My Vegetarian Recipe of the Day

These recipes come from The McDougall Quick and Easy Cookbook, which is a great resource for fat free or very low fat vegan recipes. The recipes are all ones that can be made in fifteen minutes or less.

Nutty French Toast

1/4 cup raw cashews
1 cup water
2 T. chopped dates
1/2 t. vanilla extract
1/4 t. cinnamon
6 slices whole wheat bread

Place the cashews in a blender (or food processor) with 1/2 cup of the water. Process until fairly smooth, then add the remaining 1/2 cup water and the dates, vanilla and cinnamon. Process until very smooth. Pour into a bowl. Dip the bread slices into the mixture, coatingboth sides well. Make sure your griddle is hot before you cook the first slice. Cook on the nonstick griddle for about 2 minutes on each side, turning once until browned on both sides. Serve with maple syrup, applesauce or fruit jam.

Veggie Benedicts

2 nonfat English muffins or crumpets, split in half
4 thick slices tomato
1 small avocado
1 c. Hollandaise Sauce (recipe below)

Place the muffins in a toaster or toaster oven and toast until lightly browned. Place a tomato slice on each muffin and then the avocado slices. Pour 1/4 of the sauce over each muffin and serve at once.

Hollandaise Sauce

1/4 c. raw cashews
1 cup water
2 T. lemon juice
1 t. nutritional yeast powder
1/2 t. onion powder
1/8 t. garlic powder
1/8 t. salt
1/16 t. turmeric
pinch of paprika
1 T. cornstarch mixed with 2 T. cold water
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Placethe cashews and 1/2 cup of the water in a blender. Process briefly, then gradually add the remaining water. Process until the mixture is very smooth. Pour into a saucepan. Add the lemon juice, nutritional yeast, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, turmeric and paprika. Mix well. Add the cornstarch mixture and mix well. Bring slowly to a boil, stirring constantly, until thickened. Add pepper.

Even my children, who can be a bit suspicious of unfamiliar food, liked this recipe. It’s a savory dish, but it almost has a dessert feel to it. I had never eaten carnival squash before preparing this recipe, but I’ll definitely be trying it again. I think this would be excellent prepared in small individual pie crusts for breakfast, brunch or dinner— or even as an appetizer. Prepared without the crust, it could even be a low carb addition to a meal. I think I roasted the squash because it was easier. And I made mine in a pie crust in a pie pan— it will fit in a pie pan, by the way. And I skipped the nuts— but other than that I followed the recipe exactly as written

Carnival squash quiche

2 cups Carnival Squash (or any other variety of Winter Squash) peel and cube
1 cup Cottage Cheese
2 Eggs
1/2 cup Milk
1/4 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
1/4 cup Nuts chopped

In a pan with a small amount of water, cook the squash for about 10 minutes or until very tender. Drain. In a blender, mix together cottage cheese and eggs till smooth. Add squash, milk, and nutmeg. Blend until smooth. Pat cooked rice on the bottom of a 10×6 x 2 inch casserole dish. Pour squash mixture on top. Bake at 350° F for 40-45 minutes or until set. Let stand for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with nuts. Cut into squares and serve immediately.

Yes, you can even make breakfast ahead of time. One option is to make your favorite french toast, using a whole loaf of bread. Then freeze the pieces on a cookie sheet, put them back in the bag for the loaf of bread and keep them in the freezer until you need them. Then you can just pop them in the toaster whenever you need a quick breakfast.

These french toast sticks are another option for busy mornings. They’re a little more convenient for an on the road breakfast than regular french toast. This recipe comes from Taste of Home.

Make Ahead French Toast Sticks

6 slices day-old Texas toast (or any other slightly stale bread, thicker works better but is not necessary)
4 eggs
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup crushed cornflakes, optional

Confectioners’ sugar, optional
Maple syrup

Cut each piece of bread into thirds; place in an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. dish. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla and cinnamon. Pour over bread; soak for 2 minutes, turning once. If desired, coat bread with cornflake crumbs on all sides. Place in a greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan. Freeze until firm, about 45 minutes. Transfer to an airtight container or resealable freezer bag and store in the freezer.

To bake, place desired number of frozen French toast sticks on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 425° for 8 minutes. Turn; bake 10-12 minutes longer or until golden brown. Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar if desired. Serve with syrup. Yield: 1-1/2 dozen.

