Applesauce Cake

2 cups flour
1 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Measure dry ingredients into a mixing bowl & stir together.  Add the rest of the ingredients and
stir together until moistened. Spread in 9" square greased pan. Bake 30 minutes or until toothpick
comes out clean.
I added raisins and baked in a loaf pan. It takes about 1 hour

Cornbread Muffins

Yum! Quick, easy, tasty, savory cornbread muffins to go with chili or gallo pinto or black bean soup or on their own with just a little agave nectar on top.

Dry ingredients:
3/4 c whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 c medium ground (i.e. not coarse, not masa harina) cornmeal
1/2 c coarse ground cornmeal
1/4 c sugar
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt

Wet ingredients:
1 c soy milk
1 T apple cider vinegar
1/2 c apple sauce
1/4 c canola oil

Preheat oven to 400 F. Whisk soy milk and vinegar together, let sit for 10 minutes to make soy "buttermilk". Mix dry ingredients, add wet ingredients, stir gently to combine. Put batter into 12 muffin cups. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until golden-brown on top.

Cashew-Tofu Spread for Lasagna

I have been playing around with variations on the theme of a tofu and cashew based spread, having been inspired by various vegan ricotta and cream cheese recipes that rely on these ingredients. I have quickly come to wonder how I ever lived without a recipe like this. Adding cashews to the tofu makes it wonderfully creamy and rich without being oily, and it has a nice little tang from the garlic and lemon juice. The first version I made worked wonderfully on a pizza, and the leftovers were great on a tomato sandwich. This particular version was used in a transcendental batch of vegetable lasagna. I'll post other variants as I continue to experiment.

4 T olive oil
3 T soy milk
2 T lemon juice
2 T rice vinegar
2 t salt
3/4 c cashews
3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
1.5 lbs tofu firm tofu, crumbled
1 T nutritional yeast
1 t dried basil

Blend liquids, salt, and cashews on low speed in a food processor until they form a thick, mostly smooth, paste.
Add tofu to food processor, blend on high speed until tofu is creamy and mostly smooth (it can still be a little grainy, but you don't want any big lumps). It may be best to add the tofu 1/3 at a time if your food processor can't handle all of it at once.
Add nutritional yeast and basil, blend until totally mixed.

Tempeh Stir Fry with Gingery Black Bean Sauce

Black bean paste is a Chinese condiment made from fermented soy beans. It is salty and quite pungent. This recipe results in a somewhat mild black bean sauce, not as strong as some I've had at restaurants. I think broccoli or green beans would be an excellent addition to this stir fry if you have some on hand.

Stir fry:
Canola oil
1 T sesame oil
3 red Chinese chilies, 2 whole and 1 crushed
1 large yellow onion, sliced into thin quarter-moons
1 package tempeh (12 oz), cut into thin slices or cubes
1 carrot, thinly sliced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 stalks celery, sliced med-thick
2 T ginger, grated
4 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
2 green onions, sliced into long diagonal pieces
1 more green onion, thinly sliced, for garnish

Sauce:
1 c water
1 T cornstarch
3 T black bean paste
2 T soy sauce
1 T rice vinegar, preferably Chinese black vinegar
1 T sugar

Whisk all sauce ingredients together. Heat a little canola oil in a large skillet. Add chilies, cook over med-high heat for 1 minute. Add onions, cook until they begin to become transparent. Add sesame oil, tempeh, and carrots, stir fry until tempeh starts to brown and carrots are just starting to soften, about 5 minutes. Add bell pepper and celery, stir fry until vegetables are just barely done. Add garlic and ginger, stir fry for 2 minutes. Add sauce and green onions, cook, stirring constantly, until sauce thickens. Serve over brown rice with extra green onions as garnish.

Freedom Toast Three Ways

Here are my three favorite recipes for eggless french toast.

#1: Cashew Freedom Toast
1 c soy milk
.5 c cashew butter
.5 t cinnamon
.5 t vanilla
1.5 T sugar (optional)

#2: Banana Freedom Toast
1 c soy milk
2 med-large bananas
.5 t cinnamon
.5 t vanilla
a pinch of salt

#3: Banana-Cashew's Love Child
1 c soy milk
.25 c cashew butter
1 med-large banana
.5 t cinnamon
.5 t vanilla

6 slices bread
Margarine
Maple syrup

Blend everything but the bread until completely smooth and mixed.

Pour liquid into a pie plate or similar shallow container. Dip bread into liquid, allowing each slice of bread to soak for a minute or so.

Fry bread in a little margarine over med-low heat, flipping once, until golden on both sides.

Serve with maple syrup!

Tofu-Vegetable Pot Pie with Miso Gravy

This dish needs no introduction. Pot pie! Miso gravy! Yes!

