Special News Report: I LOVE BACON!!!

Well, bacon seitan that is. It must be a Christmas miracle because I have not liked one brand of faux bacon that has passed my lips in my life and I've been experimenting with faux bacon's since the late 80s/early 90s. Oh yeah, I'm that old. And yep, faux meats did exist way back in the stone ages when I was a little kid. Ok really, I'm only 33 but something about not eating pork since the 80s makes me feel very old. 

Anywho...I've heard of this brand Upton's for awhile but it just floated through my mind like many of the new vegan brands out there. Some are great and stick around forever, some are gone before you could even figure out how to pronounce their name. It would take me weeks to go through this blog and delete all the vegan products that no longer exist. But I hope that Upton's Bacon Seitan is never one those. Because for the first time ever, I have fallen in love with a faux bacon. For those transitioning to a vegan or vegetarian lifestyle and are more familiar with pork bacon than I am I will add a disclaimer now, I cannot attest to whether or not this actually taste like bacon. Although, in some ways it reminds me of turkey bacon, but it's been nearly 15 years since I had turkey bacon (see, when you throw out number like that you just sound plain old!) What I can tell you is that I love this stuff. My mind is blown, my heart is full of joy and my wallet is about to be lighter because I'm heading back to the Whole Foods where I found this stuff and buying a case today. Our Whole Foods back in Atlanta doesn't carry this box of happiness and I'm not taking any chances. This stuff is going on the plane with me. 

This Week's Rating 

Scale of 1-4 Dancing Guinea Pigs 1 meaning it is destined for the compost bin and 4 meaning it is destined for greatness

Vegan Guinea Pig gives this 4 out of 4 Dancing Guinea Pigs 

Lil' Guinea Pig gives this one 3 out of 4 Dancing Guinea Pigs

Cookbook Review: The Sexy Vegan Cookbook by Brian L. Patton (with a bonus recipe)

Every once in a while people will comment that I'm too harsh in my cookbook reviews. I must beg to disagree. I am exceedingly passionate about great, innovative vegan food. There are so many authors out there who create masterpieces in the kitchen with simple ingredients that you don't have to break out your 1980's edition of Encyclopedia Britannica to decipher. I am in the unique position that I get to read and cook from the majority of the new vegan cookbooks on the market so I get the opportunity to see and eat some amazing recipes and so not so amazing recipes. The Sexy Vegan Cookbook: Extraordinary Food from an Ordinary Dude by Brian L. Patton is one of those innovative, outstanding cookbooks.

I've been knee deep in a world of babies, book writing and school so I'm out of the loop on who the new hot young vegan talents are so I have to admit I've never heard of Brian Patton before. I don't know if he's a blogger, tv personality, or just (as the title of the book says) and ordinary dude who woke up one day cooking his heart out. One thing I can tell you for sure is he is an artist in the kitchen and, I have to say, I like his personality. Anybody who starts their book off with cocktails and calls them the most important meal of the day is a friend of mine. Patton's onion dip is so sweet and tangy I want it on everything, his balls are nutty yet filling (no really, he has a recipe called my balls that is made of walnuts and they have a great earthy walnutty flavor). His recipe for Curried Fried Tofu Salad makes me unnaturally happy and his Cauliflower and Roasted Fennel soup was not only a hit with me but my 6 month old daughter loves it as well. We used purple cauliflower to make it even more fun. But my all time favorite recipe from this book, that makes this book a must have is the Pretend Canadian Bacon. It is brilliant! Just brilliant! I've used the marinade on super firm tofu as well as tempeh, both baked and fried variations and they were a party in my mouth every time. The publishers were kind enough to let me share the recipe with you. So without further ado - Pretend Canadian Bacon!

Pretend Canadian Bacon

Makes 12 slices

One 16-ounce block super-firm tofu (or one 14-ounce block very-well-drained extra-firm tofu; see Tip below and Tip on next page)

1/2 cup low-sodium tamari or soy sauce  

1 teaspoon liquid smoke  

1/2 cup maple syrup

1 tablespoon smoked paprika

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Cut the block of tofu into 2-by-3-inch pieces. Then cut the pieces into 1/8-inch-thick slices. (If you want to
get fancy, you can use a round cookie cutter or pint glass to cut circular slices, but that will leave excess that will go to waste.)

