This recipe is my attempt to recreate a tofu scramble that we were served at The Gentle Gourmet, a vegan B&B in Paris. We visited about a month ago, and I finally think that I have out amazing host’s recipe down.The real trick is that it’s more of a hash than a regular tofu scramble. I use firm tofu that isn’t packed in water (you can get it blocks at either Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s). I’ve figured out that this is the way to go as far as tofu is concerned, because you just have to give it a quick squeeze to release any excess moisture, instead of having to press out the liquid for 15 minutes.

Le Scamble de Tofu

1 c. potatoes, diced

4 oz. of tofu cut into 1/4″ cubes and dredged in cornstarch

1/4 bell pepper, cut into slivers

4 medium-sized mushrooms, sliced

1/2 c. frozen spinach (that’s 1/2 c. while it’s still frozen).

2 tsp olive oil

1 tsp fresh ground black pepper

1/4 tsp. dried minced garlic

1 tsp.  sea salt

1/4 tsp. dried thyme

1. Dice potatoes, cut peppers, and slice mushrooms. Then, take the frozen spinach and defrost under warm running water.

2. Add  2 tsp oil and garlic to a skillet, heat over high heat, tilting the pan to coat. Add the potatoes and cook for 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the thyme and black pepper.

3. Coat the tofu in cornstarch and add to the pan, along with the mushrooms. Cook for another 4-5 minutes, until the mushrooms begin to sweat and the tofu starts to brown.

4. Add the peppers and cook an additional 2 minutes, then add the spinach and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated (about 3 minutes).

5. Season with sea salt to taste and serve.

As a complete tangent, I was just looking up nutritional information online. Applebees has discontinued the chimicheesecake ( a responsible choice IMHO). However, this bullshit site has a user-submitted recipe that they claim comes in at 140 calories. I was so infuriated that I created an account to respond. I mean, come on, a tortilla has 120 all by itself.

Anyway, I made a vegan version that is much lighter, but still not something I would reccomend for the faint of heart. We had it on New Years Eve and paired it with When Harry Met Sally (which was actually a brilliant combination). Apple Chimicheesecake Redux

4 individual squares of puff pastry, thawed

1 1/2 apple cut into 1/2″ pieces

1/2 an apple, shredded

2 TBSP  unsweetened applejuice

2 tsp. cornstarch

2  tsp. brown sugar

1 tsp. white sugar

pinch cinnamon

1 tub of follow your heart vegan cream cheese

1/2 tsp. vanilla

2 TBSP pastry flour

1 TBSP powdered sugar

1. In a saucepan, cook the applejuice and cornstarch over medium heat until dissolved. Add the cubed apples and cook until it becomes thick and syrupy. Remove from the heat, transfer to a metal bowl, and cool in the fridge or freezer.

2. Grate the remaining apple and cream it with the cream cheese, cinnamon, both sugars, and vanilla.

3. Spray a muffin tin with non-stick spray (spray very quickly to avoid using too much) and cut the puff pastry squares in half diagonally. Press them into the muffin tins, folding two sides of the triangle together to form a cup.

4. Stir in the cooled apple mixture and add the flour to thicken.

5. spoon the mixture into the puff pastry and bake at 375 for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out mostly clean (it will be a little wet, but shouldn’t have any chunks sticking to it).

6. Serve with any combination of: vegan whipped cream, ice cream, sorbet, caramel sauce, cinnamon, or powdered sugar.

For these particular chip-filled little darlings, I veganized a reduced-fat recipe by substituting egg replacer for the egg whites (yes, the original recipe uses egg-whites) and using earth balance instead of butter. Helpful hint: melting the butter before using it allows you to use less. It’s some kind of miracle of science or physics that allows you to cut the fat in the recipe, which is a good thing because you will want to eat twice as many of these cookies. They are seriously that good. Reduced-Fat Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 c. white sugar

1/2 c. brown sugar

1/4 c. melted butter

egg replacer powder for one egg (pre-mixed)

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 c. flour (I used whole wheat pastry flour)

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/8 tsp. salt

1/2 c. dairy-free chocolate chips

1. pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. While is is heating, mix the flour, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. In a seperate bowl, beat together the sugars, butter, and egg replacer until light and creamy.

2. Add the vanilla to the sugar mixture. Slowly stir in the flour, adding 1/4 of it at a time and mixing well after each addition. Stir in the chocolate chips.

3. Drop rounded spoonfuls onto a parchment-paper lined cookie sheet, leaving 1″ between cookies. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes and cool for 5 before removing from the tray. Let the cookies cool completely in a single layer before transferring them to a storage container.

