Pumpkin Spice Smoothie

Autumn is here, which means I can begin my endless consumption of pumpkin without being seen by others as absolutely insane! Starbucks has brought the much-anticipated Pumpkin Spice Latte back to its cardigan-wearing customers, one of which happens to be myself (Grande Decaf Pumpkin Spice with soymilk and no whip, please) - which gave me the brilliant idea of concocting my very own smoothie version of their delicious treat, loaded with all the nutrients of this amazing superfood. Stay tuned for more recipes using pumpkin!


Ingredients

• 1/2 cup of pumpkin puree
• 1 cup of your choice vegan milk (I used almond)
• 1 small banana
• 4-5 ice cubes
• Your choice cinnamon or pumpkin spice to taste (I used 1/4 tsp cinnamon)
• Your choice sweetener to taste ( I used 1 tbsp agave nectar)
• Optional Ingredients
• 1/4 cup of soy yogurt, plain or vanilla (I didn't use it, as I limit my soy consumption.)
• Your favorite non-dairy whipped cream

Directions

• Blend ingredients together until smooth. 

I served this protein-packed pumpkin smoothie for breakfast with multigrain waffles and apple slices. Enjoy!

Strawberry-Banana Oatmeal Squares

Here's a quick and easy recipe for those of you looking for something you can make in bulk for a week's worth of breakfast. These vegan oatmeal squares are chock-full of the delicious nutrients you need, and come in at about only 80 calories per serving! Get creative with the recipe - substitute raspberries, blueberries, cherries, or even peaches for diced strawberries, or add your favorite chopped nuts into the mix.

This is definitely a new favorite for me! I'm already planning an Autumn version of this recipe in my head, full of yummy spiced pumpkin puree, toasted pumpkin seeds, and golden flax... Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 small banana, mashed
• 1/3 cup unsweetened apple sauce
• 1 1/4 cup oats
• 2 large strawberries, diced
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 dash cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar

Directions

• In a medium-sized bowl, blend banana, applesauce, and vanilla extract.
• In another larger bowl, mix oatmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon.
• Slowly add the banana mixture into the oatmeal mixture. Add the diced strawberries.
• Grease 6 by 9 inch baking pan, and spread the mixture evenly.
• Sprinkle brown sugar on top of the mixture.
• Bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees until golden brown.
• Cool for 20 minutes, cut into squares, and serve!

Breakfast Burrito Bonanza

Many people say breakfast is their favorite meal of the day. While I've never been a big breakfast eater, I do love what's come to be known as "Brunch." Mid-morning is when I get hungry. And breakfast is what I want.

Imagine my joy when I found a scrambled egg  recipe in the Happy Herbivore cookbook that turned out to be so delicious I adapted it to my version of a breakfast burrito. My mid-morning tastebuds jumped up and did the Mexican Hat Dance. Honest. Can't you just picture it?

The interesting part is that this completely  eggless recipe ends up looking just like scrambled eggs. Not only that, it has the mouth feel of scrambled eggs and a flavor reminiscent of the same. But it's all crumbled tofu with some added spices and a few vegetables tossed in for good luck. I loved it and so did my guests. Happy dancing.

MEXICAN BREAKFAST BURRITO

1 lb. firm silken tofu, drained and crumbled with fingers to look like feta cheese. See the above photo.
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. turmeric
1 tsp. adobo seasoning (I got mine at www.penzeys.com)
1 red jalapeno, diced, seeds and ribs removed
1 small zucchini, diced
8  crimini mushrooms, sliced
2 celery stalks, diced
1 small onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 bunch cilantro, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a shallow pan. I used one of my cast iron skillets for better heat conduction.

Crumble the tofu into a large bowl. Stir in the nutritional yeast along with all of the seasonings. Add salt and pepper to taste. Mix well so everything combines. Let it sit while you pre-cook the vegetables.

Cook the vegetables in a small skillet, about 5 minutes or just long enough to take the hard bite out of them. I cooked all of mine together, but if you prefer, you can cook each one separately. Add the vegetables to the tofu/spice bowl. Stir together till everything is mixed.

Put the tofu mixture into the greased or sprayed skillet and pat down firmly so there is good contact with the bottom of the pan. Bake uncovered about 25 minutes or until the top is firm and slightly brown. Let it sit a few minutes while you prepare the tortillas.

Warm 6 flour tortillas in the oven, microwave, or stove top. Spoon a generous portion of the scramble mixture down the center of each tortilla. Pour 1 Tbs. of red salsa over the top and sprinkle generously with chopped cilantro. Roll the tortilla into a burrito shape and serve immediately.

Makes 6

I served red rice as a side and baked apples for dessert. We were all too full to move, but our tummies were doing a happy dance.

These burritos will set your feet 'a-dancin'.....

The Big Cover-Up

The time change is still playing tricks on me. Normally I'm a morning person. Lately I'm not sure what I am. Business is slow, so I can push my morning starting bell a little later. Which often results in me being the cartoon you see of the women in her home office in her robe and bunny slippers. Not Good. Not Right.

Evening finds me outside until I can't see. Then I'm all charged with oxygen and want to stay up late. There is no rhyme or reason. Tuesday I was up a 5. It was still dark. Tonight, I type this at 10pm. Not sleepy.

