Kale Slaw

I have an overabundance of greens in my garden this year! 3 kinds of kale, collards, and some beautiful chard. Last year I got so sick of greens sauteed with onions and garlic so I knew that if I couldn't come up with some new and unique ways to use them I would end up composting more greens than I ate. I tried kale slaw for the first time a year or so ago when I saw it in the deli case of my favorite local co-op, Food Front. I did an internet search to find some recipes and ended up combining a few to get the final recipe I made today. It is sooooo tasty!
A lot of the recipes called for raw kale but since some of mine is a little bit passed the tender stage I thought a quick steam might help get rid of any excess bitterness.

This makes 4 large servings and 1 serving gives you well over 100% of the daily recommended amount of Vitamins C, A, and K. Its so good and good for you!

Ingredients:

1 big pile of kale (roughly equivalent to 2 bunches from the store), rinsed well, stems removed
2 large carrots, peeled and shredded
1/2 cup toasted cashews
1/4 cup toasted sunflower seeds
Dressing (see below)

Steam the kale for 2 minutes, then cool and chop into bite sized pieces. Combine kale, carrots, cashews, seeds and dressing.

for dressing:
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 - 1 T fresh ginger, minced
1/2 T sesame oil
1/2 T tamari
juice of 1 lemon
2 T apple cider vinegar
1 t sugar
1/4 C Vegenaise (or other mayo of choice)


Doesn't this look so good?

Cashew Ginger Tofu

This is my current favorite way to eat tofu. I found the recipe while flipping through a borrowed copy of eat, drink & be vegan and happened to have all the ingredients on hand. It is sooooo good! I'm surprised that I found something so soon that really gives my other fave (BBQ Tofu) a run for its money but this definitely does. Here is the link to the recipe on the author's site. I served it alongside another recipe from the same book, cinnamon lime quinoa with apricots & almonds, and also had a helping of sauteed kale. The quinoa was a good dish also, but not nearly as dreamy as the tofu.

Trifle with berries and vanilla custard

I was looking at some of the gorgeous food pictures on 101 cookbooks and followed a link to this blog, Whole Food Cooking, which is written by Australian cookbook author and real food activist, Jude Blereau. I love all things pudding-like so when I saw this recipe for vegan custard I had to try it. I've changed just a few things in the ingredient list because I believe some common ingredients in Australia are different than here in the States. Also a few quantities were metric so I changed them to standard.

For the vanilla custard:

1 cup blanched almonds

1 1/2 teaspoons agar powder

scant 1/3 cup maple syrup

1 vanilla bean (or 1 teaspoon natural vanilla extract)

1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 cup coconut milk

Put the blanched almonds and 3 1/2 cups water in a blender. Blend well. Peg 4 layers of muslin onto a jug or bowl and pour the almond mix through. Squeeze out the remaining milk from the muslin. This should give you 3 cups almond milk. ( just use my nut milk bag. You could probably use store bought unsweetened almond milk in a pinch but fresh is definitely better!)

Measure out 2 1/2 cups almond milk into a saucepan and add the maple syrup. Whisk in the agar to stop it clumping. Lay the vanilla bean flat on a chopping board and, using a small sharp knife, cut down the length of the bean. Open the bean up and flatten to collect the seeds - add these to the milk. (Or, just add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or paste)

Stir together and bring very gently to the boil, then simmer for 10 minutes. Stir frequently as agar loves to sink to the bottom and stick as it dissolves.

Add the cornstarch to a small bowl and mix to a slurry with 1/4 cup almond milk. When the agar is dissolved, remove the milk mix from the stove and whisk in the almond milk and cornstarch. Return to the stove and stir constantly as it comes to a boil. Remove from heat and pour into a clean bowl. Place some parchment paper on the surface and refrigerate until cool.

When set, put what will be a fairly solid mix back in the blender. To this, add the remaining almond milk and coconut milk. Blend for a few minutes until silky smooth.

