Chickpea, Sweet Potato & Millet Soup

Sometime before the dark cloud of nausea and exhaustion hit, I had made this simple, nourishing soup. This was back in early March (so long ago, I know!) when there was still that occasional chill in the air and I was craving something that would warm my insides. I had some sweet potatoes as well as carrots and red pepper on hand. Plus I had just cooked up a batch of fresh chickpeas that I wanted to incorporate into this dish, and I added the usual onions and garlic along with the not-so-usual millet to complete this dish. So simple, yet incredibly nourishing and tasty. It really is so blazingly easy to put this together and will be on the table in under 30 minutes, but before I get on to how I made it I wanted to first discuss the über-important topic of beans. When I was a poor college student I always cooked my own beans. Then, sometime several years into my post-college career, when money wasn’t so tight, I became lazy. I found myself always grabbing for cans of beans at Whole Foods where I could get a can of organic beans for $.99. I figured time was money and for a decent price I could still get good, quality, organic beans. Rewind back to college years: I had a lot of epiphanies in college as I did a lot of research about food, nutrition, and the crazy chemicals our bodies are exposed to, especially through the food and drinks we consume. It was then, roughly 14 years ago, that first learned of the horrors of BPA. If you don’t know, I’d suggest doing some research, but basically high levels of it, which most Americans have because it’s so rampant in plastics, have been linked to cancer, birth defects (particularly regarding hormone/endocrine systems, and brain and behavior problems). At the time, I only knew of how rampant it was in plastics so I traded in my plastic water bottles and tupperware containers for glass in an effort to reduce my overall BPA exposure. Fast forward to last year: To my horror, I discovered that nearly all cans of canned foods are lined with BPA, which is used to preserve the contents inside (Eden Organic is the only one I know that isn’t). In late 2011 a Harvard study found that participants who ate one serving of canned soup a day (which most said was not enough food for them) for five consecutive days had a 1,221% increase of BPA levels in their urine. Those are some scary high levels, especially when I think of how much canned food I often consume! So around the beginning of this year, I made a commitment to eliminate all BPA-lined canned foods, which was pretty much only beans, from my diet and I started buying them dried again. Through months of doing this, I played with using both the quick-soak method (where you bring them to a boil and cook for two minutes before turning off the heat and letting them sit for two hours) as well as overnight soaking (at least eight hours soaking in cold water) and wanted to share my results regarding the amount and texture these two methods produce. I started with one cup of dried beans, and as the photo indicates, after overnight soaking and quick-soaking for two hours, I ended up with over two cups of beans for each. No big difference there. For each soaking methods, once I had fully cooked them for an hour on the stove, their size still did not increase much, if at all. I was surprised that one method didn’t result in a slightly larger bean and slightly higher yield. During this experiment , I also wanted to do a cost comparison (which is at the bottom of this post) with canned beans because I was curious as to how much money I was saving by not being so lazy and making the switch. To give you a hint, the cost difference is VERY significant. While the overnight vs. quick soak method didn’t produce dramatic results in the size of chickpeas, what I did notice was tons of floating chickpea skins in the cooking liquid from the quick-soak ones by the end of cooking. Picking them out is not so much fun and definitely time consuming. Additionally, the quick soaked beans fell apart more, which may be okay for making hummus, but not for when you need the beans whole. It’s possible that you can prevent this by adding salt while they’re cooking, but I’ve always been hesitant to do that because I was trained that adding salt to beans while cooking does not allow them to absorb water leaving you with a tough, hard bean. Also, in general, there is something that I really love about the texture of the overnight soaked ones that’s not present in the quick-soaked ones so as long as I think ahead, I much prefer to soak them overnight. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, onward to how I put this simple dish together. I prepped my veggies, and made sure to have my cooked chickpeas finished. I sauteed my onions, garlic, and carrots for 5-7 minutes or until the onions became translucent. I added the sweet potato chunks and red peppers and sauteed for another minute. I added the millet, sauteed for another minute and then added the veggie broth (note, a good, high-flavor veggie broth is important otherwise you might feel like the flavors of this soup are too mild or bland.) I brought the liquid to a boil and then cooked it partially covered for 15 minutes on medium heat. I added the chickpeas about 3 minutes before the end of cooking time. After serving myself a bowl and enjoying dinner, I then place the remaining soup in my glass lunch containers to bring to work the next few days. No BPA-coated plastic here! Chickpea, Sweet Potato & Millet Soup serves 4

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 2 medium carrots, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium sweet potato, chopped
• 1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 cup millet, rinsed
• 8 cups vegetable broth
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 1/2 – 2 cups chickpeas, cooked and drained
• salt to taste
• suggested optional spices if you’re feeling it needs some oomph: dash of cayenne pepper, 1 teaspoon paprika, 2 teaspoons cumin, 1 teaspoon coriander

Saute Veggies: Heat a large saucepan over medium heat and add the tablespoon of olive oil. Once the oil is warm, add the onions, carrots, and garlic. Saute for 5-7 minutes or until the onions are soft and translucent. Add the sweet potatoes and red pepper and saute for another 2 minutes. Add the millet and saute for 1 more minute. Cook: Add the veggie broth and bay leaves and bring to a boil. Cook partially covered for 15 minutes. 3 minutes prior to the end of cooking, add the cooked chickpeas. Cost Analysis of organic BPA-free Dried vs. Canned Chickpeas 3 cups dried chickpeas = 6+ cups cooked chickpeas 3 cups dried (1.24 lbs) @ $2.00/lb = $2.48 1 can Eden organic chickpeas = $2.39 Dried = 6 cups  = $2.48 Canned = 2 cups = $2.39 That’s 3 times the cost to buy canned vs. cooking them yourself! WOWZA!! Over a life time of bean eating that’s a significant amount of savings!

