The Adventures of Field Roast

Our Blog Has Moved! and other social media news

2011-11-22T10:38:00.000-08:00

At long last, we have converted our website to include the blog page, and are leaving behind this blog. If you would like to continue to follow us, we really hope you will subscribe on our new site! This new blog even has category and a searchable feature that will make it easy to find recipes, regionally related news and product specific posts!

If you like us on Facebook, we have weekly updates and a great community of people that share recipes, and this is also a place to share your photos, or questions! This will also post our blogs written. We monitor all these social media sites at least weekly, and more often, daily. If you have an urgent matter, it is always best to call us at the office. Monday thru Friday we are there to answer the phone, and happy to hear from you directly!

Our newsletter is quarterly, and we would love to have you on the subscriber list for this too! Loads of ways to connect with Field Roast and see how we make our grain meats, pack them up and get them to you! Please notice that our new site has a new store finder that is zip code generated! Let us know how you like it :)

Recipe: Harvest Spinach Salad with Smoked Apple Sage Sausage

2011-11-02T15:43:00.000-07:00

This is a warm spinach salad with Smoked Apple Sage Sausage, roasted butter nut squash, pomegranate, and toasted pumpkin seeds. So rich and comforting for a fall day.

Preheat oven to 425 F.
Peel and cut 1 butternut squash into wedges.
Place on a baking sheet and drizzle with 2 Tbsp olive oil, salt and pepper and roast in oven for 15-20 minutes stirring occasionally. In a small sauce pan over medium heat, add balsamic vinegar and reduce to a thin syrup.
Slice Field Roast Apple Sage Sausage. In a skillet over medium heat, heat 1 Tbsp olive oil and add Apple Sage Sausage. Cook sausage browning on both sides, 4-5 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.
Add remaining one Tbsp of oil to pan. Add the spinach to the pan and stir constantly until spinach is wilted and reduced in size, 2-3 minutes.
Toss together spinach, Apple Sage Sausage, pumpkin seeds, pomegranate, and squash. Plate and drizzle with balsamic reduction.

Meatless Monday October 24th at Judkins Cafe, Seattle

2011-10-14T13:12:00.000-07:00

Hello Friends....we are teaming up with the Judkins Street Cafe, which is located really close to our plant in Seattle. We'd love you to join us. There will be an event posted on our Facebook page if you'd like to make reservations. Hope to see you there - David. Below is the press release and menu for the event.

Presidents Wilson, Truman and Roosevelt galvanized the nation with voluntary meatless days during both world wars. The idea of meatless days has recently been revitalized across the country in the Meatless Monday Movement and has been embraced by such luminaries as President Clinton, Oprah Winfrey and Ellen Degeneres and supported by organizations such as The Humane Society. By cutting out meat once a week, we can improve our health, reduce our carbon footprint and save precious resources.

In honor of this worthy effort, Field Roast is sponsoring an evening that celebrates a delicious plant based menu that carnivores and vegetarians will find both satisfying and delightful. The menu has been created by the folks at Field Roast in conjunction with Judkins Street Café and will contain both Field Roast vegetarian meats and Judkins Street Café regular menu items.

Menu for Meatless Monday, October 24^th

Roasted Anjou Pear Chanterelle Soup

Wilted Seasonal Green Salad with Smoked Apple Sage Sausage and Roasted Butternut Squash

Shepherd’s Pie with White Beans, Field Roast Meatloaf and Italian Sausage topped with Mashed Russet Potatoes

Fresh Beet Salad with Maple Tarragon Dressing

Kombucha Raspberry Pomegranate Float

--------------------------------------

Event Details

When: Monday October 24^th, 2011 at 6:30pm

Where: Judkins Street Café, 2608 South Judkins Street, Seattle, 98144 (On Judkins at MLK Way)

Cost: $17 per person, includes full, three course meal. Local beer, wine and kombucha will be available separately.

Reservations Required: Call Judkin’s Street Café at 206.322.1091 or email reservations@judkinsstreetcafe.com

6 � - . �>o �m .5in 3.5in'>Cost: $17 per person, includes full, three course meal. Local beer, wine and kombucha will be available separately.

Reservations Required: Call Judkin’s Street Café at 206.322.1091 or email reservations@judkinsstreetcafe.com

DC Vegfest!

2011-09-30T11:27:00.000-07:00

Out in NYC we have a dynamic duo that help us out with spreading the FR love around. Danielle Devine and Robbie Baum! They have helped us this year to be part of the DC Vegfest and will again be there for us at the Boston Vegfest! We asked that Danielle write up a little blog and share some photos. Thanks again you two! And thanks to Erica Meier and the whole COK volunteer staff for helping us make it all happen, this was a great event to be part of, even from afar.

Hello, Field Roast fans!

My name is Danielle. My partner Robbie and I have been working with Field Roast since we met David in NYC, where we live, and expressed our love for Field Roast and our interest in seeing it take over the world.

We just came back from our second year at the DC Veg Fest 2011 where we had the pleasure of sampling free Field Roast sausages to tons of hungry people. We were blown away by how many people- vegan, vegetarian, and meat-eating alike were familiar and, like us, in love with Field Roast. Within minutes of heating up our grill, we had a long line that continued to grow throughout the day.

There were also lots of people who were able to try our sausages for the first time, or sample a flavor they had never tried before. We were blown away by your stories of bringing Celebration Roast to family gatherings and watching your relatives open up to, and savor vegan food, as well as your very positive feedback about our new Frankfurter. Thank you all so much for your support! - Danielle

Puget Consumers Co-op Vendor Fair

2011-09-14T14:46:00.000-07:00

Issaquah PCC Vendor Fair-
September 10^th& 11th - 2011
Field Roast spent this past weekend just 20 minutes east of Seattle in lovely Issaquah as a guest at the Puget Consumers Co-op (PCC) Vendor Fair. We set up our table and canopy in the parking lot and handed out free samples of our 3 sausages: Italian, Mexican Chipotle and Apple Sage, - voted a PCC’s kidspick, and our newest addition to the family the Frankfurter dog! Thanks for stopping by and saying hi if you did, we love to hear from you. We had an ideal location, third stop on the right from the entrance, in excellent company between new and old friends. Our modest booth greeted many new fans, complete disbelievers and even some amazing Field Roast Evangelists. I love telling traditional omnivores that the meat they have in their mouth is completely vegetarian, comes from grains and doesn’t contain nitrates or cholesterol, like a sausage made from animal products.

Some people looked at me in extreme disbelief and wonder – can they trust this girl behind the delicious smelling sausage counter, cooking up the tasty meats? It smells and tastes like ‘real meat’, how can this all be true? I wish I had a hidden camera on all of the stocky sporting looking men who almost choked on their sausage, when I said “it’s completely vegetarian”. This could be my new most favorite part of the job!

Over the 2 day festive and sunny event - Jennifer and I demoed almost 50 pounds of our 3 top selling products. Everyone wanted to try our newest addition to the Field Roast family – The Frankfurter dog. The comments were interesting… one woman said “my childhood has just flashed before my eyes, I haven’t had this taste in my mouth since I was a little girl”. Funny how taste can trigger long lost emotion isn’t it? I know exactly what she meant. I haven’t had a hot dog in years.

My first day working here with the company, I walked in and said I must try the new Frankfurter – today! That night I took it home, grilled it up, put it on a bun with yellow mustard and took my first bite. It almost brought tears to my eyes because I could see my grandmother handing me a traditional hotdog as a child. So many years, even decades have passed since I’ve had this memory; happily triggered by my first taste of the new FR Frankfurter.

The Frankfurter is out in stores now and at Safeco Field if you happen to be at a baseball game in Seattle. Pick up a 6 pack of dogs at your local co-op or grocery store and let us hear your thoughts! We would love to post them on the blog so that others can share in this emotional experience. Go ahead and email us at info@fieldroast.com

Cheers!

FRinEveryKitchen

A hungry PCC employee knows what’s good for her!

For more info on this co-op visit:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PCC_Natural_Markets

Field Roast Holiday Shopping List

2011-09-02T15:14:00.000-07:00

Why am I writing a blog about Thanksgiving and Christmas when school hasn’t even started yet? Here at Field Roast, despite being late summer, we’ve been working hard to make this year’s holiday season a success. Cooking for a large family can be overwhelming, cooking for tens of thousands of families….well that just takes a lot of people and planning!

Our grocery list is HUGE. The holiday shopping list includes such tasty things like buttery vegan puff pastry, tangy cranberries, fragrant curry powder, and delicious candied ginger to make a whole bunch of Hazelnut Cranberry Roasts En Croute. Storage in the warehouse and ingredients on hand are all increased. As the holiday approaches, we still need to maintain our current orders for sausages, deli slices and our new frankfurters. The mixing bowls and steam ovens will be working at full capacity.

Not only are we busy, but the buyers in the grocery stores that you buy our products from are busy placing orders as well. Jennifer and Staci have been hard at work calling grocery stores around the country to make sure they place orders for the Celebration Roasts and Hazelnut Cranberry Roast En Croute. The buyers all seem eager and excited to carry our vegetarian holiday roasts once again.

Mid-September is the when the real bustle begins. Fresh holiday specific produce and ingredients begin to pour into the warehouse and will be quickly fashioned into holiday roasts, packaged, frozen and put on semi-trailers to be shipped across the nation so that all of us can eat together and celebrate the holidays. I know in my family food is one of the main traditions that we partake in around the holidays, and we here at Field Roast hope that we can become part of your holiday tradition.

New Field Roast Frankfurters - A Hit in Seattle's Major League Baseball Park.

2011-08-30T11:38:00.000-07:00

This summer at Field Roast has been the "Summer of Franks"....as we have begun to make our brand new Frankfurter and start selling them around

the country. Our first food service customer has been the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field. We were honored and pleased when they selected our new Frankfurter as their official vegetarian offering.

Our goal in making a Field Roast Frankfurter is to make a moist and "fatty" frank. Centerplate, the people who take care of the food at Safeco Field do a great job with preparing the frank. It's available on the main concourse right behind home plate and in the 300 level at section

We've been so delighted with Safeco Field and the Sea ttle Mariners that we decided to become a sponsor. Look for our advertisements along the third base line that tell fans where they can pick up one of our new dogs!

Recipe: Franks Island Skewer

2011-08-24T14:11:00.000-07:00

So here it comes, faster than a speeding bullet...it's Labor Day weekend! I know that summer has been a quick hot one, and for some...too hot! I suppose that sitting in an air conditioned home doesn't lend itself to grilling outside, but there is always the stove top grill! Here in Seattle we are enjoying our summer, and though at the start of August we only had something like 78 hours of "summer weather", now my lawn is brown in places. "Beggars can't be choosers," mama always said.

Chef Stephen Holtz did this recipe in celebration of summer. It is incredible, simple and is cooked and served on a stick. Tasty and fun, not much more you can ask in regards to food.

Ingredients:
3 Field Roast Franks
1/2 fresh cut pineapple
1 fresh cut Banana
Skewers
Thai Sweet Chili Sauce to dip (optional)

Clip and peel the Franks, slice on the bias into bite sized chunks, as well as the pineapple and banana. Spear them alternately with the skewer and place on a hot grill. 3 minuntes each side or until the fruit is caramelized and Frankfurters have grill marks. Note that you will need to level these chunks on the skewer so that they hit the grill together. Serve it up to dip in the sweet chili sauce or drizzle it so it soaks in. Either way...this tour of Frankiocity just popped off its flip flops and shoved its feet in the sand.

Frankfurter Recipe: The Seattle Dog

2011-07-13T07:54:00.000-07:00

So for the next stop on our Frankiocity tour, we look right in our own back yard. The Seattle Dog. Something newer on the map, but oh so indulgent. We made ours with vegan cream cheese and Nacho sliced Jalapenos, with freshly grilled sweet onions made by our very own FR chef Stephen Holtz. You can find this style of dog at many of the carts in Seattle...sans vegan cream cheese. Just don't ask Steve to eat one, he isn't interested. Oh well as we said before, you can't please everyone.

On another note...We have been busy as dogs at Field Roast...and frankly, we seem to have made some progress with placements of the new Frankfurter! Funny enough Florida and Colorado are in the lead in regards to number of stores. Shout out to Fort Collins for the business! Thanks!

There are still a couple months before summer is over (didn't it just start?) and Labor Day is the hopeful weekend that the grills everywhere will be sizzling with Field Roast Franks. We know that many of you have gotten to try them, and the response has been awesome! We thank everyone who has taken the time to send a note via email or Facebook, and ask that you keep it coming!

What a Field Roast Frank is made of...

2011-07-08T14:46:00.000-07:00

Frankfurter Recipe: Chili Dog

2011-07-07T09:38:00.000-07:00

When it comes to food, there are a thousand ways to...rescue a cat. Take pizza for example, no one topping scenario seems to please everyone...and so they invented the half this, half that pie. Well Hot Dog culture is the same way...if not worse. You've got a seriously varied scope of preferences when it comes to dressing a frank, and in the coming weeks we will be exploring this phenom.

So the question is, what is your Frank wearing? Or as David put it "your inner Frankiosity." This first installment is something I think most of us can get behind; The Chili Dog.

