Tofu scramble and Banana Bread

The thought of catching up has been so overwhelming, so I have neglected this blog far too long. I have loads of pictures and recipes that I am slowly but surely going to get posted...

...starting with breakfast this morning! We were asked to join a group from John's office to hike in a National Park here in Denmark today. To get us started I made a tofu scramble and some banana bread - that also became a nice snack on the hike.

The tofu scramble was a modified version of this recipe. I have a huge batch of sesame Parmesan - that I have literally been eating with a spoon - so I added a huge sprinkle of that, along with dijon mustard, turmeric, salt, pepper, and oat milk.

The veggies were sauteed in olive oil with a sprinkle of dried tomato flakes, basil, fennel, salt and pepper.

And the banana bread...so good! I added walnuts, sunflower seeds, dark chocolate chips, and coconut. I sprinkled oatmeal on top. Note: I am not the "Courtney" as mentioned in the recipe. Sheer coincidence.

Banana Pancakes

I decided to give the waffle iron a rest today and found this easy and delicious recipe for banana pancakes! I also added pecans to the batter. We topped the pancakes with vegan butter and agave syrup.

Old-Fashioned Chelsea Waffles

One of my new kitchen purchases since finally moving out of furnished housing was a waffle iron! I have wanted one for a long time and am now the happy owner.

I have tried at least 5 recipes for waffles in search of the perfect 'soft on the inside, crisp on the outside' texture that John and I love.

Today, we came VERY close! I followed the recipe in Vegan Brunch but made a slight adjustment. I have been reading that the trick to great waffles is seperating the egg and gently stiring the egg white in last. Since there is no egg or egg replacer in this recipe, I decided to cut a bit of the milk out and try the above steps with an egg replacer. And it worked really well!!! I whisked the replacer into a foamy consistency and lightly stirred only until I couldn't see it anymore.

 The result:

We also included what we refer to as 'Key West Coffee' because this is the way they served it while we were vacationing there. It is coffee brewed normally, then added coconut milk and agave. And, notice the adorable mugs by Bodium that John found at an antique store here in Aarhus!

Scrambled Tortillas

Definitely comfort food! But, also healthy (well, maybe not if you and your husband eat the entire 'serves 4' in one sitting!)

The recipe calls for corn tortillas. I had originally planned to make my own, but I ran out of time and settled for tortilla chips instead. They totally worked!

Isa Chandra Moskowitz describes it as 'little morsels of heaven' and I couldn't agree more! She also says it does not photograph well. Don't let that stop you from trying it though!!!

Courico Tacos with Grilled Pineapple Salsa

Last time I was in the U.S. I bought two jars of chipotles in adobo sauce (Embasa brand) because they are impossible to find here in DK. Now, I am really stingy about using them because I want them to last! But, this recipe has been one I have wanted to try for a long time.

Here is the recipe.

We do not have a grill, so we just sauted the pineapple for a while, letting the outsides brown a little.

Instead of wrapping it all up in tortillas, we opted for taco salad style with tortilla chips. The courico is very spicy but in a smokey, vinegary, and sweet way. We had a little avocado on the side to cool things down!

Brussels Sprout-Potato Hash with Silky Chickpea Gravy

Wow. I haven't blogged for a long time! Life has been, as always, busy. We moved into a different apartment in Aarhus, Denmark. Both John and I have permanent contracts here now, and we are settling in to stay for more than 8 months!

For the first time in 2 years, we are in an unfurnished apartment (we were previously in furnished, company housing), meaning we had to buy all new stuff. I was able to pick up some really fun kitchen items. Although I do miss my old stuff (it is still in storage in Portland, Oregon), I am adjusting nicely.

I have actually cooked a lot in the past month, but many of the things I made have already been posted, or the cameral was packed, or I forgot, or I was lazy!

This meal was one of my favorites for a variety of reasons. 1) John did the cooking AND cleaning! 2) Brussels are my fav. 3) Silky Chickpea Gravy...no more words needed.

The recipes are from Appetite for Reduction.

Here is a recipe for the gravy. Also included in this link is a recipe for Caulipots from the same cookbook. I have not tried them yet!

Here is the recipe for the hash. The flavors of garlic, thyme, and lemon are fantastic.

Salsa Scramble

Tofu sauteed in olive oil with nutitional yeast, oat milk, yellow mustard, salt and pepper.

Potatoes roasted with olive oil, garlic, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper.

Roasted veggie and salsa.