Sautéed Hearts of Palm and Tomato Salad

January is the month where cookies become “so last year” and lighter fare is all the vogue. All of the New Year’s resolutioners are hitting the gym while noshing on greens and fruits as they seek to sculpt their bodies and create a better version of themselves.

While I am not one to set a New Year’s resolution (though I do look back at the past year and set some goals for myself in the coming year), I too was feeling weighed down from the unrelenting number of cookies I was *forced* to eat the several weeks prior. I had finally woken up from my holiday cookie coma and my body was suddenly craving some nutritious, fresh veggies.

However, with the coolish weather I was also craving something that warmed my belly and after scrounging around my kitchen I found a jar of hearts of palm sitting in my pantry and thought “how would these guys taste sautéed in olive oil?!” When I began salivating at the thought I was certain the result would be awesome and then wondered why preparing them this way had never occurred to me before. You see, I have eaten hearts of palm cold in a salad many times before (I had a lot of it during a vacation in Brazil) and I’ve also puréed it in a hot soup (often with asparagus). But sautéing it? Never even occurred to me.

And now that I’ve done it, I’m over the moon in love with it! I actually wake up in the morning craving it. I’m obsessed, OBSESSED with it. To that, I must offer a word of caution that you may develop a healthy obsession (pun intended) if you too decide to try it. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. 😉

So now I’m curious. What are your favorite ways to prepare hearts of palm? Is sautéing a new concept to you too? Or perhaps hearts of palm are a new food altogether?

As for how I put this delicious salad together; you first need to blend all of the dressing ingredients in a small food processor or blender until smooth.

Wash and then chop your romaine and butter lettuce into bite size pieces. Cut your hearts of palm and olives into thin slices and then halve your grape tomatoes lengthwise.

In a medium sauté pan, heat the extra virgin olive oil over medium-high heat and then add the hearts of palm slices in a single layer. Sauté until the bottom becomes brown and slightly crisp. Turn over and do the same to the other side. Also, I periodically prodded and moved each slice to make sure that it wasn’t sticking to the bottom of the pan while they were cooking.

Then cut each slice in half and set aside.

Heat the other tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat in the same sauté pan and add the olives and tomatoes cut-side down.

Cook until the tomatoes start to brown and become slightly crisp and then set them aside.

Place the lettuce in a large bowl and add several tablespoons of dressing. With your super clean hands, toss the dressing with the lettuce until each piece is evenly coated. Distribute the lettuce evenly between two large salad bowls and then top each bowl with the tomatoes, olives, and hearts of palm. Add a sprinkle of black sesame seeds on top.

Sautéed Hearts of Palm and Tomato Salad

Serves 2

Dressing

• 2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon capers
• 4 sun-dried tomatoes, packed in oil
• 6 tablespoons water
• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
• salt and pepper to taste

Salad/Veggies

• 3 cups romaine lettuce, rinsed and chopped
• 3 cups butter lettuce, rinsed and chopped
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 4-5 hearts of palm sticks, sliced
• 1/2 cup grape tomatoes, sliced in half lengthwise
• 6 pitted kalamata olives, sliced
• black sesame seeds
• freshly ground black pepper

Dressing: Place all dressing ingredients in a blender or small food processor and blend until smooth. Set aside while you prepare the veggies.

Sauté Veggies: Heat 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the hearts of palm in a single layer and sauté for several minutes until they start to brown on the bottom. Make sure to keep moving them around every so often while cooking to prevent them from sticking to the pan. When they’ve browned on the bottom, flip them over and sauté until the other side begins to crisp and is just as brown. Remove from the heat and cut the slices in half. Set aside. Heat the other tablespoon of oil in the same skillet over medium-high heat. Then place the sliced tomatoes face down and add the olive slices. Sauté until the underside of the tomatoes begin to brown. Turn off the heat and set aside.

Assemble: Place the romaine and butter lettuce in a large bowl. Add several tablespoons of the reserved dressing and toss to coat all leaves evenly.  Distribute the lettuce into two separate bowls. Top each with the sautéed tomatoes, olives, and hearts of palm. Lastly, sprinkle with black sesame seeds and freshly ground black pepper.

Vegan Cream-Filled Ginger Molasses Cookies

It’s DECEMBER!!! Bring on the Holidays! And the cookies. Piles and piles of cookies. At least that’s what happens in my house during the holidays.

I become a baking fiend, and ultimately, providing a constant source of tummy ache for Alex. So this year I promised that I’d share my baking heroics with co-workers and friends so that we weren’t solely burdened with eating every last one of them — oh, the chore! 

When it comes to baked goods, nothing says the holidays to me like ginger molasses cookies — that spicy aroma filling your house as they bake and then that rich molasses flavor bursting in your mouth with every bite.

These tasty cookies are an annual tradition for me, however, this year I decided to kick them up a notch by adding a buttercream filling and making them sandwich cookies. Don’t get me wrong. They’re perfectly good in their own right so if you want to skip the creamy filling feel free to stop short of that step and eat them straight-up. You’ll enjoy them just as much.

