Sorry, followers, for the cryptic headline that I posted a few days ago, and NO recipe! I do not know what happened to my tumblr post, but it disappeared!  

Here is the recipe, and I hope you like it…  

An easy Vegan Chai Pie inspired by Tanya Petrovna, chef extraordinaire of Native Foods.

Vegan Chai Pie

3 graham crackers

1 15 oz can pumpkin 

1 package Mori-Nu firm tofu

1/2 cup maple syrup

1 Tbl vegetable oil

3 Tbl flour

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp cardamom

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp grated ginger

Preheat oven to 350.

Spray a pie pan with oil (I like to use coconut oil). Grind the graham crackers in a blender and sprinkle to cover the bottom of the pie pan.

Blend everything from the pumpkin to the ginger in your blender until smooth.  Pour into your pie pan.

Bake for 45 minutes or until set.  Cool, then refrigerate for at least 4 hours.  I actually prefer to eat it the next day!

Serve with berries and some vegan or dairy whipped cream (as pictured), or topped with candied ginger and sliced banana.

Serves 8

1 tsp vanilla

OK, so I love a parfait.  Enough to have parfait glasses.  But you can make this recipe using small bowls, although you will miss the chance to see the pretty layers.  But I digress!

An easy, fairly low sugar, no cook, vegan pudding.  What can be better for a light summer dessert?

Vegan Mocha Pudding Parfait

1 1/2 graham crackers

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 block firm tofu 

1 shot of espresso, or 1 Tbl instant coffee dissolved in 1 Tbl hot water

3 Tbl coconut or brown sugar

2 Tbl cocoa powder

3 Tbl chocolate chips

Blend graham crackers and cinnamon until finely ground and set aside.

Add tofu, espresso, sugar and coca powder to blender and blend until smooth.

Microwave (or use a double boiler) chocolate chips for 1 minute and add to blender. Blend again until smooth.

Take 3 or 4 parfait glasses or small bowls and sprinkle the bottom with cracker crumbs, then add a layer of pudding, a layer of crumbs, and layer of pudding and top with crumbs.

Refrigerate for at least four hours!

Serves 3-4

Fresh corn is in season!  Look for ears that have kernels to the bottom (if they don’t it was picked too early) and with corn silk that is not brown or black.

I love simple, boiled corn.  I just drop it into boiling water and boil for 3 minutes.  No need to go longer.  I also love to sauté corn, which requires the kernels to be cut off before cooking, which means that kernels are going to go off of my cutting board and all over the counter.  But it’s OK!  It’s worth the mess.

Chili powder is great with corn, and this easy recipe marries the corn with tofu and veggies. I like to finish my tofu with a drizzle of chili sesame oil.  If you don’t have any use regular sesame oil, but this chili oil gives everything color and a kick!

A light meal, and it couldn’t be any more summery!

Chili Corn with Sauteéd Tofu

Corn:

2 ears of fresh corn, kernels removed

1/2 tsp chili powder

salt, pepper to taste

Tofu:

1 block of firm or extra firm tofu

2 tsp teriyaki sauce (I like Soy Vey)

1 tsp black sesame seeds

2 tsp minced ginger

1 tsp minced garlic

1/2 tsp chili sesame oil

Veggies:

5 large shiitake mushrooms (can sub any mushrooms you like)

1/2 yellow or sweet onion

1/2 red pepper

2 cups fresh veggies of your choice (I used broccoli, red cabbage and spinach)

olive oil

To prepare corn heat up a little olive oil and sauté for just a couple of minutes, until your desired crunchiness.  Sprinkle with chili powder, salt and pepper to taste, then set aside.

To prepare tofu heat a little oil in a sauté pan, dice tofu and add to hot oil.  Cook for 10 minutes or so, stirring often.  Add teriyaki sauce, sesame seeds and ginger, and cook for another 10 minutes.  Add garlic and cook unitl golden but NOT brown!  Turn your heat to simmer and drizzle with oil.

Meanwhile get your veggies going.  Chop up your onion and mushrooms, then heat a little oil and cook until the onion is golden.  Add the rest of your veggies and cook until desired doneness. 

I like to plate this dish in rows; a row of corn, then tofu, then veggies.

Serves 2-3

So, this is something I created because I am tired of breakfast foods. Every day I eat eggs with toast and salad, a smoothie, oatmeal, or Mama Bear toast with pecan butter and jam.

HOW MANY DAYS CAN A GIRL EAT THE SAME THING???

Apparently many, but today was the end of that!

This is a fun breakfast because it is sweet, but it is also healthy and will give you protien to fuel the rest of your day.

You could also eat this as a dessert or a snack, that is the beauty of this recipe!

Protein Pie

1 block of soft tofu

1 c blueberries

1 tbsp vanilla powder

1 tsp orange zest

2 tsp orange juice

2 tbsp maple syrup

1 pinch salt

2 egg whites

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a blender, blend the tofu, vanilla powder, orange zest, orange juice, maple syrup and salt.  Then add half of the blueberries and blend it again. Give it a taste, you want it to be just a BIT too sweet, because the egg whites are really going to calm down the sweetness. Once you like the taste, beat the egg whites until stiff and add the egg whites.  Blend for a minutes or two on low.

