Thursday, March 30, 2006

Orange-Lacquered Tofu

I made this recipe pretty much exactly as it appears in the latest issue of Vegetarian Times, so I won't reproduce it verbatim. But the general method is to pan-fry slices of extra-firm tofu until brown, then add a sauce made up of orange juice, soy sauce, maple syrup, sesame oil and a little Tobasco (which is essentially my default tofu marinade). Cook until the sauce thickens and serve!

I brought extra sauce to the table, thinking that the tofu might be a little bland. But it was perfect... with an almost al-dente exterior and an addictive flavor.

My boy made this for me while I did yoga this evening... he's much better at frying tofu than I am. I'm just not patient enough. :)

Food/exercise log - March 30th

Breakfast:
- oatmeal with walnuts, flax seeds, raisins and soy milk
- orange juice w/ calcium

Lunch:
- lentil-black bean enchiladas
- pear

Snacks:
- green tea (6 cups)
- coconut-flavored rice crackers
- peanut-seaweed candy

Dinner:
- orange-lacquered tofu
- steamed broccoli w/ pine nuts
- red wine (1 glass)

Exercise: 45 minutes yoga (Crunch fat-burning yoga)

Total Exercise for March: 1380 minutes

Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Portakopita (Mushroom-Pine Nut-Phyllo Strata)

A few weeks ago I bought a box of whole wheat phyllo dough on sale from the local health food store (New City Market). The clerk asked me what I would be making with it when I checked out -- I told him I honestly had no idea. But glimpsing it in the freezer this week sparked an idea... spanakopita minus the spinach (and cheese, of course). I've tried replacing the cheese with tofu before, but spinach and tofu alone don't quite stand up to my memories of decadence. So this time I went for portobello mushrooms, garlic and pine nuts, drizzled with a generous amount of olive oil... earthy, rich flavors that turned out miraculously.

2 portobello mushroom caps, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 hefty sprinkle each salt & pepper
a few dashes chipotle-flavored Tobasco (optional, lends a smoky hint)
1-2 Tbsps olive oil, plus more for brushing
2 handfuls pine nuts
1 Tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)
6 sheets whole wheat phyllo dough, defrosted

Combine the mushrooms, garlic & olive oil in a skillet and cook on medium heat until the mushrooms are tender, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, spread the pine nuts in the bottom of a dry saucepan and heat on medium, stirring frequently, until just browned (be careful not to let them burn!). Season the mushrooms with the salt, pepper and Tobasco. Slice the phyllo sheets in half lengthwise.

Spread half the mushroom mixture in the bottom of a Pyrex dish. Top with half of the nutritional yeast. Place a phyllo sheet on top, brush with olive oil and repeat until you have used 6 of the half-sheets. Top with the remaining mushroom mixture & yeast, then with another stack of oiled phyllo sheets.

Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes, or until the top layers of phyllo are golden and puffed up.

Ingredient Notes: I sometimes find it easier to use a spray can of olive oil/baking spray than to brush each sheet with olive oil. I also use a relatively small pan, so I'll take 3 phyllo sheets for each layer and fold them in half, which saves time. In a pinch, I've also used frozen puff pastry, but it doesn't have quite the dramatic crunch that phyllo dough does. This time around, I used the cooking juices from a batch of Baked Tomato & Zucchini in place of plain olive oil for brushing.

Food/exercise log - March 29th

Breakfast:
- oatmeal with walnuts, flax seeds, raisins and soy milk
- orange juice w/ calcium

Lunch:
- peanut butter & bananas on toasted whole wheat bread
- pear
- baked pita chips w/ chipotle salsa

Snacks:
- rooibos tea (5 cups)
- green tea (1 cup)
- slivered almonds
- fruit leather

Dinner:
- mushroom-pine-nut-phyllo strata
- red wine (1 glass)

Exercise: 25 minutes walking (~1 mile), 35 minutes weight-lifting (10/15/20 lb. sets)

Total Exercise for March: 1335 minutes

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Saucy Lentil Enchiladas

A co-worker of mine brought beef enchiladas in for lunch today, and they looked so good that I just had to try my hand at veganizing the recipe. (You know you've been a veggie cook for a while when someone hands you a recipe that calls for beef, cheese and cream soup and you say 'I can make that from stuff I have on hand!')

