Cherry Blueberry Bran Muffins

Hope you're not sick of cherry season yet, because I've got another cherry recipe to share with you today! After making my roasted cherry brownies, I still some more cherries to use up, so I thought they would be the perfect addition to some healthy breakfast muffins.

I'd had my eye on a recipe for blackberry bran muffins from the Straight From the Earth cookbook, so I used that recipe as my inspiration for these cherry blueberry muffins!

Besides using different fruits, I made a few other minor changes to the recipe, including the method of mixing the ingredients, and reducing the sugar a bit. I also added a touch of maple extract to add a bit more sweetness along with the fruit.

The bran was definitely the dominant flavour in these, so if you like bran muffins, you will love the flavour and texture of these muffins.

I liked how they tasted a bit nutty, they weren't too sweet, and they were just dense and hearty enough without being too filling. Of course, my favourite part was all the blueberries and cherries in every bite!

While bran muffins may not be the most popular muffin on the block, I ended up liking them a lot more than I was expecting to! And besides, if I'm going to eat a muffin for breakfast, I want it to still be somewhat nutritious, so I can feel good about eating one of these in the morning - my only complaint was that they were a little on the small side, but they still make a great addition to a smoothie or yogurt!

Cherry Blueberry Bran Muffins

Adapted from Straight From the Earth cookbook, as seen here

1 cup almond milk

1 tbsp vinegar or lemon juice

2 tbsp ground flax

1/4 cup warm water

2 cups wheat bran

1 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 cup rolled oats

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/4 cup melted coconut oil (can substitute another oil)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp maple extract (optional)

1/2 cup chopped fresh cherries (pit removed)

1/2 cup blueberries

Preheat oven to 350°F and spray a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray.

In a medium sized bowl, stir together the almond milk and vinegar and let sit for 5-10 minutes. In a separate small bowl, stir together the flax and water and let sit 5-10 minutes as well.

In a large bowl, whisk together the wheat bran, flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.

Add the sugar, applesauce, oil, and extracts to the almond milk mixture and stir well to dissolve the sugar. Add the flax mixture and stir again. Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir gently just until the dry ingredients are incorporated. Fold in the cherries and blueberries.

Divide batter into muffin cups, then bake in the preheated oven for about 25-30 minutes, until the muffins feel firm on top and a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool in the pan for at least 5 minutes before removing muffins and transferring them to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Makes 12 small muffins.

Vegan Pancake Recipes for Pancake Tuesday

In honour of one of my favourite traditions tomorrow, Pancake Tuesday, I thought I would share some pancake recipes that I've tried recently with you.

While I love pancakes - especially when they're topped with fruit and have interesting flavour combinations, I don't make them that often because I typically don't like to spend too much time on breakfast. That's why I like Pancake Tuesday - it gives me an excuse to make pancakes for dinner instead!

Whether you celebrate the holiday or not, hopefully you'll get a couple of new ideas for vegan pancake recipes from this post to add to your rotation!

Pancake Recipes I've Tried Recently

Peanut Butter Cookie Pancakes with Bananas

This past weekend I was craving some pancakes in anticipation of Pancake Tuesday, but since I didn't feel like going out to buy ingredients, I wanted a recipe that would make use of ingredients I already had. These peanut butter cookie pancakes from The Pancake Princess (a good source for more pancake recipes!) sounded perfect - vegan, minimal ingredients, and I could use my PB2 powder that I'm always looking for ways to use other than adding it to smoothies!

I wasn't sure how they would turn out by just adding ground flax to the batter instead of making a flax "egg", but they came out so fluffy and soft! I did change the original recipe a bit by using a mix of whole wheat pastry flour and light spelt flour so mine weren't gluten-free, and I also added a dash of cinnamon and increased the baking powder to 1 tsp.

Since I had a ripe banana, I followed the suggestion of topping my pancakes with sliced bananas, along with a quick and easy yogurt sauce that I whipped up instead of serving them with maple syrup (1/4 cup plain yogurt, 1 tbsp peanut butter, 2 tsp icing sugar). Filling and delicious!


Carrot Cake Pancakes

I had a chance to look through Isa Chandra Moscowitz's new cookbook Isa Does It recently, and the first recipe I tried from it were her carrot cake pancakes (recipe can also be found on her blog Post Punk Kitchen). With lots of spices and grated carrot added to the batter, these had a nice flavour and came out super thick and fluffy (as you can see in the photo). I topped mine with some chopped pecans and maple syrup to make them extra sweet!

If you're a fan of puffy pancakes, you could also give these puffy pillow pancakes from her cookbook and blog a try. I haven't made them yet, but they look great!

Other Pancake Recipes on Vanilla & Spice

Carrot Cake Pancakes with Orange Cashew Cream

Blueberry Pancakes with Persimmon Topping

Strawberry Banana Coconut Pancakes (one of the first recipes I posted on the blog!)

For more pancake ideas, including lots of vegan and gluten-free options, feel free to check out my pancakes Pinterest board!

