Great Starts..

I'm fairly certain my husband and I fell in love over breakfast. Not a particular breakfast...just breakfasts in general.

You see, there are many people out there who skip breakfast. Maybe they are short on time, or cutting calories, or just can't eat a big meal first thing. My husband and I do NOT fall into that category. I will happily eat carrot sticks and salad for dinner and lunch, so long as I started the day with a hearty breakfast. While many couples start their relationship on fancy dinners, the husband and I found ourselves at Denny's. And no, this wasn't after some late-night rendezvous (get your head out of the gutter). It's just something about the meal that started a perfect day.

In the early period of our relationship and marriage, we also ate meat. A typical "good" breakfast usually included bacon or sausage. I learned to make a pretty mean gravy, too. You can imagine that breakfast lost some of the luster when we swore off meat over a year ago.

Several weekends back, I wanted to make something different for breakfast. Pancakes are great, but I was looking for hearty and savory. I got the idea to re-create a gravy using vegetarian ingredients - basically making a white sauce with the right herbs. As it turns out, it hit all the right notes.

The Biscuits.

I used the recipe here, but substituted butter for shortening. What I LOVE about this recipe is how quick and easy it is. No kneading, rolling and cutting. And really, if you're just smothering it with gravy - who cares how uniform it is?

The Gravy:

1/2 a stick of butter
3 heaping tablespoons of flour
about a 1/4 cup of finely chopped onion
2 cloves of garlic, finely minced or grated on a micro-plane
1 teaspoon dried sage
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Milk to thin
Salt and pepper to taste
If desired: Morning star crumbles (for a more "sausage like" consistency)

1. Melt butter in heavy bottomed pan, add onions, and saute until translucent

2. Add garlic, sage, and thyme and saute for about a minute more.

3. Add flour, and with a whisk, saute until it turns lightly golden and bubbly.

4. Add milk to desired consistency. Add crumbles (if desired) and heat. Salt and pepper to taste.

To serve - crack the biscuits in half and smother with gravy. If the potatoes look good to you, I just chopped up some red potatoes, tossed with some olive oil and grated garlic, and baked in the same oven as the biscuits (450 for 20-30 minutes). Salt when done.

One of the two kids has a birthday.

I am one of those lucky people who has exactly one boy and one girl. It is SO MUCH FUN to have one of each - as I get to experience the joys of raising both genders.

One of their most favorite things to do is pour through my cupcake cookbook: Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. The bright pictures and mouth watering cupcakes are better than any Dr. Suess book we have. About a month ago, they had managed to find the book (again) and go through the pictures one-by-one. Knowing that little bit boy's birthday was coming, little bit girl told me that her brother wanted the "cookie cupcakes" for his birthday. What a nice older sister she is.

Sure enough, little bit boy agreed. However, he ALSO told me he wanted BLUE cupcakes. So, I settled on two batches: "cookie" cupcakes for the family and "blue" cupcakes for the kids where he plays during the day. Thankfully, with the most diverse and complete cupcake cookbook ever - I was covered!

All recipes from Vegan Cupcakes Take over The World.

Basic Vegan Fluffy Buttercream
You'll use this for both recipes

1/2 cup nonhydrogenated shortening
1/2 cup nonhydrogenated margarine
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 1/2 teaspoons extract (usually vanilla - but GO WILD!)
1/4 cup plain soy milk or soy creamer

1. Cream butter and shortening together.

2. Add in a cup of flower, beat steadily by hand - or even better with hand or stand mixer.

3. Add in the extract, beat well.

4. Add in the rest of the sugar, slowly, mix well.

5. Add in the soy milk or creamer, and beat until smooth and fluffy.

Golden Vanilla Cupcakes
For little bit boy's "blue" cupcakes

1 cup of soy milk

1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar

1 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons of cornstarch

3/4 teaspoon of baking powder

1/2 teaspoon of baking soda

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1/3 cup of canola oil

3/4 cups of granulated sugar

2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon of almond extract

1. Mix soy milk and vinegar, set aside for curdling (basically, you're making butter milk)

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line cupcake tin with liners

3. Mix liquid ingredients and sugar together.

4. Place dry ingredients in sifter and sift into wet ingredients. Mix until just barely incorporated and no large clumps remain.

5. Divide into cupcake tin evenly, bake immediately for 20 - 22 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

6. Cool completely and top with butter cream. For "blue" I used cake decorator's coloring, but you can use food coloring or natural dyes (blueberry). I've made "pink" cupcakes using strawberries. I bought the Wall-E decorations at Target.


Chocolate Cookie Cupcakes

1 cup of soy milk

1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar

3/4 cup of granulated sugar

1/3 cup of canola oil

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon of almond extract

1 cup of all-purpose flour

1/3 cup of cocoa powder

3/4 teaspoon of baking soda

1/2 teaspoon of baking powder

1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 cup coarsly chopped chocolate sandwich cookies (like Newman-Os)

1. Whisk soy milk and vinegar together, set aside (again, buttermilk)

2. Preheat oven to 350 and line the cupcake pan.

3. Add sugar, oil, and extract to milk mixture and whisk until foamy.

4. Sift cocoa powder, soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir into batter in two batches.

5. Fold in chopped cookies, pour into cupcake liners evenly, and bake for 20-25 minutes. Toothpick should come out clean.