Veggies:
1.5 c onion, chopped (about 1 med)
1.5 c potatoes, chopped (about 2 small)
1.5 c turnips, chopped (about 2 small)
1.5 c carrots, chopped (about 2 med)
1 c celery, chopped (2 stalks)
2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
3 c broth
1 c peas
1 lb tofu, cut into small cubes

Gravy:
2 T red miso
4 T nutritional yeast
2 T Braggs
2 T cornstarch
1 T dried parsley
1/4 t pepper
salt to taste

A single pastry crust

Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Fry onions in a little margarine for 5 minutes. Add potatoes, turnips, carrots, celery, and garlic. Cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Add broth, simmer until vegetables are just barely soft. Remove 1 c of the broth from the pot and whisk it together with the gravy ingredients in a separate container. Mix gravy mixture back into vegetables. Stir in tofu and peas. Bring mixture back to a boil and cook, stirring frequently, until the gravy thickens. Taste to adjust salt, and add more broth if the gravy is too thick or more cornstarch if it is too thin. Put vegetable mixture in a deep pie plate, top with crust, slice a few vents into the crust and make cute little patterns around the edge of the crust with a fork. Bake until crust is lightly browned, 30-40 minutes.

A Wild Mushroom Stroganoff

After discovering that mushroom hunting is the best way to spend a Sunday afternoon, we made our mushroom stroganoff recipe (without seitan) and topped it with our wildcrafted violet cort, fluted elfin saddle, angels wing (aka osyter mushrooms), belly button hedgehog, chanterelle, pigs ear, shrimp rusula, and winter chanterelle mushrooms. Despite what it sounds like, no animals, elves, or angels were harmed in the making of this eight-mushroom stroganoff.

Kung Pao Tofu (updated!)

Soft tofu in a spicy, sweet sauce with crunchy peanuts. This is so good it's become almost a weekly feature in our kitchen. Don't be scared by the number of chilies, the ones you leave whole add more flavor than spice, just be sure to avoid eating the whole chilies unless you're really tough! This is best served over rice with a simple side of stir fried leafy greens such as bok choy or napa cabbage.

Sauce:
4 T brown sugar
1.5 T cornstarch
5 T soy sauce
1 T rice vinegar
3 T balsamic vinegar
2 T water (or sake)

Marinade:
1.5 T soy sauce
1 T rice vinegar
2 T cornstarch
1/4 t salt

Everything else:
1 lb firm tofu, cut into small cubes
1.5 T canola oil
10 whole dried red chilies (the kind sold as Chinese or Thai chilies)
1-2 crushed dried red chilies (vary the amount to suit your desired spice level)
1 green bell pepper, roughly chopped
2 medium carrots, sliced into thin circles
6 cloves garlic, diced
2 T fresh ginger, grated
1 bunch green onions, roughly chopped
1 generous handful peanuts

Whisk together marinade ingredients and pour over tofu cubes in a small bowl. Allow to marinate while you prepare the vegetables and sauce.

Whisk all sauce ingredients together.

Heat oil, add whole and crushed chilies and cook on med-high heat, stirring frequently, until chilies are a little blackened and very fragrant.

Reduce heat to medium and add tofu. Cook, stirring frequently, for 3 minutes.

Add carrots, stir fry for 2 minutes.

Add bell pepper, garlic, and ginger, and stir fry until carrots are cooked but still crunchy, about 3 minutes.

Add green onions, cook for 1 minute more.

Add sauce, cook, stirring constantly, until sauce is thickened, about 2 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in peanuts. Served garnished with a few extra slices of green onion.

Butternut squash - red lentil dal

This is a perfect soup for cold January evenings. The butternut squash is blended to create a thick, slightly sweet broth with just a hint of curry and the red lentils give it a hearty and creamy texture. It is good over rice or served with garlic bread.

1 large (3 to 3.5 pounds) butternut squash, peeled and roughly chopped
1 large onion, roughly chopped (about 2 cups)
8 cloves garlic, diced or put through a garlic press
1 T fresh ginger, grated
4 c water
4 c broth
1 T Indian curry powder
2 c red lentils
salt to taste
cilantro or parsley to garnish (optional)

Combine butternut squash, onion, garlic, ginger, water and broth and simmer until squash is very soft. Transfer to a blender or food processor, or use an immersion blender, and puree until smooth. Return to pot, add curry powder and red lentils. Simmer until red lentils are soft, about 20 minutes. Add salt to taste and serve garnished with finely chopped cilantro or parsley.

Variation: increase curry powder to 2 T, add .5 c roughly chopped cashews during last 10 minutes of cooking, and serve with a generous garnish of finely chopped cilantro.