2/3 cup lentils
1/2 package taco seasoning
2 cups water

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can green chiles, rinsed and drained
1 large handful soy cheddar cheese
8-10 corn tortillas

1-1/2 cups creamy mushroom soup
1-1/2 cups creamy tomato soup
1 cup enchilada sauce

1 can diced tomato, drained
2 handfuls fresh cilantro, minced (optional)
1 small can sliced black olives, drained (optional)
2 large handfuls soy cheddar cheese

Combine the lentils, taco seasoning & water and a pinch of salt in a saucepan and cook over medium-high heat for 20 minutes, or until most of the water is absorbed. Pop the tortillas in the microwave or oven to warm. Drain any remaining cooking liquid.

Combine the soups with the remaining 1 cup enchilada sauce. Pour about 1/2 cup of the sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Remove the tortillas from the oven and preheat it to 350 degrees.

Mix lentils, black beans, green chiles and 1 handful cheese in a bowl. Place 1-2 heaping tablespoons of the lentil mixture in the center of a warmed tortilla and roll up. Place seam side down in the baking dish. Repeat until you have used up all the filling.

Pour the remaining sauce-soup mixture over the tortillas. Spread the diced tomatoes, olives and cilantro on top. Top with the remaining cheese and cover with foil.

Bake for 20 minutes covered, then remove the foil for the last 10 minutes to let the cheese melt. Serve hot!

----------------

Ingredient Notes: I prefer Ortega's smoky chipotle taco seasoning and Pace brand enchilada sauce. I used Soy Station cheddar cheese (which had a pleasant flavor and melted well) and Imagine brand non-dairy creamy portobello and tomato soups. I didn't have very many lentils on hand, so I added some of the scrambled tofu and mushrooms from last night. I tried using both flour and corn tortillas... the corn were far superior, in my opinion (the boy liked the flour ones better).

Food/exercise log - March 28th

Breakfast:
- oatmeal with walnuts, flax seeds, raisins and soy milk
- orange juice w/ calcium

Lunch:
- mashed avocado & hummus on toasted whole wheat bread
- chipotle-garlic tomato soup
- apple
- coconut-flavored rice crackers

Snacks:
- rooibos tea (5 cups)
- green tea (1 cup)
- sliced roasted almonds

Dinner:
- lentil-black bean enchiladas
- red wine (1 glass)

Exercise: 55 minutes yoga (Yoga Step by Step Level 1/freeform)

Total Exercise for March: 1275 minutes

Monday, March 27, 2006

Food/Exercise log - March 27th

I've been doing this for a long time (since January 7th, in fact), but I figure I might as well start sharing. I'm not doing as well with the recipe posting as I could, but this *does* get updated every day.

Breakfast:
- oatmeal with walnuts, flax seeds, raisins and soy milk
- orange juice w/ calcium

Lunch:
- chipotle-kissed adzuki bean-sweet potato-tempeh chili
- apple
- baked pita chips

Snacks:
- green tea (3 cups)
- sliced roasted almonds

Dinner:
- scrambled tofu & mushrooms *
- tempeh 'bacon'
- whole wheat toast w/ organic jam
- orange juice w/ calcium

Exercise: 30 minutes yoga (Crunch Candlelight Yoga), 35 minutes weight-lifting (10/15/20 lb sets)

Total Exercise for March: 1220 minutes

---------------------------------

* I made this pretty much by the book, although I'd probably use less spices if I made it again. They overwhelmed the mellowness of the tofu somewhat. I sprayed tempeh bacon with canola oil and baked it for 10-15 minutes at 450 degrees.

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

Banana-Blueberry Muffins

This is adapted from SpeedVegan, who adapted it from La Dolce Vegan. I just really felt like muffins tonight, and banana muffins sounded tastier than ginger muffins. (Plus, I had all these things in the house.) I like to bake around the solstices and equinoxes -- makes for good seasonal tastiness.

2 cups unbleached flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup Sucanat
3/4 cup vanilla soy milk
1 banana, mashed
1/3 cup canola oil
1 cup frozen blueberries

Spray a muffin tin well with baking spray. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix well. In a separate bowl, mash the banana and add the soy milk and oil. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, just until incorporated (don't over-stir!). Stir in the blueberries. Fill the muffin cups. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 25-30 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean.

