Each Christmas Eve we partake in a family gathering at Mr MessyCook’s parents’ house, a meat-saturated event. To be honest my mother-in-law is very good about making sure I have absolutely tonnes to eat, and one year she even used soya mince in the main chili pot. Everyone ate it without complaint; the whining came only afterward when she announced it was veggie. Get your eyes rolling.

At any rate this is my first vegan Christmas and the MiL who’s spent the past eight years learning how to cater to a vegetarian is now left with most of those recipes unavailable to me, her daughter-in-law.  Consequently I’ve volunteered to bring my own food (plus I’m bringing a vegan friend along for the ride) and my partner’s kindly requested lasagna. My cashew-based smoky spinach lasagne has gone down well in the past and, besides, who doesn’t like lasagna?

If you’ve never tried a vegan lasagna, give it a try. It’s a much healthier alternative and, despite it sounding like a difficult task to achieve if you’re used to a dairy-filled diet, it’s well worth giving it a go. And I don’t care what anyone says about lasagna being hard to make. It’s not. Here’s a selection of vegan lasagne recipes from around the interwebs, some which I’ve made and others over which I’m still drooling prior to trying.

Spinach is king (plus other greens and veggies)

• Mushroom, Sausage and Spinach Lasagna
• Lasagne Love Potion
• Fat Free Vegan’s favourite lasagna recipe (spinach and mushroom)
• Presto Manifesto Pesto Lasagna
• Method’s Vegan Lasagna

Bean based lasagna recipes

• Lentil Lasagne (lots of yummy veggies in here)
• Dairy Free Chickpea Lasagne (uses chickpeas/garbanzo beans as a ricotta substitute)
• Lasagna Deliciousa

Mexican inspired alternative lasagnas

• Mexican Lasagna (or Enchilada Casserole)
• Fiesta Lasagna

Tips on veganising lasagna

• Creamy vegan sauces abound, and many of them make a great replacement for traditional cheese in lasagna.
• Try replacing mince (ground beef) with vegan mince or TVP, mushrooms, and/or other chopped vegetables.
• Some crumbled tofu adds to a good consistency, too!
• Instead of using butter to pre-cook any ingredients, use olive oil or a good vegan margarine spread.

Soup’s On (and a salad too)

Who doesn’t love a winter warmer on a cool day, even if it’s technically autumn (“autumn warmer” just doesn’t have the same ring, sorry)? Soup is a year-round favourite of mine, a meal in itself which encourages any amateur cook to improvise with what’s currently in season. And in case you didn’t know, pumpkins are all the rage right now.

Speaking of warmth, a bit of chili is always welcome in that department and Eat.Run.Do Yoga combines that with our beloved pumpkin in this recipe for Thai pumpkin soup. Pumpkin milk and pumpkin and/or squash are complementary, so I can only imagine this being a delicious fall treat! And shallots are in season, to boot!

Add an extra ‘l’ to chili and we’re left with a recipe offered by Method, where Ashley’s provided an easy guideline for pumpkin chilli. So now I face a dilemma: do I make chilli with pumpkin or this Rustic Tomato Pumpkin Bisque first? I’m a real sucker for a good tomato soup… but then again chilli’s an old school favourite. Life is hard.

If soup isn’t your cup of tea (people have insisted on calling stranger things ‘tea’) but you still crave smooth and liquidy goodness, then try this pumpkin pie smoothie on for size. I say that literally because I often chose, being the fashion expert that I am, to share that which is going into my mouth with any clothing I might be wearing at the time.

Oh, pssst, you should always eat salad with soup. Why? Because then you have an excuse to try this scrumptious autumn salad which uses pumpkin seeds and butternut squash. If you don’t have any butternut squash on hand, sub with pumpkin and you’ll be all set to go!

Spooktacular Sugar Coma

These Pumpkiningeradamia cupcakes are not only fun to pronounce (or try to pronounce); they sound good too! At any rate, how could anything involving candied ginger be bad? I’m also quite drawn to this tofu ricotta pumpkin cheesecake, a veganised version of a ricotta based dish. I love the idea of using light miso in a dessert! Q: why didn’t I think of that? A: because someone’s who’s a little more clever beat you to the punch. BOOYAH.

Janet, a 40-year vegetarian turned long term vegan, provides a recipe for delicious looking pumpkin spice cinnamon rolls. Cinnamon and pumpkin marry so well, and who doesn’t love the gooey sweetness that’s a cinnamon bun?

Halloween Treats

Zombie Eyeball Crispies (photo by Janet Hudson)

Zombie Eyeball Crispies. I haven’t had a rice krispy styled treat in many, many years, but as soon as I get my hands on some vegan marshmallows I’m going to have a go!

