Breakfast Sandwich

Two things you should know about me:

1. Breakfast is my favorite meal and I could eat it three times a day

2. I will eat just about anything in sandwich form.

Now that we have that out of the way, let me introduce you to a delightful little breakfast sandwich. This has become one of the boyfriend's favorites and he requests it any time he comes over before we head to church. This is the kind of breakfast that makes you feel like you've spent a lot of time on it, but it is really quick and easy to whip together. It's so easy, in fact, that I usually indulge him and throw a sandwich together before we hit the road.

You will need:

2 slices of the bread of your choice

(I use Ezekiel 7 Sprouted Grain Bread)

1-2 TBSP Earth Balance margarine

2-3 slices of Smart Bacon

1/3 - 1/2 inch thick slice of tofu cut from 1 block of extra firm tofu

(cut it the long way and you can get 4 slices out of one block)

1 slice of dairy-free cheese

a few slices of tomato

First, melt the Earth Balance in your pan on medium heat. Salt and pepper your tofu on both sides and sautée the tofu in the Earth Balance until golden on one side. 

I know I have said before that tofu by itself has ZERO flavor, but trust me when I tell you that cooking it in Earth Balance with a little salt and pepper makes it taste so buttery and delicious that you'll think you're eating something seriously decadent and unhealthy!

In case you don't already have a mesh screen, you should really invest in one - it'll keep hot oil and margarine from splattering all over your kitchen and burning you while you tend to the pan.

After a few minutes, turn the tofu over. Add the bacon to the pan and continue to sautée until the tofu is golden on both sides and the bacon is crispy on the edges. The tofu only takes a few minutes so while your tofu and bacon cook, toast your bread so it'll be ready when the tofu is done.

Once cooked, remove the tofu and bacon from the pan and place on a plate covered with a few paper towels. Even though you're not using a ton of Earth Balance, you don't want to have slimy, greasy tofu.

Assemble your sandwich as you please, with toast, tofu, bacon, and dairy-free cheese. Sometimes I'll even spread a little hommus onto one of the slices of toast because I like the flavor and extra moisture it adds.

If you've recently decided against eating meat or are just looking for a low-cholesterol option, give this a shot. Between the bacon and the tofu smothered in Earth Balance, you won't feel for a moment like you're missing out on anything.

Happy eating!

Lasagna with Roasted Cauliflower Ricotta & Spinach

Right after deciding to try the vegan lifestyle, Betsy, a friend of mine from work, turned me on to Isa Chandra Moskowitz.

She's the chef behind Veganomicon and Appetite for Reduction.

The thing about her recipes is that they are the kinds of recipes that make you feel like you're totally not eating vegetables - they both fool and satisfy!

I've made her recipe for lasagna several times and, at this point, I now use only her recipe as a guide for the roasted cauliflower ricotta. Her recipe calls for you to layer the noodles and ricotta with black olives and spinach. I usually take out the olives and add other roasted veggies - whatever I have on hand, really.

 For this lasagna, I used roasted eggplant in place of spinach, because that's what I had on hand.

For the roasted cauliflower ricotta, you will need:

1 medium-size head cauliflower chopped into half-inch pieces

2 tsp olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

1 lb extra-firm tofu

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

2 TBSP freshly squeezed lemon juice

freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup roasted garlic

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. First, chop the cauliflower into bite-sized pieces. Spread evenly on a cookie sheet and lightly drizzle with olive oil. Bake for about 45 minutes (I like to sprinkle it with Italian spices first, but you can leave them out if you prefer). With about 10 to 15 minutes left, add the garlic to your cookie sheet. When done, the cauliflower will be soft and mushy and a beautiful golden color.

Let the cauliflower cool until you can handle it. The original recipe tell you to mix the tofu and cauliflower with your hands, but if you put them into the blender with the garlic, salt, pepper, nutritional yeast, and lemon juice, you'll get a consistency more like ricotta.

You'll also need some of my Super Easy Marinara sauce or the tomato sauce of your choice.

To assemble, cover the bottom of a 9x13" baking dish with a thin layer of marinara. On top of that, place a layer of lasagna noodles. I prefer to use the whole wheat variety that you have to pre-cook, but I'm sure you could also use the kind that cook while they bake. Next, add a layer of ricotta, followed by whatever roasted veggies you like OR layer on fresh, uncooked spinach. Repeat with sauce, noodles, ricotta and veggies until you fill the pan. Top off with noodles and sauce and be sure to save a little ricotta for the very top.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 40 minutes or until the top is browned. You'll want to let it cool for at least 10 minutes before serving, if you'd like to keep the roof of your mouth in tact.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Guinness Pudding

Because you can never have too much chocolate and since it is St. Patrick's Day, I thought a fun follow up to the Corned "Beef" Seitan would be a rich, creamy Chocolate Guinness Pudding.

