This recipe is a celebration of all things Spring and I love it! To be honest, it still doesn’t fully even feel like Spring in the city quit yet, we keep swinging from 60 degrees back to 40 and almost all days covered in clouds, rain and gloom. That being said, this recipe is anything but gloomy! It’s full of bright beautifully covered vegetables, a bold spicy peanut sauce, and a perfectly sweet and savory lemongrass marinaded tofu. It is also served cold which makes it awesome for leftovers! 

So this recipe has actually evolved multiple times from when I first attempted to make it. The first time was an attempt to make fresh Spring Rolls like what you get at Vietnamese restaurants. So two problems with that that I felt wasn’t in line with my brand and what we’re trying to accomplish in the Almost Like Mom’s kitchen.

The first is they were not easy to make. If you’ve ever picked up a packet of those spring roll wrapped and see that they look like hard plastic, and have thought to yourself, how do they soften this and wrap it?? The answer is, very carefully and honestly not worth it. The second issue is they go bad almost instantly, it was very difficult to keep the ingredients looking fresh and the rolls themselves got soggy after about a day.

While I often like taking on food challenges, I try to stay away from doing recipes that are not accessible and will leave you frustrated and I really try to stay away from recipes where you cannot have leftovers. So I scrapped the whole spring rolls idea. But, I loved everything about the flavor combination of what I had put together, so I decided to evolve it into a noodle dish and the Spring Vegetable Soba Bowls were born.

If you’ve never bought Soba noodles, you’re in for a treat. You can find them in the ethnic isle of the grocery store, I try to buy ones that are 100% buckwheat but they’re pricier so feel free to get the ones that are mixed with wheat. These noodles are I think probably my favorite noodle on their own, but they are truly beautiful and delicious tossed with fresh veggies and marinaded tofu.

What I recommended for this recipe is to make the tofu, sauce and noodles separate and then you can use it for lunches all week by adding on the sliced veggies toppings before eating or in the morning.

Lots of Love,

Jackie

Spring Vegetable Soba Noodles with Spicy Peanut Sauce

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

40 mins

 

A celebration of Spring in a bowl, bright spring vegetables atop savory soba noodles with spicy peanut sauce and lemongrass marinaded tofu.

Author: Jackie DeSana

Recipe type: Lunch, Dinner, Salad, Snack

Cuisine: Japanese, Vietnamese, Vegan

Serves: 4 servings

Ingredients

• Tofu Marinade
• 1 block extra firm tofu, cut into strips
• 2 lemongrass stalks, minced
• 1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
• ¼ cup soy sauce or tamari
• 2 scallions, minced
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp olive oil
  
  
• Noodles
• 1 bunch soba noodles, cooked according to package directions
• 1 bunch asparagus, cut into thirds
• 1 bunch radishes, sliced
• 4 avocados, sliced
• 3 carrots, ribboned
• Fresh cilantro, chopped (optional)
  
  
• Peanut Butter Sauce
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp chili paste
• juice of 1 lime
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 3 scallions, sliced
• ½ cup water, more if necessary to thin

Directions

1. Whisk all the ingredients together for the tofu marinade. Toss the tofu strips into the marinade and set aside for 30 minutes. While the tofu marinades preheat your over to 400 degrees and cook the soba noodles.
   
   
2. In a separate pot from the noodles, bring more water to a boil. When the water is boiling, add the asparagus and cook for 4 minutes until it is just cooked. It should still be crunchy. Set the cooked asparagus aside while you prepare and chop the remaining vegetables.
   
   
3. When the tofu is done marinading, place it onto a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes.
   
   
4. Make the peanut sauce by placing all the ingredients into a high speed blender and blend until creamy.
   
   
5. Assemble the bowls by placing the noodles on the bottom, top with all the veggies, the cooked tofu and drizzle with the peanut sauce. Top with fresh cilantro if using. If you're using these as a lunch and want leftovers, keep the veggies separate from the noodles until serving or preparing.

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The post Spring Vegetable Soba Noodles with Spicy Peanut Sauce appeared first on Almost Like Mom's.

It’s been two months since Andrew and I went to New Orleans and I still can’t get all of the amazing food I ate there out of my mind! Seriously if you have never been to that city, just buy an impromptu ticket, get there as soon as possible, and just eat all of the food you can the days you are there. I’m not exaggerating when I say that nearly everything we ate in New Orleans was one of the best things I’ve ever eaten. Full disclosure, Andrew and I totally cheated on that vacation and ate seafood and even a little meat but this recipe right here is my attempt at a recreation of one of the best dishes I’ve ever had, the whole roasted cauliflower from Domenica.

Domenica is an awesome modern Italian restaurant in the Roosevelt hotel. They have everything, beautiful pastas, pizzas, great appetizers and cocktails but the whole roasted cauliflower with whipped feta is out of this world! After eating there, I made a decision that I was going to recreate this if it killed me.

