Muesli!

This recipe makes an ENORMOUS batch of - for serious - the best muesli/granola you've ever had. AND it's a gazillion times cheaper than store-bought granola (yes, a gazillion - I did the math). The basis of this recipe was swiped from 101cookbooks.com, where it's suggested that you stir in sliced dried fruit at the end. However, Lupe and I decided to eat it without the fruit; instead, we sprinkled it on top of some greek yogurt and a spoonful of cherry preserves. Heaven in a bowl.

Ingredients:
6 cups rolled oats
1 cup dried shredded coconut
1 cup sunflower seeds
2 tbs sesame seeds
1 cup slivered almonds
3/4 cup honey
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Combine the first five ingredients in a large bowl. Heat the honey and vegetable oil over low heat in a small saucepan. When it's all warm and liquid-ey, pour it over the dry ingredients and mix well. (It works best if you add a little at a time, stirring in between additions).

Spread the mixture out in two baking pans (the whole process is MUCH easier if you use pans with rims!). Bake for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then, try not to eat it all at once.

Spinach and soba noodles with lemon-ginger dressing

Tangy and ginger-y and oh so yummy. This is adapted from Steamy Kitchen (steamykitchen.com), which was discovered by the lovely Lupe and is now one of my new favorite sources of inspiration!

For the dressing:
Grated zest of 1 lemon
1 inch section of ginger, peeled and grated
1 tablespoon honey
3/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/3 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons grapeseed oil (or olive oil)
1 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

12 ounces dried soba noodles
1 bunch spinach
1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds

Whisk all of the dressing ingredients together in a small bowl.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the soba noodles until just tender. Toss in the spinach for the last 10 seconds or so, just until it wilts.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the soba and spinach with the dressing and the sesame seeds. Toss until well combined.

Orange Pan-glazed tempeh

I stumbled across this on the absolutely lovely www.101cookbooks.com (whose author took it from chef Jude Blereau and her book "Coming Home to Eat: Wholefood for the Family"). With a few changes here and there, it's officially become my new favorite tempeh recipe. Yum.

1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (3-4 large juicy oranges)
2-3 tablespoons freshly grated ginger (or ginger pressed in a garlic press)
1 1/2 tablespoons tamari (or soy sauce)
2 tablespoons mirin
2 teaspoons honey
1 teaspoon ground coriander
2 small garlic cloves, crushed
roughly 10 ounces of tempeh
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 lime
a handful of cilantro (coriander) leaves

Put the orange juice in a small bowl. Squeeze the grated ginger over the bowl to extract the juices, then add the ginger pieces as well.. Add the tamari, mirin, and maple syrup, ground coriander, and garlic. Mix together and set aside.

Cut the tempeh into thin-ish, bite-sized pieces.

Put the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot but not smoking, add the tempeh and fry for 5 minutes, or until golden underneath. Turn and cook the other side for another 5 minutes, or until golden. Pour the orange juice mixture into the pan and simmer for 10 minutes, or until the sauce has reduced to a lovely thick glaze. Turn the tempeh once more during this time and spoon the sauce over it from time to time.

Serve the tempeh drizzled with any remaining sauce and a squeeze of lime, with the cilantro scattered on top.

Carob Tofu Cream Pie

Posted for Eric so that he might impress a girl with his "tofu robotics"...(!)

2 lb soft or medium tofu
1/2 C safflower oil
1/3 C honey
2/3 C roasted carob powder OR cocoa powder
2 tsp corn starch
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp instant coffee
2/3 C hot water

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. In a large mixing bowl mash tofu and mix with oil, honey, carob or cocoa, corn starch, salt, cinnamon, and vanilla. Dissolve coffee in hot water and mix with tofu mixture. Blend in blender until smooth (you might have to do this in two batches). Pour into unbaked 9" pie crust and bake for 35 minutes or until crust is done and filling has jelled.

NOTE - This would be totally delicious with any of these add ins: a couple TBSP peanut butter, a couple drops peppermint extract, a shot of frangelico or amaretto, etc...or just leave it as it and top with fresh whipped cream and raspberries! Yum!

Chocolate Parathas

Um, yes.

My friend Anshuman invented these last weekend, and they were beyond fan-tabulous served with channa dal (yellow lentils simmered with onions, tomatoes, mushrooms, and meat masala). Sound like the strangest combination, I know, but he was convinced that the sweetness and spiciness would be brilliant together, and it was. My friend Martha and I agreed that this kind of crazy combination can only work in India.

Ingredients:
Whole wheat flour
cinnamon
Mashed potatoes (no spices added)
Chocolate (he used Cadbury milk chocolate, but I bet it would also be yummy with dark)

For the dough:
Place a cup or two of whole wheat flour in a bowl along with a healthy dash of cinnamon. Add water in small amounts, kneading with hands, until dough is a soft and manageable ball – about 10-15 minutes. It should smell deliciously cinnamon-y. Let it rest for about an hour.

For the filling:

Melt the chocolate, and mix with the mashed potatoes. Proportions are up to you. The ones he made weren’t very sweet; the potatoes turned a dark chocolate-y brown, but the taste carried more of a hint of sweetness than an overwhelming rush of chocolate.

From here, you can basically follow the directions for cooking Aloo Parathas (a few recipes down), with the following changes:

When you fill the parathas, add about a teaspoon of honey before closing up the little dough balls and rolling them out.

When frying them, brush the tops with butter (he used ghee, but I think butter should be fine), and dab tiny pats of butter around the pan so they melt and run into the edges of the paratha.


Martha and I agreed that you could also up the chocolate level and top them with ice cream and strawberries to make an amazing dessert. Also, she gets MAJOR points for making a salad, with LETTUCE, that we ate with this meal without getting sick! A-mazingness!