In a small bowl, whisk together the tamari, liquid smoke, maple syrup, paprika, garlic powder, and pepper. Pour the mixture into a large zip-top bag, add the tofu slices, gently slosh them around so they get coated, squeeze the bag to suck out as much of the air as possible, and place the bag in the fridge to let the tofu marinate for at least 3 hours but no more than 5 hours.

In a large skillet, heat the oil over high heat. Place as many slices as you wish (without overcrowding) into the hot pan, and fry until browned on one side (3 to 4 minutes), then flip and repeat. Cook the bacon in batches if you need to. If you would like to freeze the uncooked slices, use the same freezing method as with the Tempeh Bacon (see recipe, page 32) to preserve these for up to a month.

TIP

Super-firm tofu has the least amount of water of all the tofus. This allows it to hold together very well for grilling or broiling. When very well drained, some extra-firm tofu can get pretty close to the texture of the super-firm tofu, so it’s a manageable substitute.

TIP

Drain that tofu!!

There’s a ton of water in that block, and we have no use for it. Take the block out of the water it’s packed in, and place it on a plate. Then put another plate on top of it and add something heavy on top of that plate, like a couple of cans of beans. Let it drain for 30 to 60 minutes — the longer, the better. Discard the water and proceed with your preparations.

Excerpted with permission from The Sexy Vegan Cookbook: Extraordinary Food from an Ordinary Dude ©2012 by Brian Patton.  Published with permission of New World Library http://www.newworldlibrary.com

Breakfast Lifesaver! Amy's Tofu Scramble in a Pocket Sandwich

I'm not a morning person. Not even a little. Getting up at 9am is my idea of getting up early. But now that I have a little girl my schedule has been turned upside down and I find myself getting up before sunrise to get ready for the day. Between getting myself ready, my daughter ready and heading out the door on time breakfast has slowly shrunk lower and lower on the priority list. But as a breastfeeding mom skipping out on any meal isn't an option. I love making tofu scramble breakfast burritos but that requires me getting up even earlier to make tofu scramble every morning which also isn't happening these days.

I've always been very skeptical of store-bought tofu scramble, especially frozen scrambles. They never looked that appetizing and the few that I have tried have been bland and pasty.When it comes to Amy's brand products things have been hit or miss for me. I love their enchiladas, hate their breakfast burritos. Love their black bean burritos but hate their soups and the list goes on and on. When I saw these breakfast pockets I was desperate and willing to try anything. I threw a pocket in the microwave as I was headed out the door with  my daughter on my hip and was surprised that it was amazing! The pocket was a little gummy but the scramble was dead-on and delicious. The next day I decided to pop the pocket in the oven while I got ready, 30 minutes later the car was packed, we were ready to head out the door. I grabbed the scramble pocket out the oven and headed out the door. The gummyness of the pocket was gone and it was divine. My only complaint is the size. It's super yummy but also super small. It really takes two and some orange juice to fill you up. But size aside, this is absolutely perfect. And if you have kids this would be the perfect size for a breakfast on the go!

So Pricey Yet So Delicious Greek Style Coconut Milk Yogurt

A belated happy new year to all of my wonderful readers! I have had a fantastic hiatus from blogging taking care of my new baby girl and am finally getting a chance to return to both my blogs and share great recipes and reviews with you again.

First up is So Delicious brand Greek Style Coconut Milk Yogurt. If you've made it past the title of  my review on So Delicious Coconut Milk traditional style yogurt then you know I love this stuff but, years later, I'm still debating if it's worth the pricetag and that's where I find myself with this new greek style yogurt. I've never had cow's milk greek yogurt (and never will) so I have nothing to compare this to as far as it's authenticity to being a true greek style yogurt. I can say that I have tried all the flavors that my Whole Foods had on the shelf and with every flavor I didn't so much as taste the fruit that was flavored them but a tartness that permeated through every spoonful. It wasn't an awful tartness, just a tartness. And the tartness didn't stop me from eating it. I'm just assuming that greek yogurts are more tart than traditional styles. What I love about this new greek style yogurt is that it is really high in fiber (8 grams), lower in sugar than the traditional style, and also has the good stuff like calcium, vitamin D, and B 12 without being high in fat.

