Candy Corn Parfait, a grown-up dessert for Halloween

Even though I never dress up, host parties or go to them, I somehow still manage to get really really excited for Halloween. I have spent literally hours this year poring over recipes and recipe ideas for this holiday, wondering what I should conquer first. Some of these ideas are incredibly easy, while others are a bit more complicated. There are those that are completely kid-friendly, while still others are meant for grown-ups.

Take this easy-to-make parfait, for instance. It can be made for kids, but overall this one is for the adults. With a little orange liqueur and a wine glass, this one is a candy corn lover’s dream, mimicking the yellow, orange and white layers found in this candy often seen in trick-or-treat bags and bowls – a perfect twist for your more sophisticated Halloween party or dinner. The end result of the recipe below serves one, but you’ll have enough lemon curd for 4-6 glasses. Make it kid-friendly by omitting the liqueur and using a sturdier clear bowl or glass.

Candy Corn Parfait
This recipe is adapted from the one found on the Food Network website

Lemon Curd
This recipe is by Kim Garr and can be found on VegNews

• 3/4 cup coconut milk, preferably from a can
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice, or the juice of 2-3 medium-sized lemons
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/2 cup vegan sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest

Remaining Ingredients for the Parfait
This makes a single serving, depending on size of glass and preferred amount for each individual serving

• 1 large orange, or 1 10.75-ounce can of mandarin oranges
• 1 to 2 tablespoons orange liqueur, optional
• 3 tablespoons vegan lemon curd
• 1/4 cup vegan whipped cream, like Soyatoo (either in a can or box)

For the lemon curd, cut and juice two to three lemons, then pour into a small saucepan.

Tip: when juicing lemons, juice first with the cut side up, then turn over and squeeze again - this gives you more juice than you would get otherwise

Zest about a teaspoon of lemon peel (ideally do this before you juice your lemons, but I somehow forgot!).

Zesting lemon peel

Pour in the coconut milk. Store the unused coconut milk in your refrigerator.

Use unsweetened coconut milk from a can

Add your remaining ingredients: corn starch, sugar, vanilla extract, turmeric and lemon zest. Per the original recipe, you can stir in the lemon zest after you take the thickened curd off the stove. Stir or whisk the mixture on medium heat for two minutes, then turn to low and continue to stir for several minutes until it begins to thicken.

Adding remaining ingredients

Once it has thickened, take the lemon curd off the heat and pour into a container, then let sit for ten minutes before chilling for an hour.

Thickened lemon curd

Once it has been in the refrigerator for at least an hour, it will be set even more. You can use the lemon curd for other things like spreading on toast or muffins, or as a filling to pies and tarts, or as a lemon pudding.

Thick lemon curd

For the parfait, if using a regular orange, peel and segment the orange with a paring knife, removing the membranes and white pith, then chop the orange segments. If using canned mandarin oranges, drain the juice. Either way, place the oranges into a bowl, then toss with the orange liqueur and let sit for about ten minutes.

Grand Marnier and mandarin oranges

Meanwhile, if making your own vegan whipped cream using Soyatoo, open the box and dump the contents into a metal mixing bowl.

Soyatoo whipped cream

Put the mixer on its highest setting and let it go for about three minutes or until the whipped cream is at the desired thickness. Any leftover whipped cream can be stored in the refrigerator, but it should be used within a few days.

Vegan whipped cream

Using a clean and dry wine glass, place about three tablespoons of lemon curd on the bottom. Then spread a dollop or two of whipped cream on top, creating a flat surface. Add the oranges.

Assembling the candy corn parfait

Finally add a nice finish of whipped cream, then serve.

Finishing touches

This is a delicious dessert, but I admit that the Grand Marnier was a bit much. I would have preferred a touch less, or at least allowing the orange segments to drain a bit before placing them into the glass. Still, I think this is a beautiful parfait and perfect to serve to the guests who love citrus desserts.

A sophisticated and vegan candy corn dessert - Happy Halloween!

Are you making anything fun or special for Halloween this year?

