Bacon, Egg and Cheese Breakfast Sandwich

I wanted to round out the breakfast series today with my take on a diner breakfast sandwich. I thought this would be a good one to finish things off with partly because I do occasionally miss a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich on the run and partly because I have a ton of leftovers from this series of breakfast posts cluttering up my fridge and I need to make room for the amazing amount of impulse purchases I just made at Costco. Don't shop hungry, kids.

If you're the sole vegan in the house, you are probably like me and have food for the week in your fridge after making one recipe. Earlier in the week I made tempeh bacon and tofu omelets, which both make about 4 servings apiece. Between trying to plan my son's 3rd birthday party, taking care of two preschoolers by myself while the hubby was on shift and some general insanity in the day-to-day life of me, by the time dinner rolled around I was completely spent. Basically, it was the perfect night for leftovers.

Cashews, how I love thee

The first thing I grabbed was some Spreadable Cashew Cheddar I made a few days ago. I like having this recipe on hand for smearing on veggie burgers and sandwiches, but it's really good on chips for nachos too. I also add a tsp or so of Earth Balance along with a couple tablespoons of this stuff to some noodles and make a quick mac and cheese. It really is a good staple. 

Spreadable Cashew Cheddar Cheese (Pub Cheese)

Makes about 1 1/2 cups

3/4 cup cashews (soaked 2-24 hours)

1/3 cup water

3 Tbsp tahini

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

1/2 tsp yellow or dijon mustard

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

Drain cashews and place in blender or food processor along with other ingredients. Blend until smooth. 

(Blendtec users: Use Twister Jar if you have it and use the dips and batters mode. If you don't have the twister jar, the other jars will work perfectly fine, you'll just have to scrape the sides a time or two.)

Moons Over My Hammy should be ashamed of its inferiority

I spread a layer of cashew cheese on the inside of a pita and then sprinkled a little bit of the bacon salt that I mentioned in my previous post over it. Then, I layered a leftover tofu omelet, some sliced roma tomatoes and some leftover tempeh bacon that I reheated in a pan with a drizzle of maple syrup (see this post for the technique on this. It's really easy).

In the words of Turk from Scrubs, Brinner is served

I washed the whole thing down with this lovely Califia Farms Salted Caramel Iced Coffee that I found at Sprouts. It was salty, caramely, cold brewed coffee-tacular and made with almond milk. I actually run for one of these instead of going for a Starbucks fix these days. Of course it was a bit of a tragic misstep that I drank this for breakfast at dinnertime because the little bugger packed quite the caffeine punch and I was up until one o'clock in the morning watching a McDougall seminar on youtube. I wish I could tell you I was making this up. I truly do.

This was my kind of comfort food. Is the nutritional content of this meal a stand out? No. You are not going to impress Michelle Obama with this meal, or Dr. McDougall for that matter. You will, however, satisfy that craving you've been having since the last time your brother-in-law insisted that you go to Wildflower Bread Co. for breakfast and you had a bagel with peanut butter, which was perfectly enjoyable don't get me wrong, but you watched as everyone else got ooey gooey breakfast sandwiches and you couldn't help but feel a little hosed even though you were glad that you went with the bagel instead. Remember that time? 

Fake Bacon is What I'm Makin

Happy Fathers Day!

In honor of dad and his hearty appetite while continuing on with our breakfast series, I thought that today would be a good day to discuss faux pork products.

I hear the question time and time again, "If you're going to such lengths to eat things that taste like (insert animal food here), why don't you just eat the real thing?"

It's a valid question, the answer to which truly highlights the fact that not all people go vegan for the same reasons. For a great many it's a question of animal rights, while for others it's to be as ecologically sound as possible. Some do it because they dislike the taste of meat and dairy and still others do it because they dislike the way eating animal products makes them feel.

 I fall partly into the last two categories. I have some health concerns that caused me to take dairy out of my diet and my dislike for certain meats made it a no brainer just to go vegan. I can assure you that I'm not sitting around saying, "Fuck animals and, while we're at it, the environment can kiss my ass too." I care about those aspects of veganism a great deal. But if I'm being honest, which I try to be, I feel that my individual biochemistry functions best on a plant based diet and so the primary motivation I have is my health.

