Skinny bitchtastic brownies

There I go again, being crude and vulgar. First nut milk, now this? Well, such language is one reason the book Skinny Bitch is so polarizing. Once you brush aside all the animal rights brouhaha, the message is blunt but true—people need to stop eating like fat pigs! I can understand how more sensitive souls could see it as one big, harsh, body-image-trashing slur, but if you can take it lightheartedly, it’s really a great read, full of important points and good ideas. I tend to be a little deficient in the sensitivity department with things like this, so I found the book fun and entertaining, and I can see it being a swift kick in the ass for those who need that.

I’ve been cooking a lot lately from Skinny Bitch in the Kitch, the companion book to Skinny Bitch, and these brownies are a great example of the straightforward, tasty, no-frills recipes contained there. I made them even more virtuous by replacing some of the oil with prune purée, but you can just use 6 Tbsp oil if you’d rather.

5 oz. unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
1 1/4 cups Sucanat, or other natural sweetener
3/4 cup firm silken tofu (about 3/4 of a Mori-Nu pack)
1/4 cup safflower or canola oil
2 Tbsp puréed prune baby food
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 Tbsp cocoa powder
1/4 tsp sea salt



Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8x8-inch baking pan. In a food processor, combine the melted chocolate, Sucanat, tofu, oil, prune purée, and vanilla.



Process until smooth. You could just stop here and eat this like a pudding, and it would be heavenly. Just look how silky it is!



But you probably want to make the brownies, so go ahead and add the flour, cocoa powder, and salt.



Pulse together until just combined.



Transfer to the pan and spread evenly.



Bake for 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack.



You don’t have to be a skinny bitch to love these brownies (clearly, I am proof of that). What you do have to be is a lover of all things deeply fudgy and darkly chocolatey. I highly recommend having some soy or almond milk nearby to chug between bites—these brownies are the very definition of rich. And they’re made entirely in a food processor—it doesn’t get any easier!



Yield: 16 servings. Per serving: 153 calories, 8.5g fat (3g sat), 20.5g carbs, 2g fiber, 2.3g protein.

If you like this, you might also like...
Deep chocolate brownies
Chocolate brownie muffins
White chip brownies

Tofu-veggie breakfast scramble

I admit, this is one of those all-vegan-food-blogs-have-one recipes, but everyone needs a good scrambled tofu in their repertoire. The only way I ever liked eggs was scrambled, but considering I’m a tofu fiend, I find scrambled tofu to be even tastier. There’s also something incomparably satisfying to me about a savory breakfast (I think I eat too much cereal), so this really hit the spot after a hard morning workout.

2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 small (or 1/2 medium) onion, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
1/2 celery stalk, diced
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup frozen edamame
1/4 cup frozen corn
5-6 white button mushrooms, sliced
1 pkg. (12-14 oz.) extra-firm tofu
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
Black pepper to taste

Combine the cumin, thyme, turmeric, and salt in a small bowl. Add 3 Tbsp water, mix, and set aside. Heat the oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and sauté for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds. Add all remaining vegetables...



...and stir to combine.



Break the tofu apart into bite-size pieces, add to the pan, and sauté for about 10 minutes, stirring often. You want to make sure the tofu doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. It should be at least partially browned, but you don’t need to be too precise about it. Add splashes of water if it does start to stick.



Add the reserved spice mixture and stir to combine. Add the nutritional yeast and pepper. Cook and stir for about 5 more minutes, then serve while still warm.

The spices in this really sing to me (I looove cumin), but you can change them up if you’d like. Same with the veggies; choose your own adventure. Scrambled tofu is a vegan classic; you have to try it at least once!



Yield: 4 servings. Per serving: 175 calories, 9.6g fat (1g sat), 12.5g carbs, 4g fiber, 13.2g protein.

If you like this, you might also like…
Overnight steel-cut oatmeal
Roasted potatoes w/garlic-cumin aioli
Vegan biscuits and gravy

Hazelnut cupcakes w/chocolate mousse filling

A couple weekends ago, I had an exceedingly busy Saturday. After a 12-mile run, I set out on an ambitious afternoon of cupcake baking. Four hours later, I had four dozen mini cupcakes ready to take to my friends Colby and Sara’s graduation party in Lawrence. Yes, you read right—four hours! I made two types of cupcakes, and each one had multiple components. These were the first batch, and were probably slightly more time-consuming than the other. (This would be a good time to enlist a kitchen helper, people!) Be prepared, these are a lot of work, but just wait until you taste one.

