Mocha Tofu Pudding

It's no secret that I have a pretty bad sweet tooth. I find that it generally strikes after meals, especially dinner. A couple days ago I felt a hankering for dessert so I opened my fridge and looked for a quick fix. I didn't find any chocolate bars or anything else I could enjoy immediately but I did spot several packages of Mori-Nu silken tofu (Kroeger was having a sale; I couldn't resist). "Sweet,", I thought, "Pudding time!".

Now some of you may think that tofu pudding sounds pretty unappetizing. Well, it's actually delicious -- even Mark Bittman says so, which obviously makes it a fact. In addition to being tasty, a tofu-based pudding is healthier than it's cream-based counterpart and can easily be made low fat by using lite silken tofu. It's also a versatile quick and dirty dessert: you can enjoy during a lazy movie night or dress up and serve to guests.  Anyway, whether you believe me or not, you need to give this a try. And once you've fallen deeply in love with tofu pudding (you will), you can try this slightly more elaborate recipe. Happy dessert making!

What are some of your favorite quick and/or (relatively) healthy desserts?

Mocha Tofu Pudding
Makes 3 servings

• 12.3 oz / 350 g silken tofu, drained (I used the shelf stable kind, Mori-Nu, although you could certainly use the refrigerated variety)
• 1/3 cup unsweetened almond (or other non dairy) milk
• 1/4 cup espresso or other strong coffee
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder or to taste
• 6 tablespoons maple syrup or to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• Optional: Macadamia (or other) nuts for garnish

1.  Place all the ingredients in the blender or food processor and whiz until smooth.

2.  Chill for about half an hour, garnish with nuts if you'd like and serve. If you put the tofu, coffee and almond milk in the fridge ahead of time you can skip the chilling step. Not that it's absolutely essential; if you need your chocolate fix stat you can enjoy the pudding at room temperature.

Creamy Vegan Cauliflower Mac and "Cheese"

People are usually shocked when I say I've never had Kraft Mac and Cheese. It's not exactly a staple in Spain, and I guess the blue box and I never really crossed paths once I moved to the US. I have, however, had a few homemade versions of the classic which I thought were quite good, especially the baked ones. I mean, what's there not to like about pasta drenched in savory cheese sauce with a crunchy topping?

Well, most mac and cheese has a lot of dairy fat, you know, the kind that clogs your arteries and feels heavy in your belly. But it doesn't need to be that way, as I learned from Mark Bittman's recipe I read in the New York Times a couple weeks ago. By adding pureed cauliflower to the sauce he increases the amount of vegetables in the dish and makes it creamy with only 3/4 cup of cheese. Genius, as always.

Since Bittman's recipe sounded pretty tasty and was almost vegan I only had to make a couple changes. To give the sauce a fermented tangy taste, somewhat reminiscent of cheese, I used some miso and a few tablespoons of nutritional yeast. (An aside, if you've never cooked with nutritional yeast please make the extra trip to the specialty grocery store and get yourself some -- it's worth it). To make the sauce even creamier and increase the protein punch I blended some silken tofu along with the cauliflower. Lastly, since I'm not a huge fan of beige food I added some chopped kale for color and an extra serving of vegetables.

It was DE-LI-CIOUS (and I don't use hyphenated all caps lightly). I know it's not really summery food and that it requires turning on the oven in this sweltering heat (hopefully it's cooler wherever you are than it is in NC!) but you need to make this soon. Like yesterday. I promise you'll be surprised something so healthy can taste so good.

Creamy Vegan Cauliflower Mac and "Cheese"
Veganized and otherwise adapted from Mark Bittman's recipe
Makes 4 generous servings

• 2 tablespoons olive oil plus extra for greasing the baking dish
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 whole cauliflower, cored and roughly chopped into large florettes
• 8 oz / 225 g short pasta such as elbow macaroni, penne or rotini (I used a mix of the last two), preferably whole wheat
• 8 oz / 225 g silken tofu
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 3 teaspoons miso
• 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 2 cups stemmed and chopped kale
• 1/2 cup panko or conventional breadcrumbs

1.  Preheat the oven to 400 F / 205 C. Grease your baking dish with some olive oil and set aside. I used a 7 by 11 inch pan and Bittman recommends a 9 inch square pan, but really just use what you've got. Place the stock in a small saucepan with the bay leaves and heat until just before it boils. Remove from the heat and set aside. Fill about 2/3 of a large pot with water and bring it to a boil. Salt the water generously, add the cauliflower, cover the pot and cook the cauliflower until very tender, about 25 minutes. Remove it from the water with a slotted spoon and place it in the food processor. Fish the bay leaves out of the broth and add it to the food processor as well, along with the tofu, nutmeg, miso, salt, pepper and 2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast. Process the mixture until smooth. Taste and adjust the seasonings.

