Black Soil Living

Leftover Sausage Mixture

by ladypbwiggins

Yesterday I decided to try frying the leftover sausage mixture that I made a few days ago. To my surprise when I removed “meat” from the refrigerator the texture was more meatlike than when first made.


Baking didn’t yield a product with sausage-like texture. It looked more like a “not so done” puffy biscuit. I decided to try frying this time. Frying was not successful. It seared the outside but did not cook the inside. I put it in the oven to bake it through.

Frying

That worked. I also tried it in the waffle iron just for giggles. I was making banana nut waffles.

To Recap

Making Vegan Sausage Patties

by ladypbwiggins

(I made these sausages on the 21st)
A year ago at least I searched the web for a vegan breakfast sausage pattie recipe. I found several but this one appealed to me. I don’t remember why it has taken me so long to try it. Maybe it’s because of the TVP and the Vital Wheat Gluten. I wanted to eat clean back then. I don’t know the source of this recipe so I can’t give the appropriate credit. I gave it a try.


Breakfast Sausage

1 c black beans*
1 c veggie broth
2 TBSP olive oil
2 TBSP Tamari
2 TBSP Maple syrup*
1 TBSP sage
1/2 tsp thyme*

1/2 tsp rosemary *
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp whole fennel seeds*
1/4 c nutritional yeast
1/4 c TVP
1 1/4 c vital wheat gluten
Red pepper or cayenne to taste

*My substitutions
   White beans
    Rosemary Vitality Essential oil
     Thyme Vitality Essential Oil
     1TBSP ground fennel seeds
      1/2 tsp raw blue agave

Soak the TVP for about an hour in the veggie broth. Combine all ingredients.  Bake in a 350° oven.

The flavor is good but the texture was not comparable to store bought vegan or vegetarian sausages. On that I was disappointed.

Sausages

by ladypbwiggins

Oh how I remember the aroma of homemade sausage, homemade biscuits, grits and eggs for breakfast at my great-grandparents home. I also remember the first night I was exposed to the smell of the pig slaughtering. My great-grandfather and his neighbors got together and slaughtered the animals at the same time. It was horrific. They made their own sausages and other meat cuts. As bad as it was it was forgotten that breakfast morn.

Now I am not a meat eater and sausages along with hot links are just fond memories. I have found some meat substitute sausages to be satisfying but they are expensive and fattening. So how do I deal with this dilemma? Make my own of course. I discovered a book while searching for something else on Amazon. It is call The Art of Making Vegetarian Sausage by Stanley and Adam Marianski. The majority of the book explains the science of sausage making. This appeals to my chemistry lab mind. I am reading now to get an understanding of the ingredients. Then I can make educated substitutes for things like egg whites.

Stay tuned.

Just for Me

by ladypbwiggins

This last week I have begun preparations for my church family’s annual Daniel Fast. I already lead a plant-based dietary lifestyle. So, what to do? I decided to go back to raw vegan meals, especially a week of smoothies.

Along with thoughts about food, I looked at my life this year. What would I change? What would I add? My assessment continually asked “But what have you done just for you?” I heard all my children’s voices asking, Mom what did you do for you?

I realize I have a difficult time to do for me. So I’ve decided to do more just for me in 2020. I now have to figure out what that looks like.

Any thoughts?

Einkorn Waffles and Pancake Mix

by ladypbwiggins

This mix is a blend of Einkorn flour, brown rice flour, Amaranth, Tapioca flour,Sorghum flour and Garbanzo(Chickpea) flour.

My first try was edible and that’s all I can really say about that. I left iut the syrup and the vanilla flavoring. You wouldn’t think that would matter but it did. The vanilla, not so much but the removal of the sweetener was a mistake. Because I’m vegan I used E-nerG egg substitute. I didn’t let it sit long enough before i used it.

On my next try, I used blue agave sweetener and I allowed the egg substitute to fully complete its transformation.

The batter was a little thicker than I like but the waffles were much better. I will try again using the egg replacement equivalent of 2 eggs and I may add a little more milk if needed. The Einkorn really absorbs the liquid. I will keep you posted.

Einkorn Pancake and Waffle Mix

Join my journey through the Young Living nutrition products. The recipe for the waffles are on the bag. Click on the Young Living link on this page and purchase the book.