Now that isn't to say that there are not different schools of thought on the chili dog, in fact its quite possible this is one dog that isn't the same wherever you go. This recipe is close enough to the Cinncinati "cheese Coney" according to the omniscient Wiki. But doesn't really get into the different styles of chili...that is a whole other food fight altogether.

We kept it really simple;
a can of Chili sans carne
vegan cheese shreds
chopped white onions (If you are on a date...skip the onions)

But either way, you're going to need a fork!

Introducing Our New Frankfurter!

2011-07-05T16:48:00.000-07:00

We are excited to introduce our version of a great summertime treat, the Frankfurter – an all-American classic that will look and taste right at home at the ballpark and backyard barbecues this summer. We will be rolling out nationally throughout the summer of 2011.

As with all of Field Roast’s artisan foods, the Frankfurter is made in small batches with fresh, natural ingredients like garlic and onion. Its traditional seasonings lend a bold flavor, and like our sausages, it begs to be grilled.

For those of you living in the Seattle area, our Frankfurter has landed a spot on menus at Safeco Field! Order a “veggie dog” on the 300 level or in “The Natural” section behind home plate to enjoy Field Roast while watching the Mariner’s.

Check back often for recipes as we explore the many ways to enjoy the Frankfurter — from Chicago-style to Seattle’s signature cream cheese hot dog.

Recipe: Hawaiian Field Roast Sliders

2011-05-27T11:10:00.000-07:00

You can find them on menus at top end restaurants, happy hours, mobile food carts, and fast food joints…sliders. Those mini buns, patties, and random assortment of condiments make for the perfect 3 bites.

It’s always fun to accept the challenge of “veganizing” a meal. I saw this sandwich on a food cart menu on a weekend trip to Los Angeles…SPAM, coconut mayonnaise, two types of cheese, and kimchee. With the constant new development of vegan products, what may have once been an impossible sandwich to recreate is now a cinch. Reading the menu I thought it sounded kind of strange, but judging by the length of the line I thought maybe they were on to something.

Cutting thick slices of Field Roast Smoked Tomato or Wild Mushroom quarter loaves or a thick slice of Field Roast meatloaf then pan searing make for what I would consider one tasty slider.

NOTE: Items like the Sweet Thai Chili Sauce and Sriracha can be found in most grocery stores in the Asian food section. If not at your grocery store any Asian grocer will be sure to have them. They store well and are great to keep on hand for a bowl of rice or stir-fried vegetables.

Coconut Milk Mayonnaise

½ cup vegan mayonnaise
2 Tbsp canned coconut milk

Mix the coconut milk and mayonnaise until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to use.

A Crazy Delicious Slider

2 Tbsp vegetable oil
Field Roast Smoked Tomato or Wild Mushroom Quarter Loaf, or Field Roast Meatloaf (depending on what’s available to you)
Slider buns or dinner rolls sliced in half
Coconut Mayo
Vegan kimchee - or use the turnip pickle recipe attached
Sweet Thai chili sauce
Sriracha sauce
Vegan pepperjack and cheddar cheese shreds

Heat oven to 350°F.

Slice Field Roast into ¼" inch slices. In a hot pan, heat oil and cook slider slices until browned on both sides, 2-3 minutes. Remove from pan and place on a plate lined with a paper towel. Remove excess oil from the pan and place the sliced slider buns or dinner rolls face down in the pan to toast, about 2 minutes.

On a jelly roll pan, line the buns along the pan for quick assembly. Cover both sides of the bun with a dollop of coconut milk mayonnaise. Add vegan cheese shreds (not necessary but definitely add to the goodness that is this sandwich), one or two slices of grain meat, some kimchee, a drizzle of Sriracha, and Thai Sweet Chili Sauce. Place the top of the bun on top of the slider and place in the oven until warmed, about 3-4 minutes.

Recipe: Field Roast Vietnamese Sandwich

2011-05-13T13:18:00.001-07:00

Field Roast Smoked Tomato deli slices are nominated for the Vegetarian Times Foodie Awards! So we decided to make some recipes with them for the occasion.

Go to any Vietnamese deli and you’re sure to find Bánh mì sandwiches. Traditionally it is served on a Vietnamese baguette, which differs from a traditional French baguette because it’s made with rice and wheat flour to give it a flaky, airy crust. Condiments of pickled carrots and daikon radish, along with fresh slivers of jalapeno, cucumber and sprigs of cilantro make for a refreshing and light sandwich that you’ll crave. Most often this vegan/vegetarian version of the sandwich is made with marinated tofu, but the Field Roast Smoked Tomato deli slices cooked in a mixture of sesame oil, Chinese five spice and Hoisin sauce lay the groundwork for this sandwich.

Makes 2-3 sandwiches

Pickled Carrots and Radish:

Daikon radish can be found at any Asian supermarket; however, if one isn’t convenient to you, small red radishes can be used and add a nice pink color to the sandwich.

½ cup julienned carrots
½ cup julienned daikon radish, or sliced red radish
½ cup sugar
½ white distilled vinegar
1 cup water
Salt to taste

Combine sugar, vinegar, and water in a sauce pan and bring to a boil to dissolve the sugar. Add the julienned carrots and radish to the boiling mixture along with salt to taste. Remove from the heat and allow to sit for 30 minutes. Pour off the remaining liquid and store in an air tight container in the refrigerator. This can be done a day or two in advance.

Marinated Field Roast Smoked Tomato:

Sautéed Smoked Tomato deli slices and yellow onion make for a nice, smoky sandwich spread. The marinade consists of Hoisin sauce, toasted sesame oil, and Chinese five spice. The spice blend can vary from region to region in China but traditionally is made from cinnamon, star anise, clove, fennel seeds and Sichuan peppercorns. It’s a great blend of spices to add to marinades giving them a new dimension.

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
½ a yellow onion sliced into half moons
1 5.5oz pack of Field Roast smoked tomato deli slices sliced into ¼ inch strips
1 Tablespoons Hoisin Sauce
1 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon of Sriracha or any other hot sauce (add more for a little kick)
3/4 tsp. Chinese five spice
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp. black pepper
2 Tablespoons of water
Crusty French bread/baguette
Vegan mayonnaise
Sliced English cucumber
Fresh cilantro

In a small bowl, mix the Hoisin Sauce, soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, Sriracha, Chinese five spice, garlic powder, onion powder, and black pepper. Over medium heat, sauté the sliced yellow onion for about 5 minutes until transparent. Add the strips of Field Roast Smoked Tomato slices and cook for an additional 3 minutes. Pour the marinade over the sautéed onions and Field Roast, and cook for 5 minutes stirring often, until browned. If the sauce seems too thick add a few more tablespoons of water.

Time to build the sandwiches. Slice the French bread in half and warm in 400˚F for 5 minutes until warm and toasted. Spread the vegan mayonnaise on the warm, toasted bread. Add the marinated meat mixture and top with the pickled carrots and radish, slices of fresh cucumber, a few sprigs of cilantro and a drizzle of Siracha hot sauce.

Recipe: Field Roast Biscuits and Gravy

2011-05-06T09:33:00.000-07:00

Thinking of the perfect breakfast to make for Mother’s Day? Kick that day off with a plate of biscuits and gravy comfort food. Using Field Roast Lentil Sage deli slices or 1 9oz Field Roast Quarter Loaf, you can make a nice meaty gravy to drizzle over freshly made biscuits hot from the oven. The gravy is also great atop of mashed potatoes in case Mom wants to sleep in and have dinner rather than breakfast.

Gravy:

1 lbs Lentil Sage ¼ Loaf
½ cup diced yellow onion
2 tablespoons unbleached white flour
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cups unsweetened vegan, soy/almond/coconut milk (Make sure it’s not flavored)
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoons black pepper
2 tablespoons black coffee
2 bay leaf

Over low heat, sauté the diced Lentil Sage Field Roast in 2 tablespoons of oil until lightly browned. Remove from the pan and set aside. Add 2 tablespoons more of oil to the pan and sauté the onions until transparent, but not browned, this should take 5-7 minutes over low heat. Add the final 2 tablespoons of oil and the flour to the pan and lightly cook the floor for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Whisk in the unsweetened vegan milk and bring to a simmer. Season with salt, black pepper, bay leaf, and coffee. Allow to simmer for 5 minutes. If the gravy gets too thick, add a little more milk to thin it back out. Stir in the browned Field Roast and simmer for five additional minutes. Remove bay leaf. Serve over biscuits!

Biscuits: Don’t worry if you don’t have a pastry cutter. Two butter knives held together make the perfect alternative.

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup white flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon of salt
¼ cup Earth Balance (cold)
¾ cup unflavored/unsweetened vegan milk

Preheat oven to 450°F.

Mix flour, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Cut cold Earth Balance into the flour mixture with 2 knives or a pastry cutter. When Earth Balance is the size of small pebbles, add the vegan milk and mix into the flour/Earth Balance mixture until all the liquid is absorbed the ingredients all come together.

On a floured surface, roll out the dough to a ¾’’ thickness. Cut into a biscuit shape using a biscuit cutter of a tin can. Place on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Lightly brush the surface of the biscuits with vegan milk. Place into the heated oven and bake for 12 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and place the biscuits on a cooling rack to for 5 minutes before slicing.

Slice and cover with Field Roast Lentil Sage gravy. Garnish with fresh herbs such as chopped chives or parsley. A light dusting of paprika can also add a nice little touch of color.

Little helper in the Kitchen

2011-04-15T10:38:00.001-07:00

This is just too cute not to share. Our resident chef, Stephen, had a helping hand in the kitchen this morning. Nhung, one of our beloved (yes, I mean beloved) production supervisors brought her son, Jimmy, into Field Roast for a visit today. What a treat to have such an adorable little addition here! It's always great to watch the mini-FRoasters growing up. He quickly became Stephen's pint-sized helper. From my desk, I could hear Stephen explaining to Jimmy what he was doing at each step, adding the humor that only Stephen can add to a conversation. Jimmy was a focused, quiet observer, and definitely got a front row seat to Field Roast's commitment to creating scrumptious, innovative foods! Anyone who walked by was immediately struck with the "Awwws!" Ok, that's just my opinion, but they were adorable! You couldn't help but smile. Happy Friday, everyone!

Field Roast Korean BBQ Tacos

2011-03-29T09:32:00.001-07:00

Servings: 6, Yield: 12 tacos

This is a vegan version of popular Korean Tacos from the Kogi BBQ food carts in the LA area. It's very fast to make, and delicous! Bryanna Clark Grogan, our guest chef, has included a recipe for a Quick Turnip Pickle, but you can use vegan kimchi instead, or use both. (Check the kimchi container for seafood products.)

Ingredients:
3 pkgs (5.5 oz. each) julienned Field Roast Wild Mushroom Deli Slices, or Quarter Loaf
12 / 7" Corn Tortillas

To make the taco filling, heat a large nonstick pan with a little oil in it. When hot, add the julienned deli slices and toss them around in the hot oil until slightly browned. Pour in the BBQ sauce and distribute around in the pan until everything is coated and hot. Set aside with a cover on it.

Kogi-Style BBQ Sauce:
2 tablespoons Korean fermented hot pepper paste (gochujang)
3 tablespoons organic unbleached granulated sugar, or 2 tablespoons agave nectar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons Asian (roasted) sesame oil
1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar (or a little more to taste)
1/2-1 teaspoon liquid smoke

For the BBQ Sauce, whisk all of the ingredients together until sugar has dissolved. You can make this ahead of time and store it in a covered jar the refrigerator, if you like.

Quick Turnip Pickle:
1 medium purple and white turnip, peeled and shredded or grated
1/2 a medium red bell pepper, seeded cut into short slivers
1/2 a medium green bell pepper, seeded cut into short slivers
4 green onions, chopped
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar or lime juice
1/2 teaspoon organic unbleached granulated sugar or agave nectar
1/2 teaspoon dried red chili pepper flakes
salt to taste

To make the Quick Turnip Pickle, mix together all of the ingredients. Taste for salt. Spoon the mixture into a serving bowl, cover and refrigerate as you make the tacos.

To serve: Heat the tortillas in a steamer, or warm them in a covered casserole, wrapped in the microwave for a minute or two. Quickly distribute the filling evenly between all of the tortillas and serve with the Quick Turnip Pickle on the side (and some vegan kimchi alongside it, if you wish) for diners to add to their tacos. Don't forget the napkins!

Nutrition Facts

Serving size: 2 tacos 351.4 calories; 19% calories from fat; 7.8g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 1034.9mg sodium; 238.1mg potassium; 49.3g carbohydrates; 8.8g fiber; 12.0g sugar; 40.5g net carbs; 22.7g protein; 6.9 points.

Author: Bryanna Clark Grogan

Chef Bryanna Clark Grogan is a Field Roast friend and ally, visit her website and website for more creative vegan recipes!

Don't Blink! Field Roast cameo on Oprah

2011-02-07T12:13:00.000-08:00

If you haven't heard of Oprah, surely you don't live in this world. Her voice is recognizable from a single noun, and her audiences are as attentive to her preferences as Seattlites nose for brewing coffee on these gray days of winter. In other words, the "Colbert bump" has nothing on the Oprah shove. And at this point Field Roast has had two near misses with this phenom.

