Vegan Brunch at Fuel Cafe

Every Sunday, I meet a couple of my vegan girlfriends for brunch. We typically meet at Imagine Vegan Cafe because they have a fabulous and sinful brunch and very stout (free! with the purchase of a mixer) cocktails. We call ourselves Bitches Who Brunch.

Well, last week, the brunch bitches decided to venture out and try something new. We felt guilty skipping out on Imagine, and we'll do the walk of shame back into Imagine this coming weekend. But I'd recently learned that Fuel Cafe had added a ton of vegan options to their brunch menu, and we just had to try them. And it just so happened that the new Memphis Meetup.com Vegan Dine-outs and Potlucks group was meeting at Fuel for brunch that day too. We joined their table on the breezy outdoor patio.

Fuel doesn't serve hard liquor, so they got creative and made beer-based brunch cocktails. We all ordered a round of Fuel Mimosas (hard apple cider mixed with mango juice).

After much deliberation, I ordered the Tofu Migas with blue corn tortilla chips, tofu scramble, vegan cheese, salsa, and avocado. Good choice! Loved this dish, and the cheese got all melty as I dug in.

Fuel has a very veg-heavy Tofu Scramble, which can also be ordered a la carte. That's what Stephanie did.

And she got the Sweet and White Potato Hash a la carte as well.

Someone from the Meetup group ordered the adorable star-shaped Vegan Biscuits with Earth Balance.

And another person in the group got those same biscuits but covered with Vegan Sausage Gravy! I almost ordered this instead of the migas. Next time! On the side, he ordered the Watermelon Mint Salad, which Cassi swore to be the best. I didn't try it, but I'm sure it was delicious.

Since brunch is a combination of breakfast and lunch, Fuel also has some more lunchy fare on the brunch menu too. Our friend Nic got Fuel's famous Vegan Quinoa Chili Cheese Fries. I LOVE THESE! This is, hands down, my fave Fuel dish ever and what I typically order there since it's also on the lunch menu. Their quinoa chili is to die for, especially when served atop fries smothered in Daiya.

And Cassi's kid, Keithon, got the homemade Fuel Veggie Burger. It's a vegan patty made from scratch, and it is by far the best vegan burger in Memphis.

We'll definitely have to go back to Fuel brunch soon, after we make it up to Imagine next week! Maybe we can start alternating!

Peanut Butter and Beets

Not together, silly! That would be disgusting. I had peanut butter for breakfast in the form of Peanut Butter Waffles from Vegan Brunch:

I've had my eye on these since I bought the book forever ago, but for some reason, it's taken me an age to make them. The batter is made with 3/4 cup of chunky PB, so every bite has a little peanut crunch surprise. The maple syrup on top really takes these over the edge of awesomeness.

Now, for the beets. Remember my Zukay Kvass review a few weeks back? If not, click the link to read all about Zukay's new fermented vegetable drink. It's good if you're into fizzy kombucha-like drinks, and I am.

Zukay wants to give away a six-pack of their Ginger Beet Kvass to one lucky reader. Just leave a comment here on your favorite way to eat beets. Link to the contest on Facebook and leave a separate comment letting me know you did. Ditto for Twitter. That's a total of three comment entries per reader. Be sure and leave your email in your comment if yours isn't listed on Blogger. I'll randomly choose one comment next Tuesday night.

Vegan Mofo: Bluffin' with My Muffin

I've been craving muffins somethin' fierce lately. Not sure why, but it has been a long, long time since I've baked fresh muffins for breakfast. It was time to fix that, and who better to turn to than Isa Chandra Moskowitz?

I flipped through Vegan Brunch, hoping one of the many muffin recipes would call to me. And sure enough, these Pumpkin Bran Muffins were all, "Make me Bianca, make me!" I heeded the call and here's what I got:

Nothin' fancy to look at. In fact, they got a little browner around the edges that I would have liked. But damn are they good! Isa really knows what she's doing. I had some doubts when I saw the recipe called for an oven temperature of 400 degrees, but I was reassured with my first bite.

The batter is loaded with pureed pumpkin and oat bran flakes, so I feel extra healthy when I eat these ... even if they do contain a little sugar. I guess I'd never tried bran flakes before, but I liked the subtle gritty texture the flakes lent these muffins.

I washed them down with a half-cup of Silk Pumpkin Soymilk mixed with a half-cup of regular soymilk. That's a little trick I learned from Nora at Pride & Vegudice. The Silk Pumpkin is way too sweet, and it's a whopping 170 calories per cup. Mixing it with plain soymilk cuts the calories and takes a bite off the sweetness.

What's your favorite muffin flavor?