Posts Tagged ‘breakfast’

This morning I cooked up some Sunday morning brunch to start the week off right! Before I retire my Eat Drink and Be Vegan cookbook to the shelf for a while I decided to make one last recipe. Since I had some left over Celestial Crème from last weekend, I decided to make crepes so that I could use the rest of the crème as a topping!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 Tbsp ground flax seed
• 1 1/2 cup plain soy milk (or regular skim milk)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 Tbsp canola oil
• 1 cup spelt flour*
• 1/8 tsp sea salt
• Oil to coat pan
• 1-2 cups strawberries, thinly sliced (you can use any fruit you like)

In small bowl whisk together flax seed and milk. In large bowl combine flour and salt. Add wet mixture to dry mixture and whisk to combine. Oil a nonstick skillet and place over medium heat. Scoop 1/4 cup of batter onto pan and immediately remove from heat as you move the pan around to spread the batter to make a large circle. Return pan to heat and allow to cook about 1 minute until crepe is dry on top and easy to flip.

Using a wide spatula flip crepe and cook on other side for another minute. Continue making crepes until batter is all used up. Fill half of the crepe with fruit and fold over. Top with Celestial Crème. Recipe makes about 10 small crepes. These crepes are really yummy and super easy!

You can also use this recipe to make savory crepes filled with cheese, veggies, and herbs. Just omit the vanilla extract in the recipe above. I may use my extra crepes for a savory lunch or dinner crepe later in the week!

*Note: spelt is a non-hybrid primitive relative of our present day wheat that dates back more than 9,000 years. Spelt has a unique nutty flavor and because of its high water solubility, its vital nutrients are quickly absorbed into the body. Spelt flour can be used as a substitute to any recipe calling for wheat flour.

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Sunday morning called for pancakes! I was feeling adventurous so I went with a recipe for Raspberry Cornmeal Pancakes out of Eat Drink and Be Vegan!

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp flax seed
• 1 cup + 2 Tbsp soy milk
• 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp oat flour
• 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 1/8 tsp sea salt
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp almond extract
• 1 1/2 Tbsp canola oil
• 1 cup fresh raspberries

In small bowl combine flax seed and milk; set aside. In large bowl combine flour, cornmeal, and salt. Sift in baking powder and stir to combine well. Add almond extract and oil to flax mixture. Combine wet mixture with dry ingredients, stir to mix. Gently stir in raspberries. Lightly coat a non-stick pan with oil and heat to medium-high. Reduce heat to medium before scooping batter into pan to form pancakes. Cook for several minutes until small bubbles form on edges. Flip and cook other side for another 2-3 minutes until golden brown. Recipe makes about 9 medium pancakes.

Instead of the standard maple syrup, I decided to top my pancakes with Celestial Cream, another recipe from Eat Drink and Be Vegan and sprinkled finished them off with a pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg.

Celestial Cream Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
• 1/2 cup Earth Balance Buttery Spread
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 12 oz silken tofu
• 1/4 tsp sea salt.

In small sauce pan, heat maple syrup and margarine on low heat and stir until margarine melts. Add vanilla, tofu, and salt. Blend ingredients together in a blender or with a hand blender until smooth. Use cream on top of pancakes, waffles, pies, cakes, or any of your favorite desserts!

The pancakes were of course delicious, although they do take a bit longer to cook than non-vegan pancake, but well worth the wait! The cream was incredible! I was truly shocked at how delicious this was considering it was made from tofu! It tasted like frosting over my pancakes; absolutely mouthwatering! I froze the extra cream to use at a later date. With a topping this good, I am going to have to make pancakes every weekend!

What’s your favorite unique pancake topping?

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Yesterday morning, after a 5 mile run in the gorgeous summer weather, I went to brunch at Eggsperience Pancakes & Cafe in the River North area of downtown Chicago. Eggsperience is a newly opened 24 hour breakfast/lunch/dinner restaurant that I had hear nothing but great things about, so I had to check it out!

Eggsperience was bustling on a Saturday afternoon (picture above from www.eggsperiencecafe.com); luckily we only had to wait about 15 minutes to get a table. The menu at Eggsperience is endless, they have everything from omelets, pancakes, and crepes to salads, burgers, and paninis.

Upon looking at the menu, I came across a picture of this; the The Famous Oven Baked Apple Pancake. If a restaurant is known for a certain dish, I always have to try it, how else can you get the full restaurant experience without it! I absolutely had to have this pancake. Everything in moderation right?

The Oven Baked Apple Pancake is layered with fresh apples and topped with cinnamon glaze. I barely made it through a forth of this monster pancake before coming to a screeching halt of extreme fullness. Every bite of this pancake was loaded with flavors of baked apple and caramelized sugar, it was incredible! The portions at Eggsperience are enormous, so be careful what you order! I learned this the hard way and ended up taking the majority of my meal home with me!

One of my favorite things to do is go out to breakfast, so far I have fallen in love with Yolk and the Bongo Room here in Chicago, and now I’ll have to add Eggsperience to the list! What’s your favorite breakfast restaurant?

