Potato Cakes

'Ello, blogosphere!
What has it been now...a month since my last post? For those of you who I'm close to in real life, not just the wonderful world wide web, you know about all the craziness that has gone down the last few months. Everyone else, just know that I'm back. I'm cooking again, I'm baking again, and I'm sharing again!

My best best BEST friend, Marissa (teacup tattoo!), has a wonderful man in her life who happens to be from England. The three of us chat quite a bit (thank you, Blackberry...) and Mr. England talks about British food all the time. I don't know if it's because he's aware I'm a fat kid at heart or if he wants to show off all the tasty treats England has to offer. Either way, you won't hear me complaining!

Last week, I was home in New Hampshire when he mentioned Potato Cakes with Mushy Peas. I'm not going to lie: if I read that on a menu somewhere, I wouldn't order it. Maybe just the Mushy Peas part of it. I do love a good Latke, though, so after he went on about Potato Cakes, I decided I was going to whip up a batch for my mother and I.

THEY CAME OUT SO GOOD!!!!!!!!

Even the Mushy Peas! So good, in fact, I brought some to my sister and she wanted the recipe. Then I brought one into work this week and forks were coming in from all angles. My boss started expanding on the idea: Sweet Potato Cakes, anyone? Adding scallions? Sour cream?

The possibilities are endless. And inexpensive. My kinda dish!



Potato Cakes with Mushy Peas
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 15-20 minutes

3 large potatoes, peeled, diced, and boiled
2 tbsp Earth Balance soy butter, plus 2 tbsp for frying
2 tbsp - 1/4 cup unsweetened, full-fat soy milk
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 - 1 tbsp parsley
salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 - 1/2 cup unbleached flour

*I know the measurements aren't really exact. Since potatoes come in different sizes and starch levels, each batch might use a different measurement.

1. After you boil the potatoes, mash together the soy butter, milk, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper. You're basically making mashed potatoes here! Add the flour, starting with 1/4 cup. You're looking for a doughy consistency. It shouldn't stick to your hands but it shouldn't be too dense.

2. In a large frying pan over medium-high heat, melt the remaining soy butter. Form pancakes with 1/2 cup of the dough. You want them to be about 1/4-inch thick. Fry till a dark, golden, crispy brown and flip. When the other side is crispy, remove from heat and serve immediately.

Mushy Peas
Prep time: 2 minutes

2 cups frozen peas
2 tbsp soy butter
2 tbsp unsweetened soy milk
salt and pepper, to taste

1. Duh! Mush everything together! :) Serve with the freshly made Potato Cakes. I like my Mushy Peas right on top so each bite gets an equal amount of deliciousness.



Please promise me you'll try to make these! I'm a girl on a budget now and these are inexpensive, delicious, and you can make the dough and stick it in the fridge! You can eat them just like this, or maybe make them for breakfast like a hashbrown, or even a late night snack! Enjoy, ladies and gents!

Eggs Benny

Happy Friday, bloggies! I hope you all have something wonderful and exciting planned this weekend, even if it's doing nothing. I'm going to be a tad bit busy and super jealous of all the people who get to run the Kirtland Armed Forces Day Half-Marathon. I have a bib, but sadly, I have a pulled hamstring. Just when I think it's getting better and I do a few squats to test it out, I'm reminded within minutes that it's not healed. Boooooo. Oh well. I still have my mommy coming in 5 DAYS to cheer me up.

My beautiful mom making a tasty drink.



Something else that cheers me up? Amazing food. Even more so: AMAZING BREAKFAST. I don't know what it is about breakfast, but I could eat it all day, every day. Pancakes, tofu scramble, french toast, and now my new favorite, Eggs Benny. This recipe is mostly from Isa Chandra Moskowitz' book, Vegan Brunch. A vegan cookbook dedicated to brunch?? Yee haw! Eggs Benny obviously starts with the English muffin. Which were homemade. And easy. I will never buy English muffins again. Then there's the egg, made with tofu. I didn't make the Hollandaise sauce from the book as I didn't have some of the ingredients. I also decided to add some Smart Bacon for the "ham" and some spinach because I love spinach and it gave the Benny a little florentine kick.



