Vegan Pumpkin-Beer Bread

     These past few days have been feeling very fall-like. Between classes back in session and the cool autumn breeze, and even the release of Pumpkin Spice Lattes at Starbucks (not that it's vegan appropriate) I figured I should re-post one of my favourite fall recipes. This Vegan Pumpkin-Beer Bread is one of my all-time favourite fall recipes.

     We made this last night and were very satisfied, once again. This bread is moist but hearty. If you made my chocolate zucchini bread last post, this bread is definitely more of a bread than a cake, I promise this time. This pumpkin bread is just subtlety sweet with pumpkin-pie like aromatics. It makes for a perfect breakfast or a snack for school or work.

     This recipe was inspired my a recipe on Slate. It's not vegan but you can check it out here

Serves: One 9-inch loaf, serves 12

Ingredients

• vegan margarine for greasing the pan
• 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour,can use a mixture of white and whole-wheat
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 heaping teaspoons pumpkin pie spice OR
• 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• Pinch ground nutmeg (optional)
• Pinch ground Asian 5-spice (or allspice)
• 3 tablespoons margarine
• 1 cup pumpkin purée (a third of a can)
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup pumpkin ale, I suggest "St-Ambroise Pumpkin Ale"; alternatively, use mulled apple cider

Preparation

1. Heat the oven to 350°F. With margarine, grease a 9" loaf pan. Combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices in a large mixing bowl.
2. In a medium sauce pan over low heat melt margarine. Stir in the pumpkin and brown sugar until smooth. Pour the pumpkin ale or cider into the sauce pan and mix until smooth. 
3. Add the wet pumpkin mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until combined, then transfer the batter to the greased loaf pan.
4. Bake at 400°F for 45 minutes to 1 hour. If you can smell the bread from the living room, it's probably done! Otherwise, bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes in the loaf pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Leftovers should be covered and stored at room temperature for up to 5 days, although I've never seen it last that long....its normally finished in 3 days.

Tofu Chocolate Pudding

     Chocolate heaven. As much as I love greens, and boy have I been getting a lot of them lately with my CSA from Rye's HomeGrown, it's always nice to escape the jungle that is my fridge with a smooth and decadent chocolate delight. I initially created this recipe for a food demo for one of my nutrition classes, aimed at getting vegetarian children to eat more protein, considering the nut-free policy of most elementary schools these days. And based on the reviews I received, you'll love this pudding and so will your children (or anyone else's children). Because tofu is so dull it takes on whatever flavours you add it to, in this case it just tastes like chocolate, which makes me very happy. 

     I've tried a couple different ways of making tofu chocolate pudding. Making it with just cocoa powder isn't quite decadent enough, not enough fat. I found that when I used just chocolate chips, it was a bit too fatty. Or perhaps I just felt guilty using that much chocolate chips. Either way, I find that using a combination of chocolate chips and dutch cocoa powder is just perfect. 

     This recipe is rather simple compared to dairy based chocolate puddings, the hardest thing you'll have to do is melt some chocolate, which can either be done with in a double boiler, or if you are lazy like I often am, you can even do it in the microwave. 

Time: 15min (+1h)

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

• 1 package silken or soft tofu, drained
• 2/3 cup (120g) semi-sweet chocolate chips or quality dark chocolate
• ¼ cup (30g) cocoa powder, unsweetened
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• ¼ cup water
• 1 Tbsp soy milk

Preparation

1. In a double boiler or a large glass bowl over a pot of boiling water, melt chocolate with cocoa powder, maple syrup, water, and soy milk, stirring regularly.
2. Meanwhile blend silken or soft tofu in blender until smooth, alternatively this can also be done with an immersion blender.
3. When the tofu is smooth and the chocolate mixture is melted, add the chocolate to the tofu in the blender, and blend on low to combine.
4. Transfer to a storage container or serving bowls, and refrigerate for at least one hour before serving.
5. Serve with fresh raspberries and coconut or shaved chocolate.

Try serving it with raspberries and fresh shaved coconut, it's a delicious combination!

Vegan Carrot Cake with a Cream Cheese Icing or Lemon Glaze

       There is something very satisfying about eating carrot cake. Could be the taste, could be the fact that I feel better about eating a carrot-based cake than other less nutritious desserts. Ryan actually thinks that my carrot cake might be too healthy, but he's happy because he gets to eat cake for breakfast.