After attempting to look up a recipe for “whipped feta” I realized that it’s actually about 90% cream cheese and heavy cream so I decided to make a healthy twist on this recipe and make vegan whipped “feta”. This sauce is just a few tweaks away from the vegan cream cheese recipe I made with the bagels and it is awesome! We had a ton left after I made this recipe and it’s brilliant served over potatoes or pretty much any other roasted veggie.

Now, let’s talk about this cauliflower, the best part! This is something I had my doubts about but this cauliflower full soaks up all of the flavor of the broth you boil it in and it’s incredible! If you’re vegan, you can add in vegan butter instead of regular butter or just double the amount of olive oil and put in a little extra salt. I swear this broth is so flavorful and delicious, I could just sip it.

The biggest trick here though it to turn the oven up enough so that the top gets blackened and crispy.

Lots of Love,

Jackie

Whole Roasted Cauliflower with Vegan Whipped "Feta"

 

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Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

1 hour

Total time

1 hour 5 mins

 

An incredibly savory and delicious meal for when you're feeling fancy. Cauliflower boiled in a flavorful broth and served with a bold vegan whipped feta dip.

Author: Jackie DeSana

Recipe type: Dinner

Cuisine: Vegetarian, Vegan

Serves: 2 servings

Ingredients

• 1 head cauliflower
• 2½ cups white wine
• ¼ cup sea salt
• ¼ cup lemon juice (2-3 lemons)
• ⅓ cup olive oil
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 tbsp butter (or vegan butter)
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 8 cups water
  
  
• Whipped "Feta
• 1 block extra firm tofu (drained very well, squeeze out water)
• 2 tbsp lemon juice (2 lemons)
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ cup olive oil
• 2 tsp zaatar
• 1 tsp paprika
• drizzle chili oil (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.
   
   
2. Prepare the feta but squeezing all the water out of the tofu with a tea towel or cheese cloth. Add the tofu, lemon juice, vinegar, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and ⅓ cup of the olive oil to a high speed blender. Blend on high until creamy. Remove from the blender and whisk in the zaatar and paprika. Place in the refrigerator and cool for at least an hour. Whisk with the remaining olive oil before serving and top with chile oil or cayenne pepper if you want it a bit spicy.
   
   
3. While the feta is cooling, make the cauliflower, trim the leaves off the cauliflower but leave the core in tact. Add remaining ingredients to a large pot and fill about ¾ of the rest of the pot up with water. Bring the mixture to a boil and add in the whole cauliflower. Cover with a lid so the cauliflower stays down in the water. Poach for 15-20 minutes, turning it from time to time to ensure both sides cook. The outside should be starting to soften and you should be able to pierce the center with a knife.
   
   
4. Remove from the boiling water and set aside to cool for 10 minutes.
   
   
5. Place the cauliflower into a baking pan or pie dish with about 2 cups of the cooking liquid. Using a spook or baster, scoop the liquid onto the cauliflower and place in the oven.
   
   
6. Bake for 30 minutes on the top until the top is brown all over. Continue spooning the sauce over it about every 10 minutes or so.
7. Remove from oven and serve with the whipped feta. You can serve this right away but it does heat up well and the whipped feta keeps well in teh refrigerator.

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As I introduce today’s recipe, I think it’s important that I give credit where credit is due and that’s to my boyfriend Andrew. This recipe would not have been born without his sweet tooth and his constant flow of dessert ideas he wants me to try. The cycle of recipe development in our house is that I have a master list of ideas that strike me usually in the car, and I’ll ask for Andrew’s input and he’ll throw out some kind of dessert he wants me to try instead. Usually I resist merely to avoid having sweets in my house, but he won out on this one and as a consequence of that we all win because these Easy Old Fashion Doughnuts are delicious!

I had actually been curious about making my own doughnuts for a while but Andrew’s suggestion was the final push I needed. As you all know, I like taking things that people spend money on getting out, and seeing if I can recreate them at home. Then there’s the important questions which are (1) are they better? (2) are they cheaper to make than to buy; and (3) is it worth it?

With this recipe I think the answer has to be yes to all three! Unlike making your own bagels which are delicious but time consuming, making your own doughnuts really doesn’t take much time and is super easy! There’s no proofing or resting of the dough required, you just make it, shape them, and fry them, I swear if it didn’t end up being so easy, I wouldn’t be sharing the recipe.

When I made these for the house, we saved them and ate them as snacks all week, but they’re so good fresh so I highly recommend making them if you’re having a brunch party or need something to bring to the office and want to impress people with your cooking skills!

Now, most recipes online will tell you to get a doughnut cutter for this recipe, and that would certainly make it easier, but I got very creative and used a pint glass to cut the bigger piece and a wine bottle opening to cut out the middle hole and it worked like a charm. That being said, if you try this recipe and are like OMG I’m making doughnuts all the time now, investing in the special cutter might be for the best.

These doughnuts are relatively simple so I’ve already promised myself to attempt more challenging ones in the future, stay tuned!

Lots of Love,

Jackie

Easy Old Fashioned Doughnuts

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

30 mins

 

Put away those 7-11 powdered doughnuts, you can now make your very own easy and delicious Old Fashion Doughnuts. A great breakfast treat for your Easter brunches.

