Vegan Benedict. Nuff Said.

Hello my darlings,

Happy New Year!  As it turns out, the holidays were a bit overbearing (physically, emotionally, spiritually, financially) and I had to take a brief hiatus from my bloggin'.  But I am back and armed with a pile of recipes that I can't wait to share with you!

I know tons of people who have decided to try a vegan diet as their new years resolution. Good on ya!!!  Even if you don't stick to it 100%, you'll be amazed at how good you feel eating wholesome, DELISH, and compassionate foods!

The Christmas morning breakfast tradition at my Dad and StepMama's house in Calgary is Eggs Benedict.  So this year, I whipped up an AWESOME Roasted Tomato and Asparagus Benedict WITH vegan Hollondaise sauce :)

Roasted Tomato and Asparagus Benedict with 'Hollondaise' Sauce

Ingredients:
-one Roma tomato per person
-four asparagus spears per person
-olive oil
-one English muffin per person, halved and toasted
-1/2 cup vegan mayo
-1 tbsp lemon juice
-1 tbsp nutritional yeast (or less, or even more, depends on your taste)
-cayenne pepper (again, according to your taste)
-1/2 cup Earth Balance butter
-1/2 tsp garlic powder
-1 tsp Dijon mustard
-S&P
-smoked paprika and chopped parsley (totally optional garnish)

Let's do dis:

Melt the Earth Balance butter in a saucepan over med-low heat and set aside. 

Pre-heat your broiler to 'high'.  Halve the tomatoes and place them cut side up on a baking sheet along with the asparagus.  Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with S&P.  Broil until the asparagus is tender and the tomatoes are oozy and soft...mmmmmm...oozy and soft tomatoes...this should take about ten - fifteen minutes.

Place the mayo, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and Dijon mustard in a blender.  Blend on low speed while slowly pouring in melted Earth Balance in a steady stream until everything is well combined. 

Return the sauce to the saucepan and place over medium low heat to warm it all up.  Season the sauce with S&P.  If it's too thick, add a teeny bit of water until you get a thick but still pourable consistency.

 To assemble:  Place English muffin halves on a plate.  Arrange asparagus in an "X" on muffins and top with tomato halves.  Pour on as much sauce as you can handle - I'm a saucy gal myself ;)

Garnish with paprika and chopped parsley and STUFF YOURSELF!!!!!

XOXO
V.V.