Rolled Sugar Cookie Eyeballs. Allyson, of Manifest Vegan, never ceases to impress with her high contrast photographs. The thing is, I suspect everything’s just as good as the photos imply, these totally cute cookies included.

Homemade Candy Corn: an old favourite, only veganised!

Pumpkin Pie Infused Vodka. The verdict is still out on this one, but what a concept! I’m excited to hear about how the end result tastes.

Please keep in mind I haven’t personally tried all of these recipes, but they’re on my immediate to-do list (meaning ingredients will be purchase on my next shopping trip).

Singled Out

Ah.Mah.Gahd! Are these cupcakes fer realz?! These cardamom chocolate cupcakes with chocolate dipped pear have totally caught my eye, and I would like them to insert themselves into my belly right this instant. Seriously, lady, you’re my hero. These are gorgeous and they look like an explosion of delicious. If you are ever in South East England, I beg of you to come bake cupcakes for me.

Cardamom Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Dipped Pear (photo by Janet Hudson)

Vegan Pasta Roundup

Who doesn’t love pasta? The whole world’s a fan, or so far as I can tell anyway, and there’s just no need to use dairy when there are hip and hot dishes like these.

• Vegan Manicotti: not too tricky but very impressive. I’ve been craving this since I first saw it, and I can’t wait to get some of that vegan goodness in me tum!
• Broccoli Miso Pasta Sauce: perfect if you’re craving some greens with your carbohydrates.
• Daiya Macaroni Cheese: one of many delicious looking vegan macaroni cheese variations on a theme available on the ol’ interwebs (gah, I am dying to try Daiya cheese. Just dying).

Snacks and Sweets

• Lavender Chocolate Chip Ice Cream: not new, but seriously yumtastic. I’m secretly (as secret as public blog posts go) happy my husband doesn’t like lavender because it means the whole tub (what’s left of it) in the freezer is mine.
• Peach-Strawberry Dessert Soup with Vanilla Tapioca Sauce: does this not look like heaven? My husband also hates tapioca, so I’m sensing another selfish dessert endeavour.
• Maple Glazed Cranberry Walnut Cookie Bars: if the stunning picture is anything to go by then these cookies, once made, aren’t going to last long around here!

Soy Delights!

• Besan Tofu: while not in fact bean curd (and not in fact a new post, but recently brought up again on the ppk forums), who’d have thought of making a mock tofu out of chickpea flour?
• Crispy Tofu with Citrus Soy: also not a new recipe, but new to me, this delicious looking fried tofu can be veganised by omitting the egg (try corn flour and water instead).
• Vegan Okonomiyaki: this sounds so good it almost makes me want to cry.  These are savoury Japanese pancakes generally made with egg, but Ian’s managed to veganise the concept. I’m totally going to combine this with my current obsession with saurkraut.

I think it would be fair to guess most people know you can find tofu in both firm and soft varieties, but what’s the meaning behind these differences? What’s the difference between these products and why do they exist? Let’s first look to two important countries when it comes to bean curd production: Japan and China.

The textures of tofu

Chinese tofu is generally what is being referenced when someone is talking about extra-firm tofu, while regular tofu is more in line with Japanese tofu. The main difference is that the Chinese variety has more water pressed out of it, so it is dryer and more meaty in texture. It’s also very easy to cook with in Western cuisine because of its consistency. Japanese style tofu, on the other hand, is generally a little softer and can be enjoyed simply on its own (this would normally be a medium-firm tofu). Both of these types of tofu are fairly common in the West and both have their benefits.

The ways in which Japanese tofu (regular) and Chinese tofu (firm) are made differ slightly. Chinese tofu is generally coagulated with calcium sulfate while Japanese tofu is usually made using nigari as a coagulant. This isn’t necessarily a hard and solid rule because it’s mainly based on geography. China’s in-land mountains provide the calcium sulfate (also known as gypsum in the West) while Japan’s coasts allow them the sea water needed to extract nigari (also known as bittern). Coastal Chinese also make tofu with nigari.

Recipes and ideas for firm and extra firm tofu

Medium (Regular) Tofu Recipes:
• Matthew’s Delicious Tofu
• Stir-fried Tofu with Zucchini

Firm and Extra Firm Tofu Recipes:
• Caramelised Tofu Recipe
• Sesame Baked Tofu
• Thai Coconut Tofu Recipe

What about silken tofu?

Silken tofu is produced by coagulating a thick soy milk and it is a different process altogether. Regular and firm tofu are pressed in order to remove excess water, but silken tofu never goes through this process. Instead it is simply poured into a container and allowed to become firm on its own. This means, unlike in tofu traditionally used in the west, the curds and whey don’t get separated. Essentially silken tofu is so silky because it has a lot of water left inside.

