Creamy potato, tempeh soup with smokey roasted eggplant and kale

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A warm, nourishing, and filling soup. This recipe easily doubles.

For the soup
4T water, divided
1T maple syrup
1T tamari
2T cashew butter
1/4t turmeric
125g tempeh, finely chopped (use pasteurized)
1/4t coarse sea salt
2 scallions, minced (4-6″ green reserved for garnish)
2T fresh garlic, minced
1T lemon juice
3 cups vegetable stock
2 medium yellow potatoes, chopped (or about 2 cups diced)
1T tapioca flour dissolved in 2T cold water
2T nutritional yeast
Sea salt, black pepper and maple syrup to taste

For the eggplant
1T cooking oil
1/4t coarse sea salt
1T tamari
1t fresh garlic, minced
1/2T maple syrup
1/4t black or cayenne pepper
A dash liquid smoke (or to taste)
2 Italian eggplants (enough to make 12 – 16, 1/4″ slices)
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Optional: replace the liquid smoke with 1/2t smoked paprika

For the kale
1/2T cooking oil
1/4t coarse sea salt
2 cups loose green kale, stemmed and chopped
1T nutritional yeast
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

For the garnish
1/2t dried, ground sumac
1T nutritional yeast
Sriracha, cayenne pepper, chili flakes or similar to taste

Directions
Start the soup, then make the eggplant and kale. Mix the cashew butter, maple syrup, tamari, and turmeric until combined. Toss the chopped tempeh in the mixture to coat and set aside.

In a large pot with a lid, bring 2T water and sea salt to a simmer on medium high heat. Add the scallions and saute in the water for 2 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute. Add the tempeh, its marinade and 2T water to the pan. Saute for another 3-5 minutes or until the pan is starting to brown lightly.

Add the lemon juice and deglaze the pan. Add the stock and bring the pan back to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 30 minutes loosely covered. Add the potatoes, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for another 15 – 20 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender.

While the potatoes simmer, preheat the oven to 450F. Toss the kale in its cooking oil and sea salt. Trim the ends of the eggplant and slice length-wise in 1/4″ strips. Start by cutting the eggplant in half, and then cut in slices. Slice as evenly as possible to ensure even cooking. Aim for 16 slices if you can in case you loose a few during the cooking process. Trim the outside skin of the eggplant on the last slice, but don’t peel entirely.

Whisk the cooking oil, tamari, sea salt, maple syrup and liquid smoke. Toss the sliced eggplant in the mixture until well coated. On a lightly oiled, warm roasting pan or baking sheet, roast the eggplant and the kale until the kale is soft and the eggplant is well browned, turning once. Expect 8-12 minutes. Ovens vary; use the colour and texture of the eggplant as a guide. Remove the kale or eggplant and set aside if either cooks more quickly.

When the potatoes are tender, remove from heat and puree the the soup until smooth. Return the pan to a simmer. Mix the tapioca flour with the water until dissolved. Stirring continuously, add the tapioca mixture to the soup slowly until thickened.

Remove from heat and add the nutritional yeast. Chop 2-4 slices or so of eggplant (depending on how many you have total) and add to the soup. Add about 1/4 cup kale to the soup. Stir to combine. Let stand 2 minutes to cool. Season the remaining kale, the remaining eggplant, and the soup to taste.

To plate, ladle out the soup. Add the eggplant and kale to the middle of the bowl in a light stack. Spread the kale in a thin layer so that its pressure relative to the surface tension of the soup is nice and light.

Add the eggplant slices in a similar way. Sprinkle the soup with sumac and nutritional yeast. Add sriracha, red pepper flakes or similar. Garnish with thinly sliced scallion greens cut on an angle and serve.

Curry-spiced, chick pea, spinach wrap

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Chick pea and spinach stir fried in curry spices, in a whole wheat, curry-spiced wrap. A lovely but not very authentic dish with a lot of flavour.

Ingredients

For the dry spice mixture
1T curry powder (1)
1t dried, ground allspice
1/2t coconut sugar

For the filling
1 cup cooked chick peas
1/4t coarse sea salt
1T cooking oil
1T scant dry spice mixture
1t brown mustard
1T passata (or tomato puree)
2T water
1 cup tightly packed, chopped spinach
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Optional: 1T nutritional yeast

For the wrap
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1t dry spice mixture (whatever remains)

1/4t coarse sea salt
1/4 cup warm water
1T cooking oil

Directions

Mix the spices, make the wrap and then make the filling. Mix the curry powder with the allspice, and sugar. Mix the dry ingredients and add the water. Knead until a smooth elastic dough forms. Set aside in a bowl for about 15 minutes to let the dough rest, covered with a warm, wet tea towel.

