Forks Over Knives: The Cookbook (19 page)

PARFAITS—LAYERED DISHES OFTEN served in glasses, and often for dessert—can also be served for breakfast. This elaborate presentation is perfect for Sunday brunch with friends or family, or for other occasions when you’re entertaining guests. If you don’t have fancy parfait glasses, you can use wine glasses, or just serve it family-style in a large bowl (preferably glass, so that the attractive layers of the dish are visible).

SERVES 4

FOR THE BANANA CREAM:

One 12-ounce package extra firm silken tofu, drained

2 ripe bananas, peeled and coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons lemon juice

½ cup date molasses or brown rice syrup

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Pinch salt, or to taste

2 cups
Banana Almond Granola
or
Banana, Date and Coconut Muesli

½ batch
Fruit Salad
, or about 4 cups

TO MAKE THE BANANA CREAM:

1.
Combine the tofu, bananas, lemon juice, date molasses, vanilla, and salt in a blender and puree until smooth and creamy. Chill at least 1 hour before serving.

TO ASSEMBLE THE PARFAIT:

2.
Have ready four individual 6-ounce parfait glasses.

3.
Spoon ¼ cup of the Banana Cream in the bottom of a parfait glass. Top with ¼ cup of the granola, followed by ¼ cup of the fruit salad. Repeat until you have filled the glass, then do the same with the remaining parfait glasses.

THIS IS A perfect bar for breakfast on the go. Store these bars in an airtight container and they will keep for 3 or 4 days.

MAKES 12 BARS

2 cups rolled oats

½ cup dates, pitted and coarsely chopped

½ cup orange juice

¼ cup chopped pecans

1 cup fruit-sweetened dried cherries

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground allspice

Pinch salt, or to taste

1.
Preheat the oven to 325°F.

2.
Spread the oats on a 13 × 18-inch baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes, or until they start to brown. Remove from the oven and place the oats in a large mixing bowl.

3.
Combine the dates and orange juice in a small saucepan and cook over medium-low heat for about 15 minutes. Pour the mixture into a blender and process until smooth and creamy.

4.
Add the date mixture to the bowl with the oats and add the pecans, dried cherries, cinnamon, allspice, and salt. Mix well.

5.
Press the mixture into a nonstick 8 × 8-inch baking pan and bake for 20 minutes, or until the top is lightly golden. Let cool before slicing into bars.

Hot Cereals

THIS IS MY go-to quick and easy breakfast. Oatmeal is a filling meal, and it can be made with any number of additions—fresh or dried fruit, cinnamon or vanilla, toasted nuts, coconut, or any combination of those.

SERVES 2

1 cup rolled oats

2 cups plant-based milk, or water

Salt to taste

Add the oats, plant-based milk, and salt to a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for about 5 minutes, or until the oats become creamy.

STEEL-CUT OATS MAKE a filling, healthy breakfast, but a stove top method requires cooking them 1½ hours before you want to eat. If you start this dish the night before in your slow cooker, breakfast will be ready when you are.

SERVES 2

1 cup steel-cut oats

2 cups chopped dried apple

1 cup dates, pitted and chopped

1 cinnamon stick

Combine the oats, dried apple, dates, cinnamon stick, and 4 cups water in a 2- or 4-quart slow cooker. Cook for 8 hours, or until the oats are tender. Remove the cinnamon stick before serving.

BRING YOUR OATMEAL to life with this recipe based upon my favorite pie. If you cook the sweet potato the night before, you’ll be ready to make this recipe quickly in the morning.

SERVES 2

1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced

1 cup rolled oats

1 cup unsweetened almond milk

½ cup date molasses

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground ginger

¼ teaspoon orange zest

¼ teaspoon ground allspice

Pinch salt

Steam or boil the sweet potato until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and mash it and add it to a small saucepan with the oats, almond milk, molasses, cinnamon, ginger, orange zest, allspice, and salt. Cook the mixture over medium heat until the oats are tender, about 10 to 12 minutes.

