Tofu Eggs Benedict

The recipe I used to make this came from How it All Vegan, one of my all-time favorite cookbooks. It's basically English muffins, Candian bacon, marinated and baked tofu, tomato slices, and homemade Hollandaise sauce. I got the muffins and bacon from the health food store, though if I were feeling up to it, I could have followed The Urban Vegan's recipe for English muffins. The tofu got marinated and then baked in a baking dish with a really simple mixture that included apple cider vinegar (I love the tangy-ness that apple cider vinegar gives to the tofu!). The Hollandaise sauce is the best part of this whole meal. It's a really simple mixture that includes nutritional yeast and Dijon mustard. It's really filling, super delicious, and one of my favorite breakfasts ever (even better than the Tofu Eggs Benedict at Kate's)!

Sesame Ginger Tofu, Vegan Coffee Cake, and Carrot Apple Ginger Juice

I've been using ginger a lot lately. I started with some fresh ginger in Sesame Tofu, a recipe from Tofu Cookery by Louise Hagler, which has some of my favorite tofu dinner recipes. The ingredients are pretty simple, and it didn't take long to make. Basically, you dredge the tofu in a fresh ginger/fresh garlic/soy sauce (I like Braggs) mixture, then a flour/sesame seed mixture, then bake it. The result is crispy, ginger-y, and garlic-y, with the little sesame seeds adding interesting bits of texture and flavor (they kind of pop and crunch in your mouth). I also like using fresh ginger in my juicer. Here I juiced two red delicious apples, three carrots, and a cube of ginger (organic preferred, of course). This is one of my favorite juice combinations because it's a little sweet with a little spicy kick from the ginger.

I used organic powdered ginger in a coffee cake recipe I got from The Garden of Vegan. I ran out of oil mid-recipe, so the result is that my topping became more powedery than crumbly. It was still super good though. The cinnamon, ginger, and walnuts are a stellar combination!

Vegan Waffles

Yum! I was organizing/rearranging my kitchen the other day, and I came across a few gadgets that I rarely ever use. One of these was a waffle iron! When I first got it I was a waffle maniac, making waffles every weekend...but then I guess I got sick of them and put the waffle iron away. Well, I'm super excited to say that they're back in my life! Here is how I made them:

• 1 cup of flour


• 1 tsp baking powder


• 1 tsp sugar


• pinch of salt


• 1 tbsp canola oil


• 1 cup Silk


• 1 tsp vanilla extract

I mixed all of these ingredients together until just mixed, then poured about 2/3 cup of the batter into the prepared waffle iron (pre-heated and coated with canola oil spray). I waited until the indicator light went off on the waffle iron, then for all of the steam to stop, then I popped them out of the iron and that's it! I topped them with some fresh blueberries from my fridge and some maple syrup. They were heavenly, especially since I paired them with French pressed organic coffee sweetened with some Silk soy creamer.

Vegan Certified Bath and Shower Stuff

Fresh Body Market makes "fun products with serious benefits by using real fruits and vegetables, rather than commonly used extracts, synthetics or artificial preservatives", according to their website. They're all vegan certified! I first picked up their Foaming Milk Bath at a store, because I thought it looked like a milk container and I wanted to see if it had milk in it. I was so pleasantly suprised to see that it was vegan with yummy smelling coconut milk! So, I immediately bought the bubble bath and their Vanilla Granola Body Buff and Body Cream made with almond butter, organic oatmeal, ground almonds, and powdered nut shells. Although some may think that it's weird to use products that smell like food, I'm totally OK with it. In fact, I almost prefer products that have edible ingredients in them, because I think they're safer to use (hey, if you can eat it, it must be OK to slather all over your skin!). Some of these products are not only are packaged to look edible (they also make a cleanser and moisurizer that look like little soy yogurt containers), they smell like they're fresh from the kitchen and work really well. The bubble bath is super bubble-y and really soft, and the scrub and body cream are as mouthwatering as they are effective. You can get their products at their website or through the PETA mall, although I wouldn't recommend actually eating them!

Happy Fourth of July!

Celebrate by signing The Declaration of Compassion for the Planet and its Inhabitants, then watch some fireworks and eat some vegan ice cream.