Tofu Scramble

      Sometimes I surprise myself. Like last weekend when I went to find my tofu scramble recipe on my blog and realized it didn't exist. Well that is just unacceptable. I've been using this recipe, and variations of it, for years now. It's a brunch staple in our house and a great way to get your protein first thing in the morning.

     Paired with some toast and a couple slices of tomato, or over a bed of quinoa with some avocado, this recipe is sure to please. 

If you're like me, and enjoy eating breakfast for dinner, this is a great option! Add a teaspoon of curry powder and a pinch of cayenne and you're on your way to a quick and delicious dinner. 

Serves: 2-3 3/4 cup servings (one serving of protein)

Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

• 1-2 Tbsp olive or canola oil
• Pinch of chili flakes (optional)
• One small onion or 3 green onions, diced (about 1/2 cup/125mL)
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tsp cumin 
• 1/4 tsp coriander 
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 package firm tofu, 350-450g, rinsed and patted dry
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• 1 cup of greens (spinach, Swiss chard, beet tops, arugula, cabbage....), ribboned
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• Salt and pepper to taste 

Preparation

1. Heat oil with optional chili flakes in a pan over medium heat.
2. Sauté onions until translucent (about 5 minutes), then add garlic and spices. Sautee for one minute or until fragrant.
3. With clean hands, crumble tofu into the pan and stir to coat tofu with seasoning.
4. Drizzle soy sauce on tofu and stir. 
5. Let sauté until most of the liquid in the pan from the tofu has cooked off, 7-15 minutes depending on the tofu' sweater content.
6. Add the greens and cover. Let cook for 5 minutes.
7. Stir in nutritional yeast and taste for seasoning. 
8. Remove from heat and let cool for a couple of minutes before serving.

Vegan Pumpkin-Beer Bread

     These past few days have been feeling very fall-like. Between classes back in session and the cool autumn breeze, and even the release of Pumpkin Spice Lattes at Starbucks (not that it's vegan appropriate) I figured I should re-post one of my favourite fall recipes. This Vegan Pumpkin-Beer Bread is one of my all-time favourite fall recipes.

     We made this last night and were very satisfied, once again. This bread is moist but hearty. If you made my chocolate zucchini bread last post, this bread is definitely more of a bread than a cake, I promise this time. This pumpkin bread is just subtlety sweet with pumpkin-pie like aromatics. It makes for a perfect breakfast or a snack for school or work.

     This recipe was inspired my a recipe on Slate. It's not vegan but you can check it out here

Serves: One 9-inch loaf, serves 12

Ingredients

• vegan margarine for greasing the pan
• 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour,can use a mixture of white and whole-wheat
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 heaping teaspoons pumpkin pie spice OR
• 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• Pinch ground nutmeg (optional)
• Pinch ground Asian 5-spice (or allspice)
• 3 tablespoons margarine
• 1 cup pumpkin purée (a third of a can)
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup pumpkin ale, I suggest "St-Ambroise Pumpkin Ale"; alternatively, use mulled apple cider

Preparation

1. Heat the oven to 350°F. With margarine, grease a 9" loaf pan. Combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices in a large mixing bowl.
2. In a medium sauce pan over low heat melt margarine. Stir in the pumpkin and brown sugar until smooth. Pour the pumpkin ale or cider into the sauce pan and mix until smooth. 
3. Add the wet pumpkin mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until combined, then transfer the batter to the greased loaf pan.
4. Bake at 400°F for 45 minutes to 1 hour. If you can smell the bread from the living room, it's probably done! Otherwise, bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes in the loaf pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Leftovers should be covered and stored at room temperature for up to 5 days, although I've never seen it last that long....its normally finished in 3 days.

Vegan Baked Banana French Toast (or is it Bread Pudding?)

     Do you know what is better than Saturday brunch? 

     Sunday Brunch. I say brunch because this is usually a dish I eat with Ryan, but seeing as I'm a morning bird, I've already had my morning coffee and a snack/first breakfast and have started doing homework or typing up a blog post (like this morning) before he wakes up. Anyways, I've got the perfect recipe for your Sunday brunch or breakfast: super easy baked banana french toast or bread pudding (really, it's all the same thing). Seriously, there are only a handful of ingredients and you only need to dirty one mixing bowl and of course whatever you are baking this bad boy in. Seeing as we prefer not to eat eggs here at No Empty Fridge, we make our custard base out of bananas, non-dairy milk and cornstarch. It really is that easy. Since we like to get a little extra protein boost in the A.M., I like to add some toasted walnuts to the mix. Turns out great. This baked french toast casserole is rather firm so that you can serve it with a spatula or a large flat spoon but it's still soft and creamy on the inside. If you like it more custardy, take it out of the oven earlier, or leave it in a smidgen longer if you like it firmer.

