VEGAN PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE

Everyone loves pumpkin pie and cheesecake and unfortunately until this past holiday season I always had to opt out on dessert at my family's house. This past Thanksgiving though I stumbled upon this this delicious recipe so I offered to make dessert (first time for everything) and it was a huge hit. My mother actually asked me to make another one at Christmas!

Things you'll need are:

12 oz firm silken tofu, pureed
8 oz nondairy cream cheese (I use Tofutti brand)
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup granulated sugar
3 Tbsp flour
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 prepared graham cracker crust (be sure to check the ingredients and make sure there are no eggs, etc..usually easy to find ones at Wholefoods...you really didn't think I was going to make the crust too did you? lol)

First you need to preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

While your oven is warming up you need to puree all of the ingredients (except the pie crust of course). After you have this all pureed, pour the filling into the graham cracker crust (by the way you don't have to tell anyone you bought the crust) and bake this for 50 minutes.

Once this has baked, allow it to cool for 30 minutes, cover with plastic wrap or the top of the pie container and refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight before serving. It really needs to be cold to be extra delicious.

So, if you always get seriously gypped out of desert at the 'pumpkin' pie holidays, now you can offer to bring a dessert and you get to indulge just like everyone else!

In case you don't know or you already know and it just makes you smile to think about it, consuming a Vegan diet has many health benefits. It aids in disease prevention, has nutritional and physical benefits and of course most importantly, it spares the lives of beautiful innocent creatures that deserve to live, live freely, live happily and feel loved.

SAVORY VEGAN POT PIE

Think you can't have a delicious pot pie being a Vegan? Think again! Here's a delicious recipe for you to try.

4 cubes vegetable bouillon or faux chicken bouillon
2 1/2 cups hot or boiling water
1/2 cup nutritional east flakes (available at health food stores)
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup oil
1 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 15.5 oz can potatoes, diced
1 1/2 cups frozen or caned/drained mixed corn kernels, peas, and diced carrots
1/2 lb faux chicken, cut into tiny cubes (try Worthington food's chick-ketts)
1 box puff pastry sheets

First things first. Preheat the oven, of course to 400 degrees. Mix the vegetable or faux chicken bouillon with the hot water to make a stock. Set aside.

Next, combine the yeast and flour in a large pot and stir constantlly over low heat, until lightly toasted. Add the oil, stirring to make a roux. Slowly whisk in teh stock, the garlic salt, and teh pepper. Add the vegetables and faux chicken and cook this for 10 minutes.


After you have that mixture cooked you are going to roll out one sheet of puff pastry adn place in a 9 inch pie dish; trim to fit. Pour in teh filling and cover with teh other sheet, cutting adn crimping the edges and making several 1 inch slices on top. Bake for 20 minutes or until the pasty is golden and puffed. I dare you to tell that these are Vegan. They're delicious!

VEGAN SPINACH LASAGNA

Here is delicious, colorful and fun play on the traditional Lasagna dish that you and your guest will enjoy. It's much lighter than traditional lasagna and would be great to bring as a dish to 'pass' at a dinner.

1/2 lb of lasagna noodles
2 10oz packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 lb soft tofu
1 lb firm tofu
1 Tbsp sugar
1/4 cup soy milk
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 Tbsp lemon juice
3 tsp minced fresh basil
2 tsp salt
4 cups tomato sauce

First you are going to cook the lasagna noodles according to the package directions. Drain and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Squeeze the spinach as dry as possible and set aside.

Next you're going to place the tofu, sugar, soy milk garlic powder, lemon juice, basil and salt in the food processor or blender and blend until smooth. After that is smooth, stir in the spinach.

Cover the bottom of a 9" x 13" baking dish with a thin layer of tomato sauce, then a layer of noodles (use about 1/3 the noodles). Next, follow with half the tofu filling. Continue in the same order, using half of the remaining tomato sauce and noodles and all of the remaining tofu filling. End this with the remaining noodles, covered by the last of the tomato sauce. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes and enjoy!