Author: Jackie DeSana

Recipe type: Desserts, Breakfast

Cuisine: Vegetarian

Serves: 8-12 doughnuts

Ingredients

• 2 cups Cake Flour
• ½ cup all purpose flour, plus more if necessary
• 1½ tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp sea salt
• ¾ tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ½ cup cane sugar
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 egg yolks
• ⅔ cup greek yogurt
• 2-3 cups of vegetable oil, enough for frying
• powdered sugar for garnish

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, whisk the cake flour, all purpose flour, baking powder, sea salt, nutmeg and cinnamon until combined.
   
   
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, or other large bowl, whip the sugar and butter together until mixed. Add in the egg yolks and continue whisking. Finally add in the Greek yogurt and continue whisking until the mixture is smooth.
   
   
3. Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and fold until it forms a dough. Empty the dough onto a clean, lightly floured surface. If the dough is too sticky to handle, continue adding flour about ¼ cup at a time until it forms a firm, slightly sticky dough. I think by the end I likely added another ½ cup of flour in. For this step, I prefer to use all purpose flour because adding more cake flour makes the dough too sweet.
   
   
4. Using a rolling pin (or a wine bottle if you're me) roll out the dough into a square. It should still be about an inch thick. Cut the doughnuts out using a doughnut cutter, or, if you don't have one, you can use a pint glass to cut the big circle and the opening of a wine or other similar bottle to cut out the middle. Set the cut doughnuts aside to prepare for frying. Continue kneading the leftover dough back into itself and cutting out doughnuts until you have no dough left. You can choose to work the middle circles back in, or you can set them aside as well and fry as doughnut holes. You should have 8-12 doughnuts by the end.
   
   
5. In a large, heavy bottomed pot, heat the oil until it reaches 375 degrees. If you don't have a thermometer, you'll know it's ready if flour sizzles in it. You can also test it with one doughnut hole and see if it floats when dropped in.
   
   
6. Fry the doughnuts no more than two at a time for about 1 minute on each side until they turn a golden brown color. Remove the doughnuts from the oil and place onto a drying rack. Sprinkle powdered sugar over the doughnuts and you're done!

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Something I’ve learned since moving to Chicago is that outside of Detroit, people legitimately don’t know what Coney Island’s are. Don’t get me wrong, we still have diner’s in Chicago and other places you can eat late at night, and even places that are open 24 hours, but none of them have the odd mix of drunk food, chili dogs, breakfast and Greek food that existing at the Coney Island’s where I’m from. This recipe is an ode to one of my favorite things about Coney Island’s, Lemon Rice Soup.

When I was in my year off from college working a serving job and doing a terrible job at saving money to move to Chicago, my best friend Alexa would go out all the time, we even dubbed this tradition “best friend drink night” which is not creative in the slightest but we liked it. all the time. The best part about our tradition wasn’t the drinking at all, but going to hungover breakfast the next day. Our main breakfast spot was a Coney Island called Leo’s which is a chain but has really good breakfast food. The best part though was that Leo’s served Chicken Lemon Rice soup all day. I can honestly say being able to order that soup alongside eggs and hashbrowns saved me on a couple occasions.

The point I’m trying to make is that Lemon Rice Soup is magic and I truly don’t know why I didn’t try to make it before. Traditionally this soup is made with chicken, so I added seared cauliflower to this soup just to give it a little extra texture. The biggest thing I did differently here though was I wanted to make a broth that was truly rich and flavorful. I find often that using vegetable stock instead of chicken stock leaves you losing out on some flavor. So, I punch this one up with miso, dijon mustard and some spices to form something like a bouillon that gets mixed in with the broth.

The one thing that I was unwilling to compromise on there is the egg so this soup is not vegan. The egg gives it the special creaminess that makes Lemon Rice Soup so unique, hearty and comforting and I just couldn’t bring myself to leave it out of the end recipe. The first round of testing I did cut it out completely and it’s still really delicious, it just sacrifices thickness. If you’re uncomfortable adding the eggs directly to the soup, I’d recommend just adding 1/2 cup more rice, as the rice starch breaks down in the soup, it will also add to the creaminess.

This recipe is so hearty and comforting while also having a fresh taste from all the lemon juice, it’s truly incredible and I know you’re going to love it!

Lots of Love,

Jackie

Cauliflower Lemon Rice Soup

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

45 mins

 

A modified, vegetarian version of a classic Chicken Lemon Rice soup with all the richness, heartiness, flavor and comforting vibes of the original.

Author: Jackie DeSana

Recipe type: Dinner, Soup

Cuisine: Greek, Vegetarian

Serves: 6 servings

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp high heat vegetable oil (sunflower, avocado, grapeseed)
• 1 large head cauliflower, cut into florets
• 2 tbsp butter (or more oil)
• 1 onion, minced
• 2 leeks, sliced
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp pepper
• ½ tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
• 4 cups veg stock
• 2½ tbsp miso
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp dijon mustard
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 4 cups water
• ½ cup white rice
• ⅔ cups lemons (3-4 lemons)
• 4 egg yolks

Directions

1. Heat the high heat cooking oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add the cauliflower florets and sear until they start to brown. Remove the cauliflower from the pan and set aside.
   
