Breakfast

Beans, Breakfast, International vegan cuisine, Sides

A Day in the Mountains + Full English Breakfast Recipe

Posted on September. 2022September. 2022 by writinstuff

Last week I meant to add a bonus post because I’ve been so spotty lately while working and writing my new novel, not to mention taking in all the sights Romania has to offer. I didn’t get to it because I had a really trippy dream last week and it put me off while I dealt with the after effects of that, so I’m giving you a Friday freebie post/recipe.

Last week the Hubs and I decided to take a trip to the mountains but instead of going in the car, he wanted me to experience the Bucegi Mountains on the back of his motorcycle. I was on board–mostly–but there’s always a bundle of anxiety when it comes to being on a two-wheeled vehicle. Still, I promised him we would go so I sucked it up and put on my gear and we hit the road.

Of course, there was the promise of a vegan lunch at Snow in Sinaia which soothed my frazzled nerves by about 10% which any sufferer of anxiety knows isn’t basically nothing. But the Bucegi Mountains are beautiful and the scenery is magnificent so that alone was worth it.

We’ve been to Snow Restaurant many times and you can see the post about it here. The vegan sausages with grilled mushrooms, cabbage and mamaliga is wonderful but this time there were NO mushrooms–boo, hoo–but the food was decent.

We split the sausages, mamaliga and cabbage along with a vegan burger & fries meal. The vegan burger was tasty as were the toppings (lettuce, tomato & red onion) but the bun was entirely too big for the burger and not warmed so it totally fell apart as we each ate our halves.

With that in mind I decided to share with you a vegan meal that I’ve made a few times, Fully Vegan Full English Breakfast while also enjoying a great view in Sinaia of the Bucegi Mountains.

Let’s do it!

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Breakfast, Grains, International vegan cuisine, Potatoes, Vegan

Vegan Breakfast Recipes ~ Vegan Sausage & Potato Hash

Posted on November. 2021November. 2021 by writinstuff

I’m going to let you guys in on a little secret. I don’t eat breakfast. I drink about half a liter of water in the morning before I have my single cup of coffee (with brown sugar and almond milk), and a little later I pop a few vitamins. That’s it.

I know “they” say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but is it? I mean, most breakfast food isn’t really all that conducive to getting a productive start to your day. Pancakes or waffles? Tons of protein in the form of vegan eggs, meat alternatives, various types of vegan bacon which often include added fat and sugar to anything, whether it’s carrot bacon or mushroom bacon. Then there are potatoes, which can honestly do no wrong in my book, but who wants to feel sluggish and lethargic before you’ve even fired up your laptop to start working?

Not me.

I guess you could say that I am an intuitive eater, though not consciously. If the hubs makes the coffee a little too strong and I need something to settle my coffee, I’ll eat something. If I’m hungry, I will eat something. Otherwise, I skip the first meal of the day and I usually eat what I call ‘day meal’ and ‘evening meal’ with a snack or two tossed in there somewhere.

Do what that information what you will.

*Shrugs*

Now, does that mean i turn my nose up at all breakfast foods? No way, man! I have very fond memories of the days of brunch, and boozy breakfasts in college and my absolute favorite breakfast food in the world, the breakfast burrito. It just means that I don’t eat it first thing in the morning.

Breakfast for dinner is one of the greatest creations since the smartphone and e-books, and let me just tell ya, it is my JAM! American style breakfast, English breakfast, vegan corned beef hash or any other type of breakfast, it’s all right by me as long as it’s not in the morning.

So, let’s dig into this easy vegan breakfast recipe that you can eat for any meal you want because you’re an adult and you can do what you want.

Track Your Nutrition & Health Data with cronometer.com

Now the first thing I want to tell you about this easy vegan recipe is that it is SUPER easy to make. You don’t have to love to cook, be a proficient home cook or any of that jazz. All you have to do is collect four basic ingredients, raid your spice cabinet and you’re good to go.