Of course, at $2 a cup this won't be something I eat everyday, or even every month. I wish the price would come down on both lines of So Delicious coconut milk yogurt. I would eat this stuff everyday if it did. But $2 for 6 ounces of yogurt is just ridiculous. It cost me more to buy the 4 flavors of yogurt that were available at my Whole Foods than to eat a full meal at my favorite restaurant. That being said, if you happen to win the lotto in the next couple of weeks So Delicious Greek Style Coconut Milk Yogurt is a great investment, if not then I'd say give it a try if it's ever on sale or there's a coupon.

Chocolate Pecan Zucchini Muffins

If you follow me on twitter or facebook then you know that I've been attempting to work my way through pounds and pounds of zucchini from my CSA for the last month or so. One night I set out to use all the zucchini in the house which led to a marathon of muffin, fritter, cake, pancake, and cookie making. One of the recipes from that night was Chocolate Pecan Zucchini Muffins. They are sweet, moist, and even though they taste more like a dessert i found myself eating them with tofu scramble in the morning for breakfast.

Chocolate Pecan Zucchini Muffins

Makes 12 muffins

¼ cup plain rice or almond milk

¼ cup unsweetened applesauce

½ cup Earth Balance margarine, softened

¾ cup sugar

2 tablespoons agave nectar

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 ¼ cup unbleached all purpose flour

1 cup grated zucchini

½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

¼ cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 325^oF and line a muffin tin with paper liners.

Cream rice or almond milk, applesauce, margarine, sugar, agave nectar and cocoa powder together in a medium bowl or with a standing mixer. Beat in baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, allspice and vanilla until combined. Slowly beat in flour until combined, then grated zucchini until combined. Lastly fold in chocolate chips and pecans.

Divide batter evenly among the muffin cups, filling each cup with approximately ¼ cup of batter. Bake for 25 to 28 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely before serving.

Lavender Pancakes

A couple weeks ago one of the volunteer’s at my CSA insisted that we go pick some fresh lavender and experiment with it. It smelled so beautiful and you can’t beat the freshness of picking the flower’s yourself so I said, why not. Since then I’ve been putting lavender in everything you can imagine from pancakes and muffins to cookies and cupcakes. These lavender cupcakes have become my new breakfast and brunch favorites. I usually do a double or even triple batch and freeze them in pairs so there’s always some on hand. I’ve noticed fresh lavender in the fresh herbs section of some Whole Food’s and Farmer’s Market’s as well. If you come across a bunch, I highly recommend you try these pancakes.

Lavender Pancakes
Makes 12 Pancakes

1 ¼ cup unbleached all purpose flour
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lavender flowers
¼ teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons baking powder
¼ cup soy yogurt or vegan sour cream
¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup plain almond or rice milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
¼ cup canola oil

Warm a large griddle over medium heat and grease with canola oil or canola oil spray.

Combine flour, sugar, lavender, salt, and baking powder together in a medium bowl. With an electric mixer, or a strong arm, beat in yogurt or sour cream, applesauce, milk, vanilla and canola oil until batter is smooth and there are no lumps.

Ladle pancake batter onto the griddle, the batter will spread quite a bit so start out in small batches to test for your desired size. When bubbles start to appear on the pancake surface check to see if they are golden brown in color on the other side. If they are, flip and cook until both sides are golden brown, about 1-2 minutes per side. Remove from the griddle and serve with maple syrup.

Black Bean Sausage

Hello vegans! Oh how I’ve missed you. The last few months have been all about school and finishing up my second book Quick and Easy Vegan Celebrations. Life is finally getting back to normal and I’m finally getting back to the folks that I love – you of course! I’ve been cooking and eating up a storm all up and down the East Coast and I have so many great recipes and restaurant reviews to share with you.

