Rub my belly Chocolate Puddin’

by meaghan // October 10, 2007 // No Comments

Yes, even Buddha would appreciate a healthy chocolate pudding every now and again.

As I’ve said before, chocolate is my favorite feel-good super food!
If you’ve read the key lime pie post, I mentioned being fascinated with my new hip grocery item, carbonated soy-whip cream! So this is what else I did with it.
Simple, yet elegant, Rich Chocolate Pudding. Made with only a few ingredients, this dessert can be made in a jiffy. Its also a bonus that most of the ingredients are a probable staple in most veggie pioneer kitchens!

This recipe is really about getting the basics, and using your own taste buds.

Start with 1 pound of silken tofu, drain and set on paper towel for 15 min.
Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, melt 1.75 cups of your favorite vegan chocolate chips with about a 1/4 cup of soymilk (I use grain sweetened sunspire chips!)
Crumble tofu, and place in food processor. Add melted chocolate, 1 Tab. of coconut oil, and 1/2 a scraped vanilla bean.
Blend till smooth. Test for sweetness, and richness. If you feel you need a little more sweetener, add in some blue agave syrup. For a boost, you could add a teaspoon of extract such as mint, almond, or orange.
This makes about 4-5 servings. Get funky and add some whip cream, chocolate chips, sprinkled cinnamon, shaved coconut, etc. Have fun!

Some more recent fun facts about Chocolate:

I’ve recently read an article on chocolate fueling our cars….
Well sort of. But how???
Scientists extract hydrogen through gases in waste food. They then began converting formic acid to hydrogen like mad.
The discovery of a way to extract hydrogen from food waste could be a real breakthrough for both industry and the environment, because the process isn’t restricted to chocolate waste. It works equally well on many other types of food waste.
The ability to convert food waste into clean renewable energy instead of garbage has the potential to transform the food industry. Using this process, food factories could conceivably use their own waste products to power their manufacturing operations, or to fuel a fleet of hydrogen-powered vehicles.

Wouldn’t that be nice? I still have no sympathy for the Hummer drivers of the world, but this guy gets a star…….
The first H20 powered Hummer!

Key Lime Pie

by meaghan // October 5, 2007 // 1 Comment

Just when you thought you’ve had all the hip whip, tofu whips, mylk whips, and cashew creams you could handle, some amazing company has to top off the cake.
I was getting some grub at Rancho’s market in North park, and to my surprise, they had organic vegan pressurized whip cream! When I saw this, something deep inside me screamed key lime pie, cappuccino’s, chocolate chip funny face pancakes, and stove top chocolate pudding. It also reminded me of throwing my head back and filling up my entire mouth with as much of it as possible, even if that meant using the whole bottle. With that thought, I bought 2 cans of delicious-organic-vegan-pressurized whip cream:).
Meringue topping always used to gross me out when I was little. But how I loved that tart key lime custard! I had an amazing vegan version at Food Swings in Brooklyn years back. This is my take on it, with my new sweet whip companion. One of the tricks is using the most silken tofu you can find. I used the Mori-nu brand.

Graham Cracker Crust:

3 cups Graham cracker crumbs (hand crumble crackers if you must!)
2 Tab. Safflower oil
1 Tab. water, purified
Sprinkle of sea salt

***Mix graham cracker crumbs with sea salt. Then add the water and oil, and mix till firm. You may need to add a little more water if still dry. You want the mixture to just gently hold, but not be too damp. Press into pie pan evenly using spatula or spoon.

Key Lime Filling:

1 package silken tofu, mori-nu
12 oz. tofutti cream cheese
1/2 cup key lime juice
2 1/2 tea. lime rind zest
2/3 cup blue agave
1/2 pod vanilla bean
1 Tab. coconut oil

***First, in food processor, blend tofu, vegan cream cheese, and lime juice till smooth. Add the lime zest, and agave. Scrape out the vanilla bean and add, along with the coconut oil. Check for sweetness, etc. then pour into crusted pie pan. Allow to set in fridge for at least 3 hours. Get funky with some whip topping, or the filling works great as pudding with some whip cream as well:)

Lentil Seed Loaf

by meaghan // September 15, 2007 // No Comments

Yum. Yum. Yum.

Its been far too long since I’ve made any kind of loaf. But this one came out so delicious, it made up for lots of lost loaf time! To top, I made a thick nutritional yeasty gravy, with a classic side of garlicky mashed potatoes. This is definitely a filler up meal, so go easy on those potatoes, and make sure you eat all your loaf first! Lentils, as most of us know are high in iron & proteins. Lentils also contain dietary fiber, vitamin B1, and minerals. Health magazine has selected lentils as one of the five healthiest foods. Thats right, so eat up!