2.  Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook for about half of the time the package specifies (in my case this meant cooking my penne and rotini for about 5 minutes). If you bite a piece of pasta in half the inside should still be chalky. Drain the pasta and add it to a medium mixing bowl along with the kale. Pour in the pureed cauliflower mixture and toss until everything is evenly mixed. Empty the contents of the mixing bowl into your greased baking dish, smoothing the top with a spatula or a spoon. As Bittman points out, you could make the dish ahead up to this point and then refrigerate it. Take the casserole out of the fridge about 30 minutes before you're ready to bake it and proceed with the recipe. Mix together the remaining 1 tablespoon of nutritional yeast and the breadcrumbs and sprinkle over the top of the casserole.

3.  Bake for 18-22 minutes or until the sauce is bubbly and the breadcrumbs have browned. Serve hot, with a few dashes of hot sauce if you'd like.

Thai Green Curry

I love Thai green curry. I always -- yes always -- choose it over the red and yellow curries available at most Thai restaurants. So, if I love it so much then why haven't I made it before? Laziness, really. "But Sara", you say, "you've posted some pretty time consuming dishes. How can you be put off by some curry?" Well, I don't know what to tell ya. I claimed to be lazy, not logical. Fact is, this weak I bit the bullet and tried my hand at my favorite Thai dish.

To be honest, I kind of winged it here. I threw a bunch of stuff in the pot that I thought should be in delicious Thai green curry, crossed my fingers and just hoped for the best. Well, the result was really really good but not as good as my favorite green curry (from Twisted Noodles, for those of you in the Triangle), probably because I missed some secret ingredient. Will I stop ordering from Twisted Noodles now that I can make a pretty good curry for far less than $10 per serving? Absolutely not. These two green curries will have to learn to peacefully share my and Austin's curry cravings.

Thai Green Curry
Makes 4 servings

• 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 16 oz firm or extra firm tofu, pressed and cut into about 3/4 inch / 2 cm cubes
• 1 onion, halved and sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
• 2 jalapeños or Thai green chilies, seeded if you'd like and finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons Thai green curry paste
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 medium new potatoes, cut into bite sized pieces
• 1 green bell pepper, sliced into strips
• 1 medium zucchini, cut into 1/4 inch / 1/2 cm thick half moons
• 1 2/3 cups / 400 ml coconut milk (I used the light kind but the full fat stuff would be even more delicious)
• 1 2/3 cups / 400 ml vegetable broth
• 2/3 cups chopped cilantro

1.  In a medium skillet, heat 1/3 cup of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the tofu cubes and fry, flipping occasionally, for about 25 minutes or until the tofu has browned on all sides. Remove from the oil using a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel to drain.

2.  While the tofu is frying, pour the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Toss in the garlic, ginger and chilies and cook for another 3 minutes. Stir in the curry paste. Add in the coconut milk, vegetable broth, salt and potatoes. Cover the pot and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the bell pepper and the zucchini and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the tofu and simmer for 5 more minutes or until the potatoes are tender.

3.  Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the cilantro. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve the curry hot, over rice or as a soup.

Vegan Moussaka

Last week I had a serious craving for moussaka, one that needed to be satisfied immediately. While I've had the dish several times I'd never made it before so, full of hope, I consulted one of my first and favorite vegan cookbooks -- Veganomicon. For me, Veganomicon is to food what Zara is to clothing, a resource I can count on to never disappoint. Sure enough, I found a vegan moussaka recipe, one that promised deliciousness no less. And deliciousness is exactly what it delivered.

If you love eggplant, zucchini and potatoes as much as I do you absolutely have to (I put that in italics, people, which I save only for special occasions) give this moussaka a try. The preparation is a bit laborious (bear with me) but please don't be instantly put off. I promise it's not as bad as it initially seems if you make some components of the dish while others are cooking largely unattended. Also, I know the idea of having the oven on for over an hour at this time of year makes some of you break out in hives, but just trust that this is worth cranking up the AC for or just wiping the sweat of your brow.