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

Savory Pasta w/ Peas and Mushrooms

Tonight we had a version of Eat Air's Old Standby. It only took about 20 minutes to prepare, and the boy and I scarfed it up. While it doesn't taste like mac and cheese, it's absolutely delicious in its own right.

My changes: I used a box of Annie's Shells and Cheese for the pasta, I left out most of the teaspoon of salt (since my bouillon was pretty salty), and I added a little lemon juice and Tobasco to the finished sauce.

Sunday, March 19, 2006

Lentil-Rice-Tempeh Casserole

This was the first dish that my boy ever made for me, and it remains a perennial favorite. I went through a phase a few years ago where I ate this over blue corn chips with cheese for nearly every meal. (It also makes for a good shepherd's pie base... I usually make a big batch in the 'basic' flavor, then add additional spices to portions of it as needed.)

3 cups vegetable broth OR water w/ soy sauce to taste
3/4 cup lentils, uncooked
1/2 cup brown rice, uncooked
1 8-oz. package tempeh, crumbled
1/2 tsp basil
1/4 tsp oregano
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp nutritional yeast flakes (optional)
1 tsp garlic powder

Combine all the above ingredients in either a deep baking dish or a crock pot. Either cook in the oven 300 degrees for 1-1/2 hours or cook on low for 6-8 hours in the crock pot.

To replace ground beef in any Mexican recipe, add...

1/2 cup enchilada sauce
1/2 package chipotle taco seasoning

We made tostadas with this mixture by crisping corn tortillas in the oven and topping them with the lentil mixture, chopped tomatoes, chopped avocado and a liberal amount of chipotle-flavored Tobasco sauce.

Avocado-Hummus Sandwich

Okay, so this is my new super-fast comfort food. When we lived in New Orleans, the ladies behind the sandwich counter at Whole Foods used to make me a marvelous sandwich with avocados and tomatoes on sourdough w/ chipotle aioli. I still drool just thinking about it. I came up with the idea for this sandwich this week for lunch, and it simply screams decadence.

1/2 avocado (or 1-2 Tbsp guacamole)
1-2 Tbsp hummus
2 slices whole wheat bread

Toast the bread. Spread the hummus on one slice and the avocado/guacamole on the other slice. Squish together, cut diagonally, and either eat on its own or dip into tomato soup.

Thursday, March 16, 2006

Potato Scones

1 cup cold mashed potato
2 Tbsp melted Earth Balance margarine
2/3 cup plain soy creamer
1-1/2 cups unbleached white flour
1/4 Tbsp salt (use less if your potatoes are seasoned)
3/4 Tbsp baking powder
canola oil spray

Grease a baking sheet. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Mix the mashed potatoes, margarine & soy creamer. Mix the flour, salt, and baking powder together. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, 1/2 cup at a time, just until the mixture forms a soft dough. Turn out onto a floured surface. Knead lightly, then roll into 2 balls. One at a time, flatten the balls and cut into 8 pieces. Place the scones on the the baking sheet, spray with canola oil, and cook for 15 minutes, or until browned.

Irish Stout Stew

Another month, another office potluck. :) This week was St. Paddy's-themed, and with it came a whole slew of potato-based recipes. We had this stew with potato scones the night before, and there were scant leftovers to take to work the next day.

1/2 tsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 carrots, thickly sliced
1 tsp celery flakes
1 pinch sage
2-3 Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into chunks
1 can braised wheat gluten, drained
2 tsp Pickapeppa sauce or A-1 sauce
1 bottle stout beer
2 cups veggie broth
1/3 cup Imagine creamy tomato soup (optional)
3 bay leaves
1 tsp white miso
1 handful fresh parsley

Heat the olive oil and add the garlic, carrots, celery flakes and sage. Cook for 5 minutes over medium heat, then add the potatoes, gluten, Pickapeppa sauce, stout, broth, bay leaves and creamy tomato soup. Simmer for 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft. Add the miso and parsley, stir to dissolve, and serve.

Ingredient Notes: Guinness is not actually vegetarian, since it's filtered through a substance derived from fish bladders. All Samuel Smith brand beers are a safe bet (we used their oatmeal cream stout); you can also use Sam Adams cream stout.

