Cheezcake Bites

Yesterday I realized my Mori-Nu Silken tofu packages were about to expire *eek* and since it's often the case that one suddenly doesn't get such things at the store, I hoarded a few... 6 packs! *blush* 

So now I broke out in a slight panic (ok not really, but almost. I hate wasting food -and money!),  I had to think of doing something with them quick as we're also about to go to Germany in 2 weeks to visit my parents and we'll be staying for 3 weeks! *yay* 

In that time the expiration date of my tofu will be done..

Since I had a big sweet tooth today, I thought back to my first try of a vegan 'cheezcake' (you can find the recipe here ) and revamped it a bit by using lemon zest this time as well as also the real maple syrup and firm tofu and not partly soft.

I made an entire 'pie' dish but then wanted to do more (i.e. using up more of my tofu) and came up with the idea of making individual cupcake sizes!

It worked out perfectly; the recipe above gave me exactly 12 cupcakes!

The crust I've made myself for both, the pie and the cupcakes; instead of vegan butter I used coconut oil, which I love for baking! =)

Mix the crumbs with the softened oil and sugar in a bowl and then split up for the 12 cupcakes! (For the pie form everything goes directly in the form.)

Voila!

Never mind the Halloween wrapper! *lol*

(That's all I had!)

It tastes sooo good!!! (Of course I had to have 2 and not only one! LOL)

Fresh from the baker!.. That would be me! ;)

I seem to be very late to jumping onto the 'Pinterest' wagon.. but let me tell you, I'm totally on it now! *lol* Not only do I find tons of great stuff about vegan dishes (I'm a very visual person, so it helps seeing dishes in 'food porn' style and then getting the recipes to it! ) but also crafting, DIY, fitness, beauty.. you name it!

Long story short, I came across a pic of a beautiful looking loaf of bread that had me instantly drooling! No doubt, I had to try it out immediately and while the recipe called for having a Le Creuset (out of my financial league! -Besides never having needed an item like that before really), I also found out that the original recipe was once printed in the New York Times, which thankfully mentions other options instead of a Le Creuset! *whew* (I was debating if I could either a) bake it in my crockpot [yes, people seem to do that too!] or b) just pour it into a bread form and see what happens.. Neither option was necessary!)

 I  have a Pyrex casserole-y dish that comes with a lid, which I actually have 'inherited' from my mom who had it ever since I can remember being a kid! (My mom loved making different kinds of yummy dishes in them; unfortunately most of them all containing a ton of cheese and ground beef... Nothing I'd ever eat nowadays, obviously.. But maybe I'll try to re-construct some of her recipes vegan friendly! That'd be an idea, huh? ;) )

Anyway, so yes, the Pyrex dish thingy saved me and I just followed the instruction (a little less rising time than the 2 hrs suggested) and it turned out gorgeous if I may say so myself! =)

I only sprayed a bit PAM spray at the bottom of the dish to prevent sticking.
Not sure if it was really necessary, it came right out!

In all its glory! =) 

I truly wish you could smell it!!!

I can't wait til we'll cut into it! (Wanting to wait for Hubby to see it first intact ;) ).

Maybe I should plan my dinner around this beauty of a loaf, huh?.. 

Some sloppy lentils with it would work well! Mmmm..

Ok, I won't tease you any longer, here's the recipe:

NY Times No-Knead Bread

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Guten Appetit!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter everyone! =)

May you all enjoy your cruelty free treats and dishes!

Today I'm going to share something extra yummy with you: the Yeast Braid recipe!

(First time I tried to create it into a wreath.. Didn't turn out too pretty.. but tasty none the less! ;) )

It's a typical German Easter treat, but I occasionally also do it on any other day. This time it just happened that I made it on Good Friday! ;)

It's very easy and quickly made; though you do need time to let it rest for a bit before it goes in the oven! 

~* Yeast Braid *~

*1 pck yeast 

*250 ml luke warm plant milk (I used vanilla flavored soy milk)

*150 g vegan 'butter', softened

*600 g flour (I used all white flour, even though I'm usually a fan of using whole wheat or doing at least a 50/50.)

*pinch of salt

*110 g sugar

*replacement for 1 egg

Mix the luke warm milk with the yeast and 2 Tbsp sugar in a bowl and let the yeast do its thing with the sugar for a few minutes.

After ~5 minutes you can now add the flour and the remaining sugar as well as the pinch of salt and egg replacer bit by bit to the yeast mix, blending it well until it's a soft, pliable dough. -You really need to invest some arm strength and work the dough for quite some time!!!

Cover it with a cloth and put the bowl somewhere where it's a bit warm. (The oven with only the lamp on is a good place!) Let it rise for ~45 minutes.

After the dough has risen, work it quickly over again and form 3 strands to create a braid. [I can't explain in words how to do that but I assume you all know how to make a braid!? ;)]

Put the braid on a cool baking tray and let rise again for ~15 minutes.

Now it's time to put it in the pre-heated oven at 350 F for 30 minutes until nice and golden.

To put a slight 'gloss' on the braid you can use a little plant milk mixed with agave syrup and brush it over the braid for the last remaining 10 minutes of baking.

Done! =)

~*~*~

I hope you'll enjoy it as much as we do! Our braid has already vanished for the most part! *lol*

Spaghetti 'Veganara'

I'll admit, I used to love Spaghetti Carbonara in my pre-veg(etari)an days!

Since then I've never really attempted to make anything similar to that.. (I love my pasta also simply with Maggi or Braggs ;) ) but yesterday I created something quite accidentally and loved it!

It all started out by having a container with cooked white beans in the fridge and thinking I should make some kind of dip with it.

In Dreena Burton's 'Eat, drink & be vegan' I then found some inspiration and came up with the following:

~* Cheezy Bean sauce *~

*1 c cooked white/cannellini beans

*1/2 c walnuts, ground

*1/3 c nutritional yeast

*2 tsp balsamic vinegar

*onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper to taste

*1/2 tsp dry mustard

*1/4 tsp turmeric (for color)

*1/2 c plant milk, plain

*1-2 tbsp olive oil

Blend the beans together with the ground walnuts, add the nutritional yeast, balsamico and spices.

Once everything is blended well, pour the mix into a small saucepan and add the plant milk.

Heat through and let it thicken, stirring frequently.

Taste and add more spices if a richer taste is desired.

Add more plant milk if the sauce is too thick for your liking.

Done.

I keep the sauce in a sealed container in the fridge where it lasts well for a few days. 
You can use it over vegetables, pasta, rice or as a dip with tortilla chips as well as a spread on a sandwich! =)

For the Spaghetti 'Veganara', I simply added a few table spoons worth to each portion of spaghetti, mixed it around, basta!

Buon Appetito!