Grilled Pineapple Tofu Cheesecake — a vegan dessert for everyone!

Seasonal Recipe of the Week
I have been working on some great new recipes I want to share. There are some great natural substitutes on the market which enable me to do yummy baking for the vegans in our lives. In particular, egg substitutes, which make baking possible. I also love to use cashews soaked in water overnight to make an amazing cream, add a little sriracha and you have a killer pasta sauce — BAM! But I digress, back to baking. This recipe combines silken tofu, cashew cream, banana, coconut oil, and pineapple to make a super delicious pie, even your carnivore eaters will love. Gotta soak those cashews overnight, so plan ahead! Makes one 8-inch cake.

Ingredients for crust
1 1/4 cup finely ground graham cracker (or any vegan cookies)
3 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons melted coconut oil
2 tablespoons almond milk

Ingredients for filling
1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked in water overnight
1/2 cup mashed ripe banana
14 ounces silken tofu, drained
2 tablespoons coconut oil, room temperature
2/3 cups sugar
4 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
4 tablespoons fresh pineapple juice
Grated zest of 1 lime

Grilled pineapple slices for garnish
2 tablespoons toasted coconut for garnish

Procedure
Preheat oven to 350° and lightly spray an 8-inch springform pan with nonstick cooking spray.

To make the cookie crust, place the cookies in your food processor and pulse until you get fine crumbs. In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the cookie crumbs and sugar. Drizzle in the melted coconut oil and mix well to ensure the crumbs are moist. Pour in the almond milk and stir again to combine all ingredients. You might need to use your hands to blend the mixture to get a crumbly dough. Pour the crust mixture into the springform pan and press very firmly into the sides of the pan first and pat into the bottom. Bake for 10 minutes until firm. Remove from oven and place and let the crust cool completely before filling.

To make the filling, drain the soaked cashews and tofu. Add the cashews, mashed banana, tofu, coconut oil, sugar, cornstarch, sea salt, pineapple juice and lime zest to a blender and whizz until completely smooth and there aren't any small bit of cashew. Pour the batter over the crust and tap it lightly on the counter to get rid of any large air bubbles. Bake the cheesecake about 50 minutes, until the edges are golden and the top is lightly puffed and still looks a bit wet. Cool cake completely before adding the topping.

To decorate, cut thin rounds of fresh pineapple, remove center rind with small ring cutter. Grill in a very hot dry pan to get blackened marks. Let cool, then place rings on top of cake. Sprinkle with toasted coconut. Refrigerate cake overnight for best results.

Wheatena Coconut Cookies

The Altitude Adjustment Section
My mother Bernice loves Wheatena, she makes it for herself for breakfast at least once a week. It is an old-school hot cereal from NYC which requires constant stirring till it thickens, and then you finish it with butter salt and sugar. I always thought it looked like quicksand. Besides being a cereal, it also has great baking possibilities. This is a recipe for a hearty delicious cookies which I think you will love. I recommend partially dipping them in chocolate.



Ingredients
3 cups sifted AP flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup Wheatena (dry)
1/2 cup shredded coconut
2/3 cup Crisco
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
1 Teaspoon vanilla extract


Procedure
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, salt and baking powder. Stir in Wheatena. Add coconut and set aside. In the bowl of your electric mixer, cream together shortening, sugar, eggs, milk and vanilla. Add the flour mixture to butter mixture; stir until well blended. On a floured surface, roll dough to 1/8 inch thickness. Using a cookie cutter, cut into desired shape. Bake on a cookie sheet lined with parchment and bake in preheated oven for about 10 minutes until lightly browned. Remove and let cool over wire rack. Dip in chocolate if you like. This dough holds very well in the freezer, so you can have fresh cookies any time, and isn't that what life is all about?

Coconut and Cranberry Roll Cookies

The Altitude Adjustment Section
These beautiful and festive roll cookies are a great addition to your holiday repertoire.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups butter
2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
2 teaspoon vanilla
3 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups dried cranberries
1 1/2 cups sweetened flaked dried coconut

Procedure
Beat butter, sugar, orange peel, and vanilla until smooth. In another bowl, mix flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to butter mixture and beat on low until dough comes together (about 5 minutes). Mix in cranberries and coconut. Shape the dough into rolls and refrigerate (I've even frozen it at this point). Slice off rounds about 1/2" thick and bake at 350 for 8 to 11 minutes. Watch closely and take out just when the edges begin to brown. Cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes.