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

Chocolate Dalek

Oh, don't ask how I got started making a chocolate Dalek cake. It's a long story. Pictures of the whole experience are available here: Chocolate Dalek Photo Set.

For the body:
--------------------
4 Betty Crocker devil's food cake mixes
2 cups egg beaters or plain soy yogurt
5-2/3 cups water
1-1/3 cups canola oil
1 stainless steel bucket or ceramic flowerpot, approximately 9" high and 6" base diameter
foil or waxed paper
baking spray
Pyrex bowl (with a flat bottom), 5.5" inch diameter
dome shaped bowl, 5.5" diameter at the top

For assembly & decoration:
--------------------
bamboo skewers
2 vanilla frosting tubs
2 milk chocolate frosting tubs
jumbo marshmallows (2)
Special Dark miniature chocolate bars
pirouline cookie sticks (2)
Pocky (1)
black licorice twists
chocolate-covered bite-size cookies
chocolate chip (1)

Bake the cakes. Mix the cake mixes with the egg beaters/yogurt, water and oil. Line the bucket with a double thickness of foil. Spray the bucket and 2 bowls generously with baking spray. Fill the bowls/bucket two-thirds full. (I had a little too much batter... I poured it into mini-loaf pans, which I baked with the bowls.)



Put all baking receptacles onto baking sheets (to catch any potential spillage) and bake at 350 degrees. Pull the bowls out after 25-30 minutes. The bucket may take several hours. Use some bamboo skewers to test the bucket's done-ness... you're finished when the skewer comes out clean.

COOL COMPLETELY. YOU MUST OBEY!

If all goes well, you should have a huge bucket-shaped cake, a cylindrical mid-section and a half-dome for the head.

Now you shall sculpt! Turn the bucket upside down onto a round serving platter and unearth your alien body. Using a large knife, slice off the sides of the body. Affix one of the sides to the front of the body. Secure with toothpicks or skewer pieces.



Mix the chocolate and vanilla frosting together. Frost the entire base using a butter knife or spatula, making sure not to frost too thickly. Set the midsection on top of the frosted base. Set the dome on top of the midsection. Insert two skewers all the way through the dome, midsection and body to secure. Frost the midsection and the dome.



Now you will DE-COR-ATE! DE-COR-ATE THE DAAAA-LEK! Using 2-3 licorice twists, rim the base of the Dalek. Slice 4 or 5 licorice twists in half lengthwise. Use the halved twists to rim the seams -- where the base meets the midsection (leaving an open space in the front for weaponry) and 3 in successive rows where the midsection meets the dome.

Place the Special Darks lengthwise around the midsection between the laces.

NOTE: If you are transporting the cake to another location, do not affix the bumps until you have arrived. They will sag and slide downwards!



Prepare the eyestalk and weaponry. Pierce 2 marshmallows with skewers, then remove. Squish one marshmallow so that it flattens out -- this will be the plunger. Impale it on a cookie stick. Break another cookie stick in half to be the gun. Impale the other, plump marshmallow on the Pocky. Dip the chocolate chip in frosting and stick to the end of the marshmallow. This will be your eyestalk.

Affix the bumps and weaponry. Take the bite-sized chocolate-covered cookies, dab them in frosting and place in vertical columns -- 3-4 down -- all around the base. Using a skewer, draw vertical lines to delineate the columns. Cut a bump in half and place the halves on the dome to serve as lights (or Mickey Mouse ears... whichever you prefer). Carefully insert the plunger, gun and eyestalk.

Behold! A menacing chocolate Dalek!

Spanakopita

Before the unfortunate cholesterol diagnosis, spanakopita was one of our favorite dishes. But it just didn't seem right to try it without the feta and mozzarella. Tonight I overcame my fear and produced something very different from normal spanakopita... but delicious nonetheless.

1 block medium tofu
1/3 cup pine nuts
1 tsp each:
- garlic powder
- nutritional yeast
to taste:
- salt & pepper
- basil
- oregano
- dill
- lemon juice

Drain the tofu well and crumble it with your hands until it's roughly cottage cheese textured. Use a mortar and pestle or food processor to crush the pine nuts, garlic, yeast, salt & pepper into a paste. Add to the tofu along with the basil, oregano, dill and lemon juice and mash with a fork. Taste and adjust seasonings. Let sit for at least 20 minutes (preferably overnight) to let flavors develop. Defrost the phyllo dough.