For the mousse:
6 oz. extra-firm silken tofu (half a Mori-Nu pack)
2T soymilk
1T maple syrup
4 tsp instant coffee granules
2 tsp hazelnut liqueur (like Frangelico)
1 tsp vanilla
2/3 cup chocolate chips

Crumble the tofu into a blender. Add the soymilk, maple syrup, instant coffee, hazelnut liqueur, and vanilla. Purée until completely smooth. I’d like to take just a moment to profess my adoration for Frangelico. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways...



Melt the chocolate chips at 50% power in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds (or use a double boiler). Once melted, let cool for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then add the chocolate to the tofu mixture and blend until combined. Transfer the mousse to an airtight container or bowl covered in plastic wrap. Let chill for about an hour to firm. (Remove from the fridge 10 minutes before using.)



For the cupcakes:
1/2 cup + 2T all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/3 cup hazelnut meal or almond meal
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup soymilk or nut milk
1T ground flaxseed
1/3 cup canola oil
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1T hazelnut liqueur

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin tin or a 24-cup mini muffin tin with paper liners and mist lightly with cooking spray. In a small bowl, whisk together the flaxseed and soymilk. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, hazelnut or almond meal, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. (Tip: to make nut meal, pulse raw blanched hazelnuts or almonds in a food processor until just ground—it should have a sandy consistency.)



Add the maple syrup, brown sugar, canola oil, vanilla, and hazelnut liqueur to the flax/milk mixture and beat well. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir to combine.



Fill muffin cups 2/3 full.



Bake for 22-24 minutes for regular cupcakes, or 16-18 minutes for minis. When done, let sit in the pan for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.



For the ganache:
1/4 cup soymilk
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1T maple syrup
1T hazelnut liqueur

Bring soymilk to a gentle boil in a small saucepan. Immediately remove from heat and add the chocolate chips, maple syrup, and hazelnut liqueur. Stir until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is smooth. Set aside at room temperature until ready to use. Somehow, I forgot to take a picture of this part.

Now for the assembly: put the mousse filling in a piping device fitted with a small tip. Push the tip into each cupcake, and fill with as much mousse as will fit. Scrape any excess off the tops. (If you don't have a frosting piper like mine, use your finger to poke holes in each cake, and a ziploc bag with the corner snipped or a pastry bag to fill.) There will be extra mousse left over; set it aside.



Dip each cupcake upside down into the ganache, just enough to coat the entire top. Twirl it around a little to allow any extra to drip off, then place it right side up on a cutting board. Set the cutting board in the fridge for 10-15 minutes to let the ganache set. You can serve these as is, or garnish as desired. I piped a little dab of the leftover mousse onto each, and topped with a whole hazelnut. Beautiful!



Are you exhausted just reading all that? Call it a labor of love, but it was so worth it. The cupcake is nutty and firm, and not overly sweet. It’s the ideal vehicle for the creamy, velvety mousse inside. The ultra-rich ganache on top really sends it over the edge. There are so many textures and layers of flavor for your tongue to dance upon, it’s just magnificent. These are as impressive to the eye as they are to the palate, and they earned me many an exclamation of delight and gratitude at the party. Stay tuned for the other batch!



Yield: 12 regular or 24 mini cupcakes. Per cupcake (regular): 292 calories, 13.6g fat (4g sat), 39.7g carbs, 3g fiber, 7g protein.
Per cupcake (mini): 146 calories, 6.8g fat (2g sat), 19.8g carbs, 1.5g fiber, 3.5g protein.

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Pumpkin chocolate chip cupcakes w/cinnamon glaze
Coconut heaven cupcakes
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Crème-filled German chocolate upside-down cake

Yes, I realize I just did an upside-down cake, but while that one is classic and traditional, this is a very unconventional take on a well-known and -loved cake. German chocolate may not have anything to do with Germany (it was named after a Mr. Samuel German), but it can’t be a coincidence that my family is a GCC-loving clan. For just a few moments, though, suspend your preconceived notions of German chocolate cake, and try my interpretation on for size. The recipe is one I found a long time ago in Taste of Home. It’s unique, unexpected, and it veganizes surprisingly easily.