Right now I’m obsessed with fresh whole foods and eating gluten and soy free whenever possible. Gimme Lean Sausage has been my breakfast sausage of choice for a while now but it doesn’t exactly gel with my new whole foods, gluten free, soy free mission. Don’t get me wrong, soy and gluten are delicious but you can eat delicious nutrient and protein packed food without them, just trust me on this one. Black Bean Sausage is my new favorite breakfast treat with a little fresh fruit (Costa Rican pineapple is my obsession right now) and a little Tahini Coffee from Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food.

Black Bean Sausage
Makes 4 Sausage Patties

1 tablespoon canola oil
¼ cup diced yellow or white onion
¾ cup black beans
¾ cup cooked brown rice
2 tablespoon brown rice flour
½ teaspoon fennel seed
1 teaspoon dried rubbed sage
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon cumin
1/8 teaspoon cayenne

Warm oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Saute onions until soft and translucent, about 3 to 4 minutes.

Add sautéed onions, black beans and brown rice to a food processor and pulse until all ingredients are combined and there are no large pieces of black bean left (do not puree).

Turn out into a large bowl and stir in remaining ingredients, use your hands if you need to.

Form bean mixture into balls that are approximately ¼ cup big then flatten them into patties.

Pour a thin layer of canola oil into a large skillet or griddle (I use a big cast iron griddle) and warm over medium heat. Add patties and cook until brown and slightly crispy on both sides, about 2 to 3 minutes per side.

Gimme More Gimme Lean Breakfast Sausage!

I have searched high and low for the best breakfast sausage that money could buy since going vegetarian back in ’02. Some pretty good options have come my way over the years, my favorite was the now discontinued Publix vegan sausage patties followed by Tofurky’s Breakfast Links while Lightlife’s Smart Links ran a very distant third. I’d seen Lightlife’s Gimme Lean Breakfast Sausage for years but nothing really drew me to the thought of sausage in a tube, the idea just seemed a bit gross to me. Sure, the picture on the package looked great but don’t they always look great? Well I had a coupon for $1 off Gimme Lean sausage so I thought, what the heck, might as well give it a try. This was, hands down, the best decision I have made for myself this year – hands down. I have never, ever, in my entire lifetime tasted a breakfast sausage so damn good! It is perfection. I can’t believe I ever doubted it and that I spent almost 29 years of my life without this glorious sausage in it.

I can assure you that Gimme Lean will never leave my side from this day forward. I bought three more tubes yesterday just so that I can be sure to never go without it. The taste isn’t the only dynamic thing about Gimme Lean Sausage its nutrient profile is fantastic. Only 60 calories per serving, fat free, low in sodium and high in protein. Trust me, you need this in your life.

Vegan Brunch at Stone Soup Kitchen Atlanta, GA (and the start of VeganMofo III)

I'm writing this blog while sitting on the back patio of Stone Soup Kitchen (584 Woodward Avenue Atlanta, GA 30312 ). Enjoying a perfect Thursday morning, not too hot, not too cold, just enough breeze and the birds are chirping (but not in an annoying way, just right). The perfect way to start a day and to kick-off Vegan Mofo III (the Vegan Month of Food). All month long I'll be blogging overtime bringing you recipes, giveaways, and tons of vegan food porn. But for today, it’s all about Stone Soup Kitchen.

Stone Soup Kitchen is a phenomenal breakfast/brunch restaurant, only open to 3pm. They have plenty of indoor seating but my favorite place to be is their outdoor patio which is hidden away from the street and always peaceful and quite (except for the birds of course).

Stone Soup is an omni-restaurant with vegan options. If you're lucky enough you'll get a server who asks u if you're vegan and will point out to u potential pitfalls in the menu - like the soysage which is Morningstar brand and therefore has eggs in it. And will make sure they give you the vegan butter for your toast not the regular butter. Thankfully my server was amazing and made sure all my food was 100% vegan to the letter.

