well, to our amazement, this morning – the little tree was decked out with our cast off ornaments and looking like a real Christmas tree!

Is it not the perfect Charlie Brown tree???

On Sunday, we lit the first candle on our Advent wreath that is in the center of our dining room table. This first candle is the candle of Hope. Each evening we light this single candle and have a reading.

So all of this has been dancing in my head today. I guess the little Charlie Brown tree decorated today was my sign of Hope for the Day! Like Charlie in the Christmas story, I was drawn to a baby tree, a real tree! It represents for me today the Hope of Christmas. What is the baby tree in your life that needs a little love??

Thoughtful living moment today: Even the smallest acts of love done in the past are not forgotten. They return and remind us that Hope is REAL! 

 May Hope be your word this week too! 

Look for a tree!

Tis the Season for Stuffing and Gratitude

It is the week of Thanksgiving! I don’t know where the month of November went, but it is about over. It is that time when not only Santa is checking lists, but I am too. Let’s face it!  In the next 8 weeks, our lives revolve around FOOD.  Extended family dinners, parties, parties, and parties and - I LOVE IT! I find myself, however, wanting to stuff everything (besides myself)! Maybe it is because the leaves have all come down on the ground, and the streets are over-flowing with mounds.

I know...leaves…food??? Sorry, I see food in everything – no kidding. I was filling the tarp as I raked and thought, ooooo I need to make burritos, or crepes, or stuffed peppers, or…????

Maybe it’s because for some bizarre reason, I associate stuffed foods with abundance. I wonder how much was stuffed by the Pilgrims at that Thanksgiving back in 1621? My preoccupation with mounds and stuffing this week brings to mind a recipe for savory stuffed apples.

I am lucky enough to live close to the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountain Parkway and the apples are…well delicious doesn’t even describe well enough the sweet, yet tart, crunch that only a freshly picked apple brings to your tongue from this part of the world. About six weeks ago, we woke up and it was one of those perfect early autumn mornings. We looked at each other, harnessed up the pugs and got into the car to go apple picking.

The apple of choice this day was Winesap and quickly our basket filled with the most beautiful apples.

An orchard is a magical place for me – I really didn’t want to leave. But the thought of a cider slushy got me out of the orchard and down to the barn. Yum! Look at that blue sky…that’s how we got Carolina blue...at least that is the story told here!!!!! 

Well I’ve stored these apples in the garage refrigerator – kept them cool and dark. It is amazing how long apples will last. I’ve savored each bite and I am now down to the last few just in time for my Thanksgiving stuffed apples. This is a savory stuffed apple and it makes a great presentation on the Thanksgiving buffet table, but we also have them BEFORE Thanksgiving because I use the stuffing ingredients and “sausage” during the Thanksgiving eat fest that continues through the weekend – haha!! Really... since all of the ingredients are out in preparation of the Thanksgiving Day Feast and all you think about is the Thanksgiving day meal, you might as well fix something to eat NOW that uses those same ingredients. The norm is that I am so busy cooking for that one meal, there is nothing to eat three days ahead – UNLESS – I cheat and use parts that I am already using…I know brilliant!!! Don’t tell my family! You know… while you are sautéing onions and celery for the dressing, just pull out ¼ cup for this recipe. OR, use the leftover stuffing from your Thanksgiving meal and make these AFTER Thanksgiving when you have a day of decorating or shopping.

Preface to recipe:

For Thanksgiving, our dressing is made with both cornbread and a dark, whole grained bread. I make my own cornbread (will post that in the near future) I dry these breads in a low 200 degree oven until they are dry and firm to the touch. I use this combination of bread to make these stuffed apples, but you can use your own combination of bread, but I highly encourage the cornbread crumbles!! The same goes for the sausage. I make my own now, but will give you that recipe next post as it goes with decorating the Christmas tree on Black Friday morning….ooooooo. Long story – not so short – use bread of your choice and meatless sausage of your choice or...a meat sausage if that is your choice.

Savory, Stuffed Apples:

(This small amount just makes four apples, so increase as needed for your family)

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

1 cup cornbread (dry cornbread crumbles)

½ cup dark, multi-grained bread dried and firm to touch

¼ cup finely chopped onion and celery sautéed in earth balance

(if you aren’t making dressing just use 2 T. of onion and 2T. of celery and sauté in 1 T. of earth balance until translucent)

½ cup vegan sausage browned in 2 T. of olive oil until crispy and brown

(I know it sounds like a lot of oil, but you need that in order for the meatless sausage to brown well and there is no animal fat in this, so don’t worry too much about the oil)

Season with:

¼ tsp. of rubbed sage

¼ tsp. of poultry seasoning

1 1/2 tsp. of dried basil

1 T. of finely chopped parsley

2 T. of finely chopped pecans

2 T. of dried cranberries

2 T. of ground flax seed dissolved in 2 T. of almond milk (or non-dairy milk of

        your choice)

½ cup of vegetable broth – plus a touch more if needed

salt and pepper to taste (remember you can taste safely as nothing is raw or "dangerous" ;-))

Mix everything well to combine. After you have prepped the apples make sure the mixture is moist enough to clump together. If dry, after hollowing out the apples, add a little more broth as needed. Clumpy, not soupy!

