Peanut Butter Chocolate Cookies

After a damn-near 2-month absence from my blog, I present you with: more peanut butter awesome-ness! These cookies are seriously addictive! And I am seriously addicted to peanut butter. Sorry. Not really ; )

Based off a peanut butter ball recipe in the 30-Minute Vegan cookbook, which calls for spelt flour (which isn't really gluten free, right?), I subbed some oat flour and brown rice flour for the spelt. So, here we go:

Ingredients

• 1.5 cups peanut butter
• 3/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 1.5 tsp. raw apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup GF oat flour
• 1/4 cup brown rice flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 cup GF rolled oats
• 1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips (NOT optional)
• I use Enjoy Life brand GF choco chips

L: liquid ingredients, melted together
R: dry ingredients

Directions

Nom nom.

1. Preheat oven to 350F. In a small saucepan, mix together the peanut butter, maple syrup, and apple cider vinegar. Place on stove over low heat until the peanut butter is melted and mix together. Add vanilla extract. Stir. Remove from heat.
2. In a bowl, mix together the oat flour and brown rice flour along with the baking soda, GF oats, and chocolate chippies (if using).
3. Combine the wet and dry ingredients.
4. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Or lightly spray a nonstick aluminum baking sheet. Scoop out your desired amount of "dough" and form a small ball. 
5. Place on cooking tray. Flatten the ball just a bit, because it will not melt down in the oven (according to the original recipe). 
6. Bake for 8-10 minutes. I know that seems like such a short period of time. I thought the same thing but I took mine out around 10 minutes and they were ready. You may have to experiment a bit.
7. Cool before eating. 

Maple Dijon Tofu with Almond Crumble

Alright. So... before I talk about this recipe I need to talk about tofu.
I love tofu, but in the past could never really get any of my recipes to turn out well. I wanted extra firm tofu, and always relied on the Nasoya brand for my recipes. Not to hate on Nasoya tofu, but I do kind of... hate it.

This past year, however, I went out on a limb and tried a new brand that I saw at Whole Foods that I hadn't tried yet. I had always shopped at Meijer (when I lived in Michigan) and since moving to Chicago have been lucky enough to live near a Whole Foods. I tried the West Soy brand tofu and I love it! It's great for holding its own in marinade, because, well... sometimes I forget I have tofu marinating in the fridge... for 4 days.

So now that I've found a brand that I'm fond of, I've been trying out a ton of tofu recipes. Here is one of them, which I found over at A Profound Hatred of Meat.


In all honesty, this is one of THE BEST recipes I have tried for tofu. The almond crumble is slightly salty, rich and has melt-in-your-mouth crumbly texture that goes well with the maple syrup-y sweetness. Add a little kick from some cayenne and zing from the dijon mustard and you're seriously good to go!

Ingredients

• 1 package extra-firm tofu (14 oz. = 397g)
• 1 cup maple syrup
• 2 Tbsp. dijon mustard
• 1 tsp. cayenne (or red pepper flakes)
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1. Combine all ingredients (except the oil) and marinate the tofu for at least one hour. I actually left mine for about 3 days in the fridge! I put my tofu (sliced) into a freezer ziploc bag and pour the marinade in. (RESERVE MARINADE!)

2. Heat oil on med-high in a pan and place slices of tofu in. Sear both sides of tofu until golden brown.
Now, Preheat oven to 350F.

3. Make almond crumble:

• 1 cup almonds, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup quick cooking GF oats
• 1/4 cup brown rice flour
• 2 tsp. rosemary
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 Tbsp. maple syrup

Chopped almonds.

In a food processor, combine all dry ingredients. Pulse until a coarse crumb. Add oil and maple syrup, pulse until mixed well. 

4. After crumble is made, place tofu on lined baking sheet and top with the crumble. Bake at 350F for 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown. Top tofu with the reserved marinade! Ta-dah!

Maple Tempeh and Green Beans

Tempeh, which is made from fermented soybeans, is a protein heavyweight. It has a distinct nutty taste to it (which I love).  In addition, it has a ridiculous amount of fiber to keep you feeling full long after dinner is over.

Based on a recipe at 101cookbooks, this maple tempeh goes great with crisp green beans! 


Ingredients

• 8oz. package of tempeh 
• I use the Lightlife brand usually
• 3 Tbsp. tamari
• 3 Tbsp. maple syrup
• 1 tsp. rice vinegar
• 2 cloves of garlic (roughly 2 tsp.), chopped
• pinch of cayenne
• 2-3 cups of green beans

1. Make marinade: Mix together the liquid ingredients. Tamari, maple syrup, garlic, rice vinegar, and cayenne. 
2. Slice the block of tempeh into strips or triangles. 
3. Place the pieces of tempeh in the marinade, making sure that all the pieces of tempeh are fully submerged. I tend to plan ahead a bit for meals and I let this marinate overnight in the fridge. You could also just marinate it for around 1-2 hours and get away with it but I really suggest overnight at least.
4. When done marinating, remove the tempeh and heat 2 Tbsp. olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Cook the tempeh on stove until lightly browned. 
5. Prepare the green beans however you like. I boiled mine for about 10 minutes and then topped them with Earth Balance butter and some salt and pepper!