Which means there are things that I chose to stop eating for their ill effects on me, not because I didn't find them god damned delicious. So to answer the question, I go to great lengths to find vegan analogues for foods I previously enjoyed so that I can have some of the same types of foods that I used to before Ulcerative Colitis and my desire to be overall healthier booted them from my fridge.

This loops us back to bacon. There are a few vegan bacon, or as my husband likes to call them "fakon", products out there but I have to say that my feelings on them are a mixed bag. On one hand, they can be fun to throw in during breakfast or as a flavor agent sometimes but on the other hand, some of them taste like you're consuming a physical manifestation of sadness, unrealized dreams and pain.

Looking right at you Smart Bacon

It isn't that they aren't fine for satisfying a craving, they are. It's just that they don't give you that smoky, crispy, greasy mouth feel that the real thing does. They don't give you the feeling that you're actually eating bacon. Sometimes they don't even give you the feeling that you're actually eating food.

This is merely science pretending to be food...I sprinkle it on shit though, I'm not gonna lie.

However, I still think that when the choice is to eat a nugget of bacon flavored mystery substance or eat Wilbur I'll take the mystery substance. I eat this shit pretty infrequently and if I can suffer radiation exposure merely by going outside or consume trace amounts of arsenic in applesauce without dropping dead, I don't think that a tablespoon of Bac'n Pieces a couple times a month is going to drive the nails into my coffin any quicker. 

Sprinkled into a salad with tomatoes, lettuce and a little light dressing for a deconstructed "BLT" salad, on a baked potato or in a tofu omelet or scramble, Bac'n Pieces can be a fun little addition. They're crunchy, they're bacon reminiscent, they're accidentally vegan, which is kinda fun and they're probably going to survive along with cockroaches, Twinkies and Cher when the sun turns into a red dwarf and other forms of life and matter as we know it cease to be. Neat.

J&D's Bacon Salt is another fun product, though this one is going to be something you'll want to use based on your own judgement. I bought this item on Amazon while searching for vegan bacon products one fine day. I got the product and was super pissed when I glanced at the label to see a list of completely vegan ingredients, but the allergy section showed milk. Wtf? Not a single ingredient listed was from dairy so I wrote the company to ask for clarification. They responded within a couple of hours.

o

I'm not overly concerned by this and thusly have chosen to use the product. Again, if this seems too risky for you I can completely see your point. I just choose to try and not freak out too much about things like possible cross contamination or, personally, I'll lose my marbles. If you have a dairy allergy though, I'd probably not chance it.

 So far, I've enjoyed it on baked potatoes and sprinkled on tofu omelets, though I've seen several reviewers online using it in everything from green bean casserole to veggie burgers. Anywhere that you'd like to add a bacon kick.

At the end of the day though, in my opinion, there's nothing better than homemade. If I'm really feeling like I want a couple strips of a bacon-like substance, I go with the Tempeh Bacon recipe from Vegan Brunch or this recipe from Vegetarian Times. There isn't a recipe posted on the ppk website for Isa's Vegan Brunch tempeh bacon recipe so I'd prefer not to rip her off and post it here. Seriously, you won't be sorry, just buy the damn book already.

Typically, I'll combine the two recipes by using the marinade ingredients from the Vegan Brunch recipe but I'll bake the tempeh according to the VT directions instead of pan frying them like Isa does. Then, I'll add one extra step all my own that I feel takes the bacon slices to the next level.

After baking the tempeh strips (or if reheating the leftovers) lightly spray a cast iron or nonstick pan with a little cooking spray and warm each side.

Once warm, drizzle a teeny tiny (about a quarter teaspoon at most) amount of maple syrup on top of the bacon strips

Spread it around until the entire surface of the bacon strip is coated with a thin layer and then flip, repeating the process on the other side. The bacon strips will start to sizzle in the pan a bit, which is satisfying. Flip again after about 10-20 seconds. You don't want the maple syrup to burn, but merely to caramelize onto the surface of the bacon.