I'll probably be revisiting that board myself so that I can choose another pancake recipe to make for the official day tomorrow...I'm thinking these sweet potato pancakes from Peachy Palate, or these zucchini pancakes from Lindsay Loves Veggies might be good dinner options since they include veggies, or these fluffy whole wheat pancakes from Running on Real Food would make a good plain base for any topping combination! 

Miniature Chocolate-Cherry Crepe Cake & 2nd Blogiversary

Today is a bit of a special day here on Vanilla & Spice - it's my 2nd Blogiversary!

I can't believe that this little space has been active for two whole years already, but I guess when you're doing something that you love like cooking, baking, photographing food, and sharing recipes with amazing readers, time flies by!

Rather than reflecting on the past year of blogging like I did last year, I think I'll just stick to writing about today's recipe this time (and with more photos than usual because I had a hard time choosing) - after all, that's why you come here in the first place!

To celebrate the occasion, I wanted to make a special treat, but since I'm not really much of a cake or cupcake person, I thought I would do something a bit different.

I'm actually really excited about this recipe because it's something I've been wanting to make for quite a while - my very own personal sized crepe cake!

I'm sure you've all seen at least one version of a crepe cake before, but if not, the idea is that you layer a batch of regular crepes with a thick filling or frosting in between the layers to help them stick together, and add whatever toppings you like - fruit, nuts, whipped cream, caramel sauce - basically whatever you could imagine for a cake!

For my version, I knew I wanted to do a chocolate-cherry combination, since I still had some amazing fresh cherries stored in my freezer that I had picked a couple of weeks ago.

I'm actually a novice when it comes to crepe making (especially vegan crepes), but I did some research and chose a recipe that uses part chickpea flour because crepes usually rely on eggs as a main ingredient, and chickpea flour is an ingredient that I know works well in other "eggy" vegan recipes, like vegan scrambled eggs.

I modified the original recipe to make it a bit more decadent by adding cinnamon and cocoa powder, a bit of maple syrup for a touch of sweetness, and using chocolate almond milk for more chocolatey flavour.

My first crepe was a bit of a disaster, but that's expected when you're making crepes for the first time! Luckily, I quickly got the hang of it and ended up with evenly thin, chewy crepes with just enough of a chocolate taste for my liking.

For the cake filling, I kept it pretty simple and used a combo of fresh cherry-blueberry sauce and coconut flavoured greek yogurt.

I loved each component on its own, but all came together to make an even tastier creation! The sauce was thick and fruity, with a nice balance of sweet and tart notes, and I thought it paired perfectly with the chocolate crepes and the creamy coconut yogurt.

Once you have all the components ready, it's pretty easy (and fun) to assemble the cake. First, you cut smaller circles out of each large crepe so that you have enough to stack into a tall enough miniature-sized crepe cake. Then a spoonful of yogurt and cherry sauce is spread in between each crepe layer as you build it, so that you end up with a mix of everything in each bite.

I assembled mine when everything was still a bit warm, but when I came back for the leftovers the next morning after it had been sitting in the fridge overnight, everything had firmed up more and it was a bit easier to slice and eat.  But either way - warm or chilled - this makes a delicious dessert or even a special breakfast treat!

I'm so glad I finally got around to trying out a crepe cake, and a blog anniversary seems like the perfect occasion to try something new in the kitchen! I think I might be making this again for future celebrations - I'm already dreaming of new combinations that I could try for my next birthday cake!

I know this has been a long post, but I just wanted to end by saying thanks for reading and for all of your comments this past year - I wouldn't still be doing this without the support from all of you! And one last shout-out to my sister Natalie of Once Upon a Cutting Board, who is also celebrating her blogiversary!

Miniature Chocolate-Cherry Crepe Cake
Crepe recipe adapted from Vegan Eats World, everything else my own
Note: My crepes were vegan, but not the yogurt. Feel free to adapt the recipe by using your own favourite crepe recipe and whatever kind of greek yogurt you like (vegan or not)!

Crepes
3/4 cup chocolate almond milk
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
2 tbsp + 2 tsp chickpea flour
1/2 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
dash of cinnamon
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp maple syrup

Filling
1/2 cup fresh or frozen cherries (or a mix of cherries and blueberries, which is what I did because I didn't have enough cherries)
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 100g container greek yogurt (I used Oikos fat-free coconut greek yogurt but vanilla would work too)


To make the crepe batter, add all ingredients to a blender and puree until smooth. Transfer mixture to a container, cover, and let sit in the fridge for at least an hour.

When ready to make crepes, heat a large skillet over medium heat and spray with cooking spray.  Working quickly, pour 1/3 cup of the batter into the pan, swirling the pan around so that the liquid coats the pan evenly all the way to the edges. Let cook for one and a half to two and a half minutes, until the surface looks dry and cooked, and the edges have started to crisp up. Run a spatula around the edges of the crepe and carefully flip it over. Cook the other side for about one minute. Carefully remove the crepe from the pan and transfer to a plate.  Repeat with the rest of the batter (I got four 7" crepes out of mine, but it depends on the size of pan you use).

