Vegan Sausage Sandwhich

I'm done with work for the summer, so now I have time to blog and vlog all I want! Well...kinda...I am now in the process of moving so that is going to be a huge time sucker, but I am so excited to get into my new kitchen and start creating and videoing and photographing all kinds of amazing and wonderful foods-so stay tuned! 

You know how scents and tastes carry memories? Well I apparently have always had a special place in my heart for food because there are a lot of foods that bring back memories for me. This fact was literally the only hesitation I had when becoming vegan. I kept thinking, Oh no! An aspect of my memory will be gone, but as I have found over the past five years, that is not the case-those memories still come flooding in even with the veganized version. Having said that, a lot of foods give me flash backs and I feel that it is only appropriate for me to share them with you as I create new vegan versions of those foods. Now, for sausage sandwiches...

Growing up I feel like my Dad used to live at Lowes (the home improvement store) and so as a "Daddy's girl" I spent a lot of time there myself. Outside of the store was a little sausage stand (which seems totally random to me now, but hey those handy men need their sausages?) and a small handful of times my dad would buy me one and it was like the best thing ever. This is where my love of sausage sandwiches was born and today I share with you the new and improved: Sausage Sandwich of magical goodness (too much?)

Sausage ingredients:

• 8oz Tempeh
• 1/4 yellow or white onion
• 1 tbsp coconut sugar
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 4 leaves of fresh sage (2 tsp dried)
• 1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tbsp fresh rosemary (1 tsp dried)
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 2 tbsp vegan steak sauce
• 1 tsp dried marjoram
• 3 cloves of fresh garlic
• 1 tbsp oil (olive or coconut) for cooking

For serving:

• 1 green pepper, sliced
• 1/2 red onion, sliced
• 1 tbsp oil (olive or coconut)
• 5 rolls (or hot dog buns)

Directions for sausage:

1. Roughly chop up the tempeh and onion.
2. Place the tempeh, onion, and the rest of the sausage ingredients into a food processor and and process until it turns into a fine crumble.
3. Place the mixture in the fridge for at least an hour or over night (this isn't hugely necessary if you need to make it right away, but it gives the spices time to flavor the tempeh)
4. Take out of the fridge and form into links (or patties if you prefer)
5. Heat oil in a medium sized skillet at medium heat
6. Place the sausages in the pan and cook, rolling it every once in a while to get a brown crust on it.

Directions for serving:

1. Heat oil in a medium sized skillet over medium heat.
2. Add peppers and onion and cook until soft and caramelized (about 15 minutes)
3. Now you are ready to make the magic happen! Add your sausage to your roll and top with peppers and onions. 

*Optional* I then topped mine with some garlic and dill sauerkraut, Just Mayo brand of Chipotle Mayo and mustard-super yum!