Latest Excursions

Okay-- it's been a little too long since my last update. I have to look back at my photos to remember what's been going on in the right order. Here's a look at last week's csa haul-- "freckle" lettuce, swiss chard, carrots (carrots!!), green onions, and radishes:
When I went to pick it up, I was also asked conspiritorially, "do you like garlic?" and introduced to an odd curly thing called a garlic scape-- the sprouty thing that grows out of the "finest of the hardneck varieties" of garlic, that curl and straighten and produce seed-like bulbs.

It turns out, they make a delicious garlic butter!



Aside from that, the garden has taken off wonderfully. We've already picked and eaten the first 6 baby cherry tomatoes and are keeping a keen eye on everything else. I can't wait until I can eat a salsa entirely made up of produce I've grown (except for lime). Zips came out to visit at the garden, and spent time checking out the romas.

We've also got tomatillos, jalapenos and other hot peppers (I don't remember which are planted where, so it's going to be a game of spicy russian roulette!!) on the vine. Just need the sun and water. Salsa. Verde. Can't. Wait.

Zipper's still sleeping off the effects of the green tomato aroma.

Okay. What else? Tried out a no-bake vegan chocolate cheesecake recipe (from the April issue of Veg Times) to great effect. I'm not a fan of lots of flavored cheesecake. I'm an unrepentant chocolate lover. I'm a fan of classic cheesecake with strawberries. I try not to mix the two (unless I can snag the dark chocolate off the plate of a fellow diner's garnish). I'm overwhelmed by the Cheesecake Factory dessert menu. I'm not impressed. I just don't think they sound all that good. What's better than strawberries?? So I was dubious about this recipe.

I was wrong. It's totally tasty. I've eaten chocolate cheesecake before, and this vegan variety is totally compelling. The tofu makes for a less dense, lighter pie. The flavor is excellent! And the cookie crumb bottom is absolutely essential. (And the fact that it's no-bake won me over. Like I said. I'm no baker. trust me.)

No-Bake Chocolate-Swirled Cheesecakes



6 round chocolate wafer cookies (we had NO idea what this meant, so I unscrewed a Newman-O cookie and used the non-creme half. If I did it again, I'd crush the cookies so I could layer the bottom of the pie with cookie crumbs like a graham cracker crust)

1 c. vanilla soymilk (we only had plain soymilk, so I added a couple tsp. of vanilla
extract)

1/2 tsp. agar agar powder

2 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (we only had unsweetened baker's chocolate and semi-sweet chocolate chips.. so I opted for the latter and used about 1/2 c.)

7 oz. silken tofu (I cut a 12 oz. block of silken Nasoya into a larger and smaller half. Obviously I used the larger)

4 oz. vegan cream cheese (Tofutti brand comes in an 8 oz. tub. I divided it in half. btw. It's delicious~!! So's their "sour cream.")

1/2 c. sugar
1 Tbs. lemon juice
2 tsp. vanilla extract


Coat 6 6oz. ramekins with cooking spray and place 1 cookie in each. (We used the ever-popular baby quiche pans and didn't use spray at all. And again, next time I'll crush up the cookies to evenly and completely cover the bottom).

Combine soymilk (some vanilla extract) and agar agar. Simmer for a minute over medium heat stirring constantly. Remove from heat and cool 3 minutes.

Melt chocolate in microwave (I always add a little water so it doesn't scorch or clump up) until smooth (in 30 second increments).

Blend tofu, cream cheese, sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla extract in food processor until smooth. Pour soymilk mixture slowly while processing until combined.

Set aside 1 c. of this mixture and add melted chocolate to the remaining tofu mixture in the processor and blend until well combined.

Pour chocolate mixture into ramekins and spoon (white) reserved mixture into ramekins and swirl with a knife (to make it look fancy. Don't swirl it too much, or it'll all just turn a lovely beige) Chill 3 hours or overnight.
No doubt. It was delicious.
I'm also really excited about trying it sans chocolate, adding lemon zest to the tofu mixture, and topping it off with the strawberry preserves we made a couple weeks ago. Or even the blackberry preserves. mmm.