Homemade Mounds or Almond Joy candy bars

The Altitude Adjustment Section
Yes, yet another chocolate recipe — this one for a blast from our collective past. I love Mounds bars. Though it's been 30 years since I had one I can still dream! And besides, I can make these for Mother of Rula. I think homemade candy is a great treat, so why not try these. They are not difficult and it involves dipping your fingers in warm liquid chocolate. How can that be bad?

Some history, while I'm at it: The Almond Joy was invented in 1946 by the Peter Paul Candy Manufacturing Company. The Mounds bar was the original version of the candy, premiering in 1921. Peter Paul used the unusual strategy of creating two very similar candies and advertising them as competing versions, encouraging consumers to pick a favorite. This tactic worked — Almond Joy and Mounds became two of the best-selling candies in the 1920s.

Ingredients
7 fluid ounces sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar
14 ounces sweetened flaked coconut
16 ounces dark chocolate

Procedure
Line a 9-by-13-inch pan with parchment and coat it with nonstick cooking spray. Combine condensed milk, vanilla extract, and salt in a bowl. Add confectioners' sugar 1 cup at a time and stir with a wooden spoon until fully incorporated. Add coconut and stir until combined. Pour the mixture into the baking pan and press it into an even layer. Chill candy in refrigerator until firm, about 1 hour. Using a sharp chef's knife, cut the candy into small rectangles. Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper. Melt the dark chocolate, or simply melt the coating chocolate. Dip the bars into the chocolate, covering completely, and place them on the prepared sheet. Refrigerate candy for 30 minutes or until the chocolate has set. You do have the options of topping the coconut filling with toasted almonds (like the Almond Joy) if you like. You also could use milk chocolate ... if you're that kind of person.

Guest Lexie Shabel: Fresh Coconut Chutney

Seasonal Recipe of the Week
Delicious fresh and great with Indian food or really anything! Most of these ingredients can be purchased at Ziggy's or Talin.

Ingredients for paste
6 tablespoons fresh grated coconut
4 tablespoons fried gram dahl, picked over and rinsed
6 small green Chiles (or as many as you can take)
1 small bunch cilantro
1/2 inch long finger of fresh ginger grated
1 marble-sized ball of tamarind pulp
salt to taste
a little water

Ingredients for "tempering"
2 teaspoons oil
1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon black gram dahl (washed urad dahl)
1 red chile, halved
1/2 teaspoon asafoetida powder
a few curry leaves

Procedure
Place the coconut, fried gram dahl, green Chiles, cilantro, ginger, tamarind and salt in a food processor blend adding just enough water to make a paste. For the tempering process heat 2 teaspoons oil in a cast iron pan (Lexi's preference) and combine all the spices and a few curry leaves. When the mustard seeds start to spatter, add this mixture to the chutney paste and mix well. Spread theis over your warm Dosai — or your face!

French Nut Icebox Cake

The Altitude Adjustment Section
This is an amazing cake recipe from Sarah Leah Chase’s classic Nantucket Open House Cookbook. Personally, would use the search here and find the recipe for super easy coconut macaroons to use inside the cake. There is no baking in this recipe otherwise.

Ingredients
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), room temp
1 1/4 cups confectioner’s sugar
3 large eggs
3 large eggs, separated
8 ounces pecans, finely ground
2 packages (3 ounces each) lady fingers
12 almond coconut macaroons - about 2 inches in diameter each
Whipped cream to garnish

Procedure
Cream the butter and the sugar in the bowl of your electric mixer until very smooth. Now add the 3 whole eggs one at a time beating well after each addition. In a separate bowl take your 3 separated egg yolks and beat till light lemon colored, now add them to butter mixture. Stir in the pecans. Beat the egg whites in yet another bowl ‘til stiff but not dry and gently fold them into the batter.

Line a 9 1/2 inch spring8form pan with waxed paper. Folding the overhanging paper around the rim of the pan. Line with ladyfingers on the bottom and standing straight up around the sides. Pour half the batter into the pan. Place 6 macaroons gently on top. Pour in remaining batter and then top with remaining macaroons. Cover the top of the cake with wax paper and place a plate on top to lightly weigh the whole thing down. Refrigerate the cake 24 hours before serving. To serve, unmold the cake and cut into thin wedges, top with whipped cream.

Coconut and Beer Battered Shrimp

Seasonal Recipe of the Week
Here is a recipe for coconut battered shrimp with a Cajun flair from Paul Prudhomme of New Orleans. You can also have it as a main course over some dirty rice and maybe try to work in a vegetable. On the side. This recipe makes 6 main dish or 12 appetizer servings.

