Waffle French Toast…prepare French Toast batter and bread like you’re making regular French Toast. Then dip the bread in the batter and put it in your preheated waffle iron . When the light goes off, your waffle french toast is done.
Fruity Breakfast Bars
Breakfast tends to be the hardest meal to consistently eat. This is especially true when you have to be at work at 7 am everyday. This bar isn’t the healthiest (high in sugars) but it’s got a lot of fiber and it’s homemade so there isn’t as much processing involved. It’s tried and true, unlike a sweet donut-like breakfast, it leaves you full and satisfied until your next meal. I based this recipe off of one I found on Smitten Kitchen.
- 1 1/2 c flour
- 1 c packed brown sugar
- 3/4 c oats (quick or rolled work)
- 3/4 c toasted slivered almonds, some more for garnish
- 3/4 t salt
- 3/4 t baking powder
- 1/2 t baking soda
- 1/2 t cinnamon
- 1/4 t nutmeg
- 3/4 c margarine (cold!)
- 1 t o1 1/2 c fruit jam (I use homemade Amish jam because I don’t think there’s anything better but Wegmans triple fruit jam is pretty amazing too)
Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease a 9x13 pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. This helps when taking out the bars.
Put the flour, brown sugar, oats, almonds, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a food processor. Pulse until all of the ingredients are well combined and the oats and almonds are broken down. Add the butter in smaller 1-inch pieces. Pulse until loose crumb forms.
Measure about 1 1/2 cups to 2 cups of the crumb mixture and set it aside for on top of the fruit filling. Using the remaining crumb, pour it into the prepared pan and press down to compact it together. Make sure that it is even distributed across the pan. Bake for 12 minutes.
Allow the crust to cool almost to room temperature. To speed up the process, let it cool at room temperature for 10 minutes and then transfer to the fridge for 20 more minutes.
Once the crust is cooled spread the fruit jam to all of the edges. Crumble the remaining crumb mixture on top and sprinkle some of the reserved whole almond slivers over the bars. Bake for another 30 minutes. The crumb on the top should be golden brown and the jam should be bubbling.
Prep Time: 45 minutes Yield: 12 bars
Marinated Portobello Tacos
This is one of my go-to dinners to make during the week. It’s flexible, in that I can use different vegetables and beans depending on what I have on hand. It’s filling and very satisfying.
Portobellos:
- 2 Portobello mushroom caps, cleaned and de-stemmed
- 1/4 c balsamic vinegar
- 3/4 c olive oil
- 3 crushed cloves garlic (no need to mince, just bruise it up a bit)
- 1 T mustard (I like spicy brown)
- 1 t oregano
- pinch salt, pepper
- hot water
Whisk all the ingredients together except the water. Add cleaned portobellos and cover with hot water. Marinate for at least an hour. Feel free to add different spices like cumin or crushed red pepper for some zip.
Heat a saute pan over medium high heat. Add the mushroom caps and pour a little of the marinade over top. Cook for about 3-5 minutes on each side. Let cool a few minutes and slice up.
Beans:
- I can of beans (I use white beans, pinto or black beans - my favorite is actually white beans with the portobellos)
- 1 roma tomato, seeded and diced
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 t cumin
- pinch of salt
Saute the onion, tomato and garlic in olive oil with a pinch of salt and cumin. Add the drained beans and keep on low heat until ready to assemble taco.
Assembly:
Use a heated soft taco or burrito shell (microwave or toast in the oven for a minute). Add the beans and slices of portobello mushroom. Top with fresh veggies (I like red peppers and crunchy romaine). Add taco sauce and/or sour cream to finish.
Save the marinade for up to 7 days to use on other veggies or tofu.
It’s starting to feel like spring, but before winter’s over you should make some garlicky kale white bean soup and eat it with some crusty homestyle bread.
Stewed Tomatoes and Chickpeas
My brother isn’t much of a baker and he’s been on me to post some more savory items. Since he’s my best follower, I suppose I can give him what he wants. This dish makes a nice side dish, particularly on a cold day, but it would also taste good over pasta. It is an adaptation from a recipe in Veganomicon - I didn’t have all of the correct ingredients for the recipe in there so I innovated with what I did have.
