Vegan Pumpkin French Toast with Caramel Maple Bananas and a Nutella Drizzle.

Ok- so, I like to invent recipes. It's just kind of one of those things. Sometimes they're simple... sometimes they're a little on the extravagant side. This one is definitely on the latter side, at least taste wise. It's one of those recipes that TASTES like it requires a lot of skill & looks kind of fantastic, but, really, it's pretty simple to make.

Toast:
1 1/4 cup plain almond milk.
1/2 c chick pea flour
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice.
3/4 cup pumpkin puree.
8 slices oat bread, toasted.

Bananas:
4 medium-small firm bananas, peeled
1 tablespoon vegan margarine
6 tablespoons light brown sugar
1/2 cup pure male syrup.

Nutella Drizzle:
1/4 c Nutella.






Toast:
Begin by heating 2 tbsp cooking oil in a very large skillet over medium high heat. Add almond milk, flour, pumpkin puree, and spice to a blender to blend, or whisk together by hand. This batter will be kind of thick, but should not be lumpy. Keep mixing, if it is. Pour into a shallow dish. Pierce each slice of toast several times over the entire surface with a fork. Lay toast slices on top of pumpkin batter in dish, and spoon some of the batter mixture on to the tops of the toast. Turn as needed to thoroughly coat each slice evenly. Gently lay battered toast slices on hot pan, and let cook undisturbed for about 3 minutes. Flip, add more oil, if necessary, and cook the second side another 3 minutes. The toast will be browned and crispy on the outside, and will stay moist and soft on the inside. Transfer 2 toast slices for each serving to plates.

Bananas:
Cut bananas into rounds. Melt margarine in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add brown sugar and lay the banana slices on top. Cook undisturbed for 20 seconds, then add maple syrup. Cook for 10 seconds, then turn bananas carefully and cook for 45 to 60 seconds more, basting with the pan sauce. Top french toast slices with bananas and sauce.

Nutella Drizzle:
Place 1/4 cup  nutella in the bottom corner of a zippered sandwich or storage bag. Microwave for about 20 seconds. Snip end corner from bag, and pipe warmed nutella stripes over each toast serving.

ENJOY! (sorry, I didn't take pics of this one while in the making. It wasn't really a planned thing. I will try to get pics next time I make it, and update this recipe with step-by-step photos of the directions.)

Vegan Quinoa Burgers

Kicking the Frozen Veggie Burger Habit

This is the burger that got me to kick the frozen veggie burger habit. If you're a fan of the onion/ mustard combo, this is the recipe for you. The shallot gives it a VERY bold flavor and the texture, after a quick saute combined with a bake is pretty sweet. This recipe was adapted and veganized from "Veggie Burgers Every Which Way" by Lukas Volger. The recipe originally called for egg but I've used a mashed potato to help with binding.

Quinoa Burgers

Ingredients

2 cups cooked quinoa

1/4 cup steamed spinach

1 medium sized shallot, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

½ small potato, boiled and mashed

3 T all-purpose flour

1 t baking soda

1 t salt

¼ t ground black pepper

1 T olive oil for sauteing

Directions:

Follow your directions for cooking quinoa, though it seems boiling 1 part quinoa with 2 parts water for about 12 minutes generally does the trick,

1. Cook your quinoa. Skin and boil (20 minutes) half of a potato. Steam a good enough bit (1 cup of fresh) of spinach so you'll have roughly ¼ cup packed once steamed. Drain the potato and mash when cooled a little. Finely chop the steamed spinach.

2. Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Mince shallot and garlic. Combine with quinoa. Add flour, salt, pepper, spinach, and baking powder. Using a fork combine as well as you can. Add mashed potato, and using fork, continue to mash and combine. This will take a few minutes. When properly combined, the mixture should be quite dense and moist.

3. Form burger patties. This recipe yields about five 3” by 1 ½” burgers.

4. Saute each side of patty for 3 or so minutes on medium heat, or until slightly browned.. Transfer to baking sheet and bake in oven for 12-15 minutes.

5. Remove from oven. Place on bun (toasted pretzel bun is perfect)! Add condiments – mustard, with a little ketchup works best here.