Peanut Butter PIe

Chocolate Peanutbutter Pie

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

1 pound firm tofu
about 1/2 to 2/3 cups of melted vegan chocolate chips
1/2 to 2/3 cups peanut butter
soy milk to desired texture
your favorite pie crust, a vegan graham cracker crust is usually the best

Directions:

Serves 8.

Put to tofu in a blender with the melted chocolate chips and the peanut butter with about a 1/2 cup of soymilk to start. Blend the ingredients together until very smooth, this may take a while if your blender is not super high powered. Then the fun part comes in: taste the mixture and see what else it needs. Add more chocolate and peanut butter to your liking. It may be necessary to add a little more soy milk if you are having trouble blending the yummy mixture. Put the mixture into a baked pie crust and smooth out the pie surface. You can make fancy designs in the surface if you want. Place the pie into the refrigerator for about 1 hour until it is firm to the touch. Cut and serve to the chocolate and peanut butter fans in your life. Yum Yum!!!

Source: A collective venture of sweet tooth friends.

So I didn't mix the tofu with the chocolate because I wanted to have a chocolate crust peanut butter center and chocolate ganache top. But the problem is that the tofu peanut butter part wasn't very sweet, but I am hoping the chocolate ganache makes up for that. Oh and as if I need to say this, the half and half isn't mine.

Crepes Anyone?

I used Alton Browns Crepe recipe as the base to my delisous breakfast.

Crepe Ingredients

• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup flour
• 3 tablespoons melted butter
• Butter, for coating the pan

Crepe Directions

In a blender, combine all of the ingredients and pulse for 10 seconds. Place the crepe batter in the refrigerator for 1 hour. This allows the bubbles to subside so the crepes will be less likely to tear during cooking. The batter will keep for up to 48 hours.

Heat a small non-stick pan. Add butter to coat. Pour 1 ounce of batter into the center of the pan and swirl to spread evenly. Cook for 30 seconds and flip. Cook for another 10 seconds and remove to the cutting board. Lay them out flat so they can cool. Continue until all batter is gone. After they have cooled you can stack them and store in sealable plastic bags in the refrigerator for several days or in the freezer for up to two months. When using frozen crepes, thaw on a rack before gently peeling apart.

*Sweet Variation Add 21/2 tablespoons sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 2 tablespoons of your favorite liqueur to the egg mixture.

As a filling I would love to be able to use cream cheese and jam, but I can't. So I used some of my homemade yogurt that I made with lactose free milk, so I can eat it. Then I made a sauce with blackberries. I put about 1/2 pint of black berries in a small sauce pan with a 1/2 cup of sugar and enough water to come 1/2 way up the berries, then boiled the lot for about 20 minutes, until a syrup formed. Needless to say it was amazing. After cooking the crepe batter I put about 1 tablespoon yogurt down the center of the crepe with 2 teaspoons of the blackberry sauce and then I folded it and repeated until I had enough for my niece and I. I then topped them with more berry syrup.

It was amazing, I plan to eat more tomorrow. If you want to know how to make your own yogurt I suggest Youtube.com, it was very helpful.

Tofu Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

1 (16-ounce) can pureed pumpkin
3/4 cup sugar or sucanat (or 1/2 cup maple syrup)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground allspice, optional
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg, optional
2-3 tablespoons cornstarch to firm up the pie filling
1 package (10-12 ounces) silken/soft tofu
1 9-in unbaked vegan pie shell

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 F. Blend the pumpkin and sugar. Add salt, spices, cornstarch and tofu, mix thoroughly. Pour mixture into pie shell and bake for 15 minutes. Lower heat to 350 F and bake for another 60 minutes. Chill and serve. Don't use the low fat tofu, then the pie tastes like it was made with tofu. This pie is soooo yummy, it will fool almost anyone. I made it last Thanksgiving for my whole family, I am the only one, and everyone asked for seconds. They begged me to make another one for Christmas dinner. Top with non dairy topping and it will fool any pumpkin pie lover.

Makes: 8 servings, Preparation time: about 1 hour + chilling time, Cooking time: 1 hour 15 minutes

I got this recipe from Vegweb.com its was amazing! I made this for Thanksgiving and instead of making one big pie I put the filling into those appetizer filo dough shells you get in the freezer section. There were two other pumpkin pies made with the typical evaporated milk and eggs, and there were left overs of their typical pies and mine were all gone. Thats how you know they are good.

Apple Turn Overs

1 t orange zest
3 T freshly squeezed orange juice
1 1/4 lb tart apples (I used Granny Smith)
3 T sugar
1 T flour
1/4 t cinnamon (I used about 1 t)
1/8 t nutmeg (I used about 1/2 t)
Pinch of kosher salt
1 egg, beaten and a little water to make a wash
Puff Pastry

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.Combine the orange zest and orange juice in a bowl. Peel, quarter, and core the apples and then cut them in 3/4-inch dice. Immediately toss the apples with the zest and juice to prevent them from turning brown. Add the cherries, sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.