       If you know my dad, you probably know that he LOVES carrot cake. I remember when I was around ten or so, my mother was had broken her arm during March break. But it being my dad's birthday, he wouldn't settle for anything less than homemade carrot cake. So my mother, with only one good arm grated my father carrots for his carrot cake. She always reminds us of how that was the best cake she ever made (this recipe is based off of her recipe, minus the sweat and tears that went into that particular recipe), and she never lets us forget it. 

       This carrot cake has pretty much everything in it, many of the ingredients personally requested by my father (he tasted it yesterday and was quite pleased) including shredded coconut and raisins. I grew up loving a good cream cheese icing on my carrot cakes, but recently have been opting for a tangy lemon glaze. Both toppings pare excellently with this recipe, and their recipes and instructions can be found below.

Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 2 cups finely grated carrot, unpacked (approx. 2 medium-large carrots)
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp ground flax seed
• 1 cup soy milk or other varieties
• 1/2 cup light oil, olive oil or vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp apple vinegar
• 1 tsp lemon juice

• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat or mixed flour
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt

• 2/3 cup raisins, soaked and drained
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut, I like unsweetened
• 1/2 cup walnuts, pecans or mix

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a loaf pan, bunt pan or 9x9 square pan.
2. In a medium bowl, combine all wet ingredients, and mix together.
3. Soak raisins in water while you prepare the dry ingredients.
4. In a large bowl mix together dry ingredients.
5. Pour wet ingredients into the dry bowl and mix until combined. Drain the raisins, then fold into wet batter with the nuts and coconut.
6. Pour into prepared pan and bake 350°F for 45-60 minutes. Depending on your cooking wear the times will vary, the square pan and the bunt pan will take less time to cook than the loaf pan.
7. Before removing loaf from oven, check done-ness with a tooth pick or a cake tester.
8. Let cool completely before icing or slicing.

Vegan Cream Cheese Icing

• 4 oz/125g Tofutti cream cheese
• 1/4 cup margarine
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups icing sugar

1. Beat cream cheese, margarine and vanilla, and gradually add sugar until fluffy.

Vegan Lemon Glaze

• 1/2 cup icing sugar
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice (fresh is better)

1. Whisk icing sugar with lemon juice until smooth.

Vegan Dark Chocolate Beetroot Cake

     February sixth has come again, which means that Ryan's another year older. I was thinking of making Ryan a lemon poppy seed cake, but he decided that he wanted a chocolate beetroot cake. So here is my recipe! It's light and fudgy and absolutely delicious.

     I tried to look up a vegan recipe online but there weren't really any that suited our needs. Don't get me wrong, there are a couple out there, but there where a couple things I needed to have in this cake, like espresso (Ryan's request), boiled beetroot rather than roasted so that I could use the water for the liquid in the recipe, and a light but fudgy product. So, I used my favourite chocolate cake recipe, and umphed it up with some luscious beet purée and a long shot of espresso... as well as a couple other changes to try and get the right texture and moisture content. 

     This cake turned out wonderfully! Ryan couldn't believe how moist but fluffy this cake was. Moist chocolaty goodness, why not? I've also paired the cake with a poppy seed butter cream, a fun spin off of the usual, but nothing to flavourful so that it doesn't outshine the cake.

Serves: 6-10
Time: 30 minutes prep, 30-45 minutes cook

Ingredients

• 4 medium beets, about 400 g, trimmed, peeled and cut into 2" pieces
• 1 1/2 cup granulated white sugar
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 cups all-purpose-flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt 
• 1 cup beet water, or water
• 1 long espresso (2-4 Tbsp)
• 1/2 canola oil
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Poppy Seed Butter Cream

• 1/2 cup vegan margarine
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups powdered/confectioners sugar
• 2 Tbsp soy milk
• 2 - 3 Tbsp poppy seeds

