Savory mashed potato pancake

My non-stop craving for veggies seems to have abated a bit.

Thank goodness.


This morning I wanted pancakes.

Mashed potato pancake.

I will let you in on a secret. I have, in the past, been fairly obsessed with the mashed potatoes they make at Draeger's.

Their mashed potatoes (which can be picked up at the deli counter) are creamy and rich with a nice onion bite from a generous addition of green onions.

While I love those potatoes they do contain cream AND cream cheese (which is why they are so wonderful) but now a days they are, unfortunately, a little too rich for me. 

So I decided to make a mashed potato pancake using the ingredients (the ones I could remember) that make the Draeger's mashed potatoes so wonderful.

Mashed potato pancake with a side of sauteed broccoli rabe.

I threw some things together and ended up with a crispy pancake that was deliciously rich and creamy in the center. Wow! It was amazing!.

The recipe made a huge pancake and I only used one medium/small red potato.

Shallot, red potato, Tofutti cream cheese, Tofutti sour cream, broccoli rabe, green onion and eggs.

The pancake looked a bit lonely sitting on the plate so I topped it with a poached egg and added some broccoli rabe sauteed in some olive oil.

Then the egg looked a little too naked.

Black pepper and fresh chopped parsley.

And you can guess what happened next...

I enjoyed all this with a small espresso with soymilk.

The potato pancake is a great way to use up leftover mashed potatoes. 

I also think this would also make a great dish to bring your significant other when you bring them breakfast in bed:-)

 Savory mashed potato pancake

Serves 1

Ingredients:

1 medium red potato, chopped
1 shallot, minced
1/4 of a green onion, chopped
1/2 tsp of fresh chopped parsley
1 egg white
1tsp of All Purpose Flour
1 tsp of Tofutti sour cream
1/2 tsp of Tofutti cream cheese
a pinch of salt
ground black pepper to taste
1/2 tsp of olive oil

Instructions:

Chop up the potato and place it in a steamer over med-high heat for 10 - 12 minutes. Obviously you can skip this step if you have some leftover mashed potatoes. I would suggest using about 1 cup of mashed potatoes.

When the potatoes are tender mash them with a fork and stir in the shallot, onion, parsley, egg white, flour, Tofutti sour cream, Tofutti cream cheese, salt and pepper. It will be a slightly sticky mixture.

Put a skillet on the stove on medium heat and add in the olive oil. Take the mixture and flatten it between the palms of your hand. You want a thick pancake at this point. Place the patty into the pan and use the back of a fork to gently press the mixture till it is approximately 1/4" thick.

Flip the pancake when you see the edges begin to brown. Flipping the pancake can be tricky if you went with one big pancake so make sure to have your largest spatula handy. Cook the pancake until the other side is brown.

Plate your delicious golden brown pancake and top with anything you like. 

Suggested toppings: a poached egg, a dollop of sour cream or if you are feeling very decadent a dollop of sour cream with a spoonful of caviar.

Note: You can easily substitute regular sour cream and cream cheese in this recipe.

Tofu noodle soup

Tofu noodle soup.

Today I was craving a big bowl of noodle soup. But I didn't want a ton of carbohydrates because all I really wanted was protein and vegetables.

Cue the tofu noodles:

I parboiled the noodles (according to package directions) and set them aside.

Next I put 2 cups of vegetable broth in a soup pot to boil and added in one small head of bok choy, one carrot and one green onion (all chopped). 


After everything had boiled for 10 minutes I tossed in the tofu noodles.

Did the tofu noodles taste like noodles? Meh, not so much. They are pretty flavorless. 


But did they make a nice chewy substitute for regular noodles? Most definitely.


And I ate the entire package of tofu noodles which equaled 40 calories, 1g of fat and 2g of protein. Not a bad way to satisfy a craving.

Easy no-cook meal

Last night I really didn't want to cook. Even though the weather had cooled off a bit, my cement patio was still giving off a lot of heat.

Tuna fish and black bean tacos.

I know this sounds like an odd combination but it was incredibly delicious and I didn't have to turn on the stove.

I mixed one packet of chunk-lite tuna with 1 tsp. of Veganaise, 1 Tbsp. of mustard, a pinch of garlic powder and lots of fresh ground black pepper.

Since I didn't want the tuna fish to make the bottom of the taco soggy, I started with layer of shredded lettuce.

On top of that went a handful of black beans (drained and rinsed), tuna fish, some chopped green onion, a slice of avocado and lots of fresh chopped cilantro.

And you won't see any pictures of what I made this morning because I had the exact same meal again for breakfast.

With coffee, of course.

This afternoon I am turning on the stove and making a recipe I have been trying to perfect. 

Happy Thursday!

You can never have too many tacos

Dinner tonight was easy peasy thanks to this:

I do have to say - Gardein is quickly becoming my favorite meat alternative.

I cut an edge off the bag and popped it into the microwave. 

The package directions said 2 1/2 minutes but with my underpowered and craptastic microwave it was more like 3 1/2.

Hmm, what to make with this? I know -  a veggie version of pulled pork tacos!

The rest of the ingredients - 

Lettuce, carrots, avocado and green onions.

Let the assembling begin:

Lettuce and the bbq pulled shreds on a white corn tortilla

Carrots

Avocado

Scallions

The extra avocado made a nice prop to hold up the tacos.