A friend texted me last week..."Nice mention on Oprah!" Exactly like that. Exclamation point and all and I thought, that's it, we are going to get as busy as Beechers Cheese and sell out for the next millennia. I will spend the next six days fielding phone calls, my mind was racing. I forwarded the text to David, FR president, and set my DVR.

But as I watched the second showing of the "Oprah goes vegan" show that night, where she interviews Michael Pollan and Kathy "Veganist" Freston, I slowly became more and more jaded (and relieved?). We are clearly still the underdog in this veg eat veg world. If you blinked, you missed the words "Field Roast" on the bottom of a short list of meat alternatives that show while Kathy takes a Harpo employee, mother and wife, vegan grocery shopping at Whole Foods Market in Chicago. So the question is this. Had the family made italian bolognese with Field Roast Italian Sausage, would they be quite so negative in their response to keeping to a vegan diet? Would the husband have instead leaned into the camera and said "This is pretty amazing, is there really meat in here?" Of course they fully admonish the meat sub by having Kathy remake the dish, and it was then "delicious". But the first impression is made...vegan food is still a light joke. And the old myths are upheld, that you are sacrificing good tasting food by becoming vegan.

For this blog post, we dreamed of finding the shopping trip footage and slowing it down where FR is mentioned, so that you might actually notice our mention. But I couldn't find the footage online. If anyone knows where to find it, please let me know! For now, we will accept that we are a fan favorite, and a bit in the underground of the vegan food chain. See us next in any show footage sweeping the aisles of the vegetarian meats before they zoom in and show you one of our competitors and talk about all the great options out there.

Cooking your Roasts!

2010-12-23T09:38:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone!

If you are wondering about how to cook your holiday roast, and maybe you have called our office to find that we are home enjoying the company of our families...here is the knowledge you seek! Or at least our best attempt without the help of psychic capabilities.

If you have a Hazelnut En Croute Roast: First look to the box, it is very explicit in its instructions. If you have tossed the box when you thawed the roast, and are now left thinking..."what did that say?" Here is the jist:

To serve simply thaw at room temperature for 4 hours or overnight in the refrigerator. Preheat oven to 425, unwrap roast and place on a sheet pan in oven. Bake until golden brown, about 45 mins. Let cool for 10 minutes and cut into slices.

For a special presentation, roast a variety of root vegetables; potatoes, turnips, parsnips, onions, & garlic cloves for a side. Place the cut vegetables and some herb sprigs, like fresh thyme & rosemary, in a large baking dish. Season well with salt and black pepper, drizzle generously with olive oil, and toss with your hands to coat them evenly.

Put the baking dish in the preheated oven and cook, stirring the vegetables occasionally, until they are tender and golden brown, about 45 minutes. Serve the vegetables from their baking dish or transfer them to a platter to accompany our Hazelnut Cranberry Roast.

If you are cooking the Celebration Roast, you will find some instructions on our website here.

Tis the Season

2010-12-22T10:52:00.000-08:00

We sincerely send our hearts warmest thanks to all those who support the work we do at Field Roast, and to those who seek to make the world a friendlier place for all beings. Happy Holidays and a Prosperous New Year to you and yours!

Thank You Very Much.....

2010-11-24T13:43:00.000-08:00

So ends another Thanksgiving Season of making our Stuff Roasts here at Field Roast in Seattle. Right now we are just finishing up packing some of our Chipotle Sausages and tomorrow many of us will be sharing a meal of Thanks with our family and friends.

We (Field Roast) give thanks to the farmers around Red Deer, Alberta who grow the wheat that we use to make our roasts.....

We give thanks to the elements of the Universe whose force and substance provides the foundation upon which ourselves and all of our foods are made from! (that's certainly heavy enough...as well as primordial). May the magic continue!

We give thanks to our customers whose patronage we never try to take for granted and whose loyalty we earn with the passing of every week. You provide us with continuing work from which we sustain ourselves and our families. Thank-you!

We give thanks to all of our vendors who provide us with the materials from which we make our foods, fuel the boiler that heats our steam ovens and pens and paper (computers!) that we need to make our business happen.

We give thanks to all the Shareholders and people who have believed in what we are doing and have supported Field Roast along the way. People in the animal compassion world, Seattle people and our families and friends....

Finally, I'd like to personally give thanks to the people I work with every day, day in and day out. People who arrive at Field Roast at 4am in the morning to start mixing our dough, making our roasts and those who remain into the evening ensuring that our foods are cooled and stored properly...to the people who label our foods, slice our meats and palletize our orders, to the people in the office who answer our phones, pay our bills and keep everything moving....

Thanks! Hope you all have an enjoyable day tomorrow no matter what you have planned!

Smiling,

Find your feast in the Freezer this year!

2010-11-23T13:47:00.001-08:00

Hello Nation! I hope you are finding yourself cozy and if you are here in Seattle, that you haven't been stuck in the ice and snow on I-5!

We have heard from some customers this week that they are not finding Celebration Roast or our new Hazelnut En Croute Roast in their stores! Well I assure you that they are (in most cases) there! They are not in the refrigerator though, they are in the freezer. So if you are used to where Field Roast is, you may have missed it...and I hope you'll take a second look.

Also, if you get the Celebration Roast in the freezer it is good frozen for a year, refrigerated for 6 weeks. The Hazelnut En Croute is good frozen for a year as well, but in the frdge for only a week or two.

Happy Thanksgiving,
The Field Roast Folks

Customer Recipe: THE BEST stuffed acorn squash

2010-11-17T13:24:00.000-08:00

Thanks to a happy customer we can share this awesome recipe!

2 acorn squash (halved, cleaned of seeds and strings)
2 mexican chipotle links, diced
1/2 medium red onion, finely diced
1/2 cup diced white cheddar(or cheese of choice)
10-12 sage leaves, finely chopped
salt and pepper
tbsp melted butter

pre-heat oven to 400 degrees
place squash face down in shallow sauce pan in 1/4in water and bake for 30 minutes
while squash is baking, prepare the sausage, sage, onion, and cheese and toss together in a small bowl, set aside
remove squash from oven, turn over and brush with melted butter, sprinkle with salt and pepper
fill squash with mixture and place in broiler for an extra 5 minutes
serve immediately and enjoy!!

Today at Field Roast...making Stuffed Roasts for the Holidays

2010-10-26T12:15:00.000-07:00

Hazelnut Cranberry Roasts waiting patiently to be wrapped. These are naked roasts...waiting to be dressed!

Lam....with her fancy blue gloves (common color used in food manufacturing so we can easily see where they are....why?) wrapped some roasts with our vegan puff pastry.

This photo was taken of our mixing bowl...waiting for our new Wild Rice Cranberry stuffing....made with quinoa, figs, curry powder etc......the chopped figs are in front.

Five years of Autumn with Field Roast

2010-10-19T14:59:00.000-07:00

This is my fifth Halloween working for Field Roast. My fifth fall and my fifth holiday season. I love that if you take a moment to make note of all the cycles in the seasons, it gives you something to appreciate about where you are now...and where you have been. Field Roast definitely has much to be grateful for. This year we boast 35 employees, all of which we can still squeeze into the common room for a feast once a month to celebrate our work together making food for all of you.

Perhaps many of you have known of Field Roast longer than I have, that you are part of the lucky few that ate a Celebration Roast in 2005 or before for Thanksgiving. They were hard to find those days! I remember the slew of calls in 2006 that began about now and ended in January, those asking desperately "WHERE can I find a Celebrity Roast!!" Of course now I hardly ever hear someone call our Stuffed Celebration Roast by its infamous misnomer, though many still insist it is THE Field Roast. "It's all Field Roast" I answer with a grin.

This year, there is a new beautiful box for the 2 pound Celebration Roast, only slightly different from last years inaugural box design, and it can be found in the freezer set. Not to be forgotten is our 1 pound roast, that is just perfect for a couple or trio of folks that get together for a meal. Next up? A blog telling the story of our newest retail stuffed delicacy...stay tuned.

Field Roast to be featured at upcoming EAT LOCAL NOW event in Seattle

2010-09-24T08:30:00.000-07:00

For the last few years we've been participating in "Eat Local" events around Seattle. The first year was in Ballard and we made some BBQ skewers of Field Roast (see the blog on that) and this year we are donating some sausages for them to use.

Local food producers and providers include: Field Roast, Full Circle Farm, Bird on a Wire, Radical Cupcake, Mashiko, Spud, Elliott Bay Brewing, Thundering Hooves Farm, PCC, Platypus Breads, Seatown Snack Bar, Blackboard Bistro, The Grange Café, Blackboard Bistro, Alvarez Organic Farm, Big Al Brewing, Chef Tracy Knight, Chef Ariel Bangs, Salumi, Brian Allen, Charlies Produce, Willie’s Organic Greens, Hope Burundi Cooperative and the Somali-Bantu Farmers of Washington.

The evening includes dinner, exhibitors, and speakers active in the local food movement, a silent auction and music. Eat Local Now! encourages participation in local food systems, bolstering the local economy and the development of green jobs.

The event will be at the Herban Feast in Sodo Park at 3200 1st Avenue South in Seattle on September 30th from 6:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

To get tickets contact http://www.eatlocalnow.org/

Field Roast welcomed into new stores!

2010-08-06T07:16:00.000-07:00

In Seattle, there are tons of conventional markets, just like anywhere. Our retail line of Sausages, Roasts, Loaves and Slices have always done well in our local natural markets. Central Co-ops Madison Market, PCC and Marlene's on the south end have always carried us and customers buy them like crazy. Which is awesome...if you live near a natural market. Of course Whole Foods carries our line too...but there are only a few stores up here in Seattle area, and none at all south of Westlake!

We don't all have that luxury, and now we are pleased to announce that our Sausages and Meatloaf are placed at about 55 QFC stores! We have only just been placed...so your market may not have us in yet, or you may have to ask around for where they put it.

The Red Apple stores on Beacon Hill and at Promenade in the Central District also placed us recently!

And we are now launching the Classic Meatloaf at Safeway stores, and all stores should have at least 2 of the Sausages regularly.

Stay tuned! And let us know where you are finding Field Roast!!

The Undead Feast on Field Roast

2010-07-01T09:34:00.000-07:00

This year, the day before our day of freedom in the US, Seattle will attempt to break the record once again of the biggest mob of zombies in the Red, White & Dead event this Saturday, part of Fremont's Outdoor Movies Series. Field Roast Sausages on buns will be served up by Jade at Gargoyle Beads!

Festivities kick-off midday, and include on-site zombie makeovers, a zombie fashion show, musical performances, special creepy guests, a massive group Thriller dance – with lessons by Seattle Thrillers group – and, of course, the huge zombie walk through the Dead Center of the Universe, Fremont.

I know...might sound strange, but to be honest I am very tempted to smear on some makeup and even do up my 5 year old. After all, there will be a huge "Thriller Dance" in the middle of the street in West Seattle. This is a sight to see! But you know how this weekend is, so take public transit, and don't pack a lunch!

Field Roast Classic Meatloaf Sloppy Joes

2010-04-19T07:52:00.001-07:00

So we posted the tacos, and you all know that taco meat is completely transferable. It speaks the language of burritos, enchiladas and on occasion it mutters the simple statements of a veggie wrap or even nachos.

Another place the juicy morsels of crumbled meatloaf goes is to Sloppy Joes! You might recall a special hempseed infused Sloppy Jane mix that David made for the crowds of 2008 Hempfest, and this recipe is good ol Joe at its finest, created by Chef Melissa.

Field Roast Sloppy Joes

1 Field Roast Meatloaf (broken into crumbles by hand)

1 onion (diced)

2 cloves garlic (diced)

1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup canola oil

1 lg can tomato paste

2 T vinegar

1/4 cup molasses

1/4 cup + 1Tbs cup water

salt to taste
6 Hamburger Buns

In a large pot on medium heat begin to saute onions in olive oil. Saute until translucent then add garlic. Add canola oil and when temperature has recovered in the pot add crumbled Field Roast meatloaf. Stir and and once meat has begun to brown a bit add tomato paste and water. Then add vinegar and molasses. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Serve on hamburger bun or slider buns.

Field Roast Classic Meatloaf Tacos

2010-04-16T08:59:00.000-07:00

This is the recipe for Meatloaf taco meat that Chef Melissa made for VegFest. She scaled down the volume so you can make it at home!

Field Roast Meatloaf Tacos

Ingredients

1 Field Roast Meatloaf (break up with your hands into crumbles)

2 teaspoons cumin

2 teaspoons corriander

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon oregano

salt to taste

6 taco shells

1/4 head of lettuce (shredded)

1 tomato (diced)

In a saute pan on medium high heat brown crumbled Field Roast meatloaf. Add seasonings adjusting to taste. Put in taco shell and garnish with lettuce and tomato.

Now that the Classic Meatloaf is all we are thinking about lately, we've been making it into all sorts of incarnations. If you have something to share, we announced a Classic Meatloaf Recipe Contest at VegFest too. We are still working on the official webpage though, so if you are interested, just hang tight for a week or so.

VegFest Seattle 2010!

2010-04-12T08:57:00.000-07:00

VegFest this year was our most ambitious effort yet! Cindi, Danny and Mel all gave their weekend up to "man" the booth and make up four sampler size meatloaf recipes for the masses. We wanted to illustrate this year that the meatloaf isn't just a loaf of grain meat, but an ingredient to add umph to your vegan dishes and make some comfy food that tastes really good!