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Breakfast, Potatoes, Sides, Vegan

Lazy Vegan Brunch

Posted on July. 2021July. 2021 by writinstuff

I’m not here for a long post today, just to share a few quick photos of our most recent vegan brunch!

It was simple and easy; vegan eggs, sausage, toast and hash browns. It’s more food than we would normally eat but I just got the vegan sausage and the eggs, so I had to try them out.

The spinach sausage from Verdino was surprisingly delicious but the other…not so much. It came wrapped in an inedible casing and the flavor was off-putting. The “eggs” were oddly good and not all that eggy.

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Breakfast, International vegan cuisine, Plant Based, Potatoes, Vegan

Vegan Breakfast Anytime ~ Vegan Corned Beef Hash

Posted on May. 2021May. 2021 by writinstuff

Way back in the day when I was a kid, my favorite thing to have for breakfast on Saturday morning was corned beef hash. No one made it better than my grandmother and I really just couldn’t get enough of it. In college, it was my go to donation during any mid-morning breakfast event.

I was even happy to introduce this weird concoction to my international friends.

Then, my eating habits started to change. Long before going vegan, I started to make changes that included less fried foods, fewer processed foods and a lot more vegetables. And dishes like this slowly faded away. And then I moved to Europe and you just can’t find that weird corned beef stuff there.

But after going vegan and getting comfortable with my new way of life, I started to experiment.

And today I think I have a vegan corned beef hash that recalls the flavors of the original, minus the cruelty and the greasiness.

This is a pretty easy vegan recipe because the base ingredients are: potatoes, bell pepper, vegan mince (or a vegan burger chopped), onion, water/broth & nutritional yeast. Pick the flavor profile you want using the herbs and spices available to you.

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Beans, Breakfast, Cheese, Plant Based, Potatoes, Sides, Vegan

Vegan Brunch Recipe ~ Hangover Edition

Posted on January. 2021January. 2021 by writinstuff

Happy New Year!

I’m not much for resolutions and all that, so my sincere hope for you is that 2021 is better than the previous year. Cook better. Eat better. LIve better. Be better.

And I just might be able to help you with the first two. Maybe.

Full disclosure: I was not hungover when I whipped up this recipe but as I put it all together, it occurred to me that this the perfect vegan breakfast fry up for when you consume a little too much booze the night before. But hey, even if you don’t overdo it, this is a great vegan meal to put together on a Sunday afternoon, or any other day you enjoy brunch.

Unlike most vegan breakfast recipes, you won’t find tofu scramble here but not becuase I don’t love them, I totally do. The real reason is just simple oversight, I thought I had firm tofu in the fridge and when I went to search for it, surprise! No tofu.

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Breakfast, Desserts, Grains, Plant Based, Snacks, Vegan

Vegan Pumpkin Spice Pumpkin Cupcakes

Posted on October. 2020October. 2020 by writinstuff

I know we all love to make fun of those who go a little crazy when pumpkin spice season rolls around, but the truth is these people are just taking advantage of an abundance of a spice blend that really should be available all year long. I mean, ask yourself, what is so wrong with any of these:

Cinnamon
GInger
Cloves
Allspice
Nutmeg

I can’t think of one reason to hate on these spices, especially when you have every type of squash and pumpkin at your disposal! It’s like being mad that your market has broccoli, cauliflower and romesco! Unfathomable, that’s what it is.

All I’m saying is, embrace the season and not just because we are all living in the Upside Down known as 2020, just enjoy because it’s tasty, easy to make and readily available.

All you have to do is take your favorite vegan pumpkin cupcake recipe, or a vegan cake recipe, or any other vegan autumn recipe and add the pumpkin spice blend to the dry ingredients. It really is just that simple.