Serves: 2-4
Time: 15 min + bake 30 min 

Ingredients

• 4-6 pieces of bread, cut into 1" by 2-3" chunks, or left whole
• 1 large ripe banana
• 1 cup non-dairy milk, I use regular soy milk
• 2 Tbsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp canola oil
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted (optional)
• Margarine

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°F/175°C. 
2. Place your walnuts, if using, in your baking dish (see below), and toast uncovered while your oven is getting up to temp. By the time your oven gets up to temp your walnuts should be toasted (depending on how fast your oven heats up), but if they don't yet seem toasted enough, you can toast them for a couple more minutes at 350°F, checking often to make sure they don't burn.
3. In a large mixing bowl mash banana until creamy, if your banana is really ripe you can do this with a whisk, otherwise use a fork.
4. Whisk in soy milk, cornstarch, cinnamon, vanilla extract and canola oil. Mix in chopped walnuts if using.
5. Coat all of the bread in the mixture. The older your bread is, the longer it will need to sit. Let sit for about 5-15 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes to make sure all of your bread gets coated in and absorbs the banana custard.
6. While soaking up the banana custard, lightly grease a small baking dish, I use a 7"x7" square or a 9" oval  glass or ceramic baking dish.
7. Mix your bread mixture one last time before pouring into your baking dish. Bake uncovered for 25-30 minutes.
8. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before serving with fresh fruit and a strong coffee.

and ready to bake

Have any favourite vegan breakfast or brunch options? Let me know!

Morning Glory Muffins

 A.K.A. banana-carrot-apple/pear-coconut-raisin muffins

It seems that every time I talk with my dad, he complains that he wants my mom to bake him something. He was a bit jealous when I told him I made these muffins. They've got pretty much everything he loves in them: carrots, raisins, coconut, banana and nuts. Can you ask for a more tasty way to start off your morning? 

Serves: 12 muffins

Ingredients

1 large banana, mashed
3/4 cup soy milk or other non dairy milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup white sugar

2 cups flour, half whole wheat, half white
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp salt

1 large pear or apple, pealed and chopped
1 cup grated carrot
1/2 cup shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened up to you, I've used both)
1/2 cup raisins

1/2 chopped pecans for topping

Preparations

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a muffin tin, or line with muffin liners (Do not need to grease if using a silicon muffin tray).
2. In a large mixing bowl, mash banana and mix with all wet ingredients and sugar.
3. In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda, spices and salt.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix to combine.
5. To the batter, add the chopped fruit, grated carrot, raisins and coconut and mix well.
6. Distribute the batter evenly, top the muffins with the chopped pecans and place in your preheated oven at 350°F.
7. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes in the muffin tray before transferring the muffins to a wire rack and cooling for an additional 5-10 minutes before chowing down.

Coconut Apricot Bars

       On their own, these tasty Coconut Apricot Bars are a great breakfast or snack option. They are not too sweet but with the addition of a scoop of vanilla or coconut ice cream on top or a sprinkle of icing sugar, these bars also make an excellent dessert. 

       The base of the bar has heart healthy omega-3 and omega-6's from the flax as well as fiber from the whole wheat flour. The topping is filled with chopped apricots, almonds and pecans, as well as a coconut caramel-like sauce. These coconut apricot bars are a healthy alternative to traditional "Magic Bars". Just as tasty, but use a lot less sugar and use better fats. Saturated fat from coconut products contains short chain fatty acids, which unlike their animal product competitors are not processed the same way and are less likely to clog up you arteries.       

Serves: 12 large dessert size bars (3"x3") or  24-36 medium-small bars

Ingredients

Base:
1/2 cup margarine
1 tbsp molasses
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tbsp ground flax seed 
3 tbsp water
1/8 tsp ground ginger, heaping
3/4 cup white flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour

