Friday, June 23, 2006

VwaV Biscuits and Gravy

I'll be gone until Monday, I get to sit in a conference about the latest add/autism research and am actually looking forward to it. Nutritional relationships and alternative therapy studies will be discussed. The "men" will be home with some great leftovers to chow on. I'll leave you with another great "guy recipe" review.

Matt rated this meal far above the pancakes and said this meal is a keeper. He learned how to "cut" the earth balance margarine into the flour with a pastry cutter. Although the VwaV recipe said 12-14 biscuits Matt's made 7. He used a common kitchen drinking glass to cut them with. The big biscuits were nice and held lots of gravy. YUM! He even decided it was good enough for lunch too.

What we did....
The recipe in the book used tempeh sausage. I did not have any, but have made TVP s'sage many times... a recipe I knew the family would enjoy.
We also use it for tofu scrambles, breakfast burritos and potstickers. It is a basic country style flavoring, not a spicy chorizo or other type with a kick, but could turn into that is the seasonings were varied.
"Ground" TVP s'sage:
Combine the following ingredients and add the spices. Allow TVP to soak up the liquid (about 5 minutes).
1 C boiling water
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 C dry textured vegetable protein (TVP) granules
Spices:
2 tsp crumbles sage
1 tsp marjoram
1/2 tsp garlic granules
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 red pepper flakes (more or less to suit heat preferences... Matt added a little pinch)
1/2 tsp l iquid smoke
OPT. up to 1/2 tsp sea salt.... the amount depends on whether you use canned white beans which are pretty salty. Matt's sausage gravy was a little to salty for my preference because he added it to the TVP s'sage, the white bean mix and used canned beans.

PIX 2: The happy cook and his meal... the red is a sliced yellow apple topped with rose syrup from the indian store.... it's yummy! The tiger lily from our side yard and that cool flower vase, from that $6 auction box I keep bragging about. The flowers were my idea. Matt kept moving them saying he doesn't want his food to look like a girl made it ... I said they are guy flowers ---- TIG-GRRRR lilies. He bought it.

I don;t want to spoil the dividends for the punk cook, so I searched and found the recipe below. It is not the one listed in the book (close), but it is a free one from the site in case you need to have something to tide you over until you get your own book.

White Bean Gravy with Soy Sausage
FROM: theppk.com
prep time: 15 minutes (?) | cooking time: 4 hours (unless you use canned beans) | makes 6 cups
A couple of years ago, I worked in a vegan/organic restaurant in Asheville, NC. I used to work the brunch shift which featured a vegan Southern breakfast plate: biscuits, white gravy (w/ flour), seitan sausage, and collard greens. The plate was delicious, but there was too much wheat flour (3 out of 4 items), so I was determined to find a healthier alternative to the flour-based white gravy. That's when I came up with this recipe...it's excellent for drowning biscuits or for eating in a bowl with biscuits on the side.
Equipment:
1- large pot for soaking/cooking beans
2- hand blender (the ones to puree soups)
3- large (10-12") cast-iron pan

Ingredients
2-3 Cups white navy beans or white kidney (cannellini) beans This makes 5 -6 cups of cooked beans, that would be the = 4 15 oz cans of white beans, drained. We used white canneneli beans.
2 Tablespoon non-hydrogenated margarine [EarthBalance]
1 package of sausage-flavored GIMME LEAN *** we did not use this! we used the TVP sausage above.
10-12 leaves of fresh sage, finely chopped or 2 tsp dried
black pepper
sea salt* see my note about the salt in the TVP recipe above
vegetable broth (optional)

Directions
- Soak the beans in cold filtered water for 12 hours. change the water and cook the beans over low heat until beans are soft.
- Use the hand blender to puree the beans. Add water or broth if necessary...if it is too watery, you can eventually cook off the water.
- In the cast-iron pan, melt the EarthBalance. Crumble the GIMME LEAN and add it to the pan. continuously mix the crumbled sausage until most of it is golden brown.
- Add the "sausage" to the bean gravy (with the fat too) and season with sea salt, black pepper, and sage.
- Cook everything together for 10 minutes or until the desired consistency is achieved.

Happy Vegan Eating.

P.S. Future casting....Matt will be preparing another VwaV meal next week. I'll guess it will be making dessert because Vicki's (Veg Family blog) entry about coconut frosting cupcakes from father's day really got our attention over here! But then Leslie at eat peace sure did an impressive looking hemp bar today....I'm going tolook up that recipe.

The kitten (no name yet) really enjoyed thebiscuits and gravy recipe too. So much that he didn't get very far from the bowl before needing to take a nap. He liked this recipe better than the homemade catfood I made with chickpeas.

Oh and for the bisuits... couldn't find a good recipe online to share, but Bryanna's Vegan Feast Newsletter has an excellent low fat one. Matt used coconut oil (solid at room temp) as a vegan "lard" in Isa'a biscuit recipe. There is a fat free plain "drop scone" in the free archives if you are in need of something that will for sure work in a hurry. Go to Bryanna's page and click "Search this site"...type in "biscuits", it will comp as a choice in the recipe archives. The awesome southern style biscuits are referenced also, but it only mentions that it is in a newsletter.