Pumpkin Cheesecake

I’m not going to lie to you – I don’t like pumpkin pie. I don’t mind it, per se, but I don’t really truly like it. If I am offered a slice, I accept, but I’m mostly “meh” about it. So you can imagine that this wasn’t exactly the first thing on my mind to make and post here.

But when I posed the question to you all on Facebook asking what you wanted to see on Novel Eats for the month of November, I got requests for pumpkin pie and pumpkin cheesecake. Not only that, I got a request to make a gluten-free pumpkin dessert – something I admit I have never intentionally set out to do before (although I can assure you I’ve made many gluten-free recipes in my lifetime by accident). Because I already have a pretty good cheesecake recipe I work with I decided to try turning it into a pumpkin cheesecake, and I also decided to veganize Gluten-Free Girl’s recommended pie crust.

What turned out was something that I think many of you pumpkin pie and pumpkin cheesecake fans will appreciate. The pumpkin flavor is mild, but with the addition of spices like cinnamon and nutmeg the cheesecake comes together smoothly into a dessert that will satisfy. As far as the crust is concerned, I do feel that it could be a milder flavor, however it does hold up well and has a nice texture. If you’re not concerned about gluten, I recommend using the shortbread crust from the peanut butter chocolate cheesecake post I shared last year. You can also use a vegan graham cracker crust.

Vegan and Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cheesecake

Gluten-Free Pie Crust
Note that Shauna of Gluten-Free Girl recommends using a scale gluten-free cooking and baking, so I have kept in her weighted proportions in the recipe below. A scale is actually kind of fun to use. This is the one I have in my kitchen.

• 1 1/4 cup (5 ounces) almond flour (this is not the same as almond meal)
• 2/3 cup (2 ounces) gluten-free oat flour
• 2/3 cup (2 ounces) tapioca flour
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces) teff flour
• 1/2 cup (3 ounces) potato starch
• 1/4 cup (2 ounces) sweet rice flour
• 2 teaspoons xanthan gum
• 1/4 teaspoon guar gum
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 9 tablespoons vegan butter, cold
• Ener-G egg replacer for 1 egg
• 6 to 8 tablespoons ice-cold water

Filling

• 1 12.3-ounce package extra firm light silken tofu
• 1 8-ounce package Tofutti Better than Cream Cheese (There is some debate over whether or not this product is gluten-free, so please use your own discretion on whether or not to use it – if you are uncomfortable using this product, you may use all tofu, although I have not done this myself yet with a vegan cheesecake.)
• 3/4 cup vegan sugar
• 1/2 cup vegan and gluten-free milk
• 1 cup pumpkin flesh (freshly baked or from a can – although be sure to not buy pumpkin pie filling)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• Dash of allspice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch

Instructions if you are using a fresh pumpkin:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Cut away the stem of a small pumpkin, then cut the pumpkin in half. You will likely need to insert your knife partway, then cut around the pumpkin instead of cutting straight through it. This will be easier.

Cutting open a small pumpkin

Once it’s open you can scoop out the seeds and stringy flesh, then discard or reserve the seeds for toasting.

Scooping out pumpkin seeds

Lightly oil a baking sheet with vegetable or canola oil, then place the pumpkin halves flesh side down.

About to bake the pumpkin

Add about 1/4 – 1/2 cup of water to the pan, then bake in your oven for about 45 minutes to an hour. Using a fork, you can poke the pumpkin to determine if it needs to bake for longer. If the fork goes in easily, then you’ll know that it is done.

Using a spoon, scoop out a cup of pumpkin and reserve for later in the recipe.

Baked pumpkin

With a whisk mix together all your dry ingredients for the gluten-free pie crust: almond flour, gluten-free oat flour, tapioca flour, teff flour, potato starch, sweet rice flour, xanthan gum, guar gum and salt.

Mixing together the dry ingredients

Add small pieces of the vegan butter to the bowl, then incorporate with your hands until it is well mixed. Also add in the Ener-G egg replacer, and add in a little bit of cold water at a time until it feels like it is holding well together. At that point place the dough in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes.

Mixing in the wet ingredients

If you are using a springform, cut a circle of parchment paper in the size of the bottom of the pan, then spread vegan butter on the bottom of the pan to allow the parchment paper to stick more easily. Also grease the sides of the pan.

