Dried Plum and Maple Brussels Sprouts from Zesty Cook

Lately you may have noticed there has been another man besides Funk in my kitchen. Scandal! Yep, last week I brought Zesty’s recipe into my kitchen and made his amazing apple crisp recipe. I loved every last bite of it (Funk is not a big dessert eater, so someone has to finish it off!)

This week I brought Zesty of Zesty Cook back to cook with me and tried his Figged and Maple Brussels Sprouts recipe. Did you know its BrusselS sprouts and not Brussel sprouts?! News to me! I wholeheartedly love Brussels sprouts and had never even tried them until just a few years ago. My favorite way to enjoy them is simply roasted with some oil, salt and pepper. Funk isn’t completely sold on them, finding brussles sprouts a bit too bitter. So I saw this sweetened b.sprout recipe as one that he might warm up to.

I naturally used vegetable stock in place of the chicken stock in this recipe. But one bigger swap I made was using dried plums in place of the dried figs. I didn’t have any figs on hand, but had a big container of antioxidant packed dried plums. You may be wondering why I’m calling them “dried plums” instead of their standard moniker: prunes. Because prunes sound gross and they have such a negative connotation in the food world – think staple snack in senior centers around the globe. But if you give them a taste, you’ll find they’re plump, moist, and delicious, and they’re so darn healthy for you it’s worth it to coin them “dried plums” just to get past the prune pessimism. I think my dried plums worked wonderfully in this recipe.

Here’s a note from Zesty:
As far as simplicity goes, this dish is very easy to make yet packs that powerful aroma when serving. You could serve this as a side dish for almost anything – fish, chicken, pork, beef – you name it. It could also be served as the star of the show if you so desired.

Ingredients
2 Cups Brussels Sprouts ( halved )
2 Figs ( Dried and chopped finely ) – I used 5 dried plums
1 Tbsp. Olive Oil – I used canola oil
1/2 Cup Chicken Stock – I used vegetable
1/4 Cup Pure Maple Syrup
Salt and Pepper

Method
Preheat oven to 400 Degrees Celsius.

In a bowl, add halved Brussels sprouts and coat with olive oil (canola) and salt and pepper.

Line cookie sheet with parchment paper and spread Brussels sprouts out evenly to prepare for roasting.

Roast for 20-30 minutes until done.

In a small sauce pan, add chicken (vegetable) stock and figs (dried plums) and bring to a gentle boil. Then turn to simmer and let reduce. Add maple syrup and continue to let it reduce for 10-15 minutes.

Once the Brussels sprouts are fully roasted, remove the pan from the oven and pour the maple fig mixture on top. Toss to coat evenly and place back in the oven until ready to serve. Enjoy!

I believe this dish made 4 servings. I took care of at least 2 of those servings. They were DIVINE. Oh my goodness, I used absolutely no table manners when scarfing these veggies down. I love the combo of bitter-sweet-salty and they tasted almost candied. Brussels sprouts are no dinky veggie either – they’re hearty, filling, and don’t wilt or get pushed around the plate.

I couldn’t wait for Funk to come home to try them. Success! When I asked if he was now sold on Brussels sprouts he said, “If you make them like this!” Now I think he’s a fan of every veggie I’ve ever made. Be still my heart! See, it was well worth it to have another man in my kitchen (ok another man’s recipes) this week to woo with food the man in my heart. Awwww.

These photos are courtesy of Zesty, who took much better shots than I did!

Easy Creamy Pumpkin Soup

I don't like to waste any food, which is why I turned Saturday's Halloween decoration into Sunday night's dinner. This cute little pumpkin made our apartment feel festive for Halloween, but once the calendar flipped to November 1st, I was ready to eat it!

