Stuffed french toast may sound fancy, but it really isn't if you have some basic things on hand. This is MoFo Day 2: Quick, Easy & Delicious!!! I wouldn't dupe you, I promise. You may recall ::erhem:: from what I posted yesterday that I recently baked some gluten-free bread. I posted the recipe here! But, for those of you who either do not require homemade gluten-free bread or would rather not be bothered (usually me), store-bought vegan bread will do! I always splurge on bread because I don't buy it very often. I like to get a mostly whole grain loaf that was made from scratch somewhere. For making french toast the way I like it, I like to have a dense and firm slice of bread to work with. There's nothing that I dislike more than a soggy slice of french toast. =( If you have a loaf of bread, I recommend leaving it out overnight or leaving a couple slices out overnight. The slices will hold up better to frying if they are a tad stale. I got this idea from a recipe made by the amazing food blogger Richa of Vegan Richa. I absolutely love her blog. She seems to never run out of ideas for new recipes. Her dishes are usually very accessible but infused with different flavors than what you would expect. She made this samosa stuffed french toast that I had to try one day and "my goodness gracious" is all I have to say. It was outrageous. I love to make savory breakfasts and brunches when I don't feel like eating anything sweet. However, I felt that today I wanted a touch of sweetness and I looked around my kitchen to find some friends to help me on my quest. All you need for this recipe is a small banana, 2 slices of bread, jam/jelly/compote/another fruit of choice, and a simple chickpea batter. You can always make a different batter if you don't have chickpea flour on hand, but I really love how smooth and crispy it turns the outside of the french toast. It also has a lovely flavor. Also, you can make this french toast when you are absolutely starving because it only takes about 10-15 minutes to prepare. Not too shabby. ;) Fry away, friends! Banana Stuffed French Toast For OneYield: 1 serving (1 double french toast) Inspiration: Vegan Richa's Samosa Stuffed French Toast Ingredients
Cooking Instructions
* I recommend either making your own powdered sugar in a blender or buying a good quality brand like Wholesome Sweeteners. They make awesome products that you can feel good about buying. I don't use powdered sugar often, but when I do I like to make sure it's vegan and non-GMO. Go ahead and dig in. It's all yours! Well, I'm back. ^_^ I apologize for being so absent for the past couple of months! I found myself wrapped up in life after the holidays came to a close and my blogging has suffered as a result. For that, I am sorry... The good news is, I haven't stopped cooking! I have managed to remain active on Instagram to prove that I'm still alive and munching. As the snow melts, I've found that my palette has changed dramatically. I'm craving light, crispy vegetables like sweet peppers, scallions, and bean sprouts among others. The winter has proved to be long, cold, and dark. I'm through with heavy food! (For now... ;D) I'm beginning the new season with a light yet satisfying dish with all the flavor in the world. I mean, I can't promise you all the flavor, I suppose. I can, however, promise you as much flavor as I can. And right now, that's quite a bit. I created this dish (and am still reinventing it often) based off of a delicious plate of food I ate one night in Savannah. I visited this beautiful city in the middle of January while the North East got slammed with a snow storm. I enjoyed a temperate climate, palm trees, noodles, and some good company. (Although, I did come home to a snow shovel. It was still totally worth it!) I went to a local Asian fusion restaurant called the Flying Monk Noodle Bar. This place is lively, bright, colorful, and hip. The dishes are inspired by all different Asian cuisines. The dish that I made here is a take on their curry noodles, which were so insanely addictive. I may or may not have eaten them more than once in one night... >_> These noodles were also modeled off a recipe that I found in a massive noodle cookbook/Bible (The World's Best Asian Noodle Recipes). The recipe is called Singapore Mei Fun noodles. I've had a mild obsession with rice noodles lately and I like to put everything with them. This dish is wonderful because it can literally be a junk pile for any and all vegetables that you have lying around. Carrots on the ground? Into the noodles! ;) The best part of this whole dish is the fact that it is so flavorful. I added and entire tablespoon of curry powder into it...along with many other spices. Feel free to dial back the spice level by omitting the red pepper flakes and (maybe) cutting back on the curry. But, I mean, they're called curry noodles for a reason. If the noodles aren't enough for you, eat more. If you're still hungry after that, maybe consider preparing a protein of your choice to go along with (tempeh, tofu, seitan, edamame, beans, etc.). Oh, and a bottle of sake or soju is always cool too. ^_~ Curry Rice Noodles with Pan Seared PortabellaYield: approx. 4 servings Adapted from: Singapore Mei Fun Noodles, The World's Best Asian Noodle Recipes Ingredients
Instructions