Tortilla chips.

A fantastic breakfast!

Hodge-podge meals this week...

I have been in a slump so cooking has been very simple recently. John and I pooled our energy one night to make roasted veggies, tofu, and sauteed cabbage.

The veggies were coated in a mixutre of white wine, dijon mustard, oregano, and pepper and then (over)roasted. The green beans shriveled up a bit too much!

The tofu was cooked on the stove with olive oil and a sprinkle of nutritional yeast, salt and pepper.

The cabbage was cut into shreds and cooked on the stove with an onion, garlic, oregano, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.

This is quinoa salad with sundried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, and olives. The dressing is a little olive oil, salt and pepper, and lemon juice. 

And we had this for breakfast one morning. A tofu scramble consisting of red peppers, broccoli, spinach, garlic and a splash of soy. The potatoes are diced sweet potatoes roasted with olive oil, salt and pepper.

Vegan MoFo: Q is for Quiche

I have made quiches before, but this quiche is the king of quiches. It took me an hour and 45 minutes to prepare, contains pricey and unique ingredients, and packed so many flavors in that I figured today was the perfect day to spend making it.

                           

While I was preparing the crust I was thinking, there are easier crust recipes out there. But, it really was worth the effort. I love the addition of flax seeds and chickpea flour. I used dried herbs instead of fresh.

For the sauteed filling, I used half a red and half a yellow pepper. And for the blended part, I used cornstartch instead of arrowroot, sesame parm, and one slice of Tofutti Mozzerella style cheese.

The crust got a bit too dark while baking but the center took longer to get firm than the 40 minute recommended bake time. It didn't taste burned though!

All in all, I would make this again for a brunch or other special occasion but probably not just for John and myself. Also, the 1 TBSP of red pepper flakes is too much for our liking; next time I will use a teaspoon. And finally, John tried to eat one of the baked lemons. This is not recommended!

Vegan MoFo: P is for Pomegranate Pancakes

I had pomegranate seeds leftover from the Kiwi Salsa that I made earlier this week. The recipe for the syrup calls for juice, so I put them in the blender and strained the inner seeds from the juice.

The pancake recipe is from Vegan Brunch. It is very cinnamon-y! John made the pancakes silver dollar style.

I made the Pomegranate Syrup from this recipe.

It was good but not great. And, after sitting for a while, it got thick and sticky. It reminded me of jam and I thought of making it again and spreading it on bread.

Vegan MoFo: H is for Hash

John and I like the show Weeds and this season Nancy has been making hash although a much different variety than the Spicy Sweet Potato Hash I made for breakfast today! I also made Pan Seared Breakfast Mushrooms.

Both recipes are from Vegan Planet. For the hash, besides the sweet potatoes there is onion, red pepper, burger crumbles (seasoned with chili powder and crushed garlic), cayenne, and salt and pepper. Very simple but both sweet and spicy.

The mushrooms are pan fried with a tablespoon of each, olive oil, soy sauce and agave. I was very unsure of them while they were cooking. The recipe calls for 3 tablespoons of sweetener. One is plenty for my taste. Although I won't make them again, they were a nice compliment to the hash.

Vegan MoFo: B is for Bagel Sandwiches

I have always wanted to make the bagels from Vegan Brunch but never found the perfect excuse...until today! I didn't worry too much about the shape because I was so nervous about the dough. But, they came out so good and tasted exactly like bagels! I was worried they would just taste like round rolls of bread with a hole in the middle. Fortunately, that was not the case.

I roasted some tomato flavored tofu and added lettuce, fresh tomato, and dijon mustard to make bagel sandwiches. 

I also made some pumpkin, quinoa and veggie soup. I followed this recipe from the Fat Free Vegan blog. I did not add the lentils though. For the veggies, I included the fresh version of the following: carrot, celery, brussels sprouts, mushrooms, spinach, and green onions.

Mini Broccoli Quiches

We had brunch this weekend with our friends Hannes and Joy. They made fantastic Blueberry and Banana pancakes from the cookbook How it all Vegan and served fresh fruit. We made spicy roasted potatoes and broccoli quiche.

I do not have a pie dish so I made the quiche in a square casserole dish. It was fine, but more shallow than it would normally be. Therefore, I had a lot of leftover broccoli/tofu mixture. So, this morning I made mini quiches.

Breakfast Burritos

We ran into friends, Joy and Hannes today. Vegetarian, fans of Portland, stellar taste in music...all around our kind of people! The topic of brunch came up and made me so hungry for something brunch-like, such as breakfast burritos.

