Recipe: Franks Island Skewer

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.

Tis the Season

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!

Five years of Autumn with Field Roast

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 Classic Meatloaf Tacos

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!

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.

The Backbone of the Mexican Chipotle Sausage

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!

Field Roast at Seattle VegFest 2009

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.

Field Roast welcomes New School

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.

Recipe: Celebration Roast with Leeks and Shrooms

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!

Join us at Green Edmonds Festival

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!

Vegan Pizza Oh My!

TAKE A BITE OF THE BEST!

FOR THE ULTIMATE PIZZA EXPERIENCE

We are really excited to announce that Pizzaworks in North East Seattle is now serving Field Roast on their menu, to go along with their all vegan pizza crust and sauce!! They offer both dine-in as well as take and bake, and also have a (limited) delivery area. See here for details

They are going to be adding a Veggie Combo Pizza to their menu, which has both Smoked Tomato and Apple Sage Field Roast, making it a vegan meatlovers!

You can also substitute different Field Roast flavors on their other pizzas. Pizza heaven.

They are going to be offering up some coupons next week, so check their website for more details!

HELP STAMP OUT
BORING PIZZA!