Break out of your recipe rut

Sometimes we find ourselves doing the same thing over and over again. Habit can be comforting but it can also be boring. Often we don't even realize we're stuck in a rut until we're on the verge of the umpteenth iteration and we think, "Of course. This again."
I do that with food a lot. I'm sure I'm not the only one--they say most of each person's diet consists of the same 20 foods. And that wouldn't surprise me. There are a few foods I have in the fridge all the time--two of them being toast with hummus and fruit and soymilk smoothies. Both of which I eat for breakfast almost every day. There are sound reasons for this: I don't have a lot of time on weekday mornings and it's simply easier to make the same thing time and again. However, it definitely counts as a breakfast rut. So I was pleasantly surprised when I tried Polenta Rancheros from Isa Chandra Moskowitz's Vegan Brunch. It was something I could make on the weekend and heat up in the morning, and it would shake up my morning routine enough that it would get me on a new track for breakfast. And frankly, it's delicious. When fresh, the polenta (in place of eggs in the non-vegan huevos rancheros) is soft and creamy, and the contract with the spicy, saucy rancheros is divine. I also love the chance to cram more avocado into my day. So join me, get out of your rut--polenta rancheros for breakfast!

Brunch for dinner

Breakfast and brunch are a meal and a half that vegans don't have easy. I organize events at work and planning breakfast for the vegan guest is the most challenging. Let's just ponder a moment and think about all the dishes that vegan unfriendly in the usual state. First off--duh!--there's eggs. And omelettes, also known as "eggs with stuff inside it." Sausage and bacon are not only corpse bits, they are also drenched in pending-coronary sauce (saturated fat). Cereal can be difficult depending on the availability of non-diary milk. French toast, pancakes and waffles should be safe--don't waffles even look innocent? I would never suspect them!--but those sneaky little bastards hold more than just sryup in their nooks and crannies. Muffins just emanate home-baked goodness, but don't fall for it--that's their ploy. And let's not get started on butter.

And then along came Vegan Brunch by Isa Chandra Moskowitz, who finds the empty holes in my meal planner and fills them with vegan cookbooks. I had previously pondered--brief, fleeting thoughts with no basis in reality, like wondering what it would be like to walk on the moon--about eating French toast again, or breaking out my waffle maker and making Saturday morning into the spectacular start to the weekend that it always should be. But alas, it did not happen. (As much as I love the Interweb, googling recipes does not always yield delicious results.)

Unlike Google's "I feel lucky!" button, Vegan Brunch never disappoints. Purchasing this book re-ignited my love affair with brunch, which was doused when I went vegan and came to terms with the fact that my old Saturday morning standby (fried eggs and toast) and I were going to "have a break." (It's not you, eggs, it's me--no wait, it's you. Yuck.)

But it is Fronch Toast that has taken hold of my heart (from Vegan With a Vengeance, not Vegan Brunch. I know, the old bait and switch!). I make it all the time. I buy whole grain baguette at my grocery store and try not to use it all for brunch (it's great with hummus, too). Today, I slept in, lazed around (a boy is making me sad today), got groceries, dashed off to bike downtown (in the rain) to my yoga workshop, and when I came home I happily realized I finally had time for Fronch Toast. I don't know how bread soaked in a mixture of chickpea flour and soymilk can turn into golden, crispy fried goodness, but it does. Let's call it a Vegan Miracle. (Every time you eat Fronch Toast, an angel gets its wings!)

One last Very Important Comment: use real maple syrup. Anything else is an afront to maple trees everywhere.