Simple Vegan Breakfast Oatmeal with the Works

Breakfast is usually a busy time of the day in most homes and my house is no exception. Fixing lunch, getting ready for work, feeding the cats and taking them for a stroll in the garden are some of the things that have to get done. When everything is done, I like to sit down with the family for breakfast. Oatmeal is my go to breakfast. It is the easiest breakfast to put together with a variety of ways to cook it.

Last year I posted my favorite oatmeal recipe. That was before I cut dairy out of my diet. Today I am posting my current favorite vegan oatmeal recipe. I had toyed with using water instead of milk for a long time but I have a problem with mushy texture so I was not sure it would work for me. If you do not like mushy food try this recipe.

Have fun with the toppings. Anything that enhances the flavor works. Here is are some ideas of what I like and use frequently.

You will need
1/3 cup old fashioned rolled oats
1 scant tsp. chia seeds
1 tsp. ground flax seeds (I buy them whole and grind enough for a week)
1 tsp. unsweetened dried coconut
1 tsp. brown sugar or maple syrup
1 banana (optional)
1 tbsp raisins (optional)
1/4 tsp. cinnamon powder (optional)

Assemble all the ingredients. I have everything in a drawer for quick access in the morning.

Put the oatmeal in a microwave safe bowl with 1/4 cup of water. Cook it for 1 minute. This is the consistency I like. Cook with more or less water as per your taste. Adjust time if needed. Remember all microwave ovens are different. Start with 30 secs and go from there until you find the time that works for you.

Add all the toppings. Chop the fruit and add that to the bowl. Your bowl of oatmeal is ready. I like to eat it as soon as it is done. I do not like mushy texture. I add a little water if I am unable to eat it as soon as it is done.

Enjoy!

Oats, Almond and Chocolate Breakfast Bites

When kids go off to college cooking is the last thing on their mind. But campus food options are such that they have to cook in order to eat healthy. My daughter is no exception. When she started spring semester she was looking for easy breakfast options. I made these Oats Chia Peanut Butter bites and she loved them. But peanut butter is not her favorite so I kept thinking of alternate flavors.

A week before her last visit I happened to pass by the nut grinder at Whole Foods. I had always wanted to try the fresh peanut and almond butter but had never done it. I figured using almond butter to bind the oats would work just as well as peanut butter. When my daughter came home for a visit we stopped at Whole Foods and bought a tub of fresh ground organic almond butter. My daughter suggested I add mini chocolate morsels for flavor so we got some of those and some maple syrup. And this recipe was born. These oats almonds and chocolate breakfast bites are great as breakfast on the go. They would work well as a snack too.

I made a double batch so it would last her a while.

You will need (about 30)
2 cups old fashioned oats
1/3 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1/4 cup maple syrup
~ 1/2 cup almond butter
a good handful mini chocolate chips

Add the oats and coconut flakes to a flat bottom pan and dry roast on medium heat until heated through. Grind coarsely in a food processor. Transfer to a bowl and add the maple syrup and chocolate chips. Add 1/4 cup almond butter and combine the ingredients together. Add almond butter as needed to bind the mixture. You should not need more than 1/2 a cup.

Moisten your hand. Pick up about 1 1/2 tbsp of the mixture and roll into a ball. Keep aside on a plate. Continue until all the mixture is used up. I like to refrigerate the bites. They last a few weeks.

Enjoy!

Air Fryer Potatoes

Air Fryer is a relatively new appliance on the market. It is not available where I live and I am not looking to buy one but was curious about how it worked. Last week I was visiting my father. He has an air fryer so I decided to give it a try. It is really easy to use and cooks the food quickly.

I decided on a simple recipe of breakfast potatoes. Nothing could be easier. I got a red bell pepper to go with the potato. There really is no recipe. One bell pepper with a couple of potatoes. The combination went into the fryer and crispy breakfast potatoes were ready in minutes.

