Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Things That Make You Go MMMMM

Apologies to those of you who came to this blog because I'm in the Healthy/Whole Foods MoFo category. With all the trips to the Chicago Diner and busy days/nights, I think I belong in the Comfort Food section this month. That is how it goes sometimes.
I have fond memories of waking up to English muffins for breakfast. As I recall, it didn't happen too often, but sometimes my mom would spread margarine on the muffins, top them with jelly (my favorite as a kid was grape and I pretty much wouldn't eat anything else), and broil them until the edges of the muffins were dark and crisp. The jelly would almost turn to candy and it would stick to my teeth as I ate them. I made these on a whim this morning since we receive several packages of whole wheat English muffins in our buying club order on Monday. Luckily, my kids love a variety of organic fruit spread and I rarely buy grape. I guess this whole wheat version with Earth Balance and fruit spread might be slightly healthier than my white flour muffins with sugar filled jelly. I think this is the first time I've made them since Josie's been alive so it isn't like we have them often. If you want to make your own, check out the Earth Balance Giveaway.
I served them with English muffin baked tofu sandwiches with Daiya. Broiling the Daiya in the toaster oven works well and I have to admit my baked tofu* is the bomb so these were pretty darn tasty. We may have gone through two packages of English muffins today (without Rob eating any) between the younger kids eating them for brunch and Parker eating some for an after-school snack. Okay, I had one just to make sure all the "mmmm"s from the kids were for good reason.
I had to make two batches of baked tofu to keep up with my hungry crew (Rob eats it with a few drops of hot sauce as he walks through the kitchen back to his office). I picked up some hot sauce labeled "local" at the co-op the other day and decided to put a bit on the tofu as it baked as well a bit on it after. We now have a new favorite hot sauce. It is made with organic ingredients and less salty than many hot sauces. The version I bought, Devil's Breath is made with balsamic vinegar which adds dept and the peppers have just the right amount of heat so you can use a little and still get quite a kick.
On the website it says they are located in Broughton, Illinois and they have a few other products we will have to try.
Josie got a bit too much Devi's Breath and cooled off her mouth with one of her favorite treats, vanilla soy yogurt with frozen blueberries. It is so much more fun and economical to buy the big containers of yogurt and everyone can add the fruit they prefer. It looks pretty too.

*Slice a pound of tofu any way you like, I often do long rectangles because it is easy and quick to flip. In a large long baking dish put some olive oil (doesn't have to coat the bottom), Bragg's amino acids or tamari (now it should coat the bottom), a teaspoon or so of blackstrap molasses, sprinkle nooch over the bottom (add a bit of hot sauce or curry power if you like) and spread it all out with a spoon. Dredge the tofu in the sauce and pack them into the dish. Cook at 400 to 415 degrees for 10 minutes and turn them over to cook for another 10 to 20 minutes (depending on how crisp you like your tofu...Rob likes it crispy and the kids like their less so).
It wasn't just the food that made us go "mmmm" today, it was the beautiful weather. 70 degrees in late October is heavenly and fleeting.
We spent most of the day out in "our park"; climbing trees,
checking out leaves,
 chatting with neighbors,
and hugging trees. mmmm!



2 comments:

DT said...

Oh, the park. How we miss it and chatting with you all! Enjoy the beautiful little oasis.

VeganLinda said...

DT, we miss you guys too! It was a perfect day in the park yesterday with the leaves turning, a breeze and hot sun. I know it is the last day like this for a long time. It isn't bad today but colder and cloudy. I love the sun and temperate weather so much I think I was born to live in California or someplace where it is 70's all year round.