I took a little nibble before I snapped the pic. I do that a lot. I regret nothing.

This gives the recipe that little extra texture and maple finish, making it seem just that much more like bacon. It's not greasy like bacon but the slick coating the syrup lends to the crispy strips mimics actual bacon more than the previous dry texture did while the maple flavor adds a layer that helps achieve a closer resemblance to bacon's complexity. 

Let's just say, this stuff doesn't last long around me. My inability to take a photo of the finished product with out going full fat kid on it first was probably a good indicator of that statement's veracity. 

Fig Newton Oatmeal

I suck hard at baking.

I'm like the kid in gym who gets picked last for dodgeball and I'm all pissed about it because I like dodgeball and I totally wanna play but once I finally get settled onto a team and the coach blows the whistle I get all ramped up and flail around like a spaz, which gets me nailed in the head immediately by that sporty girl I kinda hate and completely reinforces to everyone why I was picked last in the first place. Like,I  really suck at it.

Me.

I genuinely have no idea what my problem is but my bread comes out flat, my cookies come out kinda hard and really cakey and my cakes come out crumbly. My husband has resigned himself to the fact that anything I bake will be a Shakespearean tragedy and gamely chokes down my attempts, but it verges on assault to make him do this very often. I plan on dedicating time at some point to attempt an improvement of my baking skills, but until then I rely on buying mostly ready made things from the store and satisfying my sweet tooth in other ways.

Enter Trader Joe's Fig Butter.

During a recent shopping trip to my local mecca of all things delicious and random, I came across an item that caught my eye. It was in the jelly section and so I think its intended use is for sandwiches, which is going to happen I assure you, but my brain immediately went to other applications. Breakfast applications.

The idea of Fig Newton Oatmeal was born. I used to love me some fig newtons back in the day. Since I'm too unskilled to bake some vegan ones, I figured this would be a fun homage to those doughy little squares of fabulous without attempting to produce a version that would inevitably be a rock hard while simultaneously undercooked mess, producing not happiness but instead the tears of children.

I prefer to cook oats on the stove due to my blinding rage at having to clean up the over spill when then microwave makes the oatmeal boil so rapidly that it grows into a swamp monster in there and tries to escape the bowl. I'll take the extra five minutes to boil some water in order to avoid the extra five minutes it takes to scrape scalding hot oatmeal goo from the microwave turntable. You may not have this issue, but you can probably bake a peanut butter cookie that wouldn't be able to double as a bludgeon so stop looking down your nose at me, okay?

For this recipe, I put some vanilla extract and the zest of about half of an orange into the water and brought it to a boil. It smelled like Christmas in my kitchen as it started to heat up.

I cooked the oats according to package directions and then mixed about a tsp of Earth Balance and a tsp of brown sugar in so they would get melty and awesome. I then stirred in a Tbsp of Fig Butter. This yielded a very mild fig taste in the finished product so if you want it to be really figgy you can always add in more. Go ahead. Get figgy with it.

(I'm so sorry.)

The finished product sports some walnut pieces and a little almond/coconut milk blend. You could top this with some cut up strawberries if you wanted to go for a bit of a Strawberry Fig Newton flair or maybe some agave if you wanted it a bit sweeter.

Fig Newton Oatmeal
makes 1 serving

Ingredients
1/3 cup oats (or however much your brand calls for in one serving)
1 cup water ( or the amount needed to make one serving of your oatmeal brand)
zest of 1/2 orange
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp vegan buttery spread (ie. Earth Balance or Smart Balance)
1-2 tsp brown sugar
1-2 Tbsp Fig Butter
walnuts and non dairy milk to taste (optional)

Directions

If preparing your oatmeal on a stove top, add water, vanilla and orange zest to a pot and bring to a boil. Add oats and reduce to medium boil, stirring often until desired thickness. (Duration will vary depending on the type of oats you are using. Refer to the package.)

