National Chocolate Day

Spiced Soy Hot Chocolate

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups light chocolate soy milk
1 tablespoon natural peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan, combine soy milk, peanut butter, and cinnamon.
2. Cook over low to medium heat, whisking frequently, until mixture is smooth and peanut butter is melted, about 5 minutes.
3. Serve in mug. Top with whipped cream and sprinkle with cocoa powder, if desired.

Makes one 12-ounce serving

7.5 grams soy protein per serving

Cauliflower w tahini garlic sauce

CAULIFLOWER WITH TAHINI GARLIC SAUCE
1 cauliflower
2 cloves garlic
4 T. olive oil
2 T. tahini
Juice of 1 lemon
1 T. tamari or soy sauce (I'm going to use Bragg's)
salt to taste

Steam cauliflower until just done. Refresh in cool water. Saute garlic in
olive oil. Add tahini and stir into a sauce if necessary. Add lemon juice
and soy sauce. Add cauliflower and toss to coat well. If the sauce is too
thick, thin with a bit of vegan chicken stock... just about a 1/4 c or so.
Serve immediately.

Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie

2 versions for you to try, one traditional with tofu and veggies, the other with squash and curry. Enjoy!

Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie

3 medium potatoes
1/4 cup milk or nondairy milk
1 Tablespoon butter or earth balance
1/2 teaspoon salt
pinch of paprika
1 onion, chopped
1 Tablespoon oil
1 lb. tofu, crumbled (you can freeze the night before, for a "meatier" texture)
1/4 lb. mushrooms, sliced (or more)
1 green pepper, diced (I use a 1/2 of a red one, I am not a big pepper fan)
2 medium carrots, diced
3/4 cup chopped fresh tomatoes, canned tomatoes
1 stalk celery, diced
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1 cup frozen or fresh corn

Boil or steam the potatoes. Mash with butter, milk and salt. Set
aside. Meanwhile, Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Saute the onion a few minutes. Add all filling ingredients except the corn. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer 15 minutes, till vegetables are tender. Put filling in a large baking dish. Spread mashed potatoes on top and sprinkle with paprika. Bake 10 or 15 minutes, till potatoes are hot.
Serves 4


Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie Recipe

Veggie lovers, if you like your vegetable pie less spicy, use regular diced tomatoes and leave out the red chile flakes. But if you want a killer combo of heat, tang and sweet, try my version. It's not your mother's shepherd's pie, Darling. Promise.

For the mashed potato crust:
3-4 large gold or white potatoes, peeled, cut up
Vegetable broth, non-dairy milk, milk or cream, as needed
Vegan buttery spread or olive oil, to taste
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
Chopped fresh chives, to taste
For the filling:
1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon cumin or curry spice
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups cauliflower florets (about half a smallish head), cut to bite size
3 medium-large carrots, peeled and sliced into coins
1 zucchini squash, sliced and cut into quarter moons
1 yellow summer squash, sliced, cut into quarter moons
1 heaping cup shredded cabbage or slaw mix
1 14-oz. can Diced Tomatoes with Green Chiles, with juice
2 tablespoons chopped roasted Hatch chiles or jalapenos- whatever you like

1 cup vegetable broth
1 tablespoon vegan Worcestershire sauce or balsamic vinegar
1-2 tablespoons low sugar apricot jam, to taste- to balance the heat
1 tablespoon rubbed sage
Hot red pepper chile flakes, to taste (or use hot pepper sauce)
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
1 14-oz. can butter beans, drained and set aside

Place the cut potatoes in a large pot and cover with salted cold water; bring to a boil and simmer until the potatoes are fork tender, about twenty minutes.

In the meantime, heat the olive oil in a large deep skillet and add the cumin or curry, and garlic. Stir one minute and add the fresh chopped vegetables. Stir and cook about five minutes or so.

Add the canned diced tomatoes with green chile, the chopped Hatch chiles or jalapenos, vegetable broth, vegan Worcestershire sauce or balsamic vinegar, apricot jam, sage, pepper flakes, sea salt and pepper, and stir to combine.

Bring to a simmer and cook until the sauce begins to reduce. You want the vegetables to be tender-crisp, not too done, and the sauce to be thickened and not too thin [if, by chance, you need a little more liquid to cook the veggies, add a splash more broth or water]. When this has been achieved, taste test the sauce for seasoning adjustments; then remove from heat, and gently add in the butter beans. Set aside.

Mash the cooked potatoes with a little liquid and Smart Balance or olive oil. Season with sea salt and pepper. Add chives if you like. Taste test. Don't add too much liquid or over-mix the potatoes or they'll get gluey. Gluey spuds = not so good.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Assemble your pie:
Spoon the vegetables into a casserole dish. Top with mounds of mashed potato. Sprinkle with chopped chives or parsley. Bake in a moderate oven for 35 to 40 minutes, until the pie is bubbling and heated through.

Serves 4 as a meal, 6 as a side dish.

Vegan potluck burgers

I always fuss over what to make for potluck. I'm gonna do a dessert for sure to satisy the potluck police, but also want to bring a main dish. I decided on burgers.... 3 diff kinds. I'm doing the touchdown burgers from last year's Super Bowl Party, Greek burgers (same idea just w feta and kalamata and oregano), and these. Something for everyone. I hope my newly vegan friend is there this week to enjoy these.



Vegan Lentil Walnut Burgers

2 cans drained lentils
1 c chopped walnuts
1/2 c mashed potatoes or 6 TBS instant potato flakes
1 tsp oregano
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp mustard
12 cloves minced garlic
1 1/2 c minced onion
1 c wheat germ
3/4 c soy milk
2 TBS EVOO S/P to taste

Mold and pat into hefty burgers. About 4 minutes each side in a HOT skillet.