Use a circular cookie cutter or the lid of any jar about 3" in diameter to cut circles out of each crepe (I used a peanut butter jar lid). You should get one full circle plus two partial circles out of each crepe, but that's okay - they don't all need to be perfect circles. For the partial circles, just arrange some of the leftover pieces to fill in the gaps so that you have somewhat complete circles. You should end up with 11-12 3" crepe circles (see picture of mine below).

To make the sauce, place the berries, lemon juice, and maple syrup in a small saucepan and let cook on medium-high heat until the berries are broken down and the mixture has thickened a bit, stirring often (5-10 minutes). Remove from heat and let cool.

To assemble the cake, lay one or two crepe circles on a plate. Top with a spoonful of the greek yogurt and a spoonful of the cherry sauce (don't use too much sauce, as you don't want to run out!). Follow with another layer of crepes (I found it easier to put two thin crepes together as one layer), and another layer of yogurt and cherry sauce. Repeat until you've layered all of the crepes, ending with a spoonful of yogurt and cherry sauce on top.

Serve at room temperature, or chill in the fridge for 1-2 hours to firm up a bit before serving.

Serves 1 (if you're hungry) or 2 people.

Blueberry Breakfast Muffins with Quinoa

This past weekend, I did my first blueberry picking of the season (and actually, my first blueberry picking in years - I can't remember the last time I did that!).  Since the blueberries had just become ready, I was worried that they wouldn't be very good yet, but I was wrong!

They were perfectly sweet, and I had a hard time stopping myself from eating them right off the branches. Actually, the only thing that stopped me from staying and picking all the blueberries (besides how much it would cost) was the insane heat wave we've been having here in Southern Ontario these past few days, which has been keeping me from spending too much time outside lately.

But with this heat, I'm craving refreshing fruit all the time, so it's a good thing that blueberries, cherries, and raspberries are just coming into season here now!

Besides just eating them on their own, one of my favourite ways to eat blueberries is in muffins. I'm not a huge fan of blueberry desserts like pie or cobbler, but I love biting into muffins bursting with juicy blueberries.

I actually made these muffins before the local ones were available, but they still turned out so good that I wanted to share them now, so that you can go make them with those fresh local blueberries (although I know they're not in season for all of you right now)!

The recipe for these muffins was adapted from BitterSweet blog. I loved her idea of adding quinoa to make breakfast muffins even healthier and full of protein so that they can sustain you a bit longer.

As usual, I made some changes to the recipe to suit my own tastes, like adding lemon juice and zest instead of orange juice, reducing the sweetener, using pecans instead of walnuts, and adding some buckwheat flour for a deeper flavour.

I loved the texture of these muffins - they were dense and hearty, with some chewiness from the cooked quinoa and a bit of crunch from the pecans. They weren't very sweet either, which meant those bursts of juicy blueberries really stood out even more! 

The muffins didn't rise much in the oven so they turned out to be a bit on the small size, making them a good snack muffin or a pretty healthy breakfast along with some fruit or yogurt. 

I can't wait to try out more blueberry recipes before their season is over!

Blueberry Breakfast Muffins with Quinoa

Adapted from BitterSweet

1/4 cup dry quinoa + 1/2 cup water

3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1/4 cup buckwheat flour (can substitute with another flour)

1/4 cup rolled oats

1/2 tbsp ground flax

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp lemon zest

1/4 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup blueberries

1 small ripe banana, mashed

1/4 cup almond milk

2 tbsp pure maple syrup (add 1-2 more tablespoons if you like a sweeter muffin)

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Turbinado sugar (optional)

First, prepare the quinoa: Bring 1/2 cup water to a boil. Add the quinoa and cook on low heat, covered, for about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit for 5 minutes, then remove lid and fluff with a fork. You should have about 1 cup cooked quinoa (it's okay if you have a little less).

Preheat oven to 375°F and prepare a muffin tin by spraying with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, oats, flax, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the lemon zest and pecans and whisk again. Gently stir in the blueberries.

In a separate bowl, mix the mashed banana, almond milk, maple syrup, lemon juice, and vanilla. Stir in the cooked quinoa.  Pour this wet mixture into the bowl of dry ingredients and gently mix with a rubber spatula just until all of the dry ingredients are incorporated.

Divide batter into prepared muffin tin, filling each cup almost full (mine filled 7 muffin cups). Sprinkle the tops with a bit of turbinado sugar if desired (this will make the tops crunchy). Place muffin pan in preheated oven and bake for 22-25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean and muffins feel firm on top. Let sit in the pan for a few minutes before transfering the muffins to a wire rack to cool.

Makes 7 small muffins.

Breakfast Chickpea Fries with Blueberry Sauce

I don't post a lot of breakfast ideas on my blog, mostly because my breakfasts are typically pretty boring! I'll usually bring some yogurt with fruit and granola to eat when I get to my office, or if I have some homemade muffins or other baked goods stored in my freezer, I'll grab one of those to go. 