If preparing in a microwave, add water, vanilla, orange zest and oatmeal to a microwave safe bowl and cook according to package directions.

Transfer cooked oatmeal to a bowl and stir brown sugar and buttery spread into the oats until well incorporated. 

Add fig butter and stir until well incorporated.

Add toppings of your choice.

Enjoy

Breakfast Part Deux: Tofu Omelets

A true mainstay of the vegan breakfast catalog is the tofu scramble. Versatile, healthy, yummy and egg-like, it's a dish that can be dressed up to remind you of your favorite greasy spoon breakfast from days of yore or dressed down for days when you just want something simple. But, just as eggs don't only come in scrambled form, tofu doesn't have to either.

Enter the Tofu Omelet.

As I mentioned yesterday, my go-to book for all things vegan breakfast is Vegan Brunch by Isa Chandra Moskowitz. Because I intend on doing a series of breakfast posts, there are going to be several recipes from this book but don't fear, I do intend on using recipes from a variety of places including the ones the voices in my head whisper to me on a semi-regular basis. 

(So soothing. So hungry.)

 

If there was one thing that I was worried about being able to give up when I transitioned to veganism, it was eggs. Usually I hear people lament their love of cheese as if they're in a co-dependent, mildly emotionally abusive relationship with it so I feel as though I may be in a small minority here but cheese wasn't the hard part.

It's amazing what you find if you google "evil cheese."

Which is why I was so excited to try this recipe once I got a blender that actually blended food as opposed to merely slapping it around for awhile before giving up.

She's so pretty. 

The recipe calls for silken tofu, garbanzo bean flour, nutritional yeast, garlic, olive oil, turmeric, arrowroot and the black salt that I mentioned yesterday. Measure them all out, dump them into your blender and mix until smooth. Seriously, that's it. I used the batter mode on my blender but any medium speed setting would work fine. 

It smells at this point. Don't be scared

Once the ingredients are blended, you're going to lift the lid off of the blender and the smell of fart is going to waft terrifyingly through your kitchen like the stink waves that emanate from Pig Pen in the Peanuts cartoons. Unless you're into that kind of thing, you may be frightened. I know I was. It's the black salt, which gives the mix an eggy, albeit sulfuric, sort of smell. This WILL mellow out substantially once the omelet is cooked, to the point that you should use a little sprinkle on the end product for maximum omelet taste. If you aren't as big of an egg fan as I am, you can use less of this stuff or you can omit it entirely but I highly recommend that you give it a chance. It really does add an extra layer of flavor that is missing from more traditional egg substitute recipes.

Starting to look omelet-y

Pour about 1/4 to 1/3 cup batter onto a skillet, preheated cast iron or nonstick pan that you've sprayed with a light misting of cooking spray and spread it around until it's thin and round. The process is not unlike making pancakes at this point. Watch the top of the omelet as it will start to go from a light, shiny yellow to a darker, more matte yellow (you can see it around the edges in the picture). Once the top is the dry, matte finish it's time to flip it.

I'm gonna dress you up and put you inside me...wow, that escalated quickly

The finished product is a bit of a cross between an omelet, a pancake and a crepe. Perfect for folding over whatever delicious fillings your heart desires.

Can't you just smell it?

I sauteed some onions, bell pepper and mushrooms in the already hot pan. It was at this moment that I kinda wished I had a little vegan Canadian bacon around so I could go Denver omelet style. Guess I'll have to pick some up for tomorrow as this recipe makes 4 large omelets or 6 smaller ones so if you're the only vegan in your household, like me, you'll have some leftovers. Not to worry though, these reheat really nicely in a microwave for 30 seconds wrapped in a damp paper towel.

I took a bite before I took the picture. I'm selfish like that.

A little avocado accompanied my fillings while some fresh blueberries and my ever present coffee rounded everything out. These are so easy and yummy, I make them a couple of times per month. It's nice to have them in the fridge for busy mornings or for a portable lunch. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to finish what I've started with that first bite and put some serious harm on my fancy breakfast.