2-on-Tuesday: Vegan Cashew Cream Cheese

-photo courtesy of Eating Rules-

From the fall and through the holidays, I enjoyed enough Creamy Candied Jalapeño Spread to clog my arteries really tight. 

Wouldn't you know it! I received a post from a foodie blog I follow, Eating Rules, for a creamy, no animal protein, version of cream cheese. I was skeptical, but my attention was nabbed. I gave it a try and liked it!

Vegan Cashew Cream Cheese
by Sabrina Modelle of The Tomato Tart

2 cups (16 oz) Raw Cashews (This is different from the typical roasted & salted ones you snack on)
4 cups filtered Water + 1/2 cup more for blending
Juice of 1 Lemon
1 tablespoon White Wine Vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons Nooch (Nutritional Yeast)
1 teaspoon fine grain Sea Salt

• Soak raw cashews from four hours to overnight in filtered water
• Drain all water and blend with 1/2 cup filtered water, lemon juice, white wine vinegar, nooch and half of the salt until smooth. This will take at least 10 minutes in a food processor. Process until you have the consistency you prefer.
• You may need to add more water if your "cream cheese" is a bit too thick - for example, if it looks more like cashew butter than cream cheese. Be careful not to add too much.
• Taste-test for more salt, if needed, and blend to finish. You can add more, but you cannot take away.

Notes:

1. Remember the wangy flavor of dairy cream cheese? That's what you're going for. I was out of regular vinegar, but used Apple Cider Vinegar, instead. It took more to get the wang.
2. Filtered water? I used the water filtered through my Brita, because I live in a 100+ year old house with old pipes. But, filtered water isn't a must.
3. Once processed, I let it set-up overnight.

This is good! I enjoyed the nuttyness which still came through, probably due to me using a different vinegar. Those allergic to tree nuts would def need a warning label! I plan to use it in various cooking recipes in the future to see if it plays well with other foods. 

2-on-Tuesday: Quinoa-Stuffed Tomatoes with Spicy Cilantro Pesto

Saturday was the first day of college football season and I was in the mood for cookin' up

some spice! Here's another offering from the Forks Over Knives cookbook! As of this writing, I've been enjoying a mostly-plant-based nutrition since December 1, 2012! 

If you are considering making a lifestyle shift with fitness and nutrition to effect your health, I do have a couple of notes for ya...

1. The first 2 weeks of your new fitness and nutrition lifestyle will be the hardest.
2. If you can swing it -OR- if your health insurance covers a yearly wellness exam, DO IT! You'll have a good base of numbers to launch forward. Find out cholesterol, weight (ugh), blood pressure, thyroid (TSH) levels, then, you'll know what type of nutrition to pursue. Don't be too overwhelmed if your physician suggests meds to control these areas. Typically they opt for fitness and nutrition as their first prescription.
3. Find a fitness regime that makes you smile -after the first 2 weeks of fatigue and muscle soreness- and STICK TO IT! Consistency is the key! The cheapest is walking or running. I love REFIT® & Zumba! Known as "The Angry Runner," I am intentionally trying to smile for a couple of seconds during each run.
4. If there's a nutrition change, the hardest parts are (1) not giving up and (2) food preparation, if you have a busy lifestyle. When I don't prepare a menu or weekend food prep for the meals ahead, my husband and I will end up making poor nutritional choices and it'll cost us more money, too.

OK. On to the good stuff...FOOD!

Quinoa-Stuffed Tomatoes with Spicy Cilantro Pesto
(page 188, Forks Over Knives cookbook)

4 large Tomatoes, topped and scooped-out
1/2 Yellow Onion, peeled and diced small
1/2 Red Bell Pepper, seeded and diced small
2 cloves Garlic, peeled and minced
2 ears Fresh Corn, kernels removed (+/- 1 cup)
1/2 (15 oz.) can Black Beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups cooked Quinoa
S&P, to taste
3/4 cup Spicy Cilantro Pesto

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Cut the tops off of the tomatoes and scoop out the flesh. Set aside while you prepare the filling.
• Place onion and red pepper in a large saucepan and dry/water sauté over medium heat for 10 minutes. I like the veggies slightly crunchy!
• Add garlic and cook for 2 minutes--careful not to scorch the garlic.
• Add corn, black beans and cooked quinoa.
• Season with salt and pepper and cook for 5 minutes.
• Mix-in the cilantro pesto.
• Spoon quinoa mixture into tomatoes, arrange in baking dish, cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes!
• Prior to serving, top with some of the pesto!

