I was just watching Emeril Live on the Food Network. I
love and hate the Food Network; there is so very little about that channel
that is vegan friendly. It is painful watching so many of the cooks
slamming a piece of dead animal on the counter and saying "Mmmm, isn't
that beautiful?" Well, no, it's pretty disgusting to those of us of the
vegetarian persuasion.
Occasionally there are vegetarian recipes on some of the
shows, but it's obvious that they really don't understand the concept of
vegetarianism. Once on the show Sarah's Secrets, Sarah made a "vegetarian"
casserole with chicken stock. Hello, Sarah? Chickens don't grow on vines.
Hey babe, maybe you are thinking of Chick Peas.
I think I understand why there are no purely vegetarian
shows on the Food Network. If there was one, it would just about
invalidate all the other shows on the channel. Unless the presenter chef
kept their mouth shut about ethics, about the environmental reasons for
veganism, about the many health benefits of a plant-based diet and just
presented the vegan dishes, they would be in conflict with all the other
bloody, greasy, nasty, unethical, germy, smelly, environmentally
irresponsible, health-endangering meat based shows.
So anyway, tonight I liked and hated Emeril's recipe for
French Sausage and Lentils and I realized how easy it would be to veganize,
so I stole his recipe and made it animal-friendly. Emeril usually kicks up
the garlic so I did, Another Notch. I also added some hot pepper flakes,
cause I live in El Paso and eat hot peppers every day. By the way, did you
know hot pepper can kick up your metabolism and help you lose weight? If
the vegan products I call for in this recipe aren't available in your
area, they can be ordered from The Mail Order Catalog ( http://www.healthy-eating.com/
) or from veganessentials.com or Pangea at http://veganstore.com/ or you
can use whatever vegan meat substitutes you have on hand. Feel free to
play around with this recipe as you so desire, after all, I stole it, make
it your own.
............................................
Vegan Sausage and Lentils
(Prep time - 15 minutes, Cooking time - 1 hour. 4 to 5
servings, tons of good quality protein, minimal animal suffering [just the
bugs and small animals who died in the lentil fields. Hey, we aren't
perfect, we just try to minimize suffering as best we can])
* 4 slices vegan bacon, diced (Lightlife brand, an
alternative can be two strips of Primal Strips brand jerky, hickory
flavored)
* 1 stick Vegi-Deli brand Quick Stix (any flavor) cut diagonally into
1-inch pieces, and halved crosswise,
* 3 Yves brand vegan sausage links
* 1.5 oz bag of Stonewall's Jerky (mild or wild)
* 1/2 cup diced onion
* 1/4 cup diced fennel bulb (optional)
* 1/4 cup diced carrots
* 2 teaspoon minced garlic
* 1/2 teaspoon hot pepper flakes
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 1 bay leaf
* 1 cup brown lentils
* 2 sprigs fresh thyme or a teaspoon dried thyme
* 1 15 ounce can diced tomatoes and their juices
* a shot of wine if needed, for the pan or for the cook
* 3 cups vegetable stock (add more stock or water if you desire, but this
should not be a soup)
* 1/4 cup whole-grain mustard, for serving
* Crusty vegan bread, for serving (suggestions for the bread - spread with
crushed garlic and or parsley and or non-trans fat vegan margarine or
shredded white vegan cheese)
Heat the olive oil.
Place the vegan bacon in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook the
bacon until crispy, about 3 minutes. Remove the bacon from the pan. Brown
the sausages, in the hot oil until golden, 2 to 3 minutes per batch.
Remove the vegan sausages from the saucepan and set aside. Add the onions,
fennel (if desired), and carrots to the saucepan and cook, stirring
occasionally, for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and bay leaf and saute until
fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the lentils and stir, about 1 minute.
Return the browned sausages and bacon to the pan, stir in the thyme, hot
pepper flakes, tomatoes, Stonewall's Jerky, Quick Stix pieces and
vegetable stock, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a gentle simmer and cook
50 to 55 minutes, or until the lentils are tender and have soaked up most
of the liquid. Remove and discard the bay leaf and thyme sprigs.
Serve the lentils and sausage with mustard and crusty
bread.
Go on to Those Colorful
Rubber Bracelets
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