Certain pumpkins are better than others for cooking and baking. The pumpkin we had was a sugar pumpkin, which is smaller and sweeter than the pumpkins you pick for Jack-o-lanterns. Actually, a few years ago, I didn't know this. I decided to take my mom's former Jack-o-lantern and turn it into some pumpkin stew. We baked the pumpkin for hours and then mom took an electric carving knife to it. It wasn't worth the work, and didn't even taste good! But after all that effort I did use every last bite of that pumpkin in soups and stews.

This year I went with the five pound or so sugar pumpkin. I cut it open (no electric knife required) and scraped out all of the seeds. I cut the pumpkin into wedges and baked it in a 400 degree oven for only about 20 minutes until the pieces were soft.

Meanwhile I rinsed off the seeds and sprinkled some salt on them and baked those for less than 10 minutes so we could snack .

Once the pumpkin pieces were baked, I let them cool then scraped off the skin, which came off very easily. I chopped up a shallot and sauteed it in a pot with a little bit of olive oil. Then I added the pumpkin and three cups of vegetable broth and let it simmer for a few minutes.

Meanwhile I opened and rinsed a can of white kidney beans and dumped them in the pot along with some salt, pepper, and ground sage to taste. The beans were to add a punch of protein, but also make the soup a creamy one, without adding high fat and calorie cream. After simmering the pot for 10 or so minutes, I turned off the heat and turned on my immersion blender. In a matter of seconds I was able to blend my soup into a creamy consistency.

Although this soup only had three main ingredients - broth, pumpkin and white beans - it was incredibly flavorful and rich. We topped the soup with some seeds for added crunch. Our bowls were just brimming with nutrients: fiber, powerful antioxidants, and protein from the pumpkin and beans. This recipe made 4 big servings of soup for dinner, but would make about six smaller bowls if served as an appetizer or side. If you're looking for a simple soup to add to your Thanksgiving menu, give this a go.

Baked Apple Crisp: Recipe from Zesty Cook

I've been meaning to make Apple Crisp all fall. Apples are one of my favorite foods, and of course, my favorite fruit. There are just so many varieties! There is only one I won't eat, and that's Red Delicious. Otherwise, I'm an apple-a-day gal.

I had a fridge full of extra apples from a recent cooking demo I did - it was a mix of Fuji, McIntosh and Gala. I know certain apple varieties are better baked than others but I can never tell the difference and don't discriminate in my apple baking. I recently saw an apple crisp recipe from Zesty on Zesty Cook's blog and decided to use it with (of course) some ingredient modifications.

Ingredients:
8 Cups sliced apples - I used 6 big apples and kept the skin on (more nutrients!)
1/4 Cup White Sugar
2 Tbsp. Flour
1/2 Tsp. Cinnamon
1 Cup flour - I used 3/4 Cup whole wheat pastry flour (more fiber!)
3/4 Cup brown sugar - I cut this down to 1/2 cup
1/2 Cup soft butter - I used Earth Balance

I also added in a packet (1/2 cup) of instant maple brown sugar oatmeal to get some more good whole grains in there. This allowed me to cut back on some of the sugar and flour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare baking dish by rubbing butter (Earth Balance) all over it.

Combine apples, white sugar, 2 Tbsp. Flour and cinnamon in a large bowl and mix together.

Toss into baking dish and spread evenly.

For the topping combine the final 3 ingredients (4 if you're also adding oats) and spread evenly over the top of the apple mixture.

Bake for 45-60 minutes depending on your oven.

Remove and let rest. Serve warm or cool.

This was so good. I'd actually increase the oats and decrease the amount of sugar the next time I make this, but for the recipe I went with, it was perfectly crisped, sweet, and tart at the same time. Sure it makes a great dessert, but I think I liked it best when I mixed it into my morning bowl of oatmeal. Thanks for the great recipe, Zesty!

Turnip Lentil Bake

The other day my mom got me one of those pre-packaged, peeled and diced packages of turnips. I love root veggies and hadn't enjoyed turnips yet this season so I was excited to find a new recipe for them. But if you do a recipe search for turnips, you'll mostly come up with something along the lines of roasted root veggies. Don't get me wrong, I love roasting root veggies, but I was looking for something with a little more culinary creativity. Coming up short on my favorite recipe websites, I decided to create my own dish.