You’d think with all these great recipe ideas I’d be making him some fantastic meal. Well, what he really wants is egg with cheese. So, I’ll be making… eggs with cheese. Then one of our sons turns 4 on Monday, so we’ll be going to Chuck E. Cheese for lunch. I’m not sure what our dinner plans are yet, but we may be going to a Tomato Festival tomorrow, so that may mean eating out for dinner, as well. So, I’d love to be able to say I’m going to be busy tomorrow feeding my sweet hubby, but, well… that’s just not the case. Happy Father’s Day to all you Dads. And a special Happy Father’s Day to my sweet husband.

So, let’s say you decided to start Dad’s day off with breakfast in bed. There’s very little in the way of food that my husband likes more than a nice, big, cheesy omelette. This one has a bit of a kick to it to make for a great start to a special day.

Avocado, Cheddar Cheese Omelette

8 Eggs – large
1/4 cup Milk. Cooking oil as needed
1 Avocado – sliced
1/4 cup Yellow bell pepper – small diced
1/4 cup Red and green bell pepper – small diced
1 Jalapeno pepper – seeded – finely diced
1/4 cup Onion – finely diced
1 T. Fresh cilantro – minced
2 tsp. Fresh parsley – chopped
Salt to season
Fresh ground black pepper to season
1 1/4 cup Cheddar cheese – shredded

Saute peppers and onions in a small amount of oil. Add cilantro and parsley, season with salt and pepper. Cook until tender. Reserve. Combine eggs and milk. Mix well and reserve.

Heat a non-stick omelette or egg pan over medium heat. Portion beaten egg into pan. Stir in sautéed pepper and onion. Cook until set. Flip omelette and cook until done. Add sliced avocado and top with cheese. Fold omelette and turn out onto warm serving plates.

Top with additional cheese and garnish with fresh cilantro sprigs. Repeat process to create 4 servings.

I have a confession. I love biscuits. However, I really hate rolling them out, cutting them out and, generally, the whole process of making any biscuit that doesn’t come out of a can. Until now. I have just discovered a recipe on Epicurious that will allow me to have biscuits without all the mess. You can use this technique to make Mom delicious cream biscuits for her breakfast in bed (or for afternoon tea or as a side for lunch).

Cream Drop Biscuits

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
2 cups chilled heavy cream

Preheat oven to 400°F.
Stir together flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Add cream, then stir just until a dough forms.

Drop heaping 1/4 cups of batter about 1 inch apart on an ungreased large baking sheet. Bake in middle of oven until tops are pale golden and bottoms are golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes.

Makes 12 biscuits

Perfect for brunch or breakfast, this recipe has the advantage of being made ahead of time, so no one needs to get up at 5 a.m. to prepare breakfast in bed. I recommend using a veggie sausage like Gimme Lean that is not already preformed into patties, but you can substitute chopped up patties, if necessary.

Prepare Ahead Breakfast Casserole

1 (16 ounce) package veggie sausage
10 eggs, lightly beaten
3 cups milk
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 teaspoon salt
6 cups cubed bread
2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms (optional)
1 medium tomato, seeded and chopped (optional)
1/2 cup thin-sliced green onion (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 F. In large skillet, cook sausage over medium-high heat, stirring frequently until thoroughly cooked. I find that the veggie sausage cooks best when you put a bit of oil in the bottom of the pan.

In large mixing bowl, combine eggs, milk, mustard and salt; stir well.

Distribute half the bread evenly in a buttered 9×13 x 2 inch baking dish. Sprinkle with half the pepper, half the cheese, half the sausage and half of each optional ingredient. Repeat layering using remaining bread, pepper, cheese, sausage and optional ingredients. Pour egg mixture evenly over casserole.

Bake uncovered for 55-60 minutes, or until eggs are set. Tent with foil if top begins to brown too quickly.

You may assemble this up to 12 hours ahead of time and bake it in the morning. It may require slightly more time to cook.

In the world of easy dishes, they don’t get much easier than this. If you have glass parfait dishes, this will be even prettier, but you can make it in a bowl, as well. If Dad washes the berries, the kids should be able to do the rest of this.

Simple Yogurt Parfait

2 cups vanilla yogurt
1 cup granola
8 berries (raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, or an assortment— whatever Mom likes)

In a large glass, layer 1 cup yogurt, 1/2 cup granola and 4 berries. Repeat layers.