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Wash, trim and peel beetroot (you might want to wear some gloves). Cut into 2" pieces. Place in a medium pot, rinse once, and then cover with about 2" of water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until tender (they should be easily pierced with a fork), about 30 minutes. Check water level every ten minutes, and top up with a bit of water if too much boils off.
3. Poor beet water into a glass measuring cup, keep one (1) cup, and discard the rest, or of there is less than a cup, top it up with warm water.
4. Purée beetroots with a food processor or an immersion blender. As much as I love my food processor, beets are a bit messy so I tend to choose the stick blender for this task.
5. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, cocoa, leavening agents and salt.
6. While whisking, slowly add in the wet ingredients: beet purée, beet water, espresso, canola oil and vanilla extract. Mix well until smooth.
7. Lightly grease your baking pans, either two 9" round baking pans or a bunt pan, and if possible, also line with parchment paper.
8. If using the two round pans, equally distribute the batter between them. On a flat surface, bang the pans a couple of times, and then swirl or spin so that there is more batter around the edges of the cake pan than the center. This will help you get flatter cakes rather than really rounded cakes.
9. Bake in the oven at 350°F for 30-35 minutes (two pans) or 40-45 minutes (bunt pan).
10. Lick spoon (it's tasty. Seriously).
11. When done baking, you should be able to pierce the center of the cake with a tooth pick or a knife and have it come out clean. 
12. Let cool on a wire rack in the cake pans for 30 minutes, then delicately remove from the cake pans, and let cool an additional 30 minutes, still on wire rack, before icing or glazing.
13. To make the poppy seed butter cream, whisk together the margarine with the vanilla extract, then slowly whisk in the powdered sugar. Then whisk in the soy milk and the poppy seeds, you can use a little or less soy milk to achieve your desired texture. This can be done by hand, or using an electric mixer, your preference.
14. Ice and enjoy.

Coconut Apricot Bars

       On their own, these tasty Coconut Apricot Bars are a great breakfast or snack option. They are not too sweet but with the addition of a scoop of vanilla or coconut ice cream on top or a sprinkle of icing sugar, these bars also make an excellent dessert. 

       The base of the bar has heart healthy omega-3 and omega-6's from the flax as well as fiber from the whole wheat flour. The topping is filled with chopped apricots, almonds and pecans, as well as a coconut caramel-like sauce. These coconut apricot bars are a healthy alternative to traditional "Magic Bars". Just as tasty, but use a lot less sugar and use better fats. Saturated fat from coconut products contains short chain fatty acids, which unlike their animal product competitors are not processed the same way and are less likely to clog up you arteries.       

Serves: 12 large dessert size bars (3"x3") or  24-36 medium-small bars

Ingredients

Base:
1/2 cup margarine
1 tbsp molasses
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tbsp ground flax seed 
3 tbsp water
1/8 tsp ground ginger, heaping
3/4 cup white flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour

Coconut condensed milk:
1 can coconut milk
2/3 cup brown sugar, packed

Topping:
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut 
1 cup dried chopped apricot*
1 cup chopped nuts, a combination of pecans and almonds or your favourite
2/3 cup Ritz crackers, about 12-15, chopped or lightly crushed*

optional: icing sugar or vanilla or coconut ice cream   

Preparation

1. Turn on the oven to 375°F and toast nuts for 8 minutes while the oven is preheating and lightly grease 13x9 inch pyrex pan. 
2.To make the base, beat margarine with brown sugar, ground flax seed, water, molasses and ginger and then mix in the flour. Pour into the greased pyrex pan and press with your fingers, bake for 10 minutes at 375°F. 
3. In a small sauce pan combine the entire can of coconut milk and the packed brown sugar. Simmer on medium-low heat for 12-14 minutes, stirring occasionally so that the condensing coconut milk doesn't boil over. If a thin film forms, whisk it back into the condensed coconut milk. Final product should be a medium thick milk of a light caramel colour.
4. Combine coconut, apricot, nuts and Ritz crackers in a bowl.
5. Pour 2/3  of the prepared coconut condensed milk on top of the baked base, this should cover the majority of the base.
6. Evenly distribute the coconut, fruit and nut mixture on top and drizzle remaining coconut milk mixture on top of this layer.
7. Bake at 375°F for 20-25 minutes, the coconut milk should be golden brown around the edges.