The original recipe calls for you to roll out the dough, but my dough wasn’t holding extremely well together, so I opted instead to press the dough into the bottom of the pan. If you do it this way, you will still have about half the dough left over. Place the pan back into the refrigerator as you are making the filling.

Pressing gluten-free pie crust into the bottom of a springform pan

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Blend together the vegan cream cheese and tofu in a food processor until smooth.

Mixing together tofu and Tofutti cream cheese

Add in the vegan sugar and vegan milk, then blend again until the sugar has dissolved.

Adding in the vegan sugar and vegan milk

Add the pumpkin, then blend well for at least one to two minutes.

Adding the freshly baked pumpkin

Add the remaining spices and vanilla extract and blend, then add the cornstarch and blend for a final minute or two.

Adding in the last of the ingredients

Pour the filling into the springform or pie pan.

Pouring cheesecake filling into a springform pan

If you are using a springform, then wrap the pan in at least 3 layers of foil, then place into another deep pan (the foil creates a barrier between the springform pan and the water so that the water doesn’t seep in and ruin the cheesecake). Add hot water to the other pan. This creates a water bath and prevents the surface from cracking. Here’s a helpful video which shows how easy it is to create a water bath.

The cheesecake is now ready to go into the oven

Bake for approximately 55 minutes, but do not allow the cheesecake to brown. Once it is done, allow it to cool, then using a blunt knife cut around the cheesecake edges until the sides are separated from the pan. Chill for several hours or overnight to allow the cheesecake to finish setting.

Allowing to cool, then using a blunt knife cut around the sides of the cheesecake

Serve with some vegan whipped topping or a vegan caramel sauce.

Vegan pumpkin cheesecake

Do you like pumpkin pie or pumpkin cheesecake?

P.S. I’d recommend also taking a look at Susan’s Double-Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake for comparison.

Learn more about Vegan MoFo.

When we moved into our new apartment we gained a display case for knick knacks, so for the first time in my marriage or our relationship, I broke out The Collection. I’d never really had a good way to display my various rabbits until now – sure I had placed a few pieces here and there. But my husband really had no idea that I was “one of those” until a few weeks ago. You know, like the guy with hubcaps all over his yard or that lady with the zillion Christmas trees all over her house. I’m in the beginning stages, but I think that I’m young enough that in thirty years Channel 5 will be over at my house asking me, “So what got you started collecting rabbits?” and I’ll reply, with a contented sigh, while holding up a very worn out looking bunny, “I don’t know. I just love them.”

Maybe the reason is because of Easter, though. When I was a kid Easter was one of my favorite holidays. One parent would run outside while I wasn’t looking, deposit a basket of goodies outside the front door, and the other would say, “Did you hear someone knock at the front door? You’d better go see who that is.” Then I’d open up the door and I’d see an Easter basket and probably wonder where the Easter Bunny went (or where my other parent went). Then there was the Easter egg hunt, which my cousin and I proudly continued playing with plastic eggs long into the summer when he was visiting.

My latest acquisitions from an antique store in Massachusetts

These days, we don’t really do anything for Easter (this year I might admire my rabbit collection), but one thing I do attempt to do is to make something good to eat (of course – what else did you expect?). This year I decided to give VeganYumYum.com’s crumb cake recipe an early try, and I have to tell you – even if you don’t celebrate Easter, you should still make this. The cake has a dense, yet moist texture and the crumb is a perfect amount of crunch and sugary goodness. It’s rich, though, so you’ll want to have this with some coffee or tea.

Crumb Cake

Crumb Topping

• 8 tablespoons vegan butter, melted
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon molasses
• 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

Cake

• 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil, or 6 tablespoons vegan butter, softened
• 1/3 cup vegan milk, plus 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup water
• 1-2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Put the sugar, molasses, cinnamon and salt in a bowl.

Add in the vegan butter and whisk well with the other ingredients.

Mix in the flour.

If it doesn’t seem to be mixing well, go with the old fashioned method of using your hands.

A thick dough should form, but as in my case, if a thick dough doesn’t form just add in a tablespoon or two of vegan butter at a time until it gets to the right consistency, similar to that of cookie dough.