Now, to make this into a trifle all you have to do is layer it with plain cake of some kind and fresh or thawed berries or other fruit that would go well. Some people drizzle different liquors on to the cake layers but I never have them on hand and don't like buying something for just one recipe. It can go from economical to expensive really quickly! I'm sure the custard could be eaten as is too. It's really delicious.

I am going to make mine with thawed strawberries and this yellow cake recipe off of recipezaar. I'll post a picture later when I make it.

Happy Belly Baked Polenta

I pulled two leeks out of my otherwise empty garden this morning and deciding what to do with them led me to make this soothing baked polenta dish. There are so many ways this recipe could be varied so I'm going to include all the ingredients I think you could put in it.

First, make the polenta (recipe to come soon!). Pour your hot polenta into an oiled pie pan or other ovensafe dish. If you want to make this even quicker, you could also use one of those tubes of prepared polenta. Just slice it into rounds and cover the bottom of your baking dish with them. Set the polenta to the side and let it firm up while you prepare your toppings.

Next choose your toppings. I'd recommend picking at least 4 of these in some combination that sounds good to you.

a couple cloves of garlic, minced

2 thinly sliced leeks (well washed, please)

1 small carrot, sliced into thin rounds

3 or 4 collard leaves, sliced into thin ribbons (or chard, kale, spinach, etc...)

*4 or 5 canned artichoke hearts, halved

*1/2 cup chopped olives

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped broccoli

*1 cup garbanzo or white beans

a link of veggie sausage, thinly sliced or chopped

You also want a jar of your favorite marinara sauce, about 1 1/2 to 2 cups worth.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Add any ingredients you've chosen, unless they have a start beside them which means you want to wait to add these til just before you put it all in the oven. Saute your toppings for about 10 minutes, until nicely softened and browned. Now you can stir in any starred items and cook for another minute or so, just to heat them through.

Pour all of this evenly over your polenta. Pour the marinara sauce over everything.

Cover your dish with a lid or aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.


Sloppy but good. : )

Indian Dinner

I found a new vegan website called paku paku that's full of delicious sounding ethnic recipes and I finally got around to trying one tonight for Dal, which you may know is an Indian lentil dish. Its in the bottom right hand corner of the picture above, cozying up to some pear chutney baked tofu and a rice dish from Passionate Vegetarian called Katherine's Ghee Rice with Cashews and Melting Onions. That's a long way of saying rice with too much butter. I don't know how it would taste with earth balance or oil in place of the butter but if I try it out I will let you know. The tofu was my own creation and I think it could use a little work before I put it on the blog but the Dal was quite tasty and I'd like to share it with you.

The recipe on paku paku didn't have exact measurements so I wrote down the amounts I used.

Dal

Ingredients:

1 cup red lentils (I'm sure brown would be fine too)
3 cups water
1/4 t. turmeric
1 t. fresh grated ginger
1/2 cup finely chopped collard greens
1 roma tomato, chopped
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. garam masala
chopped cilantro, optional

First put the lentils in a large pan with the water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat to a simmer and stir in the turmeric. Continue simmering and stirring occasionally until the lentils begin to absorb most of the water, about 15 minutes.
Add the ginger and collards. Continue stirring and simmering for another 15 minutes or so, until the lentils are done to your liking. If they begin to dry up you can add more water.
When lentils are pretty much done, add the tomatoes, salt, and garam masala. Simmer for another few minutes.
Remove from the heat and stir in cilantro, if using. Serve as a stew, over rice, or alone. Makes about 3 servings.

No more fake cheese

After making two more block cheese recipes from the Uncheese book and having them both turn out pretty inedible I have decided that there is no room in my life for fake block-style cheese. I've had much better luck with cheesy dips and sauces, and from now on I swear I will never make another solid fake cheese.

I nearly ruined a perfectly tasty pizza tonight with the "provolone" I made a few days ago. Luckily it never melted so I scraped it off. It even smelled awful!

