Isolation Brunches

Going back in time to those two months I spent on leave from work, isolating away in our house. One of the things I did to try and bring some struction and fun into our lives was a weekly brunch. This also meant, as you will see, that I dug out my waffle maker and had a mighty fine time! I keep forgetting that waffles are so easy to make with this waffle maker. It was also a nice time to get to make some of these sweeter brunch-type recipes that I hardly ever have a good time to make. Since heading back to work, I haven't made brunch once! I need to try and at least find a fun time to do it occasionally.

Old-Fashioned Chelsea Waffles and Brown Sugar Peach Coulis from Vegan Brunch by Isa Chandra Moskowitz: These was so easy to make, and they make a lot. I used half the recipe and got 6 nice fat waffles and one mini one. They are not overly sweet, but I really enjoyed that. I served them with some Brown Sugar Peach Coulis, which allowed me to use up some frozen peaches in my freezer because it certainly was not peach season. I also drizzled it with a bit of sweetened rice cream.
Rating: Waffles :), Coulis :)



Peanut Butter Waffles and Blueberry Ginger Whole Berry Sauce from Vegan Brunch by Isa Chandra Moskowitz: Peanut butter everything! These waffles are filling, and also a bit crunchy because you use crunchy peanut butter. Again, I made a half recipe for 6 waffles. These had a nice peanut buttery flavour, and were not too sweet (again, hurrah!). Served with the Blueberry Ginger variation of the Whole Berry Sauce recipe, which used frozen blueberries and fresh ginger. The fresh ginger gave such a lovely sparkle to the sauce.
Rating: Waffles :), Sauce :)



Raised Waffles with Baked Cinnamon Apples from Vegan Brunch by Isa Chandra Moskowitz: I thought I'd try my hand at these yeasted waffles. You have the option of making them in the morning and letting them rise, or making them the night before and doing a longer rise in the frige overnight. I took the first option. Again, I halved the recipe and got 6 waffles. Mine got very dark on the outside with this recipe, which is different from how they look in the book. It didn't do anything bad to the flavour though. When I pulled these out of the waffle iron, they still seemed a bit soft compared to the others. But once out the crisped up on the outside and have a lovely fluffy inside. I served these with some nice and easy Baked Cinnamon Apples, also from the book.
Rating: Waffles :), Apples :)



Tempeh Bacon from Baconish by Leinana Two Moons: Pancakes, bacon, and fruit, which a combination. The tempeh bacon from Baconish is easy to make and delicious to eat. I had a packed of Melinda's gluten-free pancake mix from an Vegan Mystery Box that I needed to use up, and I am sorry to say that it was not a good time. They tasted funny, the batter was so thick but also so fragile to flip. Thankfully the bacon, some apple slices, and maple syrup saved the day!
Rating for Tempeh Bacon :D



Raspberry Cornmeal Pancakes from Eat, Drink, & Be Vegan by Dreena Burton: These pancakes were a bit of a miss, they were quite crumbly and hard to flip. I wonder if my cornmeal was not fine enough? The recipe itself I noted had no sweetener in it, however it did call for vanilla soy milk which is normally sweetened. I didn't have any of that, so I used a blend of plain oat milk, maple syrup, and vanilla extract to make my own. I used a 1/3 cup measure as a scoop, and got 6 pancakes. I served this with some Maple Cream, another recipe from the blog that I have made a few times before, and some fresh strawberries.
Rating: :|



Hearty Pancakes with Buckwheat and Blueberries from Power Plates by Gena Hamshaw: These also gave me a bit of trouble with the batter, as it was very thin and if you made the pancakes too big then it would tear when you flipped it. But I found using a 1/4 cup measure as the scoop just perfect. These had a really nice flavour and texture, thanks to the mix of spelt and buckwheat flour. I served these with some runny peanut butter, maple syrup, and sliced strawberries.
Rating: :)



This final brunch, which was actually the first brunch we had chronologically, did not involve any recipes. On my last day of work before I went into isolation, I stopped by Naim to pick up some vegan raspberry croissants. When I got home they went into the freezer and there they stayed until we decided to get brunching! These were lovely. Dusted with a raspberry poweder and filled with raspberry jam, they were a big hit. We happened to have quite a few types of fruit in the house that day, so I mixed up a quick fruit salad with banana, apple, raspberries, grapes, and pawpaw to have with it.



Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



As well as sleeping with my bamboo contour pillow for bad necks, I have to sleep with a little cushion tucked next to the right side of my head to stop my head from flopping to the side too much while I sleep, thus ruining my neck more. Chronic pain, it's so unfun. But one morning Dim Sim decided that sitting on a little cushion on top of the pillow was the ultimate in comfort. She stayed there for quite a while! Thankfully she doesn't try and take it from me when we are sleeping, because you know I would let her have it no matter the consequences for my neck.

Granola Round-Up the 2nd

Time for another recipe round-up of granola recipes from across a number of cookbooks! I really got into granola-making during my isolation (and the way Brisbane is going at the moment, I am preparing to go into isolation again if/when needed... seriously, you have to read about it to believe it), and I have continued making a new batch of granola every couple of weeks. Even during winter, it is quick and easy and I like it. Especially since I have found some decent vegan yoghurts I can enjoy with it. So, let's get crunchy. (Oh, an enjoy almost every photo looking the same, because I apparently really like to eat my granola out of the same bowl.)

Coconut, Date and Almond Granola from Keep it Vegan by Aine Carlin: This said a full recipe made 8-10 servings, so I made a half recipe, which was three servings. This has a lovely mix of almonds (it calls for a mix of whole and flaked, I just used all slivered), pumpkin seeds, desiccated coconut, and dates. While I halved the recipe, I still used the whole amount of cinnamon because cinnamon is the best. This was a nice granola, I was worried the dates might make it too sweet, but they were well spaced out with the crunchy oats.
Rating: :)



Peanut Butter and Jam Granola from 500 Vegan Recipes by Celine Steen and Joni Marie Newman: I made a half recipe of this, which ended up being two servings a little over 1/2 cup each. I question the recipe that says a full batch would make 4 cups, the ingredients certainly don't add up to that. This is a mix of creamy peanut butter and the jap of your choice, I chose strawberry because it is the best jam. I found this granola to be a lot softer than other ones, it didn't go crunchy, and it also says it needs to be kept in the fridge.
Rating: :)



'Fig' and Grapefruit Granola from The New Vegan by Aine Carlin: I really don't like figs. The fresh ones give me terrible ulcers, and I am just not that fond of the dry ones for the most part. So I used dates instead in this recipe. I also used a ruby grapefruit as that is what was at the shops (also, pretty!). Oats are toasted with ground ginger and lemon zest for a lovely warming flavour. The granola is crunchy with nuts and seeds - I didn't have enough hazelnuts so I used a mix of them and almonds, but it also had pistachio, pepitas, and sunflower seeds in it. I made a full recipe, and got three serves. It says it serves 8-10, so I guess if you are just having a spoonful as a serve? Instead of adding the dates to the oven like the figs were meant to be, I just added them at the end oonce it had cooled.
Rating: :)



Apple Cranberry Granola from Vegan Yack Attack On The Go by Jackie Sobon: A great mix of dried apples, cranberries, almonds, maple syrup, and almond butter. My almond butter was not pourable, so I heated it gently on the stove with the syrup so I can mix it through. The big issue I had was that the oats and nut part of the granola needed more time in the oven to go golden. However as this recipe has you mix the fruit in from the start, it started to burn a bit! You can see the dried apple is pretty dark, though it ended up having a nice caramlised flavour. But maybe add the fruit in either at the end or in the last half of baking.
Rating: :)



Baconish Granola from Baconish by Leinana Two Moons: The bacony part of this granola comes from some coconut bacon. Added to a mix of oats, almonds, and dried cranberries. The recipe calls for coconut oil, but I used canola. I made a half recipe and got three serves. I liked that this had a nice, subtle smoky flavour that went really well with the maple syrup flavour and the cranberries.
Rating: :)



Cacao Nib Granola Clusters from Cook Share Eat Vegan by Aine Carlin: These are halfway to a bliss ball, but instead are baked. They are a mix of fruit and nuts. The recipe called for figs, but I declined to use them. I used a mix of dates, dried cherries, prunes, raisins, and dried appricots. I accidentally pressed a bit too hard when I was putting the blended mix onto the baking sheet, so it ended up baking pretty solid rather than in clusters. I had to break/chop them up a bit. These were nice, but boy were they super sweet. I served them over a pretty tart natural soy yoghurt, with some fresh fruit as well, but small doses only. They do make a good snack though!
Rating: :)



Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



Results are back and the good news is that everything is stable! Her kidney disease hasn't advanced, and her thyroid is being controlled with her current medications. So we just continue on as is. Hurrah!

