Chocolate "Cheese" (Tofu) Cake

B"H

I have a subscription to Prevention magazine. I generally read it for the health articles (what can I say? I'm addicted to reading health information). But I also check out the recipes. Occasionally I'll find a recipe I can use as is, but more often I find recipes that will work very nicely with my current dietary needs if only I switch off a few ingredients.

I ran across just such a recipe in one of the recent issues. It's called "Triple Chocolate Cheesecake" (link to it here). In it are several ingredients I don't eat:

• Chocolate wafer cookies
  
• 50-50 butter blend spread
  
• Semi-sweet chocolate chips
  
• Cream cheese
  
• Neufchatel cheese
  
• Sugar
  
• Eggs
  

I substituted for a few of them, just decided to leave out others. For the wafer cookies (which are to be crushed) I used 3 ounces each of cacao nibs and Ezekiel cereal. I put the nibs and cereal into the food processor with about a teaspoon of stevia (the stevia I use, a teaspoon is the sweetness of about 1/3-1/2 cup of sugar). Instead of the butter blend, I used 1/2 cup pumpkin puree. This adds beta carotene with a minimum of calories. I added the pumpkin and processed with the crumbs. I lined an 8" X 8" pan with parchment paper and spread the nib/cereal/pumpkin mixture on the bottom of the pan. I baked it in the oven at 245 degrees for about 20 minutes.

For the chips, I substituted 1 square of unsweetened baking chocolate (the one I used is 99% cocoa). I melted the square of chocolate in a double boiler. I put a container of tofu (which I substituted for the cream cheese) in the food processor with 2 teaspoons of stevia and 1 Tablespoon non alcohol organic vanilla. I started processing and when the chocolate was melted, I poured it in while the tofu was processing. I poured the mixture over the crust and baked at 245 for about 40 minutes (until set).

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Compote

B"H

Over the course of my life, I've been put on diets for my blood sugar and other health issues. Because I'm a vegan I tend to eat high on the carbohydrate side and low on the protein side (and, if you're thinking "Goldilocks and the Three Bears", with fats usually "just right"). So a few times in my life I was put on diets where fruit was a no-no. Beside fruit being very healthy, I also happen to love fruit. So whenever I went from not being able to eat fruit to being able to eat fruit, I jumped in with both feet, so to speak.

Lately, I don't like to pick and choose which fruits I'm going to eat, so I make compote. The compote I make is based on what my Mom used to make when we had a plethora of fruit that was "going" (as in, raw fruit that is not quite spoiled yet, but not quite edible).

I can make a better compote in the summer because there are more fruits available -- plums, peaches, nectarines. But in the winter (like now????) I use a lot of frozen fruits -- I can get berries (mixed, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries), peaches, mangoes, pomegranate seeds, and cherries (among other things) frozen. I also like to add goji berries (which I found help with the normalization of my blood sugar). Apples and pears (I prefer both red) I can usually get all year round. I cut up what need to be cut up, add the frozens and the dried fruit (goji berries, sometimes dried blueberries or cranberries) and put it in with some stevia (I use as a sweetener) and pumpkin pie spices (1 teaspoon), turmeric (1/4 teaspoon) and some coriander (1/4 teaspoon), and sometimes a bit of cardamon (just a pinch).

In any case, I put the fruit (and spices, etc.) into a nice size pot with a good cover and put it on a low flame. Don't add water!!! The fruit makes enough liquid -- just make sure the pot is well covered and the flame is as low as you can put it without the flame blowing out (since you are going to leave it for a while). I check the fruit every 15 minutes or so, mixing it up when necessary (it has a tendency to cook from the bottom up).

When it's all cooked, turn the flame off and let it sit until it cools a bit, then put into containers of your choosing and keep in the refrigerator. I don't know how long it will stay -- I generally eat it within a week. (You'll figure out after some trial and error what works best for you and your family.)

By the way, I make my own pumpkin pie spice -- I use it in my breakfast cereal, so I make a lot -- I just made some this morning with 8 tablespoons cinnamon, 4 tablespoons powdered ginger, 2 tablespoons each nutmeg and allspice, 1 tablespoon cloves, and, since I like curries, I added 1 teaspoon coriander and 1/4 teaspoon cardamon.

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Fake Chicken and Pasta

B"H

I guess you all probably noticed that I started this blog over a year ago but didn't quite know what to do with it. But tonight I threw some food together and made an interesting meal and I thought this blog would be a great place to share this sort of quickie recipe (it would also be a good place for me to write these sorts of recipes up so I wouldn't forget them either!)

When I was in Israel recently, I found some fake chicken which I really liked. I took some home with me and have been using it little by little. If you live in Israel, it's called "k'mo ohf" (as in "like chicken) -- it's dehydrated, soy and, IMHO, delicious. I think I bought it at the Anise in the Azrieli Mall in Modiin. (I didn't find it at the Anise I ran across in Jerusalem). I think there might be a product like this in the US (and probably in other countries). This is a link to their site -- even if you don't read Hebrew, there are pictures so you can get an idea of what it looks like.