Ingredients for seasoning mix
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
2 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons sweet paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
1 1/4 teaspoons garlic powder
3/4 teaspoons onion powder
3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
3/4 teaspoon oregano leaves

Ingredients for battered shrimp
2 eggs
3/4 cup beer
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 3/4 cup flour divided
4 dozen cleaned shrimp with tails left on
3 cups grated coconut
oil for deep frying

Procedure
Combine all the spices for the seasoning mix in a bowl. From that bowl take 2 tablespoons and mix with the eggs, 1 1/4 cups of the flour, beer, and baking powder. Whisk till smooth. At this altitude, I often add a bit of extra water to make the mixture a little thinner. In a separate bowl, combine the remaining flour with 1 tablespoon of the spice mixture. Save extra Cajun spice mix for another day. Set up one more bowl for flaked coconut. Now take the shrimp, hold by the tail and dip in flour, shake off excess, then the batter and then the coconut. Heat fryer oil to 350 and fry about 30 seconds to one minute, till golden brown and crispy. You can also fry them ahead of time and reheat them in the oven before serving. Prudhomme suggests serving them with an orange, mustard and horseradish sauce. Personally I don’t find they need a sauce.

Wheatena Coconut Cookies

The Altitude Adjustment Section
Let's make cookies, Wheatena Coconut cookies to be exact. I found this recipe on the box of the old-school hot cereal eaten by "Mother of Rula." Full of fiber and with a great crunch, these cookies rule!

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter, room temp
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup Wheatena
1 cup A.P. Flour
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Procedure
Preheat oven to 375. In the bowl of your electric mixer, combine butter, sugars, vanilla, and egg and mix till light and fluffy. Add Wheatena, flour, coconut, baking soda and powder, and mix thoroughly. Drop by rounded teaspoons at least 2 inches apart, onto a parchment-lined sheet pan. Bake 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Let cool and store in airtight container. Makes 3 dozen yummy cookies.

Flambéed Thai Bananas

The Altitude Adjustment Section
You know, not all desserts are baked. Here is a recipe for a dessert made in a pan at the last minute that will knock your socks off.

Ingredients
I tablespoon white sesame seeds
3 tablespoons shredded coconut
2 large firm under-ripe bananas
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon fresh ginger
2 teaspoons orange zest
2 tablespoons sugar
Juice of 1 lime
6 tablespoons Cognac

Procedure
In a small, hot, dry skillet toast sesame seeds and set aside. Now in same pan add shredded coconut and cook till it gets brown — 1 minute or so. Set aside, too — that stuff is for later! Now peel bananas and cut in half-length wise. Place a 12 inch skillet over medium high heat and add butter, ginger, and orange zest. When the butter begins to bubble, add banana slices, cut side down. Sprinkle on the sugar, add lime juice, and cook till sugar caramelizes — about one minute. Now carefully remove bananas to warm serving tray and sprinkle with sesame seeds and coconut. Return frying pan to the heat and add Cognac. As soon as it is hot, light alcohol with a match, to the amazement of the other guests. Don't worry, the flames only last a moment. Immediately pour sauce over bananas and serve with a lime wedge.

Breakfast Colada

Refreshing Beverage of the Week
Do you eat breakfast? You know it’s the most important meal of the day? Well here is a smoothie of sorts for the hipster on the go. A breakfast Colada, if you will...

Ingredients
4 ounces pineapple juice
2 ounces white rum
2 ounces coconut cream
1/2 ripe banana, cut into chunks
5 ice cubes
1 lime slice for garnish

Procedure
Put everything but the lime slice in the blender and let it rip. Drink while doing squats in your kitchen, while meditating, or while trying to locate your Blackberry so you can see what you're supposed to be doing for the day.

Coconut Crème Brulee

The Altitude Adjustment Section
This coconut crème brulee is a nice twist on the classic French brulee. It's from chef Douglas Rodriguez of Patria (which is now closed) in New York City. I don’t often mess with the classics, but this is a great one. Remember, at this altitude it takes longer than expected for these to set, so don’t panic — just keep an eye on them.