   
2. Turn the heat down to medium, add in the butter, onions, leeks, and garlic. Saute for 3-5 minutes until the leeks start to soften. Add in the bay leaves, salt and pepper and toss to combine.
   
   
3. In a medium size bowl, combine 1 cup of the vegetable stock with the miso, dijon, soy sauce, garlic powder and onion powder and whisk until it forms a paste. Add to the pot and stir until all the veggies are coated.
   
   
4. Add back in the browned cauliflower, the white rice, the rest of the vegetable stock and the water and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes or until the rice is soft.
   
   
5. Remove from heat. In a separate bowl, whisk together the lemon juice and the egg yolks until combined. Add into the hot soup slowly, stirring constantly. The soup will begin to have an egg drop texture with the egg cooked throughout. Serve topped with red pepper flakes or fresh mint.

Notes

If you want to make this one Vegan, I'd recommend cutting out the egg yolks and adding in another ½ cup of rice, and a tablespoon of flour to the miso paste mix. This will help add to the creamy texture you need.

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Spring is upon us!! This a very exciting time, the stores have tulips in them, it’s staying light out past 4:30, and it’s warm enough to not need boots. That means we are quickly coming up on bonfire season, possible my favorite part of the warm weather months. Starting a fire, and drinking in the backyard is quite possibly my favorite activity and I plan on spending a ton of time doing it this summer. And I’ve create the perfect drink for such an event this time of year, this Bourbon Citrus Smash.

This drink was created 100% on a whim and it turned out so good that Andrew and I just looked at each other in awe at what I had created. It all started one evening when we were out of tequila (our usual choice drink), we had only whiskey that was leftover from a party with no apparent mixers and we were took lazy to walk to the store in the cold. However, being the resourceful alcoholic that I am, I took a serious inventory and decided to come up with something and I don’t think that either of us could’ve foreseen this turning into our now special treat drink.

Now, the initial creation of this drink did not have the basil or the egg white in it, those were additions in later version that I tried to see if it elevated it at all and in both instances my hunch was correct. The basil is the perfect compliment to the citrus flavors and the egg whites add almost a creaminess that it unbelievably good.

If you’ve never tried a cocktail with egg whites, today is the day, screw going to some bar where the bartenders wear overalls and charge you $15.00 a drink, you can do this yourself and it’s super easy and delicious. Egg whites are an incredible addition to drinks, it’s hard to even describe but I swear you won’t regret trying it.

The reason I think this drink is the perfect post-work cocktail for Spring is because while this drink is served over ice, I just feel like Bourbon or Whiskey really fit in better when there’s still a little crispness in the air. There’s something warming about them. This drink also uses citrus which is just coming out f season this time of year.

If you make this PLEASE take a picture and let me know, I’ll cheers you from Chicago!

Love,

Jackie

Whiskey Citrus Smash

 

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Prep time

5 mins

Total time

5 mins

 

A perfect Spring cocktail, warming whiskey mixed with bright sour citrus, sweet honey, bitters, basil, and my secret ingredient, egg whites! Cozy up to a fire with this guy and you won't be disappointed.

Author: Jackie DeSana

Recipe type: Drinks and Cocktails

Cuisine: Cocktails

Serves: 1 drink

Ingredients

• 2 basil leaves (more for garnish)
• 2 tsp (one generous squirt) of honey
• 4 shakes angostura bitters
• 2 orange peel slices (more for garnish)
• 2 lemon peel slices
• 2 shots Whiskey or Bourbon
• juice of ½ lemon
• juice of 1 orange (or ½ cup orange juice)
• 1 egg white (optional)
• Ice

Directions

1. Pack a highball glass with ice. In a cocktail shaker, add the basil leaves, lemon peels orange peels, honey and bitters. Using a muddler, crush the basil leaves and peels into the honey and bitters for about 10 seconds to get the flavor out of the peels.
   
   
2. Add in the whiskey or bourbon, lemon juice, orange juice, egg white if using, and a generous scoop of ice (separate from the ice in your glass). Shake for about 10-15 seconds until the drink is full mixed (if you're using egg white it will be kind of frothy too).
   
   
3. Strain the drink over ice into the glass. Top with additional orange juice if glass isn't full. Garnish with orange peels or basil leaves.

Notes

This recipe makes one drink, I don't recommend making more than one at a time as you need to really muddle and shake this one for all the flavors to get into the drink. It's worth the one at a time effort I promise.

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I think we all know what holiday is fast approaching and it’s a big one in Chicago … St. Patrick’s Day! If you’ve never been to St. Patty’s day in Chicago, you should come one year but be prepared to see some straight up debauchery. St. Patrick’s Day the year Andrew and I started dating, might’ve been when I first realized I loved Andrew. That sounds legit insane because we had only been dating for like 2 months, but it was a beautiful day and we successfully drank Jameson and Ginger Ale outside for about 12 hours while having the most fun together. It was an amazing day. With all its craziness I still have a soft spot for St. Patty’s day, and this year I’m celebrating on the blog with several special recipes and today’s recipe is this incredible Semi-Traditional Irish Breakfast.

