"i Fooled the Carnivores!" Vegan Barbecue

i invented this recipe several years ago when i was involved in music promotion in the area, and we had bands coming through and staying at our house at least once a week! lots were vegetarian, and even more were not from the south, so i wanted to give them something satisfying, and a taste of my home. but i needed to keep the meat eaters happy too. this was the result. whenever i make this now, my roommates call their friends, and people just "happen" to drop by, just in time for dinner! there are many secrets to this recipe, but one of which is the specific meat substitute used... it's awesome! all of these measurements are approximate.

• Ready In: 35 mins
• Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

• 5  cups  van's  Veat Bites, diced (available at www.veat.com)
• 1  onion, diced
• 3  tablespoons olive oil (for cooking)
• 6  garlic cloves, diced
•  fresh gingerroot, finely diced
• 1 1⁄2 cups ketchup
• 1⁄2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1  tablespoon Tabasco sauce
• 2  tablespoons maple syrup
• 1⁄3 cup vinegar (you can use any kind... but i prefer balsamic.)
•  salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

1. (i cook all of this in my stove top wok.).
2. saute onions until they are clear and soft.
3. add ginger and garlic, saute on medium heat for about 3 minutes, making sure not to burn the garlic.
4. add the veat to the mixture, and make sure you have the onion/garlic/ginger mix dispersed evenly within the veat.
5. add ketchup, maple syrup, Tabasco, vinegar, salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper to veat and stir well.
6. i am just guessing at these measurements. taste the mix now -- if it needs more of something then feel free to add it!
7. since there is no meat involved, the bbq does not have to cook for a certain amount of time, but i prefer eating mine hot, so i get it bubbling, and then serve on a bun!