So make this pizza, but skip the fake cheese. It doesn't need it anyway.

Broccoli, Kalamata, & Almond Pizza

First the pizza dough:

I use a recipe off of Allrecipes that I love. It's technically a recipe for foccaccia but it works fine for pizza dough.

Ingredients:

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (I use spelt sometimes, whole wheat sometimes)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1 pinch ground black pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup water

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, salt, sugar, yeast, garlic powder, oregano, thyme, basil and black pepper. Mix in the vegetable oil and water.
When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl, and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth, and let rise in a warm place for 20 minutes.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Punch dough down; place on greased baking sheet. Pat into a 1/2 inch thick circle. Add toppings.

Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

Toppings:

small handful chopped almonds

1 to 1 1/2 cups chopped broccoli

15 oz. can diced tomatoes, well drained

small handful diced kalamata olives

minced garlic

The Ultimate Uncheese

Swiss Cheese...sort of

Peanut Butter Fudge Pie...Yum!

How could one resist checking out a book called the Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook? Cheese is one of my weaknesses...its one of the foods I can't seem to give up no matter how hard I try. So, after having such great success with the smoky cheese dip I was really excited when I found this book. So far I've made 3 recipes out of it: Swizz Cheez* and Peanut Butter Fudge Pie with a Granola Nut Crust. I was particularly excited to try the cheese recipe because I've never tried to make a vegan block cheese, nor do I know anyone who has. Unfortunately I felt that the final product was a bit too lemon-y. It definitely resembles swiss cheese in flavor but the lemon juice seemed a bit strong. The pie was much tastier and the crust was even better than the filling in my opinion.

*I can't stand it when vegan dairy & meat substitute recipes have such cutesy titles. I realize its not real cheese but come on, did you fail 5th grade grammar?

Vegan Pot Roast

Ok, so I made this vegan pot roast the other night for dinner. I got the recipe out of the book Vegan Lunch Box by Jennifer McCann (the link is to her blog of the same name). I'm not going to include the recipe for it because honestly, it wasn't my thing. I think I'm just not a huge fan of homemade seitan dishes, at least not yet. I did, however, think it looked very much like a pot roast and after spending hours driving from store to store to buy my new camera that day, I had to take pictures of it to put on the blog. So, if it looks like something you would like, check out her book or blog and try it for yourself.

Brazilian Banana Pear Smoothie

I just went digging in my fridge for the half a bunch of parsley I knew was in there and to my dismay it was all shriveled up! I had planned to use up two very ripe pears and the parsley to make a green smoothie but since the parsley was done for I made this smoothie instead:



2 ripe pears

1 small frozen banana

1 cup vanilla brazil nut milk (or more depending on your desired consistency)



This is so sweet and creamy its like dessert.

A Very Satisfying Mac & Cheese

I've been dying to try one of the many mac & "cheese" recipes floating around and happily, my first attempt turned out pretty good. I followed a basic recipe from a little book that I found at Goodwill last week; The Compassionate Cook by PETA & Ingrid Newkirk. I love extra veggies in my mac & cheese though so I added tomatoes, chard, and garlic. Then it didn't seem cheesy enough so I whipped up a batch of smoky cheese dip and added that along with some canned chipotle peppers and fresh bread crumbs on top. I thought this recipe tasted even better the next day. The night I made it I thought the nutritional yeast flavor was a little on the strong side but by the next day it had mellowed out completely.

Cheezy Macaroni Casserole
adapted from a recipe in The Compassionate Cook
serves 4 as a main course, 6 as a side dish

Ingredients:

for the basic casserole:
1/2 cup nutritional yeast flakes
1/3 cup flour (I used spelt flour)
1 cup vegetable broth
1/2 cup water
2 teaspoons tamari soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1 4-oz can tomato sauce
1 generous teaspoon chipotles in adobo sauce (optional but tasty) *
2 cups elbow macaroni, cooked according to package directions

other stuff:
1 batch smoky cheese dip
1/2 cup bread crumbs (I just whirled 1 slice of whole grain bread with a pinch of salt, garlic, and black pepper in my food processor)

for the vegetable additions:
3 or more leaves of swiss chard, washed and chopped (stems and leaves separated)
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt/pepper (optional)
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes, drained

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 and oil a 2 quart baking dish.