Stone Soup is one of those rare places in which I love everything vegan on their menu. I honestly don't have a complaint about one item and could eat their food for breakfast or brunch everyday for the rest of my life if my budget allowed. Their vegan menu consists of:

Oatmeal (steel cut)
Blueberry cornmeal flapjacks
Vegos Rancheros (veganized juevos rancheros)
Tofu Scramble (pictured above)
Grits
Home Grilled Potatoes (pictured above)
Cuban Black Beans Soup
Lil’s Favorite Sandwich (avocado, lettuce, tomato, sunflower sprouts, and Dijon mustard)
As well as daily specials

Cookbook Review: Vegan Brunch by Isa Chandra Moskowitz

Who can make you go from having the occasional tofu scramble for breakfast every morning to eating your weight in tofu on a daily basis just at breakfast alone?! Isa Chandra Moskowitz that’s who. Isa’s latest book Vegan Brunch is the best thing that has ever happened to your morning meal. If you want to wow someone with your culinary capabilities in the kitchen then these are some great recipes to start with. Isa has everything in this book – tofu scrambles, fruit flavored waffles and pancakes, quiches, crepes and signature dishes like Tofu Benny (a veganized Eggs Benedict), Chesapeake Tempeh Cakes, Puttanesca Scramble (my favorite dish in the whole wide world), Chorizo Sausage, and even homemade English Muffins and Bagels!

As with all my cookbook reviews I have a top 5 favorite recipes from Vegan Brunch. And here they go…

1. Puttanesca Scramble
2. Chesapeake Tempeh Cakes
3. Classic Broccoli Quiche
4. Pumpkin Pancakes
5. Beer Batter Tofu

You can check out a few sample recipes from the book on Isa’s Blog and below is my favorite favorite favorite recipe from the book, Puttanesca Scramble. I literally made this 3 times yesterday. Why? Because I kept on eating the entire batch! Yep, that’s right, I ate over 2 ½ pounds of tofu yesterday, and to think there used to be a day when I thought tofu was the worst food item ever invented! Obviously those days are long gone.

I made a couple changes to the recipe to make it a bit more economical. Instead of fresh tomatoes I used canned whole Roma or plum tomatoes and diced them up. Instead of fresh herbs I used dried herbs and took the quantity down to 1 teaspoon of each. I also hate olives so I upped the capers by ½ tablespoon. The original recipe is below but if you’re on a budget the substitutions leave it tasting just as good!

Puttanesca Scramble

2 tablespoons olive oil
6 - 8 cloves garlic thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 lb extra firm tofu, diced
4 roma tomatoes, diced
2 tablespoons fresh thyme
2 tablespoons fresh oregano
1/2 cup mixed olives, roughly chopped
1 tablespoons capers
1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Preheat a large heavy bottomed pan over medium heat. Sauté the garlic in the olive oil until lightly browned, but be careful not to burn. 3 minutes ought to do it. Add the red pepper flakes and the tofu and sauté for about 10 minutes, until tofu is browned. Add a little extra oil if necessary.

Mix in tomatoes, thyme, oregano and oregano and cook for about 5 minute, until tomatoes are a bit broken down but still whole. Add olives, capers and salt to taste. Cook just until heated through.

Excerpted from the book Vegan Brunch by Isa Chandra Moskowitz, published by Da Capo Lifelong, a member of the Perseus Books Group. Copyright © 2009.

Yummy Yummy For My Tummy - Amazing Grass/Amazing Meal

As a vegan, it can be a bit of a pain in the butt to travel especially when you have no car, are living out of a hotel room and only have a short stack of take out menus to choose from. Because I tend to find myself in situations like this more often than not, I've grown accustomed to bringing my own food, no matter how long or short the trip. Anything that can be popped in the microwave, only requires hot water to cook or can be easily mixed in with soy milk (which I also bring) or juice fits the bill.

Lately I've been bringing cups of cereal and soy milk for breakfast or the occasional packets of maple and brown sugar oatmeal. But on my most recent trip I just couldn't bring myself to have one more bowl of cereal or oatmeal. In walks Amazing Grass' Amazing Meal. Its nothing more than a little orange packet but its chocked full of greens, protein, fruits and vegetables. Not only that but it is organic, raw, gluten free, soy free and, of course, vegan.