As I mentioned above, to save me and Alex from a perma-tummyache, I will be spreading the cookie love among co-workers and friends this month. To that, I thought it would be interesting to get anonymous feedback about each cookie rating them on a scale from 1-5 (5 being the best) via a survey. And for the Cream-Filled Ginger Molasses cookies, the survey says:

A solid 5 

There was only one vote less than 5 (which was a 4) so it’s safe to declare these a winning cookie — a go-to cookie for all types of people (the young, the middle-aged, the old, etc.) with varying palettes. A solid choice for a potluck or any kind of event with lots of people.

You first want to cream your Earth Balance and granulated sugar in a large bowl.

Add your egg replacer egg…

And molasses and stir to combine.

Add the sifted flour, baking soda, and spices and then stir them all together until well-combined.

With a cookie scoop measure the dough into evenly sized balls and roll them between your hands. Place them on a cookie sheet and press each ball until nearly flat.

Bake them in a preheated 350 degree oven for 8-10 minutes being careful not to over-bake them so that they maintain a soft, chewy texture. Let them cool on a wire rack completely before adding the filling.

For the cream filling, place the shortening and Earth Balance in the bowl of your stand mixer and cream for several minutes until smooth.

Slowly add the powdered sugar, non-dairy milk, and vanilla and beat on medium speed for several more minutes until light and fluffy.

Turn half of the cookies upside down and place large dollops of cream filling evenly on top of each cookie.

Place another cookie on top of each and gently press down.

Vegan Cream-Filled Ginger Molasses Cookies

Cookies

• 3/4 cup Earth Balance, softened to room temperature
• 1 cup white granulated sugar
• 1 egg replacer egg
• 1/4 cup black strap molasses
• 2 1/4 cups white baking flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

Cream Filling

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) Earth Balance (or other non-dairy, non-hydrogenated margarine)
• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
• 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted if clumpy
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup non-dairy milk (I used almond)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Wet Ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, cream together the Earth Balance and granulated sugar until well-combined. Add the egg replacer egg and molasses and stir to combine.

Dry Ingredients: Over the same mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves into the wet ingredients. Stir to combine.

Form Cookies: With a cookie scoop (or spoon) portion out the dough and roll each cookie in your hands so they’re a nice even ball. Place them on a parchment-paper-lined cookie sheet 2 inches apart and flatten significantly.

Bake: Place the cookie sheet in the oven and bake for 8-10 minutes. Do not over-bake otherwise the cookies could become hard.

Cream Filling

Combine: With a stand mixer on medium speed cream the Earth Balance and shortening until well-combined. Turn the mixer down to low speed and gradually add in the powdered sugar and continue beating for several minutes. Add the vanilla and non-dairy milk and beat until fluffy—about another 2 minutes.

Assemble: Distribute a large dollop of cream on the bottoms of half of the cookies. Place the remaining cookies on top and gently press down.

Football Cut-Out Sugar Cookies

It’s been an exciting, touchdown-filled month for the sales team at my company. For the month of November the other two sales managers and I organized a football/Thanksgiving themed contest across the entire sales department. While there are two football teams, each member contributes individually to their overall team score by the number of yards they gain based on their own sales achievements.

Both groups came up with a team name; The Dee Stroyers (the red and white team) and The Butterballs (green and yellow team). We (the managers) decorated our area and cubes to get everyone in the spirit and created a score board that’s hung up on the wall so everyone knows exactly who’s kicking ass and who needs to be kicked in the ass. 😛  Everyone’s eligible for weekly cash prizes and the MVP for each team will get a PTO day. Who doesn’t love cash and vacations, right?!

In light of the contest and because the holidays always inspire me to bake copious amounts of cookies, I baked football themed cookies for the team this past weekend and made sure to create a jersey for each teammate (12 team members total) with their initials on it.

Despite my mind harboring intense guilt for not spending time playing outside on a sunny, 75 degree day and instead toiling the afternoon away decorating cookies, it was so worth it. Not only was I happy with the results, but I’m also happy to honor the team with some of my own energy and effort considering how much they’ve put in this month.

I’ve actually been making these cut-out sugar cookies at least once a year and realized that I’ve never shared the recipe on my blog so figured that it’s about high time I do so here it goes:

You’ll first want to take your Earth Balance, cream it, then add the granulated sugar and mix it well.

Then put the egg replacer and water in a bowl and beat with a hand mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form. This does take a few minutes, so be patient.

Add the vanilla extract and egg replacer to the batter and mix well.

Add flour, baking soda, and salt and sift it together into the batter.

Mix the dough well and then portion it into four even balls and cover with plastic wrap. Place them in the refrigerator and chill for at least two hours or overnight.

After the dough has chilled, grab your rolling pin and, if you have a 1/4-inch spacer ring, place it on either end of your pin. If you don’t have one, it’s not the least bit necessary—just try to roll out the dough to roughly 1/4-inch think or more. I would not roll it out thinner as thicker cookies are essential for tastiness. To start, place the dough between two sheets of wax paper and start to smush it down with your hands. It will start to soften and become more pliable; then take the rolling pin to it.

Place the cookie cutters over the dough and press down, trying to maximize your cookie-packing pattern so that you don’t have to roll it out as many times. Ever so carefully peel the cut-outs from the wax paper and place them on a parchment covered baking sheet.

