Meatless Monday: 2 Ingredient French Toast (2 Ways)

Mott's Strawberry Applesauce French Toast

And, no, one of those ingredients is not eggs. Or egg substitute.

This is a perfect recipe for days when you wake up wanting a real breakfast but the fact it is snowing in April makes you so adverse to the thought of doing anything that you cannot scrounge up the energy to find more than two ingredients–i.e. yesterday.

Or really just any day.

Yogurt French Toast
makes 1 toast

• 1/2 6oz. container of yogurt (any flavor)
• 1 slice bread old bread (or lightly toasted bread)

Applesauce French Toast
makes 1 toast

• 1/4-1/2c. unsweetened applesauce (any flavor)
• Spices or seasonings of choice
• 1 slice bread old bread (or lightly toasted bread)

→Put the yogurt or applesauce in a shallow container that is wide enough to hold your bread. If your yogurt or applesauce is thick, mix it with enough water to make it the consistency of pancake batter. Add in any spices or seasonings you want.

Put the bread in the yogurt (or applesauce) and let it soak a little. Flip it over to get the other side.

Bread soaking in Cherry Vanilla yogurt

Spray a small/medium saute pan with nonstick spray. Let it sit on medium heat for a minute (just enough to preheat it).

Take the bread out of the yogurt or applesauce mixture and put it in the pan. Top with more yogurt (or applesauce). Flip it after about a minute (or when the bottom is brown). If there’s any left, top with some more of the “batter”.

Admittedly, a little too much yogurt on top...

Once both sides are brown, take it off the pan and eat it while contemplating whether April snow showers will bring May flowers.

Chicken Little’s Waffles

Cinnamon Waffles

I’ve been researching the feeling I talked about yesterday (WebMD…we all do it). Apparently, it’s called “derealization” and is (or can be) associated with extreme anxiety. God forbid I should just feel “anxious” like everyone else. I skip past panic and go straight to delusional.

This got me thinking, which probably wasn’t the best idea. When I couldn’t give my stress a concrete name, I began to panic. What if I’m missing something? My mind was racing with the myriad of things I might be forgetting. It felt as if I might be forgetting that someone had told me the world was going to end and I had to save it. Needless to say, I only became more stressed. (The world was ending, people! And I forgot I had to save it!)

For future reference, if you’re stressed and don’t really know why, it’s probably best to just leave it a mystery for the time being.

After a several minutes spent hyperventilating, pacing, and panicking, I grabbed a few towels and (being now properly armed for the coming apocalypse) decided to have some waffles.

And, yes, I have completely lost it. Not quite sure what “it” is, but if there ever was an “it” (or several “its” for that matter), I am now officially without.

It.

Chocolate waffles with strawberries

“The World’s Ending so I May as Well Eat Waffles” Waffles
serves 1 (this is no time to diet! where are your priorities?!)

• 3T. mashed Fiber One Original Bran (mash it till it has the consistency of flour)
• 2T. cocoa powder (version 1) or pudding mix (version 2)
• 1/4 t. + a few pinches baking POWDER
• 3/8c. TOTAL applesauce + cottage cheese or 3 oz./half a small container yogurt (version 2)
• Water or milk or soymilk as needed to make it pourable
• Pinches of seasonings/extracts
• Sugar or sugar substitute, to taste

→Mix all the wet ingredients together in a small container/bowl/dish/cup.

In a different bowl (etc), whisk the fiber one, other flour, baking powder and sugar substitute/seasonings.

Version 2 after mixing

Add the contents of the second bowl to the contents of the first (or the first to the contents of the second) and mix well.

Cook in a WELL-GREASED waffle iron. Top with fruit or other topping of choice.

Making a mess

Don’t bother cleaning. The world’s about to end.

Cinnamon waffles with apple pie filling

Healthy, “Any Way You Like” Cookies (Microwave-Friendly)

This blog has moved. This post can now be found here:

http://www.measuredinpinches.com/2011/02/25/mix-and-match-cookies/

Thank you.

