Monday Morning Breakfast II (or Tuesday Brunch?)

*sorry, I'm late!*

I decided to take Saturday and Sunday off because of a pretty stressful week and busy weekend; however, I full intend to post on future weekends, partly due to the fact that Saturday and Sunday are my favorite themed posts! Next week, look forward to a beautiful day at the Red Stick Farmer's Market, where I intend to shop for produce, local fruity wines (blackberry, muscadine, and orange!), and munch on my favorite pepita and cilantro hummus. On Sunday, I'll share something new - most likely a new vegan snack food or ingredient. Do you have any suggestions for new products you think I should try?

Today's theme focuses on breakfast foods! What better way to kick start a long day/week with a huge and hearty plate of waffles?

The is hands-down my favorite waffle recipe. If you don't own a copy of Isa Chandra Moskowitz's Vegan Brunch, then you need to rectify that asap! I've tried most of the recipes in this book, none of which have failed me (but that shouldn't surprise you, it's ISA!). I cooked up a batch of her Cornbread Waffles which are fluffy, gritty-in-a-good-way, and majorly delicious.

Topped with bananas, blackberries and a bit o' maple syrup, these waffles are tops. I managed to get 6 regular full-sized waffles (per the recipe) and 1 mini waffle from this recipe. 

First bite, yum!

Monday Morning Breakfast I

October is here, which means, among welcoming the cooler weather with open arms, that the blog-osphere just got a bit bigger - Vegan MoFo has officially started! Check out the Vegan Month of Food website if you'd like to learn more about this blogging extravaganza.

It's Monday, the first day of the week (take that, Sunday!), the first day of October, and the first day of mofo. What better way to commemorate all of these "firsts" than with the first meal of the day, breakfast! The credit for such an amazing first meal is due entirely to my boyfriend, Matt. He loves breakfast foods, and he isn't shy about it either.

All happiness depends on a leisurely breakfast - John Gunther

Behold! The quintessential American vegan breakfast: tofu scramble, roasted potatoes, toast, and...carrot bacon! There are a handful of vegan "bacon" recipes out there - utilizing tofu, tempeh, and eggplant - but I haven't seen one that used carrots. Matt sliced the carrots thinly and marinated them in tamari, maple syrup, and liquid smoke. Then he steamed and sauteed them until they were soft and the marinade had caramelized, making it nice and crispy.

Chicago, Pt. 2

Here are a few more pictures from my trip to Chicago last weekend!


BBQ Seitan Sandwich from Handlebar



Buffalo Seitan Wrap from Handlebar



Breakfast Scramble from Revolution Brewing
Tofu, fried polenta, string beans, leeks, pesto sauce w/ dark rye



Breakfast drinks! I'm on the right with a Beermosa and Matt on the left with a dark bock.



Vegan MoFo - Day 17

Day 17: V-Eggs Benedict

Finally, the MoFo post I've been waiting for! Actually, I've been yearning to make this next dish for months, and I can't fathom why I've waited so long!



Tofu Benny's from Vegan Brunch

Bit o' History: For the longest time, I thought eggs Benedict were named after that treasonous flip-flopper Arnold! Actually, most historians acknowledge two different versions of the original eggs Benedict, neither of which include ole Arnold. My favorite of the two involves Lemuel Benedict, a Wall street broker from the late 19th-century. Lemuel was suffering from a hangover and supposedly ordered “some buttered toast, crisp bacon, two poached eggs, and a hooker of hollandaise sauce” at Waldorf Hotel in New York. The chef, Oscar Tschirky, was really impressed (by the guy's ability to fabricate such a magnificent meal whilst suffering a hangover - I'd be pretty impressed, too), and decided to put the dish on his permanent menu, after subbing an English muffin and Canadian bacon. Version 2 of this story is a bit less entertaining. Some rich lady, Mrs. LeGrand Benedict, was bored with her favorite restaurant's menu and demanded something new! I hope her tantrum was as wild as the one in my imagination.

For a vegan version of this breakfast classic, I looked to one of my favorite cookbooks of all time - Vegan Brunch by Isa Chandra Moskowitz. Her recipe for Tofu Benny's marinates and lightly fries tofu circles (save the scraps for a scramble later on!) and she subs thick beefsteak tomato slices for the bacon. I used whole wheat English muffins and Isa's recipe for Hollandaise sauce (also from Vegan Brunch), and garnished with julienned basil. Super!!

Vegan MoFo - Day 12

Day 12 - Earl Grey Tea

If my partner Matt weren't so busy playing Witcher 2, I'd ask him to write this post. Afterall, his favorite tea just happens to be today's MoFo feature!

Earl Grey tea with a splash of frothed soymilk

Before I divulge the wondrous experience that is a cup of Earl Grey, let me be the first to complement the creator of the mug you see pictured. Anne Marie’s Pottery shop on Etsy make some of the most well crafted tableware I’ve seen. For Matt’s birthday, I purchased a mug she made especially for left-handed men fashioning moustaches. It’s amazing and I kind of wish I had a thick ‘stache just so I could experience this mug honestly. At any rate, Earl Grey tea is especially enjoyable out of mugs…

Bit o’ History: Earl Grey tea is brought together by combining black tea with the oil of bergamot, a citrus fruit. It’s a very popular blend found in any half-decent café* and is the most common type of tea in the US and England. It’s named after Charles I Grey, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. In 1806, Charles I was given the title of Earl Grey, but died only a year later. His son Charles II (the 2^nd Earl Grey) is actually the one who went on to have a tea named after him! Many theorists believe Earl Grey II received the tea as a gift from the Chinese – the actual inventors of the tea.

When browsing the shops for Earl Grey tea, I try to look for brands that use Chinese black tea leaves over Indian black tea. Narien and Lupicia are great quality tea merchants that have online stores if your local grocer doesn't carry them.

Cheers!

*Let’s not confuse good tea with the shavings found in most grocery stores these days.

Vegan MoFo - Day 11

Day 11 - I'm back for realz

Well, I definitely did not intend to fall off the face of the blogosphere this weekend. The thing is, I was in CHICAGO! My boyfriend, roommate and I left early Friday morning for a glorious weekend of friends, food and fun. We saw Leftover Crack & the Descendents at Riot Fest - darn good fun! We ate all over Chicago, and it was some of the best grub of my life. I'll keep this sweet with a little dose of what's to come later today.

We had breakfast at the Flying Saucer in Humboldt Park. This place had a few good vegan options and is priced really well. Matt ordered the Breakfast Burriot - huge burrito stuffed with cuban black beans, jalapenos, pico de gallo,  and tofu hash served with some tasty roasted potato home fries.

breakfast burrrrit-o!

I was a great need for some greens, and luckily they had an awesome tofu has chockful of kale and sweet potatoes! The Tofu Sweet Potato hash came with fried tofu sautéed with sweet potatoes and kale and was served with toast (and Earth Balance!!) and roasted potatoes.



I'm a lover of the dark rye

Everything was well priced and well proportioned. My only complaint is that the tofu might have been the pre-fried packaged variety and was steamed along with my kale, resulting in a lot of water retention. Definitely NOT a dealbreaker, though.

Up next: Chicago Diner!! Handlebar Bar & Grill!!

Oh, and I'm ready to hop back onto this MoFo's theme. Get ready for some Benedict, Cobb, Reuben, and many more!