Eggs Benny
Prep time: English muffins should be do-aheads, as well as marinading the tofu. So start this the day before you want to make it.
Cook time: 15 minutes

English Muffins
1 tsp active dry yeast
1 tbsp sugar
1 cup lukewarm water

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp salt

3 tbsp margarine (I use Earth Balance)

A few tablespoons cornmeal
Nonhydrogenated margarine for skillet

1. In a small bowl, combine the yeast, sugar, and water; set aside until the yeast has dissolved, about 5 minutes. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour and salt; make a well in the center and add the yeast mixture and margarine. Mix until a dough forms, then turn out onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and springy, 6 to 10 minutes. Return the dough to the bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a damp tea towel; set in a warm place and let rise until just about doubled, about an hour.

2. Preheat a cookie sheet in the oven to 350° F. Punch dough down and knead for a minute, then roll out on a floured surface until 1/2 inch thick. Cut into 3-inch rounds using a cookie cutter and pat both sides into cornmeal. Preheat a large skillet, preferably cast iron, over medium heat; melt about 1 tablespoon margarine in it (the pan should not be hot enough to burn the margarine). Cook the muffins in the pan in small batches so as not to crowd the pan, flipping once, about 1 minute a side or until it looks lightly browned like an English muffin. Put each batch straight from the skillet into the oven; bake for 6 to 10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for half an hour before serving.

Tofu Eggs
2 pounds firm tofu
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp ground mustard
1 cup vegetable broth
1/4 tsp arrowroot (I used cornstarch)
1 tsp black salt (I've referred to this a million times...I hope you've gotten some by now! :))
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil, plus more for cooking (I used some margarine to cook the tofu, so I didn't need more than 2 tbsp.)

1. Combine all the marinade ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Gently press some of the water out of the tofu. Lay the tofu on its narrow side and slice into three pieces lengthwise. So basically you will have three slices that are large, flat rectangles. Use a 3-inch cookie cutter to cut circles out of each tofu slice. Repeat with the next block of tofu. Reserve the rest of the tofu for another use, it will be about a pound of leftover.

2. Marinate the tofu circles for about an hour, but it's great to do overnight, too.

3. To time this right, you should start cooking the tofu when you're letting the Hollandaise sauce cool. It's really simple, just preheat a cast-iron pan over medium heat, add a thin layer of olive oil (or margarine) and cook on each side till nicely browned, about 15 minutes.

Hollandaise Sauce (NOT from this book.)
1/2 cup Earth Balance
1 cup vegan sour cream (I use Tofutti)
1/4 cup vegan mayonnaise (I use Vegenaise)
3 tsp nutritional yeast
1/4 tsp black salt (there it is again!)
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tbsp lemon juice

1. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Whisk all the other ingredients in, making sure to keep it smooth. You don't want this to bubble, so keep on low for about 3 minutes, constantly stirring, then remove from heat.

At this point, cook your tempeh bacon, if using.

ASSEMBLY

1. Either toast your English muffin or just slice and lay cut side up.
2. Add some baby spinach on top of the muffin.
3. Lay a few slices of bacon on the spinach.
4. Put your tofu on top of the bacon.
5. Smother with Hollandaise sauce.
6. Shovel into your mouth.



I hope you get the chance to at least make these English muffins. Cody & I both wolfed a couple down fresh out of the oven. They were seriously some of the best I've ever had. If you're not lucky enough to be vegan (toot toot), you can just replace the vegan margarine with regular margarine and make them just the same.

I hope you all have wonderful weekends! Last night, we were able to spend some time with some amazing married-friends. The dinner was great (and vegan! Thank you, my dear!), there was a lot of laughing, a lot of conversation, and even some tea at the end named Lady Londonderry (L-Town represent!). I hope you can find yourselves around friends like this at some point this weekend. It really lifted my spirits and reminded me of how absolutely lucky Cody & I are. XO

PS: My luck only comes in the form of good friends lately; I managed to pull my hamstring pretty bad at the Run for the Zoo a few weekends ago. Like, pulled-so-badly-it's-black-and-blue-all-along-my-thigh pretty bad. Maybe I need a pair of fancy compression socks like the AMAZING Skinny Runner is giving away on her fabulous, must-read blog.