Place the cookie sheet in a preheated 350 degree oven for 8-12 minutes or until the bottoms are just barely starting to brown. I prefer under-baked to over-baked sugar cookies.

After you’ve rolled out and baked all of the cookies, you’re ready to begin making the icing. To do this, place 3 cups of sifted powdered sugar in a bowl, add the non-dairy milk and vanilla. Stir well until you achieve a drippy (but not too runny) consistency, like you see in the photo above on the right.

Portion the icing into as many bowls as colors you’re planning to use and then add your food coloring and mix well.

Frost the cookies and enjoy! And one quick tip—if you plan to layer the colors on top of each other like I did, I recommend waiting for the first color to completely harden before adding another, otherwise you risk the colors running together (unless you’re going to swirl them to create interesting patters).

Vegan Cut-Out Sugar Cookies

(I made alot of cookies since we have a lot of employees, but if you’re just making it for a small family, I’d cut this recipe in half… unless, of course, you enjoy having copious amounts of cookies around to enjoy during the holidays.)

Cookies

• 1 1/2 cups Earth Balance
• 2 cups granulated white sugar
• 4 egg replacer eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 5 cups white baking flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Icing

• 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted if clumpy
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 to 5 tablespoons (or more) non-dairy milk (I used vanilla unsweetened almond)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Wet Ingredients: In a large mixing bowl cream Earth Balance and sugar. Add egg replacer and vanilla and mix well.

Add Dry Ingredients: Add sifted flour, salt, and baking powder. Combine to form the dough.

Prepare Dough: Section the dough into 4 even balls, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Cut Out Cookies: Roll the dough to a desired thickness (but don’t go thinner than 1/4 inch) and use cookie cutters to form shapes.

Bake: Place the cookies on a parchment-paper-lined cookie sheet and bake for 8-12 minutes or until they start to brown slightly. Cool on a wire rack before frosting.

Frosting: Place all ingredients in a bowl and stir to combine. Add more milk for a thinner consistency and less for a thicker, frosting-like consistency. Portion out the icing into as many bowls as colors you wish to use and add food coloring.

Assemble: Frost your cookies and enjoy!

GMO-Free Corn Millet Cakes with Basil Avocado Salsa

While there were so many awesome victories at the ballot box last Tuesday (go Maine, Maryland, and Washington!!), there is one loss that I’m absolutely heartbroken about. All week long my heart has been sinking in sadness, my pulse has been fired up in anger, and my brain has been struggling to sort out how Proposition 37 did not pass.

Prop 37 would have simply mandated the labeling of foods containing Genetically-Modified Organisms (GMO’s) in the exact same way that we all are able to currently enjoy the mandatory labeling of nutrition facts and allergen information on packaged goods. I don’t know about you, but I love being able to see exactly what is in the food I’m purchasing. It allows me, not only as a consumer, but more importantly as a person fueling my body, to make informed decisions. I just can’t wrap my head around why anyone would vote against a proposition where the outcome merely allows them to make more-informed choices. Why would anyone choose ignorance?

It’s particularly embarrassing knowing that 51 other countries all over the world—including Japan, all of the EU, Russia, and even China—require GMO labeling on packaged goods. Why does it always feel like the US is the last country to make smart, forward-thinking decisions?

And then I have to remember that Monsanto, DuPont, Dow, and many other chemical companies spent over 1 million dollars a day on misinformational advertising campaigns confusing the public. It really just confirms how much our country is run by media, advertising, and corporations because, prior to their huge ad push, the polls were showing a large majority voting in favor of Prop 37.

While I feel this sense of dread pulsing through my body in these moments following defeat, I know that I need to find ways to cultivate these uncomfortable feelings into something constructive. This makes me realize I need to do more of my part at educating the public on issues like this.

These GMO-free corn millet cakes are my salute to all of the hard work that went into getting Prop 37 on the ballot this year. I chose corn as my focus because up to 85% of all corn grown in the US is genetically engineered making it one of the most prevalent GMO crops in the country, and until companies start labeling GMO ingredients, the only way to be sure you’re not buying GMO corn is to buy organic corn.

When you see the ingredients above you realize just how easy these millet cakes are to put together.

First, heat about a tablespoon of olive oil in a medium sauté pan and then add your diced onions. Sauté them for about 10 minutes or until translucent and just starting to brown. Meanwhile, bring the 4 cups of water to a boil in a medium pot and then add the salt, a tablespoon of oil, and millet. Then, while stirring with a wire whisk, slowly add the corn grits. Simmer on medium-low heat uncovered for 25 minutes or until all water has been absorbed and the millet is sticky like the above-right photo.

Add the sautéed onions, corn kernels, and basil to the millet mixture and stir well.

Using a measuring cup, cookie scoop, or any other shape you want to make your cakes, form them and place them on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. Tip: I always dip my measuring cup in an ice cold bowl of water between forming each cake. It helps to keep the cakes from sticking to the scoop.

After forming all of your cakes, place the cookie sheet in the oven and bake for 25 minutes or until slightly crisp and golden on the outside.

While the cakes are baking, put together the salsa by peeling, deseeding, and chopping your cucumbers.

Chop your red onion and slice the grape tomatoes.

Prep your  avocados by running your knife down the inside lengthwise and then doing the same thing crosswise to create little squares in the avocado.