Vegan Moussaka with Macadamia Nut Cream
Adapted from Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terri Hope Romero's Veganomicon
Makes about 6 servings

Vegetable Layers 

• 1 lb / 455 g eggplant
• 1 lb / 455 g zucchini
• 1 3/4 lbs / 795 g russet potatoes (another variety will do too)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs

Tomato Sauce

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 4 large shallots, thinly sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/3 cup vegetable broth or red wine
• 1 28 oz / 795 g can diced or crushed tomatoes and their juice
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Macadamia Nut Cream

• 1/2 cup macadamia nuts, preferably soaked for at least 8 hours (the original recipe called for pine nuts, which are much more expensive, but you can use those, without soaking, if you'd like)
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 lb / 455 g lite silken tofu (regular silken tofu is fine)
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch or arrowroot powder
• 1 garlic clove
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 1/4 teaspoon salt 
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1.  Preheat the oven to 400 F / 205 C. Either wash and scrub your eggplant, zucchini and potatoes or peel them (I decided to leave the skins on). Cut the vegetables lengthwise into 1/4 inch / 3/4 cm slices. Place each vegetable on a separate baking sheet with as little overlap as possible, drizzle them with the olive oil and sprinkle them with the salt. Bake the eggplant and the zucchini for 15 minutes or until tender, and the potatoes for 20 minutes or until brown around the edges. If you don't have three baking sheets, or three racks in your oven (I have two of each) bake the vegetables in batches. I baked the zucchini and the eggplant first, then the potatoes. Once the zucchini are cool enough to handle, grab a bunch of slices and gently squeeze out as much of their moisture as possible. This will prevent your moussaka from being too watery.

2.  While the vegetables are roasting, make your sauce. Heat the oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and shallots, sautéing for about 4-5 minutes or until the shallots are tender and the garlic is fragrant. Pour in the vegetable broth or wine and cook until reduced by about half, which should take about another 5-7 minutes. Add the rest of the sauce ingredients and simmer partially covered for about 10 minutes. Take the cover off and simmer for another 5 minutes.

3.  While your sauce is cooking, make the macadamia nut cream. Toss the macadamia nuts and the lemon juice into the food processor and pulse repeatedly, scrapping down the edges if necessary, until pulverized. Add the rest of the ingredients and process until completely smooth.

4.  To assemble the casserole, first place about 1/2 cup sauce in the bottom of a 9 by 13 inch / 23 by 33 cm pan. Arrange a layer of eggplant on top of the sauce, then a layer of potatoes, followed by a layer sauce and half of the breadcrumbs. Place all the zucchini on top of the breadcrumbs in a single layer and follow with single layers of eggplant, potatoes, sauce and bread crumbs. Pour the macadamia nut cream on top of the moussaka and smooth it out using a spatula. Bake the casserole in for 35 to 40 minutes or until the top starts to brown and crack. Let sit for about 10 minutes before slicing. 

Asian Cabbage and Leeks with Crispy Tofu (with Taco Variation)

My mother deserves sainthood for a lot of reasons, one of which is particularly relevant to today's post: she put up with an extremely picky eater, yours truly, for about 18 years. (Mom, I know I owe you big time. You're the best.) I repeatedly ignored her requests for a week-long menu I would gladly devour, so she did the only thing she could do -- feed me the select number of dishes I would eat without complaining. Due to her lack of options, my poor mother didn't have much room for experimentation. Once in a while though, she would brave the little snot that young Sara could be and put something new on the table. This cabbage is one such deviation from the norm, and a very tasty one at that.

My original intention was to serve this cabbage with with one batch of my beloved crispy baked tofu which I'd intended to dip in this sauce. As I was taking the picture Austin said "You know what would be tasty? If we stuffed the cabbage and tofu into a tortilla and drizzled some of the sauce over it. Bam! Asian tacos!". I told Austin that sounded great, and he replied with a phrase he utters frequently: "Good ideas, I'm full of them".  He then told me I'd better give him credit. Babe, the world would be a duller place without your wonderful ideas.

Asian Cabbage and Leeks
Makes 4 servings

If you stuff this cabbage and crispy baked tofu, drizzled with this dipping sauce into corn tortillas you'll probably have enough for 6 tacos, with a little left over cabbage.

• 1 tablespoon canola or olive oil
• 4 leeks, halved lengthwise then thinly sliced widthwise
• 1/2 head green cabbage, cut into 1/3 inch / 1cm strips
• 3 medium carrots, shaved into strips using a vegetable peeler
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon dried ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon Chinese five spice
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon Sriracha sauce
• Juice 1/2 lime
• 1/2 teaspoon maple syrup or agave
• 1 teaspoon miso
• Optional: Sesame seeds for garnish

1.  In a large saute pan with a lid, heat the oil between medium and medium-high heat. Toss in the leeks and cook for about 5 minutes, or until soft but not brown. Stir in the cabbage, cover the pan and cook for about 4 minutes, or until the cabbage has softened.
2. While the cabbage cooks, whisk the remaining ingredients together, except for the carrots, until combined. Once the cabbage is cooked, stir in the carrots and the sauce you just mixed. Cook uncovered until most of the liquid has evaporated, which should take around 5 minutes. Serve immediately, garnished with sesame seeds if you'd like.

