Things like this make me feel old.

At any rate, I bought myself a Cake Pop Bakery over the Christmas holiday and finally got around to trying out some recipes. My favorite so far: Chai Spice Donut Holes (or Cake Pops). And, they’re vegan!

Is it too much that I dunk them in chai tea?

Look at these. How could you not?

Chai Spice Donut Holes

This also gave me another excuse to use the new KitchenAid stand mixer. I’m in love!

May your breakfasts and snacks be equally dunkable!

No joke, people.

Chocolate frosted donut

Donuts!

Some backstory: my favorite food bloggers have been taunting me with baked donut recipes for ages. There’s this apple cider donut recipe from Peas & Thank You. Then, there’s this mini donut recipe from Vegan Yum Yum. I loved donuts as a kid, but have avoided them like the plague for the last few years (because, well, I can only run off so many calories, people!) Baked donuts – and homemade ones, particularly – don’t have to be so evil.

Upon deciding that I might be able to find some homemade donut wiggle-room in my diet, I set out to find donut baking pans – which were surprisingly hard to find! I eventually snagged this 6-donut pan at Bed Bath and Beyond, but don’t get too excited if you’re seeking your own; they’ve been out of stock for a while. Unfortunately, I only bought one. I should have bought at least 2 – maybe 4!

Armed with my one 6-donut pan, I knew someday I’d make some donuts.

It wasn’t until this glorious beast graced my kitchen counter that I found myself inspired to embark on donut-making:

New KitchenAid Pro 550HD Stand Mixer

I got a really great deal at Costco – $269! This is the KitchenAid Pro 550HD 5.5 quart stand mixer. It’s got the commercial-style bowl lift (instead of the tilt-head, like the Artisan models). I’ve wanted a stand mixer pretty much my whole life, but could never justify spending the money. My plan was to get married and put it on my Gift Registry. As it turns out, I could be waiting a very long time for a stand mixer… so, Merry Christmas to Me!

Using this mixer gives me flashbacks to standing on a chair in my grandma’s kitchen, helping her bake cookies. I’ve got memories of her mixer that I haven’t recalled for 30 years – but in a deja-vu moment, raising the lever that lifts the mixer bowl brought me straight back to gram’s kitchen. It was pretty wild!

Now properly armed, I got to work making the donut recipe from Vegan Yum Yum. I was reading it out of the cookbook, but the one on the web site is the same.

Happy disaster

I was also simultaneously working on a cookie recipe and a bread recipe. Ahhh, the happy disaster known as my kitchen! I love my kitchen! I especially like that lift-up cabinet door. Turns out, it’s really convenient! I just leave it open while I’m working, and my spices and gadgets are easy to get to but out of the way. I wish the cabinet above it was easier to reach. I’m too short.

But check out the view of the mountains in the background! Love love love. Virginia is beautiful.

Getting back to the baking. OK, don’t shoot me for the Splenda/sugar mix. I know Splenda is evil, but so are junk food calories – and I bought this bag of Splenda baking mix before I went whole-foods organic, and couldn’t bear to throw it away when I was cleaning out my cabinets of processed crap. So I still bake with it sometimes… and when it’s gone, it’s gone. I swear.

/end confession

The important thing is that these donuts are insanely delicious and absolutely perfect in their flavors. I can’t even begin to describe how heavenly tasty they are. You must make them. Now.

Donuts!

Even if you totally fail at drizzling chocolate on top, like I did:

Iced donut with chocolate

They still taste amazing.

Peanut Butter Waffle with Cherry Jam

A while back, I added this Proctor Silex Morning Baker waffle iron to my kitchen arsenal. My thought process went like this: I like pancakes, but I rarely make them because I suck at flipping pancakes. Why not make waffles instead?

It was a good plan. I like waffles too – maybe even more than pancakes. Still, I haven’t been making them as often as I’d like.

I’m running a half marathon this weekend, and thought that carb-loading made for a good excuse to whip up some waffles.

Enter: Peanut Butter Waffles from Isa’s Vegan Brunch cookbook. Recipe here.

