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.