To kick off the show, we made sloppy joes! This mixture of ground Field Roast Classic Meatloaf, tomato paste, garlic, onions and spices really makes a hearty sandwich. We used slider buns to make them sampler size, but displayed them in their full size...with a side of chips.

Meatloaf with Porcini Gravy ended the Saturday menu, and yes we used our Field Roast Davy's Gravy mix to make this! If you are hoping that this will be available retail...it is a long time coming. The best way to get this into your local store is to bother the folks who fill the bulk section. Who wouldn't want to buy an amazing dry mix for vegan gravy!?

On Sunday, Mel and the volunteers served up our Meatloaf ground up and seasoned with cumin, chili powder for a taco meat. This is one of my favorite dishes to make with the Meatloaf, and the leftover meat even went onto Bob Gerrish's Pizza Works creations at the next booth!

The last menu item was a tiny meatloaf slider. This came about simply because a lot of us here at Field Roast use the Classic Meatloaf this way. Just slice it and pan fry it, and put it on a bun with your choice of fixins. My five year old son calls this his "happy meal". We just used ketchup and mustard, easy peasy.

We also announced our Classic Meatloaf Recipe Contest! This is very exciting...more to come! Soon we will post the entry form online!

Thanks again to Seattle, for being so kind and excited to see us at VegFest every year. And all of our local partners who make making Field Roast all that much more worth it.

Happy Kale Day: Field Roast with Kale and Pasta and Kale Chips

2010-03-28T11:40:00.000-07:00

Must be a Kale kinda day....Anna Graham Shonle wrote up a really tasty recipe for our Smoked Apple Sage Sausage with Kale in her Carrot and Potato Time Blog

http://carrotandpotatotime.blogspot.com/2010/03/field-roast-with-kale-and-pasta.html

and my sister Cindy turned me on to Alive and Radiant Foods Kale Chips.....quite cheesey! They are soooo good!
http://www.blessingsaliveandradiantfoods.com/kincrch.html

Wheat Peace in LA

2010-03-21T19:37:00.000-07:00

We were in LA last week for the Expo West Anaheim food trade show. Afterwords we visited some friends and customers and enjoyed some LA sunshine!

What's with Wheat Peace? I think the two words really go well together....perhaps Field Roast is part of the Wheat Peace movement!

We found this trash can with the Wheat Peace sticker on it near Wurstkuche who makes seriously delicious veggie sausages....we had ours with some Truffle basted fries.......yum!

From 2010-03-18

"double take" Cookbook - Veggie and Carnivores Alike

2010-03-02T15:34:00.000-08:00

There is a new vegetarian/meat cookbook that has an intriguing mission; make the same dish two different ways, one version made with animal meats....and the other version made with vegetarian meats....thus the title double take by Harvard Common Press.

The book is by Seattle cookbook authors A.J. Rathbun and Jeremy Holt (come by for a tour sometime guys....), who we've never met (we don't think). In their book, they have a handy section that details the many different veggie meat options that are available, including Field Roast.

I like the idea of the book...blurring the lines between vegetarianism and carnivorism (new word) offering recipes that can go either way. This corresponds to our view that the days of the dialectic between the two culinary inclinations is narrowing. At Field Roast....we like to think that we make a vegetarian meat for everyone/anyone who enjoy's good basic food...all meat eaters; veggie style and carnivores alike.

The book includes a recipe for classic Osso Buco the vegetarian version made using our Lentil Sage Quarter Roast. On the front cover they took a picture of Field Roast?. Can you tell which dish? The top or the bottom? And....which product of Field Roast? The winner (drawn from correct responses) gets a free t-shirt.

Where we work!

2010-02-22T07:03:00.000-08:00

We've enjoyed a series of beautiful, warm sunny days in Seattle. Seattle doesn't get the most rainfall in the US but we do enjoy the most cloudy days. When the sun shines and we stand outside the door of our plant this is what we see; looking towards the Puget Sound (the Whulge) and the Olympic Mountains.

Standing outside our front door, looking to the west and Olympic Mtns

Sippin' for the Seven

2010-02-18T16:14:00.000-08:00

Come support our favorite primates at the 2nd Annual Wine (and beer) tasting fundraiser for the Cle Elum Seven chimpanzees.

Tickets only $35. All proceeds go to the chimpanzees!!!

Purchase tickets online NOW in the CSNW store (http://chimpsanctuarynw.kintera.org/store).

Featuring:
*Over 30 Washington State wines
*Local beer
*A free wine glass with our Jody logo
*Food to nibble on, including Field Roast sausages
*Live music by Lenny Price and Millie Radonovich
*Wine store to buy your favorites to take home
*Gift store with CSNW merchandise
*Wine Experts
*Your chance to talk to sanctuary staff and volunteers
*Raffle at the event with a trip to the sanctuary as the grand prize!

Sponsors: Poppoff, Inc., 93.7 The Wind, Vintage Vine, Inland Networks.

For more info, see event web page: http://chimpsanctuarynw.org/events/sippin2010/

A Week of Making Field Roast - Day Six

2010-02-12T15:16:00.000-08:00

Our final and last day of the week....phew! It's been fun sharing our work life with you this week. We made a lot of Field Roast, had a visit from the Seattle University business students, enjoyed a really sweet Community Meal together celebrating Tet and generally just did the thing we do every week...making food for you to enjoy and eat. It's something we take really seriously but we also have fun doing it as well. We figure to make a product of beauty and friendliness the first step is to create that for ourselves through the environment we work in and the way we are together. (it's a goal....mostly but not always achieved). We spend many hours each week, mixing, forming, cooking, cooling, slicing, packing, labeling, freezing, boxing, shipping and finally getting ready for the next week.

Below are today's pics....we finished labeling quarter loaves, clipped netting for next week's production and cleaned our facility inside and out. We also shipped orders today as well.

Labeling Quarter Loaves

Smoked Tomato Quarter Loaves

Clipping and Cutting netting for next week's production

Rayson preparing orders to ship with some Quarter Loaves on a pallet

Soaping up our mixing room for our extra special Friday clean as Richard looks on from the office

Cleaning the Warehouse floor

A quiet moment of reflection at the close of the work week

Thanks for taking the time to check out what we do every week. We hope you've enjoyed the blogs. Perhaps we will do this again sometime. If you have any questions or comments please don't hesitate to leave a comment or send us an email.

Peace,

David (aka Grainmeat, Fravid) - btw, have a great weekend!

A Week of Field Roast - Day 5

2010-02-11T14:22:00.000-08:00

Today is Thursday and we are heading towards the end of our week. The cooks and mixers are off and only the label workers remain. Today they are packaging a whole bunch of our Quarter Loaves. Here are some extreme close ups of our original loaves.

The Quarter Loaf is the perfect size for slicing, and stir frying...sandwiches, wraps and gyros. We make them again by mixing, cooking with steam, and then wash them in a spicy broth. Nowadays, we peel the cotton netting from the loaves so that you don't have to pry them loose yourselves. But I digress...back to our production for the week!

Below are the Quarter Loaves after they have been chamber vac sealed in a shrink bag. We place them in a hot water bath to "shrink" the bag. This is what gives the package it's nice,clean look.

Before Dipping and Shrinking....

After Their Nice Warm Bath......then onto labeling....

Tomorrow everything gets shipped out and we perform our weekly extra special cleaning duties.

A Week of Making Field Roast - Day FOUR

2010-02-10T15:56:00.000-08:00

Sausages, sausages and more sausages.......

Today we hosted some MBA students from Seattle University who are working on a project about business.

We also had our monthly community meal which this month...came in the flavor of Tet and an incredible vegetarian Vietnamese feast prepared by Lam, Nhung, Anh, Nga and Trinh....so good...check out the blog just before after this blog for pics.

Back to today....we made quarter loaves upstairs....Wild Mushroom with shitake, porcini and champignon mushrooms. See it in the mixing bowl below:

We also clipped and labelled bunches of Italian sausages....

Our labeling crew looks a little cold because once we cook our sausages, we keep them cold and fresh just for you. After a while, we get used to working in a refrigerated environment. Note the hoodies...

CC clipping away...this is a nice action shot

and boxed yesterdays Mexican Chipotle Sausages.....

another day of making veggie grain meats!

Tet and Lunar New Year at Field Roast

2010-02-10T15:44:00.000-08:00

Every month we our have "Community Meal" at Field Roast....afterwords we have a general meeting and our safety meeting. Sometimes I cook the meal but lately we've had other Field Roasters contribute. A few months ago Rayson cooked a Filipino meal, Petra made some excellent Mexican food....This month we decided to combine our Community Meal with the lunar new year Tet or the Chinese Lunar New Year. In Seattle and especially our neighborhood it's a big week. We have a Buddhist temple just a few blocks away that many people will be visiting this week. I often walk by it on my way to work:

This week Lam (our most senior employee) along with Nhung (our Label Room supervisor), Anh, Nga and Trinh all contributed. They created an incredible spread of food...all vegan and all delicious. When the table was set it looked like a banquet.

Here is a little slideshow below:

A Week of Making Field Roast - Day 3

2010-02-09T09:14:00.000-08:00

Hello! Jennifer here, I work in the office at Field Roast. Our Smoked Apple Sage Sausages are our most popular retail product. Perhaps it is the sweet and savory goodness that sizzles right out of them when you put them in hashes for the morning. Or when they are sliced and crumbled into rice dishes, pastas and stews. I really prefer the Mexican Chipotle, which is spicy enough to satisfy my cravings for food that heats you up from the inside. I love it in tacos and and jambalaya.

Our mixing, cooking and packaging processes are as simple as the ingredients of our meats. The above picture is of our sausage linker. It helps us measure the weight and length of our grain meats by allotting specific amounts of into our nettings and casings.

Next you see the Mexican Chipotle Sausages (or MC as we say here) being clipped and cut into groups of four for our retail sausages that are sold nationwide!

In an earlier post, David eluded to our sophistcated labeling process, and we do this all by hand. Our labels and packaging are a reflection of the simple tenets of good cooking that we base all of our recipes on. I like that when I started working here almost 4 years ago, there were about 9 people working for Field Roast. Now...there are about 32. Meanwhile, our sausage linkers and dough mixers are not given more jobs to do, though they are asked to do them more often..the bottom line is despite our growth it's people, not machines who are most involved in making Field Roast. I like that.

A Week of Making Field Roast - Day TWO

2010-02-08T16:27:00.000-08:00

Today we made a bunch of Smoked Apple Sage Sausages and Mexican Chipotle Sausages. We also sliced all the deli logs that we cooked yesterday and packed and labelled them.

Below are some photos from today's production with some captions.

A Week of Making Field Roast - Day One

2010-02-08T11:29:00.000-08:00

Our Weekly Production Schedule for the Week of February 7th, 2010

Sunday February 7, 2010

Today is the first day of our production week. Production always begins on Sunday with our mix/cook crew coming to mix Field Roast, form it and cook it to perfection.

This week we are beginning with a whole bunch of deli slices. Take a look at the schedule above. The left side you will see "Cook" and "Label". Our production process is divided up into two sections:

1. Mix and Cook room - where we mix our batches of Field Roast, form them into sausages, roasts and deli slices and finally cook them. 2. Label Room - is were we slice, package and label Field Roast. Usually...what we mix and cook on one day, we label the next, but not always.

Our building in Seattle is on a hill and has two floors. Our mix/cook area is on the upper level and our label room is down below. Our building is an old dairy that we converted a few years ago. People have been making food in our building for almost a 100 years. We think that's pretty cool!

SUNDAY'S PRODUCTION

Today we had only three people come in to make our deli slices. Deli slices are one of the most simple Field Roast recipes to make; we mix our dough using a simple spiral mixer (see future postings this week to check out some pics), place it into a fibrous (paper) casing using our sausage linker. The picture to the left is looking across our forming table to our sausage link and mixing stage. This is our Smoked Tomato Deli slices recipe being placed into casings. From here we will clip and hang the "logs" of Field Roast dough onto a cart and the roll it into our steam ovens for cooking.

The pics to the left are of our forming table, clipping the logs of dough and the cart of logs after cooking. Our steam oven is to the right of the rack.

These next pics are of racks of Field Roast delis...cooling down for tomorrows slicing and labeling and of a rack tag, signifying the flavor: Wild Mushroom Deli, the Code: 10 for the year and 038 for the number of days in the year..this is called a Julian code and is a basic format for all types of manufacturing. The Batch is 2.2 which is the oven that it was made in and 135 time: is 2.00 which means that we are tracking how fast our products cool...and that it was at 135 degrees at 2pm.

Tomorrow we will look at slicing and labeling all the deli's we made today and making some sausages up in the cook room.

Children Vote with Their Mouths - WE LOVE FIELD ROAST

2010-02-02T15:23:00.000-08:00

America's children have spoken! It's voting day in Seattle so it's appropriate to take a moment and tally up the votes......and winner is....Field Roast.