Let sit to cool for about 10 minutes. It should be ready when after you’ve put together the batter for the cake.

Line an 8×8 pan with aluminum foil (two sheets in a cross formation, leaving excess draped over the edges to help you remove the cake later), and then spray with vegetable oil.

Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

Add oil, vegan milk mixture, cornstarch mixture and vanilla extract.

Whisk until smooth, but do not overmix.

Add the batter to the lined pan.

Begin to break apart the crumb mixture into smaller, pea sized pieces. You want to take chunks from the bowl and gently break off the crumbs. Cover the batter evenly with all the crumb mixture.

Bake for 40-50 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit, or until the crumbs are slightly browned and a toothpick in the center of the cake comes out clean. Grab the aluminum foil and gently lift the cake out to cool for 20-30 minutes on a cooling rack, then serve with a pot of coffee or tea.

I hope you all have a lovely Easter weekend no matter what you do. But if you make some crumb cake, make sure you eat an extra piece for me!

Thanksgiving can be a problematic holiday for vegans, especially when they are invited over to non-vegan or non-vegetarian homes. The hosts usually mean well, but often there’s not much to be had for vegans at a typical Thanksgiving gathering. When I was young I was lucky that my whole family, aside from a few in the minority, were vegetarian. That included grandparents, parents, uncles, aunts and cousins. The minority didn’t seem to mind because they either had also been raised vegetarian or they chose to keep silent (maybe not – I can’t remember too many early Thanksgivings that revolved around talk of missed turkey).

These days, now that vegetarianism, and to a certain extent, veganism, is more widely understood and accepted, there is more sensitivity involved. Still, it’s challenging for vegans to have a meal sans milk and cheese. This is where I am going to give a minor confession.

I am not a strict vegan. I will eat dairy and eggs if my hosts haven’t considered that I may not eat those things. The only line I refuse to cross is the meat line, mainly because I have never had meat be a part of my diet (yes, never), so to be honest – meat kind of weirds me out as a food group.

With that said, not all vegans eat the same or follow the same set of unwritten rules. Even so, I am going to share one thing with vegans and one thing with meat-lovers.

Vegans: If you’re asked to bring something to a holiday meal, consider these two recipes. They’ve got creaminess and heartiness written all over them! Impress those meat-lovers with your culinary skills, and have them begging for you to come back next year. They might even ask you where you got the recipe. (Send ‘em on over – I don’t mind!)

Meat-lovers: If you have asked a vegan or vegetarian over for a holiday meal, but have no idea what to fix, consider trying to make something that they can eat, and make these two recipes. Just because these are vegan recipes doesn’t mean they are weird or hard. It doesn’t matter if they don’t wind up being the hit of the meal – the fact that you went to any trouble at all to make your veggie guests comfortable is a wonderful gesture and one to be appreciated. They might even ask you where you got the recipe. (Send ‘em on over – I don’t mind!)

I feel like I’m repeating myself…

Vegan Sausage Stuffing

• 1 package Tofurky Kielbasa (or another vegan meat alternative), diced or ground up
• 2 – 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 – 6 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
• 3 teaspoons Italian season blend
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 pound of bread, cubed (I used an organic seven-grain bread, but you could use most any kind and have it turn out well)
• 16 ounces vegetable broth, or chicken broth substitute
• Cooking spray or olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Dice or grind up the Tofurky, and then saute in a large non-stick frying pan for about five minutes in 2 – 3 tablespoons olive oil.

Add the chopped onion and celery, and saute for another three minutes.

Stir in parsley, Italian seasoning, salt and black pepper. Transfer the vegan sausage mixture to a large bowl. Add the cubed bread and broth and stir together well.

Spoon stuffing into a large baking dish coated with cooking spray or olive oil.

Cover and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes. Uncover, then bake an additional 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Creamy Mushroom Gravy
This versatile recipe is known as Cashew Gravy on VegWeb.

Two quick notes:

1. If you make this gravy to go along with the above stuffing recipe, I would recommend doubling or tripling this gravy recipe to ensure you have enough – I’d lean more toward tripling… But you may want to experiment first to see if you even like this gravy (personally, we love it in our household).
2. If you don’t want to use a creamy gravy, I’d highly recommend the gravy I made last year which I thought turned out really well.

