Category: Breakfast

Posted in Breads, Breakfast, Herbs, Sandwiches, Vegan

Smoky Tofu Scramble Sandwich

Posted on by writinstuff

In addition to my love of potatoes and Asian noodle dishes, I sometimes get a hankering for a sandwich. Nothing in particular just some really good stuff between some amazing bread. Or some not so amazing bread. My go to sandwich is lettuce, tomato, cucumber and sprouts with various sauces and condiments.

In a pinch, even a burger will do. Or a fried tofu sandwich, especially when I take the time to marinate the tofu. Yeah, I’m a sandwich-a-holic.

But when I was a kid my grandmother would make the most amazing scrambled egg sandwiches and I would slather it with ketchup. Yes, ketchup. And plenty of black pepper. Some days there would be a slice of cheese or a sprinkling of shredded cheese. The other day a memory came to me and that’s all that I wanted.

But of course some changes were necessary.

This was a pretty simple sandwich to make and the only time consuming part is getting the tofu to the right consistency and flavor but it’s totally worth it!

Here’s what I used:

Tofu (1 brick)

Turmeric

Smoky & spicy paprika

Garlic clove, pressed/minced

Salt & pepper

Cumin

Piri Piri

Dill

Worcestershire

Vegan yogurt (Take it Veggie is my brand but use what you like)

Crumble the tofu with your fingers until it’s good and crumbly and then start seasoning. Take your time and use a small fork or your fingers until every bit is coated. You can add some oil to the pan but I added a splash of almond milk and only when the tofu started to stick. Let it cook for a while on before disturbing it and you can decrease the cook time. Or if you’re feeling brave, crank up the heat and watch it like a hawk, stirring frequently.

I used medium heat while I mixed the yogurt dill “mayo”. Chop some fresh dill and add it to the yogurt along with salt, pepper and garlic granules or powder. I like a little spice so there may be a few drops of chipotle hot sauce added as well.

Now you’re ready to grab a couple slices of bread, I picked up a dark whole wheat from the bakery.

As you can see, I’ve graduated from ketchup to Sriracha.

And since it was very hot and humid, we needed something cold to drink.

Something really, really cold.

A smoothing with blackberries, blueberries, banana, strawberries and the juice of 1 orange.

Plus a splash of water to make it drink-able.

Leftover strawberries that were too delicious to go into the fridge when they were so fresh!

Who said eating vegan was difficult? This is a tasty and healthy (ish) lunch in less than 30 minutes.

Advertisement
Posted in Breakfast, Plant Based, Salads, Sandwiches, Sides, Soup, Vegan

Our Trip to Würzburg ~ A Day of Walking, a Fortress and Vegan Eats

Posted on by writinstuff

We recently took a day trip to Würzburg, a small town of about 100,000 people in the Bavaria region of Germany. This place is what you think of when you think of idyllic small towns, except it is filled with some truly amazing architecture. Now full disclosure; I’m no art expert but I fall into the I like what I like school of thought, so take what I say with a grain of Himalaya sea salt. 😉

When we first started planning this trip I was pretty resigned to the fact that I’d be partaking in lots of wine–famous in the region–along with salad and pommes (fries). Imagine my surprise when a quick Google search of ‘Würzburg + vegan’ revealed not one, but two different eateries!! In the end we opted for the full-blown restaurant instead of the cafe that had mostly vegetarian options. Vrohstoff was our top choice and I’ll be honest, after looking up the menu online I was super excited about our options.

This place was AMAZING. And that’s coming from a woman who no one would ever describe as effusive. Everything about the place screamed fresh, natural food. One wall was filled with pots of fresh herbs and relaxing music greeted us when we made our first stop for a quick breakfast. It was relatively quiet because it was a Monday morning and most people in town were at work…I assume.

We sat down and even though I’d spent plenty of time browsing the menu in the days leading up to the trip, I took my time until I spotted the perfect breakfast drink. Fresh and natural ginger and mint tea. It was damn delicious!

vegan tea mint ginger

The little cup was so adorable with an outer plastic bubble to keep my hands nice and un-burned while I drank my weight in tea!

Now…back to breakfast!

 

The hubs had this dish which was a tofu “egg” scramble which was absolutely delicious and that’s coming from someone who only recently started to enjoy tofu! The salad had a light vinaigrette and the veggies on the side were grilled eggplant, onions. For him, the sesame seed dipped avocados were the highlight because…look how perfectly ripe they are!