8. Chill completely (~2h) before cutting.

9. Eat as is for a snack or for breakfast. If serving for dessert, add a scoop of vanilla or coconut ice cream on top of a large square cut bar or dust a fine layer of icing sugar on top before serving.  

*if particularly dry, can be soaked in a bit of water for a couple of minutes

*if you like sweet and salty desserts, you can use Ritz original, otherwise use low sodium Ritz crackers

Chocolate Lover's Brownie Cookies

     Lovers of anything chocolate beware. These fudgy brownie cookies are addictive. Soft, gooey and oh so chocolaty.

     After what seemed to have been the longest exam period in history, I am finally free. Well relatively speaking. I'm still working at the pool, teaching kiddies how to swim, volunteering at the hospital and taking summer school. But overall, I have much more time to do things that I want (like build another book shelf and create some new recipes). So to celebrate my freedom, I made some cookies.

     These cookies are supper moist. When you take them out of the oven they look undercooked. But by leaving them on the hot baking sheet for a few more minutes, you are firming up the bottom so they don't fall apart while allowing them to stay moist and gooey in the center, just like a brownie cookie should be.

Serves: about 36 cookies

Ingredients

1 cup margarine
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup semi-sweet dark chocolate chips (use 1 1/2 cups to make them extra chocolaty)

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
2. In a medium bowl, beat margarine and sugar until fluffy, then beat in the water and vanilla.
3. In another bowl, mix flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and baking powder.
4. Stir dry mixture into the wet, until well combined, then stir  in chocolate chips.
5. Use a cookie scooper or roll dough into golf ball size balls (1 1/2" in diameter). Place balls onto an ungreased cookie sheet and either slightly compress the dough balls or leave round (the more round the gooeyer).
6. Bake in the center of the oven for 8-10 minutes, remove and let cool on the cookie sheet for 1-5 minutes before transferring the cookie onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Vegan Oreo Cheesecake

It was Ryan's birthday last week and we wanted to try out making something new. After I was done my exam, I ran to the grocery store, picked up some tofutti, some Oreos and all the other necessities to make one tasty Oreo cheesecake. I love using tofu in cheesecakes, mostly because it makes me feel like I am way healthier than I am. The cake is much lighter than one would expect and because it has all that heart-healthy protein, I don't feel bad about eating cheese cake for breakfast 2 days in a row.  

My oven is not the greatest. It's old and has a stupid knob to choose between using the top or bottom element.
A normal person would remember to put the oven on bake....but I forgot. So the top is bit darker than expected,
but still ridiculously delicious! 

I've used classic Oreos, but you could use any chocolate sandwich cookie. I've made this recipe so that it uses an entire bag of cookies, about 26, but if you only have 24 cookies its not the end of the world, just take away one or two from the crust or filling.
I've also used coconut oil in this recipe. It is not an ingredient that I use that often, mostly because it is easier and cheaper to use margarine, but coconut oil works great here. Because coconut oil solidifies around room temperature, you get a solid crust. Coconut oil, although it is a saturated fat, is one of the healthiest sat-fats because it is composed of short chain saturated fatty acids, which our body doesn't digest the same way as lard or butter. But, if you don't have coconut oil*, you can substitute the coconut oil with margarine and add 2 Tbsp of flour to help bind the crust. 

Ingredients

Crust
18 Oreos, crushed into crumbs or crumbled 
3 tbsp melted coconut oil (*See note above if you don't have coconut oil)

Filling

Last time I made cheesecake I broke my spingform pan, so
this time I ended up using a cake pan. To avoid scratching up
my pan, I lines it with parchment. The little pieces of paper
sticking out were just there to help us hold down the
parchment paper when we were spreading out the crust.
Looks pretty good though, doesn't it?

1 package firm (or extra firm) tofu, rinsed and squeezed out
2 tubs tofutti cream cheese 
2 tbsp soy milk (or other varieties)
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
Scant 1/2 cup white sugar
4 tbsp flour

4 Oreos, chopped or crushed into medium pieces

Topping
4 Oreos, chopped or crushed into medium pieces

Preparation

Crust
In a  food processor, pulse Oreos, or alternatively, seal Oreos in a freezer bag and crush finely with a rolling pin.
In a medium bowl, stir together melted coconut oil and Oreo crumbs with a fork until well mixed.
Poor mixture into a 9" spring form pan (or pie plate) and press down firmly with a fork or spatula, distributing the mixture evenly to about 1/4 inch thick. 

