French toast and sausage

Friday is finally here. I am so happy. I have not been able to cook much this week and I am feeling withdrawls. Most of the leftovers are gone, which means I get to CooK!!! *dancing around and around* Can you tell I am excited? I love to cook. I love to cook healthy. I love to experiment and try new things. *Happy, Happy, Happy* Anyway most of you know that my sweet Yogi is an omni. This week he has been so patient eating meatless meals most nights that last night he said he would be having chicken tonight, which left me to figure out a meal for one since BB was out running errands or with friends.

I had a potato that was in the beginning stages of growing little white eyes so I knew that was to be on the menu. Fried potatoes with orange, yellow, and green bell peppers made the cut. Isn't it funny how one lonely potato became the inspiration for the entire meal. Fried potatoes make me think of breakfast and breakfast makes me think of pancakes. I had some veggie bacon in the fridge, but was trying to save that for something else. So where do us veggie bloggers go when in search of what to cook? The good old WWW.

I have had some TVP in the cupboard for quite some time and wanted to use it before it became stale so in search for a sausage recipe I went. I found this Breakfast Sausage recipe at the VegetariansinParadise.com site. They are good hot, but so so when cool. When they come out of the pan they are nice and crispy, but as they cool they loose some of their charm. I followed the recipe except for leaving out the molasses. I think next time I will add the larger amount of cayanne or add red pepper flakes to help give it more of a kick. Still all and all a good quick recipe. Now for the pancakes. Hmm I always eat pancakes, but have never eaten Vegan French toast. You see I never cared much for real French toast so I figured I don't like any kind of French Toast. Well, no time like the present to try and find out for sure. Oh My Goodness. This is my first attempt at vegan French toast. I am happy to report that it is to die for. The conclusion Yogi and I came to is, I don't like eggs so why would I like regular French toast when it is just bread dipped in eggs. Right On! I love French toast vegan style. I know many of you have a recipe for it, but the one I used came from, "Table for Two (meat-dairy- free recipes for two) by Joanne Stepaniak. I love this book. Sometimes you get tired of cooking for 8 or 10 and this book is wonderful. The most any recipe makes is for 4 sevings.

HOMEMADE BREAKFAST PATTIES
1/2 cup (120 ml) TVP

1/2 cup (120 ml) boiling water
1/2 cup (120 ml) whole wheat flour

1/4 cup (60 ml) oat bran

1 tablespoon nutritional yeast

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon crushed sage

1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed in a mortar and pestle ( I use my coffee grinder)

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 cup (60 ml) water

3 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce

2 teaspoons maple syrup

1/2 teaspoon black strap molasses
Canola oil

Put the TVP into a medium mixing bowl and pour the boiling water over it.

Set aside for 5 minutes to allow the TVP to absorb the water.
Add the whole wheat flour, oat bran, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, sage, fennel seeds, pepper, salt, and cayenne to the TVP and stir well.
Stir in the water, tamari, maple syrup, and molasses and stir the patty mixture well.
Lightly coat the bottom of a skillet with canola oil and warm over medium-high heat.

Drop the mixture from a tablespoon to make patties 2 inches ((5 cm) in diameter and flatten them slightly so they will cook evenly. Fry 1 to 2 minutes on each side until nicely browned. Remove the patties to a dish lined with paper towels and fry the next batch. Makes 10 to 13 patties.

That is all for tonight. Everyone thank you for visiging and have a great night.