When I was planning my St. Patty’s Day post, I had been doing research for a few days on what Irish people typically eat (other than corned beef and cabbage obviously). I was trying to find a traditional Irish recipe that I could put my own spin on, I am only 1/8 Irish after all. I learned a couple things through this research. The first is that all Irish food sounds like an amazing mess of the most perfect hangover cure you’ve ever heard of.  These people may not be the French when it comes to cuisine, but they are experts at filling up a belly full of beer. The second thing is that Irish food is extremely meat centered and meat heavy in a way that is sometimes difficult to imitate. That being said, I think I nailed this one.

So, let’s break this down, first I put a slight spin on traditional potato pancakes by making them not only with leftover mashed potatoes, but more specifically with leftover colcannon, another Irish dish. Colcannon is literally mashed potatoes mixed with cabbage and bacon so trust me, it’s one of the best things you’ll ever eat. I made mine with roasted cabbage and leeks to give it that extra flavor and coconut bacon because it’s the best for bacon bits. Did I mention I also used a whole head of roasted garlic in the mashed potatoes? YUM!

Using the colcannon for the potato pancakes makes them heartier and more flavorful, plus you’ll have leftovers of the colcannon you can either make into more pancakes or literally just eat over your sink like an animal.

The other part of Irish breakfast is of course meat, specifically, bacon and sausage. I elected to use store bought vegan breakfast sausage but make my own bacon. This was my first time making eggplant bacon and it’s tasty AF. I have to tell you I still prefer tempeh bacon because it’s meatier, but eggplant provides that thin crunchiness and really absorbs the marinade well.

Finally, this ridiculous plate of deliciousness is finished with fried eggs, and broiled and/or grilled tomatoes. Trust me, don’t skip on the grilled tomatoes, they’re the perfect accompaniment to this dish. You’ll literally want to just pile a fork high with all this shit and take one gigantic bite!

Lots of Love,

Jackie

Semi-Traditional Irish Breakfast

 

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Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

1 hour

 

Hearty and flavorful potato pancakes served with smoky eggplant bacon, vegan breakfast sausage, fried eggs and a broiled tomato, cure your St. Patrick's Day hangover like a trust Irishman.

Author: Jackie DeSana

Recipe type: Breakfast

Cuisine: Irish, Vegetarian

Serves: 4 breakfasts

Ingredients

• Potato Pancakes
• 4 russet potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 1 head garlic, roasted (cut the top off the garlic, drizzle with oil, salt and pepper, bake wrapped in foil at 400 degrees for 30 minutes)
• ¼ cup sour cream
• ¼ cup almond milk
• 3 tbsp butter
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 leek, washed and chopped
• ½ head cabbage, sliced into strips
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp pepper
• ⅓ cupcoconut bacon
• 1 egg
• ½ cup flour
• 2 more tbsp butter (for frying, may need more)
  
  
• Eggplant Bacon
• non-stick spray
• 1 large eggplant, sliced per directions
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• ¼ cup soy sauce
• 1 tsp liquid smoke
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 2 tsp maple syrup
• 1 tsp chili powder
• ¼ tsp cayenne
• 1 tsp cumin
• ½ tsp salt
  
  
• The Rest
• 4 tomatoes (1 per breakfast plate)
• 8 fried eggs (two per breakfast plate)
• 4 vegan sausages (1 per breakfast plate)
• Sour cream for topping potatoes

Directions

1. Start by making the ingredients for the potato pancakes. Now, if we were in Ireland, you would have already made Colcannon the night before and you'd be using those leftovers for the pancakes. Do as you will, I can tell you it's worth it to make the colcannon ahead both for ease and the deliciousness of eating it by itself. Boil your potatoes for the mashed potatoes until fork tender.
   
   
2. While the potatoes are cooking, preheat your over to 400 degrees. Place the sliced leeks and cabbage on a baking sheet and toss in the olive oil and 1 tsp each of salt and pepper. Bake the leeks and cabbage for 15 minutes on the top rack until they start to brown. Bake the coconut baconduring this time. You will also want to bake the roasted garlic as well. I placed it in with the cabbage, then swapped the cabbage out for the coconut bacon, leaving the garlic in. By the time they're both done, the garlic will be just about done as well.
   
   
3. After the potatoes are tender, remove from the water and transfer to a large bowl or stand mixer. Squeeze the roasted garlic out of it's shell and transfer to the bowl with the potatoes. Add in the sour cream, almond milk, butter, and the remaining tsp of salt. Mix with the stand mixer, a hand mixed, or a potato smashed and spatula until smooth and the garlic has been mixed evenly.
   
   
4. When the potatoes are finished and fully prepared, add in the cabbage and bacon and stir with a spatula until fully incorporated. Separate two cups of the mashed potato mixture into a separate bowl to make the pancakes an enjoy anything you have left alone! Trust me, it's delicious.
   