Lentil Seed Loaf:

4 cups water
1 bay leaf
1.5 cups lentils, red look the prettiest
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup bulghur
1/3 cup each, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, & pine nuts
2 cups yellow onion, minced
2/3 cup celery, minced
2/3 cup carrots, minced
2 Tab. oil
2 tea. each of sage & thyme
1 cup vegetable broth
1 tea. sea salt
1/2 tea. blk. pepper
1 Tab. parsley
1 Tab. tamari
2 cups oats, quick cooking

*** Preheat oven to 325 degrees. First, bring the 4 cups water, bay leaf, and 1.5 cups of lentils, to a boil. Allow to simmer till tender, about 30 min. Drain and save 1 cup of vegetable broth.
Next bring the 1/2 cup water to a boil. Stir in the bulghur, and remove from heat.
On a sheet pan, toast seeds for about 10 min. Allow to cool. In a large skillet, saute veggies until tender. Stir in parsley & tamari. Add in the toasted seeds & nuts, lentils, bulghur, oats, vegetable broth and stir well. Add more salt, etc. to taste. Place in an oiled 4×7 bread pan, and bake uncovered for 50 min. Cover with foil, and bake for another 20 min. Slice and serve!
….And don’t forget your favorite gravy.

Bye Bye Birdie Tempeh Salad

by meaghan // June 19, 2007 // No Comments

Tempeh is made by fermenting soybeans, binded together by a mold called rhizopus. I know what your thinking….a mold?!?!? Yes a mold! This mold produces a medicinal antibiotic to increase our bodies resistance to infections, and helps to eliminate toxins. The most widely used tempeh, come in flavors such as flax or grain.

This recipe was a KF favorite, now yours to share! Tempeh is best marinaded overnight. So its worth it to give your self some extra prep time. If your feeling frisky, mix in some sunflower seeds for an extra crunch!

Marinade:

1 8oz. pkg. tempeh, cut in cubes
1 Tab. garlic, minced
1 Tab. ginger, minced
2 Tab. sesame oil
3 Tab. Tamari (wheat-free)

***Toss all ingredients in large bowl and let sit overnight

After marinaded, lightly sautee the tempeh, and all those yummy juices, till lightly browned. Allow to cool.

Meanwhile, In another large bowl:

3/4 cup veganaise
1 Lr. celery stalk
2 Tab. red onion, minced
2 scallions, sliced thin
1 kosher dill pickle
2 Tab. fresh dill, minced

***When tempeh has cooled, mix into the large bowl. Test the flavor, you may want to add some sea salt & fresh ground pepper.

Raw-violi’s

by meaghan // June 16, 2007 // No Comments

This idea was inspired by Cilantro Live. Though I’m not a fan of their version, they are usually too small, and dry. But I thought the idea was way cool:)

The yummy filling consists of soaked pignoli nut pate, sandwiched between 2 vine tomatoes. I then dehydrated these for about 6 hours, flipped, and dehydrated again till they held together nicely. They were gone shortly after I took the picture! Good thing for veggie friends with big appetites!

Borscht Soup w/ Herbed Tofu Sour Cream

by meaghan // March 27, 2007 // No Comments

As we all know, Borscht comes to us from Russia and Poland. Beets are high in potassium, and those green leafy tops contain more iron than spinach itself. Beets are especially great in the summer! The acidity & sweetness of the OJ in this recipe helps to make this soup a tad sweet, and super creamy. As for the sour cream, the fresh herbs help to cut the bland taste of the tofu.

Vegan Borscht

4 cups filtered water
4 cups beets, peeled & diced
1 big tomato
2 carrots, peeled & diced
1 med red pepper, seeded & diced
1 bay leaf
1 big red onion, diced
4 green onions, or scallions
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup parsley, chopped
1/3 cup fresh squeezed OJ (save some zest for garnish!)
Sea salt & pepper to taste

*In large pot, combine water, beets, tomato, carrots, and bell pepper, and bay leaf. Bring to boil, and allow to simmer for 30 min.

Meanwhile, Heat 1 Tab. of olive oil in saute pan over medium heat. Add in onion, scallions, and garlic. Saute till onions are translucent. Gently stir in parsley once heat is turned off.

Remove bay leaf from broth mixture. Then combine sauteed vegetables with broth mixture. If using a food processor, you may need to puree in batches, but if you have a small hand held blender, use it! I haven’t tried to puree this in my blender, but if you’ve got a vitamix, it should work!

After you’ve pureed the mixture, stir in the OJ, sea salt, and pepper.

For the Tofu Sour Cream:

2 tea. agar-agar powder
4 Tab. fresh lime juice
2 Tab. fresh lemon juice
16 oz. tofu, firm
1/2 cup cold pressed olive oil
2 Tab. of each: chives, cilantro, basil
2 tea. sea salt
1/2 tea. garlic, minced
1/2 tea. blk. pepper

***In a small stainless steel bowl, dissolve agar in fresh lemon & lime juice. Blanch tofu for 5 minutes, drain and cool for 20 minutes. Blend all ingredients and till smooth. If mixture is still warm, transfer to bowl and let sit in refrigerator till chilled. Dollop Sour cream to top the Borscht, along with some orange zest and minced chives.