Actually, more like tacos. But, our intention was to make burritos! We didn't realize how tiny our tortillas were when we were rolling them out and cooking them but when it came time to fill them, it became very obvious! We also spent very little time worrying about making them perfect circles. Because this recipe is so fantastic, it has been easy to stick to my guns and not buy tortillas.

The burrito buffet included: roasted potatoes; tofu (pressed, then sauteed in olive oil and sprinkled with sesame parm); roasted veggies: carrots, red pepper, zucchini, red onion, and mushrooms; sauteed spinach and garlic (which I mixed with the roasted veggies after it was finished cooking); black beans mixed with salsa; fresh tomatoes and Sheese Mexican Style spread (great on tacos or other things with various flavors but too strong to eat on its own or as a dip).

Spicy, Roasted Veggie Tofu Omelets

This is my third attempt at the recipe for Tofu Omelets in Vegan Brunch and John and I agree, they get better each time! Of course, my first omelet of this batch was a complete failure, reminding me that if the batter is too thin, it is impossible to flip. On the other hand, too thick results in a raw, gooey and pasty like mess. My other conclusion, don't be afraid to cook the omelet until it is a dark, golden brown. A little crispiness compliments this dish nicely!

I melted mozzarella style cheese slices inside the omelet along with black olives and a mixture of spicy, roasted veggies. I found these slices at a super cute organic grocery store here in Denmark called Ganefryd.

Potato Spinach Squares and Banana Hazelnut Bread

The recipe is from Vegan Brunch. It is a casserole of spinach and mashed potatoes and lemon and spices topped with breadcrumbs. The flavor was delicious and the pieces cut into squares easy to serve and with great possibility for packing and taking on the road. Next time, I will bake it in a smaller pan so that the pieces are thicker.

I also made a Banana Hazelnut Bread. It was very dense but nutty and sweet. We put a dark chocolate, coffee flavored spread on the pieces. The recipe is not vegan but I substituted the eggs for an egg replacement powder, the milk with oat milk, and the butter for vegetable oil.

East Coast Coffee Cake with Apricot Swirls

My mom recently visited and her arrival time was early morning. My favorite thing to serve with coffee is coffee cake and it is easy to make ahead of time! My old favorite recipe calls for vegan sour cream and I didn't have any. So, I decided to give the Vegan Brunch recipe a try. It was fantastic! I added a swirl of apricot jam before adding the crumbled topping. The cake is very moist and the crumble is soft and grainy. It doesn't bake into a solid layer or become crunchy.

Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of the post bake masterpiece! I did however think to take a picture of the cake batter with apricot swirls.

Toasted Coconut and Mango Muffins

Travel, family visits, and general laziness have kept me away from blogging much this month. Most of my cooking has focused on making things from the past that we enjoyed and eating out. We are also preparing to move to Denmark in a month! I have heard the vegan scene is much more dismal there. I guess the balance is that it is so expensive to dine out, finding a vegan restaurant won't even be an issue.

This morning, I made muffins from Vegan Brunch. Here is the recipe. Delicious!

Almond Biscotti

My current baking obsession is Biscotti (Italian twice baked cookies). I followed a recipe from Vegan Italiano. Here is a link to the recipe, only it is doubled in this version.

I dipped mine in melted, dark chocolate and additional slivered almonds. Not that the Biscotti needed more flavor, but it just sounded (and tasted!) like a good plan!

This recipe uses applesauce for a significant portion of its moisture, instead of oil. I was very happy about that!

I also made a batch of Mom's Scrambled Tofu from the Vegan Dad blog. On a side note, my mom did tell me that she is almost virtually vegan these days! I am thrilled with this news! Spreading the Vegan Word!!!!!!!!!!!!

Gingerbread Biscotti

My "to-do" list today included things like cleaning my closet and other boring tasks. I have a cold so my energy level is down. Biscotti seemed like the perfect solution because you mix and bake, then rest. Then you come back and slice and bake, and then you enjoy! Simple, spread out, no rush, excellent with hot, soothing coffee or tea! And, an excuse to put off cleaning the closet until tomorrow.

The recipe is from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar. Here is a link to the recipe posted online. The gingerbread spices mixed with the candied ginger is a magical combination! And, dipped in rice-milk white chocolate with extra candied ginger pieces!!! Delicious. Gingerbread is definitely NOT just for Christmas time around here!