MoFo 14: Savory Breakfast Tempeh and Corn Muffin

Sometimes when I wake up I don't want something sweet, but I still want a baked good. What a dilemma! I searched for a good, long time before deciding that there wasn't a recipe I could find for exactly what I was craving: a corn and tempeh sausage muffin. I found plenty of corn and bean muffin recipes though, so I adapted one for this concoction. I decided to use the recipe for Tennessee Corn Pone Muffins from Vegan Lunch Box and subbed the 1 cup of cooked beans for 1 cup of cooked tempeh sausage crumbles (any corn muffin recipe could work here though). I used some random recipe that I can't find now for the tempeh, but I'm sure the recipe from Vegan with a Vengeance (and on PPK) would work well, probably better, because mine lacked a little flavor. You'd only need 1/2 of the recipe though.

The corn pone muffin batter was super crazy thick. I'm guessing the 1 cup of cornmeal and 4 tablespoons of ground flaxseed might have had something to do with that. It made it a little hard to work with. The recipe also says it makes 12 muffins--no way! we filled the muffin tins about 1/2 full and got about 8 muffins before the batter was almost gone. Once they were filled to 1/2 we topped each one with some of the tempeh sausage crumbles, then put one more spoonful of the corn muffin batter on top to hold the tempeh in place a bit. Then just a sprinkle of nutritional yeast on them and into the oven. They were very tasty! I ate like half of them throughout the day. I still want to work with this because I think it can be even better, but I'd still call this a success!

Check out: I'm super-excited for the latest installment of Harry Potter. I've read all the books...multiple times. I won't have a chance to go see it 'til I'm out for the long weekend for Thanksgiving though (thanks Anatomy final). I'm glad other people are excited too: check out these adorable cupcakes over at Cute and Delicious to celebrate!

Win! manifest:vegan has a giveaway of an adorable rhinoceros messenger bag for her birthday; Vegan Appetite has a copy of The Vegan Girl's Guide to Life; and Baking is Hot has some fabulous items from Le Creuset up for grabs.

Cherry Banana Breakfast Bomb

I had just a few cherries left hanging around, so I blended them up with some plain soy yogurt and banan. Then I just topped it with the rest of the banana and some cacao nibs. Not the most amazing breakfast I've ever whipped up but tasty and pretty nonetheless.

Banana Soft Serve

So this amazing stuff has been making the rounds in the blogosphere. I believe it originated here, at Choosing Raw. Consider me smitten. It's so simple, just take a frozen banana or two, break it up a bit into the food processor and process until smooth. Tastes just like ice cream! It's great with toppings too:

So far I've limited these to breakfast, topping with Marley's Hemp Granola in the top photo and overnight oats and cacao nibs in the second. For the version with the overnight oats, I added 1 tablespoon almond butter to the food processor along with the banana. I'm sure the soft serve would be awesome as dessert with some chocolate syrup, nuts, whatever suits your fancy. It's also really good with fresh cherries:

This really tastes so good it's ridiculous. Kudos and total props to the person who figured this out!

Marley's Hemp Granola

It's been a while since I've made some granola and I really wanted one with lots of big chunks (that's how I love it!). I normally use the recipe from How It All Vegan which has great flavor but never forms chunks. This time I tried a recipe from Vegan Fusion World Cuisine and subbed brown rice syrup for the maple syrup because I've heard that that helps make it stickier and forms more chunks (plus I'm still out of maple syrup). I also subbed canola oil for the safflower oil. But, yes, hello chunks!!


I had to break this up quite a bit and ate some of the burned pieces while doing so, yum. This was fairly simple to prepare and gave me another use for my hemp seeds (til now I'd only used them for Spicoli Burgers from Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan). This will be excellent with soy milk or yogurt and some fruit. I'm also drooling over the possibility of putting it on this banana soft serve from Choosing Raw (processed frozen bananas--the consistency of frozen yogurt!).

This is super sticky while it's cooking so I would recommend parchment paper or a Silpat while baking it up.