Spicy Cilantro Pesto
(page 24, Forks Over Knives cookbook)

2 cups (+/-) packed Fresh Cilantro
1/2 cup hulled sunflower seeds, toasted (I used pine nuts, instead!)
2 Jalapeño peppers, coarsely chopped (I used 2 because the tofu and nooch de-heated the peppers!)
4 cloves Garlic, peeled and chopped
Zest and juice of 1 Lime (I only had the bottle kind on hand.)
Salt, to taste
1/2 package Extra Firm Silken Tofu, drained
optional: 1/4 cup Nutritional Yeast (nicknamed "nooch")

• Combine all of the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and pureé until smooth and creamy!
• This recipe serves as a pretty good dip for baked corn chips, too!

Food Prep Tips: 

• I had the "1/2" onion, red pepper and the 1/2 can of black beans from the previous night's recipe of Cheesy Mexican Quinoa.
• Be sure to rinse your quinoa before cooking to wash-off the bitter outside. You can't see it, but it's there! Trust me, I forgot, once, and had a little upset tummy. Same with the black beans...rinse 'em!
• To drain silken tofu (a different technique than draining firm tofu), remove from package and let sit for awhile or over night. The whey (the liquid you'll drain-off) will separate from the curd.

2-on-Tuesday: Savory Idunno Pie

Since eating mostly vegetarian from December 2012, I've not been as creative in this new

genre of cooking as I would like to be. One reason is I'm not as familiar with which non-plant-based ingredients can be substituted for plant-based food items AND how they work together. I would liken this immersion to being in another country and having to learn the language. 

It's taken me this long to have the nerve to step out and create this first recipe which is something like a quiche and something like a savory cheesecake. Until an educated foodie tells me what it is, I'm sticking with "Idunno" because I dunno what to call it!

The top layer is a light and creamy blend of tofu, almond milk, "nooch" (Nutritional Yeast), cornstarch and seasonings. I was scared it would not set like I wanted, so I added a whole egg. Next time, I'll eliminate the egg. The bottom layer is a dry-sauté of veggies, stems and greens. During the baking time, steam must have developed under the top tofu layer, because their was an unusual amount of liquid. I'm not quite sure how to prevent it. I may stir in some cornstarch with the veggies before topping it with the tofu mixture, next time. Suggestions?

No beets were harmed in this recipe. I used only the stems and greens! However, I saved the beets for another recipe!

Taste? I loved the textures! The top set up perfectly. It needed some extra flavor, possibly some onion powder and some fresh Thyme. The bottom veggie layer was yummy, too! My hubby said it could use some more salt and, perhaps, grilled portobello mushrooms. I like the way he thinks!

Savory Idunno Pie

1-2 large Carrots, diced
1 medium Onion, diced
1 Celery stalk, diced
Beet Stems from 2-3 large beets, diced & carefully cut from the leaves
-------
9-12 oz Baby Spinach 
Greens from Beets
4 cloves Garlic, coarsely minced

• Dry-Sauté the first 4 ingredients until tender adding only a splash of water enough to keep the veggies from sticking to the pan.
• Add the next 3 ingredients and continue to dry-sauté until greens wilt; apprx 5 mins.
• Set aside.

In the food processor, add the following:

1 (14 oz) pkg Tofu Extra Firm, drained
1 tablespoon Cornstarch, heaped
1/2 cup Nutritional Yeast (Nooch)
1/2 cup Almond Milk
1/4 cup Cashews, toasted **optional
1/4 teaspoon Nutmeg
Red Pepper Flakes, to taste
1 Egg
*1+ teaspoon Onion Powder?
 Thyme, perhaps 2 tablespoons?
S&P, to taste

• In deep pie dish or oven-proof skillet, spoon veggies into dish and, then, spread tofu mixture over veggies.
• I sprinkled with freshly grated pepper.
• Bake uncovered 30 minutes or until center is set and no longer jiggly.
• Let set for 10-ish minutes before serving.

Let me know your suggestions and spins ...or even what this dish really is!?!

~"Sam"