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Posts Tagged MimicCreme

Orange You In The Mood For French Toast?

Nov 20

Posted by Shari B. in Recipes | 9 Comments

Good morning friends!  Happy Friday! 

Can you believe that one week from today Thanksgiving will be behind us and we’ll be out fighting the Black Friday shopping crowds?  Is 2009 really almost over?  One week from today I’ll be putting up my Christmas tree and ‘inside’ decorations. Outside decorations will be done whenever we have a warm(ish) day. 

Thinking about Thanksgiving yesterday had me craving breakfast for dinner.  (That and I just was NOT in the mood to zip to the store so I had to come up with something from what we had in-house already.)

I tried to be creative and made up this dish:

Mandarin Baked French Toast Fingers  

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  • 6 whole eggs (organic, free-range)
  • 1/2 cup MimicCreme (or something like FF half-and-half if you are a drinker of dairy)
  • 2 Mandarin oranges (or one regular orange)
  • 7 slices Ezekial sprouted grain bread

-Crack eggs into bowl and add MimicCreme.  Using a zester or microplane, zest the skins of both mandarin oranges into the bowl.  After zesting, cut each orange in half and squeeze the juice into the mix.

-Whisk well.

-Make two stacks of Ezekial bread, cutting through each stack twice lengthwise to create the ‘fingers’. 

-Dip each finger into the egg mixture and add to a prepared baking dish (I used my large round stoneware baking dish from Pampered Chef.)

-Pour remaining mixture into baking dish after all pieces are coated.

-Let sit in the refrigerator for one hour so that the egg mixture soaks into the bread really well (the sprouted grain bread is dense).

-Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes (my toast fingers were double-stacked.  If yours are in a single layer they may take less time.)  Cover for most of the cooking time so they don’t get really dry.

-Or make your french toast in a pan on the stovetop like ‘regular’ french toast rather than baking.

-Once plated, garnish as you like.  I sprinkled on unsweetened coconut flakes and some cinnamon, then used agave nectar as my “syrup”.

I think next time I make this I’ll try the regular french toast version on the stove top.  The baked version didn’t have a very pretty presentation, but it had really good flaver with all that orange zest.  Breakfast for dinner is always fun.

The rest of the day’s eats went like this: 

Half of a banana before my 6:15 AM training client. 

A beautiful 30 oz GREEN SMOOTHIE after my 45-minute arm-killing Iron Yoga session. 

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Lunch out with MSP at Three Margaritas.  I’ve been craving their Veggie Enchiladas for weeks now. 

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It’s probably the healthiest meal I’ve every discovered at a chain Mexican restaurant.  Sauteed veggies like broccoli, cauliflower and carrots tucked inside a corn tortilla and topped with CARROT PUREÉ.  So good.  I ate half the plate and brought the other half home.  And ate the cold leftover beans for a nighttime snack.  MSP thought that was the nastiest thing ever.  (He doesn’t like cold pizza either!!!  I can eat any food cold..)

Today’s discussion is on the topic of Thanksgiving:  What foods are on your menu?  Are you cooking at your house?  If you’re a vegetarian or vegan, what are some of your favorite things to serve?  Or do you have a favorite dish that you like to take when you go elsewhere for Thanksgiving? 

We don’t go anywhere for Thanksgving.  Most of our relatives are all out of state.  Sometimes we go out to eat and hit up the movie theater.  Last year (when I still ate meat) we picked up a full meal from Boston Market for our ‘turkey dinner’ and we loved it!  It was fast and fun.  This year, I’m aiming (keyword is aiming) to do some fun cooking at home, depending on the budget.  (My list of ingredients for the things I want to make may cause me to NOT make some of them – then I’d just be spending all that money I’ll be saving on the Friday xmas shopping!)   We always like to make a yummy breakfast on Thanksgiving so I’m thinking of tweaking a favorite recipe for Sausage Biscuits & Gravy into a vegetarian, non-dairy version.  Still working on the ideas for that one.  MSP would also LOVE some bread pudding so I’m thinking of making a Chocolate Croissant bread pudding recipe for him (too rich and full of dairy for my liking so that will be all him!)  I also have my eye on a recipe for vegetarian Almost Beef Wellington as the ‘main dish’ for the day.  We’ll see.  ;)   I always have grand ideas for cooking!  If we have GORGEOUS weather that day, it may all get thrown out the window so that we can get outside for a hike!

Have a FABULOUS Friday everyone! 

– Shari B.  =)

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Heavenly Ginger Curry Squash Soup

Nov 13

Posted by Shari B. in Recipes | 4 Comments

I have been wanting to make a butternut squash soup for some time and just haven’t done it.  I finally took the plunge because I happened upon a recipe where I had most of the ingredients and had the right things that I wanted to substitute in it.

You know I love Amy’s Organic Soups. But after a recent disappointment with her Butternut Squash soup, I wondered whether squash soup was just not supposed to be flavorful.

Oh, was I ever wrong.

Friends, let me tell you this soup is to die for.  I had a few tastes while it was in its final cooking stages and it was so good I knew I had better fill up on a huge salad before dishing this one because I may have just gone and eaten the whole thing otherwise!

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The original recipe from Allrecipes.com called for a 2 lb butternut squash, but mine was only 1.25 pound.  I happened to have a leftover plain mashed sweet potato in the fridge so I used that to round out the lack of squash.  It also called for two pears, and I only had one.  So I used one pear and one apple.  Additionally I did not want to use butter or half-and-half, so I substituted Earth Balance (vegan butter) and MimicCreme in place of the half-and-half.   Thank you Allrecipes.com for the inspiration from which I have adapted the following.