Coconut condensed milk:
1 can coconut milk
2/3 cup brown sugar, packed

Topping:
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut 
1 cup dried chopped apricot*
1 cup chopped nuts, a combination of pecans and almonds or your favourite
2/3 cup Ritz crackers, about 12-15, chopped or lightly crushed*

optional: icing sugar or vanilla or coconut ice cream   

Preparation

1. Turn on the oven to 375°F and toast nuts for 8 minutes while the oven is preheating and lightly grease 13x9 inch pyrex pan. 
2.To make the base, beat margarine with brown sugar, ground flax seed, water, molasses and ginger and then mix in the flour. Pour into the greased pyrex pan and press with your fingers, bake for 10 minutes at 375°F. 
3. In a small sauce pan combine the entire can of coconut milk and the packed brown sugar. Simmer on medium-low heat for 12-14 minutes, stirring occasionally so that the condensing coconut milk doesn't boil over. If a thin film forms, whisk it back into the condensed coconut milk. Final product should be a medium thick milk of a light caramel colour.
4. Combine coconut, apricot, nuts and Ritz crackers in a bowl.
5. Pour 2/3  of the prepared coconut condensed milk on top of the baked base, this should cover the majority of the base.
6. Evenly distribute the coconut, fruit and nut mixture on top and drizzle remaining coconut milk mixture on top of this layer.
7. Bake at 375°F for 20-25 minutes, the coconut milk should be golden brown around the edges.

8. Chill completely (~2h) before cutting.

9. Eat as is for a snack or for breakfast. If serving for dessert, add a scoop of vanilla or coconut ice cream on top of a large square cut bar or dust a fine layer of icing sugar on top before serving.  

*if particularly dry, can be soaked in a bit of water for a couple of minutes

*if you like sweet and salty desserts, you can use Ritz original, otherwise use low sodium Ritz crackers

Overnight Oats

     When I need to leave the house in a rush to get to work in the morning, I make myself a batch of overnight oats the evening before. This simple but tasty recipe has at least one serving from all the food groups, which is much healthier than my usual: buttered toast. Plus it's incredibly easy. 
     I make my overnight oats with ground flaxseed, which is a good source of essential omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants and fiber. All the more reason to add flax to your diet!
     Below, I've included my favourite preparation for overnight oats, but the possibilities are endless. I love blueberry oats, but I've also used dried dates, raspberries, strawberries and apple in place of the blueberries.

Serves: 1 (or 2 depending on how much you can eat for breakfast. I eat it all...)

Ingredients

1/2 cup of oats, I use half large flakes and half quick oats
2 tbsp ground flaxseed
1/2 banana 
1 cup non-dairy milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract (omit if using vanilla flavoured milk) or 1 tbsp coconut milk
1/2 tbsp - 1 tbsp agave, maple syrup or honey
1 heaping tbsp unsweetened shredded coconut
1/4 cup chopped almonds or other nuts
1/3-1/2 cup blueberries or other berries or chopped fruit

Having my oats poolside,
while I prepare for a long day at work.

Preparation

In a small jar, combine oats and ground flax seed.
Add half of a banana and mash into the oat-flax mixture. The other half of the banana can be used in a second batch or eaten in the morning with the oats.
Next add the wet ingredients to the jar, including the milk, vanilla extract or coconut milk and sweetener of choice, as well as the shredded coconut and nuts. 
Screw on a lid and shake well to combine, making sure there are no ingredients sticking to the walls of the jar.
Finally, add in your fruit and mix gently, either with a fork or by shaking it.
Refrigerate overnight and enjoy in the morning!
Can be refrigerated for up to 4 days.

Fresh Blueberry Muffins

Wow, it's been a while since I last posted. You'd think that I'd have more free time during the summer, but I've been working so much that I have even less time to cook than I did during the school year. On my last day off, I whipped up a tasty batch of blueberry muffins with some banana to change them up a bit. 

They turned out great! They were super moist from the banana and super tasty from everything else we put in them. And not to brag or anything, but they are good for you too: each muffin is packed with fruit and contains only about 3% of your daily fat and sodium.

Feel like a little nutrition lesson? 

One Tim Hortons classic Blueberry Muffin has 570mg of sodium, which is 38% of the sodium you need in a day, based on your Adequate Intake. 570mg of sodium equates to a 1/4 tsp of salt - that's in every muffin. I used that much salt in my entire batch of muffins! So one of my muffins has just less than 3% of your daily sodium. Now, I'm using Adequate Intake because that is the ideal value that you should be basing your diet on. But Nutritional Facts tables, like the one on your cereal box, base their percent daily value on the Upper Tolerable Intake Level (UL), which is the maximum daily intake.The UL for sodium is 2000mg; the Adequate Intake is 1500mg. This means that if you follow the Nutritional Facts tables, you could be consuming a lot more sodium than you need.

A Nutritional Facts table would tell you that your Tim's Blueberry Muffin only has 28% of your daily sodium, when in fact is has 38%. This is a problem. In Canada, over 85% of males and about 75% of females have sodium intakes above the UL, putting them at a higher risk of high blood pressure, hypertension, heart disease, obesity and cancer -  they don't include those warnings on Tim Hortons muffins, but maybe they should.  When in doubt, cut the sodium out. 

