Barbecue Meatballs

This recipe is one of my favorites. My family's taste buds are pretty selective and they love these meatballs served with mashed potatoes and a fresh green salad. You can experiment with different sauces (sweet and sour, spaghetti sauce, etc) or use the one I've provided. Either way, it's very good. *Photo illustrates Jamaican Jerk sauce on meatballs.

Ingredients:

1 12.3 package soft silken tofu

1/2 onion, chopped coarsely

1 tsp. seasoned salt (opt.)

1/4 tsp. granulated garlic

2 Tbs. soy sauce or Bragg's Liquid Aminos

1 cup ground pecans

1 1/2 cup finely crushed saltine crackers or bread crumbs

Instructions:

In a blender, blend tofu, onion, seasoned salt, garlic powder, and soy sauce until smooth. Pour blended mixture into a mixing bowl and stir in pecans and cracker or bread crumbs. When completely mixed together, form into small balls.

Place meatballs on a sprayed cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes, until golden brown. Transfer baked meatballs into casserole dish and cover with BBQ sauce and return to oven. Bake until bubbly.

BBQ Sauce:

Combine 1/2 cup of ketchup and 1 cup purchased BBQ sauce of choice. Add water until the sauce is a medium pouring consistency (not thick and not really thin). Adjust ketchup or purchased BBQ sauce to taste. Sometimes I add some apricot preserves, too.

Flops

So, I tried a new recipe last night. It sounded so good! Raspberry Mocha Cake. Excitedly I prepared all the ingredients, following the instructions to the very letter. The result? Flop, flop, flop. The texture was all wrong. The cupcakes rose, but became so crunchy on top you would need a chisel to break through! Then the "glorious" interior was dry as a proverbial bone.

I was so disappointed. All of those ingredients ~ WASTED! I chalked it up to experience and remarked to my husband, "If I never experimented with new recipes, it would be so boring!" You have to step out and try things or you will never progress.

Apricot-Oatmeal Cookies

I love cookies. My husband and I went to Costco recently and purchased dried apricots, pecans, almonds and pistachios. Now, I asked, as my creative mind went into motion, what can I do with all of these delicious ingredients? Jarod, often the impetus behind my creations, suggested oatmeal cookies with dried apricots. I found just the recipe in my Better Homes and Gardens New Baking Book and these are sweetly satisfying with a tall glass of milk (icy Silk soy milk, in my case).

Ingredients:

3/4 cup snipped dried apricots

3/4 cup margarine

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1 Tb. ground flax, mixed with 3 Tb. water

1 tsp. vanilla

1 3/4 cup flour

2 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup chopped nuts of choice (I used toasted almonds, but pecans or walnuts would be great, too)

Instructions:

In small bowl, combine apricots and enough boiling water just to cover them. Let stand for 5 minutes. Drain.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large mixing bowl beat the margarine with an electric hand mixer until fluffy. Add brown sugar, granulated sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and baking soda; beat until combined. Add the flax mixture and vanilla and beat until combined. Mix in as much flour as you can with the hand mixer. Using a wooden spoon, stir in apricots, rolled oats, nuts and any remaining flour.

Drop dough by rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for about 10 minutes or until edges are golden. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool.

Yummmmy!

Basic Whole Wheat Bread

I don't know about you, but I used to shy away from making bread because it was so labor intensive. Waiting while the yeast grew, knead, knead, punch, wait, punch, wait....it seemed to take hours! That all changed when my mom gave me this recipe for basic whole wheat bread. It's so easy. The photo above shows my whole wheat millet bread.

Ingredients:

4 cups very warm water

3 Tb. yeast

1/4 cup brown sugar (you can use white sugar or honey, too, if you don't have brown sugar)

4 cups white flour

3 cups whole wheat

2 tsp. salt

1/4 cup oil

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine warm water, yeast and sugar or honey. Set your kitchen timer for 10 minutes and allow the yeast to grow in a warm place. I usually put the bowl near the heated oven. Meanwhile, mix your flours and salt together in another bowl. When your yeast is all bubbly, pour your flour mixture into the large bowl and add oil. Mix thoroughly. When the dough is relatively stiff, pour it out onto a floured surface. You will need to add flour as your knead your dough. Knead the dough until it is a smooth mass and "bounces back" when you lightly press your finger into it. Place into a large oiled bowl and allow to raise for 40 minutes or until about doubled in size.

Remove the dough from the bowl and once again place it on a floured surface. Knead a few times, adding a small amount of flour if needed, and then divide the dough into three pieces. Shape into loaves and place into oiled bread pans. Bake for about 30 minutes or until it is nicely browned on top and bottom and sounds a little hollow when you thump the bottom. Allow to cool, then place in bread bags and store. I usually put mine in the fridge to keep it nice and fresh.

*This recipe is pretty versatile, too. I've added oat flour, rye flour, gluten flour, whole wheat pastry flour, and millet to this recipe and it has turned out fine. As long as you maintain the seven cups of flour, it should turn out fine. You may have to experiment if you use other flours.

Surprise your family with fresh baked bread and enjoy the delicious aroma that wafts through your house while it bakes!