• 1 package mushrooms, sliced (I’ve used your standard mushrooms in this recipe here, but I’d also recommend baby bellas)
• 2 cups hot water
• 1/2 cup cashews, rinsed
• 2 tablespoons Braggs Liquid Aminos (a soy sauce substitute) or low sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 2 teaspoons nutritional food yeast (can usually be found in the supplements section of your grocery store)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Set aside one cup of hot water. Put everything else except for the mushrooms in a blender and blend very well, about five minutes.

Add second cup of water. Pour into a pan, and stir constantly (preferably with a whisk) on medium to high heat until desired thickness. It may take a few minutes to get it thick, but as soon as it starts to thicken up watch it closely to make sure it doesn’t over-thicken, then turn off the stove.

Saute sliced mushrooms in a couple of tablespoons of water.

Saute the mushrooms until tender.

Stir the mushrooms into the gravy, and serve with the stuffing.

The stuffing turned out well, and it tasted really hearty. I think that part of it had to do with the seven-grain bread I used. That kind of bread always has a little extra oomph, but I’m sure you can get away with basic bread and have it turn out just as well (meat-lovers: make sure you read the label for dairy or eggs if you’re buying bread).

I really liked pairing the stuffing with a creamy gravy. I actually experimented with a non-creamy recipe a few weeks ago, but I wound up really disliking it, so I chose to share this gravy instead. I think that this gravy recipe does a good job of balancing the spices and stronger flavors in the stuffing. I’ll repeat what I said above in the recipe, but if you make the stuffing recipe exactly as it’s listed above, I’d recommend doubling or tripling the mushroom gravy recipe to ensure that there’s enough.

P.S. These recipes were requested by a reader (Hi Rachel!) a few weeks ago. If there’s anything you’re interested in seeing me try (and hopefully not fail!) send me a message and I’ll see what I can do. I would have had this one to you guys sooner, but life’s become a zoo the last few weeks! Should calm down after the New Year, though!

P.P.S. Yes, I’m still working on the redesign. Because of the zoo, though, it’s taken a back seat for the moment.

Farm season is well upon us again, which means we have been getting fruit for a few weeks now in our local community supported agriculture program. We have participated in our local CSA for a few years by getting vegetable shares, but last year another farmer joined in the fun and was providing us with fruit, so we got a fruit and vegetable share last year. Holy cow. We got some of the most amazing fruit, so much so that this year we’ve said good bye to the vegetable share (Good bye! Perhaps we’ll see you another year!), and said hello to two fruit shares.

The first couple of weeks we didn’t get a whole lot of fruit, but the last couple of weeks we’ve gotten more than our share (hehe) of peaches and plums. As soon as I saw the peaches I couldn’t think of anything else but when I was growing up next to Grandma.

We lived next to my grandparents for a good number of years during my childhood. I had mixed feelings about it because on the one hand they were really old and uncool, but on the other my grandparents were great sources of food. They grew much of their own fresh food, and they supported a lot of local farmers (these days I think that is totally cool and awesome).

One thing that Grandma made was peach cobbler. She’d somehow whip up magic and it was quite good with ice cream or whipped cream. Mmmm… So, of course, I couldn’t get that peach cobbler out of my head. Sure I could do a crisp, but I had to deviate this one time. I’m pretty glad I did, because this wound up being both very good and an easy peach cobbler recipe to boot.

Peach Cobbler
Recipe based on a peach cobbler recipe at VegWeb.com

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup flour
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 4 cup sliced peaches (about 6 medium peaches)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/2 cup soy or almond milk
• 3 tablespoons vegan butter

Heat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Mix 1/2 cup sugar, the cornstarch and cinnamon in a 2-quart saucepan. Stir in the peaches and lemon juice. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir for one minute.

Pour into an ungreased 2-quart casserole.

Mix together the rest of the dry ingredients, then cut in the vegan butter until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Stir in milk. Drop dough by six spoonfuls (more or less) onto hot peach mixture.

Bake until topping is golden brown – about 25-30 minutes.