Cranberry Bars

We've been having evangelistic meetings at our church lately and last night one of the ladies made these for a snack afterwards. This isn't her recipe, but oh my goodness they were yummy!! I could taste shortbread bottom, cranberries and real butter and maybe oatmeal topping? I'm on my way to hunt down a healthy yummy alternative or maybe come up w one myself :) But for now, lookee what we ate!



For the crust & struesel

* 10 1/2 oz. (1 cup plus 5 Tbsp.) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to just warm
* 1 c. granulated sugar
* 3/4 tsp. table salt
* 2 large egg yolks
* 14 1/4 oz. (3 cups plus 3 Tbsp.) unbleached all-purpose flour

For the cranberry topping

* 12 oz. bag fresh or frozen cranberries, picked over, rinsed, and drained
* 1 cup granulated sugar

Make the crust: Line a straight-sided 13×9-inch metal baking pan with foil, letting the ends create an overhanging edge for easy removal. In a medium bowl, stir together the butter, 3/4 cup of the sugar, and the salt. Whisk in the egg yolks. Stir in the flour to make a stiff dough. Transfer about 2 cups of the dough to the prepared pan, and press the mixture evenly into the bottom. Prick the dough all over with a fork. Refrigerate the pan for 30 minutes (or freeze for 5 to 7 minutes), until dough is firm.

Meanwhile, position a rack near the center of the oven and another near the top. Heat the oven to 325 degrees.

Bake the dough until the crust begins to set but does not brown at all on the edges (the center will not be firm yet), about 20 minutes. While the crust bakes, prepare the streusel and the topping.

Make the streusel: With your fingers, combine the remaining 1/4 cup granulated sugar with the reserved dough until crumbly. The mixture should hold together when pressed, but readily break into smaller pieces.

Make the cranberry topping: In a medium saucepan, bring the cranberries, sugar, and 1/4 cup water to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium high and continue to boil until the liquid is reduced to a thick syrup, 5 to 8 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let the mixture cool 5 to 10 minutes — the syrup will continue to thicken as the mixture cools.

Make the bars: Spread the cranberry mixture evenly over the hot crust. Scatter the streusel over the cranberries (don’t crumble the streusel too much or the texture will be sandy). Increase the oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake the bars near the top of the oven until the streusel is golden and set, about 25 minutes. (Baking these bars at the top of the oven helps the streusel brown faster without overbrowning the crust.)

Place the pan on a metal rack to cool until the crust is completely firm, at least 1 hour. (For faster cooling, put the bars in the fridge once the pan is no longer piping hot, or even outside in the winter.)

When the bottom of the pan is cool, carefully lift the bars from the pan using the foil sides and transfer them to a cutting board. Separate the foil from the bars by sliding a spatula between them. Cut the bars into 1 3/4-inch squares. They will keep at room temperature for 1 week.

Makes about 35 bars.

BBQ Tofu

Posting this for Julie.... I can't find the recipe I was looking for, but maybe this will get you started :)



Ingredients

2 lbs. extra-firm tofu, pressed and diced, or skillet fried/ baked
1 1/2 cups ketchup
3 Tbsp. brown sugar
1-2 Tbsp. soy sauce -- I use the Bragg's
1 Tbsp. cider vinegar
1 Tbsp. red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
Salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste



Directions
Combine all the ingredients in a slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 4 to 6 hours.
Serve on a bed of lettuce or on a hoagie roll.



Non-crockery goodness :)

The BBQ sauce is adapted from Slashfood, this is the tweaked version...

1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 large onion, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1 1/2 tsp fresh ground mustard seeds
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
2 tsp smoked paprika
1 cup tomato paste
1/2 cup sparkling apple cider;recipe calls for bourbon. Check here for other subs
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

In a large fry pan over medium heat, heat oil and saute onion and garlic until translucent. Add salt, mustard, parsley and paprika and simmer for 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer on low for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool, then puree in blender until smooth. Use immediately, or store in refrigerator for up to a week.

A very happy tofu birthday :)

Good morning, everybody! Was going to try to be good and make this for my birthday today, but went with the second one instead. Girl does need her chocolate, y'know :)



Pina colada cheesecake

• 1 9-inch graham cracker crust, unbaked (your preferred recipe)
• 12 ounces organic firm tofu
• 4 ounces soy cream cheese
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 bananas, preferably very ripe
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped, dried pineapple ring
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped macadamia nuts
• coconut, enough to mix thru the batter, and extra to sprinkle across the top

Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
Bake the graham cracker crust for 6 minutes and set aside.
In a food processor, combine the tofu, soy cream cheese and sugar and puree until smooth. Add the banana and continue to puree until fully combined.
Pour into the prepared pie crust and spread the dried pineapple and macadamia nuts evenly across the top of the pie. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool completely. Refrigerate for at least an hour, or overnight. Wrapped, this pie will keep in the refrigerator for 5 days.






1/4C graham cracker crumbs (or just buy a cookie crust)
3/4C egg substitute (equivalent to three whole eggs)
10.5 oz silken firm tofu, drained and cubed
8T granulated sugar
1T lemon juice
1t vanilla
1C nonfat ricotta cheese
fresh berries (as you can see, I'm going for the nutella chocolate sauce instead)

Preheat oven to 325
Spray bottom of an 8" springform pan or pie pan with nonstick cooking spray. Evenly spread graham cracker crumbs on bottom of pan. (OR - Take lid off of premade crust - discard)
Blend egg substitute, tofu, sugar, lemon juice, vanilla and ricotta in a blender until smooth.
Pour into pan and bake 35-40 min. (I needed to leave it in for more like an hour...it just refued to set in the middle). Remove from oven and cool 15 min at room temp. Refrigerate for at least 1 hr. Top with fresh fruit (or chocolate sauce!!)