Grease a pie pan and pour in the mixture.  Then put the rest of the blueberries on top with a bit more fresh orange zest.

Bake for 35 minutes, or until lightly browned on the top, and enjoy it with some fresh walnuts!

Mmmmmmm! Pie-like-item for breakfast!

Serves 3

I was having dinner at a restaurant last night with some friends, and they were sharing a yummy looking slice of cheesecake for dessert. Now, I don’t do well with dairy, and I tried to convince myself that I just didn’t want it, but of course I kind of did…

So, with cheesecake on my mind this morning, I set about creating a lemony, vegan version of the creamy, tangy cheesecake from the night before.  I think you’ll agree that it’s a great, guilt-free dessert, and so easy to make!

Lemony “Cheese” Cake

9 graham crackers 

1 1/2 Tbl vegan butter

1 package Mori-Nu firm tofu

1/3 tub of tofu cream cheese

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla

juice from 1 lemon

zest from 1 lemon

Preheat oven to 375.

In a blender or mini-chop grind the graham crackers.  Melt the vegan butter and add. Press the crumbs into a pie pan.

Blend tofu, tofu cream cheese, maple syrup, vanilla ,lemon juice and lemon zest until creamy, and pour over crust.

Bake for 24 minutes, then cool for 10 minutes and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, but it’s best to refrigerate overnight.

Serves 4-6 (depending on if you can resist eating a large slice).  Great with a little whipped cream (tofu or dairy) and some berries!

Soooooo, craving the peanut butter parfait that I experienced at Native Foods, I came up with this recipe that is really delicious and healthy (for a dessert that is).

Try it, you’ll like (maybe love) it!

And it’s easy…..

Peanut Butter Parfait

2 packs Mori-Nu firm tofu

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/2 box of Annies chocolate graham bunnies

1/2 cup of coconut

1/3 cup chocolate chips

Grind up graham bunnies (sounds hostile) in blender and set aside.

Put both boxes of tofu, sugar and peanut butter in the blender and blend until smooth. Place a spoonful of graham crumbs in a parfait glass, sprinkle with coconut, and top with peanut butter mixture.  Top that with a sprinkling of crumbs, coconut and a few chocolate chips.  Refridgerate for 3-4 hours and serve.

Soooooo yummy!

Serves 6.

I’ve been making this for years and it’s so easy!  This recipe is so versatile-I eat it for breakfast, or as a snack, or for dessert.  It is not too sweet and is packed with protein and antioxidants from the blueberries.  It isn’t really a pie, but is cooked in a pie pan and can be sliced or spooned into a bowl.

Tofu Blueberry “Pie”

2 packs firm tofu (I like Mori-Nu organic)

2 whole eggs or 4 egg whites 

1/4 to 1/3 cup organic sugar (1/3 cup if you prefer it sweeter)

1/2 tsp almond extract (you can also use vanilla extract)

1 cup frozen blueberries

pie pan

Preheat over to 350 degrees.  Lightly spray the pan with oil, and spread the frozen berries on the bottom of the pan.  I like to use coconut oil spray for any sweet dish such as this dish but any spray will work!

Blend the tofu, eggs, sugar and almond extract until smooth, and poor over frozen berries.

Bake for 40 minutes or until set in center.  Cool and refridgerate for at least 4 hours.  

Graham Cracker Chocolate Cheesecake

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (about half a box of crackers)
1 tsp cinnamon
3 Tbl coconut or canola oil
2 packs mori-nu firm tofu
2 egg whites
1 tbl arrowroot
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup cream cheese (tofu or dairy)
1/3 cup organic sugar 
2/3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup cocoa
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grind graham crackers until you have 1 1/2 cups of crumbs (you can buy some whole grain, organic graham crackers as I did for this recipe).  Add cinnamon and oil and press into pie dish.  Bake for 10 minutes and set aside.

Put tofu, egg whites, arrowroot, baking powder, salt, cream cheese and sugar into a blender or food processor and blend until creamy.  Divide chocolate chips into 1/3 cup and 1/3 cup.  Take 1/3 cup and melt in microwave or double boiler.  Note-if you melt chips in microwave do not overheat-just heat until some are melted and some still hold their shape and stir.  Then add melted chocolate to tofu mixture and blend.  Add cocoa and vanilla and blend again.  Then add the remaining 1/3 cup of chocolate chips and blend just until they break up a little.  Pour into pie dish.

Bake for about 45 minutes-the cheesecake should be firm around the edges and just set in the middle.  Cool for 30 minutes and then refrigerate until set, at least 3-4 hours.

Please note that this is not a very sweet cheesecake, which I prefer.  If you like really sweet desserts use 1/2 cup to 2/3 cup sugar instead of 1/3 cup.

Serves 6