Spinach & Mushroom Florentine Crepes

I always make huge breakfasts on the weekend. Maybe not huge in the serving size, but huge in flavor, effort, and presentation. The husband & I only get 2 days a week for the gloriousness that is breaking the fast, so I make it count. Last weekend, I took my first stab at crepes. Apparently being french really helps because I am a crepe master.

Saturday was banana crepes with a blueberry rice syrup topping (sent to me by the wonderful people at Suzanne's Specialties...I have SO many samples, keep your eyes peeled for another giveaway!!!). I had leftover crepes, so Sunday I threw together this amazing breakfast that I personally believe topped all other breakfasts prior.


(Yes, there is already a bite taken. I was hungry...and I'm not a photographer.)

Spinach & Mushroom Florentine Crepes
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes

Crepes

1 1/2 cups almond milk (or your favorite nondairy milk)
1/4 cup water
2 tbsp agave nectar or pure maple syrup
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup chickpea flour
1 tbsp tapioca flour (cornstarch or arrowroot is okay, too)
1/2 tsp salt

1. Put all the ingredients into a food processor or blender. Blend for about 30 seconds, scraping the sides of the blender once, until everything is smooth. The batter will be very thin. Refrigerate batter for about an hour (I didn't do this and they came out fine!)

2. Preheat a crepe pan or large, nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. The pan is ready when a few drops of water flicked onto it sizzle. Lightly spray the pan with oil.

3. Ladle about 1/3 to 1/2 cup batter (use the bigger amount for a bigger pan) in the center of the pan. Lift the pan off the burner and tilt in a circular motion so that the batter spreads in a thin layer across the bottom.

4. Cook until the top of the crepe is dry, the center is bubbling, and the edges are lightly browned and crinkly and are pulling away from the sides of the pan, usually about 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Gently run the spatula under the crepe to loosen, then carefully flip and cook on the other side for 30 seconds. Slide the crepe onto a dinner plate. Repeat with the remaining crepes.

(Credit for this recipe is given to the amazing Isa Chandra Moskowitz)

Spinach & Mushroom Florentine

1 cup thinly sliced mushrooms (I used baby bella)
2 cups fresh baby spinach
1 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup veganaise

1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and rosemary; cook until mushrooms have released their juice and are nice and brown. Add the spinach and wilt. (If you feel the need to add more spinach, please, do so.)

2. Add the black pepper and veganaise, making sure to coat the mushroom mixture. Put a few spoonfuls inside your prepared crepes, fold over, and add a little bit of the sauce on top.

This was such a simple yet AH-MAZING breakfast. I'm looking forward to my mom coming out so I can make it for her. :)

PS: If you lovelovelove coffee & tea as much as I do, head over to Love Veggies and Yoga for her TAZO Tea Gift Set and French Press giveaway!!!

Banana Nut Muffins

This blog goes hand-in-hand with my recent Ener-G Egg Replacer Giveaway. It's a regular recipe made vegan with the help of this amazing product. They're extremely moist and full of flavor. I'm all about buying bananas just so I can bake with them. Keep this recipe in your back pocket if you happen to be one of the FIVE lucky winners of the giveaway.



2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
4 overripe bananas
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup Earth Balance
3 tsp Ener-G Egg Replacer
4 tbsp water
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 375° F. Lightly grease 2 muffin tins.

2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. Mash 2 of the bananas with a fork in a small bowl so they still have a bit of texture. With an electric mixer fitted with a wire whisk (like my beautiful KitchenAid), whip the remaining bananas and sugar together for a good 3 minutes. Add the melted butter, Ener-G, water, and vanilla and beat well, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice. Mix in the dry ingredients just until incorporated. Fold in the nuts and the mashed bananas with a rubber spatula. Spoon the batter into the muffin tins to fill them about halfway. Give them a rap on the counter to get any air bubbles out.

3. Bake until a toothpick stuck in the muffins comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes before turning the muffins out. Try not to eat them all at once.

That's it! Easy, delicious, and vegan. :)

Tofu & Sausage Scramble

I just realized that I haven't put up a recipe for tofu scramble yet. What is wrong with me??? Tofu scramble is an absolute staple in our house and I'm a little embarrassed that I haven't shared mine. I must be crazy.