Sunday Brunch: Scrambled Tofu, Roasted Potatoes and Strawberries

Groceries were getting a little low: no cereal, no bread, no sugar, no maple syrup. So, not wanting a smoothie, savory was definitely in the cards for breakfast this morning. I decided on the scrambled tofu and roasted potatoes from Vegan Brunch. The potatoes are super simple, just cut them up, toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper and toss in the oven for a bit. It's been a long time since I actually followed a recipe for scrambled tofu, and I'm glad I did. Over time I tend to start adding less and less spice because I stop measuring and the flavor starts to go downhill, because well, there isn't much anymore. This one is great! Basic with garlic, thyme, cumin, turmeric and nutritional yeast. It was bursting with flavor. I topped it with some habanero hot sauce and it was fabulous. We also had some amazing strawberries. This is the first basket I've gotten that is super sweet and juicy. Yay for strawberries and all the other fruits coming into season!

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

So this is take two on the banana muffin. I was really craving one last week so I made the Cocoa Banana Flax Muffins from Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan and was a little disappointed. They tasted alright and they had lots of good stuff in there (flax, oats, bananas), but it just didn't hit the spot. In the words of my boyfriend (and muffin modeler above): "it had too much going on." I didn't even get a picture; this is the first thing I've made from Dreena that I didn't love, it was bound to happen sooner or later.

However, this muffin from Get It Ripe totally hit the spot! It's great. It's got a lot more banana (4 medium ones mashed) and the wonderful bonus of chocolate chips. I used mini chocolate chips and they turned out adorable. These muffins use the bananas and maple syrup as the sweetener. It was simple and I dug it. These muffins will definitely get made again, and since it uses so many ripe bananas it's perfect for when you haven't been so diligent in the banana eating department, or when the weather just gets really warm and everything in your fruit bowl ripens like crazy (aka: now)!

Overnight Oats

Um, yeah...so words can't even describe how ridiculously good this was. I first saw these on Erin's blog, Vegan Homemade, last week. The original recipe came from Angela at Oh She Glows. The base is non-dairy milk (I used soy), vanilla, chia seeds, mashed banana, and oats. That all sits in the fridge overnight for the oats and chia seeds to soak up the milk, then in the morning add maple syrup, nut butter (I used almond), whatever (I also sprinkled with cinnamon), stir and enjoy. And I did. This makes a large serving and it kept me good and full well into lunch time. I can think of many other mix-ins that would probably be fabulous, berries anyone? Angela also has some variations on her site: banana split, banana soft serve, and chocolate protein. The layered soft serve one looks incredible. This was my first time trying chia seeds, well other than to grow a chia pet (yes, I used to have one, shuddup). I didn't buy a lot because I didn't know what I'd think of them, but I'll definitely have to pick up some more so that I can make this amazing breakfast more often.

This is what it looked like before I put in the fridge for the night:

And, here in the morning with my mix-ins before stirring it up:


If you try this out let me know what you put in and what you think!

Red Chard Frittata

I've been wanting to make this frittata since I first saw it in Vegan Brunch. Last weekend I had some chard that needed to be used up so it worked out perfectly. I don't know if I just suck at making these or if it's just not possible, but my frittatas never stay together. I go to plate them and it just falls apart, it's more like a fancy baked tofu scramble. Which is fine, it still tastes amazing, but it's disappointing to see the pretty slices in the book and then look at the pile on my plate. The flavors were great in this, simple and tasty. We ate this with some Earth Balance smothered toast (put the frittata on the toast--yum).

"Fronch" Toast

Does anyone else think vegan french toast tastes even better than "regular" french toast?! It's so crazy-amazing it shocks me almost every time. My favorite recipe is this one from Vegan with a Vengeance. I halve the recipe and it makes the perfect amount for two people. I also add a bit of cinnamon, because why not? I served it up with some yummy sliced strawberries and maple syrup.

Blueberry Orange Muffins

Some mornings (read: weekends) it's nice to forgo the morning smoothie and have something sweeter and less wholesome. This muffin recipe is from The Joy of Vegan Baking and originally called for lemon zest, I substituted orange. Citrus complements blueberry so well, so naturally these taste great. They do start to get really soggy after a couple days, so whatever doesn't get eaten in the first day or so probably won't get eaten. Next time I might just halve the recipe, then it'd work out better for us.

