greek-style tomato-zucchini fritters with fresh herbs

From 06/29/2011 (by Eye-Fi)

I heart these. They were downright delicious. Iris didn't appreciate the texture, I don't think, so out they came, but the others did well with it. Even Mike admitted they were pretty good, for tofu. It was the first time I've used the food processor for tofu, so that was exciting. I got to use our first garden yield- zucchini, too.


Ingredients:

1 lb firm tofu, squeezed to remove extra water (place a heavy dinner plate on top for 10 minutes or so), then crumbled
1/4 cup ground walnuts
2 cloves garlic, crushed
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp tomato juice
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp salt
fresh ground pepper
1/2 cup bread crumbs, plus 1/3 cup for coating
1 tbsp chopped fresh dill
1 tbsp chopped fresh mint
1/2 lb zucchini, grated and squeezed to remove excess water
1 lb seeded, finely chopped tomatoes, drained to remove extra liquid
Olive oil


directions:

Preheat the oven to 350F.
Blend the tofu, walnuts, garlic, lemon juice, tomato paste, oregano, salt, and pepper in a food processor until almost smooth. Taste and add more salt and pepper if you wish. Scrape into a large bowl and mix in the bread crumbs, dill, and mint — it should have the consistency of a thick cookie dough. (Add more breadcrumbs by the tablespoon if it’s not quite there). Fold in the zucchini and tomatoes.
Create golf-ball sized balls of the mixture, and drop into the bread crumbs and roll to coat. Flatten to about 1 inch thick.
Rub a large cookie sheet with olive oil, and as you complete each fritter, arrange so they do not touch. Spray with olive oil, then place in the oven and cook for 35 minutes, flipping once halfway through.


From Veganomicon.

chickpea-quinoa pilaf

Of course, when the youngins' saw this, they began to whine, "I don't like this!" Even Iris studied it curiously between her fingers before letting it drop to the floor. So I protested, "But you haven't even tried it." And after I made them try it, guess what? They liked it. All three of them. Jack even managed to down the the "onluns."

From 06/27/2011 (by Eye-Fi)

ingredients:

2 Tbsps olive oil
1 small yellow onion, chopped finely
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 Tbsp coriander seeds, crushed
several pinches freshly ground black pepper
1.2 tsp salf
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1 cup quinoa (uncooked)
2 cups cooked or 1 (15-oz) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (I substituted northern beans, as I didn't have any chickpeas on hand)
2 cups vegetable broth or reconstituted bouillon

directions:

1 In small stockpot over med heat, saute the onions in olive oil for ~ min. Add garlic and saute for 2 min.
2 Add tomato paste, coriander, cumin, black pepper, and salt; saute for another min.
3 Add the quinoa and saute for 2 mins.
4. Add the chickpeas and broth; cover and bring to a boil. Once the mixture is boiling, lower heat to very low and cook for ~18 min, or until the quinoa has absorbed all the water; stir occasionally.
5. Fluff with a fork

From Veganomicon

banana butterfly birthday cupcakes

I made these dear cupcakes for Abigail's birthday, and they went over very well. They were fairly healthy, moist and all around yummy.

From 06/07/2011 (by Eye-Fi)

Going fast...

INGREDIENTS

cupcakes--

1/2 cup butter or margarine
3/4 cup caster sugar (I used raw cane sugar, ground up some in the food processor)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 3 med. bananas)
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup milk (I used soy milk)

icing--

100 g. reduced fat cream cheese (I used half a block of Neufchatel)
1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
1-2 tsp, fresh orange juice
sprinkles for decorating
strawberries for decorating

1. preheat oven to 350. Grease muffin pan or line with muffin paper

2. Beat (with electric mixer) butter, sugar and vanilla until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition. Add banana. Beat until combined.

3. Sift flour and baking soda over banana mixture. Add milk. Using a large metal spoon, gently stir until combined. Distribute evenly into muffin pans. Bake for 18-22 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

4. To make cream cheese icing, combine cream cheese, sugar and oj with electric mixer until smooth. If too thick, add more oj. Spread frosting onto cupcakes, decorate with sprinkles and strawberries as butterfly wings and serve.