Cody actually asks for tofu scramble by name. Not scrambled eggs, tofu. I've made it for so many people and it's amazing. (I think I made it for my sister once and I only had firm tofu, so it wasn't quite as good.) Sometimes I'll add some diced potatoes, black beans, veggies, green chile, or I'll wrap it in a tortilla. It holds well as leftovers and is actually quite good for you.

This recipe is a combination of about 100 I've tried over the last year. It comes out a smidge different every time because I'm just like my mother: "a little bit o' this and a little bit o' that..." I can't help it. It's genetic.



Tofu & Sausage Scramble
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes

Tofu "Eggs"

14 oz extra-firm tofu, crumbled*
1/4 tsp garlic powder
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tbsp Braggs (soy sauce will work!)
1/2 tsp turmeric
salt & pepper to taste (I use BLACK SALT for every "egg" recipe I make. I found it at a world market. I don't think it's necessary to make this, but it has such a sulfur-y smell, you'll understand why it's such a good find.)
1 tbsp olive oil

1. In a large bowl, combine the crumbled tofu, garlic powder, nutritional yeast, Braggs (or soy sauce), turmeric, salt, and pepper; set aside.

2. In a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, get your olive oil nice and hot. Add the tofu mixture and cook 3 to 4 minutes. The liquid should be gone and it should start to brown, just like eggs. You can either stop here and eat as is or start adding more yumminess to it! (In the picture above, I threw some spinach in because I had tons left in my fridge!)

If you want to add the sausage crumbles to this, here's the recipe! To add: when the tofu has cooked for 2 minutes or so, add the sausage and cook a few minutes longer.

Sausage crumbles

2 tbsp Braggs (or soy sauce)
1 tsp sage
1/8 teaspoon liquid smoke
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon fennel seed, crushed
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
black pepper, to taste
1 cup boiling water
1 cup textured vegetable protein (TVP: Try finding this in Bob's Red Mill packages or in the bulk section of your grocery store. If worse comes to worse, just ask someone who works there!)

1. In a bowl, mix together all of your spices and seasonings. Bring water to a boil and pour over mixture.

2. Pour in the TVP, mix with a fork, and let stand for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Taste to see if more seasonings need to be added.

*Tofu Tip o'the Day: I freeze my tofu and let it thaw out before I use it. Mind you, I only do this with firm or extra-firm tofu. It gives it a meatier texture. Try it! You'll be amazed!



Look at all the protein!!! And Calcium!!! And Iron!!! This is a low calorie, low carb, super tasty breakfast dish that you could even eat for lunch and dinner. My nutritional value analyzer doesn't have Braggs listed, so this is with soy sauce. With Braggs, the sodium count is a lot lower. I was so impressed when I plugged in all the ingredients and saw the nutritional value, I decided to see what a non-veggie scramble would be. Check this out:

I replaced the tofu with 8 eggs (4 servings in the tofu scramble, so 2 eggs each for the non-veggie) and took out my sausage and replaced it with 8 oz of regular ground sausage. Look at this...



Calories = +119
Fat = +16.1g (yes, an extra 16.1g of fat.)
Saturated Fat = +6.8g
Cholesterol = 413mg (<---gross)
Dietary Fiber = -2.8g
PROTEIN = -1.3 g (YES! There is less protein in the egg & meat scramble. I know. And carnivores ask where WE get our protein. Mwahahaha!!!)

If you're a seasoned vegetarian/vegan, or you're just curious, I DARE you to try this scramble. You will be shocked at how amazing it is. You might just fall in love with me. Just sayin'.

Sausage Patties

What is it about breakfast that is so amazing? It's a treat when you can get in a good breakfast, whether it's in the morning, afternoon, or even at dinner time! From pancakes to french toast to tofu scramble, breakfast might just be my favorite meal....and not just because it's the meal of champions.


(Photo credit)

I've put together some tasty vegan breakfasts over the last year, but this one tops the charts. It was like a Sausage McMuffin, only not so...evil.


(Photo credit)

Here's MY Sausage Patty. You can find the biscuit recipe HERE (Just make the biscuits larger!)