When the dough has rested, on a floured board, roll out roll out into a small, flat circle (about 8″). Brush with 1t oil. Fold into a half circle. Brush with 1t oil. Fold into a triangle. Roll the wrap out to about a 12″ circle. It should be fairly thin (about 1/8″). Brush with the last 1t oil.

Bring a large frying pan to heat on medium high (or use a griddle if you have one). Add the wrap (dry side down) and fry for 1-2 minutes. Turn and fry the other side. The wrap will be done when it’s lightly browned. Don’t overcook. It will make the wrap harder to roll. Remove from heat, let the wrap cool for a few seconds. Rub very lightly between your palms to soften. Cover loosely with a dry tea towel and make the filling.

Bring the oil and sea salt to heat on high in a small frying pan. Add the curry powder and stir to combine. Fry the spices for a minute or until they are nicely aromatic.

Add the mustard and stir to combine. Add the chick peas and stir to coat. Fry for another minute. Add the passata and water and stir to combine. Fry for about 2 minutes or until the water has been absorbed. Add the spinach and stir to combine. Stir fry for another 1-2 minutes or until the spinach is nicely wilted but still green. Don’t overcook. Remove from heat and sprinkle with nutritional yeast if you’ll be using it.

To finish the wrap, add the filling to the middle in an oblong shape, slightly toward the bottom of the wrap. Let stand a minute for the filling to warm the wrap, and then wrap like a burrito.

Fold in the sides perpendicular to the filling gently, fold up the bottom up over the filling. Tuck the filling gently with the bottom of the wrap — but not too hard or you may split your wrap if it’s overfilled. Roll the whole thing over to close the wrap. Let stand 2-3 minutes before serving. I put mine back in the large frying pan to keep it warm, ‘seamside’ down.

  1. The curry powder makes a big difference to this dish. Use one you like with the right amount of heat, preferably one with fenugreek. This recipe uses a powder for convenience. You can always use the whole spices if you prefer. You can also replace the curry powder, allspice and sugar if you can find a Jamaican curry powder blend.

Amaranth with sun-dried tomatoes, kale and chick peas

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A rich breakfast dish or a light lunch with lots of colour and flavour.

Ingredients

For the amaranth
1/4 cup amaranth
3/4 cup water
2T sun-dried tomatoes, finely chopped (dehydrated, not
the jarred kind)
1/2T fresh garlic, minced
1/4t turmeric (or more to taste — I use 1/2t)
1T nutritional yeast
1T cashew butter

For the chick peas
1/2 cup cooked chick peas
1/2T curry powder
1/4t red Thai chili (or similar and/or to taste)
1/2T tamari
2t cooking oil
Sea salt and red or black pepper to taste

For the kale
1t cooking oil
1/4t coarse sea salt
1 cup green kale, stemmed and chopped
1 scallion, minced (2″-3″ green reserved for garnish)
1T nutritional yeast
Sea salt to taste

Directions

First, start the amaranth, then roast the chick peas and kale. In a small sauce pan with a lid, bring the water to a boil. Add the amaranth, cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for approximately 20 minutes, or until the amaranth has formed a sticky consistency. Stir frequently

Add the remainder of the ingredients except the cashew butter and nutritional yeast and stir to combine. Cook another 3 minutes and remove from heat. Add the cashew butter and yeast. Stir to combine. Let cool a few minutes.

At about the 10 minute mark, start the chick peas and the kale. Preheat the oven to 450F. Whisk the curry, tamari, and red chili, and toss the chick peas to fully coat. Toss the chopped kale in the oil, sea salt and scallions.

Add both the chick peas and the kale (separately) to a roasting pan or baking sheet and roast for about 8-10 minutes — until the chick peas are lightly dry but not chalky and the kale is a vibrant green. Be careful not to overcook; remove either if it becomes ready. When done, toss the kale with the nutritional yeast. Season the chick peas, kale and amaranth to taste.

To plate make a small circle of amaranth, add the kale, the chick peas, garnish with the scallions, and serve.