The original recipe came from Epicurious but I have adapted it since I'm not eating eggs or dairy.

You can find the original recipe at the link above, should you want it.

To make the vegetarian version you will need:

Egg replacer equivalent to 8 egg yolks

1 cup of sugar

one 14.9 can/bottle of Guinness Draught

2 1/4 cups of vegan cream

7 ounces of bittersweet or semisweet chocolate

1 can of whole-fat coconut milk

You'll also need six old fashioned glasses (I used juice glasses because that's what I had on hand).

In a large bowl, whisk up your egg replacer. Then add sugar and whisk until combined.

Open up your Guinness and slowly pour it into a measuring cup. Be sure to pour it down the side of the measuring cup to keep it from foaming. 

Pour about half of the Guinness into a 3-quart saucepan. Add the "cream" and whisk to combine. Turn the heat up to medium and heat until bubbles begin to form at the edges. Stir it occasionally.

Remove it from the heat and add the chocolate. Whisk it together until it's smooth. 

Since you're not using eggs, return it to the heat and pour your egg replacer and sugar mixture into the beer and cream mixture. (If you were using real eggs, you'd want to pour a little of the hot beer-chocolate mixture into the eggs and sugar so that the eggs wouldn't curdle - because no one likes scrambled eggs in their chocolate.)

Turn the heat down to medium low and cook, whisking constantly, until it thickens and can coat the back of a spoon. This should take about 15 minutes.

Remove from heat and pour into your glasses. Leave at least one inch of space at the top of each glass. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge until cold and set.

So, that's half of the process. 

Next you're going to make a Guinness whipped cream to top off your pudding...you know, so they look like little glasses of Guinness. Isn't that super cute?

Pour the rest of your beer into a saucepan and bring it up to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer, uncovered until reduced to 1 TBSP. This will take just about 20 minutes. Pour it into a small bowl and let it cool.

The original recipe tells you to whip up 3/4 of a cup of cream until soft peaks form BUT vegan cream substitutes don't whip so....you're going to have to use the fat part of coconut milk. Before you even star, be sure your coconut milk has been refrigerated. You may also want to put your mixing bowl and the beaters into the freezer.

You'll need one can of coconut milk but you don't want the water. To drain out the water, poke two holes in the bottom of the can and drain over a bowl or your sink. Once the water is removed, open the can and scoop out the fat part.

You'll want to move quickly, so that the coconut milk doesn't get too warm to whip.

Whip up the coconut milk fat in your chilled bowl. Be sure not to over whip. Coconut milk fat will break down if you whip it too much, so be sure to treat it gently.

Once your coconut milk is whipped, fold in the Guinness syrup you made earlier. Your whipped cream is only going to hold up for an hour or two, as long as it stays chilled. I suggest making this right before you are going to serve your pudding.

Top each glass of pudding with your Guinness whipped cream and enjoy!

Photo from Epicurious.com

Blessed are the cheesemakers...

Blessed are the cheesemakers! 

Er, rather, blessed are the uncheese makers.

Many new converts to vegetarianism or veganism will tell you that they have no issue giving up dairy products, but cheese is quite another story. 

THANK GOD for Jo Stepaniak, author of The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook.

I just received my copy in the mail and I want to make every recipe in the book!

Why uncheese?

Because, readers, I like you. Because I want you to live a long, fulfilling life. Because I want you to eat great food. Because eliminating animal proteins from your diet is the single most important change you can make to increase your chance for a long, healthy life.

But we'll talk more about that in future posts.

The book includes these categories:
Uncheese Spreads, Dips, Pestos, and Sprinkles
Cheezy Hot and Cold Sauces
Fondues
Pasta, Polenta, and other Main Dishes
Quiches, Dinner Pies, Casseroles, and Souffles
Pizzas, Breads, Little Bites, and Sandwiches
Salads and Dressings
Block Uncheeses
Sweets

Most of the recipes are also Gluten Free and Corn Free. Many of the recipes offer substitutions also take allergies into concern and offer alternative ingredients to make the uncheeses Soy Free, Nut Free, and Yeast Free. Isn't that delightful?

Go out any buy it for yourself, folks. You'll be happy you did!