Chocolate Pudding Pie

When I showed up to work the other day, my co worker whispered to me that we were having a surprise potluck the following day for our supervisor who has accepted a position at another location. She asked if I would sign the greeting card, and could I please bring something to the potluck?

Of course I could! With this recipe tucked up my sleeve I can always whip up a pie at a moment’s notice.

Chocolate Pudding Pie

From VegWeb.com, where it is known as Silken Chocolate Tofu Pie. But I like this name better. I toasted a handful of sliced almonds to use as the topping.

1 (12 ounce) bag semi sweet chocolate chips
1 (12 ounce) block silken firm tofu
1/4 cup strongly brewed black coffee
1-2 tablespoons vanilla flavoring
1 graham cracker pie crust
fresh raspberries, to garnish, optional

Directions:

1. Melt chocolate chips in the microwave or on stovetop. Blend together tofu, chocolate chips, coffee, and vanilla.

2. Pour into graham cracker crust and chill 1-2 hours in the freezer, or 4 or more hours in the refrigerator.

3. Garnish with fresh raspberries when serving.

Serves: 8, Preparation time: 15 minutes plus 2 hours chilling

Easy Jambalaya

Oh the woes of a food blogger! Several times recently, I have made meals that have not only been delicious, but also pretty, and each time they get eaten before I manage to snap some photos. I’ll try harder to be more conscientious of that, since I think looking at photos is half the fun of reading a food blog.

In the meantime, though, here is a “recipe” to go with some photos I did manage to take! I warn you, though, this dish isn’t for people who avoid MSG. The main ingredient is none other than a pre-packaged rice mix.

I know, that’s cheating, right? But I want to share what I do when I’m short on time and energy and just want a quick meal of something hearty and delicious.

Easy Jambalaya

First thing I do is acquire some instant jambalaya mix (Hey, I warned you this recipe was cheating.)

Surprising fact; several (maybe most?) of the Zatarain’s mixes are vegan. So even though the box directs you to add a ton of meat to the mix, just ignore it and replace the meat with whatever you please.

I typically add 2 – 4 cups of mixed vegetables, and up to a pound of a protein; beans, tofu, mock chicken, and TVP all work well in this dish.

Here I am cooking some home-made seitan; I wanted to sear it first but when it started to stick I had to add some water to the pot.

Then I add vegetables.

Here I have mushrooms, celery, garlic, carrot, red bell pepper, onion, and cabbage. I could have easily doubled the amount of vegeteables here; green bell peppers, tomatillos, tomatoes, jalapeno, zucchini, broccoli, leafy greens; nearly anything would be a good addition. Just remember to add tender leaves like spinach right at the end.

Then I just add the rice and seasoning and cook as per the package direction.

Easy peasy.