Cabbage, Carrot, Broccoli Slaw

Easy peasy...

1/2 small head purple cabbage, shredded
3 carrots, grated
2-3 broccoli stalks, grated
1 small carton grape tomatoes, halved
3 scallions, whites and greens sliced

Dressing:
1/4 C olive oil
2-3 TBSP sesame oil
1/4 C rice vinegar
2 TBSP red wine vinegar
3 TBSP honey
2 TBSP soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
fresh black pepper

Mix all vegetables together in a large bowl. In a glass jar combine all ingredients for dressing and shake vigorously. Taste and adjust seasonings or oil/vinegar proportions as necessary. Pour dressing over salad and toss well. Serve with some crusty bread for absorbing extra dressing! Mmmmm...

Black Bean Sauce (for Stir-Fry)

This sauce adds a twist to the standard stir-fry, and it's good excuse for an excursion to Chinatown!

For stir-fry:
Whatever veggies you like - I used broccoli, eggplant, and zucchini
1 carton of extra-firm tofu

Drain tofu well (pat it dry!) and cut into bite-sized pieces. Fry in a little bit of canola oil till it's browned and crispy on all sides. Cut up veggies and cook however you like; you could stir-fry them as well, or steam them for a few minutes.

For the sauce:

1 1/2 cups water
4 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons sherry
1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey
2 teaspoons cider vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
4 garlic cloves, minced
1-inch chunk of fresh ginger, minced
2 tablespoons Chinese fermented black beans (I could only find black bean paste, so I used that instead)
1 tbs vegetable oil

Stir together the water, soy sauce, Sherry, maple syrup, vinegar, and the cornstarch until the cornstarch is evenly suspended.

Heat a tablespoon of veggie oil in a medium-sized pan or pot and stir-fry the ginger and garlic until fragrant, less than a minute. Stir the cornstarch mixture and add it to the pan. Whisk the sauce occasionally while bringing it to a boil and simmer 1 minute, until it thickens. Dump in the veggies and tofu and heat for another minute or so.

Serve over brown rice.

Kung Pao Tempeh

My new favorite tempeh recipe, courtesy of Amanda and "The Whole Soy Cookbook." Peanut-ey and rich, but not overwhelming. It comes together really quickly, despite the long ingredient list.

1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/2 cup dry sherry
1 1/3 cups vegetable stock
2 tablespoons honey
1 pound tempeh
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
3 tablespoons roasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon cayenne (or to taste)
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 2-inch piece fresh ginger, minced
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup soy milk
vegetable of choice; swiss chard was super-yummy, but broccoli or asparagus would probably be great too

1. Whisk together the soy sauce, vinegar, 1/4 cup sherry, stock, honey, and set aside.
2. Cut tempeh into small squares and, in a steamer basket set over boiling water, steam for 5 minutes.
3 In a medium mixing bowl, combine 1/4 cup sherry, cornstarch, salt, pepper, and sesame oil. Add the tempeh and let marinate while sauteing the remaining ingredients.
4. Heat the vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat; add garlic and ginger and cook for about 30 seconds.
5. Stir in the peanut butter, soy milk and soy sauce mixture. Add the tempeh along with its marindae and simmer over very low heat for 10 minutes. Add the veggie at some point, depending on how crisp you'd like them to be.

Service over brown rice.

Black Bean, Avocado, Corn Salad

Spinach or mixed greens, washed thoroughly
1 medium sweet potato, thinly sliced
1 TBSP brown sugar
1 can black beans
2 ears corn, boiled and cut off the cob
1 avocado, peeled and chopped
2 scallions, white and green parts sliced thinly
1/2 mango, peeled and chopped
1/2 C cheddar cheese, grated (optional)
handful of fresh parsley and/or cilantro, chopped

Dressing:
juice from 1 lime
1/4 C olive oil
2 TBSP cidar vinegar
1 TBSP honey
salt and pepper to taste

Arrange sweet potatoes in a small baking dish and sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes until tender.

Meanwhile, layer all remaining salad ingredients on top of mixed greens in a large bowl. In a small jar with a lid, add all dressing ingredients, cap, and shake thoroughly. Dress the salad, toss, and serve with tortilla chips or crusty bread.

Dilly Lemon Yogurt Dressing

A nice alternative to your standard vinagrette - also excellent if you're serving anything spicy!

2/3 C plain yogurt
2-3 TBSP honey
1 TBSP tahini
2-3 TBSP olive oil
1 TBSP rice vinegar
juice from 1/2 lemon
1-2 tsp fresh dill, minced
1 TBSP fresh parsley, minced
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together in a jar, cap tightly and shake until thoroughly combined. Enjoy over a big green salad! (Would also be excellent over cabbage or carrot slaw!)

Scrumptious and healthy (sort of) almond cookies

This makes a pretty small batch, but almond flour is expensive.

Ingredients
2 cups almond flour
1/6 cup butter
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup agave syrup (you could use honey or golden syrup instead)
1 egg
1/4 cup coconut flakes
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 tablespoon almond butter (or you could try peanut butter)
1/4 cup flax seeds (you could leave this out, but it gives it extra protein and a little texture)

xtras
raspberry jam and chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F.
Mix flour and butter (i used my hands to get it smooth). Add in everything else.
Use a teaspoon to make 1inch balls and lay them on a cookie sheet. Start them baking for 3-5 minutes, then take them out and either flatten them with a fork or i put a little dent in some and filled it with raspberry jam/a chocolate chip. let them bake for another 8-10 mins...Until just a little brown on the outside.
Let cool. Devour.