Recipes and ideas for silken tofu

• Vegan Butterscotch Mousse Pie
• Mini Tofu Quiches
• Silken Tofuand Carrot with Soy-Ginger Sauce
• Grilled Tofu Salad

Did you know…?

An interesting fact: the more water a block of tofu retains, the less flavour it will soak up in cooking. That’s why a lot of recipes tell you to press bean curd first! So if you’re buying the crappy supermarket stuff and want to cover the stale taste more, buy the extra-firm and press it even more!

Some foods are difficult to translate once you lose the dairy, so it’s always great when you come across an old dinner friend that’s been made vegan or vegetarian friendly. This tofu enchilada recipe, an adapted Paul McCartney recipe, is completely vegan and even includes a recipe for tofu sour cream.

If you’re after a simple meat substitute, perfect for when you have those picky meat-eating guests over, this recipe for tofu meatballs is a unique veggie way to dress a pasta dish. This tofu meatball recipe is also completely vegan. This recipe for Tofu Balls comes from one of the Moosewood cookbooks and features the use of eggs, so is not vegan.

The Vietnamese have a real way with tofu, so if you’re after a Southeast Asian tofu recipe then I’d highly recommend checking out some Vietnamese tofu recipes. This Vietnamese Tofu Salad recipe is both simple and nutritious. If you want something a little bigger, try this recipe for vegetarian pho, a Vietnamese noodle soup which generally contains meat. You can use either tofu or a mock-meat substitute instead. If you want a real Vietnamese food treat, try this quick and easy recipe for Dau Hu Xa Ot, or deep fried tofu with chilies and lemongrass. This tofu recipe is both easy and tasty, and will shock your tastebuds into a desperation to try more Vietnamese vegetarian food.

So what’s next? Everyone with any sense of food decency knows there are a billion and one things you can do with tofu to make a meal, but what about pudding?? What about a great vegan tofu dessert recipe? If you’re after silken tofu recipes then these desserts using tofu might be just perfect for what you’ve got in mind. For a quick and easy tofu dessert recipe, why not try this Raspberry Tofu Dessert, courtesy of the UK Vegetarian Society. Equally as easy, you could always try a classic chocolate tofu pudding recipe. Finally, here’s a tofu cheesecake recipe to tempt your tummy!

Tofu has an insane number of uses, and I’m glad to see that people are experimenting with it in their diets, vegetarian or not. I hope the trend continues to grow and more great recipes come out of this fantastic soya protein.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you’ve found something to keep you busy in the kitchen!

Recipe link:Classic Chocolate Cake from Baking Bites

The last time I was visiting my mom and dad in the states, my mother sent me home with a couple of those fancy silicone cake moulds. I gave one to my mother-in-law and the other sat in the corner of my kitchen collecting dust for two months. The recipe I used only filled half the mould, but in the end that was better as there were only 4 of us (and even still the cake lasted for two puddings).

Needless to say, I did not use the chocolate ganache recipe for icing. Instead I made a simple pourable (icing sugar + milk) icing and then decorated that with a tube of freshly melted dark chocolate. Topped with a few dozen yellow and blue marzipan balls, this really was a glorious hit to the tastebuds.

My step-son, a tried and true chocolate lover, found this decadent cake to be a treat and a half. So did the rest of the family. American style cakes sit on a pedestal of moist goodness (and please understand this is a huge compliment because I detest using that particular m-word). That’s not to say that English cakes aren’t good; they are certainly lighter and hence do not cause me a full day’s bed rest after a single slice. American cakes just tend to use a higher quantity of fat, whether oil or butter, and end up far more dense and moist. The upside is they are incredibly rich and delicious. The downside is, as mentioned, more than a small slice is too much for my body to handle. That’s why, on a special occassion like a birthday, I make sure to seek out a recipe that’s really special, and this recipe certainly is that. It was chocolate heaven. Enough said.

Recipe courtesy of Baking Bites

I’m afraid I’m going to have to hold back on the recipe for this one, since it’s not my own. Want it? Subscribe to Bryanna Clark Grogan’s Vegan Feast newsletter and get the Jul/Aug/Sep 2006 issue. It’s not Bryanna’s own recipe (it’s one of the fabulous Debbie from Spice Island Vegan). I topped it with onions, parsley, and tomato.

I was never a big fan of seafood (it was the first thing I gave up when becoming vegetarian), but my husband loves it. The thing is, he doesn’t eat meat around me (isn’t that sweet?) and we don’t have any in our flat. I thought I’d give this recipe a try for him and he seemed to think it was okay, so… Go Debbie!