This recipe makes a dense, tasty, peanut-buttery waffle that seemed much better suited for sandwich-style topping than plain ol’ maple syrup. To confirm, I’ve had them both ways: topped with jam, and topped with maple syrup. Jam for the win.

Honestly, one waffle is almost too much food for me. They’re pretty hearty. But they freeze well, so make a batch and freeze part of it for yummy future breakfasts – just pop the waffle in the toaster to reheat (or if you have a toaster oven, even better).

The only cereal brand I eat anymore is Kashi. It’s not intentional, but… well, I like their cereals, and most are organic. All have respectable ingredient labels, and that’s all I need.

My favorites are the GoLean Honey Almond Flax (do I have to duck from flying objects hurled by the vegans that consider honey to be murder? I actually don’t eat honey, except when it’s in my Kashi cereal. I admit it. I’m not a purist, nor am I militant about my food choices… why do I instinctively start defending my choices here?) and the Cinnamon Harvest Whole Wheat Biscuits, followed closely by Heart to Heart Oat Flakes & Blueberry Clusters, and Good Friends Cinna-Raisin Crunch.

Atop my cereal goes vanilla soymilk or almond milk or occasionally coconut milk, and then I bury it all with fruit. Whenever possible, that includes 1 banana, 4 or 5 strawberries, a handful of blueberries, and a few raspberries. When I’m feeling frisky, I toss some raisins in there. I’ve been known to slice up a kiwi and layer it on there as well.

Breakfast: Cereal!

And that, my friends, is what happens when I’m not eating oatmeal.

I’m not a “savory breakfast” kind of girl. Veggies in the a.m.? No can do. With the versatility of tofu, though, I couldn’t help thinking – why do we always turn tofu into something savory? Why not try turning it into something sweet?

Or, maybe I just had French toast sticks on my mind, and thought maybe tofu would make a good imposter.

Cinnamon Sugared Tofu Sticks

Oh yeah, I went there. I tossed tofu in a tablespoon of melted Earth Balance, coated it in sugar and cinnamon, and baked it!

The result had breakfast written all over it.

Cinnamon Sugared Tofu Sticks with Maple Syrup

A little pure maple syrup on the side? Don’t mind if I do!

Very yummy. Reminded me of French toast sticks, but more chewy. Next time I make this, I’m going to marinate the tofu in some sort of maple syrup marinade first. I didn’t do any marinating this time – just use a block of plain pressed tofu. I’d like even MORE of the sweet flavor to come through!

Dipped in Maple Syrup

I suspect that these tofu sticks would make for a filling breakfast alongside some fruit. I should be able to prove that theory shortly!

Rise and shine – it’s tofu time!

I prefer good ol’ fashioned Quaker Oats. I’ve tried bargain brand oats. I’ve tried bulk bin oats. But I always end up back at Quaker.

When I read about Coach’s Oats over on Kath Eats, I was intrigued. These aren’t your typical rolled oats. They’re also not your typical steel cut oats (which are super delicious but tend to take too long for me to bother preparing them). Coach’s Oats are steel cut oats that have been cracked and toasted, which decreases the cooking time from 25 minutes to 5. That sounds right in my ballpark.

Coach's Oats

I rolled the dice and bought a box of 3 packages of Coach’s Oats from Kath’s Open Sky store. I decided to make pumpkin oatmeal with them (because, what else would I make, after a week of pumpkin-everything?!)

I resisted the urge to use my own tried and true oatmeal making rituals, and prepared the oats per the package instructions. I brought 2 cups of water to a boil. (OK, I lied – one modification: I should have boiled 3 cups of water, but I wanted to replace 1 cup of water with 1 cup of vanilla soymilk, so I just boiled the 2 cups of water). I added 1 cup of soymilk and 1 cup of oats, along with 2 sliced bananas, and cooked per the instructions.

Once done, I added my usual ground flaxseeds, and…

Organic Pumpkin

Pumpkin! (about half of a can). I stirred in a little cinnamon and a whole lot of pumpkin pie spice, and of course added my usual sliced strawberries and Justin’s Chocolate Almond Butter (a la Fancy Oatmeal).

Voila!