1 portobello mushroom
2 splashes balsamic vinegar
1 10 oz. bag spinach
1/4 pkg whole wheat phyllo dough
baking spray
olive oil

Thickly slice the mushroom into bite-size pieces. Toss with the vinegar and a little olive oil and cook over medium heat, covered, until tender. Meanwhile, cook the spinach in a large pot with a little water, covered, until reduced but still vibrant green. Drain the spinach well.

Spray a baking dish well. Spread the mushrooms across the bottom and top with half of the tofu. Sprinkle with garlic powder and nutritional yeast, and drizzle with olive oil. Cover with a sheet of phyllo dough. Spray the phyllo with the baking spray. Repeat with 5 more sheets.

Top the phyllo with the spinach and the remaining tofu. Sprinkle with garlic powder and nutritional yeast, and drizzle with olive oil. Cover with a sheet of phyllo dough. Spray the phyllo with the baking spray. Repeat with 5 more sheets.

Bake at 375-400 degrees for 30 minutes, or until the top sheet of phyllo is crisp and golden brown.

Sunday, March 12, 2006

Creamy Tomato Soup

This is what we have when I'm starving and need something tasty and super-quick. It's our version of fast food, and it's very soothing. We usually have store-bought garlic bread and/or rolls along with it... this week I also added Asian Fruit Salad.

1 package creamy tomato soup (something other than the canned condensed variety... look for jars or aseptic containers. Imagine organic creamy tomato is a good vegan brand.)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 handful julienned sundried tomatoes
1/2 tsp garlic powder
4-5 leaves fresh basil, torn into bits
2-3 dashes Tobasco sauce

Pour the soup into a saucepan and add the diced tomatoes and garlic powder. Turn the heat up to medium and heat until it's hot all the way through. Just before serving, add the torn basil leaves.

Thursday, March 09, 2006

Mediterranean Quinoa Bake

This was another weekday panic/pantry meal I invented a little over a year ago. It's become one of my boy's favorites.

1 box Eden tomato basil quinoa
2 cups water
1-1/2 cup jarred hearts of palm
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes
1 can white beans, drained and rinsed

Preheat oven to 350. Prepare the quinoa according to box directions (if using dry sun-dried tomatoes, throw them in the pot also). Once it's done, combine the quinoa mixture with hearts of palm, tomatoes and white beans in a casserole dish. Bake for 20 minutes or so.

Monday, March 06, 2006

Portobello-Pine Nut-Garlic Linguine

Tonight I was starving when I got home from work, and this meal satisfied all my salivating cravings in a jiffy. I had this with some leftover white bean sauce from the Florentine Noodle Casserole, which bumped up this pasta's already hefty protein ratio.

4 oz. dried linguine
water to cover
1 portobello mushroom cap, cut into bite-sized chunks
2 handfuls pine nuts
3 cloves garlic
2 tsp olive oil
1 handful sundried tomatoes, diced
2 splashes balsamic vinegar

Boil a pot of water for the linguine. Meanwhile, saute the garlic and pine nuts in the olive oil until golden. Add the mushrooms and tomatoes and cook just until heated through. Drain the linguine, toss with a little olive oil and lemon juice, and serve w/ the mushroom mixture.

Cauliflower-Sweet Potato-Lentil Curry

After a lunch out at the Indian buffet, I was inspired to make this analogue to aloo ghobi (potato-cauliflower curry). It turned out to be surprisingly delicious, especially considering my general non-fondness for cauliflower.

1/2 head cauliflower, cut into florets
1 medium-large sweet potato, cubed
2 handfuls red lentils
2 cups veggie broth
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 heaping tablespoon white miso
1 Tbsp Pickapeppa sauce, or to taste
1 sprinkle each:
- curry powder
- turmeric
- caraway seeds
- mustard seeds
- cardamom
- garam masala

Mix all the above in a large pot and cook over medium heat for 30-45 minutes or until everything is tender and mushy and golden.

1/2 cup quinoa
1-1/2 cups water
pinch of salt

Boil the above until all water is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Ladle a little quinoa into the bottom of a shallow soup bowl and top with cauliflower mixture.