I’ll be honest and tell you I was very afraid of that batter. It seemed way too runny to me and I was very tempted to add more flour to it, but I decided against it just to see if I was wrong.

I was wrong.

The batter basically turned into little lumps of biscuits and it was an excellent compliment to the sweet, warm peaches below. The only thing I would do differently is to increase the batter so there would be more biscuits.

I also wound up adding the coconut flavor of Sharon’s Sorbet (so far, the best brand of sorbet I’ve had – and vegan), and it was an excellent addition. Warm peaches, delicious biscuits, and creamy coconut sorbet. I just have to say, almost like Grandma used to make! Mmmm…. :)

If I were to list my favorite foods, Mexican would likely not make it. This is an unfortunate dilemma for my marriage, however, as it tops my husband’s list of favorite foods. If it were up to him we would eat burritos every day or at least every week. When he says, “What do you feel like having? We could have Mexican,” I usually respond with “I don’t really feel like Mexican.”

“But you never want Mexican.”

“Because it’s not one of my favorite cuisines.”

“You suck.”

“You suck.”

“That’s it. I want a divorce.”

“Whatever you want, dear. I’m here to make you happy.”

“Fine.”

“Fine.”

Okay, well, maybe not exactly like that, but it does come close sometimes.

The thing is, is that I do like Mexican – sometimes. There are *some* decent dishes. But most of the ones I really like have cheese, and I decided two or three years ago that cheese would no longer be a part of my diet. And let me tell you, my favorite Mexican dish, a quesadilla, happens to not be that good vegan. (I’m willing to be contradicted, however.)

One dish I do like, even vegan, is enchiladas. In a way, enchiladas are like baked burritos, but I don’t know – it’s just not exactly the same as a burrito. And today I made enchiladas the lazy way, because I was lazy and my enchiladas always fall apart.

Vegan Enchiladas
Adapted from Paul McCartney’s Vegan Enchiladas recipe

Sauce

• 1 cup tomato sauce
• 1 cup water
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp. oregano
• 2 Tbsp. cornstarch dissolved in 4 tablespoons water

Filling

• 1/2 or 1 whole can of Vege-Burger
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/2 tsp. chili powder
• 1/4 tsp. cumin
• 1/4 tsp. garlic powder or 1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1 regular-sized can (not large) crushed or sliced tomatoes
• 1 8-oz. pkg. frozen spinach, thawed
• 14 +/- corn tortillas

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place all the sauce ingredients, except for the cornstarch, in a small pot and cook over low heat, covered, for 20 minutes. Stir in the cornstarch and cook until the sauce thickens.

In the meantime, prepare the filling. Mix the Vege-Burger, onion, chili powder, cumin, garlic, pepper, and can of tomatoes.

In a large baking dish, cover the bottom with several tortillas (I used 4).

Spread half of your spinach over the tortillas.

Spread half of your filling mixture on top of the spinach.

Add another layer of corn tortillas, spinach, and filling, then top with a final layer of tortillas. Spread the sauce on the very top.

Put the dish into your preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes.

This recipe originally called for tofu instead of Vege-Burger, but we already had a can open from a few days ago that I wanted to use.

In case you don’t know what Vege-Burger is, it is basically TVP (textured vegetable protein) that’s already ready for you to use. TVP is usually dry when you purchase it, and you have to reconstitute it with water, as well as add seasonings. The Vege-Burger is not terribly flavorful, but it does add a meaty texture. A lot of people use it for sloppy joes or pasta sauce. It really is a versatile product.

Note that the can says “Vegan”; I believe that they also make a non-vegan kind, so you have to make sure it says “vegan” on it.

Here’s a picture of it in the can:

Anyway, these enchiladas turned out pretty well. It’s definitely more like a casserole since I didn’t make them into individual enchiladas, but it tastes pretty much the same. One thing I will say that is lacking is cheese or some sort of creaminess. Tofutti Sour Cream or Vegenaise could both come in handy. Otherwise, tasty. Maybe my marriage will last another week. :)

Lest you think that I have been unusually obsessed with making vegan cheesecake lately, let me reassure you. I have and I haven’t. :)

First off, my husband made that vegan chocolate cheesecake and I am the one who made the raspberry sauce. Secondly, I did make the vegan peanut butter chocolate cheesecake but it was for my husband’s birthday. Finally, I take no blame for making these cute little creamy pops.