The Ingredients:

  • 1-1/4 lb butternut squash (cut in half, seeds removed, baked facedown for 40 minutes at 375 , then soft pulp scooped out & set aside)
  • 1 small-med sweet potato (peeled, cut into chunks then boiled till soft, about 20 minutes)
  • 2 tbsp Earth Balance vegan butter spread
  • 1/2 onion
  • 2 cloves minced garlic (I used a canned pre-minced version)
  • 2 tsp minced ginger (again, I used a canned pre-minced version)
  • 1 tbsp curry powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 cans of chicken or vegetable broth (14 oz cans) + 6 oz water
  • 1 firm pear, peeled & diced
  • 1 gala apple, peeled & diced
  • 1/2 cup MimicCreme

The Preparation:

1.) Once the sweet potato and squash are prepared and set aside, melt the earth balance in your soup pot over medium.  Add onion, garlic, ginger, curry powder and salt.  Cook until onion is soft.  Mine took about 8 minutes.

2.) Add the broth and water to the pot and bring to a boil.

3.) Add in the pear, apple, sweet potato and squash.  Simmer for 30 minutes (until pear and apple are soft).

4.) Blend in batches until smooth and creamy.  Return to pot, stir in the MimicCreme, and reheat.  Simmer until ready to serve.

5.) Try not to eat it straight out of the soup pot face-first.  It will taunt you with its delicious aroma.

Enjoy!!

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Mashed Faux-tatoes

Sep 30

Posted by in Product Review, Recipes | 9 Comments

Hey everyone! 

Well, my quest for finding a fun new veggie didn’t turn up anything.  King Soops only had ‘normal veggies’ so I at least bought a veggie that I haven’t had in a long time:  cauliflower.  (Looks like a trip to Whole Paycheck Foods is in order to find the fun stuff!  Better leave the credit card at home…!)  

Back when the South Beach Diet first came out, there was one recipe that quickly became ‘famous’ from that program and that was using cauliflower to create a dish that resembled mashed potatoes.   The ingredients in the South Beach version include a couple of dairy products, and while I don’t shun dairy completely, I will find ways to minimize or avoid things made from cow’s milk when I can. 

Here is my twist on the original recipe of what I like to call Mashed Faux-tatoes:

  • 12 oz package of cauliflower florets
  • 2 tbs MimicCreme
  • 1 tbs nutritional yeast flakes (approximate – use to your own taste)
  • sea salt and pepper to taste

Steam the cauliflower until tender (I used the steamable microwave bag, 3-4 minutes on high). Place steamed cauliflower in a food processor and begin pureeing.  Add the MimicCreme and continue pureeing until you have the consistency of mashed potatoes (a few minutes max).  Add nutritional yeast, sea salt and pepper to taste then run the processor for a few seconds more to thoroughly mix all the ingredients.

This makes a pretty small batch (essentially a single serving) since I am the only one in my house that will eat cauliflower. Adjust your batch size as needed if you have veggie eaters in your house.

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Before my trip I’d ordered the MimicCreme to have on hand when I returned.  I’d planned to use it in my coffee but learned that it can also replace cream in most recipes, which is why I’d decided to try it in the faux-tatoes before giving it a thumbs up or down.  I’ve been searching for something to use in my daily coffee other than fat-free liquid Coffeemate and thought this might be the solution.  I tried it for the first time yesterday.  I had to use a fair amount to get the level of lightness in my coffee plus a full pack of Stevia as this ‘cream’ is unsweetened.  It does give a very creamy taste to my coffee and it worked great in the cauliflower, so I’d say it’s a definite thumbs up!  Which is good, seeing how I had to order a package of SIX from Amazon!

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 My Tuesday started with my Denver mug, in honor of being home!

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I woke up hungry so had 1 cup of Kashi GoLean cereal with some almond milk. 
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Then I took the dogs out together for their wog.  We did 2.5 miles – Riley got really tired right at 2 miles and kept stopping to lay in the grass, so we cut the loop really short.  I’d been aiming to get them out for 4 miles but I need to remember that in dog years she’s like 70 and so I need to take it easier on her.  That was the extent of my ‘planned’ exercise and the rest was running stairs from the 2nd floor to the basement floor with laundry and massive unpacking!

After wogging I had a scoop of Chocolate Vega mixed with almond milk.  
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For lunch I was in the mood for a veggie wrap.  This one started with a warm whole wheat tortilla, smeared with Tofutti.  I sprinkled pepitas on, then added sliced avocado, sliced tomato, alfalfa sprouts, sea salt and pepper.  For crunch I added a few Baked Lays on the side.  It was so good… I might have to have another one for today’s lunch too!  But maybe with some fauxtatoes on the side.  :)

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Afternoon snack was a delicious lemon flavored Larabar.  And some hot green tea.

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For dinner I ate my leftover Chipotle bowl (rice, black beans, fajita veggies, pico de gallo, and corn salsa) with a spinach salad on the side.

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I’m working on getting the recipe page going since I had a few requests for that before I left for my trip, so you should see that coming soon! 

Have a WONDERFUL WEDNESDAY!  Still looking to hear some comments on your favorite interesting veggies or a veggie you’ve never tried but wanted to!  I like to eat pickled beets, but have never tried them any other way, so that’s one that I’d like to purchase and prepare myself to see how it goes.  My most recent new veggie was fennel, which I tried because I heard that it tastes like licorice and it actually kind of does!

– Shari B.  =)

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