Cinnamon Buns

"Land of Nod" Cinnamon Buns. My daughter made these several times over her high school years to bring to classes as snacks and treats. They were always popular.

Ingredients:
20 Frozen Dough Rolls
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup vanilla instant pudding
1-2 Tbsp cinnamon
1/4 - 1/2 cup melted butter

Directions:

1. Spray a 10" Bundt pan withi cooking spray.
2. Add frozen rolls.
3. Sprinkle with brown sugar, pudding powder, and cinnamon.
4. Pour melted butter over everything.
5. Cover with a damp tea cloth, and leave out at room temperature overnight.
6. When ready in the morning, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
7. Remove cloth, put the Bundt pan with rolls in the oven.
8. Bake 25 minutes.
9. Let sit 5 minutes, and invert on a plate.

Paradise Breakfast Burritos

I decided to make my own breakfast burritos based upon the Sin City Breakfast Tacos. We still make "crispies" and our own fried potatoes for other things on occasion. Paradise Breakfast Burritos have fresh-made tortillas and are vegan. Paradise would also be someone else making them for you and cleaning them up, or at least it's paradise when you share them.

Ingredients:
Tortillas
1 cup whole wheat flour + additional to form

2 tbsp olive oil
¼ cup water
salt
Crispies
corn tortillas, sliced into strips

Filling
canola oil
1 large potato, peeled and diced
1 large tomato, diced
1 medium white onion, diced
30 oz tofu, pressed and crumbled
1 tsp turmeric
2-4 Tbsp nutritional yeast
salt
pepper


Directions:
Tortillas

1. Mix all the tortilla ingredients together in a bowl until combined in a large ball. Add a tad more water if the dough is too dry. 
2. Divide into 4 smaller balls. Use additional flour on your hands to keep the dough from sticking to them.
3. Sprinkle some flour on a flat surface and place the first ball on it.
4. Flatten the ball using your hand.
5. Then use a rolling pin to flatten the dough into a thin circle, about 6-8" in diameter.
6. Heat a large pan over high heat. Once hot, place first tortilla in the pan. Watch for it to puff up, about a minute or so. Using tongs or heat-resistant fingers, flip the tortilla. Watch for more puffing.
7. Remove from pan.
8. Repeat steps 3-7 for all balls.

Crispies

1. In the same pan, heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a nonstick pan on medium heat.
2. Fry the corn tortilla strips until crispy. 
3. Put aside on a plate lined with a paper towel. 

Filling

1. To the same pan, add 2 more tablespoons of oil and heat (if necessary).
2. Fry the potatoes until soft but not crispy.
3. Add salt and pepper. 
4. Scoop the potatoes to a plate lined with a paper towel. 
5. If necessary, add 2 more tablespoons of oil to the same pan and heat.
6. Add onion and tomato, and cook until onions are translucent.
7. Add crumbled tofu, turmeric, nutritional yeast, and salt and pepper to taste.
8. Stir to combine well, then continue to cook over medium-high heat until thoroughly warm.

Paradise Burritos

1. Combine crispies, 1/4 fried potatoes, and 1/4 tofu mixture on a fresh tortilla. 
2. Fold in half for a soft taco or wrap for a burrito.

Notes:

• Serves 4.
• Approximately, 370 calories per serving.
• Tortilla recipe adapted from Hurry the Food Up.
• For the filling, you can make any Tofu Scramble you like. 

Open Faced Sloppy Lentils

These are really great sandwiches. They weren't originally supposed to be open-faced, but I couldn't eat them in a traditional way. The other suggestion I have would be to serve the filling on hoagies.

Ingredients:
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups fresh spinach
2 tomatoes, diced
3/4 cups green or brown lentils
1 diced green bell pepper
1½ cups marinara sauce

8 slices of whole grain bread (or 4 hoagies)

Directions:

1. Add lentils to a saucepan of water. Bring to boil, then reduce to low to simmer for 15-20 minutes. Drain and rinse when cooked.
2.  Sauté garlic and red pepper flakes, if using, until fragrant. 
3. Add spinach and tomatoes, continuing to cook until spinach turns dark green and tomatoes soften. 
4. Stir in cooked lentils, and marinara sauce until combined. 
5. Spoon onto bread (or hoagies) and serve.

Notes:
Serves 4 sandwiches
Per serving: 403 calories, 8.2g fat, 67.7g carbs, 20.6g fiber, 13g sugars, 18.5g protein

Maple Peanut Butter Pancakes

By now it is probably obvious our love of pancakes. When Veg News covered these, I had to make them. These pack a super flavorful punch. 