Combine the yeast and the flour in a medium saucepan. Place the mixture over low heat, stirring until lightly toasted. Add the broth and water, stirring to make a thick batter. A whisk is a good tool to use here. Add the remaining basic casserole ingredients except the macaroni, and stir well. Leave this pan barely simmering on the lowest setting while you prepare the greens.

Heat the 1/2 tablespoon of oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. When this gets hot toss in your chard stems and saute for about 5 minutes. Then add your chard leaves and garlic, sauteing just until the leaves begin to wilt. You can season the greens with a little bit of salt and pepper if you want.

Into your baking dish goes the cooked macaroni, the yeast mixture, the tomatoes, the chard, and the smoky cheese dip. Combine gently (so as not to break up the pasta). Sprinkle your bread crumbs on top in an even layer. Now cover with foil and pop into the oven. Bake for 20 minutes covered and then uncover and bake for another 20 minutes.

*I usually blend the whole can of chiles and vinegar into a puree when I first open it and then I store it in the fridge. This makes it so easy to measure out for recipes later.

I imagine that this would be tasty with all sorts of additional veggies. I plan on trying it with different greens (kale, spinach, or collards would work great) and different veggies (such as broccoli, green beans, onions, and/or bell peppers). I also thought it would be fun to add sliced hot dogs or soysages, but I honestly haven't found a brand that I like. I guess that's not true, I like soyrizo and that might be good in it.

The picture doesn't really do it justice but you will have to just trust me until the next time I make it and take a better picture.

.......................................................................................................................................................................

3/6/09: I have just heard from my little brothers that the pic of the mac & cheese looks like "barf" so I promise to make it again soon and take a better, less "barf-like" picture. I assure you it tastes waaayyy better than it looks. : )

"Chocolate Pudding"

My friend gave me this recipe and its unbelievably simple and tastes very much like the dairy version of chocolate pudding.

This makes one large or two small servings. You'll want to eat it within 2 days because it won't last in the fridge very well after that. It never lasts that long in my house because I eat it up!

Here is the basic recipe and below are the additions I've made with good results.

1 ripe avocado
1 ripe banana
1/8 cup cocoa or carob powder

Process in a food processor or blender until smooth.

The last time I made this I added:

1/2 cup coconut meat from a young Thai coconut
a few tablespoons agave nectar
somewhere between 1/4 and 1/3 of a cup of soy creamer

This Gumbo Is Truly Divine

Have any of you read Passionate Vegetarian, by Crescent Dragonwagon? Its a huge cookbook (over 1000 pages!) filled with loads of delicious recipes. I have a cookbook problem that causes me to have way too many cookbooks. I will never get to try all of their recipes but this one stands out as one of the best that I have tried. You might as well double the recipe and freeze enough to eat Gumbo Zeb at least 2 more times. This makes the time commitment (all that chopping, stirring, and measuring takes a while) seem a little less daunting. It also helps if you can get your significant other or some unsuspecting visitor to help with all the prep work!

The following is taken straight from Crescent's book. Enjoy!

In gumbo making, assembling your readied ingredients beforehand is a must. Measure out your spices, wash and chop your vegetables and greens, lay out the ingredients for each mixture on its own tray before you begin any actual recipe directions. There'll be a lot going on, you'll have your hands full; you cannot possibly assemble the ingredients as you go. This recipe will leave you with a fantastic base for soups and stews. When finished, dilute it with any savory liquid or stock to taste. Freeze the remainder for up to four months. Makes 2 to 3 quarts.

