Vegan "Eggnog" Pancakes

Before I was vegan I was famous (to Nate, at least!) for my fluffy, tender pancakes. I first made them when we lived in a horrible basement studio apartment in a probably haunted building in a shady neighborhood in Boston, but it was our first time with our own kitchen and I developed a lot of my cooking skills there.

After becoming vegan, I wanted to find a pancake recipe that was just as delicious as the one I'd been using for years. During the holidays, I also bought every brand of vegan "Eggnog" I could find. They were all delicious! I decided that vegan "Eggnog" pancakes would be the perfect festive treat for breakfast one weekend.

Vegan Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

Things have been pretty busy round these parts now that I've started working part time in addition to my regular full time job. But here and there I have been able to make some tasty vegan treats - like these heavenly vegan pumpkin cinnamon rolls!

Overnight Oats and Vegan Corn Chowder

Some people eat the same thing for breakfast every day. Nate has cereal for breakfast almost every single morning, the exception being on weekends when he'll occasionally cook up something he refers to as "egg blasters" (never eat the egg blasters. Trust me on this one). I go through phases with breakfast. I'll find something (like avocado toast) that I eat for a week, then Iget bored and usually end up having dinner leftovers for the next few days.

Recently, I was craving something a little more traditional in the mornings, and I think it's going to become my newest breakfast fad.

Simple Avocado Toast and Fun Food Links

Sometimes the simplest things in life are the best, as is the case with this avocado toast, which I've been having for breakfast in various forms for the past few days.

Baked Eggs in Roasted Pepper and Tomato Sauce

Weekend breakfasts are the best!

A strong cup of tea, toasted roasted garlic bread, and creamy eggs baked in a roasted cherry tomato and pepper sauce...This is such a comforting and easy breakfast to make. 

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with Browned Butter Caramel Icing

OH. MY. GOD.

These are amazing. 

Cantaloupe Fruit Salad with Mint, Lime, and Honey

 These luscious, juicy cantaloupe spheres would have been impossible for me to make before last night...when I finally acquired a melon baller! I feel like melon ballers have gone out of style, but I told Nate that I would definitely use it if we got it. So, last night I balled and froze half of a cantaloupe to use for cocktail making tonight, and this morning I woke up and balled the second half for this light, refreshing breakfast fruit salad.

Oatmeal with Blueberries and Agave

I've been having oatmeal for breakfast most mornings. It's very filling and packs a ton of soluble fiber. This morning I had it with fresh blueberries and 1 tsp of agave. The blueberries were so pretty I just had to snap a  picture.

A side of mango completed a delicious meal!

Healthy Cherry Lemon Coffee Cake

I bought a pound of cherries at the farmer's market last weekend, and they sat in my refrigerator getting softer by the day until I just HAD to do something with them, before it was too late!

I had originally wanted to make hand pies, but the thought of making and rolling out a crust for all of those little pies was just....thoroughly unappealing.

Cherries are deliciously tart and sweet on their own, but so many of the recipes I came across required cooking them down in cups of sugar.

Then I found a recipe for Healthy Cherry Coffee Cake. No crust, no need to cook the cherries!

I made some tweaks — subbing olive oil for the butter and a combination of whole wheat and unbleached flour for the white, for example — and the result was a light yet hearty tasting Cherry Lemon Coffee cake. The lemon flavor really comes through, and the cake has a nice dimension of nuttiness thanks to the whole wheat flour and oats.

Healthy Cherry Lemon Coffee Cake

First, you need cherries!

I used twice as many as the recipe called for, because they were about to go bad. This made the cake a little soggy (because of the extra cherry juice!) so stick to one cup. You'll need to pit the cherries.

Just use a paring knife to cut the cherries in half, then remove the pit from whichever side it remains lodged in. 

It's time consuming, and lots of juice will get on your hands...

but aren't they just GORGEOUS?

Set the cherries aside, and combine the wet ingredients, along with the sugar and lemon zest, in a large bowl.

Fat free sour cream, olive oil, lemon juice, lemons zest, egg, sugar, honey, and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients until thoroughly combined.

Then add the dry ingredients to the wet. The batter will be very thick. I chose to spread half of it in the pan, then layer with cherries...

...then cover with remaining batter.

The batter is very thick, so it might be easier to just add it to the pan all at once, and layer the cherries on top, gently pressing them into the batter.

Combine 1/4 C oats, 2 T brown sugar, and 1 T olive oil until crumbly; sprinkle over top of the cake.

Place in a 350° oven, and bake about 45 minutes, or until golden brown.

Yum! 

So, was it as good as coffee cake made with butter, white flour, full fat sour cream, and all white sugar instead of honey?

Well... no. BUT!!! It is a perfectly tasty, healthy substitute for when you just can't pass up the chance to bake a yummy treat!

Full Recipe

Healthy Cherry Lemon Coffee Cake

Topping:

2T light brown sugar

1/4 cup old fashioned oats

1T olive oil

Cake:

1/4 c Honey

1/4 c sugar

1 1/2 T olive oil

1 cup of fat free sour cream

1 large egg

1 Tbsp vanilla

2t lemon juice

Zest of 1 lemon

3/4 c whole wheat flour

3/4 c unbleached flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

dash cinnamon

1 cup of pitted cherries

Preheat oven to 350

Add honey, sugar, olive oil, sour cream, egg, vanilla, lemon juice, and lemon zest to large bowl. Whisk until combined. 

In a separate bowl, mix together flours, bakin powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon until blended. 

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir just until incorporated. The batter is VERY thick - almost like the batter for drop biscuits.

You can either: spread half the batter on the bottom of an 8" round or square pan (sprayed with cooking spray or lined with parchment paper), layer the cherries, and cover with remaining batter OR spread all of the batter in pan and top with cherries.

Mix together oats, sugar, and olive oil until crumbly; sprinkle over top of batter.

Place in oven and back for about 45 minutes, or until golden brown. 

Simple Strawberry-Orange Smoothie

This is one of my favorite breakfast treats, and it couldn't be easier to make.

Simply add 5-6 frozen strawberries and 8 oz of orange juice to a blender. Blend until smooth. The end result is both sweet and tart, frosty, and light. You can buy frozen strawberries at the store, but making them yourself is a great way to get the most out of a fresh basket. I buy three pints of fresh strawberries each week at the farmer's market, and when one starts getting soft, or weird enough that I don't really want to eat it raw, I hull it and pop it into a container in the freezer. By the end of the week, I have enough to make a Saturday smoothie.

Last night for dinner I made veggie fajitas for one (Nate is in Spain!)

Lots of colorful, fresh ingredients.

I didn't really use a recipe. Just saute 1/2 red onion, 3 minced cloves of garlic, and 1 diced jalapeno until soft. Then crank up the heat and add 1 bell pepper cut into strips, 3 chopped scallions (white/light green parts only), and 2 summer squash cut into half-moons. Add some cumin, paprika, oregano, salt + pepper to taste. Cook until the veggie are a little browned on the edges and the bell pepper is tender. 

Serve with freshly sliced tomato, whole wheat tortillas or wraps, Monterrey jack cheese, and salsa. 

The best part of it all?

I had lots of help!

Stay tuned for homemade white pizza with summer squash, zucchini, and garlic, followed by a clafoutis (gotta make something while cherries are still in season!