Each packet is 110 calories, packs 10 grams of protein (from rice and hemp), 6 grams of fiber, and is a natural source of a variety of vitamins and minerals. Its hard t believe so much green happy goodness is packed into a little 29 gram packet but its true. For the greens, they blend wheat grass, kale, barley grass and alfalfa. For protein they use rice and hemp. For the fruit and vegetable blend they use acai, carrot, blueberry, goji berry, rose hips, maca and banana as well as flax seed powder. It also contains negligent amounts of digestive enzymes and probiotics.

Amazing Meals comes in chocolate, original and pomegranate mango. It seems like every powder, shake or supplement comes in chocolate so I'm kind of getting sick of it and I didn't want to take a chance on what the "original" flavor was since the list of ingredients didn't seem like it would blend seamless into something my taste buds would enjoy. The appearance of the pomegranate mango flavor intrigued me, and I knew it would take a lot of hard work to make that combination of fruits taste bad together. I enjoyed mine 3 different ways: once stirred into some orange juice, once shaken up with vanilla soy milk or hemp milk as a quick smoothie and once blended into a mango, pineapple, peach smoothie for a little extra nutrient boost. All 3 ways were absolutely divine! I did a little truffle shuffle as I drank it.

Mind you this stuff is a little pricey. With tags like "raw, organic and gluten free" its not surprising that it is. A 10 pack cost me $29.99. And singles are around $2.99 each. In the long run its cheaper and better for you than a lot of the other things available for the morning warrior or the travel mavens like me. It sure beats a bagel and banana and is much more filling. And, when you look at the total cost, is comparably priced to my travel standby of soy milk and cereal cups or oatmeal packets. All in all I'd say if you have a little extra money to spend or if you're on the road and not exactly sure where your next complete meal will be coming from or if its coming at all, I would go for this Amazing Meal. Hands down.

Where to find: Whole Foods has exclusive distribution.

Vegan Ham aka “Ham Tube”

At first I was afraid…I was petrified. Frankly, the image of a big pink tube of fake ham seems like the stuff of vegan nightmares. I haven’t had any parts of a pig since the 80s so I saw no need to start eating a vegan version two decades later. My omni-boyfriend swore it was delicious after trying a ham & cheese hoagie at Govinda’s To Go and the folks on twitter said it was the best thing since sliced bread. So, after what has now been almost 3 years of resistance to the “ham tube” I finally decided to give it a shot.

Everyone was right! Scary pink tube aside, this stuff is absolutely amazing. Now if you’re a new vegan and still remember what ham taste like I can’t really vouch for whether or not this taste anything like actual swine, because I have no clue. What I do know is that it has a slightly sweet flavor with a wonderful texture that is extremely versatile.

The ham tube, as I affectionately call it, is made by May Wah and can be found at most vegan online retailers. It’s also a great price for the amount of ham tube you get. At Cosmo’s Vegan Shoppe it retails for $9.29 and that is for a 2 pound tube! At first I was concerned about how I, as a single person, would be able to work my way through 2 pounds of anything before it went bad. But, as I mentioned before it’s amazingly versatile. So far I’ve used it to make a classic Ham & Cheese Sandwich with vegan American cheese, I country fried it up for a great addition to a breakfast of tofu scramble and banana pancakes, made a Hawaiian pizza (pictured below) with cheezly mozzarella and pineapple, over the weekend I made a breakfast burrito with tofu scramble, vegan pepper jack cheese and pan fried ham tube, and as of this morning made a breakfast sandwich with freshly made biscuits, a vegan egg, vegan American cheese and pan fried ham tube (pictured below).

If you still haven’t tried it and you are a skeptic like I was I highly recommend you order your very own ham tube. Cosmo’s is always having some type of sale so check back with them often and try it for yourself.

Cherrybrook Kitchen Original Pancake Mix & Pumpkin Pancake Recipe

Making homemade pancakes isn’t exactly rocket science but having a premade mix around that you only have to add soymilk and oil to turns easy into effortless. My new favorite pancake mix is Cherrybrook Kitchen’s. With just unbleached flour, evaporated cane juice, baking powder, vanilla and salt it’s a simple yet delicious mix.