Apple pie frozen dessert with salted, red miso date caramel

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A luxurious breakfast or a light dessert with rich but comforting flavours

Ingredients

For the apple pie syrup
1 cup apple cider
1t fresh ginger, grated and minced
1/4t dried, ground cinnamon (or to taste)

Optional: a pinch dried ground cloves

For the bananas
2 medium frozen bananas (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/4t vanilla extract
1t walnuts, finely chopped

Optional: 1t maca powder

For the caramel
1/4 cup soft, dried dates, pitted and chipped
1/2T white pickling vinegar
1/2T red miso
3T warm water
A pinch coarse sea salt

Directions

Start the apple pie syrup, then make the caramel, then the bananas. Whisk the spices with the apple cider. In a small saucepan over medium low heat, reduce the cider mixture to about to 2-3T syrup.

The reduction will take about 20 minutes but depends on the exact amount of heat and the size of the pan. You can stir infrequently while it reduces to about 1/4 cup. At that point, it should start to caramelize. Reduce the heat to low. Stir continuously while it bubbles and remove from heat when you have a thick syrup. Set the syrup aside to cool and make the caramel.

Blend all of the caramel ingredients except the sea salt until smooth. Add the sea salt. Stir to combine. Set aside. Blend the bananas and vanilla until smooth. Add 1t pureed banana to the caramel and stir to combine. Add the maca (if you’ll be using it) and the syrup to the bananas. Blend smooth.

Add 2T caramel to the bananas. Stir to marble the bananas and the caramel. Spoon out to an appropriate dish. Garnish with the rest of the caramel and the walnuts, and serve.

Creamy sweet potato, red lentil, and carrot soup

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Garnished with roasted kale, walnuts and sea vegetables, this is a rich, but not overly heavy soup. The recipe will make 2 large bowls or 4 small ones, but easily doubles.

Ingredients

For the soup
2T water
1/4t coarse sea salt
2 scallions, minced (reserve 3″-4″ green for garnish)
1T fresh garlic, minced
1t fresh ginger, grated and minced
4 cups vegetable stock
2 cups sweet potato, peeled and diced
1/2 cup red lentils
1 cup carrots, trimmed and diced
2t tapioca flour dissolved in 1T cold water
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

For the kale
1/2T cooking oil
1/4t coarse sea salt
2 cups green kale, stemmed and chopped
1T nutritional yeast

For the garnish
2T walnuts, minced
1T black sesame seeds, minced
1t purple dulse flakes
1t green nori flakes
1T plant-only sriracha whisked with 1T apple cider
1 heirloom grape tomato, quartered
Scallion green sliced on an angle (as noted above)

Directions

In a large pan with a lid, bring the 2T water and sea salt to a simmer on medium high heat. Add the scallion and saute for 2 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and saute for another minute. Add the stock, sweet potatoes, and lentils. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes.

At the 30 minute mark, reheat the oven to 450F. Add the carrot to the soup. Simmer another 10 – 15 minutes until the lentils are dissolving and both the sweet potato and carrot are fork tender.

Toss the kale in the sea salt and oil. On a roasting pan or baking sheet, roast the kale on the middle rack for about 8-10 minutes or until it’s softened and a vibrant green. Remove from heat and toss with nutritional yeast.

When the soup ingredients are ready, remove from heat and puree until smooth. Return the pan to a simmer and add the tapioca mixture slowly, stirring continuously, until thickened.

Remove the soup from heat and let stand about 5 minutes to cool. While the soup cools, mince the walnut and sesame, and then mix with the dulse and nori. Whisk the sriracha and apple cider.

To plate, ladle out the soup. Add the kale in the middle. Sprinkle the kale and the soup with the minced walnut, sesame and sea vegetables. Garnish with the sriracha and cider, the tomatoes and the scallion and serve.

Red velvet frozen dessert with lime, walnut, and white miso frosting

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Traditionally, red velvet takes its colour and some of its sweetness from beet juice. This dessert uses a little whole, raw beet in that tradition. It will take some fine tuning to get the colour just right.

Ingredients

For the red velvet
2-3T cocoa (I use a fairly traded, Dutch-process brand)
1T cold water
1-2T raw beets, finely chopped (or beet juice if you
prefer)
2 large frozen bananas (about 1 1/2 cups — extra on hand may be helpful)
Maple syrup, agave nectar, or dates to taste

Optional: 1t powdered maca

Note: The beets will sweeten the dish a bit, but if you us the whole beet, you’ll be able to taste it. If you use dates to sweeten further and/or if you use beet juice rather than the whole beet, you’ll get a darker colour. If you don’t like beets, you can always experiment with raspberries or raspberry juice (although it will change the flavour).

