We love our weekend big breakfast. Historically, this has been full of pancakes, eggs, bacon, and even biscuits. I love all the flavors and the time with my family. One would think that since we are eating vegan, we are now eating salads with brussel sprout juice for breakfast. Not a chance. We have devised a vegan lumberjack breakfast that is both tasty and filling without all of the burps, heartburn, and nodding off during church.

We start with pancakes. I found a great recipe for pancakes in the “Joy of Vegan Baking” by Colleen Patrick. I have modified the recipe to look like this:

• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup unbleached all purpose flour (the key being unbleached)
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 1 cup vanilla soy milk
• 1/2 cup to 1 cup of water
• 2 tbsp canola oil
• 3 tbsp of blue agave sweetner (you can buy it at any food store)
• 1 1/2 tbsp of ground flax seed
• 1 1/2 tbsp of ground chia seed

Combine all the dry stuff. Combine all the wet stuff (except the water). Throw it into a bowl and stir it just until it is mixed. Add water for desired thickness. The thicker the batter, the fatter the pancakes. We make ours about as thin as pea soup. Spray a griddle and spoon them out one quarter cup at a time. Cook until golden brown. Serve with a pat of Earth Balance margarine and some real maple syrup.

These pancakes will be sweet, a bit nutty, dense, and full of additional iron, calcium, fiber and protein. They (like everything else) will be lower in saturated fat and have no cholesterol. This is the one food that my two picky eater kids absolutely love. These make the Sam’s Club sack of Krusteaz taste like saliva sucking hardtack.

Moving on to eggs and meat…

Grab a half brick of tofu and break it onto pieces (like scrambled eggs). Get some veggie chorizo (if I can get it in Tulsa, you can find it) and dice it. Dice 1/4 of an onion. In a saucepan, get two tbsp of canola oil REALLY HOT. Throw in the onion and chorizo. It should sizzle! Cook until all is nice and brown. Add the crumbled tofu (another sizzle). Throw in two slices of soy american cheese and let it melt. Keep it all mixed. Throw in a dash of salt and pepper. Once all mixed through, add 1/4 cup salsa. Cook for another 30 seconds. Remove it from the heat and serve with the pancakes. Be sure to get out you mexican hot sauce.

You will be able to notice the difference in taste of the chorizo, but the tofu is almost exactly the same as eggs. In terms of the texture of it all, it should be identical to using meat products. I know as I used to eat the meat version of this every Sunday at a mexican restaurant when I lived in Los Angeles. BTW, do you know what the ingredients are in Mexican chorizo? (click here at your own risk).

There you have it, a vegan lumberjack breakfast. I guarantee you that it will be good, filling, and satisfying. Have you been trying to picture what exactly a lumberjack vegan looks like? Hemp flannel shirt, trimmed bearded, horn rimmed glasses, a ethanol burning chainsaw????

Making decent alfredo sauce is next to impossible in a home kitchen. This is because cream is very delicate and will simply “break” with too much heat. You have to make double boilers and stir until your fingers cramp to the whisk. If you can make it through the whisking, then you have to watch your heat. Too much heat and you have “Alfredo The Busted.” This will leave you with water and chunks of white stuff in your pan. Throw in your parm too quickly and you will have a glob of goo along with your chunks. Did I mention that Alfredo is cream, milk, and egg yolks? If your sauce doesn’t break, then you arteries just might.

How about this:

Take a half chunk of any kind of tofu except “extra firm”. Throw in in a blender with 1/4 cup of tofu sour cream. It will blend to the consistency of mayonnaise. Add about a cup of plain soy milk to get it to a sauce like consistency. In a medium saucepan, get two tablespoons of canola oil REALLY HOT. Throw in two chopped scallions and a quarter cup of pine nuts. Cook until the pine nuts are nice and brown. Pour in 1 cup of vegetable broth and a 1/2 cup of white wine. Simmer this until the mixture is reduced by half. Add in your alfredo sauce and reduce the heat to medium. Let the mixture come to barely a boil. Cook the sauce a couple minutes until it is at your desired thickness, add some vegetable stock if it is too thick. Season with salt, pepper, and onion powder. When the sauce is ready, throw in a shot of nutmeg…just a sprinkle and mix. Here is the good news: Tofu Alfredo does not break!

Mix the sauce in with a pile of whole wheat penne or rotini and enjoy. If you want to get crazy, cut up a handful of tomatoes, basil, and steamed broccoli and throw it in 30 seconds before you remove the sauce from the heat. If you absolutely MUST have that parm taste, sprinkle some parm cheese on all ye non vegans. You are still eating close to 80% less fat, calories, and 100% less cholesterol. Afterwards, you will not need to loosen your belt, lay on the couch, or take some Rolaids. This is because you were not beaten up by Alfredo.

Ingredients:
1/2 package any tofu except extra firm
1/4 cup soy sour cream (folks, if I can find it in Tulsa, you can find it in your town)
1 cup plain soy milk
1/4 – 1/2 cup white wine
2 scallions
1/4 cup pine nuts
1 cup of vegetable stock
a dash of nutmeg
2 teaspoons of oil
Optional:
1 cup of diced tomatoes
1 cup of diced basil
1 cup of steamed broccoli