Tag Archives: breakfast

Veganize It: Coffee Cake!

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On Christmas eve, my mom was saying how much she would like a coffee cake for Christmas morning, along with our traditional Strata (which we also successfully veganized this year!  Future post!).  Thanks to Pinterest, I was able to find an easy peasey recipe within minutes.  I chose this one because it looked similar to one of my all-time faves when I was little – Entenmann’s Crumb Coffee Cake.  This recipe comes from Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s Vegan Brunch (totally getting that book ASAP!  You should, too!).  In the two more “complicated” baking attempts I’ve made recently (I say “complicated” because the other recipe just consisted of mixing a can of pumpkin and Duncan Hines yellow cake mix to make easy pumpkin muffins), both recipes came from her!  I made some of my own little “tweaks” on this recipe, but overall, man, is it good.  Just like when I was little.

Vegan Coffee Cake
Recipe Courtesy of Vegan Brunch

Ingredients

(Topping)
1 cup flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 cup canola oil, plus up to 2 tbs more, if needed

(Cake)
3/4 cup non-dairy milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Jersey City Vegan’s Addition for the topping – Vegan Powdered Sugar

Directions

  • Pre-heat oven to 375°F and lightly grease an 8 in. round springform pan or 8 in. square pan.  In a small bowl, add milk for the cake and the vinegar; set aside to curdle
  • For the topping, mix together flour, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg in a small mixing bowl.  Drizzle in canola oil by the tablespoon, using your fingers to swish around the mixture until crumbs form.  Alternate drizzling and mixing until all the oil is used and large crumbs have formed.
  • For the cake, mix together the milk mixture, sugar, canola oil and vanilla in a large mixing bowl.  Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt and mix until smooth.
  • Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan.  Evenly sprinkle on the topping and pat it down lightly.
  • Bake for 35 to 40 min. or until a knife inserted through the center comes out clean.
  • Let cool for at least an hour (or as long as you can stand) before slicing and serving.
  • JCV addition – Scoop a 1/2 cup of vegan powdered sugar into a sifter, and sprinkle (GENEROUSLY if you’re like me and loved that Entenmann’s cake) on top.

I have made this recipe AGAIN since Christmas (twice in the same week, WHAT?!) except I made them in cupcake form to bring into the office.  Adjust the baking time to 20 minutes, but check them once 15 mins rolls around… my oven is kind of wonky so someone who might have a better oven might have the cupcakes cook faster.  Now, if only I had actually remembered to bring the cupcakes in to work!  I ended up leaving them in their bag on the kitchen counter, only realizing it when I was about to get on the train into Manhattan.  Doh.  More for Melissa & I!  And it’s official:  I love to bake!

Look, Mom! I can bake!

Look, Mom! I can bake!

Vegan-ize It: Omelette!

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This week’s Vegan-ize It recipe features the delicious breakfast food:  omelettes!  This recipe is a modified version of the original one that Melissa found on FatFree Vegan Kitchen.  Recipes on this website are fantastic and I highly recommend it.

Vegan Omelettes (serves two)

Ingredients

Omelette/”Egg” portion

  • 1 package Mori-Nu extra firm silken tofu
  • 2 tablespoons soymilk
  • 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 2 teaspoons tahini
  • 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon tumeric
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • freshly chopped scallions and dill, to finish
Filling
  • cooked kale
  • sliced Daiya jack wedges
  • cooked vegan sausage

Directions

  1. Blend together all “egg” ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth.
  2. Use a non-stick skillet or well seasoned cast iron, spray or lightly coat with olive oil.  Heat on medium-high until hot.
  3. Pour half the “egg” batter into the pan, form into a circle about 8 inches in diameter.  The batter won’t run into shape like a pancake does, so use a spoon or spatula to make it a circle.  
  4. Reduce head to medium-low.
  5. Cover and cook for a few minutes.  You can check the edges with a spatula to see if it has set.  Once it looks like it is starting to cook through, the top won’t look “wet” and you are ready to add your toppings.
  6. Carefully loosen the bottom of the omelette with a spatula before flipping one half over, cook for another two or three minutes.  Top with fresh herbs, hot sauce, or whatever you like to use to finish your omelette!

And there you have it!  Hope you enjoy… I know we totally did!  Have you made a vegan-ized omelette?  Do you have any tips?  Please share them in the comment section.