I love turnips, Funk loves lentils, and with both of these ingredients in the fridge, they were destined to be the perfect pair.

In a large casserole dish, I combined the diced turnips with the pre-cooked and packaged lentils from Trader Joes. There might have been about 2-3 cups of cooked lentils in the package, so plan on that if you're going to make this using dry lentils.

I also mixed in the equivalent of two egg whites (I used Ener-g egg replacer), but I found this ingredient was unnecessary, so you can leave it out. I then added in about 1/2 cup of shredded soy cheese, and a big bunch of chopped fresh dill. I used dill because I happened to have it in my fridge, and it really added some nice flavor. But if you happen to have fresh sage lying around, try that. I think sage goes so well with root veggies and hearty lentils. Any fresh herbs will add a nice dose of healthy antioxidants.

I dashed in some salt and pepper to taste and baked it in the 350 degree oven for about 40 minutes. For the first 30 minutes I baked it covered, and left the cover off for the last 10 minutes. The cheese held everything together well once baked and there was a nice crisp on the top.

This dish was so stick-to-your-ribs good thanks to the protein packed lentils and filling, fibrous turnips and lentils. I'm glad I branched away from the usual roasted root veggies to create this casserole.

Happy Halloween from Julia Child and Big Baby

Good morning, readers! Did you have a happy Halloween weekend? What did you dress as?

Usually I know months in advance what my costume will be and I start sewing or creating it early on. This year Halloween snuck up on me and I was completely unprepared! Fortunately just days before the Halloween party we went to, I came up with my costume: Julia Child! It seemed fitting since I've read Julie & Julia and organized an event to watch the movie with other foodies over the summer. I'm also currently reading Julia Child's My Life in France for the Massachusetts Dietetic Association's Book Club meeting next week. I feel like I've been channeling Julia for the past few months!

Dressing myself in an apron, pumps, set of pearls, and an "I love cooking" button, and armed with a chicken (fake, of course) and mixing spoon, I felt I looked the part, and everyone at the party seemed to know who I was dressed as!

We were cutting it close for Funk's costume, and the night before Halloween it came to me: he'd go as the Celtics player nicknamed Big Baby (who is also a big jerk for punching his friend and breaking his thumb - but it was a nice addition to Funk's costume).

Funk dressed in some Celtics gear and bandaged his thumb. I wrapped a cloth diaper on him, which was a first, and off we went. Success! Everyone seemed to guess who he was dressed as, too.

Funk's old roommate Chris was the host of the Halloween party and we were entertained to see him also wearing an adult diaper dressed as a different kind of big baby. It got me wondering if these two old roomies used to walk around their apartment together wearing adult-sized diapers. They seemed to really enjoy it...

Some friends showed up in my favorite costume of the night: the Twitter search word #costume. Genius! But only really if you're a Twitter nerd. Most people at that party had no clue what they were.

Who were you for Halloween?

The Funk & Janel Duo do the Wrentham Halloween Duathlon

A few months ago I caught the multi-sport bug when I completed my first triathlon. I loved the event, and even the training that went with it. Apparently Funk caught the bug watching me train and compete and we both decided we wanted to do an event like that together.

Since we both love cycling and running, we figured a duathlon would hit the spot so we signed up for the Wrentham Halloween Duathlon sometime in the summer. This event is a 3 mile run, followed by an 11 mile bike, and finished with a 2 mile run. I like that duathlons don't involve swimming, which is the hardest sport for me and of course October is too chilly to swim outside!

I wish I could say we trained hard, but a busy fall got in the way along with some hindering injuries and we went to the race with a fun, do-the-best-you-can-do attitude.

