Beauty, flying pigs, and a quick breakfast

This was my breakfast today -- rice cake, pb, sliced apples, and a sprinkle of cocoa powder.  I keep thinking about the perpetual restaurant and foodie mantra about "eating with the eyes".  This dish took less than 5 min. -- why not start your day and/or a loved one's day off with beauty and nutrition?

I included the pig mug, because 1) it rocks 2) I need some semblance of pigs flying this week.  Look to the skies...and keep your fingers crossed.

Really --Brussels Sprouts?: A Brussels Breakfast Sandwich

The truth is that I have never been much of a breakfast sandwich person, and I'm not sure why.  This dish changed my perspective.  As I mentioned in yesterday's post, my goal was to transform my favorite breakfast of sweet potatoes and collards into a sandwich.  There were a few snags along the way like the barest whisper of sweet potato in the buns, which I discovered yesterday, and the extremely unfortunate state of collards this morning.  Thus, Tuesday is for both transformation and adaptation!


Brussels Breakfast Sandwich


Servings: 1 (easily made into more)


6 Brussels Sprouts  -- bottoms cut off, top layers peeled away,
sliced thinly into 4-5 pieces per sprout
2 T. finely chopped onion, preferably red or shallot
4 thinly sliced mushrooms
2 slices of tofu (little less than a quarter of standard block)


1 t. olive oil -- divided


Marinade:
2 T. leftover pumpkin pie mix (from the previous ice-cream making)
1/4 t. cumin
1/4 t. tumeric
1/4 t. crushed rosemary


Salt and Pepper


1. Prep tofu (pressing), vegetables, and marinade; for the marinade, simply mix all items in a bowl and adjust seasonings to taste.  (I tried not to over garlic this dish in order to maintain a good sweet/savory breakfast balance, but next time I might add a pinch of powder or a small clove to either the marinade or veg. mix respectively.)


2. Use 1/2 t. oil to lightly oil small saute pan.  Saute brussels sprouts and onion for 4-5 min.; then, add mushrooms and saute for an additional 2-3 min. until onions have softened, sprout sides are lightly browned, and mushrooms have softened.  Set aside 5-7 brussels sprout pieces; use an immersion blender to quickly blend remaining mushrooms, onions, sprouts.  Set aside.


3.  Toast Savory Sweet Potato Bun.  Cut and coat 1/2 in. pieces of tofu in marinade; add remaining oil and saute tofu.  Layer as you will (I suggest base, brussels, veg mix, tofu, sprinkle of salt and pepper, then bun top.)  Enjoy!


The veg. blend is a fantastic way to remove what some find to be the off-putting visual or idea of brussels sprouts, but the addition of sauteed sprout pieces adds a nice color to the sandwich.   I used the pumpkin pie mix, because I had it and because I wanted to up the sweet potato sweetness that was lacking in the buns.  I found this dish to be sweet, savory, very hearty, and a great way to begin a morning with substantial amounts of protein and vegetables!  Plus, I think it is a nice, potentially portable, and vibrant way to start a morning!  Just be sure not to overload on the veg. layer like I did and to stack as I suggested (not as I did).  Although ultimately some adjustments are needed in order to capture the sweet potato/collard combo that I was going for, I'm excited to make this dish again for future brunches, as it was a nice change from my standard breakfast and the usual tofu scramble.  Enjoy!

Note:  Please feel free to share my recipes/blog info; I thank you in advance for appropriate credit where it is due, as I will also do my best to cite and reference accordingly. Contact me with any questions or concerns.  Thank you.