Breakfast of Champions and much more! (recipes to come - I promise!)

I haven't been as brave as I would like in the area of reconstructing non-vegan favorites into vegan favorites as I am still in the learning stages of vegan cooking! However, I decided to try my hand at making this delicious berry cream cheese coffee cake into a vegan version. Yay - I was successful! It turned out perfectly wonderful and gave me a little confidence in the area of transforming old favorites into acceptable new favorites.

Blueberries and Cream Coffee Cake
2 T butter
3/4 cup sugar
egg substitute for 2 eggs
1/4 cup soy yogurt (if you don't have yogurt, substitute apple sauce)
2 T canola oil
1 t grated lemon peel
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/4 cups unbleached flour, divided
1 1/4 t baking powder
1 t salt
1/2 t baking soda
1 cup soured almond milk (place 1 T vinegar in 1 cup measure and fill the rest with almond milk)
2 cups mixed frozen or fresh berries
8 oz vegan cream cheese (I used Tofutti)

In a mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar. beat in the egg substitute, yogurt, oil and lemon peel. Combine 2 cups of flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt. ix dry ingredients alernately with the soured milk. In a separate bowl, toss berries with remaining 1/4 cup flour. Fold into batter. Pour into 9x13 baking dish coated with cooking spray. Top batter with spoonfuls of cream cheese. Bake at 375 degrees until inserted toothpick comes out clean - about 30-35 min.

Ok so my parents were in town and my mom brought some fabulous focaccia to share. This focaccia was another recipe she was known for during our Zambia days and I was so excited to have it again! My mom mentioned this might be a good pizza substitute for us and once I tasted it again (it's been probably 13+ years since I've had it), I have decided she is sooo right! It is so flavorful and yummy and has that comfort taste of pizza without any dairy. Wow - I think this might be the new Friday night pizza night stand-in - at least for me!!

Focaccia (this makes a ton! be prepared for leftovers!)
Dipping oil:
3/4 cup olive oil
6 cloves garlic
3/4 t crushed red pepper
Combine ingredients in a saucepan over low heat. Heat until garlic is golden. Remove from heat and let stand 1 hr.

Dough:
2 cups warm water
5 cups flour
1 T yeast
2 t salt
8 medium tomatoes, chopped
2 T coarse sea salt
2 T each fresh chopped basil and rosemary
Pour water in measuring cup and sprinkle with yeast. Wait until dissolved. Wisk in 3 T garlic oil. Combine 2 cups flour with 2 t salt. Add yeast mixture to flour mixture and beat. Add 1 cup flour at a time to make a soft dough. Beat 3 minutes (I used the dough hook on my Kitchen Aid). Brush bowl with 1 T oil. Transfer dough to oiled bowl and cover. Let rise 1 hr. Place chopped tomatoes in a colander and sprinkle with 1 T salt. Let stand 15 min. Rinse with cold water. Drain on paper towels. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Brush baking sheet (I used a large jelly roll pan) with 1 T garlic oil. Punch dough down and briefly knead. Transfer to pan and stretch to fit pan. Sprinkle with rosemary and tomatoes, pressing into dough. Sprinkle with basil and remaining 1 T salt. Bake about 30 min or until golden. Serve with dipping oil.

I modified this Vegan Yum Yum (Baked Macaroni and Cheese) recipe a tad but stuck with the recipe mostly! It turned out fabulously creamy and flavorful. I used spaghetti instead of macaroni as it was the pasta I had on hand. This was also my first go at using miso - I bought a white miso at Whole Foods as I have heard that the lighter the color, the milder the flavor. Worked great in this recipe! Mmmmm! Find the recipe at Vegan Yum Yum - called Mac and Cheeze (only things I changed were: I used A1 sauce in place of tomato paste as I didn't have paste and for some odd reason, this makes a good substitute and I seasoned my panko crumbs with italian herbs and garlic salt and added about 2 T earth balance to them to crisp them up during cooking).