We couldn't have had more perfect weather on race day. The sky was blue, the sun was out and halfway through the race I was peeling off layers as the temperature got warmer. There were 300+ participants in this race, which seems tiny to me compared to the 3,000+ in my triathlon and 7,000+ in my recent 10k. You could tell there were some fierce competitors in the event as well as people in it just for a day of fun. It was entertaining too, to see some participants dressed in Halloween costumes. I considered wearing last year's Ketchup costume but thought it wasn't very aerodynamic. It was obviously a co-ed event which got my nerves up a little. I prefer all-female races that always feel so empowering. But let me tell you, running by men on the road and whizzing by guys on the bike was also pretty empowering too!

I also found myself running along side the Hoyts during some of the race. Know them? They're an inspirational father-son duo who have competed in over 1,000 races together including triathlons and Ironman.

Rick has been afflicted with cerebral palsy from birth. In running events, Dick pushes his son in front of him in a specially designed wheelchair. In cycling, Rick rides in a carriage attached to the handlebars. In swimming, Dick pulls Rick along on a raft strapped to his waist. Check out the Hoyt's website to learn more.

I've seen them run a few Boston Marathons, but it was amazing watching Dick bike with his son sitting on the bike as well (I could hardly bike myself up those hills let alone another person sitting on my bike!). One word: wow. Dick is nearing 70 years old and isn't ready to quit. As I ran next to the Hoyts I said to them, "You're an inspiration. Thanks!" and spent the rest of the race reminding myself how lucky I am to be able to run and bike and be active.

Funk and I both had a fantastic race. The run portion was flat and short, while the bike portion had some of the most extreme hills I've ever ridden on. I actually started to get more daring on the downhills instead of riding the breaks like I usually do! For me, I can kill the up-hills, but it's the downhill part I'm a wus at! Funk rocked the bike portion too, even though his chain came off the bike twice.

We both finished strong and feeling good. Funk came in at about 1:15 and me at 1:19 with our parents cheering on the sidelines. We've already been thinking about future races to do together, possibly as a relay team, or rather duathlon duo.

Random Ingredient Dinner for 1

This week I had three glorious posts scheduled to go up on my blog detailing my amazing POM Wonderful Blogger Harvest Tour experience. But with some technical, er, glitches, I have to put them on hold for a bit. However you can check out the beautiful blogs of the following people to read up on all of the fun we had in Cali!

• Roni – GreenLiteBites
• Coco (Qian) – Balance Joy and Delicias
• Gina – Fitnessista
• Kristy - This Wicked Noodle
• Sagan - Living Healthy in the Real World
• Bren – Flanboyanteats.com
• Pace – Taste of Pace
• Caitlin - Healthy Tipping Point
• Janel – Dine Dish Delish
• Shirley – Gluten Free Easily
• Emily – Visions of Sugarplum
• Eric – Eric Rivera Cooks
• Heather – Heather Eat Almond Butter
• Tina - Carrots n' Cake

So to fill that suddenly blank blog space, I'll share with you the dinner experiment I whipped up the other night. Funk was out on the town, and I use those solo nights to whip up dinners made from random ingredients lying around the kitchen. Sometimes these meals are just...eh...and sometimes they wind up being meals I reproduce, even when Funk is home. Actually, the majority of the meals I create for the two of us are big culinary experiments, but with slightly more planning ahead, but I digress.

Last night I parused my fridge and found: a slice of homemade whole wheat beer bread my mom gave me, a bag of kale, a macintosh apple that never made it into the fruit drawer with the rest of them, and some shredded soy cheese. Minutes later - dinner was served!

I sauteed the cut kale in some grapeseed oil and a splash of red wine vinegar. I also diced up the apple and tossed that in and sauteed until the kale wilted. Meanwhile I toasted the beer bread slightly. When all was said and done, I topped the bread with the kale and apples and sprinkled on some soy cheese which melted on the spot. The only thing missing from this meal was Funk. But for a solo dinner on a busy weeknight, it sure hit the spot.