Roux

1/2 cup mild vegetable oil, such as corn, canola, or peanut (not olive oil)
1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

Vegetable Saute

4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) butter (just use olive oil to make this vegan -sb)
1 large onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and, chopped
1/2 bunch celery, with leaves, chopped
1/2 large bunch (4 to 5 large) scallions, chopped

Seasoning Puree

4 cloves garlic, peeled
2 tablespoons Pickapeppa sauce (I just use whatever hot sauce I have in the fridge -sb)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 1/2 teaspoons Tabasco
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
3 to 4 good grinds of fresh black pepper
1 can (8 ounces) whole tomatoes, drained, coarsely chopped, the juice and tomatoes reserved separately
1/2 bunch Italian parsley, leaves and stems, rinsed and coarsely chopped.

Stock and Greens

Cooking spray
3 cups any well-flavored vegetable stock
One cup tomato juice or V8 vegetable juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 bay leaves
3 bunches assorted greens (choose from mustard greens, spinach, turnip greens, beet tops, collard greens, kale and swiss chard) very well washed and cut into thin ribbons.


To serve

Hot cooked white rice; any cooked, sliced or crumbled soysage (Soyrizo is especially tasty! -sb)


1. Make the roux with the oil and flour. Pour the oil into a large skillet or pot. Turn the heat to medium and immediately whisk in the flour. Stir frequently as the roux changes color from white to yellow to fairly brown. While the roux cooks, proceed with the other steps, but be sure to keep an eye on the roux, stirring very frequently. Warning -- this is a long, slow process requiring attention. (See note to follow on Toux Doux a Roux).

2. Prepare the vegetable saute: In a heavy cast-iron skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until softened, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the bell pepper and celery; lower the heat slightly and continue sauteing for another 10 minutes. (Don't forget that roux-keep stirring it while the vegetables saute.) Add the scallions and saute until limp, about 5 minutes more.

3. Meanwhile, between the sauteing and the roux-stirring, you will have time to prepare the seasoning puree (trust me, you will). Place all the ingredients for the seasoning puree except the tomatoes and parsley in a food processor. (Pause to stir both roux and vegetable saute.) Buzz the puree ingredients until the garlic is finely chopped.

4. Check the roux again (has it started to brown?), then add the tomatoes and parsley to the food processor. chop coarsely.

5. Pause to take note of where you are, and to stir the roux and vegetable saute. (By now you have three mixtures: the roux, the sauteed vegetables, and the spicy, chunky paste in the food processor.) So far, so good. When the vegetables have softened, remove from the heat and set them aside. Keep working on the roux until it has reached a nice toasty brown. It may be ready now, or it may take a little longer.

6. Now prepare the stock and greens into which the other three mixtures will eventually go. Spray a large soup pot with cooking spray. In it, bring to a boil the stock and the reserved tomato juice. Add the salt and bay leaves. Drop in the fresh greens. Bring back to a boil, then turn down the heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, for about 30 minutes.

7. Stir in the roux. By now it should be dark caramel brown, but if it isn't, continue to cook it, stirring. When the roux has browned, remove it from the heat and let it cool for a few minutes. Drain off any excess oil that has separated out, but be sure to leave every bit of the browned flour. Vigorously whisk in the 1 cup tomato juice (or V8). It will be smooth and thick, a pale orange paste.
8. When the greens have finished their 30-minute simmer, remove them from the heat. To the stock pot, add the roux mixture, the vegetable saute, and the seasoning puree. Give a taste and adjust the seasoning, set the pot back on the stove, and let simmer over the lowest possible heat, covered, for 15 minutes. Stir often.

9. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature. That's it -you've got your concentrated gumbo base, enough, when made into soup, to feed 5 to 10 hearty eaters. It freezes well, so for smaller batches of Gumbo Zeb, use part now, and freeze the rest in small portions.

