Tofu 'n Kale w/ Shiitake Miso Gravy

Ever since I posted about it, I've been thinking about making the Wheat-Free Shiitake Miso Gravy again. In celebration of my own personal indepence from wheat laden gravy, I decided today was a good day to whip some more up! I employed the Grit's tofu preparation (press and cube tofu, brown in oiled skillet, sprinkle with soy sauce, wheat-free even!, brown some more, remove. clean and re-oil skillet, up the heat, put tofu back in, sprinkle with more soy sauce, cook a few min, add nutritional yeast and shake while browning for a few seconds before serving).

This was served over a bed of brown rice and perfectly boiled kale, all smothered in my guilt and allergen-free gravy.
SUPER. YUM.

honestly, i've even had a heckuva time picking just one photo. every one is just a reminder of just how delicious and nutritious this meal is!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies, Oh My!

During a recent visit from my friend Marlo (of Oh My Goddess Tempeh acclaim ;) I had the undeniable urge (I mean, who really can deny the urge to make cookies!!!) to greet her with decadent, but fairly healthy, vegan cookies. I'd already wowed everyone I know with Dreena's Homestyle Choc Chip Cookies before so I hunted the internet for something new. I wanted oatmeal with chocolate chips and that's exactly what I got with this recipe (makes about 2 dozen):

1/3	cup smooth cashew butter or almond butter or peanut butter
2	tablespoons canola oil
1	cup Florida Crystals
1/3	cup soy milk
1	teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1	cup whole wheat flour
1/2	tsp baking powder
1/2	tsp salt
1	cup rolled oats
1/2	cup non-dairy chocolate chips
1/2	cup chopped macadamia nuts or walnuts

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Oil or line a large baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.

Whisk together first five ingredients until very smooth. Add remaining ingredients, and stir to combine (be sure to mix in thoroughly the baking soda and salt--you may want to stir these into the flour first).

Drop batter by large spoonfuls onto prepared baking sheet. Bake for about 12-14 minutes, or until tops just begin to crack. Do not expect them to get very brown. Remove sheet from oven, and wait 10 minutes before transferring cookies to a plate or wire rack.

(I used almond butter an walnuts and they were absolutely PERFECT! crunchy on the outside, chewy and delicious in the inside, full of oats and nuts and used only 2 T of oil). I'm thinking that the sugar could also be subbed with the appropriate amount of maple syrup to cut back a bit but don't really have enough baking experience to advise on just how that would work.

and check out that gorgeous plate they're resting on.....thank you, Marlo for a beautiful birthday gift I just couldn't wait to use!!!

Wheat-Free Miso Shiitake Gravy and a Decadent Dessert Recipe

**Oops! I had forgotten a couple key ingredients in the gravy recipe, but in making it just now I added what was missing. Hope you like it!

I didn't take a picture of it, sadly, but this gravy is a recipe I just couldn't NOT share...so enjoy a pic of our beloved eldest feline, Table....his life is pretty much gravy, hehe...Last night, we grandkids decided to make dinner for my husband's grandmother and her sister. My sister-in-law armed herself with my millet loaf and mashed cauliflower and potatoes recipes and enlisted me in bringing the gravy and dessert. I was so excited that we were doing a fully vegan meal. There would also be some steamed broccoli but no meat, dairy, or eggs were to be included (not a typical family dinner, but grandma is uber accepting and loves trying out all things vegan. she totally rocks).

The real trick is that my sister (we usually skip the 'in-law' title) has horrible wheat allergies. It was only after making pot of the Nutritional Yeast Cookbook's Herbed Brown Gravy that I realized my tamari was not wheat free. Rats! What to do?

I was kind of at a loss as to how I would come up with something to not only suit her but wow her with flavor...no flour, and no soy or tamari sauce. Hmmmmmm. Then I just got to work and created a gravy, I'm proud to say, that not only was suitable for everyone, but better than any recipe driven gravy I'd concocted to date!

I didn't measure anything so measurements are approximate, but the great thing about making gravy is that it's forgiving and easy to tinker with.

3-4 T chickpea miso
1 - 1 1/2 c. plain soy milk
1 heaping T dried shiitake powder (i ground a bunch up in the coffee grinder)
Nutritional Yeast to taste
1 tsp Gravy Master (it's vegan!)
pinch of garlic powder
pinch of onion powder
dash vegan worscteshire
1 tsp cornstarch
1 T cold water

Dissolve cornstarch in water and set aside.
Whisk miso with soy milk until dissolved. Add remaining ingredients (cornstarch mixture last) and, stirring constantly, bring to boil. Boil about 2-3 min while whisking, remove from heat and enjoy! So simple and so tasty, but best of all, vegan AND wheat-free!

