Pumpkin French Toast Casserole (or banana, apple, other fruit)

This is basically my lazy, casual rendition of French toast, with less work. This recipe is about using what you have on hand or things that you may have no other use for or are about to get up and leave you.

The original Recipe is from Vegan Brunch by Isa, amazing book and worth your hard earned money.



This recipe is great for when you have some stale or dry bread that is past it's prime. Because this recipe is the my lazy vegan version, you can use any old bread or an assortment of breads. No matter how old, dry, stale, hard, broken or decrepit it is, because instead of perfect slices our bread is going to be cubed, torn and shredded. I also made sure to save and add all the bread crumbs I had laying around, so dump out those bags and scrap your cutting boards! Waste not, want not.

This recipe is all about using what you already have, so experiment and substitute to suit your needs. If you don't have pumpkin try squash, banana, fruit compote, sweet potato, apple sauce. Anything!



What you will need:
Baking Dish
Bowl
Cutting Board

Ingredients:
1 cup canned pumpkin (alternative, depending on what you have could be apple sauce, compote, mashed bananas)
1 cup almond milk (or any other vegan milk)
2 T corn starch (again, it you like potato or other starches use them)
2 t cinnamon
1 t nutmeg
two shakes of all spice

optional: Earth balance for buttering the baking dish and dotting the top
Optional add ins: Anything you have laying around, nuts (whole, broken, ground), coconut, dried fruit, chocolate chips, oats, flax seeds, this is your dish and it is about using what you have.
More Options: If you don't want to serve the casserole with syrup or sugar, I would add brown sugar or maple syrup directly to the pumpkin mix to bake in the sweetness so no toppings will be needed.

Also, if you bread mixture looks a little dry once all the juices are absorb splash some more almond milk on top.

Add ins can either be mixed with pumpkin mixture, or tossed with the bread, or even sprinkled over top of the dish! Whatever you want.

a little liquid from jarred ginger or a little bit of grated fresh ginger (again, this is to taste so for stronger bite add more)
expired bread, I had a good 3/4 loaf but you could round this out with fresh bread, all bread crumbs or any bread like items you have around.

Dice your bread into bite sized cubes or tear into chunks if using soft bread save all end pieces, crumbs, fluffy bits and odds and ends. Set aside.

Mix everything else together in a bowl and preheat your oven to 350.

Place all your bread into a shallow rimmed baking dish (you can use a casserole dish or deep dish, this will result in a softer casserole. As the pumpkin mixture is pretty wet, and depending on how hard/dry your bread is you may want more layers to keep in moisture.) Since I like mine less moist and a little crispy, I'm using a shallow baking dish so my bread is effectively in a single layer.



Pour pumpkin mixture over bread and let sit until oven is ready, the longer it sits the more it absorbs and the softer it gets. So depending on the tough/dryness of your bread and your preference for soft/pudding style eats you may want to let it sit longer.

I added broken walnut pieces to mine and mixed them in last. Mine also looked a little dry so I added a splash of soymilk on top and dotted it with Earth Balance.

Alternatively you can prepare this and place it in your fridge to dish out smaller amounts to cook on an as needed bases. Or even fish out your bread cubes to fry, traditional French toast style throughout the week. MMM

But since I'm being lazy, I'm just gonna plop the whole mess in the oven and not let it sit very long. About 12 minutes, stir let it sit another 12, then bake.

Baking time was around 15-20 mins, again if you'd like a more pudding style dish you could stir/mix it as it cooks and reduce the cooking time.

Voila!

Now because I didn't add any sugar to the casserole the end result isn't overtly sweet. I prefer to sweeten it to taste on the plate with icing sugar and maple syrup (I also lived with my dad, who hated sweets so I tend to let people add their own sugar). However, if you're looking for a sweetened dish ready scoop and eat, I would mix in some maple syrup or brown sugar right into the pumpkin puree.

