Tofu Dessert Part 2: Chocolate Mousse with Grand Marnier {Vegan}

This Chocolate Mousse recipe is fast and simple.  Just like the previous Tofu Cheesecake recipe, it really only uses a few ingredients and it's easy to just whip up when you want a little chocolate something. 

Relying on the wonderful versatility of Tofu - it uses no cream and no eggs, significantly cutting down on the calories and increasing it's protein content.  It's surprisingly chocolatey and a Cy-friendly way to end a meal :)

Vegan Chocolate Mousse with Grand Marnier

Ingredients:

Serves 4-6

12oz package of Soft Silken Tofu

1/4cup honey (or any other sugar alternative)

3/4cup dark or semisweet chocolate chips (if using semisweet, use less honey)

1-2 tbsp Grand Marnier (depending on how boozy you want it ;)

tiny pinch of salt

Directions:

1) Drain tofu on paper towel for approx 20min at least.

2) Melt chocolate chips in either a double broiler style, or in the microwave (about 30sec and stir).  Make sure it's all melted down smoothly.

3) Throw all ingredients in a food processor or blender and blend until completely smooth.  Taste for sweetness and adjust accordingly.

4) Pour into small cups and keep in the fridge for at least an hour.

Rosemary Roasted Cashews

To be very honest, I've never been too much of a nut fan.  And by that I mean I would never just choose to munch on plain nuts.  However, I've learned to be able to enjoy some nuts (i.e. almonds!) especially when they are roasted with some other natural flavors.  

Cy on the other hand is a huge nut fan and is munching away on nuts all the time.  Seeing Cy eat them, I always wondered if too many nuts can be harmful to your body, but the verdict is out.  He recently had his bloodwork done and all of his numbers are amazing.  His LDL/TGL are super low while his HDL is through the roof. His A1c was 4.8.  For those of you that are unaware,  the Hemoglobin A1c reading basically helps determine how well your body has been regulating blood sugar by looking at the sugar sticking to your red blood cells.  Normal people should be in the 4.0-5.9% range and diabetics should be striving to be below 6.5%.  Needless to say, Cy's endocrinologist was impressed.   

So in light of this fact, I've been making more of an effort to snack on nuts. Cashews are not particularly a favorite of mine, but this recipe works really great with them...you may have noticed that I over-roasted them a little in the pictures...this was definitely not intended, but they still came out tasty ;)

I made a little package for Cy.  He saw the note and said it was cheesy, but it made him laugh so mission accomplished :)

Rosemary Roasted Cashews

adapted from Food Network

Ingredients
1 1/4 pounds cashew nuts
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
2 teaspoons dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon melted butter

Directions

1)  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

2) Place the nuts on an ungreased baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes until they are warmed through. Meanwhile, combine the rosemary, pepper, sugar, and salt. 

3) Drizzle the oil on the warm nuts.  Sprinkle the rosemary mixture until the nuts are completely coated. Serve warm.

Sesame Crusted Yellowtail with Shiitake Sauce

I don't know if it has anything to do with my Asian roots, but if I had to pick my favorite source of protein, it would most likely be something from the sea.  I realize that it's not always feasible, but I try my best to buy sustainable, wild-caught fish.  I would certainly hate for some of my favorite foods to become scarce and it's already been proven that for most cases, it's a much healthier choice - especially in the case of salmon.

This recipe is just something I picked up from browsing the web and I happened to have some cuts of yellowtail on hand.  But I imagine that the recipe would work just as well for some other meaty types of fish such as salmon and tuna.  

Strawberry Elderflower Frozen Yogurt

This week at the farmer's market, one of the stands had the little wild strawberries that tend to be so much sweeter than their larger counterpart.  I regret not buying more, as these were so sweet, they almost tasted like candy.  

Which reminds me of something my little sis said to me when we were young. "How come the strawberry flavored sweets taste like that? That's not even what real strawberries taste like."  The Japanese tend to really like "strawberry-flavored" candy, so they have everything from strawberry flavored kit kats and oreos, to strawberry flavored mochi.  We didn't realize at the time that the flavor of strawberries we find at regular American grocery are incredibly diluted to what they are supposed to taste like when grown under best conditions.  

When my sis bit into a strawberry for the first time in Japan, she actually exclaimed, "Now I know why 'strawberry-flavored' sweets taste the way they do".  And if any of you have had strawberries in Japan, then I'm sure you know what she means.  In anycase, the point of this long story was that these little strawberries from the farmer's market were sweet enough to be its own dessert.  However, this frozen yogurt makes for a refreshing treat too ;)

Not to mention, it's super easy to make!  It's basically just greek yogurt, strawberries, some elderflower liquor and a little bit of sweetner thrown into the ice cream maker.  All the Vitamin C and other antioxidants in the strawberries combined with the high protein, pro-biotic goodness of greek yogurt makes for one amazing dessert/snack.  

Chilly Soup for Sunny Days

It's warmed up considerably these last few days here in Los Angeles....perhaps hinting at hot summer days to come?  Keeping my fingers crossed that it won't get too hot - I have no air conditioning!

In either case, this Gazpacho recipe has become a staple for us on hot nights.  We generally make a huge batch and it lasts us the whole week.  It's cold, refreshing, tomato-goodness in a bowl. It's such a great dish to make on hot days - full of vegetables so you can get your nutrients, and no laboring in a hot kitchen to get it.  I realize that there are many different ways to make Gazpacho and everyone has their preferences, but this recipe really hits the spot for me.  All the vegetables are blended into a consistency that's just right, and the acidity of the tomatoes and vinegar makes my mouth pucker in happiness :)

If anyone has had the amazing Gazpacho over at the cafe Le Pain Quotidien, I have to say that this recipe will give you something close to that.  I wanted to garnish with some avocado and mango slices but unfortunately I didn't have any on hand this time around.