It is Thursday, and I want to wish everyone a wonderfully blessed day. Cooking is my curse; I love to cook. But, when I get into that zone, I could cook for hours. This morning, I got off work and decided to prepare an island-style vegan brunch for my family, which is precisely what I did. Also, I decided to share it with you on today’s post, so please forgive the late posting. Fresh is just best.
For the past week, I have been feeling for several things and today was the day to bring it to life; instead of going out to Why not cook it at home, right. I have time, and I was not feeling that exhausted after a night’s shift at work. I was primarily motivated because I know the kids would enjoy it, and since four (4) years old niece is here with us for the summer, I wanted to create a home away from home vibe for here. I know that she would appreciate something familiar to that which she eats at home.
I started preparing brunch around 11:00 am, and of course, the kids were right there in the kitchen helping out and learning to cook as well. Please do not be afraid to have children in the kitchen learning how to cook early. As long as safety measures are in place, go right ahead. Life is unpredictable; we want to prepare them to care for themselves in every way. They had a blast, my son juiced the carrots, and my daughter made the fried plantains and breadfruit. Before we knew it, brunch was ready, and we all dug in. They were so thankful for the Island vibe experience. They expressed how great the food tasted. My four-year-old son, a little charmer, tells me I am a great cook. Hey, I accepted the compliment. I like to think the saying is true that it is usually true if it comes from a kid.
I am sure you are curious to see what was prepared by now, so let’s hop right on in.
Island Style Vegan Brunch: beginning from left carrot Juice, top row Ackee with Italian Sausage, vegetable dish (kale, spinach and cabbage), Boiled dumplings & green bananas. bottom row: baked beans, roasted breadfruit fried & fried ripe plantainsVeggie medley: Kale, spinach and cabbageBaked Beans: My relationship with baked beans is quite interesting; I was not too fond of its taste growing up. There was just something about beans having a sweet taste that did not go well with my taste buds. Now, it is still one of my least favorite things, but I indulge occasionally. My children love the taste, and so I will continue to bring it to the table just for them.Ackee and linketts: Ackee is game, lol; I cannot eat enough of this fruit when flavorfully cooked. In my Jamaican culture, ackee and codfish (saltfish) is a popular dish. It is also our national dish. When I adopted a plant-based lifestyle, I just knew that I would have to find some way to create the same great taste without the addition of the saltfish. I have used plant-based bacon, linketts (Loma Linda) and even cooked it with lots of fresh herbs and seasoning; it tasted great. However, when I discovered plant-based Italian sausage, it became the popular choice for my family. In recent times, persons have started to use the hearts of palm as a substitute for codfish because of its salty taste. By the way, ackee can be eaten raw in its natural state; however, I prefer to cook it.Boiled Green Bananas & Dumplings: Boiled green bananas are tasty and an excellent addition to this whole meal. It is an everyday staple on the islands. There are two ways to prepare green bananas for cooking. You can cut off both ends and remove the skin or wash the bananas in their skin and boil in water. Dumplings is flour made into a dough first, then made into this round shape and added to boiling water to be cooked. For this recipe, I used white flour combined with stone grounded cornmeal. You can use whole wheat flour to make your dumplings as well.
Would you please subscribe and follow a future post to give detailed steps on making green bananas and dumplings.Carrot Juice: Last but not least is this carrot juice that I freshly juiced, no water added. You can prepare it in several ways like juicing and drinking as is, adding lemon and ginger, or adding milk. Today I went for the latter, which is usually made with condensed milk and spices, so to make it vegan, I used plant-based milk and spices to great a delicious and mouth-watering taste. I cannot even begin to tell you just how great this tastes.
Until next time, God’s guidance. Remember to subscribe and follow. Also, like, comment and share
Itz Holistically Wholesome 
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