A Not so Guilty Pleasure

There are a few things that excite me in life. Anything free and stuff that tastes ridiculously better than it should. (OK, some other things make my pulse race too, but I don't have time to list them all).

I recently whipped up a concoction starting with tofu and ended up with one of the best chocolate mousses I've ever had. I would serve it for dessert with no caveats or apologies. It doesn't taste "almost" good, or pretty good "considering". It's just flat out good. My success encourages me to try some other flavor combinations. More to come.

Unapologetically Vegan Chocolate Mousse 

Serves 6

1 box Murin silken tofu (light, soft)

2 cups low-fat vanilla soy milk (or other flavor)

1 bag (11.5 ounces) chocolate chips (I used 60% semi-sweet Ghiradelli)

1 teaspoon vanilla

Small dash sea salt

Place the tofu in the container of the Vita-Mix. In a medium bowl combine the soy milk and chocolate. Microwave on high for 1 minute. Stir and repeat for another minute. The combination doesn't have to be homogeneous, you just want to melt the chocolate and the soy milk is a good medium in which to do that.

Add the chocolate mixture to the container along with the vanilla and salt. Cover and blend on medium speed until the color changes. This will also serve to whip some air into the mixture.

The mixture will be soupy at this point, but will set-up when chilled. Pour into individual serving glasses/bowls or one large bowl. Chill for several hours or preferably overnight.

Please tell me that's mustard

I almost didn't post this recipe because the picture is so unappetizing, but in an effort to complete my trilogy of condiments (see recipe for ketchup, still have to do mayonnaise) I felt I must. This could definitely be made much more attractive by omitting the dill. The combo of dried green and yellow turns into an unsightly, unmentionable. Regardless, to a blind person this would go very well on a bratwurst. 

Dill and Apricot Mustard

Makes 1 1/2 cups

(adapted from the Herb Companion, September 2008)

2 tablespoons mustard powder

1/2 cup whole yellow mustard seed

1/2 cup coarsely chopped dried apricots

1/2 cup water

10 tablespoons cider vinegar

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons chopped dill leaves

Mix together mustard powder, mustard seed, apricots, water and vinegar in a mixing bowl. Cover and let stand at least 2 hours or overnight.

Transfer mustard to the container of the Vita-Mix. Add salt and sill. Process until seeds begin to bread down and mustard becomes spreadable. (Some seeds will remain whole.) store in a tightly sealed jar in the refrigerator up to 1 month, or frozen for longer storage.

Blind Date

Having originally found this recipe in a publication of Cooking Light, I'm not really sure why it would fit that magazine. True, without eggs it is likely lower in cholesterol than your average quick bread, but with a cup of sugar, and a cup and a half of dates it will definitely spike your blood sugar. The texture of it turned out more like an English steamed pudding. I made this in a bundt pan, but if you happen to have a11 x 7-inch baking pan, what the recipe called for, you can use that. It doesn't fill up the entire bundt pan, but when it's flipped out the crown shape still gives it some dignity.

This is a hearty, aromatic tea cake.

Date Spice Cake

Serves 8 to 10

(adapted from Cooking Light)

1 1/2 cups majool dates, chopped

1 cup low-fat vanilla soy milk

1 cup sugar

6 ounces soft light tofu, drained (about 3/4 cup)

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon cloves

Powdered sugar

Preaheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the dates and the soy milk in the container of the Vita-mix. Process until almost smooth on high. Add the sugar, tofu and butter. Process until smooth.

In a medium bowl combine all the remaining (dry) ingredients. Pour the date mixture over it and fold in until it is just combined.

Spoon into a greased 10-cup bundt pan. Bake in the middle of the oven for 40 minutes. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Invert and remove cake from pan. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.

Green from the inside out

I'm probably one of the last people with a Vita-Mix to hear about the green smoothie. If you're rolling your eyes at my cluelessness and lateness to the Cool Party, feel free to skip ahead. If, by chance, you are scrunching your eyebrows in confusion, then read on and I will explain.

Green smoothies are gaining in popularity in health circles. The idea behind them is that you can turn your morning smoothie into a powerhouse of nutrients and drink your multi-vitamin instead of swallowing it as a pill. Why green? According to Victoria Boutenko, author of several books on the subject, (most recently, "Green for Life") we don't get enough greens in our "evolved" human diet. Considering we share 99.4% of our DNA with chimps, we should be eating more like them. They get most of their nutrients from green things, then some fruit, some seeds, and only occasionally the stray piece of meat or insects.