   
5. Prepare the eggplant bacon by spraying a wire rack with non-stick spray and placing it on a baking sheet. Cut the ends off the eggplant and slice it longways into thin pieces, about ¼ inch. Place the pieces onto a cutting board, sprinkle with salt and let sit for 10 minutes. When the 10 minutes is up, wipe the excess moisture off the eggplant and place on the wire rack.
   
   
6. In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients for the eggplant bacon until combined. Then brush the top side of the eggplant with the marinade. Bake for 15 minutes in a 400 degree oven then flip and brush the other side with marinade and bake for an additional 15 minutes. You can use any other veggie bacon for this part, but please keep in mind if you're using eggplant bacon, only actually bake what you're going to eat because it doesn't reheat well, save the rest of the sliced eggplant and save the marinade.
   
   
7. To make the potato pancakes, take 2 cups of the mashed potato/cabbage mixture into a large bowl and add the flour and egg. Mix until it thickens up, it should be a slightly thicker texture than pancake mix and you should be able to scoop it. Melt butter in a large cast iron skillet. Scooping about 2 tablespoons at a time, scoop the potato mixture into the skillet and flatten slightly with a spatula. Cook for 3-5 minutes on each side per pancake until they are golden brown on each side.
   
   
8. Finish up preparing your total Irish breakfast by frying or otherwise preparing your eggs and frying your breakfast sausage if using. If you're broiling the tomatoes, simply cut them in half, place on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper, broil for 3-5 minutes cut side up until they start to brown on the edges.
   
   
9. Assemble a plate with two eggs, one tomato, one sausage, strips of bacon, and two potato pancakes. Enjoy with an early morning beer, bloody or Irish coffee!

Notes

Timing: The prep time here includes the time you need to roast the garlic and make the mashed potatoes. You can make the "colcannon" entirely ahead of time and just make sure you have 2 cups of it for when you go to make the breakfast.



Vegan: If you're looking to make this vegan, you'll have to eliminate the eggs altogether unless you have a great substitute, I have not been able to find one I think that isn't a huge pain. Second, substitute the butter in every recipe for vegan butter. For the mashed potatoes I would recommend buying a vegan sour cream or a vegan cream cheese rather than just cutting it out entirely. I have tried to make these without adding in one of the two and they just do not come out like mashed potatoes. I will say, Kite Hill almond cream cheese works great in them!

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This recipe is part of a backlog of recipes I plan on unleashing over the course of the next month or so, basically the holidays knocked me on my ass along with my regular job, and wedding planning (I recently got engaged! Ay-Yo) and it’s lead to me being excruciatingly behind on my recipes. I have had time to cook but not a whole lot of time to write up recipes and present them to the people!

These cookies, despite being originally made for the blog, have become kind of a staple in our house. They started as just a healthy-ish chocolate chip cookie, and evolved through testing into more of a trail mix vibe with rich, flavorful peanut butter, and a variety of fillings.

I find one of the biggest food dilemmas I have on a weekly basis is figuring out snacks. I don’t know about anyone else, but I legit can’t make it through the day without snacks, I mean I work a 10 hour day so honestly I could probably be eating multiple meals. Andrew and I often default to hard boiled eggs in this regard, but every once and a while I come up with something amazing and perfect for that mid morning time when it’s still too early to be socially appropriate to eat lunch. These cookies are IT!

Seriously, these cookies are all of the things, they are sweet, spiced and salty and loaded with your personal favorite trail mix fixings! Our personal favorites here are dark chocolate chips, walnuts and pumpkin seeds but seriously, it’s yours to play with! They’re just the right amount of filling and are so loaded with fiber and healthy fats that they actual keep you kind of full!

Toss those power bars in the trash, you know you never really liked them anyway. It’s time to switch to cookies for second breakfast, thank me later

Love,

Jackie

Loaded Peanut Butter Breakfast Cookies

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

25 mins

 

These breakfast cookies are officially coffee's new best friend! Sweet, salty and loaded with all of your personal favorite trail mix fixings.

Author: Jackie DeSana

Recipe type: Dessert, Breakfast, Snacks

Cuisine: Vegan, Gluten-Free

Serves: 12 cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup rolled oats
• ¼ cup brown rice flour
• ½ cup almond flour
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp sea salt
• ½ tsp baking soda
• 3 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 2 tbs ground flax seed
• 5 tbsp coconut oil, melted
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ cup of a mix of your choice of filling:
• chocolate chips, coconut flakes, dried cranberries, pumpkin seeds, walnuts

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
   
   
2. In a large bowl, combine the oats, brown rice flour, almond flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, salt and baking soda and toss until combined.
   
   
3. Add the maple syrup, peanut butter, flax seed, melted coconut oil and vanilla to a food processor and blend on high until smooth.
   
   
4. Pour the wet mix into the dry mix and mix with a spoon until its fully incorporated and starts to form a dough. You should be able to pick it up and roll it into a ball with your fingers. Add in any toppings that you choose but be sure not to put too much otherwise the cookies won't stay together. Scoop the cookies out 2 tbsp at a time and flatten into large cookies on the baking sheet. You should end up with 10-12 cookies.
   