Meals are not regular either. On Monday I had one of my brighter moments and cooked up a big pot of buckwheat grouts so breakfast would be easy all week. And so evolved "The Big Cover-Up".

Buckwheat is a complete protein. That's comforting isn't it? But the flavor is tipped a little to the left. Lopsided. Nutty? Not really. Sweet? A little itty-bitty. Odd? That's the word. I'm not thrilled with buckwheat neat. So, every morning I put a cup of cooked buckwheat into the bowl and take it to the pantry to see what else it can be.

This morning it was a few golden raisins, then a dozen raw almonds, about 1/2 cup of unsweetened coconut, a shake of cinnamon, a drizzle of real maple syrup, and about a 1/2 cup of rice milk. Into the microwave for a couple of minutes. Out it came. I could still see a bit of buckwheat, so I sliced up some strawberries. The cover-up was complete and delicious.

Gruel-ing

"Tomorrow's just your future yesterday." goes a line in the theme song for the Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson. How true, how true. "I KNOOOOOOOW." says Craig with that twinkle in his eye. Ah, the Scotsman tickles my fancy. It's that face, smile, body, laugh, all-round pleased with himself attitude.

So when I discovered The World Porridge Making Championship Contest "The Golden Spurtle" is in Scotland, I saw my chance. Perhaps Craig will notice me if I make it to Scotland in 2010 to compete in the Oatmeal making contest.

"But wait," Allergy said. "You don't eat oats. Gluuuuteeen will get ya."

steel - cut or rolled?

After some investigating I found a loop-hole. If the oats are grown out there, away from wheat and rye and barley, out there is a field far far away, chances are there will be no gluten to deal with. I tried McCann's Steel Cut Irish Oatmeal and my internal flora are happy. But I have to find Hamlyn's Pinhead Oatmeal from Scotland, only because that name is Divine. Pinhead? Is there a Scottish/English dictionary around here? Which term do you prefer? Steel Cut or Pinhead? (No wonder CF giggles. His country has the better English.)

When you go to the Golden Spurtle website there is a dictionary of terms that doesn't include Pinhead. But how about this: Athole brose - honey or meal mixed with whiskey chiefly Highland. For breakfast? Or Luggie, a small wooden bowl with one or two handles formed from projecting staves ..... Not what we mean when we say luggie. Here's one that's fun. Snap and rattle - toasted oatcakes crumbled in milk.

Back to the kitchen and the task at hand. Winning the Golden Spurtle. I don't own a spurtle, but I have a wooden spoon. I think it will work. My oatmeal today will be the first in an attempt to dazzle the judges and get me a place in the 2010 competition. I will use my Medjool dates, and since it's almost Thanksgiving, I will let the holiday and it's traditional flavors guide me this morning. Dates, pecans, pumpkin pie spices (a Trader Joe's product: a blend of ground cinnamon, ginger, lemon peel, nutmeg, cloves and cardamom.). Can't use honey. Hmm. Maple syrup. And if I love it, it will be submitted. If you love it - let me know. May my first Spurtle be Golden.

What to call it? Something that makes the morning jolly. How about -

Medjool Gruel

Serves One:

3/4 cup rice milk
1/4 cup steel cut oats
pinch of salt
1 medjool date, fresh, diced
1/4 tsp Trader Joe's pumpkin spice
1 tablespoon pecans
drizzle of maple syrup

Bring rice milk to a boil, add oats, date, salt and pumpkin spice. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover pot and continue to cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring once or twice.

Add pecans and allow to sit off the heat for a minute.

Pour into a bowl and drizzle with maple syrup. Eat it up. Delicious. Sweet, smooth, warm, delightful.

The Medjool date is soft and almost melts into the oatmeal. If you are substituting a drier date you might consider soaking it for about 10 min in a little boiling water. Then drain and add the softened date to the pot.
I think it's good enough to enter into the contest.

Vegan Wednesday Week One

VW-W1 Buckwheat
Vegan Wednesday, Week 1 - Buckwheat“Otay”, Buckwheat is that cute little girl from the Spankie and Our Gang show. So we’ll think of her while we fix breakfast. (Editors note: It has been brought to my attention that Buckwheat was a boy. So I went to wikipedia to verify this. In fact, the character of Buckwheat was a girl and early on she was played by a girl but later by Billie Thomas, a boy. )

Buckwheat is a complete protein containing a high concentration of all essential amino acids, especially lysine, threonine, tryptophan, and the sulphur-containing amino acids. It has a bit of a nutty taste and is an easy breakfast meal. Good hot or cold. So you can make it ahead. The first meal of the first week of the One Year Vegan Wednesday commitment.

Hot or Cold Buckwheat Cereal (2 servings)

Bring 1 cup of water to a boil.

Add ¼ cup buckwheat grouts

¼ cup raisins

¼ cup walnuts

A pinch of salt

A shake of cinnamon

Turn the heat down and simmer until buckwheat is soft, about 10 minutes. That’s it. If you are dairy and soy free, pour a little rice milk on top. If you have no restrictions a bit of cream is nice.

(But not vegan.)

Today's menu: for lunch, navy bean soup, sliced watermelon, and for dinner, a cold black bean and brown rice salad with avocado, sliced tomato and a vinaigrette dressing.