For the frosting
1/4 cup scant walnut pieces
1T warm water
1T maple syrup or agave nectar
1/2T – 1T lime juice (to taste)
1/2 – 1T sweet white miso (to taste)

Optional: Use 2T cashew butter for an easier to mix, off-white and more neutral tasting version. Add 1/2T coconut oil or plant-only margarine for a a richer texture.
Directions

Puree the walnuts, lime juice and cold water until
smooth. Add the sweetener and the miso and stir to combine. If the mixture is too thick, add a little water 1/2t at a time; if too thin, add more walnuts and blend. Note that it will thicken a bit further as it sits. Set aside and make the red velvet.

Mix the cocoa and the water until thoroughly combined. Add the beets and puree smooth. Set aside for a minute for the chocolate to darken. Add the chocolate mixture to the bananas (and the maca if you’ll be using it) and puree smooth. Let it stand a minute.

If the result is not red enough, add additional beet. If it’s not dark enough, add additional cocoa. It’s likely you’ll use the full amounts noted, but start sparingly. It’s more difficult to lighten the dish’s colour (although if you have extra frozen banana on hand, you can do so).

Once you have the colour, sweeten to taste, spoon out, and garnish with the frosting. Add 1T frosting to the red velvet and stir for a marbled effect if you like.

Smoky eggplant, baby kale and tomato wrap

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Eggplant roasted with tamari and apple cider, mixed baby kale and diced tomato wrapped in warm, freshly made, whole wheat chapati. Wrap in a few rice paper rolls for a lighter version. Leave out the chapati, chop the roasted eggplant, double the greens, tomato and dressing for a light salad.

For the chapati
1/2 cup heaping whole wheat flour
1/4t coarse sea salt
1/4 cup warm water
1T cooking oil

For the eggplant
1T cooking oil
1/4t coarse sea salt
1T tamari
1t fresh garlic, minced
2T apple cider
1/4t black pepper
A dash liquid smoke (or to taste)
1 large eggplant (enough to make about 8, 1/4″ slices)
A dash liquid smoke
Sea salt and black pepper to taste
1T nutritional yeast

Optional: Some fennel seeds would make for a traditional flavour combination.

For the kale and tomato
1/2 cup diced tomato
1/4t coarse sea salt
1/2T balsamic vinegar
1/2t prepared brown mustard
1 cup mixed baby kale (or other greens)

Start with the chapati, then make the eggplant. Mix the dry ingredients and add the water. Knead until a smooth elastic dough forms. Set aside in a bowl for about 15 minutes to let the dough rest, covered with a warm, wet tea towel.

While the dough rests, make the eggplant. Preheat the oven to 450F. Trim the ends of the eggplant and slice length-wise in 1/4″ strips. Start by cutting the eggplant in half, and then cut in slices. Slice as evenly as possible to ensure even cooking. Aim for 8 slices if you can in case you loose a few during the cooking process. Trim the outside skin of the eggplant on the last slice, but don’t peel entirely.

Whisk the cooking oil, tamari, sea salt, apple cider, and liquid smoke. Toss the sliced eggplant in the mixture until well coated. On a lightly oiled, warm roasting pan or baking sheet, roast the eggplant is nicely browned, turning once. Expect 8-12 minutes. Ovens vary; use the colour and texture of the eggplant as a guide. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

While the eggplant roasts, roll the dough out on a floured board to a small flat circle (about 8″). Brush with 1t oil. Fold into a half circle. Brush with 1t oil. Fold into a triangle. Roll the wrap out to about a 12″ circle. It should be fairly thin (a bit more than 1/8″). Brush with the last 1t oil.

With the chapati ready to go, toss the diced tomato with the sea salt. Mix the vinegar and mustard. Add to the tomato. Let stand 2-3 minutes while you finish the chapati.
Bring a large frying pan to heat on medium high (or use a griddle if you have one). Add the wrap (dry side down) and fry for 1-2 minutes. Turn and fry the other side. The chapati will be done when it’s lightly browned and lightly dry. Don’t overcook. It will make the wrap harder to roll. Remove from heat, let the wrap cool for a few seconds. Rub very lightly between your palms to soften if necessary.

Toss the kale greens with the tomato. Layer the eggplant slices into the wrap as evenly as possible, slightly off center toward you. Pack them down into the wrap by hand. Be careful not to overfill. Reserve extra eggplant. Sprinkle with nutritional yeast. Add the kale. Add the tomato. Wrap like you would a burrito.

