Raw Dogs

I never liked hot dogs, so going vegan never resulted in me missing the things. However, I had some truly amazing vegan hot dogs at Curia on the Drag in Gainesville the other night, which had me rethinking the whole idea of making and eating plant based dogs on a bun. I have no idea what was in their hot dogs.. and they certainly were cooked.. but as I attempt to stick to a raw diet at home I wanted to try making my own hot dogs... but fully raw ones (if the idea even existed). After some true hot dog soul searching, I came across a cool Cooking Quinoa blog that contained just the perfect recipe I was looking for. Something wholesome, something raw.... these rawsome dogs were definitely it! Made from oats and veggies, they strangely resemble hot dogs (somehow????) without the gross fake meat taste added in. Give these a go and let me know what you think! They're good for you, and can be eaten in so many ways (besides in a bun!) Try em wrapped in greens, with some kraut, or saturated with vegan chili, mustard, ketchup and the works. However you enjoy them... enjoy them. My husband enjoyed them so much he had 6 in one sitting... so they are officially husband-approved.





Ingredients:

1 ½ cups almond meal or almonds ground up
1 small onion
1-2 cups of oats
1 large carrot
1 garlic clove
1 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoons soy sauce/liquid aminos
½ teaspoon hickory smoke flavor/liquid smoke
1 teaspoon marjoram or ½ teaspoon oregano
½ teaspoon celery seed
½ teaspoon salt
red pepper flakes to taste

Directions:

Blend everything together in a food processor until as smooth as possible (if grinding almonds, grind them up separately first). Use more or less oats depending on consistency you'd like (more dry or moist). Once mixture is well blended, mold into hot dogs with your hands. You can make any size you want.. we got 11 hot dogs out of our mix. Put dogs on a tray in a dehydrator and dehydrate until firm (but not hard). Ours took ~5 hours or so. If you don't have a dehydrator you can bake in your oven at it's LOWEST possible setting. Idea is to not "cook" the dogs to a point that all live nutrients in the plant based ingredients will be lost. Eating foods in their raw form is healthiest.. but dehydrating gets that cooked taste and consistency you want without losing the nutrients! Enjoy :)