Ingredients
1 can Coco Lopez
2 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 eggs
5 egg yolks
1 cup shredded coconut
1/4 cup sugar

Procedure
Preheat oven to 300. Set 8 4-ounce ramekins in a bain marie (a hotel pan large enough to hold the ramekins comfortably). You will fill it with boiling water before it goes into the oven so ready the kettle now. Place the Coco Lopez in a bowl over a double boiler over medium heat and reduce by half. This will take a while — 15 to 20 minutes. Stir often. Add the heavy cream and boil for 1 minute. Remove from the heat. Meanwhile, in the bowl of an electric mixer, whip the yolks and eggs till light and fluffy — about 10 minutes. Reduce to low speed and slowly add the hot cream mixture. Then add the coconut and mix till blended. Pour mixture into ramekins. Add hot water to the pan. Cover with tin foil and carefully place pan in oven. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes till jiggly like jello. Uncover and let cool. Then refrigerate. Next day top with white sugar and with a torch brulee the top. Yum.

Magic Bars — the ultimate junk food!

The Altitude Adjustment Section
Because I can’t have any sweets — and because I just had a flashback to our last baker at work who considered this "fancy baking" — I thought I would live vicariously through our listeners and make one of the junkiest and best-tasting treats in town. A great project for the kids, especially if your husband is a dentist.

Ingredients
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
3 1/2 ounces coconut flakes
1 cup chopped walnuts

Procedure
Preheat oven to 350 degrees (325 if you're using a glass pan). In 13x9-inch baking pan, melt butter in oven. Sprinkle crumbs over butter. Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over crumbs. Top evenly with remaining ingredients; press down firmly. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool thoroughly before cutting. Store loosely covered at room temperature... yeah, like there will be any leftovers! Makes 24 bars.

Sweet Potato Pie

The Altitude Adjustment Section
Sweet potato pie is a Southern favorite. Here is a great recipe, from “The New Basics Cookbook” by Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins of Silver Palate fame, with some great fresh flavors. Yes, it brings me back to my southern roots!

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups flaked sweet coconut
1/3 cup melted unsalted butter
2 cups cooked sweet potatoes
3 eggs lightly beaten
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

Procedure
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Combine coconut and melted butter in a small bowl. Press mixture into into the bottom and up the sides of a 9 inch pie plate. Bake in oven till golden brown — about 15 minutes. Remove crust from oven and raise oven temperature to 350. Puree all the rest of the ingredients in the food processor till smooth. Scrape mixture into crust and smooth top. Bake in oven 30 minutes or until top looks dry and a knife inserted in pie comes out clean. This makes 8 portions. Whipped cream couldn’t hurt!

Coconut Cake

The Altitude Adjustment Section
Sometimes you need something all sweet and white and yummy! This recipe is based on Susan Purdy's 1-2-3-4 cake from Pie in the Sky, her high altitude cookbook, which we all love.

Ingredients
3 cups sifted A.P. flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted room temp butter
2 cups minus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
5 large room temp eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 teaspoon coconut extract
1 cup shredded sweetened coconut
1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon buttermilk

Procedure
Grease, line two 9-inch, round layer pans with parchment and grease again. Preheat oven to 350. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sifted flour, baking powder, and salt. Crumble coconut into flour mixture. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar till well blended. Beat in eggs 2 or 3 at a time. Remember to scrape down bowl! Add extracts. Batter might looked curdled, but don't worry, the flour will make it all smooth later. With mixer on slowest speed add dry ingredients alternately with buttermilk. Once everything is in increase mixer speed and beat batter for 1 minute till smooth. Divide batter between 2 pans and smooth top.

Bake for 22-27 minutes till nicely risen, golden brown, and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Run a knife around edge of cake before turning it upside down out of pan onto cooling rack. Cool completely before frosting. I would use a cream cheese frosting mixed with more coconut or how about some apricot filling?

Banana Colada

Angela's Refreshing Beverage of the Week
Banana Colada

Ingredients
2 oz. Anejo Rum
4 oz. pineapple juice
1 oz. coconut cream
1 ripe banana
maraschino cherry and pineapple slice for garnish

Procedure
Add ingredients to a blender, then top off with ice. Blend until smooth with no chunks. Pour it into a hurricane glass. Garnish with cherry and pineapple — and who doesn't love an umbrella?

Coconut Macaroons

The Altitude Adjustment Section

Ingredients
1 1/3 cups flaked sweet coconut
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 egg whites
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Procedure
Combine coconut, sugar, flour, and salt in bowl. Stir in unbeaten egg white and extract. Mix well. Use small scoop to make rounds and place on lightly greased, parchment paper-lined sheet pan. Bake for 15 minutes at 300 or till golden brown. These taste like the Jewish holiday ones in the can. Chewy and delicious. Holds well in an airtight container. Great dipped in chocolate.