Vegan Sausages

One of my favorite things to make is seitan, or one of the its many variations. My evil plan is to make some no-fat added sausages, but I had to try out some other versions first. My favorite recipe turns out to be these, via Vegan Dad (from the PPK blog, but I couldn't find the recipe there).


I served these with mashed potatoes, sage gravy, and garlic collard greens. I found that the key to a perfect sausage-like texture is to steam them very slowly. The recipe calls for 40 minutes of steaming, but I did mine for an hour, and I made sure that the water was not ever at a rolling boil. I also turned them once to make sure the cooking was even. I was so excited to eat these, that I forgot that I was going brown them first.

Look for a no fat added version to come. (I'm thinking apple-sage flavored)

Notes: For the sage gravy, I left out the oil, an sauteed the veggies in broth. While I was attempting to make the roux, I keep adding broth, until I gave up and just added the rest of the ingredients. It was not as thick I would have liked it, so I added tablespoon of arrowroot powder dissolved in water to thicken the gravy up. This recipe is a keeper!

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Sloppy Lentils

Ok, this is a dish I make all the time, and it's different everytime. This time I sauteed onions, garlic, celery and green pepper; added two cups of cooked lentils and a can of seasoned chili beans; and finally some BBQ sauce and Dijon mustard (1/2 cup and 2 tablespoons respectively). We ate this with brown rice, roasted potatoes and a spinach salad.


I always find that "from the pantry" improv recipes so satisfying!

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Greek Feast

Th past weekend I cooked up a trio of Greek recipes that I have had my eyes on for awhile. This was a departure from the McDougall MWL diet we have been on, but it was still pretty low in fat. The only added fat in the entire meal was some tahini in the hummus, and I stuck to the recipe and used pasta in the black-eyed pea dish, which is verboten on MWL plan. Pics and links:

Rachael Ray's Greek Hummus

This came up in a search for "Greek hummus," and was very good. Next time I make it I will half the tahini and without the olives. I felt that the overall dish was too salty, and until I reach my ideal weight, I can do without the extra fat in the olives.

Note on food network commenters: many said Ms. Rachael added EVOO to the hummus on her show, but it is not in her recipe. It doesn't need the oil, but I suppose Ms. Rachael wouldn't be able to make a dish without saying EVOO at least once. For more on food network commenters, see this post on Healthy. Happy. Life.

Black-eyed Peas and Pasta

Greek Baked Lima Beans

These I found via JamirR's thread in the Food & Recipe forum on the McDougall discussion board. In both recipes I left out the all of the oil, but if you are skinny you can use some (the recipes call for a lot). I find it odd that two recipes in the NY Times series "Recipes For Health" would be dreanched in olive oil.

Recipe notes:

For the black-eyed pea recipe, I used orzo pasta, and too much water. It turned out to stew-like in consistancy, but still very good.

In the Lima bean recipe, I used agave nectur instead of honey, and only about half of what the recipe calls for.

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Mexi Millet

Thanks to for The Ordinary Vegetarian and happyveganface leading me to this tasty and simple recipe. Check out their versions!


My version used the whole jalapeño (because I like it hot) and a can of tomatoes instead of a big juicy raw one (because I can't ever seem to make a grocery list that correctly reflects the needs of the recipes I plan to make during the week). Nevertheless, it was a great meal, both as a salad (as pictured), and as a burrito filling (not pictured, because I was hungry).

-A note about the photo, taken with my iPhone. It's horrible, and I'm to lazy to do anything about it.

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Saturday breakfast

One of my favorite lazy weekend breakfast treats is the Apple Spice Oatmeal from Fatfree Vegan Kitchen. It's a nice change from the quick oats I eat every other day, and has a nice sweetness to it without too much added sugar (I always add 2 teaspoons of brown sugar per bowl). The recipe states that it serves two, but I always eat it all up myself!


In other news, I weighed in today, and since January 5th, I have lost 17 lbs! I am very pleased. Five pounds of that was probably holiday weight, but the rest is pounds off the normal weight I had been carrying for the last couple of years. I must say, it really helps to be cooking for someone, it's keeping me on track. My dad has lost 10 lbs so far, and he is now looking to to reach the weight he was at when he graduated from high school, not bad for a man in his 60s!

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Red Posole

Dinner:


This was my first attempt at posole, a traditional Mexican corn stew intended to be enjoyed on special occasions. When I lived New Mexico, it was often on resturant menus, but I never got to enjoy it because it usually contained pork.

This recipe is straight out of the McDougall newsletter, created by vegan chef Jesse Miner.

I loved the hominy, an ingrediant that will use again, but I sadly did not have any New Mexican chili powder (I used ancho instead), so the stew lacked some kick. I would definately make this again, but will spice it up some next time.

On another note, this is my first blog in a long time, hope to keep the food coming!

(thanks to comments from Valerie and Sarah for kick-starting my blog)

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