We received a notice earlier this week that our local chain of natural food cooperatives PCC have named two more of our products as "kid friendly". A few years ago our Smoked Apple Sage Sausages were voted as kid friendly. Now our Hazelnut Herb Cutlets and our Stuffed Celebration Roast have also made the grade. Only kids can vote. This is how it works:

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Since the program began in March 2004, Kid Picks tests have been conducted in 379 venues, including PCC stores, community centers and events, and public and private schools. 3,214 products have been tested by over 23,000 kid "judges” who vote “like” or “don’t like.” 1,873, or 58%, of the products have passed. Each product is tested by a minimum of 30 kids and is designated as a Kid Pick if it can be statistically determined that at least two-thirds of any group of kids trying it will like it.

The approved products are flagged in our stores with Kid Picks tags and listed on the PCCWeb site at www.pcckidpicks.com.

Kids, parents and educators really enjoy Kid Picks events. Through promotion and word-of-mouth, the events have become very popular. Schools focusing on improving school lunch programs and in complying with new snack food policies appreciate "test driving" food options, and often use Kid Picks events as opportunities to talk to students and parents about healthy food choices, as well as the importance of voting and making their opinions count. The program does not collect information as to why a product is liked or not, but the process is closely supervised by PCC staff to be sure the opinions of the judges are not influenced by parents or other kids. Parents often take printed reminders of products their kids like with them, which we prepare for each Kid Picks event.

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Thanks for everyone at PCC for thinking of the kids and for submitting our veggie meats for consideration. I love the fact that kids like our foods! It makes our work satisfying.

PO DOG, Good Dog!

2010-01-29T08:26:00.000-08:00

I had some free time last night and decided to visit our newest customer in Seattle, Po Dog. They make really interesting and delicious hot dogs and sausages...as well as killer french fries. Deep fried, crushed potato chips, crispy onion straws, peanut butte, guacamole, egg rolls are just a few of the accouterments available place upon and/or beside your dog.

They are using our Smoked Apple Sage Sausage, which I had in the "Veggie Dog" mode....complete with a salsa mix including fresh chopped cucumber....yum! Po Dog is seriously groovy and located in the heart of Seattle's Capital Hill's nightclub zone.

Their menu is below:

Specialty Dogs

Classic Dog ………………………………………………………………………………4.97

Dress your own wiener on a Macrina brioche bun – Choose Kosher or Veggie dog

Texas Dog ………………………………………………………………………………..6.95

Mesquite BBQ sauce, Tillimook cheddar cheese, Crispy onion straws

Dub-T Dog ………………………………………………………………………..………6.05

Cheese Sauce, Crushed potato chips, Mustard, Ketchup

Morning Glory Dog …………………………………………....……………………….…6.85

Scrambled eggs, Pepper bacon, Tillamook cheddar cheese

Seattle Dog ……………………………………………………………..……………...…5.75

Cream cheese, Scallions

PB Dog ……………………………………………………....……………....……………6.25

Crunchy Peanut Butter, Sliced bananas

Veggie Dog ………………………………………………………………......……...……6.35

Onions, Chopped tomatoes, Cucumber, Jalapenos

Chicago Dog ……………………………………………………………...………....……6.95

Spicy mustard, Sweet relish, Onions, Tomato, Dill pickle, Sport peppers, Celery salt

South of the Border Dog …………………………………………………....……….....…6.95

Fresh guacamole, house-made pico de gallo salsa, sour cream

Wasabi Egg-roll Dog ………………………………………………………....…..........…6.75

Wrapped and deep fried in an egg roll, Wasabi aioli

BLTA Dog …………………………………………………………………...…....………6.85

Pepper Bacon, Lettuce, Chopped tomato, Advocado

Deep Fried Danger Dog ……………...…...………………………………………….…6.75

Pepper Bacon wrapped and deep fried, Sauteed onions, Chili sauce

Fries and Chips 2.50

Natural Cut Fries

Homemade Chips

Get your Celebration Roast in Vancouver BC!

2009-11-23T07:39:00.000-08:00

You can now get some Field Roast products in Vancouver, BC! Check it out! We are really excited, and expect that the pallet of product they imported will go fast, but that this is the beginning of a wonderful relationship with Karmavore and their customers.

When Salim from Karmavore first contacted us in the office, I was skeptical. I have to admit that there have been many unsuccessful attempts to bring Field Roast to the Canadian market. We have been told that price, packaging and distribution are all barriers, and of course having the most expensive, quality fresh grain meat pass through the border causes confusion when the label clearly says "vegetarian grain meat" on it. (so which is it? Vegetarian, or Meat?)

Well, besides the fact that the word meat is not owned by the factory farm or animal meat industry, we just don't subscribe to the presumed fact that meat comes just from animals. Meat actually means "solid food" and Field Roast certainly is. While other "meat alternatives" are screaming from the rooftops that meatless and faux are fantastic, we think the word meat can be reclaimed to show meat eaters (carnivores and omnivores?) that vegetarian meat has a place in everyones diet.

So that tangent in mind, we are pleased to provide grain meat, and hope you'll let us know how we are doing! Join us on Facebook and our newsletter list to stay up to date on new products and how we make our meats. Thanks for reading!

Jennifer

Field Roast Customer Clammers for more FAT!

2009-11-06T14:41:00.000-08:00

We get customer emails often and we always appreciate them. Many with accolades, some with suggestions and others with criticisms.

Today we got a special note from customer Bryan. He wrote:

"I would like to start off by saying that I like your sausages, so what I have to say is not really a complaint, but an observation. I've tried a lot of the veggie sausage, hot dogs, etc., and most of them just outright #$%. They have a terrible texture, and don't taste good either.

One thing that they all have in common is that they are low-fat, and real sausage tends not to be low fat. A good Italian hot sausage certainly is not. An Italian sausage has a lot of fat; it's part of what makes it good. I know you don't want to be a "fake meat," but I think you are missing something.

I want more fat!

You probably don't get a lot of people asking for that. And in this day and age, I don't expect to see products that say "New and Improved! Now MORE fat!" But I think we've taken the whole low fat thing too far."

Whenever I'm giving presentations about our product line or meeting with customers I always tell them that we use FAT in our products. Sometimes I describe our new Meatloafs as made with "plenty of delicious fat". We love fat. Bryan you are so right....ya can't make a good sausage without fat. If I could find a way to add more fat into our sausages i'd do it. Our every day cooking oil is expeller pressed safflower oil. In the last few years I've also begun to use organic palm fruit oil....which is...FAT! Solid at room temperature. Delicious, mouth coating, bottom of pan coagulating FAT! We use palm oil in our White Truffle Pate, Chao Cheese and now in our new Classic Meatloaf.

We have to melt it in order to incorporate into our recipes......we presently get it from a sustainable palm oil company (Agropalma) in Brazil.

Thanks for the suggestion Bryan.....and we promise to keep the fat coming....apologies for not finding enough in our products...but try the new Meatloaf, if you are lucky..there might some coagulated fat towards the bottom of the loaf. Give us a call or shoot us an email and we will give you a coupon for a Meatloaf to try out.

All for the Chimps

2009-10-16T10:47:00.000-07:00

Jamie in her tutu, photo courtesy of: www.chimpsanctuarynw.org/blog

On Friday, October 2, over 200 people gathered for an evening of compassion, support, and fun! Celebrate the Seven was a silent and live auction held at the Fremont Abbey Arts Center to celebrate one year of sanctuary life for the Cle Elum Seven chimpanzees, who were released from biomedical research.

There was an exciting selection of items to bid on, including art, wine, gift certificates, and even vacations. The Ambience Jazz Quartet provided beautiful live music while attendees were free to roam about, eating delicious vegetarian food and enjoying wine and "chimp-tinis", all donated for the event. I was there, along with my fiance, with platters of Field Roast sausage that David so beautifully arranged for the event. The crowd was amazing, and the Abbey was quickly filled with music, laughter, and conversation.

I must admit, this was one of the most satisfying events I've ever been to. I've always had a very special place in my heart for chimpanzees and their rescue. I was thrilled to find out I wasn't the only one. The group of people who gathered at the Abbey was exceptional - proof that we really can make a difference. My face actually hurt as we left from smiling so much!

I'm overjoyed to report that $56,000 was raised to help the Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest! They are now able to begin work on a project to winterize the outdoor area, so the chimps can spend more time outside enjoying the sun in the winter.

Meet your Meatloaf

2009-09-01T13:33:00.000-07:00

First placement on the West Coast, Madison Market

September is big. Huge. In fact its safe to say that the veggie meat your momma never made is here for you to sink your teeth into.
Our NEW Field Roast Classic Meatloaf has fresh cut carrots, onions, celery and a ton of savory spices all together with palm fruit oil and our original grain meat recipe. Each 1 lb loaf is ready to go right out of the package, just like you had some leftovers in the fridge. The magic is that you can heat slices in a skillet, or crumble it with your fingers, and the meat becomes juicy meaty goodness.

Can't think of what to do with it? We are here to help! We will be posting recipes through October, but you can join in too! Send photos and recipes to us at realmeatloaf@fieldroast.com so we can share them with the masses! Join us on Facebook, or follow our blog to see everyone's ideas over the next couple of months! Fall just got a little cozier.

Product Spotlight: Stuffed Celebration Roast Freezer Box

2009-08-25T13:47:00.000-07:00

Our Stuffed Celebration Roast is making its debut this winter across the country in its new box for the freezer. This 2 lb. roast has been around as long as the 1 lb. half roast has been, but not as widely distributed. After having much deliberation on the subject, we are excited about the new look developed by our fearless designer Greg.

Not only can it feed 8 folks, or leave some leftovers for a Gobbler Sandwich, the box gave us more room to tell new customers about how to cook it! Of course even without much prompting, the meat eater panel at Wall Street Journal last year still had to "gobble it up" and leave no crumbs behind.

Send your feedback! There are many changes that will also come to our Celebration Roast brand in the coming months including a new look for the logo! Have you ever stared at the line of Field Roast products on the shelf and wondered if we actually made the Celebration Roast or not?

Sausage Nation

2009-08-21T11:14:00.001-07:00

Since all is fair in love and sausage, Field Roast takes the tested traditional method of sausage making and positively takes animal flesh out of the equation. I would venture to say that our manufaturing plant in Seattle is home of the only two vegan sausage linkers in the world, and it is proving to be quite a serious business.

We've added a second machine, a second shift and now can be found nationwide in all three flavors at your retail grocer. Italian, Mexican Chipotle & Smoked Apple Sage. There is a trend that has begun to blossom; the rise of sausage carts and gourmet sausage restaurants that use Field Roast Sausages exclusively and inclusively. Mojo Market, outside of Safeco Field, home of the Mariners, was one of the first. Along with our ties to Frankfurter at the Seattle Center...it was hit and [mostly] miss if you wanted a vegan dog on the street. But a start nonetheless.

Now there are sausage carts across the country and restaurants with sausages as the main event on the menu that carry Field Roast (though they are mostly on the west coast)! One of the best parts of being part of Field Roast is the fact that vegans, veggies and carnivores give us the thumbs up on our taste and texture. We are proud to be the veggie option at establishments that tout their artisan and quality sausage fare. It goes to show that honestly, vegetarian meats are not what they used to be. We think they will never be the same again.

If you are wondering why your local dog cart doesn't have a veggie option...ASK! Perhaps they think that everyone who is a would-be customer wouldn't like the option. Or that they don't think the sales gained would be all that impressive. Many vendors who have our sausages would attest to that being completely off base, and our growth shows it. So thanks to Munchen Haus, Wurstkutche, Showdogs, Let's Be Frank, Frjts Fries, Diggity Dog, Funhole, Underdog, Bark Hot dogs, Dante's Inferno Dogs & Top Dog...oh, and by the way what happened to Sausage Party in San Fran??

If you put Field Roast on a bun and sell them or buy them somewhere not listed, let me know so we can thank you too! As for the summer months...they are slippin' by mightly fast. Catch 'em before the grills sink back into the garage! Thank goodness for Octoberfest!

Recipe: Smoked Tomato BBQ

2009-08-03T07:24:00.000-07:00

Sausages, Smoked Tomato Field Roast on the Grill with Corn

On July 31st, our Field Roast family got together at a local park for some good ol' summer fun. We ate, played kickball, and even had a couple of pinatas for the kids. We have a great group of folks here at Field Roast, and it is always nice to see eachothers kids, spouses and loved ones all together, celebrating!

We, of course, do not serve animal meat at our common meals. And so for those who think that it is difficult to feed a group of 60 without a ground beef burger in sight, this blog is for you. We grilled our popular grain meat Sausages on the park provided grills, but we also wanted something on a burger bun.

In comes the Smoked Tomato Field Roast BBQ. You may remember back in the FR days of old when the BBQ Field Roast was an item you could buy from us directly. You would have to have been in the food service industry, but we still get phone calls and emails from time to time

asking about this sweet and tangy recipe. It is rediculously simple and so let us share the magic with you!

Get your favorite barbeque sauce, grill up some onions in it, and slather it on top of a slab of Smoked Tomato slices or Quarter loaf sliced (grilled or sauteed a bit first of course). You can even julienne it for a pulled meat type of feel, and mix it all together. Scrumdiddlyumptious.

Recipe: Meatloaf Patty Melt

2009-07-22T09:29:00.000-07:00

Simplicity is a Patty Melt. At a diner in anytown, USA you can find this sandwich...but not yet will you find one that has this much appeal. Completely vegan, juicy, and seriously tasty. It was easy too, thanks to our Classic Meatloaf (coming this fall to a retailer near you)!