What are some culinary creations (or disasters) you've come up with using random ingredients?

ADA's FNCE 2009 Denver: My Highlights

I recently attend the annual American Dietetic Association Food and Nutrition Conference (FNCE) in Denver, Colorado. This conference brings together thousands of dietitians from around the country to learn about the latest research in nutrition, network and schmooze with other like-minded professionals, and of course taste hundreds of new food products on the market from bars to gluten-free baked goods. This is my third time attending FNCE and I always leave the conference inspired, excited, jazzed up about my profession with a long list of “to-dos” and enough ideas to last me to the next conference.

This year I was invited to attend the conference to have a face-to-face meeting with ADA’s Member Value Committee. I am one of the new members of this passionate committee and Chair the New Member Sub-Committee with other fantastic dietitians.

My days in Denver were jam-packed with so many exciting events and happenings, but here are some of my personal highlights:

• Reunion! The best part about these annual conferences is that it’s a built-in reunion with some of my best friends from my graduate program at Tufts University. It’s nice to see old classmates who are in different parts of the country in exciting nutrition jobs.
  

• Our opening speaker was finance guru Suze Orman. I’ve read Suze’s books, watched her TV show and laughed at the SNL skit of her and her jackets (yes, she donned a snazzy leather jacket when she spoke). Suze was one of the most powerful, influential speakers I’ve ever heard. She made all of us think twice about our finances, from 401ks to paying off credit cards, buying houses, and how to feel financially secure. I loved that ADA chose a speaker who is not in the nutrition field, but whose information can apply to all dietitians.


• I went to the Nutrition Entrepreneurs and Dietitians in Business and Communications networking event Saturday night. I get daily emails from the Nutrition Entrepreneurs group and am always encouraged and inspired by some of the nutrition big-wigs who contribute to the group. I was giddy as I found myself sharing a table with the Nutrition Twins Tammy and Lyssie who I’ve admired for years once I learned of them when I was in college. They were so upbeat and friendly and let me gush about their new book and Good Morning America appearances. They gave me some great tips about approaching the media, which is something I need to do more of.
  


• I was star-struck when Ellie Krieger walked into the room. Remember my recent post about her recipe I made and the last time I met her at FNCE? I was even more excited this time and made my friends come with me for moral support so I could talk to her again! I let Ellie know that my blog post that day was about her and her recipe! It’s likely she thought I was a weirdo stalker, but she was so friendly and nice enough to ask me how I liked her recipe and what I thought of the mandolin-zucchini-slicing technique (I gave her some of my own tips!).
  


• The expo was an exciting place to be and as soon as the doors opened, I headed to the POM Wonderful booth to meet some of the enthusiastic POM peeps. Why POM? I was recently brought on as a writer for the website (stay tuned for some of my articles!) and would be heading to California from Colorado for the first ever POM Blogger Harvest Tour (blog posts about that to come too) in just a few days. I met Martin from POM who I hope to collaborate with in the future on many POM endeavors.
  


• The Member Value Committee met face-to-face for the first time and it was an active, proactive group. It was one of the most productive 2-hour meetings I’ve ever been in and I’m excited about all of the new projects we have on board to improve ADA’s membership and increase member satisfaction.
  


• I attended the Speakers Sub-Group meeting Sunday evening and was so glad I did. Marilyn Jess, a dietitian and well known speaker lead the session and gave us great tips for landing speaking roles and coming up with (and following through with) a “big idea” related to speaking. I’ve been home for less than 12 hours and I’ve already contacted three local Toastmasters groups in the Boston area that I’m considering joining. I love public speaking and would like to do it for a living, so this is a great way for me to improve my speaking skills. I’ve considered Toastmasters before, but this meeting gave me the nudge I needed to take action. I was in a room full of well-known dietitians, including Eating Disorders guru Jessica Setnick , speaker/author/dietitian Cindy Heroux, Christine Palumbo who is frequently seen in the media and gave great presentations at the Mass Dietetic Association conference (where she also told me I had a great TV-worthy outfit…love her!) and Jean Caton, dietitian, career, business and life coach who speaks for a living and was kind enough to let me pick her brain after the session about going into the field of speaking and setting appropriate fees and rates. The energy in that session was encouraging and I can’t wait to put the tips into action.