Preheat oven to 325°F.

Filling
In a medium mixing bowl, crumble tofu, and add all other ingredients for the filling, other than the Oreos.
Mix together roughly, then use an immersion blender or transfer the mixture to the food processor or blender, and blend until smooth.
Spread the filling evenly onto the crust.


Topping
Sprinkle the chopped or crushed Oreos evenly on the top of the filling. Lightly push the Oreo peices into the filling, just slightly so they don't fall off while serving.
Bake at 325°F for 70 minutes.
After 70 minutes, turn the oven off, leaving the cheesecake in the oven for an additional hour.
Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature on a wire rack before cooling in the fridge.
Let chill for at least an hour before serving.

Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Cups

School's back in session and we can all use a mid-week pick-me-up, so behold: chocolate peanut butter cups. If you've had Reese's peanut butter cups, you know what to expect. But these tasty cups may exceed you expectations. 
I make my peanut butter cups with dark chocolate chip, but feel free to use any chocolate you wish. As for the peanut butter, use natural peanut butter, or a similar product without all the added sugar which can make your peanut butter cups cloyingly sweet.

Makes: 12 cups (so make sure you've got 12 paper muffin cups on hand)

Ingredients

1 cup creamy natural peanut butter
1/2 icing sugar
1 1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/8 tsp salt (optional, but makes them taste better)

Preparation

Melt chocolate chips either on low heat on the stove top or in a microwave.
Spread half the melted chocolate evenly around the sides and the bottom of the 12 muffin cups. I find this can be done easily with a small spoon if you hold the muffin cup in you hand and spin it while spreading the chocolate around.
Place the paper muffin cups in a muffin pan and place in the freezer for a minimum of 20 minutes.
While the chocolate is hardening  in a small bowl cream the peanut butter with the sugar (can be sifted to avoid sugar chunks, unless you are too lazy like me) and salt. If the mixture is a bit stiff due to stiff peanut butter, you can add a dollop of margarine to the mixture.
In hardened-chocolate cups, distribute the peanut butter mixture evenly, spreading it flat with a spoon or by banging the muffin pan on the counter.
Refreeze the peanut butter cups for about 20 more minutes before spreading on the top layer of chocolate.
After all the chocolate has been smoothed out, refreeze the peanut butter cups for 1 hour.
Store in the freezer afterwards and let them thaw for a few minutes before nibbling.
Enjoy!

No-Bake Double Chocolate Torte

       Updating a favourite! Brought this delicious Chocolate Avocado Torte to a dinner party this past weekend and it was a huge success. I don't know how a chocolate torte could get bad reviews, but this one sure didn't fall short. The inspiration for this recipe came from "oh she glows' Chilled Double Chocolate Torte: The No-Bake Version" by Angela Liddon which I originally made in 2013 (oh how the time flies!). This torte is an excellent chocolate summer treat, and because it is no-bake, you don't need to brake a sweat making a delicious dessert.

Serves: 8-12
Time: 40 minutes + 2 hours (inactive)

Ingredients

No-Bake Crust

• 2 cups pecans or walnuts, toasted
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 2 tbsp melted coconut oil (can also use vegan margarine, though the crust will be a bit crumbly)
• 1/8 tsp salt

Chocolate Avocado Mousse 

• 3 medium avocados, pitted and flesh scooped out
• 1/3 cup soy milk or dairy-free equivalent
• 1/2 maple syrup or honey
• 1 tbsp almond butter or smooth peanut butter
• 1 tbsp cornstarch 
• 1/8 tsp salt, scant
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 cup of melted chocolate chips, semi-sweet

Preparation

Crust:

1. Oil a 7-10 inch spring form pan, or use wax or parchment paper.
2. In a food processor, pulse pecans or walnuts with other crust ingredients until thick and crumbly or cakey (a few larger nuts never hurt anyone).
3. Spread the mixture evenly on the bottom of the spring form pan, and put in the freezer while making the mousse.

