TOFU SCRAMBLE RECIPE

Before going vegan, eggs were a staple part of my diet (especially at uni) and so I was quite worried about making the big transition of cutting them out despite knowing it was what I wanted to do. There are all sorts of egg alternatives available now, I know Follow Your Heart have a ready made egg replacement, but I thought I would try a tofu scramble for something I can use for breakfast/brunch. To this specific recipe, I added some Violife cream cheese to make the flavour slightly creamier - and I always used to like a slight cheesiness to my scrambled eggs anyway! It only takes around 10 minutes to make and is really filling.

Ingredients: serves 2 (for on toast etc.), but if you want it as part of a fry-up breakfast maybe split between 4.

• 1 tablespoon vegan butter
• 1 block of tofu  - you can use any firmness of tofu (this happened to be extra firm as it is all I had left, hence why I added cream, but if you use silken tofu leave out the cream as it will be creamy enough)
• 100ml vegan cream, I used Oatly
• 2 tablespoons vegan cream cheese
• 2 teaspoons turmeric
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• Pinch of salt
• Black pepper (to personal preference/taste)

Recipe:

1. Melt the vegan butter in a frying pan over a medium heat
2. Crumble in the block of tofu (if using firm), or place silken tofu in the pan and break up with a spoon, and toss in to the melted butter
3. Add the garlic powder and turmeric and continue to fry off, until the tofu is completely and evenly yellow from the turmeric
4. Add salt and pepper and stir through again
5. Add the vegan cream, and stir through so that it soaks into all pieces of tofu
6. Just before serving, stir through the vegan cream cheese gently so that it is evenly distributed through the scramble
7. Serve and add extra black pepper as desired

Such a simple recipe as you can see, and one that is really easy to incorporate into brunch meals. You can also alter the flavour of these really easily, by removing the cream cheese and switching for something else - maybe a curried version with more spices, or using it as part of a brunch burrito with beans, rice, tomatoes and avocado. The options are endless, and I'm excited to try more!

FLUFFY VEGAN PANCAKES

Pancakes are the perfect weekend breakfast/brunch treat, and even though vegans don't eat eggs, pancakes can still be made vegan - so I thought I would share in time for you to make these on Sunday morning if you fancy. These are just simple fluffy pancakes and you can customise them however you wish - for mine, I added a little cinnamon to the mix before cooking as well as topping with banana and strawberries (I will share my blueberry topping recipe at some point too).

The recipe is actually one that I just got from Tasty - their fluffy vegan pancakes recipe, and it is certainly the best I've tried and they taste no different to pancakes I had as a non-vegan. Other recipes I have tried haven't tasted as sweet or just don't quite satisfying my pancake craving so I always stick to this one now.

This recipe serves 4 (however if you're feeling particularly hungry and want to indulge, split it between 2), and is taken from the Tasty website which is linked here.

125 grams flour (I use gluten-free flour for mine, however literally any will work)
2 tablespoons organic sugar (organic ensures it is vegan-friendly)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
240 millilitres of vegan milk - I use oat milk and think they taste best with this, but again any will work just as well and using your favourite is the best idea!
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (allows you to create a buttermilk so they are fluffy)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Any toppings you desire (and I also added 1 teaspoon of cinnamon to the mix)

Recipe:

1.  Add the dry ingredients and combine by stirring
2. Combine the vegan milk, apple cider vinegar and vanilla and stir to combine - leave to rest for a few minutes so that it kind of 'separates' - this is necessary for the fluffiness, don't freak out over it!
3. Combine the wet and dry ingredients - then leave the batter to sit for a few minutes again
4. Pour desired amount of batter into a pan (non-stick works best) and wait for it to bubble, then flip on the other side
5. Serve when still warm and top with whatever you desire!

This really is such a simple recipe and now it's got me craving pancakes again. I want to try a few more topping/filling ideas at some point so I'll definitely be back to report my findings of what works really well. Don't forget to tag me on Instagram if you try any of the recipes I post - @v.petitedecember