• I met up with friends at Rialto, a popular Denver restaurant, where I ordered a four-piece dish of vegetarian cuisine. It was delicious and a nice change from the bits and pieces we tasted at the expo! There are only so many nuts, yogurts, berries, bars, and wheat-free foods you can sample.
  


• Monday’s session on Blogging and Beyond presented by a favorite RD of mine, Liz Weiss, as well as Janet Helm and others was the most-attended session I went to. Everyone is so curious about the trend of blogging and twitter! I was happy to see I was ahead of the curve as an avid twitterer (???) and growing blogger. But I got some great new networking ideas and blog improvements I want to look into and will hopefully upgrade my social media and networking involvement.
  

Overall, this FNCE was the best one I’ve attended. Aside from the chapped lips, dry skin, and huffing and puffing I experienced as I walked around from the thin, mile-high air, I had a fabulous, exciting and inspiring time at FNCE and will look forward to the 2010 conference in Boston! Until then, time to put all these great tips and ideas into action.

30-Day Yoga Challenge

For the past 30 days, my friend Nicole and I have committed ourselves to a self-started 30-day Yoga Challenge. You may remember Nicole as my friend who is willing to take on new fitness challenges with me, like our first ½ marathon and first triathlon. After a summer of triathlon training, we were looking forward to getting back into our old yoga routine and decided a 30-day challenge was a good way to start! Nicole and I have also always wanted to visit Kripalu, the center for yoga and health. We've actually talked about "giving" a weekend of Kripalu to each other as gifts one day. I thought this challenge would be a good way to get me Kripalu ready, since that center is all yoga, all the time!

The only guidelines we set were that we had to commit to 20 minutes of yoga or meditation every day for 30 days. Now that our month challenge is up, I’ll share our thoughts on it.

I really enjoyed this challenge, but have to admit I’ll be glad to go back to doing yoga regularly when I want to, and not when I have to. I’m pretty committed to exercise and yoga, so this shouldn’t be a stretch for me. However, there were some days when 10pm rolled around and I realized that I had already gone to the gym, showered, and still had 20 minutes of yoga to do.

Did I really do 20 minutes every day?....well, no. But I have valid reasons! I didn’t do yoga during my 24 hour Yom Kippur fast, but figure my time at temple can count as meditation. Yoga during a fast wouldn’t be smart! And I didn’t do yoga the day of my 10k race, but certainly incorporated yoga stretches before and after my run!

Another slight negative was that I’ve been battling a hip injury for far too long (since spring triathlon training) and many hip poses hurt more than they helped. I tried to pay close attention to my body and back off where I needed to, but oftentimes I was frustrated that I was limited.

Also, in 30 days, I didn’t do one meditation session (outside of yoga class). I always opted to do 20 minutes of yoga instead, because I crave that stretch and strength you get from yoga. Meditation is something I want to work on more, and I think with some guided meditation from CDs or downloads, I’ll be able to incorporate it into my day.

If I skip even a week of yoga, I can feel it: my joints are stiff, my posture slumps. When I do make it back to yoga after some time off, my arms and legs quiver a bit more from lost strength. Doing daily downward dogs and balance poses really conditioned my muscles I use in some of the harder yoga poses making them easier to get into day after day.

I found there were many more positives to this challenge than negatives. For one, I love to challenge myself and this was a constant reminder that I committed to something, and I was going to do it. Also, I started to find new yoga workouts from borrowed friends’ DVDs to free 20 minute yoga sessions on http://www.yogadownload.com/ and new Comcast On-Demand free yoga workouts. That helped to keep things fresh. Occasionally I’d do yoga from memory without any guidance from a class or DVD, and sometimes even snuck away to the gym at work to get my 20 minutes in.