QUINOA IS A filling breakfast cereal and a nice change from the usual oatmeal. Make the compote the night before, and breakfast will be ready in less than 30 minutes the next morning.

SERVES 4

FOR THE QUINOA:

1½ cups quinoa, rinsed and drained

1 cinnamon stick

Salt to taste

FOR THE APPLE COMPOTE:

½ cup date molasses

1 cup dates, pitted and chopped

4 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and diced

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Pinch ground nutmeg

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

TO MAKE THE QUINOA:

1.
Bring 3 cups of water to a boil over high heat. Add the quinoa, cinnamon stick, and salt. Cover the pot, bring the mixture back to a boil, reduce the heat to medium, and cook for 20 minutes, or until the quinoa is tender. Remove the cinnamon stick before serving.

TO MAKE THE APPLE COMPOTE:

2.
Place the molasses in a small saucepan and bring it to a boil over medium heat. Add the dates, apple, cinnamon, nutmeg, and lemon zest and juice and cook for 15 minutes, or until the apples are tender and start to break down.

3.
To serve, divide the quinoa between individual bowls and top with the apple compote.

A STAPLE BREAKFAST food in China, congee is similar to gruel or porridge, and it can be made either savory or sweet. This is a delicious way to use up leftover rice.

SERVES 4

4 cups cooked
brown rice

½ cup dates, pitted and chopped

½ cup chopped unsulfured apricots (see
more
about sulfites and sulfur dioxide)

1 large cinnamon stick

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

Salt to taste

Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the rice, dates, apricots, cinnamon stick, and cloves. Cook over medium-low heat for 15 minutes, or until the mixture thickens. Season with salt. Remove the cinnamon stick before serving.

MY MOM USED to serve us a version of this for breakfast—cooked with milk, sugar, and a pinch of cinnamon. It is still one of my favorite breakfasts, although now I make a more wholesome version with almond milk and chopped dates.

SERVES 4

3 cups cooked
brown rice

2 cups unsweetened almond milk

1 cinnamon stick

⅛
to ¼ teaspoon ground cloves, to taste

1 cup dates, pitted and chopped

1 tart apple (such as Granny Smith), cored and chopped

¼ cup raisins

Salt to taste

¼ cup slivered almonds,
toasted

Combine the rice, almond milk, cinnamon stick, cloves, and dates in a medium saucepan and cook over medium-low heat for 12 minutes, or until the mixture thickens. Add the apple, raisins, and salt. Remove the cinnamon stick before serving, and serve garnished with the toasted almonds.

THIS IS A perfect breakfast or a scrumptious dessert—you decide.

SERVES 4

1 batch
Basic Polenta
, kept warm

1 cup dried unsulfured apricots (see
more
about sulfites and sulfur dioxide)

1 cup dried apple pieces or halves

1 cup golden raisins

½ cup brown rice syrup

1 strip lemon rind

1 cinnamon stick

⅛
teaspoon ground cloves

1.
Combine the apricots, apple, raisins, brown rice syrup, lemon rind, cinnamon stick, and cloves in a medium saucepan. Add enough water to cover the fruit. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, reduce the heat, and simmer until the fruit is tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the lemon rind and cinnamon stick before serving.

2.
To serve, divide the polenta between 4 individual bowls. Spoon the compote on top.

USE THE RIPEST pears you can find in the market—Bosc, Asian, or D’Anjou—and fresh cranberries when they are in season (usually from October through December).

SERVES 4

1 batch
Basic Polenta
, kept warm

½ cup brown rice syrup

2 pears, peeled, cored, and diced

1 cup fresh or dried cranberries

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1.
Heat the brown rice syrup in a medium saucepan. Add the pears, cranberries, and cinnamon and cook, stirring occasionally, until the pears are tender, about 10 minutes.

2.
To serve, divide the polenta between 4 individual bowls and top with the pear compote.

BARLEY IS A hearty, filling grain and takes on the flavor of anything cooked with it. In this recipe, it is combined with orange juice, currants, and apricots to make a creamy breakfast cereal.