Yes, well, I’m back with more fodder for your (read: my) whole grain infatuation.

Can I tell you a story? Thanks.

My older sister, sometimes known as the Ultracompetitive Firstborn Sister, sometimes as the RacerSister, sometimes as just plain Exasperating, likes things a certain way. She has strong opinions of pretty much everything, including food. The strong opinion that I’m talking about in this instance is that she used to “not believe” in salad. It’s too fussy and doesn’t pack enough caloric punch to bother with. It especially should not be ordered in restaurants and is to be barely tolerated at home as a jaunty but ignorable sidekick to meat and potatoes.

The segue: I used to not believe in oatmeal. I used to laugh when I saw Steel Cut Oats for $5 on a menu. “Ha ha ha, a Lincoln for some gray mush? ha ha… choking on my bagel… ha ha.”

And then my mom “discovered” steel cut oats and the rest was history. They are so infinitely better than the 1 or 5 minute kind of oats, with a chewy texture and a real milled-at-the-farm toasty taste.

The RacerSister sometimes orders salads now, I survived choking on my bagel, and everyone benefits from the whole grain goodness of this hot delicious breakfast cereal. Kumbya.

Oh, and my mom deserves a shout out not only for rearing the RacerSister but also for helping me discover steel cut oats and this delicious breakfast combo. It’s really her recipe so all kudos should go to her.

Serves: 4 - 6
Time: 45 minutes

Hot Oat and Wheat Berry Breakfast Cereal

6 cups water
1/2 cup wheatberries
1 cup steel cut oatmeal
1/4 cup flax seeds (optional, but yummy)
1/2 tsp salt

Topping suggestions:
butter, milk, cream, soymilk, or yogurt
honey, maple syrup
chopped walnuts. almonds or pecans
berries, raisins, chopped apples

This one easy recipe. Bring the water to a boil and add the wheat berries. Cook for 15 minutes and add the oatmeal and flax seeds. Cook for another 25 - 30 minutes or until the wheat berries are soft.

Divide into servings and let everyone top to their heart’s content. And being whole grains their hearts really will be content.

Howdy everyone.  Today I’m excited to share with you an excellent, easy and eggtastic vegan recipe.  Fake eggs, people.  We’re talking the darling of vegetarians and grassy-smelling hippies everywhere: t-o-f-u. It’s not eggs; it’s better.

The tofu recipe I shall present you with in a moment has a cushiony-soft and sweet taste like the coming of spring but will still bust your chops with the smoky spicy flavor of chipote pepper.  It’s a two-faced dish for sure, but more for the Lions-to-Lambs of March than the blustery two-faced Janus.  The veggies folded in the tofu provide nice color and texture contrasts.
 
I made this dish as the vegan option for my latest brunch and it was a big hit with vegans, vegetarians, carnivores, adults, children, and accordionists alike.  It was actually my first time making tofu scramble and I wasn’t convinced that smooched tofu had anything going it (except being fun to smooch) but it’s taste, texture, and hash-brown compatibility made it a complete winner.  Enjoy!
 
Serves: 5
Time: 20 minutes

Chipotle-Maple Tofu Scramble

1/2 a small 7oz can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
1/4 cup of maple syrup
2 8oz packages of extra firm Tofu
1 green pepper, diced
2 tomatoes, deseeded and diced
2 bunches green onions, sliced
1/4 tsp turmeric for color, optional
salt

Blend together the chipotle peppers and adobo sauce with the maple syrup in a blender or food processor.
 
Drain the water from your tofu.  Try to get as much out as possible by squeezing with a towel or using a colander + paper towel contraption.  Wetness is your enemy in this recipe, so try to get as much liquid out of the tofu and tomatoes as possible.
 
If your skillet tends to stick add a little olive oil and heat over medium heat. Sauté the green peppers for a few minutes then add the tofu, chipotle-maple mix, tomatoes, green onions, turmeric, and a little salt to taste. 
 
Smooch up the tofu with the back of a wooden spoon, stir, and heat until any extra liquid is absorbed or until the tofu is hot and the veggies are soft.

Here is the recipe for Vegan Biscuits and Gravy that I made for the Synesthete’s Brunch. It’s easy, it’s an indulgence…it’s homemade biscuits straight from the oven for Pete’s sake! Obviously this recipe is perfect for brunch but it would good for dinner too with a side of sautéed spinach to round out the meal. You could also eat any leftover biscuits for dessert - they’d be yum with sliced strawberries and honey.

Time: 45 minutes
Serves: 4

Vegan Baking Powder Biscuits

2 cups all-purpose flour + more for flouring your surface
3 tsp baking powder
scant ¾ tsp salt
6 Tbsp soy margarine, kept quite cold but not frozen
¾ cup soymilk
spray oil

Gameplan: Make the biscuits dough and get the biscuits set out on the baking sheet ready to go in the oven.  When veggie gravy is almost done you can pop the biscuits in.  They take about 10 minutes.

Remember – keep a light hand. If in doubt, add/do less.  Also, when you roll out the dough it should be ONE INCH THICK.  We’re not making sugar cookies here.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
In a large bowl: sift or mix together flour, baking powder and salt.

Drop the 6 tablespoons of margarine into the flour mix and start rubbing it together. When the margarine chunks are the size of large peas, stop.

Add the soymilk to the flour, work the mix into a ball and kneed 5 times against a floured surface.

To make your biscuits, roll your dough out (by hand or with a rolling pin) until 1 to 1.5 inches thick. Cut into 2.5″ squares.

Place the squares on an oiled baking sheet and cook for about 11 minutes, checking around 9 minutes for golden corners.

 

Vegan Gravy

1 14.5 oz tube of veggie sausage (I used Gimme Lean brand)
olive oil
1 jalapeno, deseeded and minced
1 yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
½ tsp rubbed sage
¼ tsp fennel seed, optional
scant ¼ cup of all-purpose flour
1 - 2 cups soymilk
salt and lots of freshly cracked black pepper to taste

Add the veggie sausage, jalapeno, onions, and garlic to a skillet with a little olive oil heating in it. Cook the veggie sausage, breaking it up as you go along. Add the sage and fennel seed.

When the sausage is done and the onions are wilted, sprinkle the flour over the sausage and mix until incorporated so it’s no longer white.

Slowly add the soymilk, starting with about 1 cup. Depending on how you like your gravy you can add more soymilk, keeping in mind that the gravy will thicken while heating for few more minutes on the stove. Add salt and pepper to taste.

To Serve:

Plate 2 biscuits on a plate and pour some gravy over the biscuits or on the side.  Add some hash brown, and perhaps some sliced tomatoes and you’re all set for brunch.