Serve alone, dusted with sugar, spices, citrus zest, berry sauce, syrup, ice cream or w/e.

alternatively if you like pumpkin, you could make this a savory dish by adding sauted garlic, Rosemary, thyme and onions to the pumkin mixture and extra earth balance.

Halifax's Vegan Association Recipe Zine! Call out for Vegan Recipes, Stories, Articles etc

The Halifax Vegan Association (and yours truly) are putting out a vegan recipe zine for free distribution to the public. I'm hoping to get both zine copies printed to be sent up and maybe host a scanned version of the original for an e-zine and so other groups will be able to re-print and distribute the zine to spread the vegan love.

As such I will be hosting a Vegan Recipe Zine Workshop on Sunday January 31th 2pm-6pm at the Dalhousie Women's Center in Halifax N.S., including Pizza and a community Potluck.

More importantly, for the extended vegan community (This means YOU! Internet) I am still looking for any recipe submissions, going vegan stories, articles, art work or simple zine pages you would like to have published in this zine.

Feel free to send me submission via e-mail (bad_blanch_amanda at hotmail).

Stay Vegan!

Quick Bechamel sauce

My kitchen is currently non-existent so apologies for the lack of posting. Here is an easy Bechamel sauce from the ppk website served on WW macaroni and steamed broccoli.

When water is boiling place basket with broccoli over water. Once boiling, add pasta and return brocolli to steamer.

Meanwhile, make this quick and easy sauce. I adjusted the seasoning with extra salt, garlic power, onion powder and paprika with nutmeg like the french do.Very rewarding and filling.

Simple Potato Curry

I originally found this on a LJ community and made enough to last me all week. I also used some leftover curry to fill some home made samosas! This is a great week night curry that you can throw together easily and enjoy leftovers for lunch. Being a little lazy and less authentic, I used whole wheat tortillas to scoop this stuff into my face.

Easy Potato Curry

4 large potatoes, unpeeled diced and boiled until soft.
2 T canola oil
1 yellow onion diced
3 garlic cloves
1 large carrot sliced into thin coins
5 t hot curry powder
4 t garam masala
1 fat inch of frozen ginger, grated
2 t paprika
1 t sea salt
1 can stewed tomatoes broken up (or diced if you have it!)
1 can coconut milk
1 large can chickpeas, rinsed
1 can peas, rinsed

Plop your potatoes into a pot of salted water and boil until tender. Drain and set aside.

If you don't have pre-boiled potatoes, do this while you wait.
Warm oil in a large pot (enough to fit everything) over medium heat. Add your onions once the oil is heated, saute for 2-3 minutes before adding your garlic. Once onions are translucent and garlic is fragrant toss in the carrot pieces and cook for 3-4 minutes. Then add your spices. Cook for 1-2 minutes while stirring. Now add your potatoes, rinsed beans and peas, cook for a few minutes. Now dump in your canned tomatoes and coconut milk and bring the whole thing to a low simmer for 5-10 minutes. If you find the curry to liquidly as I did, sift in a little corn starch to thicken it up.

Star Starches

Featuring our favorite spud, the potato!
What better cheap, easy and oh-so-delightfully-filling product could there be?

The ways to prepare our fabulous spudding buddy are endless.
Wither mashed, baked, roasted, grilled, chilled, or fried potatoes make a great addition or composition to any meal.

Eaten with the skin the potato provides you with a rad assortment of vitamins and minerals, heavy on the C with some potassium and vitamin B6.

Its carbby goodness has filled many a hungry student belly, so when you take a break from saving animals do something nice for yourself and curl up with one of these fluffy baked delights and re-fuel your bad ass self.

Use them to bulk up, or compliment any meal. No matter what the menu, there is a potato accompaniment. If the cupboard is looking bare, then bake up one of these bad boys and top them anyway you'd like.

Happy eating!


(In our featured photo, we see the might spud enjoying a coating of paprika, pepper, earth balance, vegan bacon bits and some garlic salt. mmm)

*For further potato inspiration check out the link above!