For Those Who Stare at Fudge Brownies

Fudgy Brownies

Time seems to slur together, day and night becoming the same. I suppose this is the price we pay for electric lighting. I wake up half asleep and lay in bed fully awake, always trapped in a world where there are ladders without sides. It’s as if everything is occurring in this dream world and I can no longer distinguish what is real and what is in my mind. Is my face really that bloated or was that in another world?

A world full of ladders without sides.

I used a circular bowl so I had to "make" a brownie shape

Decadent 5-minute 75-calorie Brownie (Microwave)
makes 2 brownies (3″ X 3″)

• 1/4 c. mashed Fiber One Original Bran (mash it till it has the consistency of flour)
• 1 T. cocoa powder OR chocolate coffee
• 1/2 t. baking POWDER OR 1/4 t. baking POWDER + 1/8 t. baking soda
• 2T. sugar or sugar substitute
• 1/8 t. guar gum OR 1/4 c. natural applesauce
• a little extract (almond, raspberry, coconut, hazelnut, strawberry, mint or good old vanilla)
• 1 T. light butter, melted (I used Bestlife Buttery Baking Sticks which are made out of oils, not dairy) OR 1 T. peanut butter for a peanut butter chocolate brownie

→Mix the butter, applesauce and extract in a small-medium microwave-bowl.

In a different bowl, whisk the fiber one, cocoa, baking powder (and soda) and sugar substitute. Add this mixture to the ingredients in the first step.

Add a little water and spread it around with a spoon to make the top even. You want it to be the consistency of drop cookie batter. (SEE NOTE)

Cover with plastic wrap (My tree-hugger instincts won’t let me buy plastic wrap so I use old cut up cereal bags and popcorn wrappers. I don’t really know why I’m mentioning this peculiarity, but, well, there it is). If you do use the plastic, make sure to allow a way for it to vent (a slit, a hole, a few holes….whatever).

Microwave for 2-3 minutes, turning halfway through. I find varies depending on how much water I add.

After about 2.5 minutes (when the brownie is still a little soft on top), remove the plastic wrap and cook for about another 30 seconds. You don’t have to do this, but I find it gives it a little extra chewiness and makes it an “eat out of hand” brownie instead of a “eat with a spoon” one.

After this, it will still look a little undercooked. That’s ok. DO NOT MICROWAVE IT ANYMORE OR YOU WILL HAVE A ROCK BROWNIE. Take the brownie out of the microwave and let it sit for 30 seconds to a minute. This will help dry out the top a bit and firm it up.

Feel free to stare. You know who you are. Oh, and, by the way, this just happens to be vegan too.

*NOTES: If you choose to use the guar gum, you’ll need to add about 3 T. of water and use only baking powder. The guar gum version has fewer calories and cooks a little quicker so you’ll need to watch it more carefully.

If you choose to use the applesauce, you’ll need to add a little less water (about 1-2T.) and use the baking powder/soda mix. To keep the butter from clumping up again, make sure the applesauce is room temperature before adding it.

I would recommend the applesauce version only because it is easier to get it right. The guar gum version tends to dry out around the edges very easily and become hard if left out for even five minutes. I’ve gotten it right a few times, where it stayed moist and tasted great, but those were pure chance. If you really want to mix it up, do half of each, using 1/4 t. plus a pinch baking powder and a pinch or two of baking soda.

Also, I am still learning more about guar gum, so I don’t have a lot of information. For the wikipedia article, click here. Hopefully I’ll be able to add a page on it under the “unique ingredients” in the near future.

Snow Day Concoctions: Super Easy Jelly

I don’t know what it was. Maybe it was the fact that I already knew there was no CHANCE I could go in to the lab today (given the however many feet of snow and all). Maybe it was just stupid Monday and its stupid meeting, which always messes up my schedule. Whatever it was, I didn’t get out of bed today till 2. Yes, that’s right-TWO PM.

I was greeted by my cat’s meow and altogether too bright rays of sun. Curious as to how much snow had actually fallen (and, moreover, how long it would take me to clean my car off tomorrow), I looked out the upstairs window to find my car completely devoid of snow. And they said it was going to snow over a foot!, I naively laughed to myself. Little did I know what was waiting downstairs.