10. Completing the Gumbo Zeb: Now dilute the base with any savory liquid or stock to taste. Equal parts base and stock make a delicious soup, but if you like a particularly fragrant, spicy gumbo, you might use 60 percent base to 40 percent savory liquid. Add any soysage, sauteed, sliced, and served in a bowl with a mound of cooked rice.


Toux Doux a Roux

What turns good soup into a glorious gumbo? Simple: roux. There's nothing much to a roux (pronounced like the last syllable of "kangaroo") on the face of it -- mere flour and oil, cooked and stirred together until brown. Roux serves to thicken and flavor the gumbo.

1. Into a skillet, pour 1 part mild oil -not olive oil. Turn the heat to medium and whisk in 1 equivalent part unbleached all-purpose flour. Note the color -- a pale parchment-cream with a barely yellow tinge.

2. As the roux colors, keep whisking. It will become a light brown first, then will darken. My own preferred roux coloration is deep brown, just a shade or so past caramel. Preparing your roux ought to take at least 45 minutes; 1 1/4 hours is preferable. It cannot be hurried.

A roux can be made ahead of time and refrigerated. I have never kept a browned roux longer than two or three days before using it, but since there's nothing in it that would spoil, I imaging it would keep well for a couple of weeks. But why would you want to wait that long for gumbo? If you doux the roux ahead of time, reheat it gently before using.

Make this raw smoky cheese dip and be happy that you did!

One of my favorite foods is cheese. I love everything about it and would eat it all the time if I could. A lot of the store bought vegan "cheeses" are filled with weird ingredients and flavors; some brands of vegan cream cheese and sour cream even have trans fats, which I try to avoid. I found this recipe online and want to share it with you. It's awesome! I've eaten it on crackers, tofu scrambles and even the BBQ tofu from this site. It tastes and looks a bit like orange-colored nacho cheese but you know it's better because you made it yourself! Thank the folks at www.raw-food-living.com and check out their other recipes.

Smoky Cheese Dip

Ingredients:

1 cup raw cashews, soaked for 2 hours or more
1/2 large red bell pepper
1/4 cup purified water


2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp nutritional yeast*
1 Tbsp tahini
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
1 clove garlic
2 tsp onion powder

Directions:
Blend all ingredients until creamy.

*my friend informed me that some raw-foodists don't consider nutritional yeast to be a raw food, but that some folks eat it and just don't care. I'm not a raw-foodist myself so I eat it and just don't care.

Quinoa Bean Salad

Quinoa Bean Salad

This healthy salad is packed with delicious ingredients. Feel free to substitute different types of beans and vegetables, depending on what you have on hand. This is a great potluck dish.


makes about 8 servings

1 cup quinoa, uncooked
2 cups water
1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed & drained
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed & drained
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
1 cup frozen green beans, thawed
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 medium red onion, chopped
1 bunch of scallions, chopped
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt or pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 avocado, chopped*

Rinse the quinoa with cold water. Put the quinoa and 2 cups of water into a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. As soon as it boils, cover and reduce the heat to medium low. Simmer until the water is absorbed, about 15 minutes.

Make the dressing: Pour oil and vinegar into a jar with a tight fitting lid. Shake well.
In a large bowl combine the beans, corn, green beans, bell pepper, onion, and scallions.
After the quinoa is done, let cool briefly then mix in with the bean mixture. Pour the dressing over everything and season with salt, fresh ground pepper and garlic powder, if using.
Serve at room temperature or chill.

*avocados turn brown fairly quickly after you cut them so wait to add the avocado until right before serving.

Homemade Granola Bars

I almost always have a bag of these in my freezer. I grab one on my way out of the door in the morning and it thaws by the time I want to eat it a few hours later. I've also been known to nibble on them while they are still frozen.