Add your sliced tomatoes to the bowl and then scoop the avocado out of it’s shell.

Squeeze the lime and press the garlic into the bowl.

Lastly, add the tomatoes, chopped basil, and salt to taste and then mix it until well-combined. Place the millet cakes on a plate with a heaping dollop of salsa on top.

GMO-Free Corn Millet Cakes with Basil Avocado Salsa

Corn Millet Cakes

• 4 cups water
• 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3/4 cup millet, rinsed
• 1/4 cup organic corn grits (polenta)
• 1 yellow onion
• 1 cup frozen organic corn, thawed
• 2 heaping tablespoons basil, chopped

Basil Avocado Salsa

• 2 medium avocados, chopped
• 3/4 cup frozen organic corn kernels, thawed
• 1 heaping cup sliced grape tomatoes (about 40 grape tomatoes)
• juice of 1 lime
• 1/2 medium red onion, finely diced
• 1 medium cucumber, deseeded and chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, pressed
• 1/4 cup basil, chopped
• salt, to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Sauté Onions: Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a medium sauté pan and then add your diced onions. Sauté them for about 10 minutes or until translucent and just starting to brown.

Cook Millet: Meanwhile, bring 4 cups of water to a boil in a medium pot. Add the salt, a tablespoon of oil, and the millet. Then, while stirring with a wire whisk, slowly add the corn grits whisking out any lumps as they form. Whisk well then simmer on medium-low heat uncovered for 25 minutes or until all the water has been absorbed and the millet is sticky. Stir occassionally as the millet and corn grits cook to prevent them from sticking to the bottom of the pan. As the end of cooking time nears you’ll want to stir more frequently.

Form Cakes and Bake: Add the sautéed onions, corn kernels, and basil to the millet mixture and stir well. Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup (this is what I used), cookie scoop, or any other shape you want to make your cakes, form them and place them on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. Keep a bowl of ice-cold water nearby and dip your measuring cup in it between forming each cake. I’ve found that this help to prevent the millet from sticking to the cup.

Mix Salsa: Place all ingredients (except salt) into a bowl and stir to combine. Add salt, to taste, and stir again.

Serve: Place the millet cakes on a plate with a heaping dollop of salsa on top and serve warm as an appetizer. Enjoy!

Vegan Lime Cheesecake Bars

These tasty little lime bars are such a great hot weather treat. With minimal baking required (only a few minutes in the oven for the crust), you don’t need to be slaving over a hot kitchen in the middle of summer’s heat to whip up a batch of these insanely delicious treats! Plus, they’re super quick and very easy to put together.

As for the taste—who can resist that delicious, creamy consistency coupled with the fresh and light flavor of lime? Not many, apparently, as I’ve served these bars at several potlucks now and the pan has never failed to come home empty. And the craziest thing about these cheesecake bars is that they consistently fool unsuspecting people who have no clue that they’re vegan.

So here’s how you too can enjoy this creamy, delicious, lime bliss.

You’ll first want to crush your 12 graham crackers. You can do this the easy way by putting them in a food processor and processing until crumbly, or you can do this the fun way by putting them in a Ziploc bag and crushing the hell out of them with a rolling pin. I chose the latter… mostly so that I didn’t have to wash and dry my food processor bowl to make topping. Lazy? Smart use of time? Yep, exactly.

You then want to melt your Earth Balance in the microwave. It took me somewhere between 30 seconds and 1 minute on high to melt completely.

You’ll then add the granulated sugar, graham cracker crumbs and stir to combine until everything is well incorporated.

Pour the mixture into your 9×9 (or even an 8×8—you’d just end up with slightly thicker bars) pan and press it down firmly to form the crust. Place it in your preheated 350 degree oven and bake for 8 minutes.

While the crust is baking, squeeze your limes and grate the zest. Set them both aside.

Add the pudding mixture to your food processor along with the block of tofu, lime juice, and lime zest.

Add the agave (or other liquid sweetener) and puree. Finally, add the Tofutti cream cheese and puree until smooth again.

Pour the creamy topping on the baked (and cooled) crust.

Spread it evenly with a spatula and then shake it so that it’s flat and well distributed. Place it in the refrigerator and let it chill for 2-3 hours before serving. Lastly, cut it into bars or squares and enjoy!

I added a slice of lime on top for decoration, but I could see adding lime zest as well, or sticking with no garnish as they’re just as pretty plain.

YUM! Seriously, so good!

Vegan Lime Cheesecake Bars

Crust

• 2 cups crushed vegan graham crackers (this is exactly 12 crackers and Nabisco Original Grahams, in the red box, is the only brand I’ve been able to find that does not have honey)
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) Earth Balance, melted
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Crust: Combine graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and sugar in a medium bowl. Pour the mixture in a 9×9 baking dish (if the pan isn’t non-stick, you may want to grease it first) and press down firmly to form a crust. Bake for 8 minutes and then set on a wire rack to cool.

Filling: Blend the silken tofu, lime juice, lime zest, pudding mix packets, agave, and Tofutti cream cheese in a blender or food processor until smooth. Pour over cooled crust and chill in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours before cutting into squares and serving.