Mousse:

1. Melt chocolate chips in a double boiler or in the microwave, stirring frequently.
2. Meanwhile, in a food processor, purée all other mousse ingredients until smooth.
3. Stir in melted chocolate chips and pulse until smooth and well combined.
4. Remove the crust from the freezer and scoop the mousse on top. Smooth out with a smatula and freeze for at least 2 hours before serving chilled.
5. To serve, let defrost for 5-10 minutes before cutting the torte, then replace the remaining torte in the freezer to not over soften the mousse.

Vegan Cheesecake

I've made this dessert for my mom's birthday for the past two years. She loves cheesecake and loves this vegan version too. Unlike regular cheesecakes that can weigh you down, this version in light and protein rich. You can feel good about yourself after eating it, so go ahead and have an extra piece. Really, this cake is a complete source of protein, using pecans as a crust with a tofu/tofutti cream cheese filling. You don't need to worry about missing out on your meat substitute food group if you're having this baby for dessert!
I've made this recipe a total of three times, and every time I make it, I play with the toppings. I've used apples in the fall, raspberries and strawberries and my latest was blackberries and strawberries.

How delicious does this look? Untouched and ready to be eaten.

 Ingredients

2 Cups strawberries (1/2 quart) to 1 Cup blackberries (1/2 pint)
I only cooked the berries for a few minutes (the strawberries for
 ~5 minutes and the blackberries for ~3 additional minutes on
medium low heat) to keep them fresh 

Crust
3 cups pecans (2.5 if chopped)
4 tbsp white sugar
3 tbsp whole wheat flour
6 tbsp melted margarine

Filling
1 package firm (or extra firm) tofu, rinsed
2 tubs tofutti cream cheese
2 tbsp soy milk (or other varieties)
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1 tsp cinnamon (optional)
5 tbsp whole wheat flour

Topping
2 tbsp margarine
3 cups fruit, such as mixed berries (see photos for more information)

2 Cups raspberries (1 pint) to 1 Cup strawberries
I made this this cheese cake last year and travelled on the bus
with it from Toronto to North Bay to surprise my mom for her
birthday. It was refrigerated for at least 24 hours, which is why
the topping is clearly firmer than the previous, which only had
time to chill for about 4 hours.

1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup corn starch dissolved in 1/4 cup cold water

Preparation

Crust
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
In a blender or food processor, pulse pecans, sugar and flour until crumbly (this can be challenging if using a blender, and may take some patience and frequent stirring).
Stir in melted margarine with a fork until well mixed.
Poor mixture into a 9" spring form pan and press down firmly with a fork or spatula, distributing the mixture evenly to about 1/4 inch thick. 
If you are using a smaller spring form pan, you may want to consider continuing the crust up the sides of the pan.
Bake crust at 400°F for 13 minutes.
Let crust cool at room temperature for 5-15 minutes.
Reduce oven heat to 325°F.

McIntosh apples (3 sliced)! I didn't
have a spring form pan at the time, 
so I used a large pie plate instead.

Filling
In a medium mixing bowl, crumble tofu, and add all other ingredients.
Mix together roughly, then transfer to the food processor or blender, or use an immersion blender, and blend until smooth.
Spread the filling evenly onto the crust.
Bake at 325°F for 70 minutes.
After 70 minutes, turn the oven off, leaving the cheesecake in the oven for an additional hour.
Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature on a wire rack before cooling in the fridge.
Let chill for at least an hour before making the topping.




Topping
Wash fruit and slice to desired thickness or leave smaller berries whole.
On medium low heat, melt margarine and toss with firmer fruit. Sauté for a few minutes, until tender, before adding any additional softer fruit. 
When the fruit are at the desired tenderness, and they have produced a good amount of liquid, stir in the brown sugar and cook on medium low until bubbly, stirring lightly when needed.
Add the corn starch-water mixture and stir constantly until thickened.
Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
Top cheesecake with topping and let chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours. The longer it chills, the firmer it will become.

And if ever short on time, you can always switch between the fridge and the freezer when chilling this delicious cheese cake...I've never been a very patient person when it comes to cake.

Enjoy!

Mom's Rhubarb Crisp

At my parent's place, in the back yard, behind our shed, is a rather large rhubarb plant. When we first moved there it was tiny, but it has since expanded its territory. Once the rhubarb is large enough, it's harvested for one of our favourite rhubarb dishes─the crisp.