Vegan-ize It: Weekend Brunch

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Its Monday.  The weekend just ended and I’m already counting down the days until next weekend!  No better way to do that than dream about one of my favorite weekend meals:

BRUNCH!  First thing that comes to mind for most people are eggs, right?  First thing that comes to a vegan’s mind is the delicious dish we all know as Tofu Scramble.  For as many incarnations of an omlette that might exist, the possibilities are also endless for Tofu Scramble.  Except with the vegan version, you don’t need to worry about all the saturated fat and cholesterol!  Or, the cruelty of the egg/dairy industry.  It really is a win/win.  Here is my favorite recipe…

Melissa’s Best Tofu Scramble in the World

Ingredients

  • Two links of Tofurky Breakfast Sausage, sliced  -OR-
  • 1/3 tube Gimme Lean sausage, crumbled
  • 1 c. sliced Baby Bella mushrooms
  • One block of extra firm tofu (DON’T press!)
  • Approx. 2 c. chopped kale
  • 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
  • 1 tsp ground turmeric
  • 1/4 c. Daiya cheddar cheese
  • Few shakes of dried dill or oregano, to taste
  • salt & pepper to taste
  • fresh chopped parsley to garnish
  • Hot sauce/ketchup to serve

Directions

  1. Slice the Tofurky Breakfast Sausage and saute in a pan with the mushrooms over medium high heat with a little bit of olive oil or vegan butter until browned.

    We like Tofurky and Gimme Lean sausage but feel free to use your favorite.

  2. In a bowl or a large cutting board, use a fork to crumble the tofu.  Feel free to leave larger chunks of tofu and have the texture be uneven – we are mimicking scrambled eggs.
  3. Add tofu to saute pan with sausage and mushrooms.  Add turmeric and nutritional yeast and toss in pan to incorporate.

    Before

    After

  4. Add greens.  Cover and let steam for a minute or two.
  5. Sprinkle Daiya cheese evenly on top of the scramble.  Cover briefly to melt the cheese.  Reduce heat to low/medium.
  6. Top with the fresh parsley and salt/pepper to taste.  Serve with hot sauce or ketchup.

    Absolutely yummy.

And because no weekend brunch is complete without a little indulgence, here is a bonus smoothie recipe.

Blueberry Smoothies

Ingredients  (serves 2)

  • 2 c. your choice of non-dairy milk (in this instance, vanilla soy)
  • 1 c. frozen wild blueberries
  • 2 tbsp ground flaxseed meal
  • 2 tbsp chia seeds
  • Filtered water, as needed

    Smoothie ingredients

Directions
  1. Put blueberries, milk and flaxseed meal in blender and blend until incorporated, adding some filtered water if needed to thin out  a little bit.
  2. Add chia seeds and blend for another 30 seconds or until incorporated.
  3. Serve.

    Beautiful blueberry color -- Full of antioxidants!

This recipe was inspired by a post by Dr. Greger on nutritionfacts.org, one of my favorite vegan nutrition resources.

Antioxidants + Omega 3's = Nutritious and Delicious!

The Vegg! (W/French Toast recipe)

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The Vegg is the world’s first vegan egg – and a product I’ve been excited about ever since I heard about it!  I knew it was something that we’d want to try, particularly because Melissa loves to cook weekend breakfasts for us.  I purchased a packet at the Vegetarian Food Festival last weekend from the Vegan Bodega, excited to see what was in store for us.

The Vegg is completely cholesterol free, gluten-free, no trans fats, ten calories per serving and 10% of the proceeds from each purchase goes straight to Compassion Over Killing, a great animal advocacy group.  You can use The Vegg in any recipe that calls for eggs.

Yesterday was the day!  We were going to try the Vegg!  Melissa decided to make french toast, as that is one breakfast dish that we both love and have missed (french toast with just soy milk is not the same).

The makings for a delish Saturday morning breakfast

Here is what you will need:

Melissa’s Vegg French Toast

  • 2 tsp Vegg*
  • 1/2 c. water*
  • 1/2 c. soy milk (or other nut milk of your preference)
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla
  • Cinnamon to taste (a few shakes)

*as per Vegg’s website, 1 tsp Vegg powder + 1/4 c. water = 2-3 yolks

Inside the packet of Vegg

Combine the Vegg and water in a mixing bowl until smooth (10-15 seconds)

Measure out The Vegg!

It even SMELLED like eggs!

In a separate, shallow bowl, combine soy milk, vanilla, & cinnamon and mix thoroughly.  Add Vegg mixture.

Voila! French toast mixture that looks just like the real thing!

Coat both sides of your favorite kind of bread with the french toast mixture.

Dunk!

It even coats like eggs.

Coat your pan with your favorite vegan butter (we love Earth Balance) on medium-high and place your french toast in the pan to cook.

Cook til golden brown

Cook for a few minutes on each side, until golden brown.

Looking delicious.

Serve with real maple syrup and your favorite vegan sausage.

Blueberry smoothies, french toast & vegan sausage - a yummy Saturday brekkie.

Perfect french toast crust.

This product has revolutionized the vegan breakfast!  Now we can enjoy our french toast the way we did when we were kids, a beautiful french toast crust with NONE of the guilt about supporting the egg industry.  Hats off to you, Vegg, for creating such a fantastic product.