Ingredients:
3/4 cup oat flour
3/4 cup gluten-free 1:1 flour blend
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups vanilla almond milk
1/3 cup maple syrup 
1/4 cup peanut butter, just smashed peanuts
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp vanilla
cooking spray

Directions:

1. Whisk the flours, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together he milk, syrup, peanut butter, vinegar, and vanilla.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, stirring until combined.
4. Heat pan or griddle over medium heat.
5. Spray with cooking spray.
6. Scoop the batter in your preferred amounts (1/3 cup or less) onto the pan and cook until bottom is golden and stable.
7. Flip and cook until both sides are golden brown and center is cooked.
8. Repeat with the remaining batter, taking care to re-spray the pan between pancakes.

Notes:

• You can sub all-purpose flour for the gluten free flour blend at a 1:1 ratio.

Spring Roll Noodles

This is a great summer pasta salad. Eating fresh with the noodles and veggies still warm is awesome, but if you eat as leftovers, just eat cold straight out of the fridge.

Ingredients:
1-inch fresh ginger root, peeled and minced
8 oz thin noodles, ex soba or vermicelli
16 oz fresh asparagus
2 red bell peppers, seeded and diced
2 cucumbers, diced
fresh basil
fresh cilantro
lime juice
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 avocado, sliced
1 bunch green onions, sliced

Directions:

1. Trim ends of asparagus by cracking them off. Cut remaining parts in half.
2. Cook noodles according to package instructions.
3. Meanwhile, saute ginger, asparagus, and bell peppers. Once you reach desired tenderness, turn off heat.
4. Once the noodles are cooked, drain and rinse with cold water. 
5. Add cucumber and noodles to the sauteed vegetables. Stir in basil and cilantro.
6. Squirt with lime juice (either from fresh lime fruit or bottled), and pour soy sauce over the vegetables and noodles. Mix thoroughly.
7. Top with the sliced avocado and green onions.

Notes:

• Serves 4

Ebelskiver (Danish Filled Pancake)

We've been having Aebelskivers for a long, long time. On the theme of making things I loved prior to becoming vegan something I will eat now, I found a vegan Ebelskiver recipe. 

The top photo shows some of the fillings I used this time around: strawberry jam, peanut butter, blueberries, dark chocolate chips, and the pumpkin cream cheese filling from the recipe linked above. I topped with powdered sugar, maple syrup, and soy whip.

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp ground flax seed 
3 Tbsp water
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups vanilla almond milk 
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 Tbsp agave
4 Tbsp vegan butter, melted
1 Tbsp vanilla
cooking spray

Directions:
Making Batter

1. Prepare the flax egg by whisking the ground flax seed in the water and set aside in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
2. Warm your Ebelskivar pan over medium or medium-low heat.
3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
4. In another bowl, whisk together the milk and lemon juice. Let sit for a few minutes. Whisk again, add the agave, butter, and vanilla, and combine.
5. Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Add the flax egg, whisking to combine.

Making and Cooking the Ebelskivers

1. Spray the pan with cooking spray. If it turns brown, your pan is too hot. Lower the heat if need be.
2. Fill each well half-full with batter.
3. Add 1 teaspoon to 1 Tablespoon of filling to the batter, then fill remaining well with batter. Be quick!
4. Cook until the sides are golden brown and the top is bubbling (like regular pancakes.) It takes a couple minutes.
5. Turn the ebeskivers over using special turning tools, two spoons, two chopsticks, or another device. Cook through. 
6. Remove from pan, cover with toppings, and serve!

Notes:

• Makes about 27 (just shy of 3 servings in my house).
• You need an Ebelskiver pan to make these. 

Chunky Cinnamon Bites with Cream Cheese Icing

I don't recall where I got the recipe I made in 2011, but it was easy and a keeper. I've been working towards making the stuff I love vegan. I've renamed this because, like the first time, it doesn't really hold together well, so you don't need to pull it apart. The bites pull apart, though. 

Ingredients:
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
16 oz refrigerated biscuits 
1/2 cup Earth Balance, melted and divided

4 oz Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese
1/2 - 3/4 cup powdered sugar
1-2 Tbsp almond milk

Directions:

1. Preheat over to 350.
2. Separate biscuit dough into individual biscuits and cut each one into quarters.
3. Mix cinnamon and sugar in a gallon zipper bag. Shake dough quarters in the cinnamon sugar by batches, until coated.
4. Place half the biscuits in a greased 12-cup Bundt pan.
5. Drizzle with half the melted butter (1/4 cup).
6. Top with remaining biscuit quarters, and the remaining melted butter.
7. Top off the unbaked biscuit pile with remaining cinnamon sugar mixture.
8. Bake 40-45 minutes or until golden.
9. While letting the cinnamon bites sit for 5 minutes in the bundt pan, make the icing.
10. Icing: Beat softened cream cheese and powdered sugar until well blended. For a more tangy icing, use closer to 1/2 cup powdered sugar. For a sweeter icing, use 3/4 cup or more powdered sugar. 
11. Add 1-2 Tbsp milk as necessary, beating until desired consistency is reached.
12. Invert the bundt pan with cinnamon bites onto a plate. 
13. Drizzle the icing over the warm loaf.

Notes:

• I used Immaculate biscuits, as seen in the photo.