Now on to dessert, another non-recipe driven concoction with award-winning results. Chocolate Peanut Butter Mousse in Chocolate Cups with Raspberry Sauce.

this one was inspired by the amazing chocolate peanut butter pie my friend Marlo brought to my belated birthday celebration(told you I'd celebrate my birthday as much as humanly possible and then some! ;) It was rich and wonderful and full of perfect creamy decadent flavor. She assured me that I wouldn't need a recipe to duplicate it (hers consisted of silken tofu, peanut butter, cocoa powder, sugar, and some cinnamon) so when it was time to come up with something for grandma's dinner, wing it I did with amazing results...My version is darker, firmer, and richer than the original, making it an ideal mousse but still a superb pie filling if that's your fancy. I was thinking 'wheat-free' for my sis so i first melted some vegan chocolate and dropped it into paper cupcake liners, pulling it up the sides and quickly refrigerating to harden.

Then the mousse was made (shock of all shocks, i didn't measure, just dumped into a bowl the following:)

1 box silken firm tofu (the kind in the asceptic box)
3 T organic creamy peanut butter
12 oz. melted semi-sweet vegan bakers chocolate
1/2-1 tsp. cinnamon

Blend until veeeery creamy and smooth. Upon tasting at this point my husband responded to my asking what it needed, "sugar?". first I thought he had totally lost it but i think he was answering in response to the mild bitterness that semi-sweet chocolate has. I love it but knew he'd know what grandma would prefer so I added a couple T of Florida Crytals and blended some more. He claims that did the trick but I still suspect that may have been all part of his sugar-lovin imagination.

Carefully peel liners from now hardened chocolate cups and fill pastry or ziploc bag with mousse filling. pipe into cups and refrigerate.

for the raspberry sauce:
12 oz of frozen raspberries
push thru sieve to extract only the juice into small saucepan
add 1/4 c. Florida Crystals
heat over med-hi heat to boiling and add mixture of 1 tsp cornstarch to 1 T cold water.
simmer for a couple min and then cool.
I keep mine in an old agave nectar squeeze bottle in the 'fridge.

This made a ton of sauce and the mousse filled six regular sized cupcakes and about one more serving that we just stuck in the 'fridge for the next day.
I do believe that the next time I make these I'll opt for mini muffin size as it's truly insanely rich and not at all healthy but wow! so good!

Summer Corn Salad

All Summer, I love shredded veggie salads...whatever veg's ya got hangin out in the 'fridge and whatever dressing suits you for the day. This day I shaved some carrots with a peeler and tossed a zuke in the saladaccio (both ways, just for fun), this I added to some leftover white corn off the cob that was so sweet and just waiting for a more interesting preperation.

Because dinner that night was more involved (Seitan Marsala, anyone?) I wimped out and used Annie's Natural's Shiitake Sesame Vinaigrette. I liked this flavor a lot, all the textures and varieties of flavors combined, but am looking forward to coming up with a Shittake of my own very soon, totally inspired by how much I just loved this....

Mango(ish) Muffins

So, I knew I wanted muffins, and I've heard great things about VWaV's pumpkin muffins. I don't think I've ever bought pumpkin so I knew I had none in the pantry...what to do, what to do? Pumpkins are orange...and hey! that mango sitting on my counter was orange...ish...kinda. Either way, I decided that mango muffins sounded like fun. After slicing up my fresh mango and pulverizing it I felt that there was just not enough there (I had hoped to use about a cup of the fruit but i was lucky to have more than half that....such a little mango. sigh.) so I did the most logical thing and mashed in two extreeeeeemely ripe bananas that were either becoming ingredients today or getting tossed. I accidentally left the nutmeg out but followed the recipe pretty much. I did cut the sugar down a little, but not a whole heckuva lot. I'm thinking next time ('cause i'm convinced that mango muffins are something I need to make again) I'll shoot for two mangoes and one (if any, really) banana.The banana in these ended up being the star flavor but they're definitely light and fruity and very flavorful. I am wondering, convinced as I am that a true mango muffin needs to be made, if it's just a waste of an otherwise perfectly delectable fruit enjoyed all on it's own. Either way, should I try it again and have better success? You can bet there'll be a recipe. For now? Go make yerself some VWaV pumpkin muffins and report back. I'm dying to try those! ;)