#205 The Case of Tofu Florentine

If you can handle the steps below somewhat simultaneously, you'll be way ahead of the game!

1/2 cup cashew milk

1 lb medium tofu, cut into 6 approximately 1/4-cup squares (you may have some tofu left over)

1/2 teaspoon salt + more to season the spinach

2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

2-1/2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon cayenne 

10 oz baby spinach

1 tablespoon olive oil

pepper

1/3 cup vegan baking stick, melted

2 English muffins

In a high-speed blender, blend together the cashew milk, 2 squares of the tofu, salt, nutritional yeast, mustard seeds, turmeric, lemon juice and cayenne until smooth.

Sauté the baby spinach in the olive oil and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Microwave 4 squares of the tofu, covered with its package liquid (or water), until heated.

Start your high-speed blender again on the soup function (if you have one). Remove the cover over the hole in the lid and gradually pour in the 1/3 vegan butter stick, melted. Continue to blend until the sauce is heated. (If you don't have a soup function, blend then warm the sauce in a small pot on the stove.) 

Split and toast the English muffins.

Assemble on two plates: English muffin halves, spinach, tofu (lifted out of the liquid with a slotted turner), sauce.

Serves 2.

♥ Becki

#204 The Case of Roasted Potatoes with Rosemary

Do you know that the flesh of your potatoes will keep its colour (won't turn grey) if you brine the spuds overnight before roasting?

1/8 cup salt + more to taste
2 cups water
24 baby red and white potatoes 
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup fresh rosemary (or 1/4 cup dried rosemary)

Dissolve the 1/8 cup salt in the water.

Add the potatoes and let sit overnight.

Preheat oven to 400ºF.

Drain, rinse and shake the potatoes dry.

Pierce them with a fork and microwave on high for 8 min.

Drain again, if needed, then toss them with the olive oil, rosemary and salt to taste.

Roast for 30 min.

Stir then roast for 30 min. more.

Serves 2.

♥ Becki

#203 The Case of Spicy Cranberry Sauce

The neat thing about this recipe is the cranberries POP in the oven! (In this pre-roasting pic, I halved the recipe below to make just enough for Karl and me.)

1 orange

1 lb fresh cranberries

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

1 jalapeno, thinly sliced

2 cinnamon sticks

4 cloves

1-1/2 tablespoons red wine

Heat oven to 450ºF.

Using a vegetable peeler, remove the rind from the orange with as little pith as possible. Thinly slice the peel and cut into 3/4” lengths.

Squeeze the orange and reserve 1 tablespoon of the juice.

On a baking dish, combine the peel, cranberries, sugar, olive oil, salt, jalapeno, cinnamon sticks and cloves, and roast for 15 min.

Transfer the mixture to a bowl.

Stir in the reserved orange juice and red wine and let sit for at least an hour. Remove and discard the cinnamon sticks and cloves (easier if you've tied up the cloves in a tiny cheesecloth bag before roasting).

Makes 2 cups.

♥ Becki

PS All this month, my e-book mystery A KILLER NECKLACE is on sale for $1.99 USD (Amazon only). Happy holidays!

#202 The Case of Tomato Orange Soup

2 tomatoes, cored and quartered
1 cup water
1/8 cup onion
1-1/2 cloves garlic
1 small chillie, seeded
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 cup cashew milk
1 seedless orange, peeled and quartered
salt

Pour all the ingredients, including salt to taste, into a high-speed blender, one with a soup function.

Wrap the upper part of a battery-operated electronic meat thermometer probe in plastic wrap so it doesn't get covered in Tomato Orange Soup. Hang it in the blender by its conduit and secure it with the blender lid so that there is NO WAY the probe can descend into the blades. I even hold on to the conduit while I'm blending because I don't want the probe pulled in further.

Blend until your Tomato Orange Soup reaches 118ºF.

Taste and, if necessary, add more salt then blend a bit more.

Pour into bowls and enjoy!

Serves 2.

♥ Becki

#201 The Case of Greek Pasta Salad

When I turn one of my salads, such as my Greek Salad, into a pasta salad, I concern myself with shapes. In this case, seeded, chopped tomato turns into grape tomatoes, halved. And feta, crumbled, becomes Vegan Greek Style Sheese (from Bute Island Foods Ltd.), cubed. 

1 cup penne rigate, cooked and rinsed under cold water

1 cup seeded, chopped cucumber
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup Greek olives, pitted
1/8 cup minced onion
1/2 yellow pepper, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup Vegan Greek Style Sheese, cubed
vegetable seasoning

Toss together all the ingredients, including vegetable seasoning to taste.

Serves 2.

♥ Becki

PS If you can't purchase Vegan Greek Style Sheese, cubes of firm tofu, marinated overnight in a brine of 1/8 cup salt/2 cups water then rinsed, substitute very well. I say they're lighter than the faux cheese. Bonus: they use up leftover tofu!

#200 The Case of Cucumber Relish

These relish-loaded hot dogs are made with very authentic tasting Lightlife Smart Dogs veggie wieners.

8 cucumbers, seeds scraped out, cut into 1/4" dice
1 medium onion, chopped slightly smaller than the cucumbers
2 red peppers, chopped slightly smaller than the cucumbers
1/2 jalapeño, minced
1 tablespoon salt
2 cups vinegar
2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
1 tablespoon celery seeds
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
2 pinches chilli pepper flakes

In a very large bowl, add the cucumber, onion, red pepper and jalapeño. Stir in the salt.

Transfer to a large colander and set over the bowl to drain overnight in the fridge (at least 8 hours).

Dump the collected liquid, stir the vegetables, then drain for another 2 hours.

Dump the collected liquid.

Wash 1 or 2-cup canning jars and lids in hot, soapy water and dry.

Place the jars, upright, in a cold oven and heat to 225ºF. Leave for 30 min.

Boil the lids and a knife for 5 min. in a canner filled to 3-1/2".

Drop in new caps, a funnel and the ends of a pair of tongs. 

In a large pot, bring the vinegar, sugar, garlic and spices to a boil and stir until the sugar dissolves.

Add the drained vegetables, bring back to a boil and simmer for 30 min.

Using the colander, drain and dump the excess vinegar mix.

Pick the funnel out of the canner with the tongs. Using the funnel, fill the hot, sterilized jars set on a tea towel or rag, leaving about 1/4" head space.

Remove air bubbles by drawing the knife in and out of the jars, at the edges and in the centres. If necessary, wipe the rims with a clean, damp cloth.

Cap.

Add the filled and capped jars to the canner of warm water. A specialized metal rack or even a rag at the bottom of the canner will prevent jars from rattling on the bottom of the canner and avoid cracking. Add more hot water to cover the jars by at least 1". Cover the canner and bring the water to a boil. Processing time begins the moment the water reaches a rolling boil. Boil vigorously, adding more boiling water if necessary.

Process for 10 min. at altitudes under 1,000 feet. For altitudes between 1,000 and 6,000, process for 15 min. For altitudes above 6,000, process for 20 min.

With tongs, remove the jars from the canner and let them cool for 24 hours away from drafts. Do not tighten the lids.

When cool, tighten the lids. The caps should curve inward. Wipe the jars with a damp cloth, and dry them.

Makes 5-6 cups. This recipe may be doubled.

♥ Becki

#199 The Case of There's an App For That

If I do decide to go fancy, I make mini-versions of my everyday recipes to serve as appetizers, like this Caprese Salad App.

♥ Becki

PS Don't be stingy with the basil. For each individual app, take a large basil leaf and fold it up or combine smaller leaves into a wee packet.