The Milkiest Non-Milk

As a vegan who could never stand the taste of soymilk (call me a heretic, if you will), I'm always on the lookout for alternative non-dairy milks. I've tried almond milk, rice milk, oat milk, and 'multigrain milk,' whatever the heck that is. Again and again, I have been disenchanted by watery, sugary, outrageously-priced, extraterrestrial-tasting, concoctions, that nobody, not even horrible, abominable people, like whoever invented the Grapple, should have to put in their morning cereal.

The other day, just as I was on the brink of surrendering the quest for a delectable, milky non-milk, I stumbled upon this blog entry with a recipe for homemade hemp milk. I happened to have some hemp seeds lying around, so I ventured to give it a go.

The result was unexpected: a creamy, sweet-but-not-too-sweet, only mildly-weird tasting brew that definitely topped, in my opinion, any store-bought milk (including store-bought hemp milk). Hemp has a singular flavor that takes some getting used to, but after just a few sips I was won over. My fellow taste-testers shared my enthusiasm.

Nutritionally speaking, hemp appears to outshine soy. A cup of hemp milk has about 14 grams of protein (though this figure varies depending on the brand of hemp seed). Hemp is also rich in Iron, B vitamins, Magnesium and Zinc (though it lacks the calcium and B12 of fortified soymilk). On the con side, hemp is less widely available, as hemp farming is outlawed in the United States (hemp belongs to the genus Cannabis, though it lacks the mind-altering traits of its popular cousin). If you can't find hemp at a local grocer, you can purchase from Amazon, or if you want to support a vegan grocery, from Food Fight, at a slightly higher price.

Poor Gal's Soup

Here is a recipe for a soothing soup when your wallet is looking bare, perfect for all us struggling students.

















Poor Gal's Soup:

• Tomatoes (fresh is best, but canned works or a combo of both)
• Onion (for a milder soup, green onions are best but they are pricer)
  
• Garlic (I like garlic so I use 3-4 cloves)
• oil
• Water
• Seasoning: Optional but this is best with fresh thyme and a little S&P
  
• Thyme*
• Rosemary*
• Oregano*
• Pepper
• Cayenne if you like the heat
• Mix it up and use whatever you have on hand or like
  

*On a super budget, Italian seasoning will do and you can use granulated or powdered
onion/garlic.

This soup is great with just the bare minimal (water, tomatoes, flavorings), but some easy add ins include: Small quick cooking pasta, rice, beans or lentils, veggies like greens, zucchini, peppers and anything you like. This time I had some Quinoa (lucky me!) so I used that.

Directions:
Heat your saucepan with a little bit of oil, chop your fresh garlic and onions add them to the oil and cooked until soft. If you like you can add your spices now to flavor the oil. Chop your tomatoes (or open your can). Add them as well, cook them for 3-4 minutes and then begin adding your water, it may look thin but as the tomatoes cook down you will begin to thicken the soup base into a surprisingly think and tasty broth.


Notes: if you are adding any extras like beans or veggies you can fry them with the tomatoes or simply add them after the water. Grains or pasta (uncooked) add them once the water is boiling.

This is a great light soup, easy for when you sick or studying, and filling when your fridge is bare.

Taste of Autum- Apple Cider Delights

Inspired by esme's post about apple cider doughnuts I figured it was about time Vegan House had some doughnuts. So I looked back to the last time I made doughnuts and decided to make my very own doughnut recipe based using the lovely Random Girl's as a jumping point.

If your anything like me you won't be spending all day crafting Doughnuts unless you'll have them for some time to come. So I usually double all recipes (sometimes triple), with that in mind the recipe yields more than your typical batch. So feel free to double and triple again if you like.