6. After cooling completely, frost with the vegan butter cream frosting mixed with another 1/2 cup to one cup of crushed cookies (depending on taste). These sort of go on like clouds, so you can't expect even perfection. Top with 1/2 of a cookie for garnish.

Ina's Mac and Cheese.

So, I was home with a pseudo sick kiddo on Friday, and found myself watching all my favorite gals mid afternoon: Ina, Rachel, Giada, Sandra, and Paula. Watching these five makes for a great day - because you get such a wide perspective of styles: French gourmet, fast yet stylish, fresh and light Italian, an emphasis on entertaining, and good-old-fashioned-home-style. Awesome. It totally got the foodie juices flowing.

Ina's episode was about a housewarming party she was cooking for. In it, she made this wonderful mac and cheese. Now, I don't know about y'all, but I LOVE macaroni and cheese. It's really one of my all-time favorite foods. And when I say "mac and cheese" - I mean GOOD HOMEMADE mac and cheese. None of this box stuff will do. Ina's recipe made me want to jump through the TV and join the party. When they spooned it up, you could see the stringy melted cheese goodness.

So, clearly, I went to the store that afternoon and bought all the ingredients!

Ina Garten's take on Macaroni and Cheese

Kosher salt
Vegetable oil
1 pound elbow macaroni
1 quart milk (That's four cups!)
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, divided (only 6 T if you take my suggestion below)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
12 ounces Gruyere, grated (4 cups)
8 ounces extra-sharp Cheddar, grated (2 cups)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 pound fresh tomatoes (4 small)
1 1/2 cups fresh white bread crumbs (5 slices, crusts removed)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Boil the noodles as directed in a pot with olive oil and salt. Drain and set aside.

Heat the milk on low in a sauce pan. DO NOT boil it! Scorching = nasty milk.

In yet ANOTHER pan (yes, this makes three, and yes, it's worth it), melt 6 Tablespoons of butter. When melted, add the flour, and whisk steadily while cooking over low for two minutes (if you let up - the butter could burn!)

Once the flour/butter is cooked, add the milk (still whisking), and cook until it's thickened up. It'll just turn into a heavy cream consistency - don't expect gravy! Add a tablespoon of salt, the pepper, and nutmeg. Remove from heat.

If you have a food processor, now is the time to use it to grate the cheese. If not, you can do it by hand. If it's by hand, I would recommend grating it before you start (as it will take a bit!). In my case, the Gruyere was too small, but I had plenty of cheddar, so I just went for an overall volume of cheese (6 cups). My mac and cheese was probably a little less pungent, but that was probably better for the kiddos. Now, for those of you put off completely by the Gruyere (I am generally not a fan) - it does not overpower in the dish! It just adds a smoky flavor. If you're nervous about it (as I was) - I would flip the proportions and put in more cheddar than Gruyere.

When the cheese is grated and ready to go, add it to the milk mixture. Do not expect (nor try to force) the cheese to melt. It will do so in the bake.

Place in a 3-quart baking dish. Cover with tomatoes. For the breadcrumbs, this is what Ina says to do:

Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, combine them with the fresh bread crumbs, and sprinkle on the top.

I omitted this step, and just sprinkled packaged breadcrumbs. I also topped with paprika for color.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the cheese is all bubbly and the top is turning brown. While eating, try not to turn into a 5 year old again while you're children are watching.

How about an easy week night dinner?

Because that's what you've got here!
Take some French or Italian Bread, and place it in a 450 degree oven to toast. Sprinkle some Extra Virgin Olive Oil for added flavor and golden color.

Once all nice and toasty, "scrape" a peeled garlic clove across the top (the crusty consistency will grate the garlic for you). Layer with thinly sliced tomatoes, sprinkle with some basil, and then add the cheese on the top. Some salt for flavor, maybe some cracked pepper for oomph. Return to the oven, melt the cheese, and VOILA! Dinner! Make as much or as little as you need!

Sauteed Potatoes with or without eggs.

Psst...is anyone out there?

Another all too-long blog hiatus for me. I really don't have an excuse this time. Life has gotten easier as this time of year is generally more relaxed. No holidays to contend with, a break in the requirements of teaching, and a necessary hiatus in spending usually means more time at home. For whatever reason, however, I have not been feeling the blogging mojo. I think part of it was the fact that I've been eating really yummy healthy unprocessed stuff. But it's nothing gourmet. Carrots and hummus pretty much rock, but I don't want to do a blog post about it. Maybe I'll just start taking pictures of it all...and post the pictures! At least then you'd have something to drool over.