Oatmeal starring Coach's Oats

My friends, Coach knows his oats. This oatmeal had a great flavor and none of the mushy lack-of-texture that tends to happen with oatmeal. This is some great, great oatmeal! I have yet to find it in any of my local food stores (not even Whole Foods) – and it might be good enough to become the first item I actually request that a grocery store carry. We’ll see. For now, I have enough oatmeal to probably last me through the winter! You can get it online, though, straight from Coach’s Oats – and if you’re feeling noncommittal, a sample pack is only $1.75. (Two 48-oz bags are $9.50 at the time of this writing).

You see, while it’s good to have rituals, it’s also good to break out and try new things every once in a while. My oatmeal ritual got an unexpected upgrade!

12 Pumpkin Quinoa Muffins

It’s Vegan MoFo Day 2, and today I made some yummy, protein-packed vegan Pumpkin Quinoa Muffins. Dense, super-moist, pumpkin-y but not too sweet – I’m going to have a hard time eating just one at a time!

I went for crunchy in this batch and added pumpkin seeds, but I could totally see some golden raisins in their place. Nom.

Pumpkin Quinoa Muffin

Muffins are so easy to make – mix the wet, mix the dry, combine, and bake!

Pumpkin Quinoa Muffin - The Inside

[recipe-show recipe=pumpkin-quinoa-muffins]

(Actually, I have no idea what his name is).

Mr. Quaker, My Friend

He convinced me to try out some “real” oatmeal… not that blah instant stuff. (Actually, KERF convinced me, but cut me some slack. I’m trying to tell a story here!)

OK, fine. This story is pretty lame. But as I mixed up this morning’s oatmeal, I thought I’d grab the camera and share with you how I put together my favorite breakfast of all times. We’re just about to the end of oatmeal “season,” when it gets too warm out to really enjoy a hot breakfast. (Alas, the photo of Mr. Quaker up there is actually an empty can – I made the last of my oatmeal rations today, and likely won’t restock until I move in August. *sniff*). So I’m glad to have captured for all eternity what might be The Last (Oatmeal) Breakfast of Spring 2011.

First up, here’s my typical ingredient list. I usually make 3 or 4 servings at a time so I have leftovers to enjoy all week. Total prep time is about 15 minutes. Here are the 4-serving measures:

Whipped Banana Oatmeal Base:

• Old fashioned oats – 1 1/3 cups
• Bob’s Red Mill hot cereal mix (I’m currently enjoying the gluten-free mix) – 4 heaping tablespoons
• Milk (I use vanilla soy or almond milk) – 1 1/3 cups
• Water – 1 2/3 cups (and extra third to make up for the addition of Bob’s Red Mill – decrease by a third cup if you don’t have any Bob’s cereal in there)
• Pinch of Salt
• 3 bananas (If I make 1 serving, I use 1 banana. 3 servings, 2 bananas, and 4 servings, 3 bananas. There’s no science to this).

Mix-in’s:

• 4 heaping tablespoons ground flax seed
• A big pile of cinnamon (maybe a heaping tablespoon? I don’t measure this part!)
• 1 heaping tablespoon brown sugar or agave nectar or brown rice syrup (some kind of sweetener, but not much).

Toppings:

• Fruit
• 1 tablespoon nut butter (chocolate almond butter is my favorite with oatmeal)

Now, FYI, the Quaker package has instructions for 2 serving sizes: one that starts with 1/3 cup oats (which is what I use), and one that starts with 1/2 cup oats. That half cup serving size is BIG! I can’t imagine eating that much oatmeal, because even at the 1/3 cup size, I’m stuffed. But feel free to play around with it if you have a bigger appetite. It’s basically a 1-1-1 ratio of oats-water-milk.

Here we go! Oatmeal, under construction:

Oatmeal: In the Beginning...

We start out with milk, water, bananas, oats, and a pinch of salt. Turn the burner on medium heat and let this puppy sit for about 3 minutes to warm up.

Once the mixture starts to heat, you’ll begin stirring. Stir very frequently for 6 minutes or so.

Stir it up!