Occasionally though, I'll make the effort to prepare something a bit fancier on the weekend, like pancakes or french toast. This past weekend, I tried something new that turned out to be one of the most interesting and tasty breakfasts that I've had in a while!

I saw a recipe for french toast polenta sticks on the blog Tasty Yummies recently and thought it was such a creative idea to make a sweeter version of baked polenta "fries" that could be eaten for breakfast.

That recipe inspired me to try out a similar idea with chickpea flour instead of polenta. I've made chickpea flour "fries", also called panisse, many times in the past - they were actually one of the first recipes I posted on my blog! The basic idea is that by whisking chickpea flour into a simmering liquid on the stovetop, you can create a batter that thickens up just like polenta, and can then be cut into shapes and baked or fried.

My original version of chickpea fries was a simple mixture of chickpea flour, water, oil, salt and pepper, so to make a breakfast version, I used almond milk for the liquid and added cinnamon and vanilla extract to the batter.

You could serve the fries with maple syrup drizzled on top, but I wanted to make a dipping sauce for mine.  I had some blueberries that I had just picked up from the market, so I simmered them on the stovetop with a bit of maple syrup until they thickened up into a dippable sauce.

I thought the fries had the perfect texture - soft on the inside and slightly crispy on the outside, and the fries themselves weren't sweet, which made them the perfect base for covering in the warm blueberry sauce.

They actually reminded me of eating french toast sticks but without the batter part, which I actually prefer because it means they weren't soggy or eggy tasting like french toast can sometimes be. Not only are these fries vegan, but they're naturally gluten-free as well, making this a fun breakfast treat for everybody!

Breakfast Chickpea Fries with Blueberry Sauce

Inspired by Tasty Yummies and adapted from my original chickpea fries

Note: This recipe requires some advance preparation. I recommend making the chickpea batter the night before, then the next morning you just need to make the blueberry sauce and cook the chickpea fries.

1 cup non-dairy milk (I used vanilla almond milk)

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp cinnamon

Pinch of salt

1/2 tsp vanilla extract 

1/2 cup + 1 tbsp chickpea flour

Sauce

1/2 cup blueberries

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tbsp pure maple syrup

First, prepare the chickpea batter: Heat the milk, olive oil, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla in a small saucepan over high heat. Heat until the liquid is hot but not quite simmering.

Reduce heat to medium. Whisk in the chickpea flour slowly. Continue to whisk constantly for 2 minutes, then switch to a wooden spoon and cook for 8-10 more minutes, stirring constantly (your arm will get very sore!). Scrape down the sides of the saucepan occasionally as you stir. The batter will gradually get thicker and will start to pull away from the sides of the pan and clump together. Once it is very thick and can hold its shape, remove the pan from the heat.

Scrape the batter into a greased square cake pan or loaf pan (try to work quickly as the batter will begin to set almost immediately). It should fill about half of a square pan. Smooth the top with a spatula. Let the mixture cool for at least an hour or overnight in the refrigerator, until it is completely set.

Once cooled, invert the pan onto a cutting board. Cut the batter into sticks about 1/2”-3/4” wide.

Start making the blueberry sauce: Add blueberries and lemon juice to a small saucepan and heat over medium-high heat. Let cook until the blueberries have broken down into a chunky sauce, stirring occasionally, about 8-10 minutes. Add the maple syrup and let cook for a couple more minutes, until the liquid has reduced a bit. Keep on low heat until the fries are ready.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and spray with cooking spray or add a pat of vegan butter. Add the fries to the pan and fry for about 5-6 minutes, flipping over halfway through, until they are lightly browned. (The amount here will fit into one skillet, but if you are making a larger amount, you will need to cook them in batches, keeping the finished fries warm while you cook the rest).

Serve fries with blueberry sauce on the side for dipping. I liked to sprinkle my fries with extra cinnamon, and you can also drizzle them with maple syrup if desired.

Makes 1 large serving.

Rhubarb Recipe Round Up

As I mentioned in my last post, I've been making a lot of rhubarb recipes lately in an attempt to use up the abundance of rhubarb that my parents grow in their backyard every year. 

Since I'm always on the lookout for new recipes and ideas to use it up, I thought it might be helpful to share a round-up of some of the rhubarb recipes that I've made, plus some extra links for recipes that I've bookmarked to try next!

Breakfast

For Mothers Day this year, my sister and I made this seasonal overnight baked french toast casserole with strawberries and rhubarb from Two Peas and Their Pod. This is not traditional french toast, but more like a bread pudding with cubes of bread studded with lots of fruit and topped with a light layer of crumble. We all enjoyed this as a special breakfast treat!

Even though hot porridge seems more like a winter breakfast to me, it actually works really well to add rhubarb to your morning oats for a hearty and healthy breakfast. I made this recipe from Eating Well, which was really easy - just cook some rhubarb on the stove in the same pot as your oats, and let it sit until it thickens up like porridge. A sprinkle of toasted nuts and brown sugar on top completed the bowl perfectly!

