A Classic Favorite

I went to bed last night wondering what I would make for breakfast this morning. I know, I know! I really need to expand my thought patterns. I had some leftover home fries and sausage. Throw some scrambled tofu and a flour tortilla into the mix and you have one of my all-time favorite breakfast foods: the breakfast burrito. Voila! Breakfast is solved.

The breakfast burrito is so user friendly. You can add or subtract ingredients as you like.

Ingredients:

Flour or corn tortillas

Scrambled tofu

Crumbled cooked tator tots or hashbrowns

Vegetarian sausage links or patties, cooked and crumbled

Soy sour cream

Soy cheese

Salsa or Taco sauce

Olives, optional

Instructions:

Layer ingredients in tortilla. Roll and enjoy!

I made a Mexicali Tofu Scramble for my breakfast burrito this morning.

Ingredients:

1/4 of an onion, chopped fine

1/2 yellow bell pepper, chopped fine

1/2 orange bell pepper, chopped fine

1 block water-pack tofu, crumbled

Turmeric, Cumin, Granulated Onion, Granulated Garlic, Soy sauce, Oregano, Salt

Instructions:

Saute onion and bell pepper in a little cooking spray over medium heat. Add crumbled tofu to pan. Add seasonings to taste and color consistency. I only used a sprinkling of turmeric, oregano and garlic. I like the taste of cumin so added more. The soy sauce is nice because it adds a touch of saltiness with a rich flavor.

You'll have to experiment for yourself, but that's most of the fun, isn't it?? :)

Enjoy!

Breakfast Today

So, last night I planned to make waffles for breakfast this morning. I usually use a modified recipe that my mom created with granola and other ingredients (super easy!), but I didn't have everything that I needed. My husband always talks about these incredible oat waffles that he used to eat, so I decided to try my hand at making oat based waffles.

I think I may have created a new favorite! It takes a little longer than your average white flour waffle, but it's definitely worth it. Not only for your heart and digestive system, but for your taste buds as well.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup raw cashews (you could experiment with other kinds of nuts if you wanted)

7 dates

2 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup corn meal

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. salt

3 cups of water (plus a little more as needed)

handful of coconut (opt.)

1 T. flax seed (opt.)

Instructions:

Blend cashews and dates with 1 cup of water in blender until very smooth and creamy. Add rolled oats, corn meal, vanilla and salt ~ blending with the rest of the water. Turn off the blender and stir in the coconut, if using.

Spray your waffle iron with cooking spray and pour batter onto hot waffle iron. Bake for 11 minutes. Remove and enjoy with your favorite toppings! I made a mixed berry sauce for mine.

Yield: 3 large square waffles or 7 small round waffles (give or take depending on your waffle iron)

Something Different

I know...it's been a while since I've posted anything. There is a good explanation for that! Around the time of my last blog, I discovered the joys of morning sickness. I was sick for seven weeks straight, sometimes not able to get out of bed without being overcome with nausea. I couldn't think about food, much less cook, thus the quiet blog. (We are due in early October.)

Yesterday I was given a bag of plums. I've never cooked with fresh plums before, but I had seen a recipe in my recent Vegetarian Times magazine that sounded good, Plum Cobbler. Since I had most of the ingredients on hand, I decided I would put it to the test. The results? My husband thought, and I quote, " it was awesome".

My 3 year-old daughter enjoyed helping me make this dessert. She washed the plums and carefully placed most of the ingredients into the blender. It's a joy to watch her take an interest in something that I'm passionate about.

The texture of the cake-like topping is very moist due to the escaping juices of the fruit as it cooks. The cobbler has a nice contrast of sweet to tart.

Ingredients:

2 lbs. fresh or frozen, thawed, pitted and halved plums or apricots, or trimmed, halved figs

6 oz. silken tofu, such as Mori Nu, drained

1 Tb. cider vinegar

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. almond extract

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 Tbs. cornstarch

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray deep-dish glass or ceramic pie dish or 9-in. square baking dish with cooking spray. Arrange fruit in layer in prepared dish.

Blend tofu in blender or food processor until smooth. Add vinegar and 1/4 cup water, and blend until smooth. Add sugar, vanilla, and almond extract; puree 1 minute or until sugar dissolves. Add flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Blend again for about 2 minutes, or until a smooth thick batter forms.

Pour batter over fruit in baking dish. Bake 30-40 minutes, or until top is golden-brown and a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Let stand for 15 minutes before serving.

*This dessert freezes well, too. Wrap the baked, cooled cobbler with foil and plastic wrap before freezing. Thaw frozen cobbler, remove plastic wrap and foil, and warm in a 350 degree oven 20 minutes or until filling is hot and bubbly.

You can find this recipe in the July/August 2010 issue of Vegetarian Times.

Fruit Empanadas

So, tomorrow I am making a mexican themed breakfast, complete with beans, huevos rancheros, and fruit empanadas. I like to practice the principle of eating like a king for breakfast, a prince for lunch, and (sometimes) a pauper for supper. It doesn't always happen that way, but I try to have great filling breakfasts as often as possible.

One of my first purchases as an adult was the cookbook 1,001 Low-Fat Vegetarian Recipes by Sue Spitler. It has inspired many of my own attempts at creating delicious meals. Today I'm going to share the fruit empanada recipe ~ simple and delicious.

