I love my family. My mom, my sisters, we are all food fanatics.
On second though, fanatic doesn’t even begin to describe it.
Page long emails in October to discuss the menu for Christmas? Crazy if you don’t do it!
Hours of conversation about what food we made that weekend or new places to eat? Check, Check, Check.
Don’t mind that we are 3,000 miles apart- my mother and I talk about food almost daily.
In some ways, I remind myself how lucky I am to have people who GET it like I do. BL rolls his eyes about 3 minutes in to any conversation I start about dinners for the week. If he had his way, I would cook the same 6 meals every week on repeat. I have to remind him constantly that this is NEVER going to happen. Sorry charlie, experimenting in the kitchen is in my blood.
When his eyes start glazing over, that’s about the time I pick up the phone and call my mom. She will easily entertain my gazillion thoughts on what dessert I should make for my co-workers, the best wheat bread recipe, the new products at Whole Foods.
Last week, in the midst of some heavy food convo, she brought up the idea for this soup. Creamy coconut base, green curry paste, vegetables; I think I ran to the store while we were still on the phone.
I did have to make a few simple swaps to hers: tofu for chicken, added mushrooms that I had laying around, and upping the spice a bit.
Ladies and Gentleman, we have a winner!
This soup is the perfect thing for people who are over soup. I get it. By this point in the year, I really don’t want another vegetable & grain stew, but this one is different. You just have to make it!
I can’t stop eating these little gems, they are really good. Steamed chard leaves are filled with black “forbidden” rice, mashed butternut squash, kumquat-bbq tofu and topped with a creamy garlic tahini sauce. The combination of colors and flavors make these rolls really special. Great as an appetizer, light lunch or paired with a salad for larger meal. I had a similar item last weekend and was so excited to come home and create rolls with my own DK twist.
Ingredients:
1 cup Cooked leftover black rice, (or brown/wild rice)
1 cup butternut squash
8 oz. extra-firm tofu, drained and pressed
10 large chard leaves (could also use collard/cabbage leaves)
½ cup favorite BBQ sauce
½ cup Kumquat marmalade (Recipe post coming soon! Or substitute orange or apricot jam)
Garlic Tahini Sauce:
1/2 cup tahini
1/8 cup olive oil
1 tsp. cumin
¼ tsp. smoked paprika
2 large lemons, juiced
3 cloves garlic
Salt/pepper
In a blender/food processor combine all ingredients for the garlic tahini sauce and puree until smooth.
Halve the tofu widthwise and then cut into thin slices. Place in a glass pan sprayed very lightly with cooking spray. Combine the BBQ sauce and marmalade. Brush the sauce over the tofu and let sit for 10 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Flip to the other side and brush on the remaining sauce. Place in preheated oven and cook for 15-20 minutes.
While the tofu is cooking, set up a steamer. Finely dice the butternut squash and steam for 10-15 minutes until soft. Place the cooked squash in a bowl and mash.
Wash the leaves and trim to the base of the stem. Place in the steamer and steam for 1-2 minutes until soft and pliable. Remove and place on a clean working space. Now you are ready to roll! Place the leaf down, widest side facing you. If the stem is still hard, gently press on the stem to flatten. While the leaves are sturdy for filling they are very fragile. Take care not to rip them.
Place a small amount of rice (about 2 tbsp) on the base of the leaf, about ¾ of an inch from the end. Place a similar amount of squash on top. Lay a piece of tofu ontop of the squash, Depending on how big your leaves are will determine how much filling to place. Wrap the end over the tofu and gently push the side leaves over to cover. It will now roll like a burrito. Take care to keep pressing the leaves in towards the filling. Place the finished roll seam side down into the steamer basket. Continue to fill the rest of the rolls and place in the steamer basket. Steam for an additional 3-5 minutes. Remove and top with tahini sauce.
I made this the day before Thanksgiving. It was easy, quick and of course healthy and satisfying.
Tofu with Sesame Soba Noodles
Ingredients:
1 package soba noodles
1 block tofu, cubed
3 tbsp. soy sauce
1/4 cup flour- for frying- use any kind you have available
4 tbsp. sesame seeds (black or white)
2 tbsp. sesame oil
1/8 cup nutritional yeast (optional but I love the flavor it adds to the tofu)
3 cups broccoli, raw or if frozen, thawed
1 1/2 cups chopped raw carrot
1 cup frozen edamame, thawed
Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain and toss hot noodles with sesame oil, 1 tbsp. soy sauce, and sesame seeds. While noodles are cooking, steam or heat in a large skillet the broccoli, carrots, and edamame. Toss the cubed tofu with the flour until well coated. Fry the cubes in a cast-iron pan or skillet sprayed with oil. Fry until golden brown on all sides, about 5 minutes. Toss the fried tofu with nutritional yeast and 2 tbsp soy sauce.
Combine the noodles, vegetables and tofu. Add more soy sauce if you’d like to taste.
Yum! The ultimate holiday indulgence… pumpkin cheesecake. Although this isn’t exactly calorie free, this recipe is much healthier than a traditional cheesecake. Most are made with 4 packages of cream cheese! I’m all for a treat or two over the holidays, but I prefer to make better for you items that are just as delicious as the “real thing.”
I made Morgans Pumpkin Buttera few weeks ago and was looking for a fun way to use some of it up. You don’t have to make the butter to enjoy this recipe, but I highly recommend it. Not only will you get to use it in this cheescake recipe, but you’ll also have leftover pumpkin butter to spread on other holiday fare.
Pumpkin Cheesecake with Gingerbread Crust
Crust Ingredients:
1 cup gingersnaps, finely crushed
1 cup walnuts, finely crushed
4 tbsp. Earth Balance margarine, melted
In a blender or food processor, finely combine the walnuts and gingersnaps. Empty into a bowl and add the melted maragine. Quickly stir to distribute the margarine amoung the crumbs. Empty the crust batter into a 10″ springform pan and press crust into the bottom. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes until set. Remove from oven and combine ingredients for filling.
Filling Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups Morgans Pumpkin Butter *
1 package silken tofu
1 8 oz. container tofutti cream cheese or other cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar or maple syrup
2 tbsp. corn starch or arrowroot powder
Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor and combine until creamy and smooth. Pour ontop of the crust and bake for 45-50 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Mine came out a bit cracked ontop but you can avoid this by baking in a water bath. Simply cover the seals of the springform pan with aluminum foil (so the water doesn’t seep in and make the crust soggy) and place in a larger baking dish filled a few inches deep with water. Bake as directed above.
*No time to make pumpkin butter? No problem. Just combine a cup of pumpkin puree with 1/2 cup sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon and a touch of ginger. Process with the other filling ingredients.