Ingredient Notes: Pickapeppa sauce is a tamarind-based condiment that adds a lot of flavor to this curry; you could substitute chipotle Tobaco or veggie Worchestershire sauce. Use any or all of the curry spices; a good curry powder mix will probably do just fine. I used frozen oven fries instead of sweet potato, just because I could. You could eat this curry with cous cous or rice or any other tasty grain... I just happen to like quinoa's flavor and short cooking time.

Thursday, March 02, 2006

Florentine Noodle Casserole

This is adapted from the Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker, which I found at the local library this weekend. I left it in the oven far too long, which made it pretty mushy. However, I was blown away by the flavor of the sauce. I've tried other mac-and-cheese-like concoctions, and all of them were pretty gross. This one surprised me. We'll definitely be having it again.

1 can white beans, drained and rinsed
1/3 cup Bulk Uncheese Mix
1 Tablespoon white miso
1/2 cup water
1 tsp dried mustard
Tobasco to taste
1 Tbsp lemon juice, or to taste

Mix all of the above in a bowl and blend until very smooth (I used an immersion blender).

10 oz. spinach, washed and drained
4 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
8 oz. penne pasta, cooked until al dente

Lay the spinach in the bottom of a glass cooking dish. Mix the pasta and sundried tomatoes together and spread over the spinach. Top with the white bean sauce. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10-15 minutes... just until the sauce heats through. Serve immediately.

Vegan for Lent

I don't normally observe Lent. I wasn't raised Catholic, and it wasn't even until high school that I knew that such a thing existed. In past years, I've made light of the rite of penance by giving up boys (when I was dating girls), red meat (when I was a vegetarian), or socks (Jesus never wore socks!).

Still, I like the idea of occasionally shedding some of our metaphysical baggage. Really getting back to the core of things. So for the next 40 days, I'll be doing my best to go meat and dairy free. This isn't much of a shift from our current diet, but it's significant nonetheless. For instance, a group we belong to is having a get-together at Perkins next weekend. What can a meatless, dairy-free girl eat at Perkins?

I'm sure it will be challenging, and I don't have any idea whether I'll stick to veganism after Easter. I'm very much looking forward to it, though. There's nothing like scarcity to spark culinary creativity.

Wednesday, March 01, 2006

Shepherd's Pie Deluxe

This is a variation on our usual shepherd's pie recipe, which is the epitome of creamy comfort food. Through many interations of this recipe, it appears that the equation for shepherd's pie seems to be protein layer + veggie layer + gravy + mashed potatoes.

Most of the time my protein layer is curried lentils... this time I used wheat gluten and textured soy protein. Sometimes my gravy is thickened cream of mushroom soup, sometimes it's cashew gravy. Sometimes I use straight mashed sweet poatoes, other times I mix in red potatoes and (in this case) leftover creamed turnips.

Whatever the variation, this entree is a complete meal, a show-stopper, and well worth the effort put into it.

1/2 can braised wheat gluten
1/3 cup textured soy protein
1 tsp soy sauce + 3 dashes liquid smoke + enough boiling water to make 1/3 cup
2 tsp curry powder

Rehydrate the TVP in the soy-smoke-water mixture. Add to the gluten and mix. Spread in the bottom of a glass pie pan and sprinkle with curry powder.

2 carrots, sliced into rounds
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup frozen peas

Saute the carrots & garlic in a little olive oil until the carrots are no longer crunchy. Add the peas and spread on top of the protein layer.

1 cup Imagine creamy portobello soup
1/2 cup Bulk Uncheese Mix OR 1/2 tsp arrowroot powder

Stir the above together in a small saucepan until the consistency of thick gravy. Pour over veggies.

3 red new potatoes, quartered
1 sweet potato, cut into chunks
To taste:
- plain soy creamer/tofu cream cheese
- maple syrup/molasses
- garlic powder
- Smart Balance margarine
- rehydrated tamarind/Worchestershire sauce
- orange juice
- salt & pepper

Boil the potatoes in salted water until very soft. Drain and return to pot. Mash with any or all of the above seasonings until smooth. Spread over the top of your pie pan, dust with paprika, and bake in a 375 degree oven for 45 minutes, or until the top is slightly golden.