This is one of my three favorite cakes of all time (you’ll find out in due time what the other two are) and while it’s one of the most caloric desserts I’ve got on here, it’s well worth a splurge. You can use the excuse that I did, and make it for a friend’s birthday.

1 1/3 cups sweetened flaked coconut
1 cup chopped pecans
1 pkg German chocolate cake mix
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1T canola oil
1 Ener-G egg
1/2 block firm silken tofu, like Mori-Nu
1 pkg vegan cream cheese, like Tofutti, softened
1/2 cup Earth Balance, softened
4 cups powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Sprinkle the coconut and pecans evenly into a greased and floured 13x9-inch baking pan.



In a blender, combine 2/3 of the tofu with the applesauce, canola oil, Ener-G egg, and however much water your cake mix calls for (probably 1 1/4 cup) and process until completely smooth. At this point, my blender was already dirty, so I decided to try something weird and make the whole cake in there. It worked! So, you can transfer the mixture to a large bowl and break out a whisk or hand mixer, or you can just dump the cake mix right into the blender.



Blend for about 2 minutes, then carefully pour the batter over the coconut and pecan mixture in the pan.



Set that aside, and clean out your blender (take this opportunity to taste the batter, ohh it’s good). Set the blender back up and process together the cream cheese and Earth Balance. (I have a good feeling coconut oil could work here as well.) Add the remainder of the tofu and blend again.



Add the sugar a cup at a time, blending until completely smooth. Carefully drizzle the mixture evenly over the batter in the pan



Make sure it goes all the way to the edges. You’re probably wondering why we’re putting frosting on the bottom of an upside-down cake, but just you wait.



Bake for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Check out what happens in the oven—the rich, weighty frosting sinks halfway down into the cake, et voilà, instant crème filling!



Cool the cake for 10-15 minutes, then invert onto a serving plate or, in my case, a parchment-lined baking sheet. Before you say anything, yes, I admit I nibbled on one of the corners as the cake cooled. I just couldn’t wait. Only when I flipped the cake did I realize I couldn’t hide it in the picture, heh. Sorry.



Is that beautiful/amazing/mouthwatering/insert-yummy-adjective here, or what?! The coconut and pecans toast all on their own against the bottom of the pan, and lend the cake a pleasant crunch and chew. The cake part is kept super-moist by the applesauce and tofu, and the filling—oh, that filling! Super-sweet and rich, but with just the right amount of tang from the cream cheese. With every bite you sink your fork into, that gorgeous crème will ooze out to greet you. When you combine it all in your mouth, you'll experience the gustatory fireworks that only a treat as hedonistic and indulgent as this can bring.



I really wish this last picture weren’t blurry, but maybe that’s a sign that you need to just go bake this cake yourself. Because you do. Oh, you do.



Yield: 20 slices. Per slice: 337 calories, 14.4g fat (4.8g sat), 50.8g carbs, 2g fiber, 2.2g protein.

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Deep chocolate bundt cake
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Vegan French silk pie

I can only think of one food item that I am really intimidated by: pie crust. I’ve read innumerable recipes, techniques, tips, and reassurances that “anyone can do it.” Nanny, my grandma, can make it with her eyes closed. Yet I can’t get over my gnawing paranoia. There are so many variables; how do I know everything will work? What if my ingredients aren’t the proper temperature? What if I add just a little too much water? What if my dough sticks or tears until it’s a raggedy mess? What if I overbake it, or it puffs up in the oven? What if it just tastes like cardboard?

I knew that sooner or later I’d conquer my doubts and give it a go, and that day arrived last week. I went the simplest (and unhealthiest) route, to save myself as much headache as possible, and made it an all-shortening crust. Once I get more comfortable with it, I’ll experiment with Earth Balance or canola oil, but this time I went for the least temperamental, though most overprocessed and mysterious, fat. But hey, it’s still vegan, and anyway, Nanny has always made her crusts exclusively with shortening. This is the richest and fattiest thing I’ve had on this blog yet, but after all, it was Valentine’s week. Chocolate was mandatory.

