Coffee Cake ala Trader Joe's

Trader Joe's makes a Coffee Cake mix that is vegan!!  All you have to do is use vegan alternatives to make a great and easy breakfast.  This would be perfect to make for company and show them how good vegan food can taste.  They will have their "I can't believe there's no butter" moment!
                                       
Follow the link below for how to make this great looking breakfast:
http://www.cestlavegan.com/2011/01/trader-joes-coffee-cake/

Biscuits and Gravy, yummmmmm....

I have been craving some classic breakfast food, which is obvious with my recent posts.  Nothing is more classic than Biscuits and Gravy.  I never thought I would be able to make this dish vegan and love it, but I have succeeded!!  It is quite easy to put together, and the gravy is super fast to make.  I make the biscuits from scratch which is nice because they come out of the oven hot and fresh.  If you are short on time you could skip this step.

Vegan Sausage Gravy
1 TBSP + 1/4 c canola oil, divided
1 small onion, minced
1 package (8 oz) vegan sausage, diced (I like Gimmie Lean)
1/2 c all-purpose unbleached flour
2 1/2 c soy milk
salt and pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp paprika

Heat 1 TBSP canola oil in a large, deep skillet or sauce pan over medium heat.  Saute the onion and a pinch of salt until the onion softens.  Add your sausage and saute until slightly browned.  Transfer to bowl, and return the pan to the heat.

(This is when I put in my biscuits to bake)

Add 1/4 c canola oil and the flour to the pan.  Whisk together to make a thick roux, and cook until it bubbles and smells nutty (about 1 minute).  Slowly add the soy milk while whisking to dissolve the roux.  Stir constantly over medium heat (or lower) to let the gravy thicken.

Once it becomes the thickness that you like, add the sausage back to the pan.  Stir everything together and add the seasonings.  This can be a very thick gravy, if you want to thin it out add milk until you get the consistency you like.

Pour over you hot and fresh biscuits and ENJOY!!!

Scrambled Tofu

I found a very simple recipe for scrambled tofu, so I decided to make it for dinner. Who doesn't love breakfast for dinner?? It looks a little too much like eggs if you ask me, but it was delicious!

1 package Mori-Nu Firm Silken Tofu (I included a pic below, it has the best texture for this recipe)
3-4 cloves minced garlic
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp onion powder
Salt and Pepper to taste
Any combo of chopped veggies (I also added some "ground sausage" I had leftover)

Put the tofu in a pan and chop it up, sprinkle the seasonings on top. Over medium heat saute for about a minute. Add veggies and stir until veggies are soft, about 5 minutes. Add water if your tofu starts sticking.

This also reheats very well, so make a bit extra for leftovers!

You can find this tofu in most grocery stores. It can be with the veggies or in the asian aisle, it does not have to be refridgerated.

Chicken Parmesan

With limited time to create dinner with a new baby in the house I have had to get a little creative. Inspiration struck me while I was up at 3 in the morning, Chicken Parmesan. So simple and easy! I cooked a bag of frozen Gardein Chicken Strips, topped with Marinara and Daiya Mozzarella. Paired with some green beans, this makes for a good dinner with hardly any prep!

A New Baby

We welcomed our first vegan baby to the world at the end of April. He is a healthy baby boy and the perfect addition to our family! So after a few weeks off its time to get back to cooking and wouldn't you know that I would start with a dessert. My husband is a huge fan of the cookie cake from the Cookie Company, this is what he asks for at every birthday. Since we have been vegan he has not been able to enjoy this birthday treat. I recently came across a fantastic blog, ChocolateCoveredKatie.com where she has a ton of recipes and they are "mostly healthy" versions of the things we all love. While perusing her recipes I came across one for a cookie cake, how could I resist?? I made it for a family Sunday night dinner and it was a major crowd pleaser! No one even knew it was healthy, minute the icing maybe ;) It turned out soft and majorly delicious! Here is the link (in my post-baby-lack-of-sleep-brain moment I forgot to take a picture before we all dug in): http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2011/09/12/giant-cookie-cake-a-healthy-recipe-makeover/

Mongolian BBQ Seitan

This is another recipe from the AMAZING Chef Chloe's new cookbook, Chloe's Kitchen. It just might be one of my favorite recipes I have made. She uses a great combination of shiitake mushrooms and seitan with a delicious sauce to bring it all together. Throw in some snow peas and scallions and serve it over brown rice and you have dinner!!

BBQ Chicken Pizza

The other day I was craving California Pizza Kitchen's BBQ Chicken Pizza so I decided to make my own VEGAN version. It turned out fantastic!!

1 whole wheat pizza crust, half cooked (Whole Foods makes a delicious one)
1/4 c tomato paste
1/2 c BBQ Sauce
2 tsp oregano
1 bag of Gardein "Chicken" Nuggets, cooked and chopped
pineapple chunks
1/2 red onion, sliced
Daiya Shredded Mozzarella "Cheese"

Preheat oven according to directions on pizza crust. Combine tomato paste, BBQ Sauce, and oregano and spread onto pizza crust. Top pizza with "chicken", pineapple, onion, and "cheese". Cook 10 mins or until cheese has melted and crust is brown on edges. Enjoy!