Ingredients:
1/2 lb Field Roast Classic Meatloaf (1/2 loaf)
1 medium onion
2 tblsp Earth Balance
1/4 c Daiya cheddar vegan cheese
4 slices rye bread

Thickly slice the onion, and saute in deep pan with Earth Balance until transparent, set aside.
Slice Field Roast Meatloaf in half, then into 1/4 inch slices. Grill in a saute pan, 1 min each side.
Spread remainder of EB on the slices of bread, and compile sandwiches in the deep pan with meatloaf, onions and Daiya piled high. Grill until melted. You can also put them under the broiler for a minute or make a panini style sammie. Serious business. Serve with tater chips.

Field Roast Nominated for "Best Veggie Meat"

2009-07-07T13:23:00.000-07:00

Vote for Field Roast as the "Best Veg Meat" of 2009!

This week Field Roast was nominated by VegNews in the "Best Veg Meat" category. Yeah! We are so jazzed to be part of the Veggie Awards this year.

In previous years the category was "Best Faux Meat" or fake meat or meat substitute....which Field Roast isn't.

Finally we have found our home....we are a REAL vegetarian meat....not a faux meat or imitation meat or a meat substitute.

Thanks for the folks at VegNews for understanding what we are all about.

Let the voting begin! Please vote today for your favorite REAL Veg Meat !

Click here to make your vote count!

Packaging angst with new machine....

2009-07-03T14:28:00.000-07:00

When we moved into our new plant last year we decided to also upgrade our packaging machine. The machine we had was stalwart but was just getting old. The size of the packages it could make didn't fit our product, especially the Celebration Roast...so we had to tuck under the excess packaging and keep it back by wrapping a label around it; wasting plastic.

Our new machine; a Multivac R145 was the promised new land....or that's what we thought. The new configuration of the machine has proven to be a painful one for us. The size of the package matches the Celebration Roast 1 lb perfectly but because of it's depth...it leaves the plastic a little too thin. In transit and during handling the thinness of the package is sometimes compromised, leaving what we call a "leaker"... essentially the package loses it's vacuum and looks something like the photo to the below.

We apologize to any of our retail customers; individuals and stores alike for this occuring. If you find "leakers" on your shelf please submit for a full refund and replacement to either your distributor or Field Roast directly.

The good news is that we are now using a Chamber Vacuum machine. This is a much thicker packaging solution and has a shrunk, tight look - the plastic is also twice as thick. Below is a comparison picture between the Multivac packaged Celebration Roast and a chamber vac. Live and learn.....Stay tuned!

New Chamber Vac Shrunked Package

Multivac Rollstock Package

First NOLA Veggie Fest, a hit!

2009-06-24T11:30:00.000-07:00

On May 17, in the French Quarter, New Orleans held its first NOLA Veggie Fest. There were over 500 attendees who enjoyed a day of scrumptious food, educational speakers, and entertainment. NOLA did a fabulous job representing Field Roast, and we’re so happy to have been included in the festivities. Members of The New Or le a ns Vegetarian Meetup Group were the primary volunteer organizers and volunteers for the Fest. Thank you to everyone who helped! All proceeds from this vegetarian festival went to The Humane Society of Louisiana, which is the local animal protection charity with a mission to promote veganism, and nonviolence and compassion for all creatures. According to The Humane Society of Louisiana, plans are already underway to expand the Fest to a 2-day, weekend long event in 2010. We wish them great success in the many years to come!

VegFest: Virginia Style

2009-06-13T15:37:00.000-07:00

Here's a happy, healthy suggestion for our friends on the East Coast: Richmond, Virginia is holding their annual VegFest on Saturday, June 20. This vegetarian festival is a project of the Vegetaria n Society of Richmond, and Vegan Action, and will be held in the Azalea Gardens in Bryan Park, from noon to 6 PM. Jon, with Sunergia, is helping Field Roast have a presence there, and will be sampling out our sausages (THANK YOU, Jon!). This will be our second year in attendance; last year, Ellwood Thompson's represented Field Roast. Admission is free, so bring the entire family! There will be delicious food, live music, guest speakers, local businesses, and nonprofits for all to enjoy. So go show your support for the vegetarian diet (whatever your reasons may be), and see how it can be a positive and easy choice!

The Backbone of the Mexican Chipotle Sausage

2009-06-11T09:32:00.001-07:00

The spicy Field Roast sausages sizzled on the stove ready to be devoured in an authentic Mexican meal with a hint of American culture. After being such an enthusiastic fan of the Mexican Chipotle sausage - the realization occurred that I could enhance the experience by bringing more of its Mexican roots back on to the plate.

But what does that necessarily mean?

To me, and to a lot of people familiar or raised in the Hispanic culture, it means incorporating the staples found on a legitimate burrito truck. The spicy chipotle brought forth the exquisite combination of the sour cream, guacamole, and pico de gallo all inside an organic Rudy's hotdog bun! Our taste buds were in full delight as we ate this healthy lunch.

Once I had the idea, I spoke with my co-workers Petra and Marta about making authentic guacamole and pico de gallo to put on this delicacy! Right off the bat, they were excited about co-creating this dish since we all shared the same passion for Mexican food. After a little planning and shopping at our nearby PCC (Puget Sound Consumers Cooperative), we sliced and diced organic tomatoes, cilantro, onions, jalapenos and avocados an hour before the lunch was to be served. Our timing was perfect; fresh pico de gallo, fresh guacamole, on top of some Mexican Chipotle sausages freshly cooked that morning!

By the time we were all sitting down and enjoying our meal, compliments could be heard all across the table. Between the silence of chewing and the vivid expressions of appreciation, I know without a doubt that this is a lunch menu not to be passed over! Especially for those who crave authentic Mexican food! To end it on a sweet note, we had a delicious fruit salad made that morning! Between intuition and innovation, Field Roast will always be there for the healthy minded people - to continue cultural traditions without continuing the cruelty that some species endure!

Sacred Cows Dream of Field Roast

2009-06-10T08:23:00.001-07:00

I've been thinking of cows recently. Sruti Mohandas, a 23 year old student from Madras, India is staying with us for the summer. Last night we were discussing how Hindus in India view cows as sacred. I think that is so terrifically cool. What a proud consciousness hath come from India!

Have you ever looked into the eyes of a cow? They are so lovely, peaceful and compassionate. It's ironic that such an untroubled, serene animal has been subjected to such violence and furry.

I was reading some vegan blogs the other day....one with a title "Cheese; The Slayer of Vegans", which is so true. Many of us with European origins crave cheese to the extent that we park our compassion at the curb when confronted with a creamy slice of pizza.

So...what if your milk came from a cow that wasn't slaughtered after it's milk giving days were over....allowed to live out it's days in peace and tranquility?

10 years of making Field Roast; Lam Ngot

2009-06-05T10:51:00.000-07:00

Recently we honored our founding production employee Lam Ngot for working at Field Roast for more than 10 years.

Lam has fundamentally influenced the efficiency, friendliness and harmony of our production environment. It's always been really important to me to work in a place of beauty and peace. Every day we come to work and repeat many of the tasks from the day before; mixing our dough, dipping our loaves, cutting vegetables and slicing our meats. All of these tasks; listed along side each other can seem complex and random - how do they all fit together. Lam has helped put them in order.

Lam grew up in rural Vietnam and started to work at an early age. Being the caretaker of her younger siblings while her parents worked, Lam has been taking care of her families for many years. We have been lucky at Field Roast to become a part of her family. She takes good care of us.

She came to America in 1992 and recently gained US citizenship status. She is the proud mother of four children and the wife of Tung. She is also an excellent cook. In fact, in her "days off" she works in one of the finest Vietnamese vegetarian resturants in Seattle, Moonlight Cafe.

To celebrate her 10 year anniversary Lam made lunch for all 25 of us !!!! Spring rolls, tofu, vegetables, rice....so tasty! My favorite food that Lam makes is a fried tofu dish she makes and a simmered squash in broth - I guess that's two.

Lam is our slicing specialist - operates the slicer that makes our deli slices and cuts the cutlets we make. She can label faster than anyone and often brings offerings of food to our company altar; biscuits, mangos and cups of tea.

Thanks Lam, for everything you have done for us at Field Roast. My hope for you is that some day you can simply relax a bit more and listen to the birds sing.

Breakfast at its Best

2009-05-28T13:14:00.000-07:00

On a weekend in late May, the Discerning Brute, aka Joshua Katcher, cooked up some amazing vegan waffles, and grilled Apple Sage Sausages, in cahoots with the BUST Spring Fling Craftacular and Farm Sanctuary . It looks as though I really missed out by being on the west coast for this one...but want to sincerely thank Joshua for thinking of us!

Check out his blog for the waffle recipe (animal shapes optional)!

My VegFest Adventure

2009-04-27T09:55:00.000-07:00

My journey began at VegFest 3 or 4 years ago, although I didn't realize it at the time. I was definitely excited about the chance to eat some delicious treats at the annual vegetarian food festival. As I walked out of the Seattle Center that day, it felt like I had discovered a vegetarian paradise!

I'm pretty sure I tried every morsel that looked tasty- I ended up so stuffed I could barely move. One sample, though, I just couldn't forget: Field Roast Grain Meat. The flavor and texture of the sausage blew me away; I was an instant fan. Imagine my delight when I found out that Field Roast was a local company!

So over the next few years, I kept my eye on this happy little company. The more I learned, the more I wanted to be part of it. Long story short, this December, I started working with the Field Roast family. It felt like a dream come true. When asked if I was interested in working the Field Roast booth at VegFest Seattle, I couldn't say yes quick enough.

VegFest had become a mini-holiday for me. Each year, I looked forward to it like a kid looks forward to Halloween (only with better snacks). It was especially interesting to be involved with a different side of the food festival. To help plan, set up, and work with the Field Roast team was a most satisfying and delightful experience. My favorite part was watching people's eyes light up after their first bite of grain meat. There was so much love, and it was an honor to help represent such a wonderful company at an incredible event. I can't wait until next year!

Oh, by the way.... no one bribed me to write this blog... my excitement is sincere. :)

VegFest Seattle 2009 button designs

2009-04-22T13:50:00.000-07:00

Like it Hot? We made these buttons for VegFest Seattle...along with buttons for Chipotle's sweet friend Apple Sage and her Italian cousin who insists that her fennel seeds remain whole. But the "I'm Hot" button was the first to run out. Still Apple Sage is a favorite of many...and of course we were handing out our good ol' "Veggie Flesh Eater" buttons on the second day.

Field Roast at Seattle VegFest 2009

2009-04-16T14:28:00.000-07:00

If free vegetarian food appeals to you, VegFest Seattle (and Portland in September) is where you need to be... and this year was no exception. Whether your a veg head looking for the latest and greatest or a veg virgin, everyone has a blast. The energy is always positive, the conversations are always interesting and Stewart Rose, the Vegetarians of Washington guru and leader, is always waving his flag and giving away yummy new vegetarian products.
This year we decided to switch it up from years past and sample our brand new Classic Meatloaf and the lesser known quarter loaf products. (see blog below) They did not disappoint, the feedback we got was amazingly positive. How can you not like a simply made grainmeat with fresh celery, carrots, onions and the secret? Saturated fat in the form of Organic Palm Oil.
As well as sampling our products we set up a slideshow, which showed everyone just how simple it is to make the Meatloaf. Because there are so many people coming through the booth this year we setup a suggestion/story box. Everyone came through with thoughtful suggestions and hilarious stories! Here are a few of our favorites.
A quick shout out to Keith Tucker who's making a documentary on the intersection between the Green/Veg movements and Hip Hop culture, called Pursuit of a Green Planet, it's going to be real! Thanks for helping us with our veg video!
Thanks to everyone for making this years Vegfest a complete success! We also had a little Write it Down contest to see what Field Roast stories were out there, Congrats to Rena Pugh, Nathan Miles & Roger Aldridge; we thought what you shared was really fantastic! And we will contact you soon for a free Field Roast Meatloaf of your very own.

The Quarter Loaf...curious?

2009-04-07T08:35:00.000-07:00

In the beginning, of Field Roast, there was a hunk of vegetarian meat. It was aptly and lovingly called chub, and was simmered in a kettle. At that time, in those beginning times, there were only a few hands making them.
David developed three distinct flavors crafting them in the image of good food. They have to this day, all of the fresh ingredients he used in these early days. Garlic, Tomato Paste, Onions, Sage, Mushrooms, Red Wine, and Grains like wheat & barley, and Legumes too.
Now we have gone through the harsh lands of the deli slice, and many of you may say...but I love those deli slices! But we have come to know the greatness of the chubby hunk of veggie meat that only Field Roast can make, that we have come to stand beside this forgotten loaf and reinvent it!
We now peel the netting, making it easy to use. Now maybe you have noticed...our Quarter Loaves are 12oz...not really just Quarter Loaves, but 3/4 Loaves! These chubs bear no fat whatsoever, and can be used in so many ways, from chopped to sliced & ground. Besides, our grain meats are not fake, meatless or analog. They are meaty, and completely vegan...two things we insist are NOT mutually exclusive.

