Saturday, January 12, 2008

a hearty breakfast for a day in the mountains

The mountains ARE my favorite place to be of all of this beautiful world's settings (this may change as I travel more, but for now, that's it). I've mentioned before that I spent most summers with my Grammie and Poppie in the house (which they built themselves!) in the mountains of Tennessee, so my love for the mountains started there. Jared and I live about 2 hours away from decent mountains in Georgia. Not having enough time to go back to my stomping grounds in Tennessee this weekend, we decided to take a quick afternoon trip up in Fort Mountain National Park for a little nostalgic nudge to my summers spent and a hike since it was gorgeous out.
No hike should begin without a very hearty breakfast, not something I am generally used to. Since I hadn't had tofu in a while, I decided to make my VERY FIRST TOFU SCRAMBLE!!! I guess I should mention also that my darling Jared bought me a copy of the Yellow Rose Recipes cookbook (which can be ordered at Cosmo's), which is where I got the spice blend idea for the scramble. Except for the spices, I didn't follow the recipe 100% but it turned out well. Our scramble had red peppers and onions cooked for a few minutes until soften and two veggie sausage patties chunked up. I set the peppers, onions and veggie sausage chucks off to the side. Next for the tofu, I sprayed my pan with Olive oil spray and let the tofu firm and crisp up. Once they were cooked I used a few shakes of the book's Tofu Scramble seasoning mix recipe, along with a couple splashes of soy sauce. I add the peppers, onions and veggie sausage chunks back in with the now seasoned tofu. I also used my new cookbook's technique for making homefries, which included parboiling the potatoes the night before and chopping, browning and seasoning the next morning. I added salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper and dried rosemary in ours. Jared said they were his favorite! I also served sliced avocado and a small bowl of the last of the sliced strawberries.
Jared's plate filled up! He had his strawberries in a bowl off to the side.
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My plate's more modest portions were able to fit my berries on the plate.
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So, full bellies and all, we headed to the mountains.
This first picture was at a lookout going up the mountain towards the park. It just is so peaceful for me to be able to see and feel the mountains again.
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Jared and I at a waterfall we came upon on the hiking trail. If it was warmer, I would have stuck my feet in!
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Jared being my Mountain Man, although holding MY hiking stick (I found along the way the start of the hike. Isn't nature cool!) as his prop. He's goofy like that!
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Lastly, this was me checking out this lovely lush green carpet-like moss on some cool rocks.
Notice, I got my hiking stick back!
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14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Beautiful pictures! I too love the mountains, they're so full of life, it's beautiful.

Unknown said...

those potatoes sound really good.

i love tofu scramble & i wish tofu liked me.

sounds like a fun day!!

Lori- the Pleasantly Plump Vegan said...

romina- Thanks!

selina- i have some trouble tofu. I didn't eat any soy products for a few months to let my body heal and then slowly added it back in. I LOVE tofu too and so, because I love it so much, I only eat it every now and them. That way my body only hates me for one meal every few weeks.

vko said...

Your tofu scramble looks delicious- I want to sign up for a gorgeous mountain hike!

Leigh said...

Congrats on your first tofu scramble! It looks great.
And I'll have you know that Ken and I went to Fort Mtn for a hike on our one month anniversary of dating. Aww. That was almost seven years ago, yikes.

Lori- the Pleasantly Plump Vegan said...

vko- thanks! i was pretty impressed how good it was.

leigh- seven years? US TOO, this month we have been together for seven great years, almost three of them married! that place is gorgeous, so i can see it being a great date place. nice!

Maxcactus said...

Looks like it is a really nice time of the year for a walk in northern Georgia. The vistas are open for those beautiful long views. Crisp mountain air makes it wonderful to hike without bugs and being drenched in sweat. Perfect!

Theresa said...

What a way to spend the day!

Lori- the Pleasantly Plump Vegan said...

maxcactus- you would have really enjoyed it!

theresa- my sentiment exactly!

Melisser; the Urban Housewife said...

What a great way to start the day!

Vegan_Noodle said...

Oh, the mountains are my favorite too!! Sigh, if only they were a two hour drive away... more like a two hour flight!!

Your tofu scramble looks like the perfect start to your day. I had read about the spice mix in joanna's book and thought it sounded yummy. Now I'm gonna have to make some myself!

Calimaryn said...

That breakfast is so delish looking. Perfect avocados, fabulous looking scramble and I am sure I can almost smell those lovely potatoes. So yummy looking!

Monika K said...

Awesome photos - I think Alaska would definitely agree with you, although our mountains might be a bit cooler this time of year...(-:

Anonymous said...

ah, tofu scramble. one of my favorite breakfast foods evaaa.
i just wanted to let you know that i've been keeping up with your journal, despite not posting a lot myself, lately :)