I had been seeing banners for The Daring Bakers on other cooking blogs for a while, and finally decided to investigate further. I hadn’t realized it, but being a member of The Daring Bakers means you have to participate in monthly baking challenges. I’m always up for a challenge, so I decided to join.

So there you go. The Daring Bakers are at fault for making me make cheesecake again. I’m not upset about it at all though.

When I first saw the recipe for these pops, as well as the directions that I had to stay pretty close to the recipe, I was a little concerned. Standard cheesecake has a lot of eggs and egg replacer probably wouldn’t exactly be a sufficient replacement for eggs. I already had a foolproof vegan recipe, so I was also afraid that if I attempted to veganize this other recipe I’d have a disaster on my hands – wasted ingredients and a terrible taste.

So what I did was cut this recipe down to an amount that wouldn’t be a huge disappointment if it did fail, and altered it enough to where the taste and texture would be just right.

Vegan Cheesecake Pops
Original non-vegan recipe for Cheesecake Pops can be found here

• 1 package of Tofuffi Better Than Cream Cheese
• 1/4 cup sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/4 cup milk (I used unsweetened Silk soy milk)
• 1 Tbsp. corn starch
• Boiling water as needed
• 1/2 pound chocolate (I used Trader Joe’s 70% Dark Chocolate)
• 1 Tbsp. vegetable shortening (You can probably use coconut oil here instead, although I did use the shortening myself)
• 10 Lollipop sticks, more or less (I used short skewers because I couldn’t find lollipop sticks)
• Sprinkles or anything else to roll the cheesecake pops in

Position oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

In your food processor (or you can use a mixer), mix together the Tofutti cream cheese, sugar, salt, vanilla, and vegan milk until smooth. Add the cornstarch and mix for another minute or two.

Lightly grease a small cake pan or Pyrex dish (not a springform pan). Pour the cheesecake batter into the cake pan and place in a larger roasting pan. Fill the roasting pan with boiling water until it reaches halfway up the sides of the cake pan. Bake until the cheesecake is firm and slightly golden on top, 35 to 45 minutes. You will likely want to watch the cheesecake for the last 10 or 15 minutes to make sure it doesn’t burn.

Remove the cheesecake from the water bath and cool to room temperature. Cover the cheesecake with plastic wrap and refrigerate until very cold, at least 3 hours or up to overnight.

When cold and very firm, scoop the cheesecake into 2-ounce balls and place on a parchement paper-lined baking sheet.

Carefully insert a lollipop stick into each cheesecake ball. Freeze the pops, uncovered, until very hard, at least 1 – 2 hours.

When the cheesecake pops are frozen and ready for dipping, prepare the chocolate. In the top of a double boiler, set over simmering water, or in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water, heat half the chocolate and half the shortening, stirring often, until chocolate is melted and chocolate and shortening are combined. Stir until completely smooth. Save the rest of the chocolate and shortening for later dipping, or use another type of chocolate for variety.

Alternately, you can microwave the same amount of chocolate coating pieces on high at 30 second intervals, stirring until smooth.

Quickly dip a frozen cheesecake pop in the melted chocolate, swirling quickly to coat it completely. Shake off any excess into the melted chocolate. If you like, you can now roll the pops quickly in optional decorations. You can also drizzle them with a contrasting color of melted chocolate (dark chocolate drizzled over milk chocolate or white chocolate over dark chocolate, etc.) Place the pop on a clean parchment paper-lined baking sheet to set. Repeat with remaining pops, melting more chocolate and shortening (or confectionary chocolate pieces) as needed.

The recipe says to refrigerate these for up to 24 hours, but I found that refrigerating only made them not hold together as well. I would suggest sticking these in the freezer.

These turned out really well. It was a relief when I bit into my first one to discover that they were tasty, and that other vegan cheesecake recipes do turn out.

I think that if I were to make these again, however, I would add some other flavors. They were a little on the bland side so peanut butter might be great, or making the cheesecake part chocolately might be a good variation.

