Monday, December 21, 2009

Egg McGuffins ... and Solstice with the Pets!

I know this is horrible, but I used to love going through the McDonald's drive-thru in my pre-vegan days to order egg & cheese biscuits and McMuffins. I thought, since I was leaving off the meat, that it must be better for me. That was before I read Fast Food Nation, mind you. These days, the thought of anything from McDonald's makes me shudder. But these Egg McGuffins from Vegan Comfort Food by Alicia Simpson surely didn't make me shudder this solstice morning:

The "egg" part is made from silk tofu, nooch, and turmeric. And of course, I added a little black salt (not in the recipe) for effect. The "egg" cooking technique is similar to that of the tofu omelet in Vegan Brunch. The "sausage" is Gimme Lean, and the super-melty cheeze is Tofutti American cheese. The English muffin is a whole wheat version from Whole Foods. Perfect way to begin my Winter Solstice morning.

Since my dog Datsun opens presents with his grandparents on Xmas Day, we do presents at home on Solstice. He got a big ole (very non-vegan) rawhide bone and a new pillow bed:

I hate giving him those icky rawhide bones, but I swear, nothing in the world makes him happier. Just look at those crazy eyes! Anyone know of a decent vegan faux rawhide dog bone? I'd gladly order him some if I could find them.

As for the cats, all six of them went crazy for their new catnip snakes. Just look at Pandora:

And Gelfling got pissed when he couldn't decide between the new swatter toy or the catnip snake. Look at that crazy face. Roar!

30 comments:

The Voracious Vegan said...

Ooohhh Bianca you have outdone yourself this time. I think this might just be the best post ever! You've got so many great things that I love all in one place - greasy tofu eggs (LOVE) and sausage piled on a biscuit (the best thing ever) and cute dog pictures (love the gigantic bed and even more gigantic bone!) and those crazy kitties! Love it all!

ZippyZu said...

I'm not sure about vegan rawhide.. They have the cornstarch chew things- but my dogs eat them as quickly as a biscuit and they have weird ingredients in them.. Your animals are so cute!

Chocolate-Covered Katie said...

Wow, that is one huge rawhide! And the kitties are too cute. I love the angry pic lol :)

Leslie Richman said...

Look at those happy pets!!!!

And that breakfast sammich looks SO delicious!!

Sarah S. said...

I heart Gelfing!!

Trinity (of haiku tofu) said...

Those pet photos induced delighted squealing in my house. I brought my whole family around to look at them. Adorable! Also, I wish there was a drive-thru where I could get an Egg McGuffin.

Vegan In The VI said...

That is a very uplifting post. Comfort food and fuzzies.

Anonymous said...

Your animals look so happy :) I don't like giving Nico rawhides either, but he loves them so much! That last picture of your cat is so funny, I love the look on his face.

JohnP said...

I know what you mean about rawhide. Our dogs love it (and it's good for their teeth and keeps them from chewing other things) and I don't have a good alternative.

Jenn said...

I just made the sausages from that book. I need to try the Macguffin. Yours looks yummy! Love the crazed cats.

Tara said...

There is much to be happy about in this post--delicious looking vegan food, adorable pets, and winter solstice!

T said...

This looks like a treat I used to get all the time at my local vegan bakery. Love it!

Sheridan said...

Awwwww....I love the pet pics!!! And your breakfast sandwich looks awesome! Yay!

Happy Older Hippie Woman! said...

Blessed Solstice to You & Your Animal Pals...

Devan said...

Mmm my mom makes egg mcmuffins every christmas morning :) I should get her to whip these up instead!

kilax said...

Ha! I love your pet pics! Roar!

Yum. That Egg McGuffin looks great!

Jennifer M. said...

This looks so amazing!! I'm going to try this for Christmas morning! My husband will go nuts for it.

Dani said...

I love the pictures of you with your pets, you're really cute btw. I love the one with the black cat haha.

I used to looove mc'd's egg mcmuffins, no meat please, like that made it any healthier lol. I did the same thing. I watched fast food nation and nearly barfed. That movie or book should be mandatory in high schools...

Wendy French Barrett said...

Oh man, those kitties are cute. My cats love their catnip-filled cigar and carrot.

I really want that Alicia Silverstone book. Everything I have seen out of it sounds awesome. I want to make this pizza--http://www.thedailygreen.com/healthy-eating/recipes/radicchio-pizza-recipe

Happy Holidays, Bianca!

Carbzilla said...

Those are the funniest cat pics ever! I need a faster camera, for sure. May cat made my blog today because he stole somebody else's catnip toy but even he didn't look as crazed. Hilarious! Merry Solstice!

Monique a.k.a. Mo said...

So much cuteness I can barely contain myself!

Iris said...

That looks so yummy! I can't eat gimmelean anymore because I'm gluten intolerant, but it was always my favorite fake meat.

Mary said...

Awe, happy solstice, pets! I just picked up a stuffed animal coyote and deer for Graeme and Ellie to thrash on Christmas, and some vegan (and gluten-free!) pumpkin sage dog treats. I'm totally going to sample one.

Mike K said...

The egg mcguffin looks spectacular - so much like the real thing, but without the nastiness of the real thing - yum! Awesome pet photos too! They look so happy :)

Lindsey Lou Hoo said...

On the matter of rawhide bones, sorry, but I've only found the tiny version, and not the huge ones. Maybe you could try your hand at vegan cooking for dogs! In the meantime, I'll keep searching, because my puppy needs some chew toys as well.

But be careful, rawhide has been rumored to splinter in dogs stomachs, so make sure Datsun doesn't bite off too much at one time!!

:) - Lindsey

Anonymous said...

Your kitties make the best faces!! I love how Pandora's tongue is sticking out in the first photo!

Hanni said...

My dogs love these, and as far as I can tell, they are vegan.

http://www.hartz.com/Hartz_Products/Dog_Products/Treats_and_Chews/3270098338_hartz_dental_chew_treats_for_dogs.aspx

The bacon flavor is artificial and there are no gross fillers or chemicals. They don't last quite as long as the rawhide chews and are more expensive, but well worth it in my experience.

Michal said...

Your kitty cat is so cute. I love that picture :) Im still waiting to try those out with my mom. Shes an omni and was so surprised when I told her those were vegan, she was like "they look just like the real thing"

Melisser; the Urban Housewife said...

I was a meatless McMuffin fan too.. yikes! I love the happy animals!
There are totally vegan bones, like Nylabones.. I think there's another out there as well.

Jenny said...

Please can you tell me where I can get catnip snakes for my kittehs? And thanks for all the amazing recipes you post! You inspire me. :-)