Breakast Sausage Gives Me Wings

There is a little historic hotel in Tucson with the best "sausage" in town. Hands down. I tend to get overly excited when I find real restaurants that offer coveted vegan delicacies, and I try to visit them as often as financially possible.  Realistically, I can't afford or reason to spend every weekend there (even if the Bloody Mary bar is incredible).  Therefore, I have spent many a weekend trying to mimic the flavors at home.  I have found that most vegan sausage calls for textured soy protein.  I'm not a huge fan of textured soy protein, and find that when I spend too much money on it, the next week I'm spending too much money on deep cleansing masques.  I have to really watch my soy intake in general for clear skin.  Therefore, I like to limit it to about twice a week, and get most of my protein from a variety of beans and nuts.

Alas, I found a breakfast sausage recipe that sounded so intriguing, I made it as soon as I had a free weekend available.   One of the main ingredients is vital wheat gluten, which is also used to make seitan. The texture reminded me of sausage, but not in a scary way.   The spices and maple syrup also made it taste spot on to what you associate with a breakfast sausage.  If you want a more savory flavor, leave out the maple syrup, and add some tobasco instead.  I also whipped up a Tofu "Egg" Scrambler and some savory hashbrowns with cumin, chili powder and cinnamon, which made for a lovely brunch with my sweetie (even without the Bloody Mary bar).  I found this recipe on VeganDad, and adapted it to what I had in my cabinet.

Makes for 5 large sausages

1/2 cup white kidney beans, soaked and rained

1 cup vegetable broth

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp lite soy sauce

1 tbsp pure maple syrup

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp cayenne

1/2 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp dried rosemary

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp fennel seeds

ground pepper to taste

1 1/4 cup vital wheat gluten

1. Set up a steamer, and allow time to boil.  Mash beans finely in a large bowl, until the beans appear pureed.  Add all ingredients into the bowl up until the vital wheat gluten.  Whisk together until all ingredients are fully incorporated.  Slowly spoon in the vital wheat gluten until it forms a dough. Need dough for a few minutes until you notice all of the spices appear throughout the dough.

2.  Form into sausages by rolling in your hand to form large sausages.  Spray a small section of tin foil with oil, place a sausage in the tin foil, roll it up, and twist at the ends like a tootsie roll.  Repeat this process until you have 5-6 sausages rolled snuggly in tin foil.