For the crust:
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup cold water
3/4 cup shortening

For the pie:
1/2 cup firm silken tofu, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1.5 oz bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled
1 tsp vanilla
2T cocoa powder
1T Ener-G
1/4 cup warm water

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Combine the flours and salt in a large bowl. Take 1/3 cup of the flour and mix it together with the cold water in a small bowl to form a kind of paste.



Cut the vegetable shortening into the remaining flour with a pastry blender until crumbly. Add the flour and water mixture, and mix just until the dough is comes together. Divide it in half, and wrap one half in plastic wrap and freeze for later use. Heavily flour a work surface and flatten out the dough in a circle.



Roll with a rolling pin to about a 1/8-inch thickness.



Gently press into a pie plate. I have no good way to tell you how to do this. My dough tore and fell apart in several places. Truth be told, I came close to giving up. I arrived at the point of not caring how it looked, as long as it was in the pan in one mostly-homogenous piece. Trim the edges with a knife (as you can see, I trimmed pretty far, because my edges were not pretty) but don’t throw them away! Sprinkle them with cinnamon sugar and bake them in a separate pan alongside the pie. I loved eating those scraps when I was little.



Prick the crust lightly with a fork and put in pie weights or dry beans. I had neither, so I lined the crust with parchment paper and poured in dry rice. It actually worked! Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown, then set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, put the tofu and sugar in a blender and process until smooth.



Add the melted chocolate, vanilla, and cocoa powder and blend it again. Finally, add the Ener-G and warm water, and process until it’s as smooth as you can get it, scraping down the sides a couple times. Pour the beautiful chocolate goo into your cooled pie crust.



Lick the spatula when you’re done.



Put it in the fridge to chill, for several hours or overnight. Whenever you’re ready for smooth chocolate bliss, pull out your masterpiece, slice, and serve. Include some soy whipped cream, if you’ve got it.



So my pie crust wasn’t the prettiest. So I got frustrated a few times. So I dirtied a whole bunch of dishes and turned my kitchen into what looked like a war zone. It’s all good, because I am more than pleased with the result. The crust is surprisingly flaky, the filling is silky and rich, and the crust-to-chocolate ratio is, in my opinion, optimal. This was well worth the effort. Stay tuned, because I will be trying my hand at making pie again.



Yield: 10 slices. Per slice: 290 calories, 18g fat (6g sat), 31g carbs, 4g fiber, 5g protein.

Tofu parmigiana alla marinara

Did you ever like chicken parmesan? I didn’t. I just never found anything appealing about a bland slab of chicken, covered with a thick coating of crumbly bread scraps, fried until completely saturated with grease, and adorned with a soggy, viscous mass of fatty, slimy cheese. (I’m sure there are people out there to whom that sounds delectable. I pity them.) No, to me, chicken parmesan was just a sad way to ruin the perfectly good pasta that tends to come served beneath it.

What does sound promising, however, is the looser concept of a seasoned and cooked protein paired with a pasta and topped with a rich marinara sauce—which brings us to this delightful recipe, another winner from my favorite magazine. I kept the original spirit, but made it a little easier and a bit more flavorful. One simple swap made it instantly vegan.

8 oz. whole wheat spaghetti
14-oz. pkg extra-firm tofu, rinsed
1/4 cup plain dry breadcrumbs
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp salt
5 tsp olive oil, divided
1 onion, diced
1 carrot, peeled and finely shredded
2-4 cloves garlic, minced
1+ cup marinara sauce (storebought or homemade)
6T vegan mozzarella (optional)
2T chopped fresh basil or parsley (or 1 tsp dried)



Cook the spaghetti according to package directions; drain when done. Combine the breadcrumbs, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and salt in a shallow bowl. (Alternatively, just use Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs.) Cut the tofu crosswise into six “steaks” and pat them dry. Dredge both sides of the tofu in the breadcrumb mixture.



Heat 2 tsp oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the carrot and garlic, and cook and stir for another 2-3 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a bowl. Add the remaining 1T (3 tsp) oil to the pan and then add the tofu steaks.