I know that it’s possible there may be kids or Dads reading this. They want to make Mom a special breakfast in bed for Mother’s Day, but they’re thinking “It’s got to be easy!” Never fear. This recipe is super simple and super special. And just a hint— a flower in a vase makes any breakfast special, but the MOST special breakfast is the one you don’t have to clean up after Now, on to the recipe.

Super simple, super special scrambled eggs

8 large eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon seasoned pepper
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium ripe tomato, chopped
1 tablespoon finely chopped red bell pepper
1 tablespoon finely chopped green onions
1/2 cup Monterey Jack or Cheddar cheese

In a mixing bowl, beat eggs, milk, salt, and pepper together until well blended. Melt butter in skillet over medium-low heat until hot; pour in egg mixture. Reduce heat. As mixture begins to set on bottom and sides of skillet, lift and fold over with spatula. Cook until eggs are almost set; fold in tomato, finely chopped red pepper, and green onion. Heat scrambled eggs through; serve immediately.
If desired top with shredded cheese just before finished.

What’s Mother’s Day without muffins? They’re easy for kids to help with. They’re easy to make ahead or the morning of. You can make a lot of them if you have company, and they save well (so Mom has breakfast to feed the kids for the rest of the week). These muffins are a twist on traditional banana muffins as they contain macademia nuts. If you were really feeling adventurous, I bet you could add a bit of coconut, or at the very least coconut extract, to make a kind of pina colada muffin. Yum!

Banana- Macademia Nut Muffins

1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/4 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3 large)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup milk
1 large egg
1 cup unsalted macadamia nuts, toasted, chopped

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease twelve muffin cups or line with muffin papers. Sift first 4 ingredients into large bowl. Combine bananas, both sugars, butter, milk and egg in medium bowl. Mix into dry ingredients. Fold in half of nuts. Divide batter among prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle tops of muffins with remaining macadamia nuts. Bake until muffins are golden brown and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about
25 minutes. Transfer muffins to rack and cool.

This was one of the first frittata’s I ever tried. I don’t know if that’s why I like it so much, or if it’s just because it’s so good. It comes from the Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites Cookbook, but don’t let the Low-Fat part scare you off

Black Bean and Hominy Frittata

2 cups chopped onions
2 teaspoons canola or other vegetable oil
1 green or red bell pepper, seeded and julienned (I just chop it up)
1 jalapeno or other fresh chile, seeded and minced (the recipe says optional, but I consider it necessary)
1 15-oz can white hominy or corn, drained
1 16-oz black beans, drained and rinsed (If you want to make your own, you’ll need about 1 1/2 cups)
2 T. chopped fresh cilantro
3 whole eggs
5 egg whites (I always just use 6 whole eggs)
1/2 t. salt (or to taste)

salsa
sour cream

Place the onions and 1 t. of the oil in a 10 to 12-inch nonstick skillet. Cover and cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes, until the onions are soft and golden. Add the bell peppers and chile and saute on medium heat for 5 minutes. Stir in the hominy, black beans, and cilantro, cover, lower the heat, and cook for about 5 minutes, until hot. Remove the skillet from the heat. Put bean and hominy mixture in another bowl.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs, egg whites, and salt until fluffy. Stir the bean and hominy mixture into the eggs.

Coat the bottom of the same skillet with the remaining teaspoon of oil and return it to medium heat. When the skillet is hot, pour in the egg mixture and distribute the hominy and beans evenly. Cover and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, until the edges are firm and the bottom has browned. Place a large flat plate or pizza pan over the skillet and flip the skillet over so that the frittata falls onto the plate. Slide the frittata back into the skillet and cook for about 5 minutes more, until the eggs are fully cooked. (I never do the flip it over part of this recipe. I just pop it under the broiler until it firms up and the top is slightly brown. Sometimes I even put a little cheddar cheese on the top and melt it.)

Cut the frittata into wedges and serve hot or at room temperature, topped with salsa and a dollop of sour cream or yogurt.

Sometimes things get a bit hectic with the holidays. With this recipe, you can’t go wrong. It works if you make it the night before and pop it in the oven the next morning. It even works if you cook it the night before and reheat it. It’s easy to double or triple. It would work on a buffet table or for breakfast in bed. And it’s so much less time consuming than flipping pieces of bread a couple at a time. Oh, and did I mention that it’s delicious? So, make up a batch and serve it to Mom. She’ll thank you for it.