Sausage Patties
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes

1/2 cup tvp
1/2 cup boiling water
1/2 cup whole wheat flour (the second time I made these, I only had barley flour on hand. Worked just as well!)
1/4 cup almond meal
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp crushed sage
1/2 tsp fennel seeds (Cody's job is to grind these in his mortar & pestle. He loves it.)
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
1 tbsp ground flax seeds
1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp liquid smoke
3 tbsp Bragg's Liquid Aminos (Soy sauce will work just fine)
1 tsp maple syrup
1/4 tsp black strap molasses
Oil for frying

1. Stir together tvp and boiling water and set aside to soak for 5 minutes.

2. Add flour, almond meal, and dry spices; stir to incorporate. In a glass measuring cup, measure out water; add liquid smoke, Bragg's (or soy sauce), maple syrup, and molasses directly to the cup and stir. Add water mixture to dry; mix well. With your hands, form mixture into 2″ balls and flatten slightly into patties.

3. Fry in oil in an uncovered frying pan on medium heat, about 4 minutes per side, or until brown.

Here is the nutritional value in mine:


And here is the nutritional value in McDonald's:


Sure, the calorie count isn't that different. Take a look at the fat, though. And saturated fat. And cholesterol. And how is it that the vegan patties have more protein and iron? That part makes me laugh because people always ask me where I get my protein from. Maybe I should start asking them where they get their protein from!!! Ok, I'm off my high horse. Make these! Do it!

And don't forget about my Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar giveaway!

Biscuits & Gravy

Two weeks ago, my husband & I ventured to Oklahoma to pick up my Christmas present...A KITTY!!! Yes, I know, Oklahoma??? Cody insisted we get a Scottish Fold. Sister-in-law has one, Ms. Kitty, and she is the most amazing kitty. So he spent some time searching online for a Scottish Fold...all across the country! We finally found a tiny little kitty in Oklahoma, and because we would be driving so far, he was free. This was our first picture of our kitty:



When we got there and picked him up, he was shaking, so I put him on my lap in the car to snuggle him & warm him up. That's when I noticed he was covered in fleas. Not just a few, but so many that you could see them swimming under his fur. He was also really skinny & when we fed him, he acted like he'd never eaten before. After bringing him to the vet twice, it turns out he also has ear mites and worms. He was definitely a rescue kitty.

Here is a picture of our almost-healthy kitty, Magnus.



So back to food. On our drive home from Oklahoma, we passed a brunch billboard. Cody made a comment that he "missed Awase", a golf course restaurant that we used to go get brunch at all the time in Japan. They had the best biscuits & gravy. As a treat, the following day, I decided to cook up some vegan biscuits & gravy. OH my goodness...AMAZING!!!



Biscuits & Gravy
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes

"Buttermilk Biscuits"

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
¼ cup Earth Balance
¾ cup plain soy milk
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and Earth balance. Using a knife or a pastry cutter, combine until the mixture becomes crumbly. The pieces should be pea-sized.

2. In a measuring cup, measure your soy milk and add the apple cider vinegar. Let this curdle...yum!

3. Slowly drizzle the "buttermilk" mixture into the flour mixture and combine until just mixed. If you combine too much, you won't get the flakiness you're looking for! On a lightly floured surface, roll out to about 1/2-inch thick and cut into either 12 2-inch circles or 6 3-inch circles.

4. Bake on a lightly greased cookie sheet for 10-15 minutes. They won't look too golden on top but they will be on the bottom.

"Sausage" Gravy

5 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cups unsweetened soy milk
4 Boca Breakfast Patties
sea salt to taste
pinch of crushed red pepper flakes, if you like spicy
1 teaspoon black or white pepper

1. In a large saucepan, cook the sausage patties over medium heat. When heated through, put on a dish and crumble with a fork.

2. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in the same saucepan. Add the flour and wisk until smooth. You need to cook this until it turns a caramel brown color. Add your pepper here...LOTS of pepper!

3. Slowly wisk in the soy milk. This will thicken really fast, so be careful! Turn the heat down to low, add salt to taste and red pepper flakes, and the sausage.