Cook until browned on one side, about 3 minutes. Turn over and cook for 1-2 minutes more.



Spoon the onion/carrot mixture over the tofu.



Pour the marinara on top and sprinkle 1T of the mozzarella on each piece (if desired—I could care less about cheese, but I admit it does look prettier this way).



Cover and cook until the sauce is hot and the cheese is melted, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and sprinkle with the basil or parsley.



Serve each tofu steak atop a mound of spaghetti, spooning the extra sauce from the pan alongside.



The tofu strikes that perfect balance between tender and chewy, the breadcrumb coating adds just the right amount of seasoning, and the marinara is marvelously livened up by the fresh vegetables. Those crazy carnivores can keep their foul, oil-drenched, saturated-fat-laden fowl. I’m too busy with this deliciousness to feel bad for them anymore.



Yield: 6 servings. Per serving: 319 calories, 10.7g fat (1.7g sat), 40.7g carbs, 5.1g fiber, 18g protein.

If you like this, you might also like...
Spaghetti with tomato and peas
Tempeh bolognese
Vegan pesto pasta

Tofu makhani curry

Happy new year! Hope everyone had a great Eve (how very fortunate that liquor is vegan). I’m looking forward to my first full year of food blogging, and all the delicious meals it will bring. My last cooking adventure of 2008 was an awesome one, and something I had been meaning to make for a long time.

Chicken makhani is an Indian dish that I would liken to chicken tikka masala, with the difference being that it’s even richer. “Makhani” means “butter,” after all (though it’s not the same dish as “butter chicken”...go figure). I based this recipe loosely off of one on Allrecipes that, in its original form, was nowhere near vegan – besides the obvious (chicken), it contained butter, half-and-half, and yogurt. But with a couple easy substitutions (and one particularly creative one), this dish adopted its new vegan identity effortlessly. The resulting meal is not just healthier, but is actually quicker and easier to make than the original.

1T canola oil
1 medium onion, diced
2T Earth Balance
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 bay leaf
1T ginger paste (or minced ginger)
1T garlic paste (or minced garlic)
1/4 cup ground almonds or cashews
1 cup plain soymilk or nut milk
1 8-oz. can tomato sauce
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste
1 pinch salt
1 pinch black pepper
1 pkg. extra-firm tofu, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

A few tips...
- Ginger and garlic pastes are available at Indian grocers, and are well worth the trip. I was only recently turned on to them, and already find them indispensable. If you make a lot of Indian or Asian food, or if you just use garlic as copiously as I do, it can shave valuable minutes off your prep time.
- Ground almonds can be made by putting blanched whole almonds in a food processor and blending until they’re in the tiniest crumbs possible, but stopping before it turns into almond butter. (This is what will thicken the curry.)
- Get your basmati rice going before you start. (I use brown basmati.) Bring 1 cup rice and 1 3/4 cup water to a boil, then put the lid on, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for about 25 minutes.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Sauté the onion until soft and translucent. Stir in the Earth Balance, lemon juice, garam masala, chili powder, cumin, and bay leaf. Cook and stir for 1 minute while breathing in that spicy, mouth-watering aroma.



Add the tomato sauce and cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in the soymilk, ground almonds, and ginger and garlic pastes. Season with salt and pepper to taste, throw in the tofu cubes and cayenne, and reduce the heat to low.



At this point, the sauce will be fairly thin.



Simmer it for about 10 minutes. The tofu will absorb a good amount of the liquid, and the ground almonds will thicken the sauce. Add water, about 2T at a time, if it condenses too much/too quickly. By the time your rice is done, your curry should look more like this:



Remove the bay leaf, and garnish it with cilantro if you’ve got it, or stir in some frozen peas, or enjoy it as-is. It’s thick, rich, and luxurious, filled with chunks of firm tofu and permeated by warm, indulgent spices. Now this is my kind of comfort food.



Yield: 3 servings. Per serving (without rice): 353 calories, 24.6g fat (3.6 sat), 10.6g carbs, 3.3g fiber, 20g protein.

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Indian & Moroccan at home
A vegan taste of India
Indian curried lentils