Homemade Granola Bars
Adapted from Mollie Katzen’s wonderful book, Sunlight Cafe

Ingredients:
Nonstick spray
½ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
3 cups rolled oats
½ cup oat bran
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¾ teaspoon salt
½ to ¾ cup (packed) brown sugar
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 ½ cups mashed silken tofu*
¼ cup canola oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 (325 for a glass pan). Lightly spray a 9- by 13-inch baking pan and a baking tray w/ nonstick spray.
Mix together the flour, oats, oat bran, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl. Crumble in the brown sugar, rubbing it w/ your fingers to break up any clumps. Stir in the chocolate chips.
Measure the yogurt, oil, and vanilla into a second bowl, stirring until well combined. Add the wet mixture to the dry, and mix until thoroughly blended. (You may have to use your hands-it will be a thick batter, verging on a dough.)
Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan, patting it evenly into place with your hands. Bake in the center of the oven for 15 minutes, then remove from the oven and cut into bars of any size or shape. Place the bars on the prepared baking tray and bake for another 15 minutes, or until golden around the edges. For extra crunchy bars, turn off the oven and leave them in there for up to 45 minutes longer. Remove the bars from the oven and place them on a rack to cool.
Eat the bars within a few hours or seal them in a heavy sip-style plastic bag and store them in the freezer.

* you can replace the tofu w/ unsweetened applesauce, canned pumpkin or mashed banana

Other options:
Replace the oil w/ ½ cup peanut butter or almond butter
Replace the flour with quinoa flour (or any other non-wheat flour)
Add up to 1 cup chopped nuts and/or sunflower seeds.

Really these bars are quite forgiving. I’ve done a lot of experimenting with them and they have never turned out bad. Some versions are just a bit crumblier than others and take more effort to get out of the pan. I've replaced part of the oil with applesauce or jam. I've used raisins in place of half of the chocolate. I often replace up to 1 cup of the oats with different combinations of ground flax seeds, wheat bran, and dried coconut.

Cilantro Jalapeno Hummus

I love hummus. Its so easy to make and you get 5 times as much as those little store-bought tubs for the same amount of money (or less). The only thing you need is a food processor, although don't let not having one stop you. Just give your arm a workout and mash it like crazy with a potato masher or fork. Serve this hummus with raw veggies, pita bread, or use it as a spread for a tasty veggie sandwich with thinly sliced carrots, avocado and sprouts. This makes a whole bunch; cut the recipe in half if you don't have someone to share it with.

Cilantro-Jalapeno Hummus

2 cans garbanzo beans, rinsed & drained
1 jalapeno, ribs & seeds removed
½ bunch cilantro
½ cup tahini (use the homemade tahini you just made from the blog!)
juice of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon salt
2 cloves garlic
plenty of black pepper (to taste)

Blend all of this in a food processor, adding water as needed to reach the desired consistency (about ½ cup water).

Save Money And Make Your Own Tahini

I never even thought about making homemade tahini until I needed it for a recipe and the brand I usually buy was in the middle of a recall (salmonella! Fun!). So I found this recipe on http://www.about.com/ and it took 15 minutes and tastes EXACTLY the same and for a lot less money. The store bought brand is between $3.50 and $5 a jar...mine cost about $1.50 to make. For anyone out there who doesn't know what the heck tahini is, it is a sesame seed paste (comparable to peanut butter) used in lots of middle eastern dishes. I use it in hummus, falafel, and the yummy tofu burgers that I'm going to be making tomorrow. Here is the recipe:

INGREDIENTS:
5 cups sesame seeds
1 1/2 cups olive oil or vegetable oil

PREPARATION:
Preheat oven to 350.
Toast sesame seeds for 5-10 minutes, shaking the seeds frequently with a spatula.
Do not allow to brown.
Cool for 20 minutes and then pour sesame seeds into food processor and add oil.
Blend for 2 minutes.
Check for consistency; the goal is a thick, yet pourable texture. Add more oil if needed and blend until you reach the desired consistency.
Yield: 4 cups
Storing Tahini: Tahini should be stored in the refrigerator in a tightly closed container. It will keep for up to 3 months.

