Vegan Mofo VI- Day 22: Go Bananas!

I slept in again today but managed to have enough time to make waffles and do all my dishes before heading off to work. I was so excited that I was starting to feel better but of course I feel horrible again. Maybe I tried to do too much, or maybe there are just too many yucky germs floating around and they are sticking to me like glue. Why am I up so late? I had to find out who was eliminated first from Drag Race All Stars (not happy!) and I had to wait for my emo stomach to calm down. I seriously have no idea what is going on, but I do not like it at all. Enough about me, onto the waffles!

These are "Banana Split Waffles" from  Hearty Vegan Meals for Monster Appetites, a book I asked for last Christmas and have not cooked from until today, totally blowing it, right? I had to dig out my immersion blender for this and finally open the the package of succanat I specifically bought last time I was at the Adventist store because some recipes in this book called for it. There are so many appealing recipes, I had no idea where to start but a huge pile of bananas gave me a good starting point. I really wanted to make the double batch banana bread, but it calls for more buttery sticks than I can spare right now, so this was the next best way to use up ripe bananas. I had everything else and only needed to get the dried cherries. I would have loved to splurge and buy ice cream and chocolate syrup to pour on top, but they are just not in the budget. Not to worry, these still taste great with your choice of buttery spread and maple syrup. They are also quite filling. I can usually eat 2-3 waffles in a sitting, but today I wasn't sure I'd finish my plate. I'll just try one at a time when I make these again. There might be another recipe from this book later on this week, stay tuned!

Vegan Mofo VI- Day 3: Brought to You By Bisquick

No torts yet! My mom has been home from work this week with allergies, and I absolutely cannot turn the kitchen into a floury mess on her watch. You want me to live to see the end of Mofo, right?! I was really hoping to continue my homemade Mexican food streak, but I'll have to come back to it another day. Maybe I'll make some tvp taco meat instead. I was hoping to make an element each day and then throw them all together at the end of the week, oh well.

Today we have the opposite of "from scratch,": Bisquick Blueberry Pancakes. I was really in a rush since I did not get up on time. Luckily, I always have Bisquick (do I sound like a commercial?). I bought frozen blueberries last week and had some soy milk I wanted to use before it was time to chuck it out so this is what happened. I read the directions wrong and made two flax "eggs" instead of putting 2 T of egg replacement, so I had to add more Bisquick to thicken the batter up. After that I was back in business and finished with just enough time to do the dishes and get changed for work. Speaking of work, I got a phone call this morning to schedule my interview for the Library Assistant position I applied for during the summer. It's a long process but well worth it. I really hope I get it. I'm glad I already had a haircut planned for this week. First impressions count, though I suspect I may be interviewed by some familiar faces. It's a step up and a bit more money I could really use, so keep your fingers crossed for me!

Scrambled Torts are Tops!

The more I cook from Vegan Brunch, the more I fall in love with it. I get into a bad habit where I have a few favorites I make over and over and forget that there are 40 or 50 more recipes in that book I can try. I'd been meaning to make the "Scrambled Tortillas" for a while, and actually bought all the ingredients to make it last week, but it was just too hectic and it didn't happen. This week I got back on track and put them back on the menu. They will definitely be on the repeat list.

As much as I love one-pot cooking, I will bust out three pans and a blender to make this. Even though it uses a few more dishes than I would like, none of the steps are too hard and it doesn't take very much time. And if you are a "clean as I go" person, you shouldn't have too much of a mess by the time you are finished. Or even better, you can sucker someone else into doing the dishes for you. Food is always a good bribe.

This dish reminded me of chilaquiles, which I love, but with potatoes thrown in to make it even more yummy. I tried to present it as prettily as possible, garnishing with green onions and avocado, but the next time I eat it, it's all getting piled into a bowl and heading straight for my belly. ¡Buen Provecho!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas...

so it should taste like Christmas too, right?

If you haven't made the Gingerbread Waffles from Vegan Brunch, now is the time. This was my second time making them but the first time I didn't let my ginger thaw out and they turned out okay but not nearly as awesome as they did this time. I was planning to have everything ready when my niece came over for dinner but I wasn't quite done when she came through the door. She took in a big whiff and told me how good it smelled in the house, but quickly backpedaled to say that she didn't want waffles for dinner...until she saw sausages cooking in a pan on the stove.