I went a little overboard this past fall and bought at least ½ dozen cans of pumpkin puree. I’ve been staring these cans downs for months making pies, biscuits, pumpkin cakies, casseroles, soups, you name it I’ve been making it. So what’s the next logical step? Pumpkin Pancakes. Here’s my recipe for pumpkin pancakes using Cherrybrook Kitchen’s pancake mix:

1 cup oat or soymilk
½ cup pumpkin puree
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup pancake mix

In a medium bowl combine all ingredients with an electric mixer on medium speed until thoroughly combined and smooth.

Prepare a griddle or large skillet with canola oil to coat over medium heat. Spoon out batter onto griddle or skillet and cook until lightly brown, about 2 minutes then flip pancakes and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Serve with grade B maple syrup.

Tofurky Strikes Again! – Amazing Breakfast Links

Finally, finally, finally a breakfast link that I actually just want to eat for breakfast. I really liked Lightlife’s breakfast sausage style links but they tasted better as a pizza topping than as a side on my breakfast plate. Tofurky breakfast links are clearly made to be a standout accompaniment to your breakfast, not an afterthought. What I like the most about these breakfast links is that they don't try to imitate the taste of meat. They have their own distinct wonderful flavor that makes my mouth water just to think about it. Although the preferred cooking method is to lightly pan fry them I cut down a bit of the fat by cutting each link into 4 diagonal slices and warming the links in a toaster oven somewhere between 400-450 degrees. They take about 1-2 minutes to brown and get the perfect texture. These little links are also a great source of protein at 11 grams a link. Add this to a breakfast of a blueberry muffin and a glass of orange juice and you have a perfect way to start your morning.

Breakfast Sausage Style Links by Lightlife

When it comes to Lightlife brand of products sometimes I love them and sometimes I hate them. The Organic Smokey Tempeh Strips were on the hate them side but I have to say that I actually like the Lightlife’s breakfast sausage style links. Although my favorite vegan sausage of all time is the now discontinued Publix brand sausage this is a pretty good compromise. It has a great little bite to it and a wonderful mix of spices. It has been decades since I had pork or beef sausage but my instincts tell me that if you’re looking for either of those flavors to be duplicated you won’t find them here, but they are delicious on their own and a wonderful protein boost to your breakfast.

Although they are technically breakfast links the taste is closer to that of the type of sausage you would find on a pizza so that’s exactly how I like to use it. After trying it once as a side to some tofu scramble and sweet potato waffles I decided to use a little left over teese and make sausage mini pizzas. It was 1000 times better as a pizza topping than as a breakfast sausage. It’s also pretty pliable so you can just pinch off pieces of it add it to pizzas, make a breakfast burrito with a little tofu scramble or just eat it as is.

Organic Smokey Tempeh Strips by Lightlife

I have tried for years, 3 years to be exact, to like Lightlife’s Smokey Tempeh Strips but to no avail. I keep on buying them thinking that this time things will be different but they never are. In my mind I’m imagining a rich smokey thin slice of tempeh with a hint of sweetness but it never turns out that way. For some reason all I taste is the smoke, and a tart smoke at that. Someone out there obviously likes them since they keep on showing up in my grocer’s refrigerated section time and time again. As for me, I just can’t stomach them and I’m done wasting my money trying.

Note: If anyone has a good way to doctor these things up and make them halfway edible I’d love to try it since I still have about 9 strips left and don’t want to waste them.

Not-So Delicious Coconut Milk Yogurt

I've got good news and bad news. The good news is that Turtle Mountains So Delicious Ice Cream made with coconut milk is just as the name states "purely decadent". The bad news is this same great taste does not translate into their coconut milk yogurt.

The blueberry and raspberry flavors were good but not great, certainly not worth the $1.99 spent on each of them. In general they were way too sweet and had a bit of an after taste that sticks with you until your brush your teeth. The vanilla was completely inedible. The slight aftertaste of the blueberry and raspberry flavors was the entire taste of the vanilla flavor. Everything was wrong with it. Too sweet and yet tart at the same time. I was starving so I tried to finish it but I just couldn't bring myself to do it, instead I just brushed my teeth to get the taste out of my mouth and left the house hungry.