14 comments:

Tanya Kristine said...

oh man. there ain't nuthin like biscuits & gravy.

we have a total greasy spoon here called pancake circus and they ahve vegetarian (not vegan unfortunately) gravy and i alwys order that.

i love it,.

i haven't been thrilled with the pancakes i made in my VwaV. i'll hav eto try another one...

and thanks for visitig! i love "meeting" new people...

Vicki's Vegan Vice said...

It's a deal, Matt, you make the cupcakes & I'll make those "manly" biscuits & gravy. GRRRRRReat looking food. How about calling the cat "Biscuit"?! Dori, I put a vote in for you @ the vegan club ~ I want some of those California Quinoa Sushi Rolls! You are an amazing cook. Have a great conference. :o)

t. said...

Matt, I am cheering for you! In my opinion you are a chef at heart! It is written in your DNA (not for nothing Dori is your mom!)!

KleoPatra said...

What a talented son! I love his learning from you. Wonderful. Go Matt!

Hope the conference goes well for you, Dori... looking forward to hearing about your weekend upon your return.

Thanks for sharing more great food with us in bloggerland!!!

MeloMeals said...

Go Matt!

Good luck at the conference.. I wish people would pay more attention to ADD/Diet.. I think that is a HUGE part of the puzzle.

Shirley said...

Hi! Did I miss something? After combining the ingredients for the tvp s'sages, what do you do to make them into sausages?
Thanks

urban vegan said...

SInce I always have some TVP hanging out in my cupboard, I have to try your TVP s'sage. Your kitten is adorable and reminds me of my Bossa Nova as a kitten. Have a great conference.

funwithyourfood said...

haha another meal from the 'theif' eh? that's great and too cute. love the lillies
bte
I just got in about 1 hour ago from San Francisco.. Going thru the pics now and I'll be posting later today or tonight!

Teddy

Dori said...

Hi blogger friends. Weight Watcher, the TVP is for ground sausage, however if you want to turn them into patties you could follows the recipe link below to Bryanna's free archive page, she adds wheat gluten, shapes and then steams the patties before frying. I just left the TVP into crumbles (mince) for the sausage gravy recipe..... it really looked like the sausage gravy from a hotel continental buffet.
http://www.bryannaclarkgrogan.com/page/page/698890.htm#september15

BRYANNA’S SEITAN “breakfast sausages” makes about 24

If you are allergic to soy, you can use chickpea flour instead of soy, and omit the textured soy protein. Instead, use either 1/2 c. fresh breadcrumbs soaked in 1/4 c. non-dairy milk, broth or water OR 1/4 c. coarse bulgur wheat soaked in 1/4 c. boiling water until the liquid is completely absorbed. Instead of soy sauce, use my Soy-Free Sauce.

These are nice and brown and firm, with a little crumbliness (is that a word?) from the textured soy protein. They will hold up in a sauce or gravy.
Note: If you are tempted to leave out the oil, this saves only about 5 calories per “meatball”.
Dry Mix:
2/3 c. pure gluten powder (vital wheat gluten)
1/3 c. soy flour, or soy protein (isolate) powder
3 T. oat bran
1 T. vegetarian “chicken” bouillon powder
1 tsp. Crumbled dry sage (or 1 T. chopped fresh)—not powdered sage
1/2 tsp. each dry marjoram, onion powder, sugar, and freshly-ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 tsp. paprika

Optional: 1/2 tsp. Dried red chile pepper flakes OR 1 tsp. Old Bay Seasoning
1 T. dried parsley or 3 T. chopped fresh

Wet Mix:
2 T. soy sauce
1/2 T. olive oil
1/2 T. Asian (toasted) sesame oil
1 tsp. Liquid smoke
enough cold water mixed with the above to make 7/8 c.
1/2 c. textured soy protein granules soaked in 1/3 c. boiling water or broth

Cooking broth:
1 c. “chicken-style” vegetarian broth
1 T. soy sauce
1/2 T. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Mix the dry ingredients in a medium bowl, blending well.

Mix the soy sauce, oils, liquid smoke and water with the soaked soy protein, then add to the Dry Mix. Stir briefly. Divide into about 24 equal portions and roll them into ”links” on a clean countertop. Place them in a 9 x13” baking dish, oiled, leaving a little room around each one. Pour the Cooking Broth over them. Cover the pan (use foil if necessary) and bake for 45 minutes, turning every 15 minutes, until all the liquid is absorbed. (If the liquid is absorbed before 45 minutes is up, add a little bit of water to the pan.)

Cool the “sausages” (you can freeze them), and then, to serve or cook with, broil or pan-fry them just to brown a little and heat through. Enjoy!

cv said...

Hi Dori,

Did Matt happen to use wheat-free flour in his biscuits? Could I ask which one(s)? Thanks!

Dori said...

Hi CV -
glad you stopped in.
Yes, the flour was wheat free. We used Bette Hagman's Four Flour Bean Mix, it's feather lite and worked well with this recipe.

Spelt would also have worked just fine.

Amy O'Neill Houck said...

Mmmm... I love biscuits and gravy!

cv said...

Thanks for the flour info, Dori! I've been meaning to try the Hagman mix--this will be the perfect excuse.

If you were to use spelt flour, do you think whole spelt flour would work in this recipe?

Also looking forward to trying that ground sausage recipe. I'm always happy to find meat subs without wheat gluten in them!

Thanks for sharing so much great info on your site, Dori. You're a goldmine! I really appreciate what you're doing.

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