For my über delicious vegan breakfast I chose a little bit of everything. The bread up top tasted like potato bread but I forgot to ask what it was made of, but it made a delicious sandwich with the vegan cheese slices and the cucumber, tomato & salad sandwich, also with a light vinaigrette. Bottom left is vegan butter with basil (the basil went on my sandwich!). But the real star of this breakfast was the lentil hummus which was buttery with a hint of smokiness that I’m pretty sure came from cumin. The extra bread was a bonus (mmmm, carbs) and I smeared the lentil hummus on it and ate it. Full disclosure: I slid that avocado slice on over to the hubs because, ewww, avocado. (I know it’s healthy and all that but it’s just not my thing.)

After such a healthy breakfast I was ready to get my tourist-ing on! We both commented on how light and energetic we felt which turned out to be perfect because the Marienberg Fortress was a MASSIVE CLIMB that I would not have been able to make with a greasy breakfast.

But, don’t get it twisted, I do love to eat a healthy plant based diet but I do have a weakness; booze. And we were in wine country so I did have a little bit of a boost to get me up the fortress.

The big castle over my shoulder is Marienberg and that’s a dry rose that was SO COLD and delicious as it went down. It kept me refreshed for the monster climb but the climb did kind of destroy my buzz!

(No, I don’t know the gentleman behind me he was an accidental photobomb.)

We spent quite a bit of time at the Fortress because there were amazing views of the entire town and I got some great panorama shots! After a day of sightseeing at least a half dozen cathedrals, vineyards, gardens and art galleries we made our way back to Vrohstoff. The dinner menu was so mouthwatering but we were both fatigued from all the walking around in the sun that we went for the easy-ish option.

He got soup. A potato and leek soup with a hint of tumeric. It was delicious and I might have had a spoonful. Or two.

I got salad with tomatoes, apples, 3 types of lettuce, carrot spirals, shaved nuts and orange slices.

And then we both got…burgers! They were amazing and the sweet potato fries were OUT OF THIS WORLD!

HE got the ‘Der Mexikaner’ or the Mexican burger, which included a black bean burger with: beets, vegan cheddar, corn, cucumber relish and corn chips. And that little red & white cup? homemade ketchup with vegan mayo that was made with a coconut cream base. It was tasty but a tad too sweet with the sweet potato fries. He ate every bite, though!

I got the ‘Der Greiche’ or The Greek burger that was complete with a bean & olive pattie tomatoes, cucumber, kalamata olives, mint pesto, vegan tzatziki and…parsnip chips. It was very filling or maybe it was all the wine I drank but either way I rolled myself out of there and made my way to the car.

Somehow.

We took a break after the fortress to rest our aching feet over a cocktail or two and this went rolling past!

 

Come back soon and I’ll share with you the loot of wine I picked up in Würzburg!

Posted in Breakfast, Cheese, Italian

Mini Frittatas & Smoked Salmon Pinwheels

Posted on by writinstuff

mini frittata salmon pinwheelsLike most people, I absolutely love the weekends. I work for myself so it isn’t so much about what the weekend represents—time away from annoying coworkers and clueless bosses—but more about the relaxing culture that encompasses all weekends. I think I have a better appreciation for my weekends now that I’m living in Europe. I wake up and linger in bed for awhile before heading to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.

I admit that I’m not much of a breakfast person. Not that I don’t like breakfast, but rather I’m not all gung ho about it every morning. As long as I have a steaming cup of freshly ground coffee and a bagel…my morning is as good as mornings can get. But on the weekend we can be lazy and not rush to get him out the door to work, and that means I get to spend time with my honey and work on expanding my breakfast dishes. Continue reading “Mini Frittatas & Smoked Salmon Pinwheels” →

Posted in Breads, Breakfast, Desserts

Banana & Apple Walnut Bread

Posted on by writinstuff

I have a problem. I can follow a cake, bread or pie recipe with the best of’em. I can even create my own sweet concoctions—bacon and maple cupcakes, anyone?—but my problem is, I just can’t make them attractive.

sweet bread recipes
This tastes WAY better than it looks!

I guess it’s something I’ve learned to live with since I’ve eaten many a meal or dessert that looks scrumptious but tastes like turtle dung. So even though my deserts might not please your eyes, they will certainly please your palate, unless you’re still waiting for your taste buds to come back due to years of cigarettes.

My goal wasn’t to make this a vegan bread but I had some unsweetened applesauce so I decided to use it instead of eggs. I actually hadn’t planned on making it at all but there was a Golden Delicious apple on its last legs and a few overripe bananas—it was hotter and more humid than normal this week—so I knew a tasty bread would be perfect. Continue reading “Banana & Apple Walnut Bread” →