god, i love hummus SO MUCH. it's one of those things that i almost always have in the house.
it's good for snacking! sandwiches! dipping veggies, nori, crackers... making wraps! sometimes i even eat it straight up, with a spoon.
if you have a food processor (and if you don't, go get one - i'll wait) hummus is super easy to make. it honestly takes about 10 minutes. traditionally, you'd use tahini in hummus... but i'm not a big fan of tahini, and i've never found that it impacts the taste at all, so i don't bother.
for this recipe i used canned roasted red peppers - they were on sale at costco... but you can always roast your own!
i have been reading about overnight oats on food blogs for a while now, but for some reason hadn't tried them until recently.
holy crapoley, they are SO GOOD. they are different than i expected, and better. i feel like they retain their shape better than cooked oats, and they are thick without being gummy or sticky.
one of the reasons i don't eat oats as much as i should is that (to be honest with you guys) i am a really lazy morning person. i work from home, but i set my alarm for half an hour before i work, then lay in bed cuddling my dogs and matt until 15 minutes before i work. at that point all i have time for is to throw some coffee on. with these quick, easy oats, i just throw them in a bowl with some fruit, easy peasy.
this has been my go-to recipe for the last little while. it makes about 1 cup of cereal, which is lots to go with some fruit!
so, do you remember how i said a while ago that i don't like cheesecake? it turns out i may have lied to you. see, the thing i don't like about cheesecake is the cream cheese. i know, i know, that's like the whole POINT of cheesecake.
BUT, i have found something better. it's healthy(er)! it's vegan! it's rich! it's creamy! it's ever so tasty! it's TOFU!!!
honestly, i was skeptical. you can find the inspiration recipe here. sunrise soya is a canadian company, that makes the lovely dessert tofu that i recently raved about. since i love their tofu so much, and i WANT to love cheesecake so badly (but without getting sick, and preferably without all of the morally questionable practices that go into making cheese), i couldn't NOT try it.
i made the crust myself, but you can certainly buy one of those pre-made chocolate or graham cracker crusts. all the recipes i found for graham crusts used sugar, but i just skipped that, and i think it turned out great. i also have to take a moment to tell you that this was literally the FIRST ever time i have made a crumb crust, and it was SO EASY. i was scared, it looks complicated and like you need SKILLS. not so. just try it, friends.
also, like most desserts i like, matt says the cake could use to be sweeter. so i made him some super agave-y strawberry syrup for his to shut him up. i thought it was fabulous. it's like dark chocolate - it's NOT super sweet, but it's rich and filling and honestly i can't eat more than a small slice.
i know this is a really wordy intro, but i have one more important thing to say! if you are interested in such a thing, the filling (uncooked) was amazingly tasty on it's own. it was thick and creamy and like a really nice chocolate mousse, or even icing. and since it's vegan, there are no uncooked eggs or anything to potentially make you sick! if i am ever in need of a mousse or icing recipe, this is what i'm using!
i really love these tarts!
i didn't take pictures of the process because matt had the camera that day, but i promise you it's easy as pie (easy as tarts?) i made these a while back, when the weather was still quite warm. this summer was amazing for peaches, and i was eating them any way i could.
by now you probably know my philosophy on desserts - i love fruit and chocolate and peanut butter and other theoretically desserty things, but i can't handle them to sweet. as per usual, matt said this could use to be sweeter, and as usual i told him to go drizzle it in maple syrup. hahaha. i thought they were perfect!
this recipe makes 5 tarts, which i know is a weird number, but i just wanted them for a few folks after dinner one night, and i didn't want a stack of tarts hanging around for a week after. tarts are one of those things that tends to lose it's charm as moisture sets in. regardless, feel free to double or triple the recipe.
*note* the tart shells i used were vegan - i know not all are, so double check if you care!
i'm calling this basic stir-fry, but don't let that fool you. it's not PLAIN, or BLAND, it's just an easy, simple, quick recipe that is really great to use as a base for many other ideas you may have. add more soy sauce. use different types of broth. throw different spices into the mix, etc.
i made it this time with PC fake chicken breasts (which are not gluten free)... but there are lots of gluten free options - tofu, gluten free TVP, even REAL MEAT (gasp!).
you can also certainly substitute different bases - switch the vermicelli out for rice, wheat or rice noodles, udon, etc.
this recipe makes 2 very large servings (or 1 matt serving and 2 harmony servings ;)