Field Roast welcomes New School

2009-03-16T12:10:00.001-07:00

With our plant right in the city, it is easy to be part of a community. We do not take that for granted, so when a teacher from New School asked for us to host her 4th grade class for a tour, we were delighted at the opportunity.

This is not something that we are in the business of doing. We make food and ship it. That said we had the greatest time showing the kids how grain meat is made, and they seemed to have a great time too. What better way to connect with food than to watch how it is made. Our cook crew was making sausage that day, and the kids were visibly mesmorized by the linking machine. They were of course fond of the huge freezers and the packing machine as well.

The best part of the tour was that we set out ingredients for them to make their own grain meat and take it home! We had them all glove up and measure the wheat flours, salt and boullion. Then they measured the water, mixed into the water their chosen veggies & spices and then mixed the wet and dry together! We used a little bit of netting that they placed the dough into, and we steamed it for them.

They really got into the hands on activity! And we truly enjoyed having them come in and see just how grain meat is made.

Philadelphia Vegetarian Examiner: Field roast grain meat hits whole foods on south street

2009-03-16T08:19:00.001-07:00

The Roast gets props in Philly newspaper!

Philadelphia Vegetarian Examiner: Field roast grain meat hits whole foods on south street

Photo Gallery: Pizza Works!

2009-03-13T10:03:00.001-07:00

We love what Pizza Works in Bothell, WA has done with Field Roast!
FIELD ROAST COMBO
^*wSmoked Tomato Loaf, ^*wApple Sage Sausage, Mushroom, Olive, Green Pepper, Onion, Cheddar & Mozzarella Cheese

TWISTED TOMATO
Red or Green Pesto, ^*wSmoked Tomato Loaf, Sundried Tomato, Black Olive, Artichoke Heart, Cashews, Cheddar, Mozzarella & Feta Cheese

SONORA FIRE
^*wMexican Chipotle, Jalapeno Peppers, Green Peppers, Onion, Tomato, Black Olives, Cheddar & Mozzarella Cheese

SERIOUSLY GREAT PIZZA!
Thanks to Bob Gerrish and the whole team at Pizza Works!

We've been nibbled!

2009-02-12T13:52:00.000-08:00

Field Roast won the Gold Star from The Nibble, an online magazine for foodies, as the Gold Star winner of the NASFT Winter Fancy Food show! Since there are over 80,000 specialty food products to taste at this show, to be picked as the overall favorite is awesome!

Based on excellence and innovation The Nibble chose us because we:

[Create] such a delicious line of food—regardless of whether it is vegan or otherwise... The fact that it is meatless but tastes and looks as good as meat means two things:

People who need to avoid cholesterol can have food that is just as delicious as what they enjoyed previously. And people who want to eat less meat (or no meat) for ethical reasons or to slow down global warming (18% of greenhouse gases are attributed to the methane produced by animals bred for meat) have a truly wonderful option here.

But you already knew that right? :)

Read the full article from TheNibble.com here.

Compassionate Cooks

2009-02-10T11:53:00.000-08:00

We would like to say thanks to Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, of Compassionate Cooks and author of many award winning cookbooks (as well as the upcoming "The Vegan Table" in June!) for her compliments of Field Roast Grain Meats on her podcast called "Food for the Road: Packed Lunches and Picnics" Colleen is a vegan chef and advocate, working from her internet portal to create joyous vegan and vegetarian community, while traveling to teach and speak. There is now an exciting Academy program in the works! Go browse their website and find out where Colleen will be in town next. She is a seasoned speaker and will be coming to many vegetarian and vegan events this year. The passion that she brings to the vegan lifestyle has helped many a wary vegetarian learn to cook good food and even go vegan if they are inclined!

Certainly it is easier with a guide like Colleen in your corner to find your way through the maze of vegan baking, cooking and ingredient information. Her site is a useful resource indeed. We wish her the best.

Recipe: Celebration Roast with Leeks and Shrooms

2009-02-04T08:45:00.000-08:00

The other day, we received an email from a mom out in Dallas, TX whose vegan 17 year old foodie, Issey Howe, made a wonderful dish with Celebration Roast. She sent along a photo and I just had to share it with you!

Often we get calls and emails asking about the way to best cook Celebration Roast. I will most likely refer to the Marinated Celebration Roast recipe on our website, the one that I recently photographed at home and posted as well. This recipe takes off on the steaming method of cooking our beloved Cele Ro...and incorporates lots of love and goodness!

First carmelize finely sliced leeks in olive oil, then add Pacific Organic vegetable broth and Bunapi and Shiitake mushrooms. After cooking down a bit add the thawed Celebration Roast to the pot, cook 15 minutes bathing the roast with the liquid and mushrooms. Serve over brown rice.

Thanks again to Issey and her mom Anita!

Mark Bittman and Meat Substitutes !

2009-01-15T08:16:00.000-08:00

We got an email yesterday from a Field Roast loving Seattlelite (Ariana) who told us that famed NY Times food writer Mark Bittman was interviewed on local NPR station KUOW.

I have followed and enjoyed Mark's writing over the years.....ironically he is the author of How to Cook Everything Vegetarian!

At some point, during the interview Mark made a sweeping statement about how awful vegetarian meat substitutes were.

Ariana emailed the radio station and defended our honor! Thanks Ariana!

Mark probably doesn't realize that there are people making real vegetarian meats....that have....fresh vegetables in them.....garlic, red wine, lemon juice that AREN'T attempting to be a fake animal meat.....

When Ariana contacted the station Mr. Bittman evidently (I haven't heard the piece) said that he'd like to try some samples.....Mark..we'd love to get you some!

After Ariana emailed us I attempted to contact Mark at his NYtimes email address and got message back:
I'm sorry I cannot answer each individual query
and comment, but if you post these
questions/comments on the blog -
nytimes.com/bitten - I'm sure they'll get
answered. (Rest assured that I do read everything.)
Thanks for writing-
Mark

Does anyone know how to contact Mark so we can turn him on to what we are doing? Where is Mark Bittman!

Community Meal: Field Roast Shepherd's Pie

2009-01-08T09:27:00.001-08:00

Yesterday was our monthly community meal at Field Roast. Usually David cooks the meal, we set a large table and enjoy some time together. Afterwords we have our monthly safety and production meeting.

This month's meal was Shepherds Pie with collard greens on the side. David started by massaging the Classic Meatloaf into crumbles, and mentioned also that he used our Porcini Gravy mix to give it some sauciness.

Today we welcomed two new faces to the office! Cindi, who comes to us via a farm in eastern Washington (among other places) and Korie from Australia. After the busy holiday season it is great to have more hands for the work that keeps coming. (Thanks so much for buying our food! That way we can keep making it!)

Now this may be a bit of a downer, since most of you won't be able to find either of these fabulous Field Roast products near you. There are some exceptions...like the Midwesterners who can find our Meatloaf at the Whole Foods deli counter, or those in LA that can do the same.

Richard setting the table in our Community Room

We love our meatloaf! Made really simply with carrots, celery, onions, a hint of tomato paste, organic palm oil (what's meatloaf without the fat) and our ubitiquitous grain meat.

These photos were taken by our newest FRoaster Korie, who joins us to work with production and quality assurance.

David and Korie in the Kitchen (which is also our Community Room)

Recipe: Marinated Celebration Roast

2008-12-18T07:40:00.001-08:00

On our Field Roast formal website, there in the recipe section, there is a method for cooking the Celebration Roast that I always use. Marinated Celebration Roast! It keeps the roast moist, warms it through in just minutes and is really tasty! I made it the other day and thought to share it through photos. The process is very simple.

First slice a medium onion, and drizzle it with olive oil. Roast it in the oven for about 15 minutes, until it gets a bit crispy on the edges and sizzly!

Next, slice the Celebration Roast into 1/2 inch slices and intersperse the onions between the slices. Drizzle with more olive oil and a bit of balsamic vinegar! Place back in the 425 degree oven for about 15 more minutes.

Field Roast's Newsletter

2008-12-08T11:03:00.000-08:00

Another Holiday season is among us, and with the hardships many are facing, we at Field Roast are really thankful for all of you, the customers that continue to buy our products. We continue to create artisan grain meats full of REAL ingredients that you can understand...because it makes us happy. And it is a great feeling to know that people are willing to pay for that quality, and that it makes YOU happy :)

Thank you for the emails and phone calls! We are happy to say that although there are still many areas that Field Roast is difficult to procure...we do know that your stores could carry them if they are willing to put them on their shelf! Our sausages are making great strides in the vegetarian meat category, and have been noted as the fastest growing veggie meat on the market.

I hope you will sign up for our newsletter! We send them out quarterly to let you know what is going on in the world of "FR"

Thanks,
Jennifer

To you we sing!

2008-11-25T08:36:00.000-08:00

Today's Common Meal at Field Roast

2008-11-12T12:57:00.000-08:00

Once a month we all gather in our staff kitchen for a common meal. David will cook for us a fantastic vegetarian meal and often times spend the entire morning preparing it. Today's was a traditional Thanksgiving meal though completely vegan.

We of course had our Celebration Roast topped with our Porcini Gravy. There was salad greens, peas dressed with oil and garlic, and the Lee family recipe potatoes. David will have to impart that secret himself, but they are so crunchy on the outside and soft inside. Kinda like fried mashed potatoes...but quite a bit healthier! I happened to bring in the stuffing I made last night for the photo shoot today, and shared that with everyone. David made pecan & apple pie too, ala mode with soy delicious ice cream. Yum!

Recipe: Cornbread Stuffing with Apple Sage Sausage and Mushrooms

2008-11-11T11:45:00.000-08:00

Last year, I made this recipe on the fly for the first time. It is really simple, vegan, and utterly joyous! The sweet and smoky notes of our Apple Sage Sausage is a perfect addition to traditional stuffing, and easy! No one...not even your overly proud carnivorous uncle will miss the unmentionable turkey "parts" that are missing from this dish.

Ingredients:
2 links Smoked Apple Sage Field Roast Sausages
2 Large stalks celery, chopped
1 Medium yellow onion, diced
1 1/2 cup veggie stock (I used my own!)
8 oz Mushrooms - Button or Cremini
6 oz Cornbread Stuffing mix
(Mrs. Cubbison's is vegan!)
2-3 Tblsp Earth Balance
Fresh Thyme & Sage for Garnish

Simply chop all your veggies, and sweat them in a skillet over medium heat in the Earth Balance. This takes about 10 minutes.

This creates a great steamy atmosphere for the Field Roast to go into. One must NOT dry out the grain meat! I sliced the two links into rounds and then crumbled them into my now sauteed veggies with my hands. After a quick stir, I added the veggie stock and stuffing mix. I stirred to coat the mixture with the stock, and covered the pan for about 8 minutes. Voila! Tasty vegan stuffing! Another variation I might try is adding apples or butternut squash into the dish!

Field Roast Tours!

2008-10-27T07:31:00.001-07:00

The Stranger recently wrote a great article about Field Roast and our new facility! If you didn't see it, you should check it out here! In response to all the tour requests we've received since, I would like to announce that we will be open for tours. We welcome you to come see how its done. If you are interested in a tour please call ahead and make arrangements (weekdays only). 1.800.311.9497

Falling towards Holidays

2008-10-13T10:29:00.001-07:00

Now that the air is turning brisk, we are ready for the comfort of family. friends and Field Roast! If you are intending to gather with your loved ones throughout the winter months, why not make a rich meal of comfort food that is delicious and vegan!

We are fixing to launch our Stuffed Hazelnut Cranberry Roast En Croute for its second year! It was a great success throughout the country last year. This year our orders have tripled! This means that you are more likely to find it at your local grocer's deli! If you are wondering where to get your scrumptious roast...send us an email! news@fieldroast.com, and I will let you know if you are able to find it in your area.

Also, if you are bummed because you cannot get it anywhere, go ahead and wrap your Celebration Roast with puff pastry! Some of the main brands are vegan, since they use vegetable fats instead of butter or lard. This year the Celebration Roast is in more grocery stores than ever! and it should not be terribly difficult to grab yours! If you are not able to find one, check out our online retailers! They are listed on our website under our "Where to Buy" section on the left sidebar at the top, click "online retailers"!

Grain Meat Evolution!

2008-09-18T09:54:00.000-07:00

There is an interesting article in the latest issue of VegNews Magazine called 'Faux Meat Revolution'. As many of you know by now, Field Roast does not use the term 'faux meat' to describe itself [which is why we were probably not mentioned in the article!;)] however a lot of people like to describe what we make as "fake meat", or "meat analogues" or "not-sausage". We know a lot of other brands, such as those described in the article, do like to label themselves that way, but we challenge that idea, and in a sense, create our own little revolution.

The article has quotes from vegans for and against "faux" meat. We can agree with both sides of the argument. For example, Laura Bohlcke of Carrollton, TX (who is on the"faux" meat side) says:

Faux meat is a great way to introduce carnivores to the vegetarian world in a non-threatening way.

On the other side of the debate Phyllis Jo Kubey of New York, NY says:

I would much sooner see people break the habit [of] meat-substitute consumption and free themselves to enjoy the many more interesting and healthful foods available in the fruit vegetable, grain, nut, and seed families.