So, I took 25 grams (this came out to about a heaping 1/4 cup) of the fake chicken, boiled it up to get soft (about 10-15 minutes). While I was waiting for this, I sliced up a red onion, sprayed a frying pan (using a pump sprayer) with olive/canola oil (it had both in it) and started sauteing the onion on a small flame. When the "meat" was ready (soft and drained), I added it plus a couple of handfuls of frozen shiitake mushrooms, frozen chopped spinach, and frozen mango. I added 1/4 teaspoon of each of these spices: turmeric (which I put in almost everything), cumin, coriander, ginger (I usually use ginger root, but I thought the powder would work for this), sweet paprika, garam masala, chili powder and stevia (or to taste -- you can use whatever sweetener you use -- honey, agave nectar, sucralose, etc. for a sweet taste). I also added a pinch each of cardamon and fenugreek and a couple of "squirts" of Spicy Brown Mustard (this is my favorite kind of mustard).

While this was cooking, I had boiled up some water and added 25 grams of black bean pasta (I guess you can use the pasta of your choice). When the pasta was done, I drained it and added it to the pan. I mixed it all up and, voila!

I'm sure you can substitute your own favorite spices, I just happen to like curry spices. If you make this, I'd love to hear about your experience -- did you like it? Were there any problems making it or finding the fake chicken? By the way, as I made it, this dish had about 24 grams of protein.


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The Name Game

B"H

When I was first in Israel about 23 years ago, I was living in Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) with my aunt and I would look in the English language newspapers and see the word vegan (at the time I was ovo-lacto vegetarian). I used to get all excite until I realized these were apartment listings for Bayit Vegan (a section of Yerushalayim that literally means House and Garden).

I have been thinking about adding a blog about cooking and veganism, but I needed to come up with a name for it. I remembered that and was going to call it Bayit Vegan but I was worried people would think it was about stuff to do with the place Bayit Vegan. So I decided on Bayit and Garden even though "and Garden" isn't the same as vegan (as in one who eats no animal products).

So, I'll quickly tell you about my food odyssey -- I'll try to go into more detail as the blog progresses...

I grew up in a family that keeps Kosher, so my diet was already limited in the minds of some (when my best friend started keeping kosher, she told her class about it and they marveled at her self-control and wondered what she ate -- so she said to them , "if you think what I'm doing is bad, let me tell you about my friend [meaning me]!". When I was in my late teens, I read about high fiber and started eating higher fiber foods. A couple years later, I went veg, starting as an ovo-lacto vegetarian (meaning I ate eggs and dairy but not meat, poultry or fish).

A few years ago, my diabetes symptoms (which started when before I became vegetarian -- they went into "hiding" so to speak for about 25 years) reared their ugly head again and I had to cut out fruits, sugar, white flour and all processed carbohydrates. I also cut out all trans fats. This further limited my choices.

Recently, in an effort to lower my fasting blood sugar, I cut all grains (including rice and corn) from my diet. Basically, what I've been left with is beans, vegetables and tree nuts (I cut out peanuts also).

So, I have had to be very creative in my cooking.....

Lately, I've gotten into creating soups. They are never the same. You see, I don't generally use recipes. I may try a recipe (because of my limitations I rarely, if ever, follow it totally) but mostly I create.

To create a good soup, you need bean/nuts/lentils, spices and condiments and lots of vegetables (root vegetables are good, but also garlic, onions, summer squash, eggplant, peppers -- bell or hot, spinach, broccoli, cabbage, etc.). What I do is take some dried garbanzo beans (and/or sometimes black beans), almonds, lentils (I like black lentils), and sometimes wild rice (I can eat wild rice but not brown rice). I put them all in a pot with water and boil the water -- then turn it off, cover the pot and let it soak for an hour. I then saute some veggies in olive oil (onions, garlic, grated ginger, mushrooms (I like shiitake) scallions, peppers, diced zucchini, etc.) and add them (and spices -- my favorites are curry, paprika, turmeric, coriander, garam masala, and I also like to add spicy brown mustard) to the beans etc. (after draining out the soaking water and adding new water). The trick is to put in ingredients that you like so that no matter what happens, you will like the soup.

There are times when I want a heavy filling soup and on those occasions I add more of the beans and wild rice and almonds. When I want a lighter soup, I add more vegetables and less of the beans, etc.

I also used to make puree soups -- these are good hot or cold. These work well when you have a lot of brightly colored vegetables, like sweet potatoes, carrots, spinach, kale, broccoli, watercress, etc. What you do is make the soup from vegetables only (or with a small quantity of nuts) and spices, then when it's cooked through, puree the soup in batches until you have the consistency you want (whether that's all puree or part puree and part chopped veggies).

I also like to make something I call "green stuff". I use it as a spread on bread or rolls (made with sprouted grain). I saute up kale and spinach, shiitake mushrooms (I use frozen mushrooms and spinach) and any other green (like basil, cilantro, watercress, etc -- choose your own favorite) and other veggies (like peppers or a bit of squash -- choose your favorites here too). When everything is cooked through (greens should be wilted and other veggies cooked), I puree the whole business with a handful of walnuts, some curry powder, a squirt or two of brown mustard and 2 tablespoons flax seed oil (to add some omega-3s since you can't saute in flax oil I saute in olive or canola oil). I put this in a container in the refrigerator. It stays well and tastes great (in my not-so-humble opinion). Oh, BTW, if you're a saltoholic like my Mom (I hate salt) add salt.


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Strong Biblical Women
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Why Be Vegetarian
Vegetarianism: Getting Started 1
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Rosh Hashana
Quick Vegan Cooking
Creating new recipes from old
Strong Biblical Women Part 3
Hanuka
About the Jewish Calendar
Witches and Morality
Presidential Trivia Quiz
Christmas and the Jewish Single
Math Hints 1 -- Adding Fractions
Presidents1: George Washington
Passover: Holiday of Freedom
Ruth and Naomi
John and John Quincy Adams
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