Breakfast

I had a big dinner last night at a Vietnamese restaurant.

Although my husband and I split papaya salad (my recent favorite!) and red curry, it was still a lot of food.

And I definitely had a hard time stopping myself because the food was so good!

So this morning I was definitely in the mood for a “reset” breakfast.

On a morning like this oatmeal is a good choice.

Today I could definitely use some extra comfort and decided to go with the Chai flavor.

I made chai tea with Earl Grey tea, soy milk, and Chai-inspired spices, and cooked oatmeal in it.

I just made these slow-dried fruits yesterday, and I thought these would be a perfect topping for my chai oatmeal.

Delicious!!

Love all the spices and fruits together.

Have a great weekend everyone!

I am planning to cook a few dishes for the next few days, but then I may go shoe-shopping for a new pair of sneakers.

What is more spring-like than the color pink?!

I always liked spring, but my admiration for this season has become so much more since I started living in the region where winter is long and severe.

On this plate you will find bagel from Eureka Compass Vegan Food with homemade almond-flavored strawberry cream cheese, scrambled tofu, kale, and radish.

And yes, the kale is not just for garnish.

I eat it. 🙂

Happy Sunday, everyone!

I usually sleep in on Saturdays, but for some reason I woke up early this morning, before 6:00 a.m.

The great thing about this was that I was able to see the sun coming out, and I almost (!) thought it will be worth getting up early just to see this everyday.

It was so beautiful, and it gave me this energy that made me grateful that I am alive and well to be able to enjoy another day.

After taking advantage of this early morning and getting a cup of coffee from my favorite coffee shop (which is so popular and gets crowded quickly), I was ready to make something really good for breakfast.

This orange coconut carrot waffle was so delicious!

I put a generous amount of orange zest, coconut flakes, and shredded carrots, and they all worked together so well.

It was served with homemade vegan butter and toasted coconut flakes on top.

And a little drizzle of ginger maple syrup.

Absolutely delicious and perfect for a weekend breakfast.

Anytime I have some kind of veggies in my breakfast, I feel so much better, physically and mentally.

It’s going to be the first warm day today this year, and we are planning to get out of the house, visit a museum, have lunch at a restaurant, and go for a long walk.

It’s going to be a fabulous day!

Oatmeal is one of my favorite weekday breakfast choices.

I usually don’t have time to do anything fancy, but on weekends I like to have a little fun.

This one is oatmeal cooked in strong Matcha, and then served with almond milk, Kuro-mame (Japanese black beans), toasted coconut flakes, freeze-dried strawberries, and a drizzle of maple syrup.

I like these freeze-dried fruits from Trader Joe’s.

They are so handy.

Isn’t it pretty?

Ama-zake is fermented rice and typically made into sweet beverage.

In Japan you can buy it, but I make my own ama-zake for an obvious reason (no one sells it in the U.S.!).

People usually add water or some kind of liquid to original ama-zake to drink it, because the base is pretty thick and has quite intense sweetness.

For this muffins I decided to use ama-zake as a sweetener.

These muffins turned out great!

They are rustic.

The outside has nice crunch, and the inside is moist.

I added some Sake to the batter, which may have helped keep them moist.

What you find in these muffins are big chunks of roasted apple and dry cranberries.

These muffins are perfect for breakfast.

I loved the natural sweetness from Ama-zake.

One thing I’ve begun doing recently with my muffins is that I no longer use the paper cups.

I directly pour batter into a pan.

This way, the side stays crunchy like the top.