You will need
3 small potatoes, peeled and chopped in chunks
1 red bell pepper, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Peel the potatoes and chop into bit sized chunks. Cut the bell pepper in half, remove the seeds and chop into small pieces. Preheat the Fryer to 350 F. Add the potatoes and bell pepper.

Cook for 10 minutes. Sprinkle salt and pepper.

Enjoy!

Breakfast Potatoes

Potatoes are served as part of a good, filling well balanced breakfast all over the world whether it is in the form of hash browns, roasted potatoes or potato paratha. I have wanted to make roasted potatoes for a while now. My daughter loves potatoes in any form or shape and I knew she would love this version. She is on winter break so I wanted her to have an elaborate breakfast, something that does not happen often in the rush to make it to school on time. She wolfed everything down very quickly which was a pleasure to watch.

You can add additional spices if you like the potatoes spicy. We liked them with salt, black pepper and a little cayenne pepper.

You will need
1 large Russet potato
1/4 large red onion
1/4 red bell pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425 F. Wash, peel and chop the potatoes into one inch chunks. Chop the onions and the red bell pepper. In a mixing bowl mix the the vegetables with the remaining ingredients.

Transfer to a baking sheet and bake for 20-30 minutes turning over once or twice.

The potatoes should brown but not burn.

 

Enjoy them hot with other breakfast staples!

Pesarattu (Mung Dosa / Moong Dosa)

This is the first day of a new challenge. Today I am posting a recipe from Andhra Pradesh. Everyday this month I will post a recipe from a different state in India. By the end of this month I will have featured on my blog 30 recipes from 30 different states.

I have never visited Andhra Pradesh but have always had a lot of friends from there. At one point when I was working in Bangalore I wanted to visit Hyderabad just to see their famous chudi (bangles) bazaar. I have not made it there yet. Maybe someday.

To kick off to this challenge I wanted to make a signature Andhra dish. I looked through my wish list of 'recipes to try or repeat' and found pesarattu. A few months ago my sister visited a cousin and mentioned the delicious Pesarattu breakfast prepared by our sister-in-law. That had got me thinking about making Pesarattu and I had added it to my long list of 'recipes to try or repeat'.

Every part of the world has some form of a crepe. In India they are called dhirdi, chila or dosa depending upon where you are from. These crepes are made with every conceivable grain and pulse that can be soaked, ground to a batter and spread on a pan. The grains that cannot be used in crepes by themselves are mixed with others that can. Rice flour is added to make the crepes light.

Pesarattu is a crepe made with mung and usually eaten for breakfast in Andhra Pradesh. While it can be eaten on its own, it is also paired with upama.

While mung is usually soaked in water for 6-7 hours before it is ready to be ground, I had to soak it for about 20. The 32 F overnight temperature and the fact that I left it on the wide ledge by the kitchen window may have had something to do with it. Needless to say no one got pesarattu for breakfast. They had to eat it for dinner.

My husband who grew up in North India likes to eat it with yogurt. My father would have liked to eat it with cheese. In his view yogurt and cheese are interchangeable as both are dairy. When he is visiting my daughter reaches for the cheese too. I served it with dal as we had it for dinner.

You will need
For the batter
1 cup mung soaked overnight
2 tbsp. rice flour
1/2 ginger garlic paste
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. red chili powder
salt to taste

4 tbsp. onion, chopped

Grind the soaked mung to a paste. Add all the other ingredients and mix well. Thin out the batter if needed. If should be a little thicker than pouring consistency.

Heat a griddle pan. Add a few drops of oil and spread it around with a spatula. Place a ladle of batter in the center of the pan and using a circular motion in ever increasing circles form a large circular disc. Sprinkle a little onion and cover to cook.

When the bottom turns brownish in color, flip it over. Cook the other side. Flip it over again. Fold the edges in to form a triangle.

Turn over and serve.

Note:
Wipe the pan clean with a moist paper towel before pouring batter on it.
After every two or three pesarattu's srpinkle some oil on the pan.