Either way, I figured it must have snowed a little…maybe even enough to make a small snowman. I went downstairs, put my coffee in, and walked toward the door. As I moved to turn the doorknob, a strange feeling overcame me, as if I already knew it was a bad idea. Ignoring the (oh so correct) feeling, I swung the door open and was immediately covered in a mess of moist, white dust. There would be no venturing outside today much less any making of snowmen. The however many inch thick block of snow in front of my doorway ensured that.

At least my car is clean.

2 PM Breakfast: Pancakes with Berry-Peach Jelly

Cranberry-Cherry Jello Jelly
makes 2 jars (13 oz)

• 3 cups cranberries
• 1.5 (3 oz) packages Cherry flavor sugar-free gelatin mix
• 1.5 cups water

Version 2: Mixed Berry-Peach Jello Jelly
makes 2 jars (13 oz)

• 3 cups mixed berries
• 1.5 (3 oz) packages Peach flavor sugar-free gelatin mix
• 1.5 cups water

→Mash the cranberries in a saucepan. Mine were frozen so I had to leave them out to defrost for a bit. Add the water and the Jello. Mix well.

Boil this mixture once then simmer for a few minutes, stirring continuously.

Pour into jars, cool, cover and refrigerate.

Use on pancakes, toast, peanut butter sandwiches or eat it off a spoon.

My friend went to Korea and all I got was pictures of food

Ok, well, that’s not entirely true. But aren’t there T-shirts that say something like that?

All of the pictures and descriptions in the slideshow were taken by my good friend, Susannah Hope. All I did was “enhance” them in iPhoto and crop some of them to remove background. Since this is a vegetarian blog, I removed all the photos of meat. (Sorry, Susannah, I love you, but I can’t approve of you eating animals!)

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I’m actually a little jealous because, judging by these pictures, she has a much better camera than my puny cell phone one.

Look at my pretty new placemats!

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Low Calorie Vegan Cookies: Chocolate Lemon

This site has moved. Please click on the following link to read this post:

http://measuredinpinches.com/low-calorie-vegan-cookies-chocolate-lemon-2/

Low-Calorie Cookies #2: White Chocolate Strawberry

This site has moved. This post can now be found here:

http://www.measuredinpinches.com/2011/01/11/white-chocolate-strawberry-pudding-cookies/

Thank you.

Couscous, etc

Note to self: Avoid sitting on flimsy desks or you’re going to end up on the floor with a desk on top of you.

And that is painful.

Seriously!

Look at the pretty pomegranate seeds!

Fruity, Nutty and Cheesy Couscous

• couscous
• pomegranate seeds (so worth the trouble)
• goat cheese, crumbled
• pumpkin seeds, toasted of course
• FRESH cilantro and/or mint, chopped
• lime juice, preferably fresh
• pomegranate molasses or, if you have no idea what the hell that is, just use balsamic vinegar (see UPDATE)
• olive oil if you’re a “put olive oil in your dressing” sort of person, which I, being fat phobic am most obviously not

→Prepare couscous as directed on package (for an extra kick, use veggie stock in place of water). Fluff with fork after prepared.
Once couscous is ready, stir in dressing*
Add the cilantro/mint, pumpkin seeds, pomegranate seeds and goat cheese (no substitutions on the goat cheese!)
Stir until well combined.
Chill because this tastes horrible warm.

*NOTE: For every 1/2c of dry couscous, make a dressing of about 1/2T lime juice and 1/2T balsamic vinegar. I have no idea how much oil you would add seeing as how I try to avoid the stuff as much as I can.

The amounts of the other ingredients are relative to the flavor you want. For about 1/2c. dry couscous, I used about half a pomegranate, 4oz of goat cheese and 1-2T pumpkin seeds.

UPDATE (12/12/09): Something was off with this recipe so I tried adding some pineapple juice. It helped, but not all the way. You need something to offset the sour, orange juice perhaps?