Speaking of which, here's my recipe:

Bake at: 375°F

Makes: 12-16 muffins

Ingredients

2 cups fresh blueberries, washed (~1 pint)
1 tbsp flour

1 ripe banana, mashed
1 tbsp ground flax seed with 2 tbsp water
1/8 cup vegetable oil
1 cup white sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp vinegar
2 tsp baking soda

1 cup white four 
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/3 cup soymilk or other milk

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Wash blueberries, then toss in 1 tbsp of flour to coat and set aside. 
In a medium mixing bowl, mash the banana then add the ground flax and water and let the mixture sit for a couple of minutes while you measure out the rest of the ingredients. Next add the vegetable oil, sugar, vanilla, vinegar and baking soda to the banana-flax mixture and mix well.
Mix the dry ingredients together, then add this to the wet mixture and fold it in gently.
Incorporate the soy milk into the mixture until smooth, then add the blueberries.
Grease a metal muffin tray, or use muffin cups or a silicone muffin tray. Evenly distribute the batter in the muffin tins.
Bake at 375°F for 20-30 minutes.

Great for breakfast or a snack!

Tasty Tropical Fruit Muffins

One of Ryan’s favourite muffin recipes from his mom. Muffins are perfect for the morning; they are fast, easy and nutritious.

Vegetarians and vegans need to be especially cautious of B12 deficiencies, which is why I like to add the optional nutritional yeast to this recipe. The nutritional yeast doesn't affect the texture or flavour of the muffin at all, but it’s a great way to incorporate some additional B vitamins into your diet. Nutritional yeast is an excellent source of vitamin B12 and also thiamine. If you decide to add the ½ cup of nutritional yeast, each muffin would have about 50% of your daily Vitamin B12 plus a bit extra depending on the fortification of your soymilk.

Bake at: 400°F

Bake Time: 25 minutes

Makes: 12 muffins

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

½ cup shredded coconut, unsweetened

½ packed brown sugar

(Optional: 1/2 cup nutritional flakes)

1/8 cup water

1 cup soymilk, or other variety of milk

1 cup mashed banana (2-3 bananas)

¼ cup melted margarine

2 tsp vanilla

1 can crushed pineapple, juice removed

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Combine all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.

In a separate bowl, combine all wet ingredients.

Pour wet ingredients into the dry bowl and stir until moistened.

Spoon muffin batter into a greased pan or a silicone muffin tray.

Sprinkle about a handful’s worth of extra coconut on top of the muffins.

Bake for about 25 minutes, until golden brown and the cake tester comes out clean.

Enjoy for breakfast or for a snack!

Crêpes (a vegan recipe and my dad's not-so-vegan recipe)

Growing up we never had pancakes, only crêpes in my house. I remember the first time my dad attempted making pancakes, he kept squishing them with the spatula because they kept rising. He's quite the silly Frenchman. 
I'm going back to my French roots with this recipe, a sweet crêpe with all the fixings. 
Crêpes are typically made with eggs, which act as a great binder, but as you know, we are egg free, so here is our favourite vegan crêpe recipe.

We were a bit naughty and topped our crêpes with some of our leftover ice cream from the night before

Serves: 2

Ingredients

1/2 cup soymilk
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup melted margarine
1 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp maple syrup
1 cup white flour
1/4 tsp salt

Assorted fruit, margarine, maple syrup, brown sugar, ice cream, and whatever else you fancy for serving

Preparation

Whisk all ingredients in a bowl until smooth.
Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, up to 2 hours. 
Heat a non-stick pan on medium heat, melt some margarine in it, then ladle in the crêpe batter. Cook on one side until golden, flip and cook on the other side.
Place prepared crêpes on a plate in the oven on its lowest temperature to keep them warm while you prepare the rest of them, alternatively you can keep the prepared crêpes covered with aluminum foil or another plate.
When all the crêpes are prepared, serve with all your favourite fixings, and enjoy!


Just in case you're not vegan, and want my dad's excellent crêpe recipe, here it is:

Dad's (non-vegan) Crêpes

Serves: 5-6
3 cups flour
4 cups milk
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp sugar

Whisk it all together and follow the above directions for frying (no need to refrigerate).

Vegan Banana Bread

Waking up to the smell of banana bread is absolutely wonderful. Unfortunately, I was the one in the kitchen, not the one leisurely waking up. :)
This is hands down the best vegan banana bread I've had to date.  It has the components of every good bread that doesn't know if it should be eaten for breakfast or for dessert. Well, if you are fortunate enough to have any left after breakfast, you might just be able to indulge after dinner too.

