Breakfast with Chips!

No, it wasn't with Ponch or John from the California Highway Patrol.... and it wasn't breakfast with a bag of Doritos either.

Today we had a healthy breakfast thanks to CHIPS, the Coronary Health Improvement Project in Itasca County. Five folks from CHIPS showed up in our kitchen and served us with not only a healthy meal, but a tasty meal!

We had Biscuits and Gravy, Joyce and Arthur's bread, fruit & Rice Pudding. And best of all, we created a little community in our kitchen and in our conference room, people talking about changing eating habits, feeling better - both physically and mentally. Here's some of the recipes from the feast today. Look here for more!

Biscuits and Gravy

"Buttermilk" Drop Biscuits 3/4 cup plain soymilk or rice milk 2 tsp fresh lemon juice 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour 2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 3 Tb canola oil 1 Tb frozen apple juice concentrate (or other liquid sweetener) Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pour soymilk into small cup or bowl and stir in lemon juice. Let it sit for 10 minutes to sour. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl. Place oil and juice concentrate in small cup and beat with fork to combine well. Add this to flour mixture and cut it in with fork until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Add soymilk and stir batter with wooden spoon. The batter will be thick. Mist the baking sheet with nonstick spray and then drop dough onto it by larkge rounded spoonfuls to make 10 biscuits. Bake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes until golden. Transfer to a cooling rack. Best served hot or warm. (From Vegan Vittles) "Sausage" Gravy 1 cup water ½ cup raw cashews 2 cups water 1/3 cup flour ½ tsp salt 1 tsp chicken or beef-style season (vegetarian options include McKay's and Bill's Best) 1 tsp soy sauce 1 Tb nutritional yeast flakes ½ bag Morningstar Farms Sausage or Griller Crumbles (vegetarian soy product) In a saucepan, bring 1 cup of water to boil. Blend the remaining ingredients, except sausage crumbles, until creamy (best to add flour at the end of the blending). Take blended mixture and add it slowly to boiling water, stirring with a whisk until the pot returns to a boil. Stir in crumbles and serve hot over biscuits. Alternate Biscuit Recipe 1 cup whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 Tb baking powder 3 Tb Smart Balance or Earth Balance, cold 1 cup soy, rice, or skim milk Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix flours and baking powder. Quickly cut in Smart or Earth Balance while cold. Add milk and mix lightly with a fork. Do not overmix. When mixture has almost come together, pour out on a floured board. Gently press about ½" thick (may need to flour the top a little if it's sticky). Take a cup dipped in flour and cutout biscuit rounds. Reshape scraps to get another biscuit or two out of the dough. Spray a shot of Pam where each biscuit will sit on a baking tray, and put in hot oven for about 15 minutes. Best served hot out of the oven. Makes about 10 biscuits. Rice Pudding 3 cups cooked brown rice 3 cups soy, almond, or rice milk 4-6 oz. coconut milk (optional) 1 Tb cornstarch 1½ Tb maple syrup Zest of ½ lemon Zest of ½ orange 2 tsp vanilla (less if you use vanilla soymilk) ¼ tsp nutmeg ¼ tsp cardamom ¼ tsp cinnamon 1/3 cup raisins 3 Tb sliced almonds 1 tsp sugar Combine everything in a heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes. Sprinkle the top with almonds and sugar. You may then, if you wish, broil the mixture for about 8 minutes to toast almond and sugar topping. This step may be skipped. Best if chilled thoroughly before serving.