Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Roasted Polenta and Sausages

Yesterday was another beautiful day and I managed to fit in both a run and a short bike ride. The reason for doubling-up was that I felt super crappy on my run and ended up only going about 2.5 miles. I blame the weekend diet of chips and salsa, though running at high noon probably didn't help. Anyway, I did make this wonderful pomegranate green tea with lemon and mint to stave off the heat of the day and try to rejuvenate myself. I certainly needed it after that lame attempt at exercise.
After the bike ride (an easy 12 miles that felt much better than the run and alleviated my guilt), I finally got around to making some more sausages. I decided that I wanted to make a black bean chipotle sausage and the end result is pretty good, though I think it still needs some tinkering. This is simply a variation on the seitan sausages making the rounds:

1/2 cup black beans
1 cup veggie broth
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. tamari
2 garlic cloves, finely grated
1 1/4 cup vital wheat gluten
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 tbsp. adobo
1 tbsp. liquid smoke
1 tsp. cumin seeds
1/2 tsp. coriander
1/2 tsp. onion powder
pinch of salt
fresh ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. I find that kneading the mixture with my hands is the most effective--and most messy--way. Divide into 4 equal portions and wrap each portion in foil like a tootsie roll. Steam for 40 minutes.
For dinner, I roasted some polenta, green pepper, purple potatoes, and zucchini which I sprayed with olive oil and sprinkled with chili powder (425 degrees). I then added the cut up sausage and topped with leftover enchilada sauce from the other night. Attempting to clean out the fridge never tasted so good.

2 comments:

Lindsay (Happy Herbivore) said...

that drink is amazing... i want some so bad... its so hot today too, it would be PERFECT! i have been meaning to make vegan sausages from scratch for too long. you have inspired me to go do it finally!

Rural Vegan said...

What a good idea for those sausages. I've made about 4 different versions and they're seemingly impossible to screw up. Love the idea of adding black beans to them!