   
5. Bake for 15 minutes and test to see if they're done. To test it stick a toothpick in the middle of the cookies and see if it comes out clean. Place them on a cooling rack and let cool. These cookies can keep in the fridge all week.

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I’m going to be real honest with you guys, I really love this recipe but I kind of hate myself for doing it. This recipe arose when I (unsuccessfully) was attempting to do Whole 30 again for the month of January. It’s one of those big time Pinterest, Keto crazed trends where people try to act like things like sweet potatoes can replace bread. Out of spite I tried it, and let me be honest, this does not replace actual avocado toast in any way, but as a stand alone snack, or incredibly easy dinner, this is simple, fresh and delicious!

I understand as a person that is constantly telling you you won’t miss the meat in my dishes it’s a little hypocritical for me to hate on people trying to replace bread with vegetables, but what can I say, I love bread! (have you guys seen the clip of Oprah yelling about how much she loves bread? That’s me 100%).

Okay so to shift the attention back to the dish at hand, sweet potatoes are seriously natures most versatile vegetable. I truly believe they go great with anything but one of their best match ups by far is avocado. The mix of the hot sweet potato with the cold, spicy guacamole in this recipe is truly magical. And the sliced mangoes are literally and figuratively the cherry on top.

You might be thinking, how is this different from just baking a potato and putting guac in it, well I’ll tell you, it’s easier to eat and easier to heat up so it will last you! If you wanted to do this for breakfast, you can bake a bunch of the sweet potato slices in advance and then reheat them in the morning and boom, 5 minute breakfast. In all seriousness though, I prefer this dish as a very easy dinner. It only takes about 30 minutes and most of that is passive time with the potatoes are baking, plus about 5 minutes to figure out how the F to slice a mango (look on Youtube, I’m not kidding).

You can use this as a side, you can present it as an appetizer for a party, or you can eat it all yourself. It’s easy, delicious and honestly beautiful I mean look at those colors! It’s also clearly healthy though I’d prefer not to focus on that part because I’m here to get you to love veggies, not to get you to hate yourself for not being healthy, you have all of Instagram to help you with that.

Love,

Jackie

Sweet Potato Toast with Simple Guacamole

 

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Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

25 mins

Total time

30 mins

 

Simple, pretty, delicious and about the most millennial thing you could find, these Sweet Potato Toasts with Guacamole are the perfect versatile snack or meal for busy week.

Author: Jackie DeSana

Recipe type: Dinner, Breakfast, Snack

Cuisine: Vegan, Gluten-Free

Serves: 10-16 toasts

Ingredients

• 4 Sweet potatoes
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• a pinch salt and pepper
• 2 avocados
• ½ red onion, finely diced
• 1 roma tomato, diced
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1-2 jalapenos, diced with seeds (choose your spice level here)
• cilantro (optional)
• 3 mangoes - sliced

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut both ends off the sweet potatoes and place cut side down on the cutting board. Then sliced vertically into ½ inch thick pieces of "toast".
   
   
2. Place the pieces of sweet potato on a parchment lined baking sheet. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes until they start to soften. You want them to be cooked but not so soft that they're mushy.
   
   
3. While the sweet potatoes are cooking, make the guacamole. Place the avocados into a medium bowl and smash them with a fork until smooth with a few chunks mixed in. Add in the red onion, tomato, lime juice, salt, garlic powder, jalapenos and cilantro if you're using it.
   
   
4. When the sweet potatoes are cooked, removed from the oven, top with the guacamole and sliced mango. To reheat these you can heat them in a pan with olive oil, fry and each side for about 5 minutes. You can also top them with fried or poached eggs for a breakfast.

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Well, here we are in the Midwest still getting absolutely pummeled with all the worst things about winter. Snow, ice, freezing rain, and subzero temperatures. Because of this, I’m still in the warm, comfort food zone here in my kitchen. I’ve made at least one soup every week I swear. This stew though is one of my favorite recipes to come out of this winter funk. It’s beautiful, delicious, rich and so simple. 

I was inspired to make this recipe from this recipe from Chrissy Teigan’s second cookbook, Cravings, Hungry for More.  If you’re not familiar with her recipes she’s a wizard and this book is food porn to the max buy it! She has a stew recipe in there called Sleepytime Stew but hers has beef in it obviously. But, it struck me as so delicious and comforting I was determined to make my own similar stew but with vegetables.

This one took a couple tests but by the end I got it to a perfect place without also having to add in a bunch of crazy ingredients. The trick here is truly letting it simmer for that hour. The broth starts to absorb all the flavors of the vegetables and it just becomes loaded with flavor for very minimal effort.

Now, the first time I did this, I made it with mashed potatoes on the side. I also tried it with adding potatoes to the stew and simmering them in it. Personally, I think this stew was at its best when the very last thing you do is add crispy roasted potatoes back into the stew at the very end. If you’re truly a mashed potatoes person though, go for it! Honestly who are we kidding? Potatoes are amazing no matter how you serve them.