Banana Pancakes

I'm not a huge pancake fan, most of the time I'd rather have a waffle or french toast (if all I had to choose from were non-pastry breakfast breads). Banana pancakes are the main exception; I love them! Not only because they make me think of this, which is awesome, but because they taste great. This recipe from Vegan Brunch cooked up just great (there's also a recipe for Banana Pecan Pancakes in Vegan with a Vengeance which is decent, but I like this one better). These pancakes are perfectly paired with maple syrup, however there's a particularly good blueberry sauce recipe in VwaV that makes them even more drool-worthy.

Donuts: Fail

So, my same visiting friend wanted to try out making some donuts for breakfast. I had received a donut pan for Christmas and hadn't used it yet, so I was quite excited as well. We used this recipe from VeganYumYum; we didn't make minis so this made 6 regular sized donuts. We ran into a number of problems. Despite being told not to spray the nonstick pan that probably would have been a great idea because my first attempt at getting one donut out was it breaking into several pieces because it was stuck in parts to the bottom. They were also not very sturdy. It said they wouldn't be golden on top but a tester will come out clean, so that's when I took them out, but they were very fragile. When glazing we couldn't dip them for fear of them breaking, so we spread the glaze on, which worked fine, and then topped with sprinkles.

They turned out quite adorable. However, they didn't taste that way. I took one bite and all I could taste was salt. I didn't eat anymore after that and just made some toast for breakfast. Everyone else thought they tasted alright but were nothing amazing and would have preferred if they held up a bit more. All well. I've tried this recipe from VegWeb before to good results, I think I'll try it in the donut pans instead of muffin tins next time.

Chocolate Orange Marmalade Muffins

I'm not too good at waking up; I really like to sleep. So weekends are nice because we can sleep in and still have time to make something tasty for breakfast before getting on with the day. Here is a muffin from 500 Vegan Recipes. It was a very delicate looking muffin with the bits of orange peel from the marmalade showing; they were also very decadent with chocolate chips inside. While I thought that these were very good they were a bit acidic. I'm guessing that's from the marmalade, so next time I might try these with either a different brand or a different type of jam altogether and see what happens.

Chocolate Beer Waffles

This was my first attempt at waffles (I received a waffle iron as a belated Christmas present). I don't believe we could have picked a more delicious test subject than these from Vegan Brunch. These were amazing, eliciting oohs from my boyfriend. I used a light beer rather than a dark/porter because that's what we had in the fridge. They had a great deep chocolate flavor and a berry sauce would have been over-the-top amazing with these. We ate them with Earth Balance and maple syrup. I was going to make a strawberry sauce but having never made waffles before I screwed up on the timing and didn't have a chance to get to the sauce before the waffles were finishing up. Next time!

Happy New Year and Coffee Cake

First of all, welcome to Twenty-ten! Now...


Look at that crumb topping, and the mini chocolate chip layer! Oh, and there are raspberries in there too! This recipe is from Vegan Brunch, and despite having some hiccups, turned out well. I picked up a springform pan at the local kitchen store the other day and this was a perfect recipe for it. I'd never used one of these pans before, but after breaking one of my other cake pans (my crappy IKEA knives actually cut right through it, yeah crazy) I decided to try this little baby out. If you've never used one before it's pretty awesome, just unhinge and the cake slides right out.

It also helped me save this cake from ruin. I baked on the upper end of the allotted amount of time. I then stuck in a toothpick and was greeted with gooey raspberry and chocolate, not so good for determining doneness. So, I took it out. Isa says to let it sit for an hour before eating, but we were starving, so after about twenty minutes I tried to cut slices out. The whole middle was still a gooey doughy mess. Luckily, I was able to just refit the outside of the pan back on, throw it back in the oven and disaster averted! It took an extra twenty minutes to get it fully cooked. To check I just stabbed and then swirled the toothpick to make sure it was definitely done in the center.

After getting it fully cooked and cooled (of course not an hour, like 20 minutes) we were able to dig in for real. It was a fabulous combination. I don't know if this would even be worth it if it didn't have chocolate. I loved that the chips got really crispy as it melded with the crumb topping. Fabulous!