Fold in the sides perpendicular to the filling gently, fold up the bottom up over the filling. Tuck the filling gently with the bottom of the wrap — but not too hard or you may split your wrap if it’s overfilled. Roll the whole thing over to close the wrap. Let stand briefly (less than a minute) before serving, and then enjoy!

Flourfree chocolate torte with lemon vanilla chai icing, swirled with dark chai ginger caramel

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No flour, no baking, no gluten, simple, but rich and flavourful, the cake part of this torte is lovely all by itself. This makes 4 larger portions or up to 8 small slices.

Ingredients

For the cake
1/2 cup whole grain, brown teff
2 cups water
50g bittersweet chocolate (I use an organic, fairly traded bar)
1/4 cup coconut sugar
A pinch coarse sea salt

For the icing
1T plant-only shortening
1T plant-only margarine
6T powdered sugar (I use an organic brand) (1) (2)
1t lemon juice
1 chai tea bag and 1T reduced tea (explained in the directions)
1/4 cup boiling water

For the caramel
1T reduced chai tea (as noted)
1T coconut sugar (2)
1/2t plant only margarine
1T unsweetened soy milk
1/4t fresh ginger, minced

Directions

First make the cake part of the torte, then the icing and caramel.

In a small sauce pan with a lid, toast the teff for 2 – 3 minutes. Add the water and bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 20 – 25 minutes or until the teff is thick, the water has been absorbed and the teff pulls away from the sides when stirred. Stir periodically until the last 5 minutes or so, and then stir frequently to avoid sticking.

When the teff is ready, add the coconut sugar and sea salt and stir to combine. Simmer on the lowest possible heat for 3 minutes, stirring continuously. Add the chocolate and stir continuously until melted.

If you haven’t worked with chocolate much, this is the most delicate step in the recipe. Don’t add water, don’t change the temperature or do anything that may cause the chocolate to seize. Just keep stirring. When the chocolate has melted, pour the resulting batter into a 3″x9″ loaf pan. Refrigerate 20 minutes uncovered. Cover loosely and let cool 1 hour to setup.

When the cake has setup, make the icing and the caramel. Bring 1/4 cup water to boil, and steep the tea for 5 minutes. The tea makes a big difference to the taste. Use a tea with good, strong flavours that you like. Start the icing while the tea steeps. Add the margarine and shortening to a bowl to warm up a a little.

When the tea has steeped,remove the bag and give it a good squeeze. in a small sauce pan, reduce the tea by about half. Pour 1T or so of the tea into a small cup to cool. Add the coconut sugar, margarine, ginger and soy milk to the tea left in the pan. On medium heat, bring to a simmer and reduce to about 1 1/2 – 2T caramelized syrup over medium low heat.

The mixture will bubble and take on a noticeable shine as it caramelizes. Reduce heat to low once the process starts and stir constantly to avoid scorching the caramel. Once you have a dark,melted caramel texture, remove from heat let cool while you make the icing.

Whip the margarine and shortening until smooth (I use a fork). Add the icing sugar, and whip. Add the 1T cold tea you set aside from the caramel and lemon juice, and whip. Keep whipping until smooth peaks form in the icing (this should only take a couple of minutes). Add more powdered sugar 1t at a time if it’s too thin.

Turn out the cake carefully, ice the top, and drizzle with the caramel in a lattice if you like, or drip caramel onto the icing and swirl. Let stand for a few minutes to settle. Eat immediately for the richest flavour or refrigerate, very loosely covered.

  1. Some white sugars are still bleached with animal bone charcoal. Organic sugars typically are not.

  2. I find this type of icing very sweet. If you want to reduce cane sugar, you can replace the icing here with my walnut date fudge frosting or something similar. Since it’s a single layer torte, the frosting should be fine, but it won’t have the magical staying power that saturated fat, sugar and corn starch do. You can also replace the caramel with my chai date caramel recipe (although you’ll have leftovers).

For the fudge
3T warm water
1/4 cup dried,soft dates, pitted and chopped
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1t lemon juice
1/2t vanilla extract
1/4t coarse sea salt

Soak the dates and walnuts in the warm water for 5 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients except for the seal salt. Blend until smooth and creamy. Add 1T warm water if too thick, or an extra date and some walnuts if too thin. Add the sea salt and let stand 10 minutes to setup.

For the data caramel
1/4 cup boiling water
1 chai tea bag
1/4 cup dried, soft dates, pitted and chopped
1/4t fresh ginger

Steep the tea as above and the dates and ginger in the warm water. Remove the bag. Blend the chai with the dates until smooth. Add 1t frosting. Stir to combine and refrigerate for 5-10 minutes to thicken.