Of course, you can't go wrong with a fresh batch of rhubarb muffins for breakfast! I haven't made any this year, but last year's rhubarb loaf/muffins with a strawberry jam swirl and crumble topping were so good that I might have to recreate them again soon!

Other Breakfast Rhubarb Recipes from Around the Web:
Vegan Rhubarb Coffee Cake from Vegan Latina
Vegan Rhubarb Coconut Scones from The Food Voyager
Rhubarb and Strawberry Whipped Porridge from Scandi Foodie
Strawberry Rhubarb Smoothie from Virtually Vegan Mama
Yogurt Parfait with Vanilla-Rhubarb Compote from Saveur
Vegan & Gluten-Free Strawberry-Rhubarb Pancakes from Fork & Beans

Savory Recipes

This past weekend, I used rhubarb in two different savory recipes: an appetizer and a salad. First, I made this chipotle rhubarb salsa from Naturally Ella as an appetizer for a family BBQ we had on Sunday. To make the salsa, you simmer some onions and rhubarb on the stovetop until the rhubarb breaks down fully, and add a dose of chipotle powder and paprika for a spicy, smoky flavour. I served this warm with tortilla chips and it made for an interesting and tasty twist on the usual tomato based salsa.

I also tried eating it chilled the next day as a topping for some crackers with brie cheese, and I really enjoyed it that way too!

If you missed my last post, this was the salad that I came up with as a way to incorporate rhubarb into dinner. I used canned lentils to speed things up, and tossed them with softened rhubarb, raisins, arugula and goat cheese, with a simple vinaigrette. I loved the tangy-ness of this salad and thought it was the perfect side dish to eat with my veggie burger!

Other Savory Rhubarb Recipes from Around the Web:
Beet and Rhubarb Salad from Yotam Ottolenghi
Indian Spiced Lentils with Spinach and Rhubarb from Vegetarian Times
Tofu with a Zesty Rhubarb Sauce from the taste space
Rhubarb and Chipotle Goat Cheese Pizza by Joanne Bruno, as seen on Marcus Samuelsson
Brie, Rhubarb and Green Peppercorn Crostini from Sunset Magazine

Dessert

Last but definitely not least are a couple of rhubarb desserts that I made this past weekend. First, I made these vegan strawberry-rhubarb crumble squares from Vegetarian Times. They tasted like rhubarb crisp but in portable bar form, and I thought they had the perfect ratio of filling to crust and crumble. I also liked the hint of orange flavour from the addition of orange juice and zest!

Finally, we finished off our BBQ meal with these strawberry-rhubarb fools that I made using another recipe from Vegetarian Times. I just changed the blackberries in the recipe to strawberries and add a handful of crushed graham crackers as a topping.  This was the perfect cool treat to end our meal on a hot day, and I loved the addition of vanilla yogurt to lighten them up instead of using all cream. Even though we were all pretty full from dinner, we still polished off our desserts since they were so good!

Other Rhubarb Dessert Recipes from Around the Web:
Vegan Rhubarb Lemon Bars from Vegan Nom Noms
Vegan Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Pie from Post Punk Kitchen
Strawberry Rhubarb Hand Pies from Southern Living
Apple Rhubarb Crisp from Closet Cooking
Vegan Double Strawberry Rhubarb Shortcakes from Fragrant Vanilla Cake
Rhubarb & Strawberry Ripple FroYo from Green Kitchen Stories
Strawberry Rhubarb Sorbet from Elly Says Opa

Scrambled Tofu with Pesto, Tomatoes & Fava Beans

I know I'm a bit late to the game with this recipe since scrambled tofu is nothing new, but this was my first time actually making it, so I wanted to post my own recipe on my blog. Plus, it turned out so pretty and colourful that I just had to share it!

If you've never heard of or tried scrambled tofu, the basic idea is to take firm tofu, crumble it up into uneven pieces, add some seasonings and cook it on the stovetop. The appearance, taste and texture resemble scrambled eggs, but only to a certain degree - I'm not sure if you'd be able to trick anyone into believing they were eating eggs instead of tofu!

This is one of the easiest ways to cook tofu, as it can be ready in about 10 minutes! I've actually used this method once before when I made a version of pad thai with scrambled tofu, but I've been wanting to try it with a more breakfasty type of recipe that highlighted the tofu as the main component.

For this version, I flavoured the tofu with a bit of nutritional yeast and garlic, and mixed in some homemade basil pesto for an even stronger boost of flavour. I also added some heirloom cherry tomatoes and fresh fava beans at the end to round out the dish with a colourful vegetable component.

I loved how fresh and seasonal this tasted from the combination of the earthy fava beans, juicy tomatoes and nutty basil pesto. A handful of pea shoots on the side was a welcome addition to the plate to lighten it up a bit more!

While I enjoyed the scramble on its own, my favourite way to eat it was wrapped up in a tortilla - kind of like a breakfast burrito but much lighter and healthier tasting! I also liked how the tortilla held all the ingredients together really well - unlike a piece of toast, which tasted good with the scramble on top but was a bit messy to eat!