Perfect for a warm spring evening with family and friends

This is my mom's recipe, originally scribbled at the back of one of her dessert cook books. Since her rhubarb wasn't up yet last weekend when I visited, we decided to use up last year's batch of frozen rhubarb. If you're using frozen rhubarb like we did, try and defrost it first, because it tends to produce a lot of water that needs to be drained off before baking. 

I've doubled the recipe from my mom's original because there is just no use in making a single batch. In all my years of eating this dessert, I don't believe I've ever seen my mom make a single batch.

Serves: 6
Bake at: 350°F

Ingredients

6 cups rhubarb
2 tbsp flour
1 cup sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp water (omit if using frozen)
optional: 1 1/2 cup diced strawberries

3/4 cup margarine
3/4 cup flour
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup oats

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350° F.
Mix first 6 (or 7) ingredients in a large bowl.
In another bowl cream margarine with sugar, then mix in flour and oats.
Lightly grease a 9"x13" glass pyrex dish.
Evenly distribute the rhubarb mixture in the glass dish.
Distribute crumble on top of the rhubarb equally. You can either pat it down a bit or leave the mixture loose.
Bake at 350°F for 40 minutes or until top is golden brown and the rhubarb is tender.
Let cool.
Serve at room temperature with vanilla ice cream, and enjoy!

Crêpes (a vegan recipe and my dad's not-so-vegan recipe)

Growing up we never had pancakes, only crêpes in my house. I remember the first time my dad attempted making pancakes, he kept squishing them with the spatula because they kept rising. He's quite the silly Frenchman. 
I'm going back to my French roots with this recipe, a sweet crêpe with all the fixings. 
Crêpes are typically made with eggs, which act as a great binder, but as you know, we are egg free, so here is our favourite vegan crêpe recipe.

We were a bit naughty and topped our crêpes with some of our leftover ice cream from the night before

Serves: 2

Ingredients

1/2 cup soymilk
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup melted margarine
1 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp maple syrup
1 cup white flour
1/4 tsp salt

Assorted fruit, margarine, maple syrup, brown sugar, ice cream, and whatever else you fancy for serving

Preparation

Whisk all ingredients in a bowl until smooth.
Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, up to 2 hours. 
Heat a non-stick pan on medium heat, melt some margarine in it, then ladle in the crêpe batter. Cook on one side until golden, flip and cook on the other side.
Place prepared crêpes on a plate in the oven on its lowest temperature to keep them warm while you prepare the rest of them, alternatively you can keep the prepared crêpes covered with aluminum foil or another plate.
When all the crêpes are prepared, serve with all your favourite fixings, and enjoy!


Just in case you're not vegan, and want my dad's excellent crêpe recipe, here it is:

Dad's (non-vegan) Crêpes

Serves: 5-6
3 cups flour
4 cups milk
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp sugar

Whisk it all together and follow the above directions for frying (no need to refrigerate).

Vegan Ice Cream (Without an Ice Cream Machine)

Vegan ice cream has always been a bit too expensive for use, and as students living in a small one bedroom apartment, an ice cream machine is not feasible nor is it worth the cupboard space. So, low and behold, I found a way to make vegan ice cream à la cheap and without a machine. 

Freeze time: ~3 hours

One messy bite away

Ingredients

1 can coconut milk, high fat

1 can's worth of soy milk,

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract or 1 scraped vanilla bean

pinch of salt

Preparation

Refrigerate coconut milk overnight before using it.

Add all Ingredients into a medium-large plastic,freezer safe container and mix thoroughly either with a whisk or with an immersion blender. 

Place uncovered container of ice cream liquid in the freezer for 30 minutes.

Scrape the frozen ice cream from around the edges of the container and mix again thoroughly.

Continue freezing for 30 minutes, scraping and mixing, then repeating until frozen.

Best consumed while fresh, which is much softer. Alternatively, if left for several hours in the freezer, let thaw for at least 10 minutes before serving..

We made some delicious ice cream sandwiches with my chocolate chip recipe, modified with the addition of 1/3 cup of cocoa, while spreading the cookie batter out a bit thinner and removing them from the oven a minute early