Ingredients:

Filling ~

1/2 cup dried apricots

1/2 cup dried sweet cherries

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup sugar (you could cut down on this)

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

dash of lemon extract, or some lemon zest

Pastry ~

1 1/4 cups white flour

1 T. sugar

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/8 tsp. salt

3 Tbs. shortening

1 tsp. lemon juice

3-4 Tbs. soymilk or water

Instructions:

Heat apricots, cherries and water to boiling in a small sauce pan. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until fruit is very soft, about 5 minutes. Mash fruit with fork until almost smooth; stir in sugar and spice.

Meanwhile, make your pastry. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Mix in lemon juice and milk, a tablespoon at a time to form a soft dough.

Roll half of the pastry on a lightly floured surface until 1/8 in. thick; cut into circles with a 3-in. round cookie cutter (I used a glass cup). Place slightly rounded teaspoon of fruit mixture in center of each pastry circle; fold the pastries in half and crimp edges with tines of fork. Make a slit in top of each pastry with a knife.

Bake on a greased cookie sheet at 350 degrees until golden, 12-15 minutes.

Yield: 24 empanadas [They are about 3-bites size! :)]

Enjoy ~

Wacky Banana Cake

This recipe is adapted from my Better Homes and Gardens Baking Book and it's in a section called Baking with Kids. This should tell you how easy this recipe is! It's so good, too. The original recipe calls for chocolate chips and butter, but you can easily substitute carob or vegan chocolate chips and margarine. It's called Wacky Banana Cake because you mix all the ingredients right in the baking dish.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

2/3 cup mashed banana

6 Tb. margarine, melted

1/4 cup cold water

1 Tb. vinegar

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips or carob chips

1/4 cup chopped pecans (optional, but a delicious addition)

Instructions:

In an ungreased 8x8x2 in. baking pan, stir together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Add the bananas, melted margarine, cold water, and vinegar to the dry mixture. Stir until just combined. Sprinkle the chocolate or carob chips over the top of the cake. Bake in a 350 degree oven 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Halfway through the baking time, sprinkle the nuts over the top of the cake. When done baking, remove from oven and cool in pan on a wire rack.

Yield: 9 servings

Vege Resource

After the holiday season and all the traveling accompanied with it, I am finally updating my blog! I've been experimenting with new recipes lately and you can be expecting some new additions to be posted soon, but for now, I'll share one of my favorite resources for vegetarian/vegan cooking with you.

My dear aunt Carol recently got me a gift subscription to Vegetarian Times, a great publication for anyone who needs inspiration for tasty vegetarian, vegan or even gluten free recipes. As soon as I receive my monthly issue, I sit down and devour it.

One of the recipes featured this month sounded really good, and I am definitely going to try it: Mushroom and Wild Rice Hotdish.

Ingredients

1/2 cup uncooked wild rice and brown rice blend

1 1/2 tsp. vegetable oil

1 med. onion, chopped (1 cup)

1 large stalk celery, diced (1/2 cup)

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb. button mushrooms, sliced

1 tsp. grated lemon zest

1 cup creamy portobello mushroom soup, such as Imagine

2 Tb. lemon juice

6 oz. Quorn Chik'n Tenders

1/3 cup vegan sour cream (Tofutti)

2 Tb. panko breadcrumbs

Instructions:

Bring 1 cup water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Stir in rice, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 30-40 minutes or until rice is tender. (You could eliminate this step if you have a rice cooker - just cook as normal in a rice cooker). Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, celery and garlic. Cook 5 to 6 minutes, or until onion is soft. Add mushrooms and lemon zest. Cook 4 to 6 minutes, or until mushrooms are soft and beginning to brown. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.

Stir in mushroom soup and lemon juice. Remove from heat and stir in Chik'n Tenders, rice and sour cream. Spoon into 8-in. square baking dish and top with breadcrumbs. Preheat oven to 375. Place casserole on baking sheet. Bake 25-35 minutes, or until golden brown on top and bubbly in the center.

Serves 6

Barbecue Meatballs

This recipe is one of my favorites. My family's taste buds are pretty selective and they love these meatballs served with mashed potatoes and a fresh green salad. You can experiment with different sauces (sweet and sour, spaghetti sauce, etc) or use the one I've provided. Either way, it's very good. *Photo illustrates Jamaican Jerk sauce on meatballs.

Ingredients:

1 12.3 package soft silken tofu

1/2 onion, chopped coarsely

1 tsp. seasoned salt (opt.)

1/4 tsp. granulated garlic

2 Tbs. soy sauce or Bragg's Liquid Aminos

1 cup ground pecans

1 1/2 cup finely crushed saltine crackers or bread crumbs

Instructions:

In a blender, blend tofu, onion, seasoned salt, garlic powder, and soy sauce until smooth. Pour blended mixture into a mixing bowl and stir in pecans and cracker or bread crumbs. When completely mixed together, form into small balls.

Place meatballs on a sprayed cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes, until golden brown. Transfer baked meatballs into casserole dish and cover with BBQ sauce and return to oven. Bake until bubbly.

BBQ Sauce:

Combine 1/2 cup of ketchup and 1 cup purchased BBQ sauce of choice. Add water until the sauce is a medium pouring consistency (not thick and not really thin). Adjust ketchup or purchased BBQ sauce to taste. Sometimes I add some apricot preserves, too.