Now that I know how easy it is to make scrambled tofu, and how adaptable the basic recipe is by adding flavour with different spices, sauces, and seasonal vegetables, I'll definitely have to start making it more often!

Scrambled Tofu with Pesto, Tomatoes & Fava Beans
Adapted from Vegetarian Ventures and An Endless Road

Small package (175g) firm tofu

1/4 tsp turmeric (optional for a brighter yellow colour)

1 tbsp nutritional yeast

Salt and pepper

2 tsp olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

~1/2 cup sliced cherry or grape tomatoes (I used heirloom tomatoes)

2-3 tbsp shelled fava beans*

2-3 tbsp pesto (I used this basil pesto recipe)

Handful of pea shoots (optional)

Tortillas for serving (I made my own using this recipe, cut in half to make two tortillas)

Remove tofu from package, squeezing out any excess water. Crumble tofu using your hands or a fork into a bowl. Add the turmeric and nutritional yeast and stir until mixed. Season with salt and pepper.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add garlic and sauté for about 30 seconds. Add tofu and cook, stirring often, for about 7 minutes. Add the tomatoes and fava beans and cook for another minute or two. Stir in the pesto and let cook until the pesto is heated through and evenly mixed into the tofu.

Serve warm, with pea shoots on top and tortillas for making wraps if desired (you could also just serve this with a side of toast). Season with additional salt and pepper if desired.

Makes 2 servings. 

*I started with fresh fava beans (in the pods), then removed the whole beans inside, steamed them briefly and then squeezed the actual beans out of the skin encasing them. Here are a couple of links that explain how to shell fava beans. 

Coconut Mango Breakfast Cake

With the long weekend coming up, and the Easter holiday for those who celebrate it, this weekend should be a busy one filled with family and food! And for anyone who plans on doing some Spring baking this weekend, I've got a nice light breakfast cake recipe for you today.

This cake will also get you in the mood for warmer weather (which hopefully comes soon!) with its tropical notes of coconut and mango. Plus it has a fun twist - instead of adding fruit to the cake batter, mango slices are laid on top of the cake before baking, so that it comes out looking like rays of sunshine!

The idea for this recipe came from including cake, a blog that has tons of unique vegan creations (I have so many of her recipes bookmarked!). Her version was a coconut "sweetbread" with nectarines and cinnamon, which I changed to mango and ginger to complement the coconut flavour even more.

The original recipe was made with gluten-free self-raising flour, but since I wanted to stick with baking methods that I'm more experienced with, I made my cake with light spelt flour and added baking powder (sorry to my gluten-free readers!).

The cake itself was lightly sweetened with a hint of coconut, so the mango slices on top added a welcome burst of sweetness and kept the cake from being dry.

My favourite thing about this cake was the texture - it's soft and chewy, kind of like a cross between bread and coffee cake. I also found it to be really light tasting, which is why it's appropriate as a breakfast cake!

This is the type of breakfast that I couldn't get enough of  - I tried just eating one piece, but found myself going back for another, and then another. So be careful if you make this with the intention of sharing it with others, because it might be difficult to share!

Hope you all have a lovely weekend!

Coconut Mango Breakfast Cake
Adapted from including cake

1/2 cup + 1/3 cup light spelt flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground ginger (this adds a strong ginger flavour - use 1/2 tsp for less strong)

1/4 tsp kosher salt

2 tbsp unsweetened shredded coconut

1/3 cup mashed banana (1 small ripe banana)

1 tbsp agave nectar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1-2 tbsp almond milk

1-2 tbsp large flaked coconut (I used a mixture of unsweetened coconut flakes + sweeteened coconut chips)

Half a ripe mango

Preheat oven to 350°F and prepare a baking sheet or a cake pan by spraying with cooking spray (I used a 9” round cake pan but a baking sheet should work fine).

In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour through to coconut). In a separate bowl, mix the mashed banana, agave, and vanilla. Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon until the dry ingredients are incorporated. If the  mixture is still too dry, add almond milk 1 tablespoon at a time until there are no more dry parts (I used 1 tbsp).

Drop mixture onto the baking sheet or cake pan and use a rubber spatula to spread it out into a circle about 6” wide and 1” thick. Sprinkle the coconut flakes on top.  Carefully slice or peel off the skin of the mango and cut one half lengthwise into thin slices (save the other half for another use).  Lay the mango slices on top of the cake so that they join in the middle and point outwards (as shown in the photos). Press them down lightly into the cake.

Bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Makes one 6” cake (2 large servings or more as a snack)

Bran Flake Cereal with Almonds and Cranberries

When it comes to snacking, I'm not one to shy away from having an evening snack while watching TV, but I do like to keep my snack options pretty healthy.  I like to munch on things like rice cakes and mini bags of popcorn, and my current favourite late-night treat is a bag of these apple cinnamon snack sticks that I picked up from Trader Joes.

Most often, my snack of choice is a box of cereal. I do have a few criteria though - it has to be on the healthier side with lower sugar, and it has to have a mixture of flakey pieces with smaller crunchy clusters for variety, and bonus points for having extra ingredients like nuts and dried cranberries.

