tofu salad

that's tofu salad as in egg salad. i have yet to purchase a tofu salad that i love. i don't try premade ones very often because 1. they are most often drenched in fake mayo and - real or fake - i really dislike mayo* and 2. celery? meh.

so i decided to make my own tofu salad that would solve these problems and oh my goodness did i ever succeed! seriously, this turned out better than i hoped. i love it. i ate it open faced on toast with a salad for dinner, then had it again for lunch. the longer you can let it sit the more the flavors will come out and the more deliciousness will come out but you can also eat it immediately after you finish stirring it all together (as i did) and it's quite a treat then as well.

i solved the mayo problem by using tahini sauce instead. i like the crunch that celery gives but wanted to get it from something that i enjoy....something like chopped cabbage! throw in a bunch of other stuff and you have tofu salad that is similar to egg salad only not gross. win!

tofu salad
ingredients:
1 lb. firm tofu
1 cup chopped green olives
1/4 red onion, chopped
chopped cabbage, roughly 1/4 of a small head
1/2 cup tahini sauce (roughly 1/4 cup tahini thinned with water)
2 teaspoons cider vinegar
1 teaspoon turmeric
3/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon black salt**
salt and pepper to taste

crumble the tofu into a bowl and add the olives, onion and cabbage. mix together the tahini and water and then whisk in all of the other ingredients. pour over the tofu mixture and mix well. taste and adjust seasoning to your liking.

*perhaps it stems from a time of enjoying mayo sandwiches as a child? it makes me shudder just thinking about it now.

**there a few different kinds of black salt out there. the one you want here is indian black salt and you'll know it's the right kind cause it smells like eggs. if you can't find it this will still be yummy without, just increase the other flavors. i have a gigantic bag of the stuff and if i could share with you i certainly would. if you do use it, i went a little on the light side cause i didn't want an overwhelming egg-y flavor, more of a subtle backdrop, but if you do you'll want to increase it by quite a bit.

-d

coconut green beans

this is a recipe that i ripped out of a magazine oh i'd say....nine months ago (at least) and promptly stuck on the fridge. i've been dying to make it since the minute i saw it (well....obviously not if it's taken me this long) but whenever i thought of it i was always missing one ingredient. most recently that ingredient was mustard seeds which i actually remembered to buy this past weekend. then while strolling the farmers market yesterday i saw green beans and it was on!

i'm a big fan of simply prepared green beans - steamed until just tender and tossed with olive oil, salt, pepper and maybe some sauteed garlic - but man, if you're looking to dress them up this recipe is the way to go. they are crisp, mustard-y, a bit spicy and have the most delicious toasted flavors from both the coconut and the cashews. kris and i gobbled them down and they are definitely going in the rotation.

coconut green beans
(a padma lakshmi recipe)
ingredients:
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
2 tablespoons cashew pieces
4 whole dried red chilies
1 1/2 lbs. green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
salt, to taste

heat oil over medium heat in a large skillet. add the mustard seeds. when the seeds start to pop, add the cashews and chilies.

once the cashews are toasted, add green beans and stir. cover and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally. add coconut and salt.

cook another 8-10 minutes (mine only took about 5 minutes) while stirring. when green beans are cooked through but still crisp, remove from heat and serve.

TCT soba bowl

this, like so many of my dishes, was created as a cleaning out the fridge dinner. my main ingredients to work with were tempeh, cabbage and tiny tomatoes which made me think it's almost at TLT....but since there's cabbage instead of L i'll call it a TCT soba bowl (yeah, i put it all on top of soba).

so, that's one T for marinated tempeh, C for cabbage slaw and the last T for teeny tiny tomatoes...maybe it should be called TC(TT)T. oh and also toasted pecans because...why not? yum! i really really loved this (for dinner and again for lunch today). the slaw was very simple with a hearty dose of lime juice giving the whole dish a nice tart kick. the tempeh and noodles got a bit of heat from hot sauce, and tomatoes, well, they're amazing right now and can do no wrong. plus some crunchy toasted pecan bits? delicious! i feel like i so rarely recreate these fridge cleaning dinners that i make but this is one that i would really love to make again.