4. On a plate, arrange your biscuits and smother with gravy.



So it's not that healthy for you, but it's still a B-. Every now & then it's OK to have a not-so-good for you breakfast! Eat like a king for breakfast! Plus, it's so tasty you just won't mind.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday! xoxox

French Toast

Breakfast is probably my favorite meal ever. It can be sweet and decadent, or stuffed and cheezy...breakfast can really be anything you want. You can eat it early in the morning, or even switch it up and make it for dinner! I found this recipe in How it all vegan! and simply had to try it. French toast is one of my all time favies because...duh...I'm french. Haha...not entirely true, but come on! Who doesn't love french toast!



Fabulous French Toast
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes

1 1/2 cups soy milk
2 tbsp flour
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tsp sweetener (I'm assuming sugar of some sort...which is what I used...sugar...)
1 tsp cinnamon
8-10 bread slices

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the milk, flour, yeast, sweetener, and cinnamon vigorously. Soak 1 slice of bread in batter until bread is gooey.

2. Fry in a non-stick pan or a lightly oiled frying pan on medium heat until golden. Flip and fry other side. Repeat until batter is gone.

3. Garnish with fruit and maple syrup. Makes 8-10 slices.



I topped the hot pieces with soy butter and maple syrup...the fake kind, not the real kind, because I like the fake kind better. I know, crazy. Cody & I both ate every last piece of this french toast. It was crispy on the outside and gooey on the inside. Some of the pieces were a little bit too gooey, if you ask me, which you should. :) I would probably not soak the bread as long next time, but that's just me. You might like gooey french toast! Anyway, this was amazing and I highly, recommend it! Cheers!

Tofu Omelette

I find it pretty amazing that vegan's around the world have been able to recreate foods such as hamburger, eggs, and sausage. My cousin once asked me why on earth vegans feel the need to make things taste like food they are against eating, almost as if that goes against what they're trying to prove. I can see his point. But let me throw this at you: if you stopped going to a particular restaurant because you found a massive hair in your food but it was a restaurant you loved and you missed some of its flavors, wouldn't you be happy if you found a place that served food that was almost as good? That's my answer. I don't eat meat or eggs or dairy anymore because I don't see the point. That doesn't mean I don't miss it, it just means I get to be creative! Besides, if I'm serving up food that tastes great and is better for my husband and my family, I'm going to keep on doing it. If it also tastes similar to meaty products, good on 'em. And...better yet...if I can make the foods I grew up with and you can't tell the difference, I consider myself a miracle worker.

Thanks to my new friend, Jaclyn, and someone we both look to for vegan guidance, Isa, I made omelettes this weekend for the husband and myself. Yes, omelettes. They...were...amazing. I filled them with steamed broccoli and a cheezy sauce that is also on Jaclyn's page. Cody had fresh roasted green chile in his. I paired it with some homefries and wheat toast. What a treat!



Tofu Omelette
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes

2 garlic cloves
1 lb silken tofu, lightly drained (not the vacuum-packed kind) or soft tofu; Nasoya brand is recommended
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp fine black salt, plus extra for sprinkling
1/2 cup chickpea flour (I was able to find this at our regular market...it's important! Plus, you can make hummus out of it! Woo hoo!)
1 tbsp arrowroot or cornstarch

1. Chop up the garlic, if using, in a food processor. Add the tofu, nutritional yeast, olive oil, turmeric, and salt. Puree until smooth. Add the chickpea flour and arrowroot and puree again for about 10 seconds, until combined. Make sure to scrape down the sides so that everything is well incorporated.

2. Preheat a large, heavy-bottomed, nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Lightly grease the pan with cooking spray. (The less oil the better for the nice brown speckles we're going for.) Also, make sure that you use a large skillet, as you need room to spread out the omelet and to get your spatula under there to flip.

3. In 1/2 cup increments, pour the omelette batter into the skillet. Use the back of a spoon or a rubber spatula to spread the batter out into about 6-inch circles.

4. Let the batter cook for about 3 to 5 minutes before flipping. The top of the omelet should dry and become a matte yellow when it's ready to be flipped. If you try and it seems like it might fall apart, give it a little more time. The underside should be flecked light to dark brown. Flip the omelet and cook for about a minute on the other side. Keep warm on a plate covered with tinfoil as you make the remaining omelettes.

5. Fill omelette with the filling of your choice, then fold it. Once the omelette has been filled, sprinkle with a little extra black salt, since some of its flavor disappears when cooked.