Vegetable Dumplings

As some of you know, I love doughy pockets of deliciousness. That's why I couldn't resist pairing last night's hot and sour soup with some vegetable dumplings. I had never attempted them before but walking by some wonton wrappers at my favorite Asian market, Li Ming's, was all the encouragement I needed. Well, that and I wanted to try out some of those fun dumpling folding techniques I'd seen. Since I'm not very dexterous, I limited the number of folding styles I tried to two. I'm happy to report they didn't come out half bad, despite what I expected.

While I was doing some dumpling related research on the interwebs, I came across this Saveur article. It mentions using wonton wrappers to make one of my favorite foods of all time -- ravioli. Yes, yet another pocket of doughy goodness. So if you end up making these and have leftover wrappers you might want to give ravioli a shot. If you do, please let me know how it goes. In the meantime, I'm off to think of crafty filling possibilities (and, I'm not going to lie, watch Private Practice).

Vegetable Dumplings
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
Makes about 25 dumplings

• 4 oz / 113 g firm tofu, pressed
• 1 cup napa cabbage, shredded then chopped into smaller pieces lengthwise (I used green cabbage but I think it a softer cabbage would have worked better)
• 1/2 cup grated carrot, or about one medium carrot
• 3 tablespoons scallions
• 2 teaspoons grated or minced ginger
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 tablespoons cilantro
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce or to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil 
• 3 teaspoons canola oil
• 1 cup vegetable stock or water
• About 25 wonton wrappers
• Optional: 1/2 teaspoon garlic chili sauce
• 1 batch of dipping sauce 

1.  Preheat the oven to 200 F / 93 C. Toss all the ingredients except for the vegetable stock, wonton wrappers and dipping sauce in a mixing bowl until combined. Dip a finger in some water and use it to dampen the outer perimeter of a wonton wrapper. Place a heaped tablespoon of filling in the center and seal using the method of your choice. If you're using round wrappers and would like to make gyoza style dumplings you should check out the fantastic Epicurious video Deb at Smitten Kitchen suggested. I found it incredibly helpful. If you'd rather make round dumplings that look like Tibetan momos, this video shows you how to do so. I stuck to these two dumpling shapes. If you're using square dumplings you may want to pinch them together in a square pouch shape like this. You could always go rogue and make up your own dumpling shapes.
2.  Heat one teaspoon of the canola oil in a large, preferably non-stick, skillet over medium heat. Place about one third of the dumplings in the pan -- make sure they don't touch --  and cook uncovered for about 2 minutes. Turn the heat to low and add 1/3 cup of stock or water. Cover the skillet and let the dumplings steam for about 2-3 minutes. When they're done, use a spatula to carefully place them on a parchment paper lined baking sheet in the oven to keep them warm. Repeat the process with the remaining two thirds of the dumplings. Serve them with a side of dipping sauce.

Dipping Sauce
Also adapted from Smitten Kitchen

• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
• 1/2 garlic clove, minced
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• Optional: 1/4 teaspoon garlic chili sauce

Whisk all the ingredients together. How easy is that?, as the Barefoot Contessa would say. If you know you're a big dipper (I am) you can make a double batch.

Vegan Hot and Sour Soup

I've had a thing for P.F. Chang's for some time now. When I was in college it would sometimes be the highlight of a trip into Boston. Are there better places to eat in Beantown? Hell yes, but I needed my fix. So sue me. In case you're wondering what fuels my devotion, it's those lettuce wraps with special sauce; I worship at their altar. I also have an ongoing love affair with their spicy eggplant. Those two dishes are exactly what I ordered last Friday for my birthday lunch.

While I happily ate my first meal as a 25 year-old, I watched my parents eat hot and sour soup. It's a menu item I've wanted to try for a while but haven't because it's usually made with chicken stock, not only at P.F.'s but elsewhere. It also sometimes has egg, which I'm not a fan of. I really wanted to figure out what was in this soup so I practically stuck my nose in my mother's bowl as she poked around with a spoon, both of us trying to figure out its exact composition. Since we couldn't identify all of the ingredients (we were missing the lily buds and the bamboo shoots) I consulted the Google Oracle.

The recipe I thought would best serve as a base for what I wanted was Food & Wine's, which was simultaneously listed as vegetarian and containing chicken stock. Really, Food & Wine? I obviously corrected this and made a few other modifications. The soup was exactly what I needed to put in a nail in my nasty virus' coffin. I rounded out the meal with some veggie dumplings, another first. If you want to check out that recipe you'll just have to stop by tomorrow.

