Tofu Fritters
1 16 oz block of tofu
1 clove of garlic
1/4 of a small onion
1/4 of a small bell pepper
1 egg
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne powder
salt, pepper or seasoning blend (to your taste)
1 tbsp flour
handful of parsley

mash or process tofu in food processor and place in large bowl. Add finely chopped garlic, onion, bell pepper add parsley. Add salt, pepper or your choice of seasoning blend and cayenne. Add beaten egg to mixture and combine. Add flour, baking powder add stir. Use a tablespoon to scoop mixture, roll and form into patties. Fry in oil about 1 1/2 minutes for each side. serve and enjoy!

The tofu fritters were served with avocado, lettuce, tomatoes, grilled onion, peppers, mushrooms in flat bread. I had hummus that I made the night before that went nicely with Mediterranean pita chips. Oh and the roasted potatoes were lovely!

The day is Friday, April 18th the time is approximately 5:45pm I am exhausted and the family is hungry.

It’s time to cook, something that I don’t mind doing even when I am very tired. I literally walk through the door and make a left in to the kitchen and start my second job. Mommy extraordinaire/culinartist So I decided for today’s menu Tofu in Carib Sauce, Steamed Rice, Stewed Black-eye Peas, Sweet Potatoes, and Roasted Veggies. Yeah that’s how I roll. I finally decided to take the time to take some pics of the meal preparation. Unfortunately I cook like Grandma Anora. No recipe, no measurements so if you see some thing you would like the recipe for I will do my best to put it on paper.

Tofu

Okay this is one of my favorite lazy day recipes it is made with canned red kidney beans but pls feel free to pre-boil dry beans and use those!

1 cucumber
1 red onion
1 Scotch Bonnet (make a small batch without this for the kids!)
100 ml water
100 ml vinegar (white)
A few grains of Chinese sugar (this is like a sweetener be careful it is very sweet and needs to be added grain by grain to be able to control the sweetness You may substitute with 2 tablespoons of sugar)
1 tsp whole dried allspice berries
5 cloves
pinch of salt
pinch of black pepper
optional pinch of ajinomoto *

Cut cucumber lengthwise de-seed and cut in slices about 1,5 inch thick, cut red onion in rings, cut pepper in half de-seed. Put water and vinegar in a bowl and add sugar, dried allspice berries, cloves, adjinomoto, salt, black pepper stir well and add cucumber and red onion. Make day before so all the flavors have infused.

• 3 tablespoons of evoo
• 2 zucchini's (in cubes)
• 1 onion chopped
• 5 cloves of garlic (crushed)
• 4 cans of tomato cubes
• 10 tablespoons of dried mixed Italian herbs (you can choose to buy fresh herbs I don't because the wilt before I can finish them)
• 1 tablespoons of brown sugar (you can add a bit more to taste)
• Aromat to taste (1,5 tablespoon)

This sauce I use as a basis for homemade pizza's or as pastasaus. this is enough for serving a family of 4 twice so half of it can go in the freezer.

Heat 2 tablespoons of evoo, add onions until "glassy" add garlic, dried Italian herbs and 1 tablespoon of evoo. On medium heat keep stirring until your kitchen smells like the herbs, add zucchini stir, lower heat put lid on and leave to simmer until zucchini is a little softer (not too soft!) add tomato cubes stir and add brown sugar and aromat to taste. Let simmer for about 10 minutes to allow all the flavors to infuse. Use staff mixer or blender to make into a smooth sauce or leave as is if your family likes chunks.

I am not 100% vegan but I enjoy trying out vegan desserts and baking! I recently made these vegan chocolate & ginger cupcakes and they were really good, and I probably ate them much too quickly...breakfast, lunch, and dinner. LOL. The recipe called for Apple Cider Vinegar, but I do not recommend using it. I thought it left a bitter unfamiliar taste in the cupcakes, the I could have probably done without. Does anyone no why so many of the vegan cupcakes/cake recipes call for using Apple Cider Vinegar? as you can see I was totally out of cupcake liners so I just used regular household foil and sprayed them a little with veg spray...they came out great though!

So here is how I fixed mine:

1 C. Vanilla Almond Milk
3/4 C. granulated sugar
1/3 C. canola or vegetable oil (you can substitute with almond/soy milk)
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla
1/2 C. All Purpose unbleached Flour
1/2 C. Unbleached Bread Flour
1/3 C. Cocoa Powder
3/4 tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
1/4 tsp. Salt

i love me some black eye peas, and had a mighty strong craving for some a week or so ago...i figured...i'm a savy cook, i can veganize grandma's southern salt pork version that i grew up on...

now, since i was working on the fly, and making things up as i went along, this isn't exactly a "tight" recipe, in other wards...i was adding a lil bit of this...a lil bit of that...tasting, until i got the right balance.

so follow this "loose" recipe, and taste and adjust as you go along...

ki-ki's veganized southern black eye peas

1 package of dried black eye peas
1/2 yellow onion
1/2 bell pepper
1 half strip of kombu*
1-2 tbl. of liquid smoke (i use hickory)
1-2 tbl. of soy sauce
1 capful of vegan bacon bits plus more for garnishing
2 bay leaves
1-2 tsp. onion powder
1-2 tsp. garlic powder
spike *salt-free seasoning to taste
salt and pepper to taste

My lil and big men just absolutely love falafel! It was the first vegan dish that they all kept asking for over and over again. I think they like both the taste and the "fast food" look of the it. I have to confess that I always make falafel out of a box the mix is vegan and there are no artificial flavors, it makes a quick meal (just add water and some more seasoning to taste, form small balls and fry) and it is healthy we eat it with pita and a fresh salad of lettuce, tomatoes, some corn, cucumbers and red onions thinly sliced the men add some garlic sauce (we don't have the vegan kind yet so this makes it a veggie dish all of a sudden LOL)

I found a great online tutorial on how to make falafel and I am planning to try this recipe not only with chickpeas but also with black eye peas to make an Caribbean version called Kala. Wanna give it a try as well? Check out the video!

I ran across this great video on the tube on how to prepare a raw/vegan strawberry shortcake alternative:

The fruit of carob is a pod, and technically a legume. Most carob trees are monoecious, which means that they have individual male and female flowers. Carob pods can have up to 8% of protein content and has vitamins A & B, and several other important minerals. Carob is often grounded into a fine powder to use as a cocoa substitute. While it is not as sweet as chocolate, its taste is still just as desirable and your body will be glad to know that it has only one-third the calories of chocolate, is virtually fat-free (chocolate is half fat), is rich in pectin, is non-allergenic, has abundant protein, and has no oxalic acid, which interferes with absorption of calcium.