Since I wasn't done cooking and she wasn't sure of what she wanted to eat I told her she could have some leftover mac and cheese and a hot dog (one of her fave combos). After she tried the tester waffle, she decided she wanted some after all, so after her hot dog and mac she had a waffle and a sausage. She was still hungry so she asked if she could have another waffle/sausage plate. I hesistated for a moment because I still hadn't had my dinner and because I was afraid she'd stuff herself and feel sick later. Before I could answer her about her second waffle, she said, "or what? pie?". I couldn't stop laughing, but let her have a second helping of breakfast for dinner instead of dessert. She didn't feel so great after eating all that yummy food so hopefully she's learned a lesson.

If you decide to make these, double the recipe if it's for more than two people, or if you like a lot of leftover waffles. I forgot to do that and was kind of bummed that I only had three left for the next day. I warmed them up in the toaster oven so they could get a little bit crispy, and I honestly think they taste a little better the second (or third!) day.

She's A B.A.D. (Breakfast All Day) Mamma Jamma

I haven't really cooked since mofo ended last week, but tonight I am back. I finally made "Mom's Morning Casserole" from Vegan Brunch and I know it will not be the last time I do so. I am so glad to have another brunch/breakfast option. I usually cook my morning meals on Sunday or Monday and eat the same thing all week. It sounds boring, but if I really like a dish, I have no problem eating it every day, or even twice in a day. I had been hesitant to make this because my sister didn't seem interested in it, completely forgetting I could eat the whole thing myself if I broke it into daily portions. Luckily I don't have to worry about being the only one to devour the casserole since my niece is also fan. I'm always happy when she likes my cooking since kids can be picky.

There are three layers so this can take some time if you are a slow poke like me. I only decided to make this in the afternoon when my niece vetoed my pumpkin pancakes and I had to come up with a Plan B. If I had planned on it, I definitely would have done some of the work ahead of time. To compensate for my slowness I mixed the tofu layer before I put the potatoes in the oven since I knew I would not get the tofu and tempeh mixtures ready in under 25 minutes, especially since that time had to include stopping to help with homework questions.

Dinner wasn't as early as I had hoped, but it was every bit as delicious as I was expecting, so that is much more important. I wasn't going to serve anything with the casserole, but when I read through the recipe I saw the suggestion of greens or salad as a compliment. I had bought chard to make with chicken fried seitan, but decided to make "Shredded Swiss Chard" as a side today. I used it before as an omelet filling and really liked it. I can buy more greens another day this week. I'm really trying harder to incorporate them into my eating. I'm also going to start chipping away at my food resolutions!

Omelet You In On a Secret*

Diner Home Fries, Loaded Omelet, Tempeh Bacon Revamped

I finally made the omelets from Vegan Brunch.  Well I actually only made one omelet, on the fourth or fifth try. It took me a while to get the batter to the right consistency and then there was the matter of my flipping "skills". I will do a much better job next time, but my omelet failures did not go to waste. I did the next best thing and turned them into scrambled "eggs".  I finished cooking them up and then scrambled in the veggies that would have been omelet filling. It didn't look nearly as lovely, but it tasted great.

Afterward I started thinking of all the things I could make with scrambled egg type bits. Fried rice was the first thing to come to mind. The second was something we ate a lot as kids- hot dog and eggs. My dad would slice the hot dogs into rounds and then scramble them into the eggs. We would eat them in burritos with lots of ketchup. We would also eat hot dogs and potato burritos, which I am tempted to make with any home fries that survive my brunch week menu, but I'm not sure there will be any.

My "brunch week" wasn't too well planned out but I knew for sure I wanted to have tofu scramble, omelets,
"Fronch Toast" and maybe even waffles for dinner. I've done two out of the three so far. I have to double check whether or not I have molasses because the gingerbread waffles from Vegan Brunch sound really good to me right now. If I don't have any I will probably make the VWAV pumpkin waffles, those are delicious!


*There are no eggs on this plate!