And if you’re feeling really sauce, like I apparently was, add a pumpkin spice glaze by adding the same blend to powdered sugar along with almond milk, or any other nut milk, plus pinch of bourbon or brandy. For these vegan cupcakes, I used a splash of Apple Pie Moonshine because it has that extra hint of sweetness and booze that turn these vegan cupcakes into something truly amazing.

Want to make’em?

Here we go:

250g All Purpose Flour
225g Brown Sugar
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
3 and 1/2 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice (homemade or store bought)
335g Pumpkin Puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 tsp Vanilla Extract (I’m in love with this Madagascar vanilla from Dr. Oetker.
60ml Coconut Oil (or other oil, like EVOO)
1 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
1 Vegan Egg (I like Arche or Megga Exx, both are German brands if you’re interested)

Mix the dry ingredients together and pour the wet into the dry, stirring until bend but be careful not to overmix or you’ll end up with tough, dense vegan pastries.

Bake at 180C for 20 to 25 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Now you’re done and ready to gobble up your vegan pumpkin spice cupcakes!

If you plan to add a glaze, let the cupcakes cool for 15 to 20 minutes or you’ll end up with a big, gooey mess.

What do you like drink with your vegan cupcakes…beer? Cocktails? Almond milk?

Drop your answers in the comments!

Breakfast, International vegan cuisine, Plant Based, Vegan

Quick Scallion Pancakes & Spicy Seitan Sausage

Posted on May. 2020May. 2020 by writinstuff

Sometimes you just feel like breakfast for dinner but without the zillion calorie meal that’s common for a breakfast at night feast, even a vegan one.

Sometimes I miss having breakfast even though I’ve never been much of a breakfast eater and I don’t eat it at all these days if I’m not hungry, but when those longings hit, they hit big. So I set aside all my thoughts of breakfast being a useless consumption of the worst kind of calories, and I indulge.

Some.

I like to bargain with myself. “You can have pancakes but make it savory instead of sweet.”

I had plans of making a Korean style scallion pancake that I saw on YouTube but time got away from me and I ended up doing a quick reconfig of a regular old fluffy pancake recipe, making it vegan and removing the sugar, adding scallions and enoki mushrooms to the batter.

It turned out pretty well thanks to the addition of soy sauce and ground ginger in the pancake batter.

For the spicy maple vegan sausage, I relied on my old friend seitan. The color isn’t striking but damn, these are just so tasty that they are totally worth the time it takes to make them. Well, that and the fact that the stove does all the work by…simmering. Add whatever you like but I used spicy paprika, adobo chile pepper flakes, scotch bonnet powder and maple syrup as the primary ingredients in my sausage dough.

Then came time for the tofu scramble. Tofu, turmeric, onions and bell peppers in a skillet until crispy and fragrant and your quick and easy vegan breakfast is complete. Feel free to add ketchup, hot sauce or even syrup if that’s your jam.

This vegan breakfast dinner was a good way to splurge on a workout day without going over 600 calories…if you care about that. If not, just know that this is still plenty of food. Plenty.

What’s your go to breakfast at night meals?

Breakfast, International vegan cuisine, Plant Based, Potatoes, Sandwiches, Vegan

The Beyond Burger ~ 3 Nights of Vegan Eats

Posted on December. 2019December. 2019 by writinstuff

When it comes to being vegan I am mostly a pretty low-key kind of gal. I can get down with the odd protest or two, but I’m more likely to slide facts you don’t want to hear into everyday conversation in a way that’s guaranteed to make those facts impossible to forget. My friends love that about me, no matter what they tell you.

Why am I telling you this? Just to help you understand my feelings on Beyond Burger.

We found them at a local store called Metro and they only came in a box of ten patties, which meant we needed to be creative in how we used them because freezer space is limited.

We cracked open the box and took out two patties to thaw–at room temperature, not the microwave–and started with your basic, old fashioned hamburger.

Because I had no idea what to expect of the Beyond Burger, I decided to go for super simple lettuce, tomato, mustard and ketchup.