Since I always have a hard time finding a cereal at the grocery store that matches those requirements, I finally decided to make my own mix, and I couldn't be happier with the results!

The inspiration to make my own cereal came from a recipe I saw on Pom Wonderful's site. It sounded pretty easy once you have the right ingredients, and I knew that I could customize the recipe a bit to make a personalized cereal mix.

When I went to the bulk bins of the nearest organic store to pick up my ingredients, I had a bit of a setback when I couldn't find any bran flakes other than the ones that come in a giant bag. Since I didn't need a huge bag, and the packaged variety also contained more sugar than I wanted, I changed directions a bit and decided to make my own bran flakes!

Using a recipe I found online, it was actually easier that I would have thought to make bran flakes using common pantry ingredients like whole wheat flour, wheat bran and ground nuts. The trick is to make sure you roll your dough out really thin so that you end up with light and crispy flakes, shown below:

Once you've made the bran flakes, you combine them with a mixture of other dry flakes and sliced almonds with a healthy dose of cinnamon and vanilla for flavour. The process is basically the same as making your own granola - mix the dry and wet ingredients, then bake in the oven - except this cereal stays looser rather than clumping up like a crunchy granola.

The only sweetness in the cereal comes from a bit of pure maple syrup, plus some dried cranberries that I added after baking.  I loved that I was able to control all of the ingredients that went into my cereal, as well as the amount of sugar. I thought it had just enough sweetness and I loved the notes of cinnamon and vanilla that came through.

This makes a great snacking cereal (my favourite bits were the larger bran flakes!), but I also tried it as a breakfast cereal with almond milk and really liked it that way too.

While I don't think I'll be making my own cereal all the time from now on, I learned that it's easier than you may think, and it's fun to be able to customize your own mix yourself!

Bran Flake Cereal with Almonds and Cranberries
Adapted from PomWonderful and Mr. Breakfast

1 cup bran flakes, purchased or homemade from this recipe*
1 cup other mixed dry flakes (I used 1/3 cup each of rye flakes, spelt flakes and barley flakes)
1/3 cup oat flakes
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup wheat bran (can substitute wheat germ)
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp melted coconut oil
1/3 cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 275ºF and prepare a large baking sheet by lining with parchment paper.

Mix all the dry ingredients (bran flakes through to salt) in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the maple syrup and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and add the coconut oil. Gently mix everything together.

Spread cereal in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet and place in the preheated oven. Bake for 40-45 minutes, flipping once halfway through. Remove from oven and add cranberries. Let cool completey, then transfer to a sealed container to store.

Makes 1 large batch.

*Note: I cut the bran flake recipe in half, which gave me 1 cup. If you prefer a higher ratio of bran flakes in your cereal, feel free to make the whole bran flake recipe and reduce the amount of other flakes in your cereal.

Blueberry Pancakes with Persimmon Topping

As I'm sure all of you know, Valentine's Day is coming up in just a couple of days. Perhaps lesser known is the fact that there are actually two special holidays this week, and today is one of my favourite holidays of the year: Pancake Tuesday!

Pancake Tuesday, also known as Fat Tuesday or Shrove Tuesday, is a holiday that I've grown up with. For those of you who aren't familiar with it, today is the last day before Lent and was traditionally associated with eating a rich meal to use up ingredients like eggs and milk, which is how pancakes became the customary meal eaten on this day!

For my family and I, we just liked having a reason to eat breakfast for dinner once a year, and we always looked forward to making a big batch of different types of pancakes to enjoy together.

So in honour of that tradition, I have a new pancake recipe to share with you today! I actually made these about a month ago when I picked up my first persimmons ever from the market and needed to come up with ideas for ways to use them.

Persimmons look sort of like tomatoes and taste similar to apricots, with notes of spices like cinnamon and nutmeg. The Fuyu variety (which I bought) has a firm texture that softens up a bit when cooked, so I thought they would make an amazing pancake topping.  All you need to do is chop your persimmons and simmer them on the stove with warm spices and maple syrup until they get nice and soft, warm and gooey. The best way I think to describe the flavour of the topping was that it tasted like Christmas!

Since I also had some blueberries on hand, I decided to make blueberry pancakes as the base for my persimmon topping, which turned out to be the perfect choice! Blueberry pancakes were always my favourite kind of pancake to eat on Pancake Tuesday, and they paired so well with the persimmons.

The pancakes themselves were super thick and fluffy from the addition of coconut flour - a tip I picked up from Peachy Palate (who has tons of other vegan pancake recipes on her blog too!). These were on the denser side though, so if you prefer a lighter pancake, feel free to use your own vegan pancake recipe as the base, but I highly recommend adding the blueberries!

I thought these hearty blueberry spelt pancakes with the warm persimmon topping made for a nice filling winter breakfast, and they could also be a great dinner tonight for those of you planning to celebrate Pancake Tuesday!

Single Serving Vegan Blueberry Pancakes with Persimmon Topping
Note: I used this pancake recipe from Peachy Palate, but feel free to use your own favourite vegan pancake recipe, with blueberries added to the batter (see directions below).