My Favorite Granola

I realize that granola is already vegan, but after making a batch today, I couldn't pass up sharing this recipe with you. It is a very versatile recipe, which yields itself to fun experimentation. I've made date-pecan, cranberry-orange, cinnamon-coconut-raisin, and cherry-almond variations. It's not "clumpy" so if you're looking for that consistency, you will be disappointed.

Ingredients:

8 cups rolled oats

2 cups flaked coconut, unsweetened

2 cups sliced almonds

1 cup brown sugar

4 tsp. cinnamon

2 cups dried cherries, coarsely chopped

1/3 cup oil, emulsified in 2/3 cup water (to make 1 cup liquid)

Instructions:

Mix dry ingredients (except cherries) in medium bowl. In a large glass measuring cup (or small bowl) mix oil and water together. Pour enough of the wet mixture over the dry ingredients to dampen and mix all together. Pour onto cookie sheet and bake for approximately 30 minutes (or until golden brown) at 300 degrees. Check frequently to make sure it does not burn. Add the chopped cherries after you have removed the granola from the oven. Allow to cool and store in an airtight container.

Like I said, you can adapt this recipe to suit your tastes. Instead of using almonds, you could use pecans or walnuts. You could substitute craisins or raisins for the cherries and omit the coconut.

This is one of our favorite breakfasts. My daughter and I ate granola and yogurt every morning for about a month. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Healthy Carrot Cake Cupcakes

I love carrot cake, but my family is not fond of the idea of vegetables in dessert. My husband remarked that these were the best carrot cake cupcakes he'd ever had. They are moist and tender and don't fall apart like other recipes that I've tried. Plus, this can be a sneaky way to get your children (or husband) to eat their vegetables! ((wink, wink)) This recipe was originally created by Ellie Krieger of the Food Network, but I tweaked it a little. The original recipe called for nutmeg and eggs.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

3/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 cup oil

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup silken tofu, blended until smooth with a little water

1/2 cup natural applesauce

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 cups grated carrot

1/4 cup, plus 2 Tbsp. walnuts or pecans, chopped fine

Frosting:

4 oz. low fat cream cheese, such as Neufchatel (I tried Tofutti Cream Cheese and the frosting consistency was too runny. You'll have to find a great alternative...I'm still experimenting!)

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp. lemon zest

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a muffin tin with cupcake papers.

Whisk together first six ingredients in a small bowl. In a medium bowl, whisk together oil, brown sugar, and tofu until well combined. Add the applesauce, vanilla, and carrots. Combine the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients in the medium bowl and mix. Add 1/4 cup of chopped nuts.

Divide the batter evenly between the muffin cups. I've found that a 1/4 measuring cup works excellently. Bake about 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

While the cupcakes are cooling, prepare your frosting. With an electric hand mixer, beat the cream cheese, powdered sugar and lemon zest until smooth. Frost the cooled cupcakes and sprinkle some of the reserved chopped nuts on top.

You will want to store the cupcakes in the fridge. Yield: 12 cupcakes

Bobby Flay's Gingerbread Cupcakes ~ With a twist!

As soon as I realized that you could substitute silken tofu for eggs in cake type recipes, I started compiling recipes that I wanted to experiment with. This recipe from the Food Network by one of my favorite chefs, Bobby Flay, was one that I thought looked and sounded pretty amazing. The full title of the recipe is..."Gingerbread Cupcakes with Caramelized Mango Buttercream"! I didn't do the mango buttercream, unfortunately. I didn't have any mango and I'm still trying to come up with good substitutions for things like egg whites, etc. So, to make the cupcakes look beautiful, I just used some store bought icing and sprinkled a few pieces of candied ginger on top.

Even without the mango buttercream, this is still a delicious recipe for a holiday party or luncheon.

Ingredients ~ Cupcakes:

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1 Tb. ground ginger

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground cloves (*I didn't use)

1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted (I used 1/4 cup Earth Balance margarine)

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup silken Tofu, blended with a little water until very smooth

6 Tb. black strap molasses

3/4 cup water

Ingredients ~ Ginger Syrup:

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

1 (2-inch) piece ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped (I used a longish piece of candied ginger, then used the infused pieces to decorate the top of the cupcakes).

Instructions:

Start the ginger syrup first. Mix water, sugar, and ginger pieces in a small pan and bring to boil. Turn off and allow the syrup to rest for about 30 minutes, to infuse the ginger flavor. Remove the ginger pieces and set aside for decoration if you are using candied ginger. If not, discard raw ginger.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place cupcake papers in muffin tin and liberally spray the cups and top of the pan with Pam.

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon and cloves into a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together melted margarine, brown sugar, tofu, and molasses. Add some of the water to the mixture and stir, then some of the flour and stir. Continue alternating with the water and flour until everything is added and smooth.

Fill each paper liner with 1/3 cup batter or until it comes about 1/4 inch below the top of the liner. Place into preheated oven and bake just until the tops feel firm and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 15-18 minutes. Remove from the oven and brush the tops liberally with the ginger syrup.

Allow to cool, then frost with your favorite icing or don't frost them at all! If you enjoy ginger, then you'll love these cupcakes. They'd go well with a cup of hot apple cider. :)