Vegan Hot and Sour Soup
Adapted from Food & Wine 
Makes about 5 servings

Some of the ingredients in this recipe may be new to you (raise your hand if you've ever cooked a lily bud before!) and you may think they're hard to find. Asian market to the rescue! If you can't find the lily buds, omit them. The rest of the ingredients you should be able to find at a well stocked grocery store (or two).

• 1 cup loosely packed dried lily buds 
• 1 1/2 cup dried shiitake mushrooms
• 1 tablespoon canola oil or other vegetable oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 teaspoons ginger, grated or minced
• 6 cups vegetable stock
• 1/2 cup drained canned bamboo shoots, rinsed and julienned
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar 
• 1 teaspoon garlic chili sauce or to taste
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch 
• 4 tablespoons water
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce or to taste
• 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
• 8-10 oz firm tofu, pressed and cut into 1/3 inch / 1 cm dice
• 2 tablespoons scallions, thinly sliced

1.  Place the lily buds and dried shiitake mushrooms in two separate bowls and cover them with hot water until tender. The shiitakes I used were already sliced they only sat in the water for about 2 minutes. If you're using whole mushrooms you might have to soak them for longer. The lily buds were tender after about 30 minutes. Drain both the lily buds and the mushrooms. If you used whole shiitakes with stems, remove them before giving them a rough chop.
2.  In a large pot, heat the canola oil over medium heat. Toss in the garlic and the ginger and saute until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add the vegetable tock, lily buds, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and salt. Cover the pot and bring the soup to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Pour in the vinegar and the garlic chili sauce and simmer for another 3 minutes.
3.  In a small bowl, dissolve the cornstarch in 4 tablespoons of water. Stir cornstarch mixture, soy sauce, sesame oil and tofu into the soup and cook for about 2 minutes. Taste and adjust the balance of vinegar, garlic chili and soy sauce to your liking. Serve immediately, garnished with scallions.

No-Bake Strawberry Coconut Cream Pie

It all started when I saw this strawberry tart post on a food blog from the homeland I've been following for some time, El Comidista. "I wanted a strawberry tart of my own too!", I said as I threw my hands in the air and stomped my feet, "but I want a vegan one!". Once my temper tantrum subsided, the idea of a vegan strawberry tart retreated to the back of my mind, that is, until I saw some delicious looking strawberries at the Durham Farmer's Market. Beautiful berries in hand, I came up with a way to make a crust and but I was still unsure of how I'd give the filling the right texture. That's when I remembered an intimidating ingredient I'd read about in numerous vegan cookbooks -- agar-agar.

Agar-agar is a substance extracted from algae most commonly used as vegan replacement for gelatin, which is made from collagen found inside animal bones. The main reason I hadn't used it before was that I didn't know where to purchase it for a reasonable price. Thanks to the interwebs, I found out that you can buy it quite cheaply at Asian markets. So drove over to Li Ming's Global Mart, Durham's new and amazing Asian store, and found it in powdered form for about $1.50 per 28 grams. Score. As soon as I got back from Li Ming's I used my agar-agar to make jelly, but I'll save that for another post.

Thanks to the agar-agar, the pie filling had exactly the texture I'd hoped it would. As for it's flavor, it's not intensely sweet so if that's how you prefer your desserts you'll have to add a bit more maple syrup. The crust is so tasty I could eat it on its own, and maybe I will some day, formed into bars or rolled into balls. It also holds up to slicing, although as with any pie, the crust may crumble off the first slice. While this pie may look as decadent as the tart I was inspired by, it's not. However, having a relatively healthy pie on hand isn't so bad. I used it as an excuse to eat a slice for my birthday breakfast. Why? Because I'll only turn a quarter of a century once.

No-Bake Strawberry Coconut Cream Pie
Inspired by El Comidista's Tarta Sin Horno de Fresas, Crema, y Queso (No Oven Strawberry, Cream and Cheese Tart)  
Makes 1 pie

For the crust

• 1 1/2  cups almonds or other nut of choice
• 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 4 large pitted dates
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1/2 cup dried unsweetened coconut
• 3/4 teaspoon lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup

For the filling

• About 15 medium strawberries, or as many as you need to top the pie, stems removed and halved lengthwise
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1/4 cup plus 2 teaspoons maple syrup or to taste
• 1 lb 4 oz / 567 g silken tofu
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1 1/2 cups unsweetened plain almond milk
• 2 1/2 teaspoons agar-agar powder or 2 1/2 tablespoons of agar-agar flakes
• Optional: 1-2 tablespoons unsweetened shredded coconut for garnish