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Happy 4th of July! I hope everyone had a great holiday! This morning I made my way over to the Aksarben Village Farmers Market over by the new Wohlner’s neighborhood grocery on 60th and Center. Despite the fact that it was pouring, the market was rather crowded! Among an assortment of free samples, I came home with some zucchini (both round and oblong in shape), carrots, eggs, lettuce, grape tomatoes, corn, and coffee from Caffeine Dreams, a local coffee shop here in Omaha. I got English Toffee, Sumatra, and Pumpkin Spice; all of which smell absolutely amazing!

After the farmers market I was ready to go somewhere indoors to dry off, so I headed to the bookstore (one of few places open on holidays). I was only looking for one book in particular, but naturally came home with three books instead!

1. The Mediterranean Diabetes Cookbook by Amy Riolo: I saw this book advertised in the May edition of Today’s Dietitian and had to have it. The Mediterranean diet is known to be one of the healthiest in the world due to the use of lean meats and fish, healthy oils, and a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables providing fiber, omega-3 fatty acids, and antioxidants. These recipes can help lower blood pressure, control blood glucose levels, and lower your risk for heart disease; regardless of whether or not you have diabetes anyone can benefit from the Mediterranean diet. The recipes in this book sound so tasty I can’t wait to cook some Mediterranean cuisine!

2. What to Eat by Marion Nestle: The book is about uncovering the true meaning of product labels, marketing jargon, and how big food companies try to influence our choices. In this guide to sensible food shopping and healthy eating Nestle offers advice about which food trends to embrace and which to trash.

3. Local Flavors by Deborah Madison: Ever since I read Animal Vegetable Miracle where Barbara Kingsolver constantly references this book, I have been wanting to get it. This book is all about cooking and eating seasonally and locally from your neighborhood farmers market. It offers one-of-a-kind ideas and recipes for those unique farmers market finds; not to mention all of the gorgeous pictures that fill the book cover to cover.

(All of these books remind me that I need to do some updating on the Read Chic page…I’ll work on that tomorrow, sorry for being so behind on things lately!)

The rain finally let up around 6pm and I was finally able to go for my 8 mile long run. I took a nice long stroll through a couple parks around my neighborhood and returned home to a backyard barbeque where turkey sausages were being grilled for dinner. I also listened to Women & Money by Suze Orman on my ipod while I ran, nothing like a little financial advice while you sweat!

There are not too many fireworks going on tonight due to the rain earlier today, but I was still able to enjoy a festive 4th of July dinner while watching fireworks on tv! I just finished putting together a couple Quick Breakfast Stratas using my farmers market produce! I will pop those in the oven tomorrow morning for the family for breakfast!

Happy 4th everyone!

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Unfortunately the weather here in Chicago has been rainy and gloomy all weekend! But that didn’t stop me from going to the Green City Market farmer’s market for the first time this summer yesterday morning! Located at the south end of Lincoln park between Clark and Stockton Drive, Green City Market is open on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 7am-1pm. Green City Market has over 55 vendors and proudly supports local, fresh, and sustainably raised farm products.

I had heard nothing but great things about Green City Market so I rode my bike to Lincoln Park to check it out yesterday morning! The weather held up on my way out there and I came home with a few goodies!

I bought organic strawberries, a loaf of Honey Oat bread from Bennison’s Bakery, a family run bakery in Evaston, IL and Brun-uusto Baked  Cheese with Garlic from Brunkow’s Cheese in Darlington, Wisconsin. Brun-Uusto cheese is extremely unique. It is a version of Juustalepia, a variety of cheese from Sweden and Finland whose name translates to “bread cheese”. The cheese is baked to form a tasty crust similar to toasted bread and is best enjoyed cut up into cubes and grilled on a skillet or outdoor grill to bring out it’s rich buttery flavor. At Green City Market, vendors grill multiple Brunn-uusto cheese flavors including Jalepeno, Garlic, and Original; all of which are tough to resist!

Towards the end of my visit to the farmers market the clouds rolled in and rain began to pour down, leaving me without and umbrella and completely drenched. I was not about to ride home in the rain so I walked around in search of a place to have some breakfast and came across Perennial, a local brunch stop on Lincoln Avenue. Located right across the street from Green City Market, Perennial is dedicated to using local and sustainable produce whenever possible.

After drying off and warming up with a hot cup of coffee ordered French Toast; an almond baguette topped with apples, lemon ginger, and creme fraishe.

My boyfriend Will went with the Strawberry Pancakes; pancakes with Cap’n Crunch strudel with vanilla milk custard. Both dishes were delicious, but I much preferred the French toast over the pancakes! Perennial was such a fun place to stop on a Saturday morning; the contemporary atmosphere was bustling and the food was incredible! I may have to make this a permanent stop whenever I go to Green City Market!

Luckily the ran let up just long enough for me to bike home! However I don’t think the weather is going to be much better today.

Have you been to any farmer’s markets yet this summer? Check out our Top 5 Farmer’s Market Tips to help you on your next trip!

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