Autumn Cider Doughnuts

2 package active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
1 cup warm apple cider
1/2 cup vegetable margerine
1 cup sugar (I've used both brown and organic cane sugar, I suspect maple and other healthier sweeteners would work as well, so feel free to experiment and let me know how it goes)
2/3 cup more apple cider, warmed
Egg replacer equilivent to 4 eggs
4 cups whole wheat all-purpose flour
3-4 cups all purpose unbleached flour (again, for healthier doughnuts you could get away with all WW but they may be denser) {I say 3-4 as I keep the fourth cup to help kneed the dough and have never used the full cup but it could happen}
1 tsp salt 2 tsp Cinnamon and Nutmeg (More or less depending on taste)
Oil for frying

Glaze: 2 cups confectioners' sugar 1/2 cup hot vanilla soymilk

OR

Roll in:
1/2 cup sugar
2 TBS cinnamon
optional: vanilla

Dissolve the yeast packets in 1 cup of warm water and let the mixture stand until yeast clouds form (5-7 minutes).While your yeast is puffing up in a large saucepan, bring the first cup of cider to a boil. Add the margarine and sugar and stir until the margarine has melted and the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and COOL [believe me, I know you want to skip this step, but DON'T!]. In a separate measuring cup dissolve egg replacer and water (follow package directions, or use your favorite egg replacer recipe). When your mixture has cooled, add the puffy yeast and more warm cider. Stir in the egg replacer and 4 cups of WW flour. Mix the heck out of it. Add remaining all purpose flour slowly, reserving one cup for kneading and add the salt and spices. Mix some more, at this point you'll need to abandon your spoon (if you haven't all ready) and get in there with your hands. Again add the flour slowly, its for your own good. Only use enough to make a soft and manageable dough. Make sure to scrap down the sides of your bowl and get all your dough out. Now take your dough to a floured board and knead until smooth and elastic. Using your remaining flour to help prevent sticking, work as much as you need into the dough. Place the dough into a large greased bowl, cover and let it rise. It should doubled in bulk after about an hour.

Now again, if you are anything like me you now need to pee and your kitchen is trashed. So use this time to clean up (it'll save you in the long run). After the hour has elapsed and you've re-cleaned your kitchen, punch down your dough (this part is fun!).

On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough until it is about 1/2 inch in thickness. Cut out doughnuts with a a glass or roll dough into tiny dough nut holes. Place the doughnuts/dough wads a greased baking sheet space them an inch apart or so. Make holes if you want. Now let them rise again for 1 hour. Re-clean if you need to.

Now the exciting part, heat your oil to in a deep skillet or deep fryer (test with the end of a wooden spoon, if bubbles form you are ready to fry!) . Fry doughnuts in small batched (as many as will fit with outcrowding at a time), until golden on both side. Drain on paper towels or old paper bads. Prepare your glaze or your sugar coating. To make your glaze, mix everything untill smooth in a shallow bowl. While the doughnuts are hot (but not hot enough to burn you), coat them in glaze or roll in sugar. You may need to make more sugar and/or glaze as you go, the thicker the better in my books either way let your glaze dry into the delightful crunchy sweet goodness we associate with doughtnuts. Oh, and by the way if don't you dare waste any glaze or sugar mixture, if you wind up with too much once the doughnut glaze/sugar has hardened or set pour/drizzle the rest over top of you pile.


*See my last doughnut post for info on baking doughnuts, it is possible and healthier but it will change the texture/taste. If you are kosher with that, then go to town.

Enjoy! and eat some veggies for gods sake.

Miso and Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

An amazingly delectable dish with added health benefits of miso, making the classic Mashed Potato a healthier indulgence.

This recipe is extremely simple, you may use whichever miso you have on hand, I used dark.

3 large potatoes (diced into small cubes, leaving the skins on! They are good for you and we're trying to be healthy here)
1/2 red onion minced
1 T olive oil
3 large cloves of roasted garlic
1/2 T miso
1 T soy milk
1/4 Cup EB
Pepper

Chop you potatoes and boil in salted water until tender. Chop your red onion, preheat a cast iron skillet with Olive Oil and fry onions until crispy. While you wait on the potatoes combine the other ingredients and mash well (to insure there are no garlic chunks). Whip the miso mixture until smooth and combine with the cooked potatoes. Mash together. Top with your onions and enjoy.