Thursday, February 18, 2010

Would You Like a Spot of Tea?

I felt like I should have been sippin' on some hot Earl Grey with this hearty Traditional English Breakfast platter:

How traditional and English is it? I have no idea. It's from Alicia Silverstone's The Kind Diet. She says she grew up eating this dish with her English parents. And my good pal Poopie Bitch is married to a British dude, and he loves beans on toast. So it sounds pretty English to me.

Though the recipe is easy and delicious, there are quite a few steps to undertake in the morning. A slice of sourdough bread is broiled with Tofutti American cheese (not English, I know ... but hey, it's what I had and it melts beautifully). That's topped with steamed spinach, Eden Organics baked beans (no sugar added!), sauteed mushrooms, and a broiled tomato half.

Unfortunately, my January no-coffee cleanse burned me out on hot tea. I'm just plain sick of it. So I sipped on some iced agave-sweetened green tea with my brekkie instead.

28 comments:

Sheridan said...

This looks amazing! I really want some like, right now. YUM!

Anonymous said...

Ha - I love that you hate tea. It makes me laugh. ;)

As always, your photos look delicious!

Also you might be pleased to hear that as the very very last person to try Daiya I just got some today in the mail and am making pizza tomorrow!

Anonymous said...

Yup, that def looks British- looks like our fry-ups but healthier! Yum. x

Adventures in Veg said...

Yep it looks like a much healthier version of a British fry! ;) In Ireland we have similar traditional breakfast - sausages, pudding (made from pig's blood, yuck!!), tomatoes, toast, beans...we never have greens though, heh!
Check out the artery-clogging breakfast here: http://to55er.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/english-breakfast-blackpudding.jpg
Luckily there are places in Ireland to get good vegan/veggie versions of Irish breakfasts.

Serena said...

That looks good. :) Yes it's definitely very English. I went to the UK and had that a lot for brekkie.

Vegan In The VI said...

Neat idea! I would try it for dinner though.

Anonymous said...

I love english breakfasts! This makes me want to buy the Kind Diet....

Mary said...

Hot damn, that is one of the best breakfasts ever. I met my husband in England (though neither of us is British), and we always used to go to this nasty diner where all the construction workers ate. Beans (but they have to be in tomato sauce, like Heinz) on toast, with a burnt tomato will give you lots of energy, and keep you warm and full until lunchtime. The second best way to eat baked beans is over a baked (jacket) potato!

miss v said...

beans on toast - who knew! however reading the combo of ingredients certainly sounds really tasty.

Leslie Richman said...

Very nice!

Anonymous said...

Oh yum! I love English breakfasts, but I haven't had one since going vegan. That broiled tomato looks especially delicious!

crunchyveganwifelife said...

My grandfather used to eat navy beans on toast, soemtimes he would make a sandwich out of it too.

two vegan boys said...

This looks so good.

The sweet tater cornbread recipe is in the cookbook How It All Began. So tasty.

Anonymous said...

Looks really good!

The Rockin' Vegan said...

Wow, this looks damn good. I have to admit, I always thought the traditional English breakfast was as weird as Vegemite - but I spent some time in England last year and grew to like the idea (and the taste).

Gotta give yours a try. Great blog...
Down for a link swap?
cheers

Trinity (of haiku tofu) said...

BEANS ON TOAST!!!!!!! love it times a million.

Theresa said...

That looks fantastic, and similar to what we had for brinner a few nights ago!

Cole said...

That breakfast looks seriously amazing.

nora said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

very inviting! the british got it going on!

The Voracious Vegan said...

Bianca this looks so YUM! I love a good English breakfast, but it has been way too long since I've made one. I love beans on toast....well, I love most things on toast, it just makes it taste better, doesn't it? Thanks for this idea!

The Vegan Snorkeler said...

This looks like one of the breakfast dishes we had in Ireland at a vegan bed and breakfast. At first I wasn't sure about having beans for breakfast, but now I love it! Looks delicious!

Shannon-Rabbit Food said...

Not a spot of tea? I don't blame you, I'm totally a need-coffee-in-the-morning-person too.

This look completely delectable. I can imagine Ms. Poppins whipping this little number up for the Banks children, followed by a spoonful of sugar, of course!

Cherrio!

River - The Crafty Kook said...

Awesome! I have that book and so far I've made the cuban style sweet potatoes and the black eyed pea croquettes - both delicious!

In case you didn't see my reply about the grams to ounces conversion - I am too lazy to convert anything and my kickass kitchen scale takes care of that for me. My brain and math don't like each other! :)

Tofu Mom (AKA Tofu-n-Sprouts) said...

Mmmm, looks good, yet strange, (though I admist I've never totally understood the whole British "beans on toast for brekkie" thing...).
Very cool.

vko said...

yum! That was a favorite of mine over at Moby's little tea cafe, Teany before it burned down...but I think they might be back in business soon..but I might just have to make it myself!
-vko

jessy said...

oh man, beans on toast sounds so good, Bianca! i love that you're digging The Kind Diet so much - it's such a great book! :D i too burned out on tea a while ago. i was drinking like 5 cups a day and now i just can get up enough courage to try it again. i just kinda over did it for a while there. ah ha ha!

Melisser; the Urban Housewife said...

I LOVE English Breakfast! yum.