Ramen was such a household staple of ours back in the day. Only, our ramen looked a lot like this: I'm not trying to discredit prepackaged ramen (okay, maybe a little), but it had it's place in my life and now I've moved on... Actually, I ate this type of ramen far into my college years. This is quite a common dorm staple, as many people know. There was something amazing about instant salty soup with tons of noodles in it after a long night of...studying... When I became vegan, I realized that prepackaged goods like ramen are probably best as a "last resort" food (like, if the zombies show up). When I tried cooking gluten-free, I was ready to give up ramen forever. That is, until I found this amazing product: Yes, there is finally an organic, gluten-free and vegan ramen noodle on the market! Lotus Foods has a few different varieties of gluten-free ramen. They sell family packs like this one and also single-serve packs! I really loved the quality of these noodles. The shape of the noodle patty is very similar to what I was used to seeing. This variety is a bit more "wavy" than "curly", but it looks good all the same! The noodles cook up in about the same amount of time as regular ramen, about 4 minutes or so. I prepared my soup before cooking the noodles to avoid over-cooking. Gluten-free noodles and pasta must be cooked al dente or under or they become mush. =( The texture of the Lotus ramen was very similar to regular ramen. I thought there was a lack of oily quality, but that's a good thing in my book! I compensated for the lack of oil in the noodles by adding a little olive oil into my broth. This is totally optional, but I think it made the dish taste more rich and authentic. The soup that I made for my ramen dish is very robust and velvety. If there is too much salt in it for your taste, you can dial back the tamari and miso, but be aware that it will lose some flavor. Cooking the soup with more mushrooms might help this! I hope you enjoy this ramen as much as I did. It's been a very long time since I've had a homemade noodle soup like this and it's so comforting! Eating a bowl of noodles like this is best done on a chilly fall evening with a good book. ^_^ For garnish, I used thinly sliced red beets, gomashio (sesame salt), and marinated kamaboko-style tofu (fish cake). Kamaboko is a processed fish product that is often used for garnishing dishes in Japan. It has a spongy texture and a slightly sweet umami taste. I marinated some extra-firm tofu in dulse seaweed, ume vinegar, and mirin to achieve a similar flavor. I also added some sliced beet to the marinade for a slight pink color. Many kamaboko have white and pink colors to them. (I'm not really sure why...) You may leave the garnishes off of your soup, but they really are a fun way to liven up your dish! The sweet earthy flavor of the beets cut through the salty miso, the tofu provides a little sweetness and texture (as well as protein!), and the gomashio adds texture and color. Play around and add other types of garnishes to your ramen! Raw scallion, nutritional yeast, umeboshi, shredded carrot, bean sprouts...the possibilities are endless! Gluten-Free Miso RamenYield: about 1-2 servings Broth recipe adapted from Kansha by Elizabeth Andoh Ingredients Soup
Instructions
Kamaboko-style Marinated Tofu Ingredients
Instructions
Slurp your way to happiness! ^_^ Tempeh is one of those things that I wish I had discovered sooner in life. I have been eating tofu for pretty much my entire life. I usually had tofu with a Japanese dinner in the form of miso soup or as a side dish with some shoyu and scallion on top. Tofu is great, but definitely on the more bland side. Ever since I've discovered tempeh, I've shied away from tofu for the most part. (That isn't to say I don't still like it!) I've read that tempeh can impart a bitter flavor. I honestly don't find it bitter at all. I love tempeh for it's "cheese-like" flavor, which i suppose is due to the fact that it's fermented. In this dish, I simmered my tempeh the day before just to "open it up" a little. I find that if you cook tempeh lightly (usually steaming or simmering) before basting or marinating it, it absorbs more flavor. Tempeh benefits from adding soy sauce, I've found. Sometimes when I'm feeling lazy/hungry, I just pan fry tempeh in soy sauce and call it a day. It's very acceptable. (Also, make tempeh into "bacon". It's mind-blowing!) The glaze that I've made for this recipe is similar to a soy sauce since it contains miso. I used white (shiro) miso but you can use any that you prefer. I normally save the darker or red miso for winter months. I also added a little coconut sugar to balance out the salt in the glaze. This made the dish much more complex than I expected. If you aren't too keen on a sweeter sauce, stick to just adding mirin. No harm will be done! I highly recommend serving the tempeh over buckwheat soba noodles. The earthy flavor of buckwheat will stand out to the robust miso glaze. If you're more of a rice person, sweet brown rice would be my suggestion. I kept the broth for the soba on the simple side. I did, however, include some seaweed in the broth for a briny, fishy flavor. The seaweed is to replace the bonito flakes that are often found in Japanese broth. I absolutely love the taste of fish and seaweed, but I know that not everyone else does! You can omit the seaweed if you don't care for it. To keep the dish gluten-free, I used Eden buckwheat soba. It's 100% buckwheat flour. There are many brands that mix buckwheat flour with wheat flour, so make sure to read their labels. I highly recommend Eden for soba and any of their other products. Miso Glazed Tempeh and Soba NoodlesYield: 4-6 servings Source: Miso Glaze Recipe adapted from Kansha by Elizabeth Andoh (great book!) Miso Glazed Tempeh Ingredients
Instructions **While you prepare the tempeh, start boiling a large pot of water for your soba!**
Soba Noodles Ingredients
Instructions
|
I'm Jess!This is my very first food blog! I post revised conventional recipes of foods that I hold near and dear to my heart. My cooking here is all gluten-free and cruelty-free, but full of flavor and comfort. Archives
December 2017
Categories
All
|