A Brunch-y Ode to Winter

I love brunch. And I love winter and wintertime treats. This brunch was a beautiful marriage of these loves of mine!! I served it a few weeks ago at my Saturday supper club, and the crowd was oh so pleased!

Pumpkin Bread French Toast with Candied Pecans and Cinnamon-Infused Maple Syrup.
Apple-Sage Seitan Sausages.And doughnuts!!! Served fresh and warm with some delicious coffee, and you are having a great day for sure!

Homemade Jelly Doughnuts filled with Blackberry Jam, topped with a Vanilla Glaze and Homemade Granola!!!!! Deep-fried, comfort food heaven.Ooey Gooey. I never thought I would ever have a jelly doughnut again after going vegan. I'm so glad I was wrong!!

Falafel and French Toast...not together, though...

Two things I have to rave about: Falafel and French Toast! (Sorry, I love alliteration.)

First, the Falafel! Last night, my mom and I went to dinner at Kansas City's renowned Jerusalem Cafe, before watching LOST. The restaurant in the Westport district of KC looks small and humble, but it has the BEST falafel I've ever eaten! They are consistently voted the best Middle Eastern food in KC. My faaaavorite thing to order there is the Falafel and Hummus Sandwich which comes in homemade pita bread with lettuce, onion, tomato, and their special tahini sauce! It is so good and so filling and so cheap and so healthy! I crave this ALL the time!My mom got her absolute favorite, too: Tabouli Salad. They have wonderful tabouli, and it has so much parsley in it that you pretty much never have bad breath again! You can get it as a dinner portion and it comes with their warm homemade Pita Bread on the side!
Next up: French Toast! I cannot emphasize enough how much I adore breakfast for dinner! Tonight, I made Bianca's (of Vegan Crunk) tester recipe for Cookin' Crunk, Sorghum Molasses French Toast! It is your basic vegan french toast, made with a tofu batter and whole grain bread of course, topped with a foamed sorghum syrup! The foam in the syrup comes from a pinch of baking soda, which thins out the sorghum a bit to make it more pourable, but also gives it a fantastically light and airy texture that compliments the thick, hearty toast perfectly!I served it with Scrambled Tofu, chock-full of veggies...especially chard! This was a perfect savory accompinament to the sweeter french toast. Brinner is served!

Fronch Toast and Cinnamon-Baked Apples. For Dinner!

Today is the 8th day of Vegan MoFo...I can't believe we're in the second week already!
Tonight, Steve and I needed some breakfast for dinner...go figure! I made Fronch Toast from VWAV, using some tasty baguette from Uprise Bakery here in Columbia. I had never made this before, so I wasn't quite used to making this with baguette instead of sliced bread, but it turned out pretty good! Not perfect, but everything's good with lots of maple syrup :) I served it with Scrambled Tofu, with onions, garlic, peppers, spices, local purple cherokee tomatoes (my absolute fav tomatoes! ) and cilantro. Screw you, eggs! Scram'fu will kick your butt! We also had some Cinnamon-Baked Apples, which I based on some baked apples I've had from Germany, to tie it all together. I am almost certain I will still be eating these apples we picked for all of my days. oh well! These are so fall-y and delicious...it's like the filling of apple pie, but quite a bit healthier! I will give you the recipe, I suppose! Cinnamon-Baked Apples (serves 2)
2 medium apples, thinly sliced
1 tsp Earth balance, cut into little cubes
1/4 c raisins
1/4 c chopped yellow onion
1 Tbs cinnamon...or more, if you're naughty
1 tsp nutmeg
dash of cloves
dash of salt
2 Tbs maple syrup
pinch of cayenne

Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine all of the ingredients in an oven-proof pan and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, stir the apples, and bake for 15 more minutes. Serve over toast or pancakes for a tasty breakfast! Or eat them by themselves, as they are super delicious!

We, of course, had to have a treat, too!
Introducing: German Chocolate Cake! This is simply the Basic Chocolate Cupcake recipe from Isa and Terry's VCTOTW, turned into a cake, with the Coconut Pecan Fudge Frosting, also from VCTOTW. I looooove German Chocolate Cake, and this is seriously amazing! I added a teaspoon of almond extract to the cake batter, and it made a really nice addition! Almond extract really brings out the flavor of chocolate, plus adds a little something extra for your taste buds. I think you should make this...if that's what you're into.