Persimmon Topping
1 ripe Fuyu persimmon, peeled and chopped

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Pinch each of cardamom, nutmeg and cloves

3 tbsp water

1 tbsp maple syrup

Place all ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until the persimmons are soft. If it starts to look too dry, add another tablespoon of water.

Keep warm on low heat until the pancakes are ready.

Pancakes

1 recipe for coconut flour pancakes (just the pancakes, not the toppings)

Note: I added 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1/2 tsp vanilla to the batter for more flavour

~1/3 cup blueberries

Follow the recipe directions for the pancakes in the link above. When you add the batter to the pan to cook the pancakes, add a handful of blueberries to each pancake, distributing them evenly and pressing them into the batter with your fingers. Flip and cook the other side of the pancake.

Serve warm, topped with persimmon sauce and more maple syrup if desired.

Makes 1 large serving (3 pancakes)

Pumpkin Recipe Round-Up

Now that both Canadian Thanksgiving and Halloween are over and the month of November is here, it feels like pumpkin season is practically over too!  So before you all get too sick of seeing pumpkin recipes on blogs, I thought I would do a round-up of some of the pumpkin recipes that I've tried so far this year!

Whenever I open one of those huge cans of pumpkin, I need lots of ideas for ways to use it up - it seems like most recipes only call for a small amount of it, especially when I'm making small batches or single servings, so it usually takes me a while to get through the can!

One way that I used my last can of pumpkin was adding it to a smoothie.  I based this one off of a few recipes I found on the internet and used my usual ratio of frozen banana and milk to get a nice thick, cold drink. The pumpkin was detectable without being too strong, and I liked the spices.  This is a nice option for the mornings if you're not in the mood for a hot pumpkin latte!

Pumpkin Latte Smoothie

1 frozen banana, chopped

1/4 cup pumpkin puree

1 cup almond milk

1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1-2 tsp maple syrup or agave syrup (to taste)

1-2 tsp instant coffee

Dash of cinnamon

Blend all ingredients and serve immediately.

Makes 1 serving.

Other than smoothies, two other easy ways to use up canned pumpkin in the mornings are by adding it to hot oatmeal or to cold yogurt, both of which I've done a lot this season!  For my oatmeal, I admit to using a packet of instant oatmeal, with a couple spoonfuls of pumpkin stirred in and topped with maple syrup and lots of cinnamon  - a nice warm bowl to start off a cold Fall morning!

I also love making my own pumpkin yogurt by stirring a bit of pumpkin puree into vanilla yogurt and adding a dash of pumpkin pie spice.  If you use vanilla flavoured yogurt, I find that no extra sweetener is needed.

Add some granola and you've got yourself the perfect snack or breakfast - even better if you have pumpkin granola, like the one pictured above (which is actually a pic from last year because I didn't have a recent one of my pumpkin yogurt)!

One of my favourite things that I made with pumpkin this year was this snack cake.  I love baking with pumpkin because it adds a lot of moisture and produces such a nice texture. This recipe for pumpkin bars that I adapted from Chocolate Covered Katie is no exception!

Instead of baking mine in an 8x8 pan, I used one mini-loaf pan and one mini round cake pan, so that I ended up with a taller, fluffier cake. I loved the texture and taste of this cake - it had just the right amount of spices and was still really light and healthy.  It definitely didn't last as long as I thought it would before it was all eaten up!

I also wanted to make a healthy pumpkin snack in the form of energy balls that I could bring to school with me for a quick bite. I followed this recipe for raw pumpkin donut holes from Oh, Ladycakes with a few changes - I used half cashews and half walnuts, rolled oats that I ground into flour instead of the oat groat flour, and I added a dash of cinnamon and salt.

I really loved these - they tasted just like pumpkin pie but in a raw, chewy form! I cut the recipe down but afterwards I wished I hadn't!

Next was this pumpkin gingerbread soft serve, which is made in the same way as the popular banana soft serve, but has canned pumpkin, molasses, and pumpkin spice added in. I loved this seasonal variation on banana soft serve, and it's even healthy enough to eat for breakfast!

Of course, snacks, baked goods, and desserts aren't the only things you can make with canned pumpkin! I have lots of bookmarked dinner recipes that feature pumpkin, but the only one that I've actually made so far this year was this Golden Trio Soup from Healthy.Happy.Life.

I happened to have leftover butternut squash, sweet potato, and canned pumpkin (the golden trio) all sitting in my fridge, so this recipe was the perfect thing to make!  I made a few minor changes based on what I had on hand, like using coconut milk instead of almond milk, but I thought the flavours all combined really well and made a thick, creamy soup that I could scoop up with bread.

This definitely made me want to experiment more with savory pumpkin recipes!

Hopefully it's not too late in the season to keep trying out pumpkin recipes, because there are so many more that I've seen on other blogs that I'd love to try - including these pumpkin molasses cookies, pumpkin bagels, pumpkin black bean burgers, and pumpkin chili!  And if not, I guess there's always next year!