Biscuits with White Bean and Tempeh Sausage Gravy

This is another favorite here in our house. The biscuit recipe I get from The Joy of Vegan Baking, I like this one because it doesn't use shortening, which I prefer not to use whenever possible. The gravy recipe is from Vegan with a Vengeance.

For the gravy, the tempeh is cooked up with some spices (I double the crushed red pepper) first and then pureed white beans, olive oil, and water are added. The resemblance to white gravy is uncanny--although this version is protein-packed and cruelty free! I have made this dish for more non-vegan than anything else. They've all loved, so it has great crossover appeal as well!

Zucchini Date Muffins

I had planned to make these muffins from Get it Ripe to take in the car with us for our trip, but time got too short. So, I made them when we got back. These require a fair amount of prep: pitting, chopping, soaking, and then mashing the dates, and grating 2 cups of zucchini. They turned out quite good though. They're sweet, but not overly because the dates and zucchini supply the only sweetness, and they have a nice crunch thanks to the added flax seeds. I was able to find some spelt flour, which is what the recipe called for, so this was also my first time baking with that. It gave a nice, somewhat earthy flavor here; the muffins tasted a bit like a bran muffin, even though there was none.

Mexican Tofu Scramble

First day back from our trip (we went to Magic Mountain and Disneyland), I wanted a nice hearty breakfast, something that I hadn't had in a few days as it's hard to get as a vegan while traveling. I roasted some potatoes, cooked up some black beans, and made a tofu and salsa scramble. So good, so filling, so exactly what I wanted.

For the potatoes: Peel and cut into 1/2 inch pieces. Lay out on baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and a little salt. Mix around. Bake at 425 degrees for about 20 minutes. Stir and flip as best you can, then cook for about 10 minutes more.

For the beans: I just pour a can of black beans into a pot (juices included), then add lime juice, cumin, cayenne, garlic powder, and hot sauce. Cook on medium until hot, then turn down to low until the rest of the food is ready.

Tofu: my basic tofu scramble recipe, add salsa.

There we go, pretty simple, but tasty. Tortillas probably would have been a nice addition.

Chesapeake Tempeh Cakes

After reading on multiple blogs how amazing these little guys from Vegan Brunch are I just had to try them out. Have to say they're pretty darn tasty. I've never had a crab cake before (in fact I'd never even seen one until the evening that I made these--I went to a work function and that was one of the appetizers, they looked spot-on) so I can't say how these fare similarity-wise, but I don't think anyone who enjoys tempeh would be disappointed.

I did have a little trouble getting the cakes to stay together while I cooked them. These three were the prettiest, and that's why they got their photo taken. Just a tip if you're planning on making these: make sure you have plenty of oil in your pan and that it's hot before you drop the cake in. They seemed to be more prone to breaking when they didn't start cooking right away. I'm a little oil-phobic when I cook, so I had to add more to make these work.

Tofu Scramble and Hashbrowns

This morning I was off from work so I cooked up a real breakfast. I had about a 1/2 pound of leftover tofu in the fridge from the tofu bennys, so I made up a quick scramble with that, some spinach, and sun-dried tomatoes. I also had a handful of golden potatoes sitting around so I cooked up some hashbrowns to go with it.

I usually make a fairly simple tofu scramble. I just put a little olive oil in a pan, then add a sprinkle of cumin, turmeric, and garlic powder. I mix these up until the oil is hot, then I add the crumbled tofu. Everything gets mixed up so the tofu is covered in the spices and I just let it cook for a while (until most of the water from the tofu is gone). Then I add some nutritional yeast (usually a couple of tablespoons). Today I threw in the chopped spinach and sun-dried tomatoes. Other times I might add some beans. I always eat my scramble covered in hot sauce.

For the hashbrowns, I started by peeling the potatoes. Then I grated them up and cooked them in the microwave (a couple of minutes; 30 seconds at a time, stirring in between). I sprayed a non-stick skillet with oil, then added the cooked potatoes. I sprinkled salt, pepper, garlic powder, and nutritional yeast on them, then just kept stirring and flipping until they were cooked. I had attempted hashbrowns before, but didn't cook the potatoes first and they did not turn out well; they just weren't cooked enough in the middle. The pre-cooking helped a lot and the spices imparted a wonderful flavor.

Good breakfast.