One thing we have been doing is planning our annual trip out to Portland, Oregon. This has got me thinking about Mother's Bistro, a fabulous little restauraunt right in downtown. Trust me when I say that this place is on the list of "must dos" while out west.

Until we get there, however, I wanted to share a recipe adapted from a dish at Mother's. It works wonderfully for breakfast or brunch, but has a stewy-feel that would work for dinner too.

Red Potatoes and "Gravy" (Serves a really hungry 2-3, maybe can be stretched to 4 with sides)
4- 5 red potatoes cut in bite-sized, even, pieces
1 medium onion
1 green pepper
2 garlic cloves
1/2 cup Morning Star starters crumbles (can be omitted) - just makes it a bit more filling
pepper to taste
salt to taste
1 teaspoon seasoning salt
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon sage
1/4 cup nutritional yeas flakes
soy or regular milk. 1/2 cup.

In hot skillet, throw down around a tablespoon of EVOO. Sautee peppers and onions with 1-2 cloves of garlic (minced or crushed) and some salt.

When cooked and transluscent (don't burn the garlic!), toss in potatoes, thyme, seasoning salt, and sage, then cover. The extra liquid in the vegitables should help steam the potatoes. Turn down heat so has not to evaporate liquid.

When potatoes are nearly cooked through, add in the crumbles (if desired) and nutritional yeast flakes. When the crumbles are heated, add in the milk. If the "gravy" formed by the potatoes and milk looks too thick, feel free to add more milk.

In a new skillet (preferably non-stick), break eggs after oiling. When the whites turn opaque, add a tablespoon of water and cover. Let the eggs cook over, leaving the yokes looking opaque but still very runny. Remove from heat and plate: potatoes underneath the runny eggs.

This can be easily veganized, as the eggs aren't necessary. I also think it's better with soy milk!

Real quick for pizza lovers...

One of the things I started this blog with was pizza. With our company this weekend, I perfected a couple of things and wanted to share...

(1) My sauce this weekend was PERFECT. Saute 1/2 of an onion (diced) with 2-3 large cloves of garlic put through a press or zester (minced if not an option) and olive oil. Once all nice and sweaty, dump in a can of diced tomatoes juices and all. Saute until the mixture turns pretty "dry" (most of the excess is out). Then add a can of paste, the volume of the can in water, and mix well over heat. The sauce will be pretty thick, and not simmer right (read: hot tomato sauce splattering all over the kitchen and you), so you just want to bring it up to heat. Process in a blender or with an immersion blender for a nice smooth consistency and flavor with salt and pepper to taste. If you want to add some herbs, feel free to do so with the diced tomatoes. We like fresh basil ON the pizza, so I opt to leave the sauce more plain.

(2) The crust was the same recipe, but I spread the dough out on parchment paper pieces to rise a little again (in little personal-pizza sized portions). At cooking time, I flipped the pieces over onto the grill (paper on top), and peeled the parchment off once placed. It worked PERFECTLY and yielded beautiful, crunchy on the outside/fluffy on the inside, crust. Usually the crust gets sort of mashed down, but this was GREAT. I also, as a first layer, spread garlic butter over the whole crust (after it was flipped like a pancake and the cooked side was up). THEN I put sauce down and made pizza as usual. Gave the part of the crust that didn't have sauce on it a nice taste.

Once the dough was on the grill, everything I'd done in the past was the same.

I totally need to do a tutorial on grilled pizza with everything and delete the old posts...put that as a "to-do" :)

A great weekend comes to a close...

... and I am exhausted. Happy, but exhausted. Much loved an appreciated family came into town this weekend, and in typical "me" style I planned menus and cooked up a storm. They left satisfied, so I guess I did my "job." I really didn't push myself too hard - the menu left itself open to socializing as well as working. And, lets be real here, I love making a fuss for people in the kitchen. I made tomato soup and panini on Friday night, pizza on the grill Saturday (Love that FL winter weather), and for breakfast this morning I made waffles and scrambled eggs.

Although we didn't have this today, it would have been a perfect addition to a guest brunch. Especially this time of year, people like to eat healthy. This is easily accomplished by eating fresh (versus processed). Today, we piled fresh, halved strawberries on top of our waffles - but a side of fruit salad would have been just as apropos.

I'm sorry that this one is short. We have had one HECK of a week over here, and the old blogging energy is a little low today. Next week is finals, but hopefully I'll be able to sneak in another post before the week's out. That is, unless, we have another unexpected drama pop up early.

Berry-Pom fruit salad

Blackberries (or any sort of berry, really)
"clementine" orange segments (readily available during winter)
banana
Pomegranates

Dressing: lemonade (enough to coat fruit), touch of honey (sweeten to desired taste and calorie level), and a couple of pinches of garam masala. Mix well, then pour over fruit. The Pomegranate idea came from a middle-eastern family that I used to tutor for, as did the garam masala. It adds an interesting complexity and depth to an otherwise predictable fruit salad!

It doesn't hurt that it's pretty too.