Slowly the moon went by. Shadows fell down from the hills, and all grew dark before them. The stars grew thick and bright in the sky above. No one stirred.
- The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien
Breakfast is my favourite meal of the day hands down. I can have it at any time of the day, doesn't really matter as long as it's breakfast food!
When I'm at home for breakfast (which seems to be only about 2 or 3 times a week at the moment) I normally have cereal and fruit. It's regular comfort food (I've been known to have the odd day where I've had this for lunch and/or dinner as well!).
My regular at the moment is a couple of weetbix, a handful of muesli (what ever I've got in the pantry at the time), a golden kiwifruit and a spoonful of peanut butter doused in heaps of rice milk. This will keep me going until lunchtime no problem.
Sometimes on a Saturday morning I might have a smoothie before yoga if I haven't been out running beforehand (I'm normally way behind schedule if I've gone running so it's cereal or a muesli bar as I'm racing out the door).
Sometimes it's a green smoothie, sometimes it's just your regular as above (frozen banana, frozen mixed berries, peanut butter, ground flaxseed, rice milk). I like it thick enough to eat with a spoon!
This morning I didn't feel like my usual weetbix so I made a super thick smoothie so it was a bit more like ice cream and I ate it out of a bowl topped with muesli and chopped almonds and walnuts. SO delicious!
If I'm having breakfast at work (the mornings I'm training before work) I'll have a homemade texas muffin and fruit (my favourites are the Blueberry Ginger Spelt Muffins and the Zucchini Spelt Muffins both from Vegan Brunch) or toast (homemade bread...I love my breadmaker!) with almond butter and jam.
There are times though when I'll put on my apron (metaphorically speaking since my apron normally hangs forlornly in my bedroom and my clothes bear the brunt of my messiness) and make something more exciting. Unfortunately I've had a fair amount on lately so haven't had time in the morning to make something exciting like waffles or pancakes...hopefully this weekend? Can't wait to make those Peanut Butter Waffles or some girdle scones again though...
Sometimes though I might even go out for breakfast/brunch/a meal before midday. Kokako is just up the road from my gym so sometimes I might head there on a Saturday or Sunday morning for some fueling up.
This is their tofu scramble and it is really good...tofu chunks, tomato, mushrooms, potato and super grainy bread. Guaranteed to make your morning.
But even the longest and darkest of nights passes sooner or later.
- The Neverending Story by Michael Ende
It was Mum's birthday on Saturday so, naturally, cake was required. But first up, dinner. Because everyone had been out all day the meal was real quick. Mum had got me Fry's vegetarian sausage rolls which were real delicious and I had that with a basic salad...because one must save room for cake!
Mum always wants chocolate when asked so this time I thought, well, why don't I not ask her and make something else that I know she will love just as much but wouldn't think of to ask for because chocolate always gets in the way!!! You see, whilst browsing the recipes on Have Cake, Will Travel I stumbled across a recipe for Lemony French Cake which immediately made me think of Mum 'cause she loves lemon-flavoured cakes and puddings. I knew instantly this would be perfect for her.
I iced the cake with the cream cheese lemon icing and topped it with vegan lemon-flavoured turkish delight (another real favourite of Mum's). After an awesome day out at the forest for the Auckland Orienteering Champs (yep, my parents are orienteers too), cake was the perfect way to finish the day.
It didn't rise as much as I would have liked which might be because I cooked it in a larger pan than the recipe called for but it was deliciously light and not too sweet. I'll definitely be making this cake again. Most importantly though, the birthday girl liked it too!
His teeth tried to tell him something, but he never listened to them. A man could go mad, listening to his teeth.
- Making Money by Terry Pratchett
Most thursday nights are 'dinner at the parents' nights. Some previous dinners can be found here and here. Mum is always looking for different dishes to use tofu in and one night she made us all Italian Tofu Meatballs.
They totally rocked so I guess I'll have to give the recipe a go myself now!
Another tofu dish she made was this...a baked tortilla stack. I think it's from one of the Simon and Alison Holst Meals Without Meat cookbooks. The tofu is crumbled up into little pieces and if you didn't know that it had tofu in it you could be fooled.
Light, spicy and delicious. Wonder what she will whip up for us next...
A night bird trilled. The world was so big, and the night sky was so full of glimmering light!
- Tailchaser's Song by Tad Williams
If I haven't thought in advance (which is pretty much all the time...and if I have planned in advance I'll have forgotten what I planned), I never know what I'm going to have for dinner until I actually get into the kitchen and have a rummage around for what I've got and what I feel up to doing. This particular dinner was a case of opening the pantry and going, umm, what shall I eat tonight? I saw a can of creamed corn and thought, 'hmmm, corn fritters sound good.' But I thought I'd add some chickpeas to the mix for some protein (and 'cause chickpeas are delicious).
I served the fritters with mango chutney, sliced capsicum and avocado, steamed broccoli with tahini ('cause I can never be bothered making a proper sauce), hummus and the last raw flaxseed cracker from a pack I bought at Huckleberry Farms out of curiosity. Quick and delicious.
In case you were interested, here's a really rough recipe for the fritters. Bear in mind I didn't actually measure anything but it's pretty forgiving so you can pretty much do what ever you like.
Corn and Chickpea Fritters
half a can of chickpeas (drained)
half a can of creamed corn
½ tsp baking powder
approx ¹⁄₈ cup polenta
approx ³⁄₈ cup wholemeal flour
1 Tbsp yeast flakes
1 Tbsp sweet chilli sauce
½ Tbsp ground flaxseed mixed with 1 Tbsp rice milk
a sprinkling of chilli and lime seasoning
Mash the chickpeas up with a fork then mix in the rest of the ingredients (super easy!). Heat up your fry pan and spoon heaped tablespoons of the mixture into the pan once it's heated. Flatten slightly. Cook on both sides until golden brown (or just brown...I put the golden part in there 'cause it sounded fancy!). Makes enough for 2 people (and it keeps in the fridge for a couple of days as well...it might keep longer but my mixture never lasts that long!).