If you feel like shelling out $1.99 for yogurt that is just ok then I would recommend the blueberry and raspberry flavors. Steer clear of vanilla. But honestly, that money can be better spent elsewhere.


Update: It's very rare that I reject a comment on this blog but I have to say for this particular review I've had to reject at least 4 from people with some really mean-spirited comments regarding my review. And trust me using the term "mean spirited" is an extremely watered down version of what has been written - all this over a little coconut yogurt review. I wanted to take this time to clarify my review, especially for those who just read the title but not the entire review. I really liked the blueberry and raspberry flavor (hated the vanilla). But overall I don't recommend this yogurt not based on the taste but on the cost. I had a little extra food income this month so I splurged and bought some blueberry, passionate mango and strawberry banana flavored coconut yogurt. At Whole Foods it was about $1.89 and at Publix/Krogers it was $2.59! And that's just for one little cup of yogurt! Frankly, that's absolutely ridiculous.

What makes the whole situation even worse is that I'm now head over heels in love with the strawberry banana flavor and in a semi-like with passionate mango. I wake up in the morning wanting a cup but who can afford $2.59 each morning for just yogurt? I've also heard rumors that there's a pina colada flavor out there that I would love to try. Really the only flavor that I don't like is vanilla. As you read above. It makes my tastebuds revolt against me.

So hopefully this has cleared up my position on coconut yogurt and the hate mail can stop now.

Papa Chorizo Frittata: The Recipe

As you may or may not know this little Guinea Pig has been working on a cookbook for over 3 years now. I finished my first one in February ’08 and am currently in the process of getting it published (which takes a whole lot longer than I ever imagined!) In the meantime I have started to work on books number 2 & 3. Unfortunately there are no frittata or omelette recipes in my first book but there will be in books 2 and 3. But instead of making you wait another 2 years for either one of those books to come out I’m going to go ahead and release one of the favorite recipes now (by popular demand).

Note: If these pictures seem a bit familiar it’s because I blogged about this recipe during Vegan Mofo (I just failed to provide the actual recipe that went with it)

Frittata:
24 ounces extra firm silken tofu
2 tablespoon nutritional yeast
3 tablespoons potato starch
½ teaspoon stone ground mustard
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon onion powder

Combine all frittata filling in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into a large bowl and set aside.

Filling:
3 tablespoons canola oil
2 red potatoes cut into ½ inch cubes
½ cup white onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 link vegan chorizo, crumbled (I pulse in a food processor for about 30 seconds)
¼ cup chopped roasted red peppers
2 tablespoons flat lead parsley, chopped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F

In a large sauce pan heat warm oil over medium to medium high heat. Add potatoes and onion and cook until potatoes are tender (about 8 minutes). Add garlic and chorizo and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes. Turn off heat and stir in roasted red peppers and parsley.

Stir filling into frittata mix.

Lightly oil a 9 inch spring form pan or a quiche pan. Pour frittata mix into pan and bake for 35-45 minutes or until filling is firm and you can run a clean toothpick through it.

Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes. Remove frittata from pan and serve. (Can be served warm, room temperature or cold)

Vegan Mofo: Papa Chorizo Frittata

Being jobless has one major advantage, everyday is a weekend. Which means every morning i can crawl out of bed and make a big full breakfast for myself that would usually be reserved for a Saturday or Sunday. With just one Mexican Chipotle Sausage link left in the fridge I decided to make Papa (Potato) Chorizo Frittata's. Although I got off to a rocky start by nearly burning the onions in the first couple steps of the recipe, everything turned out well in the end and I have a full belly to prove it.

Vegan Mofo: The Breakfast of Champions - Banana Pancakes

This morning when I rolled out of bed I needed some inspiration. So, as usual, I wandered down to the kitchen and started cooking. I always buy bananas and never end up actually eating them. They end up in smoothies or in the freezer for months on end. This morning I decided to take one of the two remaining very ripe bananas I had left and make banana pancakes. They are so sweet and appetizing that they are good just as they are without syrup. I paired it with some leftover tofu scramble, a ripe pear and a glass of OJ (with calcium) and I have to say, now I'm feeling very inspired.