1.  Toss the almonds and the shredded coconut in the food processor and whiz until the almonds have been reduced to very small pieces. Add the rest of the crust ingredients and process until a uniform mixture has formed. Transfer into a 9 inch pie pan and press into a uniform layer along the bottom and sides of the dish using damp hands. Let the crust chill in the fridge until the filling is ready for it.
2.   Combine the strawberries, lemon juice and 2 teaspoons maple syrup in a bowl, stirring to make sure the strawberries are evenly coated. Set aside.
3.  After rinsing out your food processor, toss in the tofu, lemon zest, vanilla, salt, 1/4 cup maple syrup and coconut oil and process until creamy. Bring the almond milk to a boil in a medium saucepan. Reduce the heat to a simmer and mix in the agar agar. Cook whisking continuously for 3 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat, add in the tofu mixture and continue to whisk for another 3 minutes. Pour the mixture into the crust.
4.  Drain the strawberries and arrange artfully (or not) them on the top of the pie. Optionally, sprinkle the top with some shredded coconut. Cover the pie and place it in the fridge for at least 1 hour before enjoying it.

Caramelized Onion Tofu Frittata with Gazpacho

During the summer, it seems like my mother always has a large jug of gazpacho in the fridge. Having a cold soup on hand at all times seems reasonable, seeing as is usually upwards of 90 F / 32 C most summer days in Madrid. My mother is not the only person I know with a deep, undying love for gazpacho though. My friend Julian started suffering gazpacho withdrawals a few months into his stay in the US. With a crazy look in his eyes, he would say to me "Mi reino por un gazpacho" ("I'd give my kingdom for some gazpacho"). During his time of need, we went to a Latin American festival in Worcester where we met a fellow Spaniard. Not knowing of Julian's craving, the guy said to him "Have you seen the stand over there where they're selling gazpacho?". When the guy confessed he was kidding, Julian looked like a kid who'd just been told Santa doesn't exist. Fortunately for him, my parents visited town a couple weeks later and my mother made Julian some of her delicious gazpacho, and let him keep his kingdom.

As delicious as gazpacho is, it's usually not filling enough to be a meal unto itself.  In order to add some heft and protein to our dinner, I decided to pair it with a veggie-loaded frittata. Traditional frittata is a thick egg omelette, made with cheese, veggies and, in some cases, meat. In this version, the egg is replaced with tofu, the nutritional yeast provides a cheesy undertone, and the caramelized onions, sun dried tomatoes and arugula provide sweetness, tang and peppery flavor. The result is lighter and much healthier than the egg-centric version. So go ahead and make your own frittata, and serve it with some gazpacho to bring a taste of summer to your March.

Gazpacho
Makes about 5 1/2 cups (about 3 servings in our house)

• 2 lb 4 oz / 1 kg / about 8 medium ripe red tomatoes
• 5 1/2 oz / 150 g / about 1/2 medium cucumber peeled 
• 1/2 large green bell pepper
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 generous tablespoons olive oil
• 2 liberal tablespoons vinegar

Chop the tomatoes, cuke, bell pepper and garlic roughly and toss them in the blender along with the rest of the ingredients. Blend until smooth. Taste and adjust the seasonings to your liking. If you'd like to get rid of the tomato seeds and other small bits of veggies you can pass the soup through a food mill. I skipped this step since I like my gazpacho on the rustic side. Lastly, garnish with chopped tomatoes, cukes and pepper if you'd like.

Caramelized Onion Tofu Frittata
Makes about 6 servings

• 1 lb extra firm tofu, broken into pieces
• 3 medium onions, thinly sliced
• 1 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup packed arugula, roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes (I used the kind packed in oil, but you could use rehydrated dried ones instead)
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 2-3 tablespoons water

1.  In a medium to large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions, stir them to make sure they're coated in olive oil, and lower the heat to medium-low. Cook the onions until they're a beautiful caramel color, which should take 30-45 minutes, stirring occasionally. If you don't leave the onions alone to do their thing for at least 5-10 minutes at a time they won't caramelize. You've been warned. This does seem like a lot of work to go through for just some onions but your frittata won't be the same without their sweetness. Use the down time to make some gazpacho or another side dish.
2.  Preheat your oven to 350 F / 175 C. In a food processor, combine the tofu, cornstarch, salt, spices and nutritional yeast. Whiz it until it forms a uniform paste. With the processor running, add the water a little at a time through the feeding tube until the mixture is smooth and has a consistency similar to store-bought hummus (the version I make at home is a bit thicker). Transfer the mixture into a bowl and fold in the onions, arugula, and the sun dried tomatoes. Pour the contents of the bowl into an oiled 9-inch pie dish, evening out the top, and bake for 30-35 minutes or until the top has browned and the frittata is firm to the touch. Let it set out of the oven for a few minutes before cutting it. Serve it warm or at room temperature.