Gary’s True Grit Einkorn Flour

by ladypbwiggins

What the heck is Einkorn flour? According to The Young Living Cookbook, “Einkorn is the original “staff of life” grain, dating back to the beginning of agriculture. This grain is unhybridized and has a low gluten level. It is higher in protein, phosphorous, potassium and vitamin B6, twice as much vitamin A, 4 times more beta carotene and lutein and 5 times more riboflavin than our modern wheat grain.

That all sounds good but what does it taste like? Many of us had trouble going from white flour to 100% whole wheat. Is this going to be difficult? Like any other product you have know their properties and might have to make some cooking, taste and mouth-feel adjustments. In the next few posts I will share my experiences with this ancient grain.

The Young Living Cookbook

by ladypbwiggins

When I decided to re-activate my account I knew the nutrition area would be my dominant focus. How do you use YLEO in food preparation? It has been made easy to know which oils are ingestible. They are labeled Vitality. To avoid wasting my time and product I purchased the Young Living Cookbook. These recipes have been submitted and tested by YL cooks. I knew that some adjustments would be made because we follow a vegetarian/ vegan dietary lifestyle. Sometimes eating out or at other people’s homes you have only vegetarian options. Otherwise I will follow the recipes 😉.

So let’s do this.

Purchase the cookbook and join me on the journey. Click on the YLEO link to purchase.

Fractured US

by ladypbwiggins

Last night I watched a news report on the proven influence Russia had on the 2016 Houston elections. The method was to post divisive, inflammatory information that were known hot buttons here. None of what was posted was true but it was the catalysts for angry protesters to hit the streets. My elders would say these instigators would throw the rock and hide their hands. Then just sit back and watch.

What caused them to have been so successful? US! We are fractured. That makes us prime prey for preditors.

When I was a kid I had the perception that even with all our internal problems, we would stand together against external forces. Now it seems we can’t run fast enough toward them if it promotes our hate-filled cause.

US, this is Us.

We are fractured and we need to get it together. Healing can happen if we stop believing the worst about everyone before we have gotten to know them.

US, let’s begin the healing process.

Un-conditionally

by ladypbwiggins

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately, especially the last few days. Have I really grown to love unconditionally?

You know I went back to the dictionary to see if I missed anything regarding “un”.

Un means not. When attached to a word it means not that. Un+Fair =unfair – not fair.

Un+conditionally =unconditionally – not conditionally. We, or maybe I should say I, think of no conditions, no strings attached. Could it mean more?

I looked at the statement my son Sam made: you can’t love unconditionally unless you know the condition the person is in or has. (My paraphrase). The context for the word condition changes. This doesnt’have anything to do with the strings attached but instead the state or situation the person is in. Could mean their character, their socioeconomic status, their health, or behavior. I thought about that. I don’t like liars. It would be easier to embrace someone with a possibly contagious disease than a liar. But that’s the condition of mental health they are in, their character.

Condition = liar

Uncondition = not liar

I am to love them as if the condition did not exist. Love them as if they weren’t liars.

To love unconditionally then means to love as if the condition you find so offensive was NOT. See past the condition and love them anyway. This doesn’t mean you accept or agree with wrong. It doesn’t mean you are blind to the condition. It means you see it and choose to love as if it wasn’t there.

I have to ask myself do I truly love some people unconditionally that I thought I did? Can I love racists, hatemongers, rapists, pedophiles, murderers, liars, and the like in my present “condition”? I still don’t like liars but can I love them anyway?

Loving unconditionally is loving as if the condition was NOT.

A Deeper Level

by ladypbwiggins

All year God has been teaching me the depth of His love and what He requires of me to give that kind of love to others. In April I submitted a post entitled #Love?. The content was about God’s definition of love. Since then I have been focused on how Pat would apply this level of understanding. Don’t get me wrong, these precepts I have known and taught for years. What has changed is my depth of understanding deep down in my spirit.

Tonight I listened to a spiritual son and daughter share a portion of their journey in learning what love really is. My son shared something he had learned in his journey that hit home to me. He said, “You cannot love someone unconditionally unless you know what their condition is.”

I am going to leave that right there and let you ruminate along with me.