Lots of Love,

Jackie & Andrew

Vegetable Comfort Stew with Roasted Potatoes

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

1 hour 15 mins

Total time

1 hour 25 mins

 

Loaded with vegetables and served over crispy roasted potatoes, this comforting, rich and flavorful stew is the perfect recipe to get you through the rest of this dreary winter weather.

Author: Jackie DeSana

Recipe type: Dinner

Cuisine: Comfort Food, Vegetarian, Vegan

Serves: 6-8 servings

Ingredients

• 4-6 small yellow potatoes, sliced into quarters or halves depending on size
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3 tbsp butter or olive oil
• 4 portobello mushrooms, sliced into ½ inch chunks
• 1 tbsp vegetarian worchestershire sauce, or soy sauce
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp each salt and pepper
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 onion, diced
• 4 celery stalks, sliced
• 2 jalapeno, sliced with seeds
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 2 tbsp dijon mustard
• ¼ cup tomato paste
• 3 carrots, sliced into rounds
• 3 cups vegetable stock
• 2 bay leaves
• fresh parsley for garnish

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Place the sliced potatoes on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and just a pinch of salt and pepper. Bake uncovered for 25 minutes until the edges of the potatoes are crispy. Set aside. You can either do these first and add them directly to the stew, or if you're serving them as a side, I recommend putting them in the oven when the stew has about 30 minutes left to simmer.
   
   
2. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a cast iron skillet on medium high heat. Add the portobello mushrooms to the pot with the soy sauce, balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes until the mushrooms start to brown.
   
   
3. When the mushrooms are browned, remove them from the pot and set them aside. Add in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and melt scraping any brown bits or leftover soy sauce and vinegar off the bottom of the pan. When the butter is melted, add the garlic, onions, celery, and jalapenos. Cook for 5 more minutes until the onions and celery start to soften.
   
   
4. Add the paprika, dijon mustard and tomato paste and toss to coat all the vegetables. Cook for about 2 minutes until the tomato paste starts to darken, it will turn a rust color. Then add in the carrots, bay leaves and vegetable stock and stir until the tomato paste is worked into the stock and there aren't any clumps. Add back in the mushrooms at this point.
   
   
5. Bring to a boil then lower and simmer for an hour covered. You can either then add the potatoes directly into the stew and toss to coat, or you can serve the stew over top the potatoes. Top with fresh parsley.

Notes

Vegan - To make this vegan, just use vegan butter or olive oil in place of the butter.

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If you know me at all, or if you have been following this blog, you know I am the #1 fan of weekend breakfasts. I love brunch more than any other meal and there’s nothing better than making a restaurant level brunch from the comfort of my own home. No lines, no cold weather, just me, my man, my dog, and some delicious food. While I feel like a lot of my breakfast/brunch recipes while totally worth it, they are also a little extensive which is not always what you want on a Sunday morning. Not this recipe, these Spicy Tomato Poached eggs are the key to creating your own all star brunch in record time.

This recipe is based on one of my favorite breakfasts my mom used to make, one we just called tomato eggs. Hers were even simpler than this and included only tomatoes and pickled Hungarian Hot Peppers. I modified this recipe because I legit cannot find those hot peppers anywhere in Chicago, I think my mom finds them at a specialty market or something. Either way, don’t fear because this recipe is just as good and, dare I say, even a little spicier.

This batch is enough to feed two people but you can very easily double, even triple the recipe if you have a big enough pan and the ambition to make it work. The one warning I would say is make what you need because leftovers are really tricky with this recipe, you can’t reheat poached eggs well because the yolk might get overcooked, and we all know the yolk is the most magical part of poached eggs.

This recipe is so quick and easy, we’ve even been able to squeeze it in on weekdays for breakfast and having nearly anything but smoothies for breakfast in our house is a damn impressive feat. I think my favorite thing about this one though is that it’s extremely comforting, which is something we all need more of as the weather gets colder. Also, apologizing in advance but there’s no vegan substitute here, sorry guys but poached eggs are just too damn good to pass up.

Lots of Love,

Jackie

Spicy Tomato Poached Eggs

 

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Prep time

3 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

18 mins

 

Treat your self this weekend with soft poached eggs, cooked in a bold, spicy tomato sauce sand served with crusty french bread.

Author: Jackie DeSana

Recipe type: Breakfast, Brunch

Cuisine: Vegetarian

Serves: 2 servings

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp butter or ghee
• ½ white onion, sauteed
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 jalapeno, diced
• 4 roma tomatoes, diced
• ½ tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 4 eggs
• French Bread (for serving)

Directions

1. Heat the butter or ghee in a medium size sauce pan over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic and jalapenos and saute for 5 minutes until the vegetables are soft.
   
   
2. Add in the diced tomatoes, chili powder, cumin, pepper and salt and cook for 5-8 more minutes until the tomatoes are broken down and form a broth.
   
   
3. When the tomatoes are broken down and the sauce is simmering, crack the four eggs into the simmering sauce, separating each by about an inch. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes or until the eggs cook over the top. Serve with crusty bread.

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