I was pretty surprised when I read the list of things that greens rebalance for our systems. They up the alkalinity of your stomach (that's a good thing), they are loaded with protein, vitamins, minerals and chlorophyll.

But even Ms. Boutenko, a veteran raw foodist found it hard to stomach the amount of greens recommended on a regular basis. Enter the green smoothie.

The fun thing about them is I get to customize it each morning. A little bee pollen, some flax seeds, radicchio, why not some coconut water and left over sweet potato. The bitter taste of greens disappears.

Just to give you an example of my kitchen alchemy, this morning my smoothie had:

Kitchen Sink Green Smoothie

(Makes 32 ounces)

1 head of endive

handful of red grapes

handful fresh cranberries

1 tablespoon fresh bee pollen

1 tablespoon flax seeds

3 tablespoons ground hemp seeds

1/4 cup non-fat plain yogurt

1/2 cup freeze-dried peaches

1 tablespoon Manuka honey

some ice and water to make things meld.

It becomes the healthiest dumping ground ever and, even better, I feel completely justified in all the weird magical powders I've gotten on a whim at the health food store.

Unbeerable

I would like to say the reason I haven't posted recently is because I'm monumentally busy, and though I am occupied I have certainly found time to cook. Unfortunately, not all these times have lead to brag-worthy successes. In the spirit of full disclosure and honesty I will tell you about the latest misfire, pun intended (wait for it...)

I found a stellar beer bread recipe, which not only sounded delicious, but would neatly make use of the leftover bacon and odd bits of cheese in my fridge. (Anything with four tablespoons of butter drizzled over the top before baking has got to be good.) It was a breeze to stir together and I had it in the oven in minutes.

Not long after it went in plumes of smoke started exhaling from the oven. When I peeked in I could see the problem. The bread had risen as expected and in so doing spilled the melted butter over the edges of the pan onto the floor of the oven.

Now, my smoke alarms are not only sensitive, but inter-linked. If one goes off, they all go off. It's a loud, ear-splitting beep. I immediately opened all the windows and started fanning the alarms from underneath, hopping from one to another because I was unsure which one had started the chorus. And if you're wondering why I didn't just take the battery out, I'm one step ahead of you. Seems that once the life-saving mechanism is tripped it has a mind of its own and there's no negotiating.

By this time both cats are looking terrified under the coffee table, one is panting and both are meowing the way cats do when you take them on a long road trip. What was probably minutes seemed like hours. Finally peace was restored and my apartment was left smelling like a bombed out homeless shelter.

The saddest part was the anemic loaf of bread sitting, half-baked, on top of the stove gasping it's final breaths. I tried salvaging it by popping it back in. I figured all the problem butter had run off so I was past the point of danger. I was wrong. The #(#@***@!! alarm went off two more times! I'm sure my neighbors love me. I finally gave up completely and shoved the whole half-assed mess down the disposal.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why there is no post for Bacon Cheddar Beer Bread.

"Bananana Doo Doo Da Doo Doo"

Admittedly, there is no reason to make banana bread in a Vita-Mix... other than it's really cool. 

This is good to know if you are someone without a stand mixer or even a hand held mixer, but occasionally get the itch to bake. As long as you don't combine your wet and dry ingredients in the machine, your V-M will assist you beautifully in whipping up a batter.

This banana bread was passed on to me from Scott Moore. He said it came straight from Betty Crocker. Now, there's a lady you can trust when it comes to down home baking. This is super moist and bursting with banana flavor. The only change I've made is to add vanilla. 

Blender Banana Bread

Makes 1 loaf

(Adapted from Betty Crocker)

1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

3-4 over-ripe bananas

2 eggs

1/3 cup water or juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 2/3 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the butter and sugar in the container of the V-M. Start on #1, increase to #5 or #6 with bursts at higher speeds if necessary. Stop and scrape any bits stuck to the sides that you can't get by using the tamper.

With the motor running on #5, add the banana, eggs, water and vanilla. Run until thoroughly combined (at this point, before there is flour added, you don't have to worry about over-mixing and making the dough tough and rubbery. This is because gluten in the flour causes this when it gets wet and over-worked.)

In a bowl whisk together the dry ingredients. Pour the banana mixture over it and stir/fold in with a spatula. Pour into a buttered/sprayed loaf pan and bake for 55-60 minutes.

Cool in the pan for 20 minutes. Run a knife around the edges of the pan to loosen and turn out onto a cooling rack to cool completely. Although tempting, try to resist cutting into the loaf before it's completely cooled. It needs some time to gain structure.