March 2, 2011 1:49 PM

OK, I know I haven't updated since Feb 10 - but it's been rough.

So this post is not going to recap the past two weeks! Instead, I'm going to do a product review!! (OMG THIS BLOG ACTUALLY HAS CONTENT THAT YOU CAN USE!!!!!!!!!!)

The product is..... Field Roast's Mexican Chipotle Grain Meat Sausage!!!!!!

No, I do not normally eat fake meat - but I had a really big craving for chorizo (google it if you don't know) and I saw something that looked like it in the fake meat section by the tofu I was buying. So I grabbed it on impulse and it said vegan on it! So it went into the cart.

(yes, I am experimenting with pictures again)

So here's what I did with it - I've only used one sausage of the 4 provided so far, so more reviews may be coming.

1 tbsp oil in a pan for frying - added tofu (about a dime wide strip from a normal size container or about 1/5 of the 14oz or 397g Wegmans Extra Firm Tofu). I began to brown the tofu at about medium heat while I got the sausage out of the fridge. Then I cut open a sausage link and dumped it into the pan, squishing it around with the fork so it would break down into little chunks. It slowly started to break up and brown, but by then the tofu was getting a little too brown (bad idea, Molly). So I kept it in the pan for a little longer before singing a line from the newest Avril Lavinge song and tossing it on my plate for brunch. It's vegan, so it doesn't really need to cook to kill bacteria or something, right?

Imagine what it would look like if I wasn't lazy...

But then I had a couple phone calls I had to take, so it wasn't exactly hot when I got to it - oops. The crumbled tofu kinda resembled eggs, and if I had put more effort into it (and added the sausage to the pan first), it may have looked more like chorizo and eggs than it did.

Despite the fact that it was barely warm, it was good/decent. The flavors weren't as strong as they are in real chorizo, but the smell was pretty accurate and made me feel like calling home. Despite the label's claim of "HOT & SPICY!", it had less zing than I wanted, and I think the 'Medium' salsa I have in my fridge is spicier than this was. The grainy texture was the closest to meat that I've had, and the cooked pieces were almost dead-on. If it had been a little spicier, it would have covered up the faint wheat taste completely.

In other words, I cooked it wrong/incompletely, but otherwise it needs to be spicier. Those are the only improvements I could think of after eating it. Though cooking it with just plain tofu may have been the wrong idea - maybe next time I'll add some cayenne to the pan to give it that extra Boom Boom Pow that it needs.

Here's Company info, Nutrition stuff, etc:

Artisan Vegan Field Roast Original Grain Meat Co - est 1997 Seattle WA
"A Blend of European and Asian Heritage"
Vegetarian Grain Meat Sausages
Naturally made from Grains and Vegetables
HOT & SPICY Mexican Chipotle - with smoked chipotle and chili de arbol peppers
ney wt. 12.95 ox {368g}
Ready to Eat\Keep Refrigerated
1440 S Jackson St, Seattle WA 98144
800-311-9497
www.fieldroast.com

Peel Casing Before Cooking: Clip one end of sausage with scissors. Cut down the length of the sausage (half way) and remove plastic casing.
Preparation: Grill on outdoor grill, brown in saute pan with a little oil using medium heat, break up sausage with fingers and use in sauces, stir-frys, and scrambles. Avoid overcooking.

Ingredients: Vital Wheat Gluten, filtered water, expeller pressed safflower oil, onions, garlic, apple cider vinegar, naturally flavored yeast extract, chipotle peppers, onion powder, granulated garlic, brown sugar, spices, sea salt, barley malt, black pepper, chili de arbol peppers, cumin seed, paprika oleoresin and oregano

Nutrition Facts
Serv. Size - 1 sausage (92g)
Servings per container - 4
Calories - 250
Calories from fat - 100
Total fat - 12g
Saturated fat - 1g
Trans fat - 0g
Choloesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 520mg
Total Carb - 12g
Dietary Fiber - 4g
Sugars - 8g
Protein - 23g
Vitamin A - 0%
Vitamin C - 0%
Calcium - 2%
Iron - 10%
May have been previously frozen (Mine was 'cause I stuck it in the freezer for a few days :P)

Here's some more pictures too!

Thought I'd end with a pic of my meal - Overall, not bad!