I am, most definitely, an early morning person and yet for some reason I cannot bestir myself to actually cook in the morning. This is especially true on weekends; after the weekday rush I prefer a leisurely morning of coffee drinking and relaxing to a morning of brunch-making and dish washing. As we all know, however, weekends are made for brunches. What's a girl to do?
Enter this recipe. This dish is quickly and easily prepared the night before, and the morning of requires no more effort than putting a pan in the oven, and then drinking coffee leisurely while it bakes. Now, that's my idea of an easy Sunday morning brunch.
Ingredients:
Place a mixing bowl and beaters in the freezer for 5-10 minutes.
Be sure the coconut milk is thoroughly chilled so that the thick cream is separated from the watery liquid. Scoop out the cream into the chilled mixing bowl. Beat coconut cream on high until soft peaks form. Add sugar and 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract and beat again. Place whipped coconut cream into an airtight container and refrigerate until needed.
Pour the melted coconut oil on the bottom of a large casserole dish or baking pan. Ensure the bottom of the pan is well-coated with oil.
Pour the remaining watery liquid from the coconut milk into a medium bowl. Whisk together with eggs, maple syrup, salt, and 1 teaspoon of the vanilla extract.
Arrange the baguette slices in the casserole dish or baking pan. Pour egg mixture evenly over top. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
The next morning, preheat oven to 400 degrees. While the oven is preheating, allow the casserole dish to sit at room temperature. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until egg mixture is set.
Serve baked French toast topped with dollops of whipped coconut cream and sliced strawberries.
It's been such a long winter, hasn't it? In the spring I long for greenery, both in my garden and on my plate. When my husband was growing up one of the first signs of spring was the sight of asparagus, which grew wild on his family's property, poking up through the ground. To me, one of the first signs of spring is seeing big, luscious bunches of asparagus for sale in the produce section. In any case, asparagus is a source of joy for me: a gustatory pleasure and a seasonal indicator. This Green Goddess Bowl is full of goodness and nutrition, and it tastes like springtime. Just gazing at the symphony of green makes me feel like the season for renewal is upon us; and this meal will certainly make you feel renewed and energized.
Thanks to the cashews and the quinoa, this dish is a perfectly balanced, protein-rich vegan meal, but I serve it with chicken sauteed in garlic and olive oil for my family. It's a meal that is delicious either hot or cold - I often make extras just so I can have it cold the next day.
Note: Nutritional yeast is flakey, yellow, and adds a cheese-like flavour to a dish. It can be found, along with raw cashews, in any health food store.
Start with beautiful green veggies.
Toss the veggies in olive oil.
Roast until tender-crisp.
Ingredients
Soak the cashews in the hot water for 1-2 hours. Process in a food processor until semi-smooth.
Add half of the avocado and the lemon juice to the food processor, process until smooth. Add the basil, nutritional yeast, onion powder, garlic, salt, and pepper and process until very smooth.
Prepare quinoa according to package directions.
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 425 degrees. Slice zucchini lengthwise and then into 1/4 inch thick pieces. Remove woody ends from the asparagus and slice into 2 inch pieces.
In a large bowl, toss zucchini and asparagus with olive oil. Arrange on a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet; roast in 425 degree oven for 10-15 minutes.
Mix together cooked quinoa, vegetables, and dressing. Cube the other half of the avocado and arrange it on top of the quinoa.
Chicken Addition for the Meat-Lovers
Ingredients:
In a skillet, heat the olive oil on medium heat, add garlic and cook until browned and fragrant, about three minutes. Add sliced chicken breasts, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sautee until browned and cooked thoroughly, about ten minutes.
It’s the start of that sweet time of year known as berry season! Don’t you just love seeing packages of luscious red strawberries and big, beautiful blackberries in the produce section? My family gobbles them down like the nature’s candy that they are, but I also like to incorporate them into actual meals — dessert is a meal, is it not? This dessert would be a lovely ending to a brunch, or a fancy addition to an afternoon tea. The mini-cakes stand up perfectly on their own; together with whipped coconut cream and berries, they are divine.
This dessert is vegan, which means it is perfect for anyone who cannot eat dairy or eggs.
Ingredients:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
In a separate bowl, combine lemon juice and zest, canola oil, and applesauce.
Add wet ingredients to dry ones; stir until just combined.
Divide batter among 12 greased muffin tins; sprinkle each with ¼ teaspoon granulated sugar. Bake for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the coconut whipped cream. Be sure coconut milk is well chilled so that the thick cream will have separated from the watery liquid. Put bowl and beaters in the freezer for five minutes so that they are also well chilled. Scoop coconut cream out of the can and place it in chilled bowl; discard liquid or save it for a smoothie later.
Beat cream on high until soft peaks form. Add sugar and vanilla, beat again.
Slice mini-cakes in half, dollop cream and berries in the middle. Garnish with extra berries.
Store any leftover cream in the refrigerator; cream will keep fresh for 7-10 days.
Makes 12 mini-cakes
Adapted from 67 Days in the Past
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