I was so amazed at how much this actually tasted like eggs! The black salt has such a sulfer-like taste & smell, it is a must. The texture was great, and the cheeze sauce that went with it was a perfect match. I'm in love!!!

Banana Pancakes

One of my favorite things is realizing my bananas are starting to get really ripe. That means they're not really good anymore for just peeling and eating, however, they're perfect for baking. :) We have some visitors in town! My father-in-law, Monty, and his brother, Uncle Andy, are down for the week. Dad drove from Oregon to Idaho where he hooked up with Uncle Andy and they drove down to good ol' Albuquerque. This morning, we're headed to the Very Large Array, which I'm really excited about. Everyone is meeting at our house and we'll leave from there.

BUT FIRST!!!



Banana Pancakes
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 minutes

1 1/2 cups unbleached flower
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1 cup soy milk
3 tbsp oil
1 banana
3 tbsp sugar

1. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, combine the soy milk, oil, banana, and sugar and blend until smooth. Mix the wet and dry ingredients together until just mixed.

2. Portion the batter onto a hot non-stick pan or a lightly oiled frying pan and cover. Let sit on medium heat until the center starts to bubble and become sturdy. Flip the pancakes over and cook other side until golden brown

3. Serve with soy butter and maple syrup and enjoy!

Something you should know: Bisquick mix is actually vegan. If you just use soy milk instead of regular milk and an egg replacer for the eggs, you've got delicious, vegan pancakes. Mmmmmm!!!

Scrambled Eggz

Since I recently posted about all the glorious ways to omit eggs from your diet, I decided to make breakfast for lunch. Scrambled eggs have always been a favorite of mine. They're easy...you can add just about anything to them...you can wrap them in a burrito...you can mix them with potatoes...turn them into a sandwich...I guess they are 'incredible' & 'edible'.

I made the choice to no longer consume eggs, so eating them straight-up scrambled might prove to be difficult. I'm really excited to write this recipe down and see what the Meat Cleaver Corner has to say about it, but first, I'd like to share with you the nutritional value of REAL scrambled eggs:



This is the nutritional value using all the same ingredients that I'm going to use in MY scrambled eggz, only using 6 real eggs. It's also based on it serving 4. In reality, it might only serve 2, so double all the numbers...including the cholesterol!

(I'm able to get nutritional value from Calorie Count. I just plug in the ingredient, measurement, and serving size and it creates the nutritional value. Along with that nifty lil' feature, you can look up just about any food item, restaurant item, and activity. Seriously. Want to know how many calories you burn at church? It'll tell you!)

Now here's the nutritional value for scrambled eggz. I know this post is going a bit backwards, but I really wanted you to see the comparison!



The difference is quite clear, however, the taste is not! Here's the recipe:



Scrambled Eggz
Prep time: 15 minutes

1 package medium tofu, crumbled
2 tbsp soy butter (Try Earth Balance) or olive oil
1/2 cup nutritional yeast (optional, but adds a great cheezy flavor! Found in most whole food stores)
1/2 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp turmeric (optional, it's mostly for color)
1/8 tsp cumin
1/8 tsp curry powder
2 tbsp soy sauce

Variations: Add any vegetable you want! Mushrooms, peppers, spinach...you name it! You could also sprinkle some vegan cheese on top. Maybe wrap it up? Put it on toast? Get creative!

1. In a large frying pan, heat the soy butter or olive oil. Add the onion and garlic and saute about 3 minutes. Add the crumbled tofu and continue to cook 3-5 minutes. Add all the other ingredients and cook for 10 minutes, stirring often. Season to taste; I added a little extra garlic salt because I loooove garlic.

I whipped up a batch of homefries, MorngingStar Farms Sausage Patties, and wheat toast with soy butter. Sooooo tasty!





Cody rates todays brunch...



TASTY!!!