French Toast Casserole

7 cups bread cubes (toast bread first or use stale bread)
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup white sugar, divided
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly butter an 8×8 inch baking pan.

Line bottom of pan with bread cubes. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, milk, 2 tablespoons sugar, salt and vanilla, 1/2 t. cinnamon and nutmeg. Pour egg mixture over bread. Let stand for 10 minutes (or overnight).

Pour melted butter over the top. Combine remaining 2 tablespoons sugar with remaining 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and sprinkle over the top. Bake in preheated oven about 45 to 50 minutes, until top is golden. Serve with maple syrup or powdered sugar.

To reheat this, make sure that you cover it with foil or a lid to a casserole dish, so it doesn’t dry out. Also, ideally you would decrease the cooking time by about 15 minutes, then reheat at 350 for 15 or 20 minutes.

What Mom— okay, what I really want for Mother’s Day is kids who are calm and well-behaved at the table. My kids are great about so many things. They can be a bit picky when it comes to food. But every single one of them LOVES these pancakes. And I feel good that they have a little bit of a health benefit also. My husband and I also think they’re delicious. You can alter the sugar in the recipe to suit your taste, and if you’re really looking to add a little something special, you can add chocolate chips to the recipe. They’re delicious served with syrup (try butter pecan for a taste that reminds you of sweet potato casserole), but I prefer them with a little butter and a sprinkling of powdered sugar.

Sweet Potato Pancakes

1 15 oz. can non-candied sweet potatoes **
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
up to 1/2 c. of sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup butter, melted

** You can make your own sweet potatoes, if you like. Use 3/4 lb. and mash them well before adding them to the recipe.

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg. Mix sweet potatoes, eggs, milk and butter in a separate medium bowl. Blend sweet potato mixture into the flour mixture to form a batter.***

Preheat a lightly greased griddle over medium-high heat. Drop batter mixture onto the prepared griddle by heaping tablespoonfuls, and cook until golden brown, turning once with a spatula when the surface begins to bubble.

Serve with your favorite toppings.

*** As a time (and bowl) saver, I often mix my wet ingredients and then just pour the dry ingredients in and mix without mixing them in a separate bowl first, or you can mix them in a large measuring cup.

I really like matzoh brie. I’m happy with it with eggs, but not everyone eats eggs, so I’m including this recipe that I read on the Vegetarians in Paradise website. I think you could also add a bit of tofu to this, if you wanted.

Veggie Matzoh Brie

4 pieces whole wheat matzoh, broken into coarse pieces
Hot water
1 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 T. water
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 pound (225 g) sliced cremini or button mushrooms
1/4 C. (60 ml) raw walnuts, coarsely ground

Salt and pepper to taste

Break matzoh into 2-inch (5 cm) chunks and put them into a deep bowl. Pour in hot water to cover, and soak matzoh about 1 minute. Pour off water, draining well, and set aside.
Put the olive oil and water into a large, deep skillet. Then, add remaining ingredients, including the soaked matzoh. Sauté over high heat, stirring frequently, about 2 to 4 minutes, just until onions become translucent.
Season with salt and pepper, and serve. Makes about 3 to 4 servings.

As far as my kids are concerned, no Passover would be complete with matzoh meal pancakes (boubalech). They’d like me to make them all year round. They are really tasty— light and airy, they almost melt in your mouth. We serve them with syrup. But you can serve with kosher for passover powdered sugar, preserves, or just with a bit of butter.

This recipe is based on the recipe from the Manichewitz matza-meal box.

Matzoh meal pancakes (boubalech)

2 eggs, separated
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup matza meal
1/4 – 1/2 tsp salt
2 Tablespoons sugar (also okay without)

Add the water to the egg yolks. Beat lightly and add dry
ingredients, mixing well. Refrigerate until well chilled
(recommend preparing in evening, to have ready for breakfast).

Beat whites to stiff peaks. Fold into prepared mixture. (If
the matza meal you’re using is coarse, the batter may be too
runny; add more matza meal, a tablespoon at a time, until
of correct consistency.)

Pour oil into frypan to cover surface. Ladle batter into
pan; approximately a cooking-spoon full (I use a 1/3-cup
measure). Fry until golden brown on each side. Avoid turning
more than once.

Enjoy with your favorite pancake topping.