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.

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!

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.

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.

Mushroom Stroganoff of the Gods

This was heavenly. I am still blissed out from eating it. I had a bunch of cashew gravy leftover still, and this dinner was the obvious solution for my overabundance of gravy. I also found a bag of oyster mushrooms that Branden picked up for free at work but never told me about in the refrigerator, luckily they were still good. I think that was divine intervention. I served this with a bunch of swiss chard sauteed with garlic and olive oil as a side dish.

1 lb fettucine pasta, cooked, drained, and rinsed (but still warm)
1 large onion, sliced
.5 lbs oyster mushrooms, mostly whole, only the biggest sliced
.5 lbs cremini mushrooms, sliced thick
Salt and pepper
1 box seitan (.25 lbs), cubed
1 batch cashew gravy
Margarine
Parsley, chopped

Saute onions in margarine until translucent.
Add mushrooms to onions, season with salt and pepper, and saute until soft.
Meanwhile, fry seitan until browned.
Heat gravy, thin with extra soymilk if it looks too thick.
Place pasta on a plate, top with gravy, then mushrooms, then seitan, and garnish with parsley.

Breakfast Burritos with Pumpkin

I made these for our Sunday brunch this week. I still had cashew gravy, some baked pumpkin, and lots of salsa leftover, so I needed an excuse to use some of them, and this was a great excuse!

Whole wheat tortillas
Breakfast potatoes
Cashew gravy
Salsa
Sprouts
Scrambled tofu cooked with the optional ingredients that I added today:
.5 t garlic powder
2 t vegit (a seasoning blend, like spike)
1 t basil
1 t dill
1 T fresh parsley, chopped fine
1 c cooked pumpkin cubes
2 green onions, sliced

Put potatoes and scrambled tofu in tortillas, drizzle with cashew gravy, garnish with salsa and sprouts.

Cashew gravy

Simple, creamy, healthy gravy. Great with mashed potatoes, stuffing, or warm biscuits. All you need is a blender and a sauce pot. My favorite gravy recipe ever!

2 c water
.5 c cashews
1 T cornstarch
1.5 t onion powder
1.5 T braggs
2 T nutritional yeast

Puree cashews with 1 c water, until completely smooth (no chunks at all!).
Add remaining ingredients, puree until combined.
Pour gravy into a pot, cook over med-low heat, stirring constantly, until it comes to a boil.
Remove from heat and let sit for about five minutes before serving.