Now, you won’t ruin it if you just let it sit for that 6 minutes (though you might have some issues with the oats sticking to the bottom of the pan). I know, stirring for 6 minutes is labor-intensive. But this is where the “whipped banana” part of the recipe comes in. The more you stir it, the more those bananas will turn into fantastic little marshmallow-like banana puffs of goo. And who doesn’t want magic banana puffs of goo in their oatmeal?

Take a break mid-stir and cut up some fruit. My everyday go-to’s are strawberries and blueberries. Raspberries are a frequent contributor as well, along with the occasional kiwi. On Very Special Days, pineapple will star.

Strawberries. Must have.

After 6 minutes or so, your oatmeal should be well on its way. Cook a little longer if you like a thicker oatmeal, and a little shorter if you like a more liquidy oatmeal. Go by texture and just cook it till it looks good to you!

Oatmeal Mush

Next up: the Mix-in’s. I use ground flax seed, (a ton of) cinnamon, and a sweetener of some kind – usually brown sugar if I’m making a big batch (because it’s cheaper than agave nectar or brown rice syrup).

The Mix-Ins: Ground flax seed, cinnamon, brown sugar

Stir it all up, and you’ve got the perfect whipped banana oatmeal base!

Perfect oatmeal base

Portion it out into 4 bowls (or fridge containers) and get to work on topping that beast!

Proof that there’s really oatmeal under my fruit:

Proof that there really is oatmeal under there

4 corners of fruit…

Four corners fruit

The Secret Weapon: Justin’s Nut Butters. My favorite is Chocolate Almond Butter, which goes so well with the fruit. (My original version of this was Fancy Oatmeal, inspired by chocolate-dipped strawberries).

The Secret Weapon: Justin's Nut Butters

Take a big ol’ tablespoon of nut butter and dunk it in the middle!

Dunk a blob of Justin's in there!

Get ready to knock your own socks off, and serve:

Tada! Oatmeal!

And that, my friends, is how I make oatmeal.

Honestly, it took me longer to write this post than it does for me to make oatmeal.

It’s so good, and so good for you! Bob Harper says it’s the only cereal he’ll eat (and Bob is one of my life’s heroes, so heck yeah to a thumbs up from Bob!)

Even if you think you don’t like oatmeal, promise me you’ll try real oatmeal – just one time! I thought I hated oatmeal until I made it myself. Now, I can’t imagine how I lived without it.

Until next season, dear oatmeal – unless we shall sneak in a stolen moment in the heat of summer.

Chelsea Waffle with Cashew Cream

I’ve never made a waffle in my life. Breakfast is my favorite meal, and I’ve made pancakes many times (I’m not very good at it), but never waffles. Considering how much I enjoy pancakes, and how rarely I make them due to the hassle and my lackluster flapjack flipping skills, it finally hit me that a waffle maker might just solve this dilemma.

I picked up this Proctor Silex Morning Baker Belgian waffle maker on Amazon. $26. Cheap. Good reviews. Sounds good to me!

LOVE it. Love it love it love it. The thing is foolproof. Perfect waffles on my first try, and virtually no clean-up. Now, THAT’S my kind of appliance!

My inaugural waffle recipe came from – guess who – my favorite vegan chef, Isa Chandra Moskowitz. I used the Old Fashioned Chelsea Waffles recipe from Vegan Brunch, with whole wheat flour and maple syrup instead of barley malt syrup.

Topped with Sweet Cashew Cream (also from Vegan Brunch) – oh, the joy of that sweet scent of vanilla wafting around these waffles….

The recipes were a win. The waffle maker was a win. I’ve got so much winning going on – just call me Charlie Sheen! Or not. That man has a few issues.

With a fantastic bowl of oatmeal!

4 corners oatmeal

Four corners oatmeal, even!

Kiwi, raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries, topped with Justin’s maple almond butter on a bed of whipped banana oatmeal. (I make my oatmeal based on Kath’s oatmeal). I swear there’s actually some oatmeal under there!

It’s supposed to warm back up into the 50′s tomorrow here in Chicago. What’s your go-to breakfast on a cold, blustery day?

Have a great one, everybody!