Roasted Sesame Seed Hummus (in the Blender)

A while back one of my readers who has a severe nut allergy asked whether I knew of a completely peanut- and tree nut-free brand of tahini. Gosh! I had no idea that tahini was often contaminated with nuts so I checked my jar (I believe this particular jar was Once Again) and sure enough the label said, “CONTAINS SESAME SEEDS.” Duh! But the finer print underneath that said “Manufactured in a facility that also processes peanuts and soy, and on equipment that processes other tree nuts and seeds.” Interesting. And a bummer for those with very sensitive nut allergies because I would have thought that seed butters are the perfect replacement for nut butters in those cases, but apparently that’s not so.

To add salt to the allergy suffers’ wounds, tahini adds a certain richness to hummus that you just can’t achieve when it’s omitted or even swapped out for olive oil. It’s not just the fat content in tahini, but also that thick paste-like consistency that gives hummus a deliciously smooth and rich consistency.

So my solution to all of the dear nut allergy sufferers of the world who want to have their hummus and eat it too, is to toast your own sesame seeds and essentially make your own tahini by adding them to a blender (note: not your food processor) along with your other hummus ingredients. Glorious sesame paste without the allergy can be achieved!

First you need to toast your sesame seeds in a medium skillet over medium heat. Shake the pan and stir the seeds with a wooden spoon so that all of them are evenly roasted. Once they’ve browned and become fragrant immediately remove them from the heat and empty into a heat-proof bowl or plate.

Then take all of your hummus ingredients and empty them into your blender and whirl away. Add small amounts of water at a time until you achieve that perfect hummus consistency. Finally, add salt at the very last step.

In comparison to regular ‘ol tahini hummus, this version has a much stronger sesame seed flavor. In fact, I was pretty floored by how much more flavor it added and it was a flavor that I absolutely loved. However, if it’s too strong for you or if you don’t like that roasted flavor you could add the sesame seeds raw, too. Even though I haven’t personally tested this, it should work in theory.

Toasted Sesame Seed Hummus (in the blender)

Ingredients

• 2 cans cooked chickpeas
• 1-2 lemons, juiced (I used 1 1/2 of the lemons pictured above. They were rather sizeable and provided a ton of lemony flavor to the hummus. I would start with one lemon and add more if you like it lemonier)
• 1 clove garlic, peeled
• salt, to taste
• 1/4 cup raw sesame seeds, toasted (see below instructions)
• water, as needed (I used roughly 3/4 of a cup, but you may want more or less so add in small amounts at a time)

Toast Sesame Seeds: Pour your 1/4 cup of sesame seeds into a medium skillet over medium heat and cook for about 3-5 minutes. You’ll want to shake and stir the pan very frequently whiling cooking so that they are evenly roasted. They’ll become fragrant and slightly brown when done. Immediately empty the sesame seeds into a heat-proof bowl or onto a plate to stop the cooking.

Blend it All Together: Add the chickpeas, lemon juice, garlic, sesame seeds, and 1/4 cup of water to your blender. Continue to add water in small amounts to the blender until it reaches the consistency you desire. Then add salt. Again, start in small increments and keep adding until you’ve achieved the perfect-to-your-tastes saltiness.

Serve with fresh cut veggies, pita, or on a sandwich or wrap. Also, if you’re serving this to a crowd you may want to add a dusting of paprika for garnish.

Heirloom Tomato Penne Pasta with Veggie Meatballs

This past Saturday Alex and I were having dinner with some new friends and, as these situations are wont to do, found ourselves on the topic of head traumas. Whenever this topic arises in conversation I always have a particularly pertinent (and traumatic!) story to share.

It happened many years ago, when Alex and I were Juniors in college and he had an especially bad case of light-headedness after standing up quickly. You know how that can happen where you see spots and perhaps get a little light-headed when you stand up quickly after sitting for a period of time? Recently, I’ve noticed this occasionally happening to me in yoga when moving fast from the floor to standing (though, it happens far less the more yoga I do). But this has always happened quite severely for Alex to the point that he can temporarily lose his sight and the world becomes black.

So his head trauma went down like this. It was a hot summery day and after sitting at the computer for some time, he quickly jumped up and headed to the kitchen to prepare some lunch. At the time, I was in the bedroom and shortly after heard a loud thump from the kitchen—it sounded like something had fallen from the top of the refrigerator. “Did the waffle iron just commit small-appliance suicide?” I thought to myself. A brief second later, I heard Alex meekly call my name and I walked over to the kitchen to find him laying flat on the floor. Oh! That wasn’t the waffle iron, but a person! Before I could ask the question of how he ended up on the floor, he asked me what happened. In my own confusion, my best answer was “I think you fell on the floor and hit your head.” “Oh, ok,” he said. Then about five seconds later he asked the exact same question to which I replied the exact same way. After the third time of him asking the exact same question with no recollection that he had already asked me the same question three times, my panic meter started to rise. He sensed my panic and started to reassure me not to worry and that he was beginning to feel better. Whew! I calmed down a bit, but it was only a brief minute as the same words “What happened?” began to spew out of his mouth. At this point I called the ER and we headed to the hospital me fearing the worst—that he had endured a serious brain injury and may never be the same person again. If you’ve ever seen Memento, which I happened to watch in the theaters a week later (thank god it was not before!) this whole incident, Alex behaved exactly like the star of that film—his short-term memory was completely kaputt.

On the way to the hospital, I tested his long-term memory quizzing him as to who his parents and sister were, what his middle name was, where he grew up and, interestingly, all of that checked out fine. However, anything that happened within the past few minutes was wiped entirely from his memory shortly after it happened. Actually, I also recall asking him about the class he attended that morning and he had so much confusion about it responding with, “I’m taking a class?” So I guess his memory loss included other more immediate memories too.

