Yogurt Cheese Pie with Raspberry Coulis

When I was in graduate school eons ago, I threw dinner parties. The first party I made homemade lasagna noodles with a spinach bolognese sauce, thinking it was pretty fancy. My diners loved it but wondered where dessert was. Dessert didn't even cross my mind, not for the entire nine hours of food preparation! But realizing that it was expected, I developed this goodie for my future meals.

Dessert is not my forte, not a strong desire. Chocolate is fine, but give me bread and butter or cheese and crackers. Mine is a very savory palate! So this dessert isn't very sweet, but it seemed to satisfy those who ate it.

Before Greek yogurt was available everywhere, this pie was made of "yogurt cheese," strained yogurt, mixed with sugar and vanilla. Poured into a graham cracker crust (or something akin to it) with a raspberry coulis on top. I loved it! 

Now, you can buy greek yogurt, which is strained regular yogurt, which makes this pie that much easier. My pie is generally more tart than those who like their desserts sweet, so taste as you go. In the past, I rarely strained the raspberry coulis, since it was simpler and I was often more preoccupied with finishing dinner preparations. Here I did, and it was divine. If you have the time and the inclination, strain it!

Chocolate Cream Pie - Your Way

When I was a child my favorite pie was Chocolate Cream Pie. Maybe it was because it was my dad’s favorite pie, maybe it was because my mom made it often. Whatever the reason, it always made me so happy. It’s been years since I have had any, let alone made it, so I figured it was time to try out this classic once again.

My mom always made a cookie crust or a graham cracker crust, but I present an alternative, because I happened to have some hazelnut flour to use up. You could easily use almond flour, or even actual almonds or hazelnuts, although you should process the whole nuts first before adding in the dates since it will be harder to grind them fine. Of course, you could go the easy route and buy a crust, making the whole endeavor quicker and easier. Make it your way!

I wanted to find a vegan pudding that worked just as well as a dairy based on, and this one is a winner! It firms up beautifully, and doesn’t really require too many odd ingredients. While the original vegan recipe I found online (from OneLovelyLife.com) used almond milk, I have found that Ripple heats well and has that thickness that other vegan milks lack. It did not disappoint!

Of course you can get fancy and shave chocolate on top of your topping; personally, I prefer straight whipped cream!

Tarte de Soleil with Sun-dried Tomato Tapenade

Deep into a Humboldt winter, the sun is a shy one, so try and coax it out with this baked deliciousness! While some of us are happily noticing the lengthening of the days, others get a little preoccupied by the tossing of a pigskin ball and its culmination in a big bowl. Whatever your pleasure, here is a fun and beautiful way to celebrate both of these events.

Puff pastry sandwiches a homemade sun-dried tomato and olive tapenade, baked until golden and then served with a dipping sauce. Perfect when you want to indulge or impress. My inspiration was from Smitten Kitchen, and while I strayed a bit, her suggestions were still pretty spot on. Incidentally, buying puff pastry is the easy way to go, but I did make mine - gluten free! - and my current GF cooking goddess is Nicole Hunn of Gluten Free on a Shoestring, check her out!

Roasted Kabocha Squash and Tofu with Ginger and Lime

 

Winter squash was never my thing; I was definitely very late to the kabocha squash party. But once I discovered this recipe from Smitten Kitchen, I cannot get enough of the stuff!

This recipe is pretty straight forward, marinate squash and tofu and then bake. But what is key are the garnishes, but really, without them the dish falls flat, so don’t skimp on them! Make sure that you get plenty of lime and green onions and use them both liberally. If you can’t bring yourself to buy sesame seeds (I love them and always have them in the pantry) it won’t suffer too much. But the lime is essential!

You can use other winter squash besides kabocha, but then you need to peel it either before or after it cooks. Fortunately, you can eat cooked kabocha peel, so much easier!

Easy, Pantry Bean Chili

Yup, here in Humboldt county those foggy mornings that don't always burn off lead me to dream of good, stick to the ribs chili. Basic, pantry ingredients with a few spices that might surprise you will produce a complex and hearty chili that will have you making a second batch.

I make a fair amount of Mexican dishes, so I always have Mexican oregano and annatto seeds in my pantry, but you can leave out the annatto and use regular oregano and it will still be delicious! If you make your beans from scratch, you will have lots of cooking liquid that helps make this all come together quickly.

Walnut Chickpea Tacos

If you look around the blogosphere, there are plenty of interesting non-meat options for making tacos. Really, you can put just about anything in a corn tortilla and call it a taco! But these from Vegan Richa really intrigued me.

Vegan Richa made quesadillas with them but the idea of walnut chick pea fillings for tacos sounded like a winner. Yes, yes it was! Simple, fast, delicious. Can you beat that? Never! 

If you don't have ancho chili powder, use some sweet paprika and a little cayenne, but not too much unless you really like heat!