Probably the biggest benefit of this challenge was that I found if I did yoga first thing in the morning, not only did it help me wake up, but I knew I already checked my yoga challenge off the list for that day. It’s a new goal of mine to incorporate early-morning workouts into my routine to free up my evenings, and I was pleased that I managed to wake up before the sun many mornings to go to my gym’s yoga classes, or roll out the mat in my living room. This is something I hope to continue.

What did Nicole think of the challenge? Like me, she got some great benefits from daily yoga:

I didn't hate it, but I do find it hard to motivate myself to something EVERY day. Even things I love. The only things I do every day are eat, sleep, and brush my teeth. It adds to my stress level on busy days when I know I need to do 20 minutes of yoga and the one time period I have to do yoga, someone is using the rec room at work or Karl is really into a football game!

However, I am finding that I am reaching farther in certain poses and I'm flowing much better than I ever have before. My transitions are great (I can do that pop from upward facing dog into downward facing dog!). I did a hand stand for the first time too, something I have really been working on (I can do a variety of headstands, arm stands, and other balancing poses but for some reason, I could not do a handstand!).

My arms look amazing too. Really defined. I think that yoga can be an all around, great workout, especially if you're doing a flow class. But I like to run too. I will keep doing yoga 3+ times a week.

So there you have it. I’m excited to continue my yoga practice and grow with it. Maybe one day I'll be lucky enough to visit Kripalu to continue to strengthen my practice and my mind. Or maybe I'll just get really lucky and win a weekend at Kripalu from the amazing Stonyfield Farm Na Moo Ste Sweepstakes (how cute is that name?). Visit http://www.facebook.com/oikos for more info. This challenge was a great way for me to reignite my practice and help me improve. Whether I can get to my mat once a week or once a day, I’m happy to reap the many benefits of yoga whenever I’m able. Namaste.

Soy Sausage Casserole from VegNews

I received this recipe from Veg News over the summer, when I had no desire to heat up my oven and make a heavy meal. So I filed this recipe for Soy-Sausage Casserole away. Fast forward a few months to a rainy, cold day in Boston and this dish made it to our dinner table. It’s actually a breakfast recipe, since it mimics a sausage and egg sandwich, but who doesn’t love breakfast for dinner?

Serves 4 (I think it could be stretched to serve 6+, but if you’re really hungry, serves 4)

What You Need:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium-size yellow onion, diced
3 cups soy sausage, crumbled (I used a roll soy sausage from Trader Joe’s and crumbled it while it was cooking)
1 pound tofu, drained and crumbled
2 cups plain soymilk
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon ground fennel seed – I didn’t have this and threw in some fresh parsley instead
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
8 slices whole wheat bread


What You Do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a skillet over medium heat, heat olive oil. Add onion, cover, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add soy sausage and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

2. In a bowl, combine the tofu, soymilk, thyme, fennel seed, salt, and pepper to taste and mix well. Blend in the sausage mixture and set aside.

3. Tear bread into bite-sized pieces and place in a lightly oiled shallow 9x13 baking dish. Pour sausage mixture evenly over bread and set aside until the liquid is absorbed, about 20 minutes or refrigerate overnight.

4. Bake casserole until puffy and lightly browned, about 45 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting into squares. Serve warm.

I honestly think this dish is as close as you could get to a real egg and sausage casserole, without the usual cholesterol and saturated fat. When the crumbled tofu bakes, it has a texture just like scrambled eggs.

Funk said because this is a breakfast meal, you could even put maple syrup on it. I think that might taste odd and would choose hot sauce instead, but because he was doped up on cold meds, I let it slide.

If you’re looking for a good vegetarian breakfast dish, give this a go, with or without maple syrup.