Tag Archives: rice nectar

Feb 28 2013
1 Comment
Cooking

Easy Vegan Breakfast on the CHEAP!

I get up kind of early… okay not that early. I mostly get up to watch the bunnies bounce around and have coffee with Brent before I head off to the laboratory. For the record, my older sister turned me on to this and THANK-YOU! I keep the ingredients for my breakfast in my desk. by the time I get to work I’m starting to get hungry so it’s the perfect time while I wait for my experiments to get going.
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This is all you need:
1/2 cup rolled oats (my Bag of Bob’s Red Mill cost me just shy of $4)
pumpkin pie seasoning or cinnamon (this little jar cost me $.99)
1 tsp rice nectar (the jar cost me $5)
1-2 tbsp raisins (the tub cost me $5)
1 cup of water
a pinch of salt

I microwave the oats, water, spice, salt and nectar at 30 second intervals until it starts to bubble up and get thick and creamy. Sometimes I add a touch of almond milk but it isn’t necessary. Then I throw in the raisins and know I’m getting some awesome heart healthy oats in a delicious breakfast that takes moments to make even when your brain is on auto-pilot.

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The other beauty of this breakfast is that it contains about 280 calories, has a low-glycemic index and a heap of filling fiber for a very low cost. I like the texture of Bob’s Red Mill oats best but the generic store brand costs a mere $2 for a large tub. Each bag of oats lasts at least 3 weeks and tub of raisins lasts me at least 6 weeks. Try doing that with bacon and eggs and still having money leftover for your Lipitor!

This is Christie, signing off.

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Jun 12 2012
2 Comments
Main Dishes

Chocolate Rosepetal Chipotle Tofu!

This was definitely an experiment. I love rose and I’ve got an abundance of rose petals so I decided to give them a go in something savory instead of sweet for a change. You’ll need the following:

4 tbsp rose petals
1 carton of water packed tofu, cut into slabs
1-2 tablespoons Earthbalance or other vegan butter
1 large pinch of chipotle pepper or to taste
salt to taste
4 tbsp slivered almonds, toasted
1 tsp agave or rice nectar
1 generous pinch of chocolate powder
1/2 cup almond or soy milk (more if needed)
a dry white wine to deglaze your pan and that will also compliment your meal, you’ll need about half a cup

I started with some frozen tofu that I sliced into 2 slabs. I covered each side of each slab lightly in Butler’s Chik-Style Seasoning and a gentle sprinkle of cracked black pepper and sauteed them in 1-2 tablespoons of Earth Balance butter until they were lovely golden brown. I set them aside while I began to deglaze the pan.

I added 1 cup of white wine, the rose petals and almonds and swirled it until the almonds started to soften. Then I added the chipotle and chocolate powder. and waited until most of the wine had burned off before adding the almond milk. If it starts to curdle, don’t worry, just add more milk. The almond milk helped to keep the spice of the chipotle from overpowering the rose petals. When it has heated through and you’ve had a chance to adjust the salt pepper and agave nectar, it’s ready.

Pour it over the tofu. Brent made some mushroom wild rice and we steamed some asparagus and had an exotic dinner with some interesting flavors.  Still, something was missing (maybe shallots) and I might leave out the almonds next time (and put them in the rice instead). I’ll let you know what happens if we make this again.

This is Christie and Brent, signing off!

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