- 1 15-oz can chickpeas
- 1 15-oz can diced tomatoes (pureed tomatoes works fine)
- 1 small yellow onion, finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 c white wine
- 1 T olive oil
- 1 t sugar
- 1 t thyme
- 1 t rosemary
- 1 T balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 c almonds
- 1/4 c quick oats
Toast almonds and oats in a medium sauce pan for about 3 minutes. Blend (using a blender or food processor) until a coarse flour is formed. Set aside.
Using the same blender or food processor, blend the tomatoes (if using diced tomatoes). Set aside.
Saute the onion with olive oil in the same pan used for the almonds and oats. Add the garlic and spices (thyme, rosemary) and saute until translucent. Pour in the white wine while stirring in order to dissolve cooked on garlic and spices. Add the tomato puree, sugar and vinegar. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer for about 10 minutes.
Stir in the almond/oat mixture then add the chickpeas. Simmer another 10 minutes, until the sauce thickens and reduces a little.
Prep time: 1 hour Serves: 4-6
Carrot Cupcakes with Coconut Buttercream
Cupcakes (adapted from Martha Stewart):
1 c sugar
1/3 c vegetable oil
Juice of one orange
1/2 T vanilla extract
1 T egg replacer mixed with 1/4 c water
1 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t ginger
1/4 t nutmeg
1/2 t salt
3/4 c plus 2 T flour
1 1/2 c shredded carrots
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Combine the sugar, oil, orange juice, vanilla extract, and premixed egg replacer.
Stir in the baking powder and soda, spices and salt. Add the flour and stir until just combined. Stir in the carrots.
Spoon the batter into lined cupcake tin (standard 12 cups) and bake for 23-25 minutes.
Frosting:
Cream together 1/2 c margarine (earth balance) and 1/2 cup coconut oil (you can use shortening). Add 3 1/2 c confectioner’s sugar about 1 cup at a time. Once thoroughly mixed add 1/2 T coconut extract and 1-3 T non dairy milk. Whip for 3-5 minutes until smooth and fluffy.
Top cooled cupcakes with a hefty portion of buttercream and a large pinch of toasted coconut.
Chocolate Fudge Sauce
My favorite dessert has got to be a brownie sundae. A fresh baked, warm brownie, topped with melty ice cream and drizzled with hot fudge sauce…seriously there’s nothing better. In the 4+ years that I’ve been vegan I have settled for hershey’s chocolate syrup on my brownie sundaes. Don’t get me wrong, it’s good, but this recipe is way better. And it’s super simple. I found the original at My Little Celebration.
- 1 - 15 oz can full fat coconut milk (room temp, shaken really well)
- 3/4 c cocoa powder
- 1/2 c sugar
- 1 T vanilla extract
- pinch salt
In a small saucepan combine the coconut milk and cocoa powder. Stir occasionally, until heated evenly throughout (about 5-7 minutes). Stir in sugar, vanilla and salt.
Enjoy right away or allow to cool at room temperature and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a month.
Mixed berry pancakes…just add a bag of frozen berries to a plain pancake recipe, simply delicious. The pancakes may take a little longer to cook if the berries are still frozen, but it won’t hurt anything.
Kale soup and homemade bread. Sautéed onions, garlic, and kale, add some oregano, salt, pepper, and cumin. Pour in enough broth to cover by about 1/2 an inch (about 4-6 cups). Blend if you want a smooth soup and add a can of white beans for some additional protein and texture.
I read an article last week about how relationships work between vegans and non-vegans. The article summarized the author’s experience with this type of relationship and continued to summarize a poll that she conducted via Facebook. The gist was that one partner pressures the other to succumb to their eating lifestyle, or everyone eats separate meals. There was a surprising low number of responses saying that they make one meal and adjust accordingly to make it vegan or not.
I am dating an omnivore and have been for about 10 months now and we have yet to have any problems related to the differences in our diets. I am the primary cook, and I cook vegan. We rarely have any meat in our house, but that’s not because I forbid my boyfriend from eating anything. A typical night in our house consists of me making something for dinner and pairing it with a green salad and some sort of vegetable or fruit side. My boyfriend adds cheese to his salad and most often his entree. Voila, everyone is happy, unless my experiments are complete failures.
Relationships are about respecting each other. It’s never going to be successful unless you respect the differences between the two of you. If it’s not about what you eat, it will be something else. So don’t stop being vegan or whoever you want to be to make a relationship work.
Now I can stop thinking about that article…