Mmmm, any meal that I can put lots of Frank's on immediately is awesome is my book! That's why I like scrambled eggs and omelets so much. Hmm, chicken abortions or tofu...chicken abortions or tofu...what to choose? Survey says: They taste about the same! Much like regular eggs, the tofu takes on whatever flavors and spices it is cooked with. So basically you are left with the texture. I guess maybe it's in the way you cook it, but however she did it the texture is almost identical to regular eggs. Apparently there is way less cholesterol, which I don't really give a sh#t about right now. However, I'm guessing my heart (which is approximately as strong and healthy as a stage 3 wombat*) will thank her 40 years down the road. Also, the flavored "sausage" patties are good too. The one thing I like about the fake meat is that it doesn't leave my mouth feeling like I just fellated a "grease-monster + lard-prostitute" love child. You know what? I don't think I can top that last sentence, so I'm just gonna stop here... Well...SEE YA!

* For those of you who do not know what a Stage 3 wombat is...consider yourself lucky! No one has every experienced stage 3 and lived to tell the tale.

Blackberry (Love) Muffins

My new favorite store doesn't sell shoes...it doesn't sell name brand stuff for cheap...and it certainly doesn't sell faux designer bags. No, my new favorite store sells food. I am absolutely, 100% in love with Sunflower Market. Every time I walk in there, I find something new I want to try or some Vegan must-have that I couldn't find anywhere else. The produce selection is vast AND fresh, which is amazing to me after living in Japan for 3 years. They're always having some kind of deal, whether it's fresh focaccia bread for $1.50 or strawberries for 88 cents a pint. Yesterday I went in and they had the plumpest, juiciest blackberries for $1. Yes, $1. Obviously I had to buy some.

That brings me to today's recipe. I could easily have eaten the entire box of blackberries. It probably would have taken no time at all. What fun would that have been?? I thought about making preserves...or maybe pancakes...I decided on muffins, though. It always makes me giddy to whip up baked goods, sans eggs and butter, and have them coming out fluffy and delicious. So that's what I did.





Blackberry (Love) Muffins
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 20-25 minutes

1 1/2 cups unbleached flour (as you my have read in my previous post, bleached flour is filtered through animal bones. Yum.)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup soy milk (you could use rice, almond, or hemp, too)
1/3 cup oil (for a healthier muffin, use 1/3 cup mashed banana or 1/3 cup applesauce!)
1 cup blackberries

crumb topping
1/4 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
6-8 tsp unbleached flour
2 tbsp soy butter (try Earth Balance!)
1 tbsp cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 400° F. Line muffin cups with muffin liners.

2. Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, mixing well. Fold in the blackberries, being extra careful so they don't break up too much!

3. Mix all the topping ingredients with a fork till it gets crumbly. Fill muffin cups to the top with batter and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.

4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

I let them rest on a rack before taking them out of the tin, but after 5 minutes or so, I just can't help myself! They're especially good fresh out of the oven. Cody likes them sliced in half with a little bit of soy butter on both sides and grilled in a pan. These muffins are great for people with allergies to eggs (Katie!) and people who are lactose intolerant (Cody!). Plus, the only thing that's not-so-great for you is the oil, which can easily be replaced by a banana or applesauce. Enjoy!






Cody rates these muffins...



TASTY!!!

As you can see by my awesome picture, I licked the plate clean on this one. These are very sweet and taste like any other normal muffin, except this one is supposed to be better for me. However, I had to eat two of them and thus probably ingested about the same amount of so-called "bad stuff" (i.e. excessive calories, fat, animal tears, etc.). The blackberries were tasty and juicy, but I like these muffins better with blueberries. Less giant seeds to get stuck in my boyish smile. Also, the blackberries didn't scream when I bit into the muffin, which was disappointing. While the brown stuff on top and in the middle looks suspect, it is the best part...as is usually the case with mysterious brown substances. For instance: When I find a bit of brown-something on my shirt. Now, I know that I just finished eating a chocolate bar and more than likely got some on my shirt, but I have to smell it first to make sure. Hmmm...doesn't really smell like anything. Well, I guess I'll just have to go for it and take a taste. Long story short, I haven't been disappointed yet! SEE YA!!




Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 68 g

Calories 203
Calories from Fat 74
Total Fat 8.2g
Saturated Fat 1.8g
Cholesterol 0mg
Sodium 126
Total Carbohydrates 30.8g
Dietary Fiber 1.5g
Sugars 16.4
Protein 2.3
Vitamin A 1% • Vitamin C 4%
Calcium 7% • Iron 6%