Vegan camping breakfast

So what do vegan campers eat? I don't know about all of them but here is a little overview of my favorite camping food.

BREAKFAST
In the city, a vegan breakfast is very hard to pull for me; I can't do just cereal with milk in the morning even with nuts and fresh fruits it makes me hungry the minute I finish the bowl. I am yet to bake some vegan breakfast muffins.... so my usual breakfast is a peanut-butter-jelly sandwich (something I've never had as a child and thus I am not completely sick of it), but on the weekend I cheat and enjoy an amandine (almond croissant). But hey, enough of city-breakfast, what I was trying to say is that in the city breakfast is either boring or non-vegan, but it all changes during camping - the options are endless:


Scrambled tofu - the tetra-pack Mori-nu tofu keeps for several days, and there are always some dehydrated or even fresh veggies to mix in.


Hash browns with vegan sausages and mushrooms - another filling breakfast choice. I usually bring 4-5 little red skin potatoes (they keep for a while). To save the cooking time, I cut them in 4 and parboil (while rehydrating my mushrooms). Then I fry some garlic/onion with mushrooms (you could add tomatoes or any other vegetables for that matter), add the potatoes, let them fry just a bit, and then add the sausages.


The good old porridge (oatmeal or cream of wheat) - let your imagination go wild. Add some nuts, dried fruits, chocolate chips, spices (cinnamon, nutmeg) ..... The individual packets available at most grocery stores come in different flavors so you can mix and match (we end up eating 2 packets each because one is way too small). I've also noticed an organic alternative (Nature's Path) to the Quaker that has some nice "grown up" flavors. Porridge is also good for those days when you have to wake up and go (no time to parboil potatoes or fry some veggies)
NOTE: Quaker now also has the organic oatmeal!!!
NOTE #2: Check the ingredients; the cream of wheat sometimes already has powdered milk, so it's not vegan!


Pancakes - I still have my non-vegan Aunt Jemima mix that I use but you can always make your own. Mix flour, brown sugar, egg replacer, and powdered soy milk. When you get to the camp ground, just add water and bake the wonderful vegan pancakes. You should try it at home first to make sure that the proportions are right. Don't forget to bring some syrup.

Scrambled tofu

This is a vegan breakfast staple – a vegan version of scrambled eggs. I’ve tried it once at Blue Monday vegan cafe in Verdun - it was pretty good. I also saw different recipes of it on-line. The first time I cooked scrambled tofu was in Toronto, when visiting my firends who enjoyed their omelet with vegetables for breakfast. Combining the best of all previously seen recipes, I fried some vegetables and added half-a-block of firm tofu. The result was amazing (I used soy sauce instead of salt, so tofu was moist and full of flavor).

Back in Montreal, I decided to prepare this one sunny Sunday morning for Eric and me. However, I’ve realized that I was out of firm tofu….. “Oh well” – I thought – “we’ll have to deal with what we’ve got” and I’ve “scrambled” a pack of soft tofu into my frying vegetables. The result was truly amazing. The texture of the dish was very light and tender (similar to scrambled egg-whites, although I’ve never had scrambled whites without yolks ;). And since MORI-NU has the tetra-pack version of soft tofu this dish became a classic in our “outdoor cuisine”.

Just like other camping recepies – this is not the only and final version of the dish. Modify it to suit your taste … add more ingredients … experiment!!!!!

A block of tofu
Vegetables you like. I usually put:
Zucchini
Pepper
Mushrooms
Tomatoes

Green onions
Garlic

Spices.
Depending on the taste you want to have:
Basil, oregano, parsley – for something more “Italian”
Cumin and cilantro – for something “Eastern”
Za’atar – for something even more “Eastern”
Soy sauce and sesame oil for a Japanese fusion
Curry – never tried it, but why not?
Chili powder – “Mexican” anyone? (I haven’t tried it either)

Fry garlic and onions with the spices. Add the vegetables. Cook till desired softness. Add “scrambled” tofu and heat up.