My nachos consisted of tofu, black beans, daiya, salsa, and guacamole, and they were AMAZING. At 7.99 a pound, they seemed a little pricey, but I’m getting so used to Whole Food’s pricing structure that I don’t even bat an eyelash at this point. I think we can all agree that Nachos are one of the few foods that are always better when someone else makes them.  So, I’m going to urge you to run, not walk, to Whole Foods and order up some vegan nachos, tacos, or quesadillas, because if they continue to sell, Whole Foods will continue to offer them, and I can rest easily knowing I have a vegan nacho hookup whenever I need it.

It’s worth a tangent to discuss the accompanying mango chutney. I’ve heard of mango chutney on all the fancy-pants food network shows, as it seems that chefs are always serving things like “spicy habenero elephant tusk…. with mango chutney” or “tandoori fois gras….with mango chutney” or “roasted duck liver with shaved fennel…..and (wait for it) mango chutney!”. They made it seem like a big deal, so when I was at the Samosa House grocery section and saw a jar of this most-precious condiment, I snapped it up. Now, sometimes I build foods up in my head so much that they are sure to be disappointing when I finally try them. Mango chutney was not one of those foods. It was sweet and refreshing and delicious. I actually could have kicked up the spice a notch on my samosas, because the mango chutney possesses some kind of mystical g cooling property.Samosas in Da’ House

1 diced potato

2 cloves crushed garlic

1/2 chopped onion

1 c. frozen peas

1 TBSP vegetable oil

salt and pepper to taste

2 tsp curry powder

1/2 c. water

6 thawed puff pastry squares. I bought mine pre-made and they measured about 4×4.

Saute the onion and garlic in 1 TBSP vegetable oil. Mix in the spices.

Add all the vegetables (including potatoes) and stir

Add half a cup of water and simmer for 30 minutes. If your filling is not thick enough, add some cornstarch pre-mixed with water until it looks like something that you can stick in a samosa. Spoon the filling into the puff pastry sheets and bake at 350 for 35 minutes.

1. Replace the eggs with egg replacer powder and pre-mix it before adding to the evaporated milk.

2. To make evaporated soy milk, take 2 cups of soy milk and bring them to a simmer. Let it boil on the stove for 20 minutes, or until it reduces to half its original size.

3. For god’s sake, cut this recipe in half, because even then it made over 2 dozen beignets, and they do not reheat or keep well.

1 c. coconut milk

1 c. coconut cream (usually available at liquor stores, but not at Whole Foods)

1 c. almond milk

1 1/4 c. bacardi

1/2 c. malibu

1 TBSP cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

2 tsp. vanilla

Mix all ingredients (except the rum) together in a blender. Add half of the rum, and then continue to add slowly, tasting as you go. Keep in mind that the drink will be chilled. Refridgerate for at least several hours, and overnight is really best.

one pumpkin pancake recipe to rule them all

I already have one pumpkin pancake recipe, and it’s pretty good: rich, pumpkin-y, not too sweet. It uses molasses, which at the time of recipe-creation, was something I always had lying around the house. Now I’ve finally managed to clear the multiple bottles of molasses out of my cupboard, but that doesn’t mean that the pumpkin pancakes need to stop. So, I came up with a new and improved pumpkin pancake recipe. These pancakes are amazing. They’re light and fluffy while still providing the intoxicating tastes and aromas that pumpkin has to offer.

This recipe makes an obscene number of pancakes, 20 to be exact, but that gives me an opportunity to share my perfect pancake freezing tip. Let the pancakes cool to room temperature, and then cut squares of parchment paper, a little smaller than the pancakes themselves. Layer a pancake, a piece of parchment paper, and another pancake. Keep going until you have a stack tall enough that it fits snugly inside of a plastic bag, and slip them inside. When it’s time to reheat, there will be no frozen stuck-together pancakes.  Also, you can reuse the pastic bags as often as you like, since they’re just pancake-freezing vessles now. Pumpkin Pancakes a Deux

1/2 c. soy milk

1 1/2 tsp. apple cider vinegar

1 1/2 c. white all-purpose flour or whole wheat pasty flour

1 c. regular whole wheat flour

2 TBSP baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 c. canned pumpkin puree

2  TBSP agave syrup

1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Mix the apple cider vinegar and soy milk and set aside for 5 minutes, or until it begins to curdle.

2. In a seperate bowl, mix the pumpkin puree with the agave, vanilla, and  spices.

3. In a seperate bowl (fancy!), sift together the dry ingredients.

4. Add the pumpkin to the dry ingredients and blend well. As long as your milk has curdled, add it to the rest of the mix until it’s just blended. Don’t overmix. If the batter is too thick to pour, add a tablespoon or two of water until it will give you a really thick pour.

5. Bring a frying pan or griddle to medium-high heat. If you’re using nonstick, there’s no need for cooking spray. Pour batter into 4′ pancakes and cook until bubbles rise to the surface, then flip and cook an additional minute and a half to two and a half minutes.