Serves: 6-12
Bake at 350°F for 1 hour

Ingredients

2 ripe and frozen bananas/ 1 cup mashed
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup water
1 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Granola, optional

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Remove bananas from freezer, cut off ends and cut in half, place in a microwave safe bowl and microwave on high until defrosted, about 1 minute, 30 seconds. 
When dethawed, squeeze banana out of peel, and mash in medium mixing bowl. 
Add wet ingredients, brown sugar, salt and vanilla and mix well.
Mix dry ingredients and add to wet. Mix well.
Pour batter into greased bread pan.
Top with granola.
Bake at 350°F for approximately 1 hour.
Test with a knife/chopstick/cake tester before removing.
Remove, let cool 5-10 minutes before removing from bread pan. Let cool an additional 10 minutes (minimum) before cutting.

butter it up and enjoy!

Superbly Fluffy Pancakes

Oh, the sweet joys of fluffy pancakes! A weekend staple in our apartment.  This is a great recipe and doesn't require any egg substitutions , not to mention It's super simple. In the past I've premixed the dry ingredients at home and made pancakes while camping with friends and family. This recipe calls for soy milk, however, in the fall we enjoy using pumpkin beer or even apple cider for a portion of the liquid. So good.

Serves 2 people, or ~8 pancakes (3")

Ingredients

1 cup flour, white or whole weat
  * optional, replace 1/2 cup flour with 1/2 cup quick oats
2 tsp baking powder
Splash of light oil
1 cup soy milk
   ( optional: chocolate chips, blueberries, rasberries, etc.)

Preparation

Preheat skillet or pan on medium heat.
Mix all dry ingredients. Add liquid and oil.
Mix well until combined (may appear somewhat clumpy if using oats).
If you are using liquid other than soy milk, you may need to adjust for consistency differences between the liquids, if the batter is two wet, just add a bit more flour.
Add a small amount of margarine to the pan, let melt.
Ladle batter onto the pan and let the pancake brown. When bubbles have formed around the pancake's edges and have began to pop, flip the pancake and let the other side get golden brown.
Remove from heat when reached the desired colour, say around 5 minutes.
Dress with margarine, maple syrup and or anything else your tummy desires.
Enjoy!

Mini Vegan Quiche

I've stumbled upon a few recipes for vegan quiche, but I find this one the simplest and the most delicious. The filling, can also be made to your liking. I've used mushrooms, leeks, red peppers, shallots, swiss chard and even pumpkin!

Makes: 24 mini quiches

Ingredients

I package round wonton wrappers
Margarine for greasing
Optional: Vegan cheese

1 tbsp olive oil
6 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups whole mushrooms (scant), sliced and diced

1 red pepper, diced
1 leek or 4 green onions, chopped
2 tsp dried oregano
Salt and Pepper

1 pound/ package firm tofu
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp dijon mustard
1/4 tsp tumeric
several dashes fresh ground black pepper
1/4 cup nutritional yeast 

Preparation 

Preheat oven to 400 F.
Grease one 12-muffin pan with margarine. Stretch out each wonton circle so that it better fits in the tray. Press the wontons firmly into place.
In a frying pan, heat oil over medium. Add garlic and onions, cook for 3 minutes. Add mushrooms, cook for 2 minutes. Add red pepper, and oregano, sauté for an additional 5 minutes, or until vegetables are almost done. (these vegetables can easily be substituted, you can use leeks and mushrooms for an earthier taste, or for some more greens, add a bunch of finely chopped Swiss chard tops to your garlic) If you are cooking greens, you may need to add a little water, however, by the end we do not want any excess water to get into our quiche. 
While sautéing, start the 'egg' base. Give the tofu a rinse and a good squeeze over the sink to remove excess water. Use you hand to crumble the tofu into a mixing bowl until it looks like ricotta. Add the remaining ingredients to the tofu and mix well. When the vegetables are ready, drain off any excess liquid and transfer the vegetable sauté into the mixing bowl and mix to combine. Taste for salt and pepper.
Spoon the tofu mixture into the wonton bowls in the muffin tray. Press the mixture down and flatten each.
Add vegan cheese on top of quiches if desired.
Bake at 400F for 20 minutes, until firm and slightly brown on top.
Let cool 3 minutes on wire rack before serving.

Wonton wrappers are not necessary and may be substituted for any shell, or no shell at all. This recipe can also be prepared in a 9" greased pie plate.