Flour a board and lightly roll each sheet of puff pastry to a 12 by 12-inch square. Cut each sheet into 4 smaller squares and keep chilled until ready to use.

Brush the edges of each square with the egg wash and neatly place about 1/3 cup of the apple mixture on half of the square. Fold the pastry diagonally over the apple mixture and seal by pressing the edges with a fork. Transfer to a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Brush the top with egg wash, sprinkle with sugar, make 2 small slits, and bake for 20 minutes, until browned and puffed. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Mint Gelato

• 2 cups whole milk ( Lactose free milk!)
  
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup torn mint leaves
• 4 large egg yolks

Place the milk, 1/4 cup of the sugar, and the mint in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Cover and set aside until the milk is strongly perfumed with mint, about 30 minutes or up to an hour. Check occasionally until the mint presence is strong but not overpowering. Remember that when frozen, the flavor will lose some of its intensity

In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining 1/4 cup sugar and the egg yolks until the mixture thickens and turns pale yellow.

Strain the milk mixture into a medium bowl to remove the mint leaves, letting as much milk as possible drain from the leaves. Measure the milk and add more if needed to make 2 cups.

Place the milk in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and slowly whisk half the milk into the egg and sugar mixture. Whisk in the remaining milk.

Pour the milk-egg mixture back into the saucepan and place over medium heat. Using a wooden spoon, stir constantly until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon. Pour into a bowl and keep stirring until the mixture cols.

Freeze in an ice-cream machine following the manufacturer's directions.

To serve, scoop the gelato into chilled metal or glass goblets. Shave the chocolate over the top.

Yield: 1 pint

This was hands down the best ice cream I have made! It was more work than normal ice cream because its really a frozen custard. I added Andes mint pieces to the gelato and it was perfect I will definitely use this recipe when ever I want mint chocolate chip ice cream.

Mint-Chip Vegan Ice Cream

1/2-1 C fresh mint, preferably peppermint, leaves washed, dried and torn in half, stems discarded
1/2 C nectar
1 C hemp milk
1 C Coconut milk, chilled
1/3-1/2 C vegan chocolate chips or shaved/chopped chocolate bar

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan, on low heat, warm the hemp milk, peppermint leaves, and nectar just until steaming (but not boiling), for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and let steep approx. 20 minutes to 1 hour. Chill the covered mixture about 1 hour (or overnight).
2. Strain mixture; discard solids. Stir in chilled coconut milk
3. Freeze in an ice cream makes according to manufacturer’s instructions. Just before the ice cream is done freezing, add chocolate chips/shavings until blended. How much you add is totally up to you – I added about 1/3 C for mine, but I also topped my serving with more shavings.
4. Transfer to an airtight container, and freeze about 30 minutes. Ice cream can be stored in an airtight container in the freezer up to 1 week.

I substituted soy milk for hemp, and I use chopped Andes mints instead of vegan chocolates. Texture was great and the mint flavor was perfect, but you could really taste the coconut milk which really detracted from the over all flavor. I am going to use soy creamer next time.

My First Rack of Lamb

Roast Rack of Lamb With a Rosemary-Parmesan Crust

Servings
Serves 6

Ingredients
1 stick unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 cup bread crumbs, preferably panko
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
2 teaspoons chopped rosemary
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 8-rib racks of lamb,
trimmed
4 tablespoons olive oil
5 cloves garlic, crushed
3 sprigs thyme

Cooking Instructions
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

In a small bowl, stir together butter, bread crumbs, Parmigiano-Reggiano, onion, and rosemary, until they come together to form a ball. Season with salt and pepper, and set aside.

Brush the racks of lamb with oil, and season with salt and pepper. Set a sauté pan over medium heat, and add 2 tablespoons olive oil, garlic, and thyme. Sear the lamb, one rack at a time, for 1 minute per side or until golden brown, and transfer to a baking sheet. Roast the racks for 10 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees, and continue cooking until the lamb’s internal temperature reaches 130 degrees (medium-rare; start check-ing after 5 minutes at 350 degrees).

Preheat broiler.

Transfer the racks of lamb to a work surface, and allow to rest for 5 minutes before coating the meat with the breadcrumb mixture. Broil the racks for a few minutes, watching carefully, until the crust turns golden brown.

I made this recipe without the thyme and Parmesan cheese subbing a little for bread crumbs. It turned out pretty good, next time I will extend the cooking time so that it doesn't come out medium rare I really would rather a medium chop. I also think the crust would stay better on each individual potion, if you cut the chops in peaces before adding the crust. When you cut into the whole rack after the crust is on a lot of it falls off. All in all it was rather good. And not as hard to make as I thought it would be. Probably a bit easier without kids and family running in and out of the kitchen.

Non-dairy Tacos and Shortcake

To make tacos a little more friendly to my stomach I use lots of salsa, guacamole, beans, and soy cheese. And I sub lactose free milk instead of whipped cream for the shortcake. Just give the cake a splash or two and the cake will soak all of it up leaving it moist and yummy!

Good non dairy Breakfast choice

Wow its been too long!