When I lived with my old roommate, I always envied her and her boyfriend’s (now husband) weekend routine; they would get up early(ish), go on a walk, and buy breakfast treats from a neighborhood bakery. I remember romanticizing this cute tradition and wanting to be part of it…but like with my own boyfriend, not tagging along with them…That would make me look crazy.
Welp, now I’m nearly 3 years into my relationship with The Beast and we still have never adopted this morning routine. It could be because we tend to sleep in on the weekends, or it could be that he never wants to eat breakfast, but I still feel like I’m missing out. Last Saturday I randomly decided we should change this, so I told him we were going to get up early, go on a walk, and get some breakfast baked goods, gosh darn it. The Beast says I’m a bit bossy. I just say I have good ideas.
The night before our walk/breakfast outing I realized I should plan ahead so nothing un-vegan would occur out of carelessness, so I researched vegan-friendly bakeries in our neighborhood. I wanted to go somewhere new and different, so I kept the two nearby organic/vegan-friendly takeout restaurants in the back of my mind as last resorts. I looked for donuts, scones, muffins, ANYTHING, and came up nearly empty handed. I kept reading write-ups about local bakery/donut shops that catered to vegans, and then feeling crushed to find that they closed 2 years ago. Come on Minnesotans, where’s the vegan bakery love?
The morning of our walk, we made the mistake of snoozing our alarms twice and then turning them off completely (whups…). When we finally rolled out of bed at 10:00, I still had no idea where we would find baked goods. I called a bakery 20 minutes away and learned that they did indeed have two vegan scone options, but Ryan didn’t want to venture out that far. I would have been more insistent, but the two vegan scone options didn’t sound too appealing to me; If I’m taking in the calories of a scone, it better be pretty damn amazing.
Desperate for the lovely morning I envisioned, I finally decided to walk to the takeout restaurants we frequent all the time for lunch and dinner. The first one only had vegan brownies and fruit bars which, although I’m sure they were delicious, weren’t quite the breakfast goodness I needed. We walked to the second restaurant and they told me I could buy a vegan granola bar, but that was about it. I asked if I could get a vegan smoothie and the person at the counter replied, “Is yogurt vegan? If so then yes.” Uffda. Come on guys.
Around 11:00 we decided to just take tea and coffee on our walk. It didn’t occur to us as we ordered our hot beverages that the midday sun would be high and the air heavy with heat. Sweating through our clothes, we walked along the path with scorching hot cups in our hands, barely talking apart from a comment every couple minutes about our deathly temperatures.
Needless to say, this morning walk and breakfast didn’t quite match up with the vision in my mind, so the next day I took matters into my own hands.
I woke up Sunday ready to fulfill my baked good craving with a wonderfully buttery and carb-a-licious vegan scone. Since berry season needs to be cherished, these scones are bursting with chopped fresh strawberries in every bite. I used a mix of whole wheat flour and unbleached all-purpose flour to give the scones some fiber while keeping them from being overly wheaty in taste and texture. Almond extract and sliced almonds add depth of flavor as well as a nice slight crunch. The chocolate chips, well…those are just in there cause I couldn’t resist.
By the time I finished photographing these beauties on Sunday, the window of time for a morning walk had long passed. On Saturday I had the walk, and on Sunday I had the scone, so if we put the weekend together then I totally succeeded, right?
A buttery vegan scone filled with fresh strawberries, sliced almonds, and mini chocolate chips.
Yield:8 scones
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Ingredients:
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
⅓ cup granulated sugar (vegan friendly if you can find it, otherwise organic cane sugar would work well)
8 tablespoons vegan buttery spread, cut into squares and chilled
½ cup unsweetened almond milk (or other non-dairy milk)
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon chia seeds, mixed with 3 tablespoons warm water
1 teaspoon almond extract
½ cup chopped fresh strawberries
¼ cup sliced almonds
¼ cup vegan mini chocolate chips
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Combine the almond milk and vinegar in a small bowl. Let sit for five minutes.
In a separate bowl, combine the flours, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Use your hands to work in the chilled margarine pieces.
Add the milk and vinegar mixture, chia seed/water mixture, and almond extract to the wet ingredients. Beat on low until just combined (a few minutes). Use a spatula to gently fold in the strawberries, almonds, and chocolate chips.
Form the dough into a ball with your hands and turn out onto a floured surface. Pat down and then use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a 12-inch circle. Cut the dough into 8 wedges. Top each wedge with a strawberry slice (optional, but cute).
Place the wedges on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes, until lightly golden on top. Best served warm!
Even in childhood I had a complex about time moving too quickly. At the age of 6 I started asking my parents, “Are you sad that I’m growing up so quickly?” They’d reply with a quick “No, honey, we will love you at all ages,” but I knew my time as a cute young thing was running out (and I was correct, btw – if you saw what I looked like at age 12 you’d understand).
Although I’ve worked hard to become one of those “live in the moment! seize the day!” kind of people, the few days after 4th of July weekend always make me a bit sad. My mind races with thoughts like, “Summer is halfway over! I haven’t done anything on my summer bucket list! When are we going to go canoeing? When are we having our wilderness weekend in Wisconsin? Why haven’t I had a full sun-soaked beach day yet? Why is time moving so fast? Why why whyyyyy?” Yeesh, what a whiner.