After spending 8 hours at the hospital and having countless head (and other body) tests performed, we slowly noticed Alex start to regain some of his short-term memory and by the end of the day he was pretty much back to normal. All of the tests checked out fine and it was concluded that his short-term memory loss was due to hitting his head (big surprise there).

Needless to say, the entire event was extremely traumatic for me and, while the ordeal only lasted a day it has impacted me years later to this very day. I no longer shrug off loud noises that happen in another room and sometimes find myself immediately jumping to the worst possible conclusion as to what produced the noise. Thankfully, this crazy reaction has lessened over the years as the distance from the event has grown.

Anyways, I tell this story not just because it came up at dinner on Saturday, but also because it reminds me of today’s post and highlight, TVP. After Alex’s post-head-trauma drama, our unmedically substantiated diagnosis was that he needed to get more protein, which we later learned from the cardiologist was completely wrong as it turns out that salt and water are the antidote to combat that light-headed feeling.

But back to the protein solution. After doing some research and seeing TVP, textured vegetable protein, at our local co-op we concluded that it was the fastest and least expensive (we were college poor) way to consume high quantities of protein (Alex wasn’t even vegetarian at the time so it’s fascinating that he figured that out.) I remember him eating dried TVP in his yogurt like you’d put granola in your yogurt to pack in the protein and it wasn’t until a couple years later that we figured out how to make tasty food creations with it, like baco-bits and these super-delicious, could-pass-as-animal-flesh meatballs.

Not only are the meatballs in this dish amazing, but the abundance of fresh tomatoes seen in the markets right now are a perfect way to enjoy those fruits of summer as well. And here’s how to do it.

Measure and pour the two cups of TVP into a heat-proof dish and then pour 1 3/4 cups boiling water over it. Stir it well so that all of the TVP is moistened. Let it sit.

Then saute your onion in olive oil for 10 minutes and add it to the TVP. Mix well.

Add your spices, soy sauce, and flour. Again, stir to combine so that everything is well incorporated.

Form your balls. I measure mine in a small cookie scoop so that all of them are of equal size and firmly squeeze and roll them in my hands so that they don’t fall apart when you handle them.

This recipe made around 28 balls for me, but the number you make will, obviously, depend on the size of your balls. If you like larger balls, you’re not going to have as many of them.

Then you want to fry them in oil for several minutes on each side. Make sure you slide a spatula underneath each of them (or a fork, if you’re into that). That sad, broken ball in the middle was a result of not rolling it around enough, so it ended up sticking to the pan. Make sure you give them lots of attention, because nobody likes sticky balls. My second batch was much better with zero casualties after making sure none of them were sticking while cooking.

While my meatballs were cooking (thus the divided attention and sad meatball incident) I started to prepare my sauce. I first chopped my basil in chiffonade style where you stack several leaves on top of each other, roll them and then slice. You end up with these pretty curls that you see in the below photo.

After chopping my basil, I diced my tomatoes and minced my garlic. I poured the 1/4 cup of olive oil into a large saute pan and heated it over medium heat. When it was hot, I added the garlic and cooked it for about 3-5 minutes—just until it started to brown a little.

Then I added the tomatoes and cooked them until they were heated through. Oh, I forgot to mention that while I was doing all of that, I put a pot of water on to boil and cooked penne pasta so that finished cooking just as my sauce was done. I poured the strained pasta on top of the tomato sauce and mixed them all together.

I then added my spices; fresh basil and dried oregano and mixed it all together.

I served it on large soup dish with 4 meatballs and topped it with fresh basil chiffonade.

Heirloom Tomato Penne Pasta with TVP Meatballs

Makes 4-6 entree-size servings

TVP Meatballs

• 2 cups dry textured vegetable protein (TVP)
• 1 3/4 cups boiling water
• 1 small onion, diced finely
• 2 tablespoons oil (canola, vegetable, or olive)
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce (or wheat free tamari to make it gluten-free)
• 1/2 – 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup white flour (or sub gluten-free flour)

Tomato Sauce

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 7 garlic cloves minced
• 5 large tomatoes (preferably heirloom), diced
• 1 cup basil chiffonade, plus another 1/2 cup for garnish
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• salt and pepper, to taste (season with these two at the very end)

Penne Pasta

• 1 12 ounce package of penne pasta (use gluten-free pasta to make the entire dish gluten-free)

Make Meatballs: Pour boiling water over TVP and let it soak for 10 minutes. Saute the onion in the olive oil for 10 minutes (until soft and translucent), and then add it to the TVP along with the chili powder, garlic powder, pepper, salt, oregano, soy sauce, and flour. Stir until well-mixed. Mold this mixture into balls and be sure to press them together firmly so that they don’t fall apart when handling or frying. Fry in oil until crispy (several minutes on each side.) And don’t forget to run a fork or spatula underneath them while they’re cooking to prevent them from sticking to the pan.

Cook Pasta: Put a large saucepan filled with water on high heat and add the entire package of dried pasta when it begins to boil. Cook for 10 minutes or until al dente, then drain the water.

Tomato Sauce: In a very large saute pan, heat the 1/4 cup of olive oil over medium-high heat and when it’s hot add the minced garlic. Cook for 3-5 minutes or until it just begins to brown. Be careful not to burn the garlic. Add the tomatoes and cook for another 3-5 minutes until they’re heated through.