And…it was delicious. It doesn’t taste like meat, which I appreciate, but holy crap it SMELLS like real beef. So much so that I found it a bit unsettling. But what I will tell you, is that it tastes like what a burger should taste like without the tendons and fatty gross-ness common in fast food burgers. My one tip for cooking a regular Beyond Burger? Air out your place while you cook.

Once the regular burger was out of the way, the hubs added a slice of Violife cheese to the second round and he was a fan. I’m still having a tense relationship with vegan cheese so I opted out.

But then we were watching a YouTube video about old brands and there was a flash of people watching TV with TV dinners in front of them and it reminded me of a meal I loved as a child. Salisbury steak. The kind that came in the little aluminum pan and its own gravy. Whip up some mashed potatoes and green beans on the side and I was a happy little kid.

So why not try and recreate the magic in a healthier, vegan, 21st Century kind of way?

Okay so I traded the green beans for peas, but they were frozen peas and came out pretty terrible which only reminded me why I haven’t had peas in ages. Which do you prefer, canned or frozen, when fresh isn’t an option?

I also added a crimini mushroom and onion gravy, with a splash of Oatly to give it that creamy light brown color. It was delicious and much better than the last time I tried to recreate Salisbury steak. So far, the vegan recipe is the tastiest!

Don’t mind the photos, I’m still adjusting to my new phone.

Twelve or thirteen years ago I introduced my husband to another childhood favorite of mine; corned beef hash. We were living in Germany and accidentally stumbled upon the crappy canned stuff that we ate back then and I grabbed up two cans to show him this delicacy from my time in Milwaukee.

So of course when we got our hands on Beyond Burgers, he couldn’t wait to recreate it vegan beef & potato hash. It’s a simple dish of burgers, potatoes and onions, sauteed until crispy. And the thing that makes the Beyond Burger perfect is that it is very greasy (part of its appeal) and that helps everything get that delicious crispy edge that makes dishes like this so addicting.

This was probably my favorite use of the Beyond Burger so far. The edges got all crispy and crunchy and the greasiness was satisfying in a way that I’d forgotten about until I devoured this dish. Add an ice cold beer and you can have your own Lazy Sunday.

Have you tried the Beyond Burger? Drop a link or photo of your favorite Beyond Burger recipe below!

Beans, Breads, Breakfast, International vegan cuisine, Plant Based, Vegan

When You’re In The Mood For A Vegan English Breakfast

Posted on October. 2019October. 2019 by writinstuff

So last week the Hubs and I decided to do another “thing”. A few weeks ago we had a soup themed week where we each cooked a variety of soups throughout the week. Another time it was sandwiches. This past week it was beans.

I know what you’re probably thinking. “Beans, gross.” If that’s what you’re thinking then you are wrong. It was a magical week of delicious food, including the Cajun beans & rice from earlier in the week.

But I will admit that maybe this is a way to cheat the bean thing, but since the English have no qualms about having beans for breakfast it worked in my favor. Cos had been asking for a few weeks now for me to make a vegan breakfast fry up so I set out to exploring different ways to get the sausage component done without wasting an obscene amount of time. I watched a few dozen videos on making vegan sausage when I came up on the Vegan But Lazy channel on YouTube. It was fast and easy, and I am happy to report created a very good sausage-like texture without the gross greasy taste.

The first thing you’ll notice is that this plate looks a little underwhelming compared to most English breakfast plates making the rounds on the internet, and that’s on purpose. I wanted the fry up without the eleven hundred calories that typically come along with it. So I kept it simple with:

Seitan sausage

Tofu & turmeric scramble

Roasted herbed tomatoes

Toast & butter

Beans

We’ll start with the sausage since it does require the most prep time. Get the original recipe here. You’ll need some vital wheat gluten (seitan), chickpea flour or nutritional yeast, herbs & seasoning, olive oil. That’s it. Mix up the ingredients and form sausage shapes and roll into aluminum foil. Simmer for 45 minutes. I followed the Cajun & Italian recipes to the letter, cut them in half and we each had half of one. They were mad delicious!