here's how it went down (i apologize for the lack of measurements but you're a smart bunch, you can make it to your taste):
TCT soba bowl
ingredients:
for the marinade:
soy sauce
hot sauce
olive oil
cumin
coriander
crushed garlic cloves

mix together all the ingredients in a shallow dish. cut the tempeh into strips and marinate for as long as you've got (mine were probably in there for about 20 minutes).

while the tempeh is doing its thing make a super simple cabbage slaw:
i thinly sliced about half of a small head of cabbage and tossed with the juice of 2 limes, olive oil, (big) salt and pepper.

halve or quarter (depending on their size) a handful of tiny tomatoes and set aside.

back to the tempeh. cook with a little olive oil and an little marinade added to the pan until browned on both sides. remove from pan and cut into bite sized pieces.

cook the soba according to package instructions. mine cooked for six minutes (and i found that starting soba and the tempeh cooking at the same time worked out well).

when the noodles are done cooking drain and toss with some of the remaining marinade.

assemble bowls with soba on the bottom topped with cabbage slaw and tempeh and tomatoes.

add some chopped toasted pecans on top. enjoy!

-d

soft tofu ceviche tacos

we recently brought back our good friend soft tofu for a super easy, fast and - most importantly - delicious no-cook taco filling. rather than cooking the tofu we opted for a ceviche-ish approach of marinating it in a limey mixture before eating.

as i was eating these tacos i just kept thinking how refreshing they were. sounds weird i know...even i, with my extreme love of tacos, don't normally find them to be refreshing...but with the marinated soft tofu these were citrusy, cool and smooth and that my friends makes for one refreshing taco.

you could certainly eat these as soft tacos but i liked the crunch from the crispy shell paired with the filling. top with your favorite taco toppings - we did lettuce, avocado and tomato which was simple and delicious. you can adjust the marinade to your liking (which you will have to do since i didn't measure) but, roughly, here's how it went:

soft tofu taco filling
(for one pound of soft tofu)
ingredients:
juice of 8 limes
a few glugs of olive oil
several dashes of hot sauce
3 garlic cloves, minced
coriander
cumin
salt
pepper

combine all ingredients in a bowl large enough to hold your tofu. taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking.

drain your tofu and pat it dry. scoop spoonfuls of tofu into the marinade and gently toss so that all the tofu is covered. let sit for as long as you want...i did this first and just let it stand while i prepared the rest of the taco ingredients.

-d

key lime pie ice cream sammiches

just because i live in a climate where 75 degrees is considered sweltering doesn't mean i'm immune to the it's-june-and-that-means-frozen-summer-treats mindset. i recently read that ciao bella is releasing several new frozen desserts this summer....one being a key lime ice cream sandwich. well, key lime pie has been one of my absolute favorites for as long as i can remember and when i read the ciao bella news i thought "i must make this. now!" this treat might win fastest turn around time from my brain to my belly. and the best part about them is that they exceeded my highest expectations.

the ice cream is creamy, tart and smooth just as key lime pie filling should be, and it really does taste like pie. and the graham crackers are, well, like graham cracker crust! i made my own graham crackers* which i would highly recommend because you can bake them slightly less so that they are a little soft rather than crispy crispy crackers.


key lime pie ice cream sammiches
ice cream ingredients:
1 14 ounce can coconut milk (not lite)
3/4 (scant) cup sugar
1/2 cup soy milk (plus a little)
1/2 cup key lime juice (i used nellie and joe's double strength**)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

measure your coconut milk and top off with enough soy milk to get an even two cups. pour into a bowl and add the sugar. whisk until the sugar is dissolved. stir in the remaining 1/2 cup soy milk, key lime juice and vanilla extract. taste and add more lime juice if needed.

pour into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the maker's instructions (mine took about 30 minutes). pour onto a baking sheet lined with parchment and smooth out so that it's about an inch thick. freeze until firm.

to assemble:
i used a biscuit cutter to make nice uniform graham cracker circles. as i mentioned above, i cooked them so that they were still a little soft. once the ice cream is firm use a slightly smaller cookie cutter to cut through the ice cream. place onto a graham cracker, top with another and press together slightly. wrap individual sammiches in wax paper and freeze until you're ready to eat them.

*need a graham cracker recipe? there's a great one in vegan cookies invade your cookie jar that is both tasty and fast (no chilling time). this is the one i used with one little change - i used agave syrup instead of molasses for a lighter flavor. there's also a yummy one over at smitten kitchen that i've made with delicious results.

