Veggie Sausage!

Tonight we launched our first full-scale veggie sausage attempt. Breakfast for dinner is one of my favorite meals (especially when I take naps after work until dinner) and we spend about $6/package for vegetarian sausage (esp. Field Roast's apple-smoked sage, yum). So tonight, we endeavored to transform Joe's famous "Hot Morning Jumble" from mashed beans in a clump, to beautiful little sausages, using our new meat grinder!

Veggie Sausage went something like 2 cans of black beans, 2 cups TVP (soaked) and 3/4 cup of cooked brown rice. We added a pinch of cornstarch, and a bunch of sage, salt and pepper. It went through the grinder once, and then again on the smallest setting and with the sausage stuffing attachment. It was actually pretty painless and quick, despite employing a hand-crank machine, because nothing has to cook (except the rice obviously, and it's great to use leftovers here since the process calls for so little).

It cooked up really nicely, and had a fair amount of flavor (though we might add vegetables or something next time to give it umph). I think maybe they were too heavy on the black beans though, because the mixture was very gummy. We might add a different type of thickener next time, and more of it, because they were sort of easily broken, and didn't hold shape that well under heat.

almond-ella and nectarines

Tonight I made a crazy dinner. As I was throwing together some red curry and rice, I came across some unsweetened baking chocolate powder. I almost wanted to throw some in the curry, that's how much I was craving chocolate in the moment when it caught my eye. But I restrained myself, remembering that I had gotten Joe a nectarine from the public market as a present. It would make a great desert somehow. And because the nectarine was battered and bruised by a couple novels in the tote bag I carried it in, I knew I wanted to cook them up a little. I never measure when I start throwing something together for the first time, so basically every ingredient should be added to taste, and with desired end consistency in mind.

Nutty Chocolatey Sauce

1/2 c soy milk
3 tbsp unsweetened baking chocolate
a bunch of brown sugar (2 tbsp? 3?)
1/4- 1/2 c almond butter
dash o salt

Put the soy milk in a saucepan and turn the heat to low.

Add the baking chocolate. Taste here because most soy milk has some sweetener in it, and soy milk is naturally a little sweet. Then add as much brown sugar as you want. I added some sea salt here because of a recent episode of Modern Family which featured chocolate milk (I think that show is kind of hilarious, but I'm not sure if I should), and it really brought out the rich chocolatey flavor.

Add the almond butter. The sauce should thicken up as the almond butter melts, and it will thicken more after you take it off the heat, so keep a close eye on consistency.


Meanwhile chop some nectarines, and put a frying pan on low heat. I sauteed my nectarines in butter (starting when the almond butter begins melting in the sauce) with ginger powder and nutmeg. I think nectarines are juicy enough you could just fry them in their own juice, esp. on a non-stick pan.

I also toasted a piece of French bread while the fruit cooked. I put the bread on the bottom of a bowl, added the nectarines, and drizzled sauce over. It was reminiscent of a cobbler or a waffle-style set-up. The chocolate sauce was a million times better than nutella, and made with stuff I always have lying around.