VeganMoFo: The Most Annoying Meal of the Day

There are many perks to veganism...including, but not limited to: awesomeness, awareness of what goes into your food, a cholesterol free diet, knowing that you will be in the only surviving group of zombies after the zombie apocalypse kills off the human food supply and gets kuru, and these waffles:

Pictured above are the absolutely delicious Pumpkin Waffles from Vegan With a Vengeance by Isa Chandra Moskowitz. They are delicious and spicy and my second contribution to Pumpkin Week. If you happen to be the last vegan on the planet who doesn't own this book, do yourself a favor and buy it already! These waffles is the shizzle. I served them with ginger-maple caramel and raw walnuts. And I'm aware it's one in the afternoon and I just ate breakfast twenty minutes ago. That's just how I roll.

Yes, it's true what they say. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day (that totally rhymed!). But for us vegan types it can also be highly annoying. There is no justifiable reason why a place called the International House of Pancakes shouldn't have at least one naturally vegan dish on the menu. It's dedicated to breakfast and there are so many easily adaptable breakfast items. I still can't get past the fact that they fry their hashbrowns in butter. If you ask for dry hashbrowns, they look at you like you are crazy. What kind of cook can't make dry hashbrowns or use olive oil? Apparently, unless you want to eat a bowl of decaying fruit and possibly dry toast, you have to learn to cook yourself breakfast. So here it goes. My top five favorite breakfast type things.

5. Hashbrowns-When I was little, my mom would make breakfast every Sunday. She'd always have hashbrowns with bell peppers, onion and garlic. I'd top it with ketchup. As an adult, I add cumin to my hashbrowns and top it with ketchup and hot sauce (preferably Tapatio).
4. Barnard's Brown Rice Breakfast-This is from How It All Vegan. When I saw the recipe I thought it was vile because I hated mayo as an omni. One day I noticed I had all the ingredients and wanted to give it a try. Brown rice, sausage and tofu on Vegenaise schmeared toast is so frickin good I could cry. Don't forget the Bragg's and ketchup!
3. Breakfast Tacos-Most people don't know what these are. Never trust a Californian when they say they know breakfast tacos. They have breakfast burritos, but Texas has got that taco method locked down. My favorite breakfast tacos are bean and cheeze, potato/tofu/sausage, and tofu and bac'n. And for it to be legitimate, you serve it in a flour tortilla (not a burrito shell).
2. Pancakes-Not just any pancakes. I have to give it up to Vegan With a Vengeance for making my wedding party very happy at the rehearsal brunch. To quote my friend Cros, "These pancakes is hot fire!"
1. Menudo-Green is a relatively new restaurant in San Antonio. It's the only completely vegetarian one. When rumors spread of it's existence a couple of years ago, I thought they were nothing more than urban legends. Several hangovers, bowls of vegan menudo and migas later...I have to give that soup the number one. I've gone there on two hours sleep just so I could get the menudo with my breakfast.

Honorable mentions: tofu scramble for its versatility and the breakfast sammich for its simplicity.

Martin out!