Recipe Round-Up: Baconish

Another newcomer to the blog, with Baconish by Leinana Two Moons making its first appearance. This book is all about vegan bacon. It has recipes for making bacon with all sorts of things (tofu, tempeh, seitan, carrot, mushrooms, chickpeas...), as well as ways to use them. If you like smoky, salty deliciousness you will enjoy this book!

Bacon and Cheddar Scones: I had a little bit of soy creamer to use up, so these seemed to call my name. They use some TVP-based baconish bits, and I used Daiya cheddar for the cheese. The recipe says it makes eight, I made a half batch and made them into three scones so we could each enjoy one fresh out of the oven. I did have to add a little bit of extra flour to the mix, as I found it a bit too sticky and soft to knead and shape.
Rating: Scones :), Baconish Bits :)



Cobb Salad with Eggplant Bacon: I love a salad full of lots of different things! The eggplant bacon was easy to make and very tasty, but it didn't really go crispy at all in the oven. Maybe I was playing caution, as I have tried other eggplant bacon recipes where they have burned. The salad also has cos lettuce, avocado, cherry tomatoes, white beans, corn, and I used cucumber in place of watercress. It uses a vegan blue cheese dressing recipe from another salad the book, which was easy to make. I made a half recipe of the dressing, but left out the tofu crumbles in it because the tofu I had in my fridge was being saved for something else. This was an excellent combination, and highly delicious.
Rating: Salad :D, Eggplant Bacon :)



The Famous Coconut BLT: I love me a BLT. This one uses coconut bacon, which was quick and easy and yummy. Though to be honest, I prefer a more substantial bacon in my BLTs. I used baby spinach instead of lettuce, and as well as the mayo I also used some avocado. Because avocado belongs on a BLT in my book.
Rating: Sandwich :), Coconut Bacon :)



Apple, Bacon, and Cheddar Grilled Cheese: This is a lovely combination. Crisp slices of green apple, your choice of tempeh bacon or Sweet and Savoury Bacon Jam, and cheese. I grilled this in my panini press, so I didn't butter the outside of the bread. I used the bacon jam option, which I will talk about further down in this post. I made this twice, once with Daiya American Style cheese slices, and once with some fancier Miyoko's Smoked Farmhouse. Both were good! I also added some sauerkraut to the one with the Miyoko's cheese, because it just seemed like the thing to do.
Rating: :)





The More-To-Love Elvis Sandwich: Tempeh bacon, peanut butter, and banana. This was nice, but I just always find warm banana a bit odd unless it is in a pudding situation. I skipped the step of buttering the outsides of the bread again, because I used my non-stick panini press. And I drizzled a little bit of agave as suggested, but I put it in the sandwich rather than over it to minimise sticky fingers. Rating: :)



Bacon Fried Rice: This was in the Sides section, but I served it as a main. I couldn't get snow peas at the time, so I used some frozen baby peas instead, and it also has chopped carrot. The bacon is the tofu bacon from the book, which was really nice. I did have to bake the tofu bacon an extra 10-15 minutes though, and it didn't get crispy as they always say, but they firmed up a bit when they cooled. This is finished with some sesame oil, which I reduced from 2 TBS to a drizzle. Served over some baby spinach.
Rating: Fried Rice :), Tofu Bacon :)



Hawaiian Pizza: I love Hawaiian Pizza! This version has pizza sauce (I used Leggos brand), mozzarella (I used Follow Your Heart), chopped tofu bacon that has been marinated but not cooked yet (it cooks on the pizza so it doesn't dry out too much), fresh pineapple (I thaw frozen pineapple and use that), and a thinly sliced shallot (which I used instead of a red onion so I didn't have leftover onion stinking out the fridge). I also used a pre-made crust to save on energy. The recipe suggests topping with coriander, but mine had gone off so I skipped it. This is an excellent pizza! So excellent that when I went back after eating two slices, I found out that my Dad had gone and scarfed all the leftovers so I cannot report on how it was cold the next day!
Rating: :D



Sweet and Savoury Bacon Jam: I mentioned this in one of the sandwiches above. This is a pretty lovely recipe, with tempeh bacon, onion, and shallots all simmered with sweeteners, vinegar, mustard, garlic and ginger. I halved the recipe as that was how much tempeh bacon I had. As well as eating it on the sandwiches, I also enjoyed it as a fancy addition to a little snack plate I made that had green apple slices, cucumber, grape tomatoes, Miyoko's smoked farmhouse, and water crackers.
Rating: :)





Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



Dim Sim giving me a suspicious look while I coo over how cute her paw is.