Vietnamese Summer Rolls

When I lived in Worcester, MA, I frequented a Vietnamese restaurant called Dalat. My absolute favorite thing on their menu were the fried tofu rolls with peanut dipping sauce. Contrary to what it might sound like, it's just the tofu that's fried; the roll itself is made with a rice wrapper. As good as these summer rolls are, it's the sauce that makes them fantastic. Many have tried to replicate Dalat's sauce, with little success. Its composition may be like Atlantis, not meant to be discovered.

The recipe below is my second attempt at recreating this condiment and, while the resulting sauce is delicious in it's own right, it lacks the magical fairy dust (or maybe the MSG or the fish sauce) in Dalat's original version. Hopefully these rolls with almond butter sauce (we rarely have peanut butter on hand) will satisfy your Dalat cravings until you can make your way back to the Woo. To those of you that can still get the real deal, I probably speak for all the Dalat lovers who have left town when I say "please eat enough for the rest of us".

Vietnamese Summer Rolls with Almond Butter Dipping Sauce
Makes about 12 rolls and about 1 1/4 cup of dipping sauce

For the rolls 

• 12 rice paper wrappers, plus some extras in case you break a few
• 2 oz thin rice vermicelli, cooked according to the package's directions.
• 1 16 oz / 455 block of tofu, cut width-wise into 8 slices and crisped up in the oven using this method
• 2 oz / 55 g shiitake mushrooms, wiped clean, stemmed and sliced into strips.
• About 24 mint leaves 
• About 24 basil leaves
• About 36 cilantro leaves

1.  Cut each of the eight slices of tofu into three strips.
2.  Soak a rice paper wrapper in water until it looses its rigidity, about 45 seconds. Place it on a smooth surface and put about 1/4 cup of cooked vermicelli in the middle of the lower third of the wrapper. Top the vermicelli with 2 tofu strips, about 1/8 cup of cabbage, 3-4 mushroom slices, 2 mint leaves, 2 basil leaves and 3 cilantro leaves. Fold the lower portion of the wrapper over the filling, then fold in the sides. Carefully pinch the filling and roll it upward, making sure the filling is tightly wrapped but being careful not to tear the wrapper. Seeing someone actually do this is helpful, so you might want to check out this video (the guy isn't super entertaining but he is instructive). Repeat the process to assemble the rest of the rolls. If you'd like to store the rolls, put them in a tupperware lined with a damp paper towel and then cover them with another damp paper towel.

For the dipping sauce

• 1/2 cup almond butter
• 1/2 cup water
• Juice of 1/2 lime
• 1 teaspoon miso
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger or 1 teaspoon chopped fresh ginger
• 1 large garlic clove
• 1-2 teaspoons Sriracha sauce, depending on your desired level of spiciness

Put all the ingredients in a a blender (my little Magic Bullet is especially useful for this) and run it until the mixture is smooth. Taste and adjust the soy sauce, spiciness and thickness to your liking.

Crispy Tofu Asian Salad

When people tell me they don't like tofu, I always say the same thing: "It probably wasn't cooked right". Tofu is like a neutral-flavored sponge so if you don't like the taste of tofu it's more than likely the marinade or sauce it was cooked in that is to blame. The texture of tofu can also make the difference between disgusting and delectable.  Most dishes tend to be best when prepared with tofu of a certain firmness: silken tofu is best for soups, frosting and baking while extra-firm or firm is holds up to grilling, scrambling and cooking in sauces for longer periods of time.

Before cooking, these last two types of tofu need to undergo some extra prep: some of the moisture needs to be pressed out so that your favorite sauce or marinade can seep in. To do this, take the tofu out of the package and wrap it in a clean dish towel or some paper towels. Set it on a plate and put another plate on top of it. You then need to add some weight to the top plate, either by using more plates, canned goods, a few textbooks or any other heavy object. If you don't enjoy piling stuff on top of your food (who doesn't?), you can buy a tofu press, which I still haven't found necessary.  For best results, press your tofu for 30 minutes to a couple hours. If you've had textural issues with tofu I promise that going through this extra step will help, perhaps even tremendously.

The tofu I put in our salads tonight started off under a stack of plates. It then spent some time in the oven until it was perfectly crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, like a much healthier version of deep fried tofu. I piled the tofu atop some spinach, tomatoes, sugar snap peas, red bell pepper, carrots and onion. I added some almonds and sesame seeds for some extra crunch, protein and calcium and drizzled the salad in an amazingly tasty miso dressing. The result was the perfect antidote to a weekend of excess.  