Then I remember that I love July and August (so much HEAT), and I also love fall (pumpkin, boots, crisp air), and then it’s basically Christmas season, which I’m obsessed with!…it’s really just a big lovefest from here on out, so I need to cool my jets and seize the seasons as they come.
This lovely mid-summer season, for instance, is all about bright veggies, smokey grills, and easy dinners. I think I can get on board with that.
I know Mexican hot chocolate is probably the last thing you think you need in July, and I realize this post should be all red cookies and white frosting and blueberries (or something else along those patriotic lines) because of the date, but humor me for a moment.
What if you had the flavors of a Mexican hot chocolate in a super gooey brownie?…and what if that brownie weren’t so bad for you?…and what if it were vegan?
When I began my 30-day vegan challenge a couple weeks ago, I never even considered lowering the amounts of sweets I consumed (not an option, no way no how). This stubborn mindset doesn’t mean that I’m eating raspberry cinnamon rolls for breakfast every single day (although I’d like to…), but I do usually need to have at least a little something sweet every single day. Some people don’t need daily sweets, and I admire that, but man-oh-man that ain’t me.
If you’ve ready any of my posts from the last few months, you probably know that combining dessert and breakfast is one of my favorite things. Pancakes, waffles, scones, and muffins are all excuses to eat sugary carbs in the morning and call it a meal, and I stand by that excuse wholeheartedly at least once a weekend.
I’ve been craaaaaving life change lately. This comes at an inopportune time, since everything is going pretty well, but I’m just…antsy.
First I was tempted to get a puppy, then I was going to cut my hair, then I considered buying a new car, then I thought maybe I should just have a baby. Ironically, The Beast objected the most to the hair comment. I guess I’m going to be a long-haired granny someday.
Instead of the dramatic threats mentioned above, I decided on a month-long vegan challenge. I started last Saturday, June 15th, and I’m going to try my dardest to avoid all animal products until July 15th. If you’ve read this blog, you may know that I like to make vegan meals and sweets from time to time (see pictures at the top of this post), but I also loooooove cheese…in a big way. I love cheese so much that I once set out to make a vegan burger, and ended up stuffing it with pepperjack. Whups.
Since I like experimenting in the kitchen, going vegan for 30 days gives me an excuse to teach myself how to make new things. It’s a nice way for me to switch up my routine and get a taste of that “life change” I craved, but without doing anything drastic. Truthfully I’m still dreaming about getting a puppy…like I’m literally dreaming about it nearly every night, from my 14th floor bed, which has no simple or quick path to get outdoors, and therefore no logical way to take care of a puppy. Can you tell The Beast has tried to talk sense in to me a few times about this matter? Anyway, I digress.
The Beast fully supports my month-long vegan lifestyle, but he definitely hopes it won’t become a permanent diet change. My family, on the other hand, thinks I’m batshit crazy. After hearing the news of my veganism, my brother promptly tweeted me this. I tried to explain my need for life change, and my mom said something along the lines of, “…because nothing says ‘excitement’ like vegan food.” Although my mom’s comment was sarcastic, I actually do think vegan food is exciting, because it’s different and creative yet still tasty. So THERE, family.
One week in and I’ve been surprised to find that my vegan challenge isn’t much of a challenge at all…yet. I made two homemade meals that have stretched me through the workweek: a large batch of barley sweet potato salad with a cilantro honey dressing, and some sprouted green lentil chickpea burgers that I topped with avocado. The Beast also enjoyed the burgers, but sandwiched each patty he ate with mounds of melted cheese (can’t blame him – even Vegan Katie knows that cheese makes everything better).
Since a world without dessert is not a world I live in, I made my Almond Butter Spelt Cookies, but with vegan chocolate chips instead of dried cherries. I love that they are sweet and chewy, yet completely free of refined sugars.
I’ve also gone out to eat twice this week without any vegan confusion or issue at all. I met my sister for lunch at Panera on Tuesday, and chose vegan black bean soup (which I always order anyway), and a Greek salad without feta – easy peasy. Wednesday The Beast and I went to Pizza Luce and I ordered a vegan Lil’ Gracie: vegan sausage, olives, mushrooms, green peppers, onions, and vegan Rinotta cheese (made from nuts). I admit that when our pizzas arrived I eyed The Beast’s cheesy pizza with envy, but my vegan version ended up being more satisfying than I imagined. To be fair, the vegan cheese was a bit stretchier than normal cheese, but not in an offensive way. It took care of my cheese craving, and that’s really all that mattered.
I realize that many people eat vegan because it makes them feel better. I’m already a vegetarian who eats vegetable and legume-filled meals, so I don’t expect much of a change, but I will definitely shout it from the rooftops if I do. If any of you are vegan, or have experimented with eating vegan, let me know if you have any insights/tips to share. Or, if you have any recipe requests for this vegan month, please leave a comment below!
To summarize this post, don’t be confused by my suddenly vegan-centric blog recipes. I’ll be back to my lacto-ovo ways by late July. :)
