This past week I ate a few new things I’ve never tasted before. The first was a vegan sausage that tasted out of this world. Many of you are familiar with my love of vegetarian and vegan foods. But what I have never mentioned is that tofu is not very high on the list of vegan foods I like. This tofu vegan sausage might just change my mind.
I found the vegan sausage at a local organic and health food shop. It is 100% vegetable and it is a bit spicy. The texture threw me off a bit because it felt like chewing on a crumbly sausage. Though the taste wasn’t identical it reminded me of Mexican chorizo. After a few bites the idea of wrapping it with fresh basil leaves popped in my head. That was a great idea because the taste was phenomenal. If you can find a spicy vegan sausage do give it a try. I can’t wait to go buy more.
The second new food I tried this week was lamb salami. We found the salami at a Middle Eastern grocery store. It smelled similar to other salami but the taste was different. Different in a really good way, it too had a slight spiciness to it. Now this is were the weird part comes in, we ate the salami with blue cheese spread and saltine crackers. Yes, you read that right, blue cheese spread with lamb salami. This was hubby’s brunch “creation”. It sounds really strange but once I took the first bite I was hooked. You have to try this weird combination.
The last new food I tried this past week was fresh fennel bulbs. I’ve been wanting to try fennel for a long time but never knew what to do with it. That is until a recent conversation with my mother-in-law. She spoke of grilled fennel bulbs with such gusto that she persuaded me not to wait any longer. All I did was cut off most of the top, rubbed with a little olive oil and grilled it, the taste was so incredibly good. It has a similar taste to the seeds, that is a slight anise taste. I can’t wait to cook it again.
What about you guys, ever tried any of the foods in this post? Or did you try any new foods this week?
Happy Sunday! See you tomorrow, I’ll be sharing a shrimp recipe.
Lovely clicks! I’d like to try such a sausage…
Cheers,
Rosa
Thanks Rosa! I hope you can find it near you.
even though you said that blue cheese and salami are weird to combine, but I looked that is so tempting! and I’m into spicy food
cheers
It is weird but really, really good :)
So stunning on your blue and white plate…and the combination of sausage and basil sounds incredible! I tried salsify in a salad this week…I had to google it to see what I was eating :)
Thank you Liz! I just Googled salsify, lol! I’ve seen it here but haven’t given it a try yet.
Hi Nancy, I’d need more convincing on the vegan sausage but the lamb salami sounds wonderful as does the fennel. I love fennel seed but have yet to fall in love with the bulb. Perhaps it is time to try it once again. Your gorgeous photos make me want to rush for the olive oil and the chargrill.
Hi Hester,
I wish I could send you some vegan sausage. Even hubby, who doesn’t like tofu, thought it was tasty. Give the fennel a try again, you never know :)
I’m intrigued by the sausage and wasn’t sure that I’d like it until you likened it to Mexican chorizo. Now, I’d like to taste it! :)
Hi Jean,
It was surprisingly good :) I hope you can give it a try sometime.
The basil wrapped vegan sausage sounds fantatic. What brand was that? I would make these. Beautiful presentation and I love that second photo.
Hi Suzi,
It was a local, here in CZ, organic store’s own brand. I would suggest you look for a spicy version of the brands available. Thank you :)
beautiful! as always gorgeous pics and recipe! can’t wait to tr this!
Thanks!
I have a hard time eating vegan meat substitutes… I would just rather eat vegetables. I am curious about this vegan sausage since you said it is spicy. Lamb salami… and fennel bulbs… all very interesting. I have not tried either myself. :)
I would then to agree with you Ramona. But curiosity takes over me :)
I would eat this in a heartbeat, they look so good.
Thanks Sandra!
The vegan sausage sounds interesting and wrapped with basil sounds even better. Not sure I’d be a fan of the lamb salami, I do love lamb but salami gives me indigestion, but the fennel is more my cup of tea. The fennel looks and sounds very tasty. Your photos as always are stunning!
It was surprisingly good. Thank you!
You have made that vegetarian sausage sound very tempting, it must be in the brand, cause the ones I tried were a bit smooth and had no spice…..sadly. There are a few small artisans playing with lamb salami in South Australia, and one of my favourite vegetables in the world is fennel. I just cut it supper fine and mix it into salads or with blood orange and its juice to make a dressing with, dijon mustard and basil to have with fish or chicken…. love it
Hi Tania,
I love your fennel salad, will have to try it. Too bad about the vegan sausage and lamb salami. Thanks!
Beautiful pictures, Nancy! Especially love that fennel… Looks SO delicious!
Thank you Marsha!
I was planning to roast and eat fennel bulbs but haven’t had the chance. Grilling sounds like a great idea (as I can ask my husband to do it. :-)) Never tried vegan sausages before. I like your idea of wrapping in the basil. They look pretty!
That’s great, and yes ask him to do it:) Thank you Nami!
I love fennel. When living in Italy we ate a lot of fennel but mostly raw. You take off the tough outer leaves and then dip it in a mixture of olive oil, salt and tabasco sauce before eating it. Great aniseed flavour. It’s harder to find here in New zealand but I still seek it out for the occasional salad as a treat.
Hi Suzanne,
Oh that sounds so good! Thanks I’ll be trying that next time:) Sorry you can get it often.
I love fennel and most especially grilled…looks delicious :) I have never actually tried and vegetarian/vegan “meats”. I guess I have the assumption that they taste like meat. Of course I have made some of my own, but they are far from meat like foods, lol. Sounds interesting though and looks wonderful. I am not a huge tofu eater myself, but on occasion I do enjoy :)
Lovely photos!
Vegetarian and Vegan meats don’t taste like real meat. Sometimes that is a very bad thing because they can taste just horrible, lol. Thanks sweetie:)
Just when I thought I’d finally finished my fennel obsession (I’ve been eating it almost daily for for some time now!) you’ve tempted me to grill some!
Lol, it’s really good grilled Sylvie ;)
I just had a taste of fennel for the very first time. Love it!! Can’t wait to experiment further by grilling :)
It really is tasty, I’m smitten with fennel now;)