At any rate, it shows that you really can be creative with cheesecake and that even non-vegan cheesecake recipes can be veganized.

So I challenge you – try these little suckers!

Tomorrow is my husband’s birthday, and of course you know that we must have cheesecake. Again. That said, he jumped the gun and decided to make cheesecake a couple of weeks ago (this post is slightly late).

This time, for round two, he decided to layer it. Chocolate on the bottom and plain on top. I decided it would be even prettier with some raspberry sauce.

Raspberry Sauce

• 1/2 pkg. frozen raspberries, thawed
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 cups water
• 2 Tbsp. corn starch

Whisk together the water, sugar, and cornstarch in a saucepan, then add the raspberries. Stir the mixture on medium heat for several minutes until it thickens and gets to the consistency you prefer.

Let the sauce cool a bit, then serve over a slice of vegan chocolate cheesecake.

The vegan cheesecake he made a few months ago was solid chocolate. Very rich and decadent. But I have to say that this cheesecake was even better. The plain creamy top complimented the chocolate bottom and made it so the chocolate wasn’t quite so strong. The raspberry sauce gave it a nice, opposing, fresh flavor.

And yes, I’ve made yet another cheesecake tonight for his birthday tomorrow – and it’s different from these two variations. I have a feeling it’s going to be even better and you’ll be very jealous. Stay tuned. :)

Vegan Chocolate Cheesecake
Based heavily on Fatfree Vegan Kitchen’s Vegan Eggnog Cheesecake — When I originally made her recipe, I didn’t eliminate the “eggnog” associated ingredients (aside from the vegan eggnog), which is probably why we didn’t like it as neither one of us are fans of eggnog.

• 1 12.3-ounce package extra firm light silken tofu
• 1 8-ounce package Tofutti Better than Cream Cheese
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup milk (he used hazelnut milk this time around)
• 1 lb. dark chocolate (he used Trader Joe’s)
• 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 3 Tbsp. cornstarch
• 1 prepared graham cracker crust (he used chocolate this time)

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Drain the tofu and put it and the Tofutti cream cheese into your food processor. Blend until smooth. Add the sugar and milk, and process again until sugar is dissolved, about 3 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients (except chocolate and crust) and process until completely smooth, about 3 more minutes.

Melt the chocolate in a microwave safe container to a point that it is soft enough to blend with the other ingredients. You can also melt it on the stove in a double boiler.

At this point you need to decide if you want a cheesecake that is completely chocolate or half chocolate and half plain cheesecake. If you choose to do the first add the chocolate to your blended ingredients and blend again until the chocolate has been fully incorporated into the mixture. If you choose to do the latter, then pour half of the blended mixture into a separate container (or straight into your pie crust if you want plain on the bottom and chocolate on top), and then blend the chocolate with the remaining half that is still in the blender.

Pour the blended mixture(s) into the pie crust and bake in the middle of the oven for about 55 minutes (do not allow to brown). Filling will be slightly jiggly, not completely set until chilled.

Remove from oven and allow to cool. Refrigerate until completely chilled (the longer, the better).

We only allowed this to chill for probably 2-4 hours before we had a piece. The texture was still soft, and it was smooth. The flavor was rich – I imagine it was enhanced by the hazelnut milk that we used, and if you have ever tried Nutella you’ll recall that it is a chocolate-like spread made with hazelnuts.

After letting the remainder chill overnight we had a much denser cake:

I think that there are two key things to making a vegan cheesecake. First, it has to have the right consistency. Cheesecake has a very thick and smooth texture, and part of the whole experience of eating cheesecake is how it feels when you take a bite. It has to feel creamy, thick, and fattening. It has to feel like an indulgence.

Secondly, the taste has to be there. True, I doubt that there will ever be a vegan cheesecake that tastes exactly like dairy-filled cheesecake, but at the same time ingredients like chocolate can certainly make you forget that it is vegan. That is the nice thing about this recipe – you honestly cannot taste the tofu and Tofutti. It doesn’t have to seem fake – and well, honestly, it isn’t. Who said that vegan cheesecake is fake cheesecake? It still tastes and feels like an indulgence.