We agree with both of these arguments, but we want people to not have to choose between something that is "real" and something that is "fake". By not labelling ourselves fake meat, and instead calling ourselves "grain meat", we at Field Roast are trying to reclaim a word, assosciation and lifestyle. We know that the very term itself [meat] is a highly charged one, and that's why we like to use it. We like to challenge the idea that our proteins can come from an animal source. If we to label our foods "fake" bacon, turkey, beef etc. then we are really just buying into the idea that we need to consume those animals in our diets in some form or another.

The VegNews article, written by Mark Hawthorne, traces the evolution of "faux-meat" from China, however insists on calling it all "meat-substitute". While it is true that Buddhists monks, for instance, were searching for a non-animal source of protein, if we look at classic definitions of the word 'meat' then we can see it is "solid food" (Merriam-Websters dictionary). Imagine if the world added meatiness to a meal from a non-animal source. Why label it an animal when it is not? Why assume animals need to be central to every meal when they don't have to be?We were admittedly a little sad that the article did not address the fact that a choice for real or fake does not have to be made. That there are products available which are delicious and tasty and do not try and make eating animals the agenda. The holidays are coming up and we know a delicious vegan centerpiece that allows grains, nuts, vegetables, and spices to take the stage. Full of protein, a favorite of carnivores, vegetarians, flexitarians and... well... people who love good food. From the compassionate findings of buddhist monks, to European bold flavors, how about a nice GRAIN meat to feed the food revolution?

Open House Party!

2008-09-11T10:37:00.001-07:00

On Tuesday, September 9th, we opened the doors to our new facility for friends, family, customers, vendors and the community to help us dedicate the building we have put so much love and energy into.

The finishing touches on our charming brick building, built in the '20's (read about it here) were hanging our swinging sign and getting the front painted with our company name, the old fashioned way (our painter even did it freehand!) Now, there is no mistaking where we are!

We greeted guests at our front door/ reception area, which we decorated with flowers, and soon was a jungle of beautiful plants we received as congratulatory gifts. We had a Field Roast display, and photos of the plant in the state of disarray we got it in. Even just being in the reception area people could tell from the photos just how much positive energy we infused into the building, which like so many old buildings, was probably slated for demolition. But a little love and respect goes a long way for anything neglected...

We asked people to sign into a dedication board, so we could have a memento of the day as well as capture some of the warm community spirit that our guests brought to us.

From the reception area, we led tours around the facility. We weren't making product at the time which allowed our guests to go into the production room, walk around and check out the machines, and get a feel for all of the aspects that go into producing our famous vegan grain meats.

The tours ended in our label room which had been transformed into party room! :) We had all of our products out for sample, including the hard-to-find White Truffle Pate and Chao Cheese. die-hard fans and people who had never tried our products before were delighted with the display and we really appreciate the warm energy they all brought into bringing our plant to life.

Although we have been in the new location for a few months, now it really feels like home.

Thanks to everyone who made this happen! We could not be here without our dedicated customers, and all of the support we have received over the last ten years!

Stop by anytime to check us out and to bring even more love to us! The party is over but our door is always open...

To check out some more photos of the event, click here

Join us at Green Edmonds Festival

2008-09-03T07:22:00.000-07:00

This year Field Roast will have a booth selling sausages at the Green Edmonds Festival! This outdoor festival will provide a fun and friendly environment for Green businesses and organizations to showcase their products, services and ideas and for attendees to learn how to live a Greener, healthier lifestyle. Exhibitors will offer everything from home improvement ideas to children's products to organic foods to arts and crafts. Sessions scheduled throughout the day on the solar-powered stage will provide easy, cost-effective ideas for living a Greener life. Admission is FREE! To get there click here.

Hope to see you there!

RECIPE: Sloppy Joes (Janes) with Hemp

2008-08-18T09:14:00.000-07:00

We had great fun at Seattle's Hempfest this weekend. Malcolm did it up with his crew of friends; grilling Smoked Apple Sage Hemp Sausages, making lemonade and serving up some killer Sloppy Janes.

Sloppy Jane ... the more radical sister of Sloppy Joe who likes just a little hemp in her belly....otherwise it's the quintessential Sloppy Joe; fatty, juicy, slightly sweet, cascading over and atop an institutional hamburger bun!

The mark of a real Sloppy Joe is the juiciness and loft...does it soak into the bun while maintaining some structure and height. I made this recipe with a mixture of virgin olive oil and palm fruit oil. The palm is saturated so it adds flavor and mouth feel.

The recipe below is for 18 gallons....great for food service. If you'd like to do this at home....get out the scale and do some arithmetic. Maybe we will work this into a home recipe at some point. I used a combination of all of our sausage grinds....a little bit of our Mexican Chipotle sausage for a piquant note, Smoked Apple Sage for a little sweetness and Italian for it's undeniably robust flavor.

YIELD: 18 gals

INGREDIENTS:

7.5 lbs Olive Oil, Extra Virgin
20 lbs Palm Fruit Oil, Expeller Pressed
30 lbs Onions, Diced
6 lbs Garlic, Minced
11 lbs Field Roast (FR) Mexican Chipotle Sausage, Ground
45 lbs FR Smoked Apple Sage Sausage, Ground
30 lbs FR Italian Sausage, Ground
15 lbs Tomato Paste
6 lbs Molasses
4.25 lbs Vinegar
5 lbs Hemp Seed, deshelled (optional) (we got ours from Manitoba Harvest)
37 lbs Water
Salt to taste (I also through in a little veggie stock)

PROCESS:

1. Saute onions in just the right amount of olive oil (you decide....not swimming and not too dry)
2. Add garlic and cook for just a minute
3. Add everything else and stir it up. Bring it all to temp and cook for 10 minutes or so.
4. Adjust salt, vinegar and molasses to taste.

Come see us at Hempfest!

2008-08-14T06:26:00.000-07:00

This year at Seattle's annual Hempfest at Murtle Edwards Park, you will be able to buy Field Roasts' Apple Sage Sausage with hemp seed! Thats right! a host of Field Roast familiars and employees will sell the special edition sausage from a booth at the event.

The 2008 theme for this highly attended event is; Industrial Hemp, and what it can do for America. "With our nation's stumbling economy, soaring gas prices, and recent global shortages of food and energy we can't afford to ignore the fact that industrial hemp can play a useful role in securing the vital interests of our nation. There are so many various uses for hemp, it really may be the the world's most resourceful plant. We are putting a special "hemphasis" on the things Hemp can deliver, and we will have some special displays and presentations from some of the nation's leading experts this year at Hempfest." This excerpt from their website emphasizes the fact that in the events' seventeenth year in the making, Hemp is still a viable and important issue today.

Hempfest runs from August 16th-17th from 10am-8pm, and spans three Seattle waterfront parks: Elliott Bay Park (North Entrance), Myrtle Edwards Park, and Olympic Sculpture Park (South Entrance).
Admission is FREE!

Meat Made From Wheat!

2008-08-08T09:05:00.001-07:00

Here is a link to a video featured on The Seattle Times today entitled Meat Made With Wheat! See how Field Roast is made! There is some cool footage of the hand breading of our cutlets, and hand dipping of our delicious Celebration Roast. See the amazing doughy goodness of the Mexican Chipotle sausage grind turn into delicious vegan spicy links!

Here is also an online version of an article appearing in today's Seattle Times business section on the growth of Field Roast, and our move to our new building!

In anticipation of our open house on September 9th, where we invite our customers, partners and community to visit our new building and see for themselves how Field Roast is made, this video is a little sneak peak into the making of our delicious vegan grain meats!

Blogspot: The Chubby Vegetarian

2008-08-06T08:34:00.001-07:00

We got an email from a blogger recently pointing us in the direction of his veggie gourmet food blog called The Chubby Vegetarian: Making a Production out of Produce. Justin Fox Burks & The Wife really have a knack for the heart of comfort food, vegetarian style. As a taste first cook, Justin has earned our admiration with his Chili Cheese Home Fries, Portobello Mushroom & Tempeh Rueben with Red Cabbage Kraut on Marble Rye, and of course his tasty rendition of Field Roast sausage on a whole wheat bun.
On top of all the yummy menus on his blog, the photos are stunning. Thanks to Justin for getting in touch!

Field Roast is the Real Deal

2008-07-29T14:30:00.000-07:00

A new study tested people's perceptions of food based on their value systems - for instance meat-eaters were given vegan sausages and told they were meat and rated them tasting great. When told what they were eating was vegan they said it didn't taste as good even if what they were eating was then animal meat!

Here is their synopsis:
We suggest that consumers assess the taste of a food or beverage by comparing the human values symbolized by the product to their human value priorities. When there is value-symbol congruency, they experience a better taste and aroma and develop a more favorable attitude and behavior intention; incongruence has theopposite effect. Participants in two taste tests were told the correct identity of aproduct or misinformed. Participants who endorsed the values symbolized by theproduct (that they thought they were tasting) evaluated the product more favorably.

This study has fueled some mighty blogging, such as this link, and this link.

Field Roast would just like to add its opinion!!

First, so many comments assume that all vege sausage is made from soy. While the majority of them are, Field Roast is not!! We are 100% soy free, which, for many is a blessing because so much of vegan food is based around soy, and allergies aside, one knows that eating too much of anything is not good.

Second, why is meat that is not made from animals "fake"?? We understand some companies like to make fake versions of animal meat, but there is something strange about food being fake. Field Roast is REAL food, and we want to change the perception of what meat is. Traditional definitions of the word meat first label it is as solid food. The texture of Field Roast is meaty and satisfying but it is made from grains and not animals. And we don't want to pretend it comes from animals because that is just weird. Our slogan is 'flesh of the earth'.

Anyway, back to the study, it is strange how science needs to prove things that thousands of years of real (not fake!) life can tell us. Food is about involvement and passion and perception. We like to think that food is an experience that brings people together. We are happy to be a product that can satisfy a table full of people who may be vegan, meat-eater, flexitarian, or all. Next time you serve up Field Roast do your own little psychological experiment. Tell the tasters what they are about to eat is real food, from the earth, and there is nothing fake about it. We bet it'll rank high on deliciousness! ;)

Field Roast Folks: Dante's Inferno Dogs

2008-07-28T10:48:00.000-07:00

You may already know that on the corner of NW Market & 22nd in Ballard, WA sits a shiny cart selling dogs....FROM HELL! Sure, they have the regular animal sausages, brats and dogs...but they also have the good sense to carry Field Roast Sausages!

They buy both our Apple Sage and Mexican Chipotle sausages...which is a bit strange since the Italian is usually a shoe in for this type of gig. "One that's hot, and one that's not" is what Dante said, and we agree on this philosophy. Mexican Chipotle is the hottest veggie sausage in town. In fact, we are so proud of the spicy, unforgettable heat that when we are asked by those not so turned on by the spice to turn it down a notch, we simply reply "no." There is no way this sausage is getting a washed out make over. It has worked too hard to get this spicy, and we have got to respect that.

Now the Apple Sage, is not spicy. Rather sweet we'd say. And I bet it would be great from Dante's cart with a heep of jalepanos on top and cream cheese from that infamous gun! But that is just my opinion! Are you a fan of Dante's? Go here and buy a shirt. They are really great people :)

On the Menu: The Vegetarian Grill is calling!

2008-07-18T10:30:00.000-07:00

Summer took its sweet ol' time getting here this year. June in Seattle was still “colder than Siberia!” The summer grilling season is in full swing now, and thus the time has come for vegan picnic events and community Vegfests! We are blessed to have an active fan base, people involved in compassionate gatherings and educational events for vegetarian food and living. We donate to events when invited, and hope that our tasty sausages make a point in case. Meat does not have to be made from animals!

Ellwood Thompsons’ Nat u ral M arket in Richmond, VA has been a customer of Field Roasts’ for about a year now, and since the beginning they have grown to be a favorite of ours on the East Coast. Their people are super nice and down to earth. They serve our deli slices in their deli and sell the whole retail line of sausages, deli slices, and Celebration Roast in the dairy section year round. They are annually involved in the little VegFest in Richmond, and this year asked us to partner up with them for a sausage grilling booth. We sent signs, sausages and some love to them and it looks like they had a great time! It is really nice to feel like we are well taken care of on the shelf and at such an event. I hear that Richmond, VA isn’t the most veggiest place on the map, but their pocket of people is growing J Thanks to Mandy for making it happen and sending the photos!

The Farm Sanctuaries, in both NY & California held their annual 4^th of July Pignics, and this year drew over 200 people to their farms. You can see all of their extraordinary work on their website (it is quite extraordinary indeed!) Thanks to Liz and Carolyn for getting us involved!

From the 25-27^th of July, Post Punk Kitchen is hosting an event called Vegan the Gathering II: the Veganing that lasts three days, and involves “food, camping and port a potties” at the Willamette Mission State Park. This Saturday I met up with Isa Chandra, author and chef of Vegan with a Vengeance, Vegan Cupcakes take over the World (so fantastically yummy!), and Veganomicon co-written by Terry Hope Romero, to exchange Field Roast for vegan cookbooks at the Food Fight Grocery in Portland. The sausages will feed the event goers for the weekend. Isa gave us a stack of books! Including 3 copies of the newest Veganomicon! Thanks again to Isa and the rest of the Post Punk folks, we will put them to good use! !