**my bottle claimed to be double strength. don't know if it really is but if yours appears to be normal strength you might need to use a bit more. if you can't find key lime juice regular lime juice should work just fine.

-d

strawberry granita

What to do when it's a thousand degrees outside and there are strawberries in the fridge? Why not make some granita! I did a quick Google search, and came up with the following recipe. It is super easy, deliciously refreshing, and so much easier than making ice cream. It has all the freshness of perfectly ripe strawberries, in an icy-cold refreshing dessert!

fresh strawberry granita
Bon Appetit, May 2005

1 cup hot water
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 cups sliced hulled strawberries (1 pound whole berries) plus additional berries for garnish

Stir first 3 ingredients in small bowl until sugar dissolves. Blend 3 cups strawberries in processor until smooth. Add sugar syrup and blend until combined.

Pour mixture into 13x9x2-inch nonstick metal baking pan. Freeze until icy around edges, about 25 minutes. Using fork, stir icy portions into middle of pan. Freeze until mixture is frozen, stirring edges into center every 20 to 30 minutes, about 1 1/2 hours. Using fork, scrape granita into flaky crystals. Cover tightly and freeze. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep frozen.) Scrape granita into bowls. Garnish with berries and serve.

wedding pies!

Over Memorial Day weekend, Darcy and I undertook the great pie making endeavor. A few months ago, our friends Jane and Craig asked us to make the dessert - pies! - for their impending nuptials. D and I said yes, and the wheels started turning. Oh, the ideas we had for pies! Mango, coconut, various other tropical flavors, to mesh with the Indian food that would be served at dinner. In the end, it came down to seasonal flavors and colors, the fresh bounty of late spring. After a tasting a few weeks ago, the bride and groom settled on four flavors:

strawberry rhubarb, with a hint of orange zest. I cannot tell you how amazing this smelled as the berries and rhubarb macerated in the orange zest-sugar combination; blackberry apricot, with a splash of cassis (a berry liquer) and walnut streusel topping.

Our friend Jill said the topping "smelled like Christmas" with a blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove; vegan chocolate, oh so creamy, with a graham cracker crumb crust and a splash of whiskey. Oh, and it's a no-bake pie; and, finally, my personal favorite - a truly luscious lemon curd, from Alice Waters, topped with blueberries and citrus zest. These disappeared at the wedding!



We had loads of help from our friends - Mo, Jill, Chris. Andy was our clean-up help, dutifully washing dishes - which were plentiful! In the end, we successfully made about 130 mini pies, and one large Strawberry Rhubarb pie. All were beautifully displayed on a pie tower constructed by the groom.

Below are some of the recipes we used, plus loads of pictures of the whole process.

Congrats, Jane and Craig! Thank you for giving us the honor of baking for your wedding. Xoxoxo.



vegan chocolate whiskey pie
ingredients:
for the crust:
3 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 18 graham crackers)
1/2 cup canola oil
3 tablespoons soy milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

place the graham cracker crumbs in a mixing bowl. drizzle with the oil and mix until moistened. add the soy milk and vanilla and mix with your fingers, the crumbs should hold together if pinched. press into pie tins. (note: your graham cracker/oil ratio may vary. vegan graham crackers can be hard to find so if you make your own you'll probably use less oil, add gradually).

for the filling:
12 oz. dark chocolate chips
1/3 cup whiskey (jamesons is delicious)
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 lb. silken tofu, room temperature

melt the chocolate with the whiskey over medium heat, when melted and smooth stir in the syrup and vanilla. remove from heat. blend the tofu in a food processor or blender until smooth. add the chocolate mixture and combine.

you'll be able to get about a dozen little (4 inch-ish) pies out of this.

country pie pastry
used for the fruit and lemon curd pies
(makes enough for 30 4-inch pies)
ingredients:

4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into pieces
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/3 to 1/2 cup ice water


In a food processor, add the flour, salt, sugar, butter and shortening. Pulse for 30 seconds until mixture resembles a coarse meal. Add ice water, one tablespoon at a time, until the dough just holds together.

Divide dough in thirds and shape into flat rounds. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least 1 hour.