How To Choose the Best Vegan Sausage

One of the best things about going vegan these days is that you can find substitutes for your former-favorite foods. And, not only can you find vegan cheeses and meats, you often have a selection of brands and flavors.

However, not all vegan meats are created equal. Upon tasting, some clearly rise above the rest. And, it's important to know which ones, because you deserve to enjoy your food (especially when many of these products cost $4 - $5 per package - who wants to spend all of their time and money figuring out which one is best?).

This week, Slate published a review of three of the most popular, nationally-distributed brands of vegan sausage - Tofurky, Lightlife, and Field Roast.

Click to read the full review and find out which product won this taste test - and which one you should pick up before your next BBQ:

Taste-testing vegan sausage - which fake meat is best?

LET US KNOW: Do you agree with Slate's review? What's your favorite vegan sausage?

Recipes: Vegan Sushi

Yesterday, Stephanie shared her visit to Organic Lives cafe with us. Today, I'm excited to share her recipes for homemade sushi with you.

Now, I'm still a bit intimidated by the idea of rolling my own sushi. I just have visions of it not coming together, or falling apart as soon as I think it's actually holding. But, these recipes are inspiring me to try - and, if you've got suggestions on rolling sushi, please share a comment below!

Photo credit: Stephanie Falcos

Stephanie's Homemade Vegan Sushi

Makes four rolls

Ingredients:

7 medium mushrooms

⅔ medium cucumber (seeded)

2 medium carrots

½ cup alfalfa sprouts

1 red bell pepper

1 small avocado

8 dried seaweed sheets

Handful, organic greens

Organic stone-ground mustard

Organic tamari sauce

Kelp powder *optional

Agave nectar *optional

Roll #1:

1. Chop 3 mushrooms and toss in food processor with 1 tsp tamari sauce and a touch of agave. Process until the mix has a grain- like texture.

2. Roll on 1 seaweed sheet with alfalfa, carrots, red pepper, and cucumber. Wait several minutes, and roll in another sheet of seaweed. (I do this because if not eaten right away, the mushroom makes the sushi wet, and hard to cut.)

3. Top with mustard.

Rolls #2 and #3:

1. Slice 4 mushrooms and marinate in tamari and agave for 20 minutes. Roll with carrot-beet pate (see below), alfalfa, and additional carrots.

2. Wait several minutes, and roll in another sheet of seaweed to make it easier to cut.

Click here for the Carrot-Beet Pate recipe.

Roll #4:

1. Slice avocado, and roll with cucumber, red pepper, and lettuce. (I topped mine with kelp powder.)

2. You may not have to roll this one twice. Test how moist it is, and cut away!

Veganized Recipe: Roasted Asparagus Soup (Six ingredients, five minutes)

Inspired by a series of asparagus-related tweets, I was moved to do something with the lovely spring asparagus in my fridge today.

I've made one-pot, multi-step, asparagus soup recipes before. But, these recipes have long time gaps between sauteeing the onions and adding the asparagus, leaving me standing in kitchen, filling my time by rearranging my oils and adding dishes to the dishwasher, one by one.

So, I was delighted when I found this incredibly simple asparagus soup recipe today - it basically boils down to chop, roast, and blend - and adapted it to be vegan.

Added bonus - this recipe calls for roasting the asparagus. I love how roasting adds depth to my butternut squash soup, and a soulful quality to my red pepper hummus. Here, it adds an earthiness that layers beautifully with the lightness of the asparagus.

Recipe: Roasted Asparagus Soup
Adapted from Pictures and Pancakes

4 cups, coarsely chopped asparagus
3 cloves garlic, smashed
1 small onion, chopped
1 tbsp., olive oil
1 1/2 cups, vegetable stock
1/2 cup, soy milk
salt & pepper


Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Mix the asparagus, garlic, onion, and olive oil in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Spread the mixture onto a baking sheet.
Roast for 20 minutes.
Transfer the roasted mixture to a blender.
Add the stock and soy milk.
Puree until smooth.
Add salt and pepper, if necessary.
Serve and enjoy!

Veganizing Cake Pops (Even Non-Bakers Can Make Them!)

Cake pops have become something of an obsession for me.



I like eating cupcakes. But, the craze doesn't really drive me to make them all the time.


Cake pops - chocolate-dipped, just-right bites of moist cake, sitting on the tops of lollipop sticks, inspiring the child inside of you - however, are a different story.


I love to cook, but I am not a baker. When I saw the kitchn's recipe for cake pops, however, I had to veganize them. I ordered a sifter, cake pan, and lollipop sticks from Amazon, and got to work on my plan. The timing couldn't have been more perfect - Seattle's Bake Sale for Japan was right around the corner.


Now, I'll let you in on a little secret - I backed out of all the precise measuring, sifting, etc., that baking requires, and used a box mix for the cake portion. But, if you've ever tried Cherrybrook Kitchen's vegan cake mixes, you would wholeheartedly support my decision. Especially, if you're more of a cook than baker - this mix will make you look good.


And here's how it went:


I started by baking the chocolate cake, according to the box directions. If you're braver than I am, you can use your favorite chocolate cake recipe, in place of my shortcut.


I let the cake cool completely. Then, came the fun part. In a large bowl, I broke the entire cake down into crumbs, with my hands. You know, like how one-year-olds are expected to do with their birthday cakes?
In a separate bowl, I whipped together:

• 8 ounces of Tofutti cream cheese, softened
• 2 cups of confectioner's sugar
• 4 tablespoons of Earth Balance vegan butter, at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon of soy milk (and perhaps a little more when necessary)

Then, I mixed this creamy mixture into the cake crumbs (again, with my fingers!), until the two were completely combined, and I was left with this moist cake mixture (the last of which, you can see here):



I covered the mixture and refrigerated it for an hour, to firm it up. But, you can keep it refrigerated for a couple of days, also.
Time to start making the balls. I used a spoon to help me measure out equal portions of the cake mixture. I rolled each spoonful into a ball, and placed it on a baking sheet, covered with parchment paper.



I stuck the lollipop sticks in. And, then I stuck the tray in the freezer for 10 minutes, while I prepared the dipping chocolate and toppings.


To me, this was an important step - one of the issues with cake pops is that the cake ball can easily come off the lollipop stick. Freezing these for a few minutes helped me keep them together during the dipping.





I melted 12 oz. of vegan chocolate chips in a double boiler on the stove. I stirred the chocolate to keep it smooth, and then one at a time, dipped each cake pop in, until covered. Pulling it out, I covered each cake pop in coconut flakes or vegan sprinkles, (you can use any topping really - nuts, mini M&Ms, mini-marshmallows, colored sugar, etc.), and then returned the cake pop to the parchment paper to harden.





You'll eventually have a beautiful assortment, like such:





The first time you make them, not all of the cake pops will be perfect. (See below.) However, because I couldn't sell this, it was just for me. :)


 


And, then, I packged them, and took them off to Cake Spy in Seattle, where we raised $3,100 for the earthquake and tsunami relief efforts!











(Can you see my cake pops? They're on the right, over the blue card...!)


LET US KNOW: Have you tried making vegan cake pops? How did yours turn out? Any suggestions you'd offer?

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