Sometimes I just don’t want porridge and sometimes there’s no time for a scramble. Sometimes I want something that I can just grab from the fridge, dress up and take with me so I don’t feel hunger pangs when I’m eying the muffins at the coffee shop.

It just so happens that I have the perfect recipe for such times. It takes a wee bit of advanced planning, so if that’s not your thing then I apologize. But when you’re lying in bed thinking about what you’re going to do for breakfast (I know I can’t be the only one who does that), and ‘bircher!’ pops into your head – it will only take a very quick visit to the kitchen to pop your oats in the fridge and you can run back to you warm bed knowing that in the morning you’ll be eating a crazy delicious breakfast.

If you want to hear about all the great benefits of bircher, head over to Sarah’s blog who explains it all very well (and who also, clearly, inspired me to start making my bircher breakfasts again!)

Chai Chia Bicher
Serves 1 hungry human

• 2/3 cup whole oats
• 1 tbsp chia seeds
• 1 tbsp flax seeds
• pinch of: cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cardamom, cloves
• 1 tbsp raisins (optional, but I find if I add raisins for the soaking process, the sweetness from them is all I need. If you don’t like raisins, then maybe add a splash of your favourite sweet stuff (maple syrup, agave, honey), but also it tastes fine without!
• 1 cup liquid (I’ve been using rice milk. You can use any type of milk or even water!)

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl, stir and place in fridge overnight. If taking ‘on the go’ then soak in a mason jar with the lid off and just put the lid on in the morning!

I like to sprinkle some coconut, extra cinnamon and fresh fruit on mine. Dress it up, and enjoy the long lasting benefits of soaked oats!

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The sun is shining. The first day of summer is near and I’m craving fresh colorful vegetables. Thankfully our very first CSA box arrived yesterday and almost everything I needed to cure those cravings!

First up, this creamy kale and carrot salad. Usually I like to blend, roast or saute kale rather than just crunch it raw. But I’m probably the last person to discover that if you massage the leaves gently with some oil (or in this case, avocado dressing), the bitterness disappears and it tastes delicious.

For the dressing:
I didn’t use any oil. If you like using oil, I’d add about 2 tbsp olive oil.

• Juice of a large lemon
• 2 tbsp avocado
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 clove garlic

For the salad:

• Enough kale for one person
• Small handful of lettuce/arugula
• 1 small carrot, sliced very thinly
• 1/2 – 1 cup of chickpeas (cooked from dry, or rinsed from a can)
• 1/2 an avocado, cubed
• 1/2 a tomato, chopped (optional…I added mine for more color)
• Small handful of chopped, toasted almonds

Blend the dressing together in a processer or with a hand held blender.

Put the kale in a small salad bowl and pour some of the dressing over it. Using you hands, gently massage the dressing into the leaves. Add the rest of the salad ingredients and pour any remaining dressing over top. Give it a stir and voila. Amazing.

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Sometimes we just don’t want oats for breakfast.

After trying many of the tofu scrambles that Seattle has to offer, Ivan and I felt ready to make Sunday brunch a stay-at-home thing by making a tofu scramble to trump all scrambles.

This is it. This does it. This, paired with some miso gravy, homefries and chipotle adobo sauce is possibly the most satisfying ‘big breakfast’ that I can imagine. We also served this with some tempeh bacon which is very unneccessary and we probably wouldn’t do so again.

Seasonal Tofu Scramble with Homefries (serves 3 very hungry people)

• 4 medium sized Potatoes
• small bunch of asparagus (or other seasonal roasting vegetable)

• block of firm or extra firm tofu
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 2 large portobello mushrooms (or any other seasonal vegetable)
• 2 spring/green onions, chopped
• 2 small tomatos, chopped
• pinches of turmeric, smoked paprika, cumin, oregano, cayenne (if you like it spicy), and nutritional yeast (optional but tastes amazing)
• salt & pepper to taste
• a handful or 2 of dark leafy greens (we used baby spinach)

The Homefries
Turn the oven on to 180C or 350F. Chop up your potatoes nice and bite sized. Put them in a roasting dish and drizzle 1 tsp of oil over them. (If you’re using any other good roasting vegetables then I’d throw them in the dish too. We used asparagus. I imagine that cauliflower, eggplant, or broccoli would also taste amazing. Go wild).  The potatoes take about 30 minutes, so you could start making everything else just as you pop them in the oven.

The Scramble

1. Start with a block of firm or extra firm tofu. Place it on a plate and put another plate on top of it. Now put something really heavy on top (like a huge book) and let all the water drain out while you prep the rest of the stuff.
2. In a pan, saute the onion, garlic and any other vegetables that you want cooked really well (We used portobello mushrooms).  Add a tsp of water if the onion sticks. Keep stirring til everything is well cooked.
3. Back to the tofu: Take the plate and book off the tofu and squeeze out any excess water. It’s ok if it breaks cause you’re about to crumble it.
4. In a bowl, crumble the drained tofu, add some chopped green/spring onion and chopped tomatoes. Now add the spices and mix it all together.
5. Throw it in the pan and cook through until the tomatoes are cooked to your liking. Just before it’s done, throw in the leafy greens and cook til they’ve wilted.

On a plate assemble scramble, salted homefries and asparagus and drizzle with miso gravy (below). Add a few splashes of chipotle adobo sauce and savor each bite cause it will blow.your.mind.

Miso Gravy (for 2-3 people)

This sauce is possibly our second favourite thing right now (behind the chipotles in adobo). And it’s so simple!

• 2 tbsp mellow white miso paste
• 1 tbsp tahini
• 3 tbsp water (+ more to reach desired consistency)
• 1 clove of garlic (optional)

In a small bowl (or blender, if you’re using the garlic) combine miso paste with tahini. Add three tablespoons of water and mix/pulse til combined. If using garlic, add garlic and keep pulsing til blended. Add more water to reach your desired consistency (gravy-like perhaps?).

And that’s it! Pour over anything. (Tofu scrambles, hippie bowls, stir frys etc).

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