They aren’t the prettiest, but neither are the ones made with animal flesh, right? But this was what they looked like fresh from nearly an hour of steaming. I brushed them with oil and put them on a sheet pan with the tomatoes so they could crisp up in the oven.

The rest of the meal is easy peasy. Crush a brick of firm tofu and season as you wish. Get my smoky tofu crumble recipe here or check out his recipe here.

The sausages and the tomatoes will cook at the same time and you can toss the buttered bread into the oven during the last 3 to 5 minutes of cooking, or use a toaster if you have one.

You can’t really have a proper English breakfast–vegan or otherwise–without a proper beer, can you?

I can’t but as you can see, I completely forgot to get a good photo of them, so enjoy what you can see. We shared an oat stout and a Scottish stout, maybe not very English but very delicious.

Beans, Breads, Breakfast, International vegan cuisine, Plant Based, Sauces & Creams, Vegan

Spicy White Bean Shakshuka

Posted on October. 2019October. 2019 by writinstuff

Once in awhile a recipe will make the rounds on the web and I’ll think to myself, “I can veganize it.” Sometimes it’s just me being confident because I’ve spent a lot of time over the years tweaking recipes and some of it is an insane level of hubris. But if you want to keep your palate satisfied and always guessing, it helps to experiment. Try new spices and blends to see what you come up with, you might be pleasantly surprised.

Shakshuka is typically a dish made with eggs but since we’re vegan or plant based around these parts, I had to figure out who would become the star of this show. I could have gone the easy route and went for vegan scrambled eggs but that felt like cheating and it also didn’t match what was brewing in my head. Mushrooms could have worked but I wanted my first vegan shakshuka to be a day meal (like lunch) and I didn’t want to spend a thousand minutes cooking a few hundred grams of crimini mushrooms.

Then it hit me. Beans. There are plenty of types of beans and the trick is choosing the right ones. I wanted to use butter beans but because our theme this week is beans (more on that later) and the hubs had already taken them, I went with cannellini beans, also known as navy beans.

The key to a good shakshuka, at least according to the internet and Alton Brown is the thick tomato and chili sauce. Most of the time I would give some fresh tomatoes a boil to remove the skin and use those, but again this was a lunch dish and I wanted to get some work in, so I grabbed a jar of fire roasted crushed tomatoes and mixed them with fresh plum tomatoes. That way you get the sweetness of the jarred stuff to offset the peppers and the tartness of the fresh ones for more depth of flavor.

For peppers, my advice is to know your taste buds. If you can handle spice, go with a hotter chili or use bell peppers like I did and add in a diced jalapeno or serrano chili pepper. Since my hubs isn’t a fan of spice, I compromise by keeping the seeds out of one side and minimizing them on the other. You can always add more spice later.

So we have tomatoes and chilis. Next we need onions and garlic.

You want to get the onions, garlic and peppers sauteed in a small amount of oil (or none of you choose) before adding the tomatoes. I added the fresh tomatoes first, giving them time to cook. Toss in some fresh rosemary and oregano.

Then add crushed tomatoes, and booze if you choose, then let the sauce simmer until it is nice and thick, 15 to 30 minutes.

Here’s the un-dressed up version of Shakshuka

Toss in the white beans and simmer a little longer, and if you’re craving some extra vitamin K, toss in a handful of spinach.

And because I saw it in a photo and thought it looked tasty, I added a few dollops of pesto cream, made with Violife “cream cheese” which by the way is very delicious with a clean flavor. Take some leftover pesto and add a tablespoon or two of cream, dropping it on top of your vegan shakshuka.

Toast the bread, using olive oil, salt & pepper, and chili flakes. Bake for 3 to 5 minutes or until crispy and then satisfy your appetite.