Crispy Baked Tofu
Adapted from Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything Vegetarian"
Makes 9 slices

• One 1 lb / 455 g block (or one package) extra firm tofu, pressed and cut widthwise into 9 slices
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and ground black pepper to taste

1. Preheat your oven to 350 F / 175 C. Brush the bottom of a baking pan with olive oil. Place tofu slices in a single layer in the pan. Brush each slice with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, flip the slices and repeat the process on the other side.
2. Bake for about 1 hour in the oven without bothering to flip it. The tofu is done when it's golden brown and crispy on the outside but soft on the inside. Blot the tofu with a paper towel to absorb any excess oil. Serve it as is, sliced into strips, in a salad or a sandwich, with a dipping sauce, or any other way you'd like.

Miso Sesame Dressing
Makes a little less than 1/2 cup 

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/8 cup apple cider vinegar (another mild flavored vinegar would also work)
• 1 teaspoon red miso (another type of miso would taste just as delicious)
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• Salt or soy sauce to taste (I didn't add any since the miso I used was salty enough)

Mix all the ingredients together (I did this right in my measuring cup). Mix with a fork or whisk until the dressing is emulsified and the miso has disolved. Taste and adjust the oil to vinegar ratio or the seasonings. Pour over your favorite salad.

Noodle, Shiitake and Miso Soup

The first time I made miso soup it was a disaster of epic proportions. My first mistake was adding too much wakame, the seaweed traditionally used in the soup. It doesn't look like much of anything when it's dry but after a good soak it increases it's volume at least six fold. In moderation it's slightly sweet and tasty but when eaten by the mouthful it tastes just like seaweed on the beach smells. I also dissolved the miso into the soup itself, or at least I thought I did. I kept tasting the soup, thinking it was bland and mixing in more miso without realizing that I was just adding to the miso deposits at the bottom of my pot. Eating miso by the spoonful is not my idea of delicious. My last blunder was using extra-firm, instead of silken, tofu. As anybody who's eaten practically raw firm tofu knows, it's not a pleasant experience. Unless you're my father, who likes to eat toast topped with raw tofu drizzled in olive oil (it makes me shudder too). Thankfully, I've learned from my mistakes and the soup I bring you tonight hasn't suffered any of these wrongdoings.

This soup makes a pretty nutritionally complete light dinner or lunch. The tofu provides protein, the 'shrooms and the onions help you get your veg on, the wakame brings calcium and iodine to the table and the miso delivers some healthy bacteria. All of these ingredient can be found for very reasonable prices at your local Asian market. There are two within driving distance of my apartment and only relatively recently did I get up the nerve to go. Like some other people I know, I was overwhelmed by all the exotic offerings at first but, with a little guidance from some friends (thanks Alicia and Rayn!), I got over my paralyzing fear. I now strut into markets of any ethnicity with my head held high, and leave with a fuller wallet than if I'd bought the same ingredients at Whole Foods.

Noodle, Shiitake and Miso Soup 
Inspired by Udon with Shiitake Mushrooms and Kale in Miso Broth from Veganomicon by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terri Hope Romero
Makes about 6 servings

• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 3 cups dried or fresh shiitake mushrooms
• 1/4 cup dried wakame
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons grated ginger
• 4 oz / 115 g rice noodles
• 8 oz / 115 g silken tofu (I used lite)
• 3 1/3 tablespoons red miso (any other miso will do just fine)
• 5 cups vegetable broth or soaking liquid from mushrooms and/or wakame
• 2 teaspoons of soy sauce or more to taste.
• 1 teaspoon canola oil
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

1.  While you prep your ingredients, cook the rice noodles in a large of boiling water for about 3 minutes less than the package suggests. They will cook more once in the soup.
2.  While the noodles are cooking, cover your mushrooms (if using dry ones) in water and soak them until they're soft. Since my dried shiitakes were already sliced I only soaked them for about 2 minutes. In a separate bowl, soak the wakame in at least 4 cups of water until it's soft, about 4 minutes. Drain both the mushrooms and the wakame, reserving the soaking liquid for the if you're not using veggie broth. Set the wakame aside. If you're mushrooms aren't already sliced, slice them and set them aside.
3.  Once the noodles are cooked, drain them and rinse them in cold water.
4.  Wipe the pot you used to cook the noodles dry. Heat the oils in it over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until they start to soften, around 3 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for another 2-3 minutes or until fragrant. Squeeze some of the liquid out of the mushrooms and add them to the pot. Cook them until they're warmed through and slightly soft, about 3-5 minutes.
5.  Add the broth or the reserved soaking liquid, bring the soup to a boil and then reduce it to a simmer. Put about 1 cup of the hot broth in a bowl or cup and dissolve the miso in it. Pour the liquid back into the pot with the soy sauce.
6.  Add the tofu, wakame, and noodles. Stir to distribute all the ingredients evenly and simmer for another 2 minutes. Taste, adjust seasonings and serve.