Moosewood's Delish BBQ Tofu

For a long time now I have had a mix of good and bad luck with cooking tofu. I have a personal hatred for bland meals and sometimes tofu just turns out, well, boring. I think that part of my problem is that I don't use assertive enough seasonings with it. This recipe is the cure for boring tofu.

Barbecued Tofu
lovingly adapted from: New Recipes From Moosewood Restaurant

Ingredients:
1 pound firm tofu, pressed and cubed*
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 cup chopped onions
2 large garlic cloves (or 3 or 4 or 10), minced
1 teaspoon ground fennel seeds
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
1 bell pepper (of any color), chopped

Sauce:
2 tablespoons tamari soy sauce
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons molasses or brown sugar
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon prepared mustard
7 ounce can tomato paste
1 cup water
4 to 5 dashes hot sauce

Preheat oven to 350.

Saute' the veggies and spices in the oil until the onions begin to soften. Whisk together the sauce ingredients. Combine the sauteed veggies with the sauce and pour over the tofu which you have already placed in a lightly oiled baking pan.

Bake covered for 30 minutes and then uncovered for 30 minutes, stirring once or twice.

I serve this over barley with a side of sauteed greens or brussels sprouts, but I'm sure it would be tasty with some coleslaw on a bun and I plan on eating it that way very soon.

The last time I made this I was feeling lazy and used a different BBQ sauce that I already had sitting in the fridge. I skipped all the spices and just sauteed onions, red bell pepper and garlic in a little oil. I then poured this over my tofu and baked as usual although I stirred in some chopped green onion after the first 30 minutes. It was just as good so feel free to be lazy.


*I like to freeze the tofu beforehand and thaw it out before using it. I then squeeze out the water with my hands and crumble the tofu into different size chunks, some large, some small. The freezing step creates a satisfyingly chewy texture. This requires some pre-planning though so if you've got an immediate hankering for BBQ tofu, by all means, forgo this step (but try it next time!)

Green Smoothies

Have you discovered green smoothies yet? If not, you should give them a try. I was turned on to them after reading a friend's copy of Victoria Boutenko's book, Green For Life. I haven't tried all of the recipes in the book yet but I have started creating my own versions. Initially I thought that there was no way any drink filled with blended up spinach or parsley could taste good but I was wrong. Here is one of Victoria's recipes and one of mine.


Parsley Mango Green Smoothie (VB's recipe)

• 2 mangoes, peeled, pitted, & diced (I just use frozen mango chunks from Trader Joe's)
  
• 1 bunch Italian parsley


• 2 cups water

Combine in a blender* and blend until smooth.

Here is my smoothie. It isn't very sweet so you may want to add a ripe banana or some agave nectar or other sweetener.

Steph's Mango Parsley Pear Smoothie:

• half of a ripe avocado


• 1 really ripe pear


• a little under a cup of frozen mango chunks


• half a bunch of parsley


• 2 cups water

Blend until smooth.

*I should note that many green smoothie advocates use a Vita-Mix or other high-powered blender. Unfortunately these run somewhere around $300-400. I have an old blender that cost under $30 over 5 years ago and it works pretty darn good. You will have to just see what your blender can do. Having to chew your smoothie isn't very fun.

A New Way of Eating

Somehow when I wasn't looking, my friends transitioned from being fish-eating "vegetarians" to full-on vegans. As a long time omnivore this freaked me out more than a little. I love to cook with and for my friends and thought that this dramatic shift would ruin all our fun. After some initial resistance, I've finally come to embrace their choices and have learned how delicious vegan food can really be! While still not a vegan myself (my boyfriend tells me I get closer everyday, but I'm not sure about that), I have found some recipes so delicious that I just have to put them here so that other people can find and use them too. I hope you try these recipes and love them for the wonderful, satisfying meals that they are, no matter what you call yourself or how you eat.