Tofu sofrito

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Sofrito is a complex but varied intersection between cooking method, ingredients, and finished dishes with many regional variations uses. My book, for example, has a version with green pepper, green apple and portobello mushrooms. Shown here with a smoky cashew spread
and fresh mixed baby greens wrapped in warm, fresh, hand rolled, whole wheat tortilla. It also goes well with brown rice, salsa and greens. Once you make it, you’ll find plenty of uses for it.

Ingredients

1 pound extra firm, high quality tofu, shredded (I use a box grater, larger holes)
1/2t coarse sea salt
1/4 cup cooking oil
2T garlic
1 medium red onion, finely chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
1T heaping smoked paprika
2t dried, ground cumin
2t dried oregano, rubbed
1T lemon juice
2 cups vegetable stock
1 ‘sprig’ dried kombu (about 1″)
2T sun-dried tomatoes, minced (the dehydrated kind, not jarred)
1T white vinegar
2t black strap molasses
1-2T minced chipotle (the dehydrated kind, not in adobo)
1 large red pepper (about 1 cup)
1 large poblano pepper (about 1 cup)
1 cup passata (or tomato puree)
Red or black pepper and coarse sea salt to taste

Optional: You can replace chipotle with habanero (I often do). I also often replace the passata with salsa, the cumin with garam masala and/or the oregano with herbes de Provence. Spanish onions are more traditional than red. Cilantro, white wine and green peppers are also common variations.

Directions

Start with the peppers, then the tofu. Press your tofu ahead of time if it needs it. Preheat the oven to 450F. Lightly oil the peppers and roast until their skin is lightly charred (or use the gas stove method if you have a gas stove). Expect about 20 minutes, give or take.

It’s likely the poblano will finish more quickly than the red pepper. Remove them from heat separately if necessary. When done, let the peppers stand 10 minutes to cool. Skin, core, seed and dice. Puree the peppers (including the chipotle) until smooth.

When the peppers are ready, bring the oil to heat in a large frying pan with the sea salt. Add the onion and saute for 3-5 minutes. Add the dry spices and the garlic and saute for another 1-2 minutes. The spices should be quite fragrant.

Add the tofu and saute until lightly browned (expect another 7 – 10 minutes). Stir carefully so as to not break up the tofu too much. Add the lemon juice and deglaze the pan. Remove from heat and add to a slow cooker. Add the remaining ingredients and slow cook for about 5 hours on high or 8 hours on low (although adjust for your
slow cooker — you know it better than I do).

Once the liquid has reduced to about 2 cups, preheat the oven to 200F. Remove the kombu and transfer the tofu to a roasting pan or baking sheet with sides and roast for about 2 hours, stirring periodically to ensure even browning and drying.

Once most of the liquid has been reduced and the pan is beginning to dry, increase the heat to 450F and roast for about 10 – 20 minutes to finish. The tofu should be chewy, but juicy, and an even reddish brown. Season to taste with additional pepper and salt.

Note: You can reduce cooking time by skipping the slow cook and slow roast in favor of just a slow roast. In that case, roast for about 4 hours at 200F and then increase heat, but expect to stir periodically the whole time. Your texture may not be quite as even and the flavour will not be quite as balanced. You may also want to wear gloves
when working with the chipotle or other hot peppers.

Peanut butter and chocolate cookie dough frozen dessert

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Ingredients

For the nice cream
3 small frozen bananas (about 2 cups)
1/2t vanilla extract

For the cookie dough
1T whole wheat flour
1T unsweetened, unsalted peanut butter (I use crunchy)
1T coconut sugar (or to taste)
1-2t unsweetened plant milk
10g bittersweet chocolate chopped (I use an organic, fairly traded bar)
A pinch coarse sea salt

Optional 1t maca powder. Replace the wheat flour with a suitable gluten free flour (e.g., sorghum). Replace the chocolate with chocolate chips if you prefer. The coconut sugar will give the dough that bit of crystalline texture, but you can substitute other sweeteners.

Directions

Mix the ingredients for the cookie dough until a dough forms. Add an extra teaspoon of plant milk if dry. Let the dough rest a few minutes. Blend the bananas with the vanilla until smooth. Add and blend 1T cookie dough for a more homogeneous flavour, or keep them separate for more contrast. Break the dough into small pieces (about 1/2 -1t). Stir once or twice into the bananas. Spoon out and serve.