Breakfast for Dinner and Mac and Cheeze too!

I had a lap full of cookbooks tonight trying to figure out what to cook tonight.  My 10 y/o daughter sat down beside me and took Vegan with a Vengence out of my hand flipped through and found pancakes.  Not that she really had to find them, I make them all the time. I love that book!  As soon as she said it, the decision was made and I remembered how awesome I used to think my mom was for making breakfast for dinner when my brother and I were young.  I thought she was so innovative; I love that lady.  Anyway, add some tofu scramble and a modified version of the sausage crumbles (I made them with TVP instead of tempeh) and you have a relatively quick nostalgic meal.  this photo is taken before we drenched them in warm maple syrup.  I am sure that all of you have done this before, but let today or tomorrow be another day that you do.

And since we're discussing throwbacks, here's what we had for lunch yesterday.  Stove-top Mac and Cheeze.  Now I have blogged on this before, but I really enjoyed it yesterday.  It came out creamier.  I went back to my old post to update the recipe a little.  For those who remember, this recipe lies somewhere between a Velveeta-ish, Kraft-ish, Tuna Helper-ish cheesiness and it worked.  I hope you enjoy.  Click here for the recipe.  I make with ingredients that have a long shelf life and that most vegans actually have on hand.  There are a couple of substitution suggestions for some of the ingredients too.  Happy stove-topping!!

A Sweet Potato Story?

Have you ever heard of a white sweet potato?  I had not until about a week ago.  I have a darling gardening neighbor who shared two samples of this phenomenon with my family.  As my hubby walked in with them, I blurted out "Oh, white sweet potatos"-as if I knew.  I really had no idea, I think I just deduced based on the shape and the color of them that they could be nothing else.  It turned out that I was right about what they were, but had no idea of the culinary mind trip that I was about to be taken on.  I scrubbed and baked the beauties and then when I sliced open the foil, I was at a lost.  Savory or sweet?  It smelled like a sweet potato, but looked and flaked like a yukon or a russet.  What to do but try it both ways?  Earth Balance save me!  For the first one, I used a pat of EB and a sprinkle of cane sugar and cinnamon.

This was really good, not quite the texture of a baked sweet potato, but when I closed my eyes, the flavor was perfect, maybe even better than an original.  I probably should have stopped there.  But I didn't, I had to see whether this baby could double as a savory side.  Another pat of EB (diet be darned), sea salt, and fresh black pepper.

For me, this was NOT the answer.  It looked so good and I was eager to dive into a sweet and salty bliss.  I was stopped mid plunge by this one.  I just couldn't wrap my head around the way the flavors did or didn't come together.  For the braver at heart, you may want to give it a try, I'm rooting for you.  On the other hand, my boxer Kapone and multi-poo Jersey loved it!

Cinnamon Rolls from Vegan Brunch



Vegan Brunch Cinnamon Rolls with a Vegan cream cheese glaze

I think everyone that knows anything about my vegan journey knows that I rely on the Post Punk Kitchen (The PPK), the PPK forum, the thousands of users there and vegan cookbooks, especially those by powerhouse Isa Chandra Moskowitz.  My vegan self is growing up with them.  A change has happened deep inside me that I can pass on to my family and anyone else who will listen to the possibilities.  This post is a long time coming.  A few weeks ago, I made cinnamon rolls from Isa's cookbook Vegan Brunch.  I only modified the glaze by adding Tofutti cream "cheese" and a little lemon juice.  Vegan Brunch is a beautiful book filled with pictures and indulgent recipes that will make any vegan or non-vegan stand up and pay attention.  I am thankful for the recipes that can feed my entire family on those special days that we can actually be home together and enjoy a late breakfast or brunch and each other.

My family truly enjoyed every bite of these and my daughter is already begging me to make them again.  They were a hit, not just because the recipe turned out great, but because every great vegan recipe that I can create helps my family live a step further into a cruelty free, healthier, greener life and I love that.

Enchi-sagna!!!!

So this is what happens when you have big ideas to make wonderful quick enchiladas, but your corn tortillas have gotten just to the "we're crumbling on the edges" stage.  I had been putting off making my enchiladas and kept tossing my package of 12 tortillas to the side in the refrigerator in exchange for quicker recipes.  When I finally decided, I have to use them before they go bad, it was too late for the roll up and I had to improvise.  I watched an episode of Rachel Ray once where she made taco-sagna, I think, and I decided to put my ingredients in layers and hope for the best.  It turned out wonderfully.  Definitely give it a try, so quick and good.  And though my omni husband nor daughter could say the name, both of them loved it, it was a great vegan triumph.

I coupled it with Terry Romero's Cilantro Lime Rice from Viva Vegan and a dollop of Tofutti Sour Supreme.

Ty's Enchisagna

12 corn tortillas
1 Package Daiya (cheddar style)
2 cups TVP (you could use crumbled tempeh or black beans also and skip the rehydration step and water)
2 2/3 cup water or vegetable broth
1/2 onion
1/2 green pepper
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp dried cilantro
1 Tbsp dark chili powder
1 Tbsp taco seasoning (I used Southwest Seasoning by the Pampered Chef)
1/2 tsp ground oregano
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
salt to taste
canola oil for sauteing and quick frying the tortillas
1 recipe warm vegan enchilada sauce ( I used this one) It made about 2 1/2 cups.

For the crumbles:

In a cast iron skillet (or your favorite frying pan), saute onions and green peppers in about 1 Tbsp. of oil until onions are translucent and just a little browned.  Add the cumin, oregano, chili powder, taco seasoning and cilantro and toast along with onions and peppers for about 2 minutes, add a splash more oil to keep the pan lubricated.  Add your water or broth to deglaze the pan and bring to a low boil. Add the soy sauce, salt and tvp.  Once the tvp has hydrated add the garlic and onion powders and salt to taste. Set aside your crumbles until cool enough to handle.

To assemble:

Preheat your oven to 375

Prepare a casserole dish (with a paper towel, lightly oil the inside).
Then, I take Terry Romero's method to heart.  Make an assembly line.  Use a pie plate for your enchilada sauce (keep some in the sauce pan to ladle in later) and a small skillet heated to medium high with enough oil to just cover the bottom.  Ladle about a 1/2 cup enchilada sauce on the bottom of your casserole dish.

With tongs quickly (were talking 10 seconds each side tops) dip your tortillas into the hot skillet, flip to heat each side, they will become pliable.  Dip them into the pie plate of sauce and then arrange them on the bottom of the casserole dish (I could fit three and then a couple broken pieces from another to cover the holes.  Add a little more sauce to coat and then a layer of crumbles over the tortillas followed by a layer of Daiya cheese.  Go back to the tortilla layer and repeat ending with a third layer of  tortillas on top.  Top that final layer with your remaining sauce and Daiya.

Cover with foil and bake for about 30 min.  Remove foil and bake for 10 min. more.  Let rest and cut to serve.