Hot Dogs, Sausages, and Bears, Oh My!

I have always been a fan of soy dogs, not-dogs or whatever they are called.  We also have a special pizza-treat every other weekend when we go to the Wedge Co-op. We had been using processed vegan cheese and vegan pepperoni. They barely have any flavor and have too many ingredients to count. Then I found a vegan cheese recipe and the fantastic book Vegan Brunch has sausages to die for. Except you won’t die from them, they are too good for you.

Sausages

1/2 C cooked pinto beans

1C vegetable broth (the leftover water from cooking seitan is perfect for these but any old veggie broth will do)

1T olive oil

2T soy sauce

2 minced garlic cloves or 1T garlic powder (adjust to taste of course)

1 1/4C vital wheat gluten (this is the magic ingredient)

1/4C nutritional yeast

1T oregano

1t red pepper flakes

1t paprika

a pinch of black pepper

either dump all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until the beans are mushed and you have a nice wet doughy mix   –OR– mash the beans in a mixing bowl, add all of the other ingredients and mix well.

Now you will need several squares of aluminum foil. They should be about 8-10 inches long and as wide as the roll.

Place about a 1/4C of mix on the foil (more if you want bigger sausages) and roll up the sausages then twist the ends like a tootsie roll. If it seems like overkill on the foil, you don’t want them to explode while they are cooking. Twist the ends good and place all of the sausages in a pot of boiling water. I use my biggest pot for these.

Boil/simmer (well it should bubble) for 1 hour. They will plump up and amaze you.

Serve em as is, slice ‘em for your pizza, chop  and add to anything.

HotDogs

1/4C cooked pinto beans

1C vegetable broth

1T olive oil

2T soy sauce

2T tomato paste

2t lemon zest, juice, etc.

2 minced garlic cloves or 1T dried garlic

1 1/4C vital wheat gluten

1/4 C nutritional yeast

1T curry powder (not the hottest kind, just curry flavor)

1T smoked paprika

1/4t cayenne – optional, just makes your mouth interesting

Follow the recipe the same way as the sausages, but of you use a processor, run it until the beans are smooth, hot dogs aren’t supposed to have any recognizable ingredients.

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