Put it Together: Add the cooked pasta to the tomato sauce and mix well. Add 1 cup of the basil and the teaspoon of oregano. Stir to combine. Lastly, add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve in a large bowl or plate with the meatballs and fresh basil on top and get ready to pop them in your mouth!

Corn, Summer Squash & Watercress Salad with Thyme

I love this time of the year! I particularly love how farmer’s markets are brimming with such a variety of produce. And even though we Californians are lucky to see fresh produce (like strawberries) year-round, there is still seasonality to a lot of what shows up in the markets. Two specifically summer veggies that caught my eye this week were fresh corn on the cob and bright yellow summer squash. I decided to pair them together along with bright green watercress and flavorful thyme to create this light, summery, side dish. It turned out awesomely and I’m thinking it would be a great dish to bring to a 4th of July potluck this Wednesday. Hmmm… now I just need a potluck to be invited to.

To start, place a large saucepan full of water over high heat, cover, and bring to a boil. Meanwhile, shuck your corn and gently place each ear in the boiling water being careful not to burn yourself. Turn the heat down to a simmer and cook the corn for 10 minutes, partially covered.

While the corn is cooking, chop your summer squash and heat the olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium high heat. When the oil is hot add the squash and saute for 5-7 minutes.

While the corn is cooking and squash is sauteeing, de-stem and rinse your watercress in cold water and roughly chop it.

When the corn is finished cooking, cut the kernels from the cob. Add the sauteed squash, chopped watercress and stir well to combine. Measure your dried thyme, place it in the palm of your hand and crush it between your fingers or hands before adding it in the bowl. Add salt and combine everything again. And that’s all there is to this easy, delicious summer side-dish!

I really love how all of the flavors go so well together. I especially love how the slight pepperyness of the watercress plays off of the super sweetness of the corn.

Corn, Summer Squash & Watercress Salad with Thyme

Ingredients

makes 6 side-dish servings

• 4 ears of corn
• 1 1/2 lbs. of yellow summer squash (this was 3 medium ones for me)
• 1 bunch of watercress
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• salt to taste

Corn: Fill a large stockpot with water and place it on high heat; cover with a lid and bring to boil. Meanwhile, shuck all 4 ears of corn and gently place them in the boiling water.

Squash: Chop your summer squash into small dice. Add the extra virgin olive oil to a medium saute pan and heat it over medium high heat. When the oil is hot, add the summer squash and saute for 5-7 minutes.

Watercress: De-stem and wash your watercress in cold water and then roughly chop it.

Put it all together: In a large bowl slice off the kernels of corn from the cob (as demonstrated in the third photo from the top), add the summer squash, and watercress. Stir well until all is combined. Measure the dried thyme and then rub it between the palms of your hands so that it the flavors are brought out as it falls into the dish. Add salt and then stir until everything is combined.

Roasted Tempeh Cauliflower Quinoa

The other weekend Alex had a potluck to attend. The last potluck he went to with this particular group of people, he brought along marinated tempeh at the request of several people who had never tried it before. Since it was so well received and devoured in minutes, he considered bringing it again but wanted to add something to turn it from a snack into a full dish, so he asked me for advice. This ever-so-tasty Roasted Tempeh Cauliflower Quinoa dish is what I came up with. The bowl came back empty with nothing but positive reviews so I’d say we can chalk this one up as a winner!

Don’t be afraid of the seemingly long list of ingredients as it’s actually quite easy to put together. You first want to make your marinade for the tempeh by whisking all of the ingredients together in a small bowl.

While you’re making the marinade, steam the tempeh for 10 minutes. When it’s done, place it in a medium bowl or pan and while it’s still warm, pour the marinade over the tempeh. I find that when it’s steamed, it plumps up a bit and is able to absorb the marinade better than if you marinade it straight from the package.

Make sure to cover all of the cubes by stirring it a few times. Then chop your cauliflower into florets, meanwhile stirring the tempeh every few minutes so that the bottom ones get rotated to the top and there is an even distribution on each piece.

Then lay the tempeh on a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet and place in a preheated 375 degree oven.

Place your florets in the same bowl you used for the tempeh, drizzle toasted sesame oil and sprinkle salt on them, and toss to combine it all. Place the cauliflower on a separate parchment-paper-lined baking sheet and place it in the oven along with the tempeh.

Measure and rinse your quinoa with cold water in a fine sieve and then add it and the water to a medium saucepan, cover, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.

Chop the rest of your veggies. Heat the oil in a saute pan over medium-high heat, then add the onion and saute for 7 minutes. Add the carrot and saute for another 5 minutes. Finally, add the bell pepper, peas, and corn and saute for 4-5 more minutes.

After 15 minutes of roasting pull the tempeh and cauliflower out of the oven and turn them all over. Place back in the oven for another 15 minutes.

Once the quinoa is done, your veggies are sauteed, and your tempeh and cauliflower roasted, whisk together the second marinade and pour it over the quinoa. Mix well and then add the sauteed veggies and cauliflower, salt and pepper to taste, and mix well again. Lastly, fold in the tempeh.

Roasted Tempeh Cauliflower Quinoa

Ingredients

Marinated Tempeh

• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 8-ounce package tempeh, cut into small cubes