No Bake Peanut Butter Power Bars (gluten free)

This is from Melissa Nicalaou.  I can no longer find it on the website balanced platter.com.

Makes12 small bars or 24 squares.

Ingredients:
8 Medjool dates, pitted
1/2 cup raw almonds
1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/2 cup cooked quinoa (or dry rolled oats)
2 Tbsp chia seeds
1/2 cup unsalted smooth peanut butter
1/4 cup raw honey (or maple syrup, date syrup, molasses to keep vegan - up to 1 Tbsp molasses)
1 scoop vanilla protein powder (I used hemp hearts instead)

Directions:
1)  Add the dates to the bowl of a food processor and process until chopped.
2)  Add the nuts, quinoa (or dry oatmeal) and seeds, including hemp and process until a meal has formed.
3)  Add the peanut butter and honey (or maple syrup) and process until a thick dough forms.
4) Transfer the dough to a parchment-lined baking pan. A square baking dish works well.
5) Place the bars in the freezer until set, about 1-2 hours.  Remove from the freezer and slice into bars.  Store in the freezer until you're ready to eat them.  They're tasty when they reach room temperature, but extra special when eaten soon after removing them from the freezer.

NUTRITION FACTS per 1 square of 24, using maple syrup as sweetener:

Total Fat  5.7 grams

Sat fat  0.8 gm

poly Unsaturated fat 2.3 gm

Mono Unsaturated Fat 2.3 gm 

Total Carbs 11 gm

Dietary fiber 1.9 gm

Sugars 8 gm 

Protein 2.8 grams

Vegan Zucchini Breakfast Strata

Chitra brought this to Sheri's for brunch, and it was amazing.  Definitely try this - looks like it takes a bit of time to get the ingredients together, but it's worth it.  Probably also worth checking out this vegan website.

https://holycowvegan.net/vegan-zucchini-breakfast-strata/

Vegan Zucchini Breakfast Strata

A flavorful vegan zucchini breakfast strata with basil cashew cream and olive oil mashed potatoes. This dish is perfect for any meal any time of the day.

Prep Time30 mins

Cook Time50 mins

Total Time1 hr 20 mins

Servings: 6 servings

Calories: 348kcal

Author: Vaishali · Holy Cow! Vegan Recipes

Ingredients

• 2 medium zucchini (cut into thin rings)
• 1 medium tomato (seeded, all juice squeezed out, and diced)
• 1 onion (finely chopped)
• 4 cloves garlic (crushed)
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning (sub with dry herbs if you'd rather)
• 1 tbsp + 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 jalapeno pepper (or any moderately hot chili peppers. Deseed and chop finely)
• 10 leaves basil + more for garnish
• 1 cup raw cashews soaked for 30 minutes
• Juice of 1/2 lemon + zest of the lemon
• 4 medium russet potatoes (boiled and peeled)
• 4 leaves sage (finely minced)
• 5 slices bread (use white, whole wheat or sourdough, cut into cubes. For a gluten-free version, use a glutenfree bread.)
• Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

• In a skillet, heat 1 tsp olive oil. Add the garlic, sauté for a few seconds. Don't let it brown. Add the zucchini, tomatoes and onions. Season with ground black pepper and Italian seasoning. Saute for five minutes or until zucchini is soft but not mushy. If there is liquid in the pan, cook over high heat for a few minutes until most of it has evaporated. Turn off the heat.
• While the zucchini is cooking, place the soaked, drained cashews in a blender along with 2 cups water, basil, lemon juice, salt and jalapeno. Add salt to taste and blend until very smooth.
• Make the mashed potatoes by mashing together the boiled, peeled potatoes with the remaining 1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil, salt, sage, and lemon zest.
• In a large bowl, mix the zucchini-tomato mixture, bread, and half the mashed potatoes.
• Place them in a 9 X 12 inch baking dish and spread evenly.
• Pour on the basil cream evenly, and toss or press down slightly to make sure the bread cubes are immersed in the cream.
• Scatter on the remaining mashed potatoes over the casserole.
• Cover tightly with a cling wrap and place in the refrigerator overnight for the flavors to merge and for the bread to get thoroughly soaked.
• When you're ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees
• Place the baking dish in the oven and cook 40 minutes.
• After 40 minutes, turn on the custom broil to 450 degrees. Broil for 8-10 minutes or until the tops of the bread and mashed potatoes turn golden brown.
• Remove from the oven, garnish with basil, let stand about 10 minutes. Then scoop out and serve hot.

Nutrition

Calories: 348kcal | Carbohydrates: 49g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Potassium: 1030mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 371IU | Vitamin C: 27mg | Calcium: 84mg | Iron: 4mg

Simplest Tofu

I wanted to cook a package of tofu to have a protein source to add to salads.  Here's my quick 3 ingredient recipe - I will be playing with the cooking time a bit, but SO easy -

Ingredients:

2 tsp roasted sesame oil (Joyce Chen)
2 tsp teriyaki marinade and sauce (Kikkoman)
2 tsp honey

Directions:
Warm toaster oven to 400 degrees
1) Press water out of block of tofu
2) Halve horizontally, then cut into cubes ~ 24
3) Drizzle about half the marinade over the cubes.
4) Cook for 15 minutes, then toss, drizzle with the remainder of marinade, and cook another 15 minutes, watching that it doesn't burn.
5) That's it - use with any dish.