Prep apples as follows while the liquids are absorbed into the bread and seasoning. Wash the apples well. Cut off a small piece off the bottom of the apple, so that the apple will be stable and not tip over in your baking dish.

Now slice off a small slice from the top, stem end. Using a small scoop or spoon, carefully hollow out a cavity inside the apple. Leave ¼ inch (or a bit more) border and don’t go too deeply into the apple or you will go through the bottom.

Fill each apple cavity, mounding up the stuffing (like my leaf piles…hehe – told you!!)

Dot each apple with earth balance.

Pour 1/3 cup of vegetable broth around the bottom of the apples to create a seasoned sauna.

Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and baste apples with the broth. Bake apples another 15 minutes or until the apples are tender and filling is browned.

I baste the apples again right before serving, the broth is reduced significantly, so just divide the remaining broth among the apples to be served and spoon the broth over the stuffing.

I served these stuffed apples tonight with roasted butternut squash with fresh rosemary and creamed spinach. It was Pre-Thanksgiving on a plate – Yum, Yum!

I wish for all of you a true day of Thanksgiving on Thursday! May gratitude be the food of choice and thus bring an abundance of blessings to each of your tables and hearts!

Thoughtful moment today: Abundance is a perceived experience…so...gratefully look for the many large and small blessings in your life and then maybe too…choose a smaller plate!!!

           

“Come ye thankful people come!”

Peanut Soup? Think Colonial Williamsburg

What a week it has been! I visited Colonial Williamsburg for the first time for my 50^th (no comments please) birthday and it was one of those magical moments in time that I will remember forever. It was truly a time travel experience to journey back to our American beginnings in eighteenth century style.

We had so much fun staying in one of the colonial houses. Yes, I pretended it was ours, however, the kitchen was missing or I would have moved in permanently – really - ADORABLE.

We did the checklist for first-time guests and I still could do it again as there is so much to see and take in. We did the ghost walk on the misty night of the 10^th and see for yourself…we were not alone – hehe!!!

So we ate some really wonderful food, but the one thing I was so curious about was the peanut soup. They serve it in the taverns in the Historic Area of Williamsburg and yet I knew it had been made with milk and butter, so I didn’t try it…till I came home and made up my version of peanut soup. 

This WILL be our first course in a few weeks for Thanksgiving. It is so yummy and a different thing to serve, unless you are from Virginia and have eaten it all your life. Mine is spiced up a bit, but I think you will enjoy it as much as we did as we re-lived our Williamsburg Trip. The natural peanut butter I used in the recipe came from The Peanut Shop of Williamsburg in Merchants Square. It is so good and contains only peanuts and a little salt, but no sugar. I know you probably won’t have this particular peanut butter, but just choose a natural peanut butter that doesn’t have any added sugar. You also can go online and order peanuts and peanut butter from The Peanut Shop of Williamsburg – easy and good for your Christmas and Holiday gifts – I get nothing for plugging – just a great product and I love quality products to cook with and eat!!

Here’s my peanut soup:

3 T. of Earth Balance (vegan buttery spread)

1 small onion

2 small carrots

1 rib celery

2 small cloves of garlic

Sweat these in large saucepan or Dutch oven on medium high heat until vegetables are soft and just starting to caramelize a bit.

Add:

32 oz. of vegetable stock (no salt added if possible – I like to control that myself…ok so maybe I do like to control some things in my life now that I am 50!!)

Let the vegetables simmer in the stock for 25 to 30 minutes

Strain out the veggies and you can use these for another recipe…ummm like veggie patties or another soup. You could leave them in, but I wanted that smooth, velvety bisque like texture so I strained them out. I did use the back of my spoonula to smash them through the strainer a bit to get some of the color and goodness into the stock.

I added 1 cup of creamy all natural peanut butter to the pot. The peanut butter will need to be stirred a bit as it separates and you want the solid goodness going into the soup and not just the oil - :) After stirring measure and then whisk into the hot stock and don’t worry if it looks like it is breaking a bit, as it warms everything gets smooth and delicious.

Now add the seasoning:

¼ tsp. garlic powder – what can I say I like garlic

¼ tsp. cayenne – a little zip to the taste buds

¼ tsp. of onion salt – remember no other salt

1 T. of jalapeno vinegar juice (I always have sliced jarred jalapenos in my refrigerator and this is a nice acid to use because it has added flavor – feel free to use another acid like pickle juice or white vinegar would even work fine. It is just a good way to use that jarred juice and it is a very colonial idea to waste not.) Whisk in all of these seasonings well.

Bring the soup to a simmer and then whisk in 1 cup of soy creamer – this adds a rich smooth creaminess instead of whipping cream or half-n-half

Let soup get good and hot and then ladle into mugs or bowls. I garnished with some chopped peanuts and fresh parsley. I served a fresh herb and mixed greens salad topped with grapes, apples, chopped dates, and walnuts with a red wine vinegar/walnut oil vinaigrette. Add some whole grain bread and you have a filling meal or serve the soup alone as a first course on Thanksgiving like we will;-)

  

Thanks Williamsburg for the inspiration. I will be back!!!

Thoughtful living moment today: Looking back at our history as a Nation and as a People, gives us the gift of inspiration and gratitude. Be inspired! Be grateful!