This past weekend I pulled out my old Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites Cookbook (poor Brian– I asked him what he wanted for dinner this week and he just said, “Meat. “  I think he’s getting tired of my vegan/vegetarian recipes). Anyway, I used to pull recipes from this all the time but I guess I’ve just accumulated too many cookbooks since then.  After perusing, I settled on the Mushroom Tofu Sesame Stew… though I subbed PB for the tahini, so it’s more Mushroom Tofu Peanut Stew.

It ended up being the perfect “huddle inside while it’s nasty out” soup! Very filling, comforting and not too hard to make. There’s a little prep work involved; Bri thought I was going nuts when he opened the fridge and saw two of my cookbooks in there- but I explained that a bit of tofu-pressing was required. The ingredients are pretty basic: just onions, celery, tomatoes, peanut butter, pressed tofu and some veggie broth (the recipe called for water, but broth just sounded more appealing), plus a little soy sauce at the end.  The PB gives it just the right amount of creaminess without too much of a peanut taste.  I may or may not have added an extra TBS of peanut butter.  That’s just how I roll.

The salad was excellent as well.  I’m probably the last person on the planet to discover Snap Pea Crisps, but MAN these are good. Although a little high in fat, the flavor is pretty strong so you don’t need very many.  I threw a few on top of my salad last night and they stayed crispy through the whole bowl!

There are some yellow peppers, tomatoes, almond slivers and a little Annie’s Roasted Red Pepper dressing in there too.

I should also note that dinner was accompanied by Chloe’s constant barking at every flash of lightning. It really set the mood nicely.

My giant to-do list is staring me in the face so I better run.  Oh, do you like the new placemats? They clash horribly with our black and white runner, but I saw them at the Crate & Barrel Outlet and thought they looked so summery and cheerful!

Despite being pretty much the easiest recipe ever, the first try was kind of a disaster.  I only had a couple tablespoons of real butter, so I improvised with Smart Balance.  In my defense, I checked the Smart Balance website and it said that the original version is fine for baking…  but since these were NO BAKES (duh), apparently that rule didn’t apply.  That batch didn’t solidify at all. They just ended up as these nasty-looking little piles of chocolate and oats. So into the trash they went- despite Brian’s protests: “But they TASTE fine!”

So after a quick trip to Super T I ended up with about 3 dozen perfect no-bakes. They don’t look very appetizing but trust me, they were delicious!

No Bake Cookies

• 1/2 C Milk
• 1/4 C Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
• 2 C White Sugar
• 1/2 C Butter (cut into large pieces)
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1/2 tsp Cinnamon (optional)
• Pinch of Salt
• 3 C Quick Cooking Oats
• 1/2 C Peanut Butter (I used Super Chunky)

In a saucepan over medium, combine milk, sugar, cocoa powder and butter. Stir constantly until mixture comes to a boil.  Boil for 1 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in vanilla, cinnamon, salt, oats and peanut butter.  Drop by spoonfuls onto wax paper.  Let cool for about an hour- or until solid.

Enjoy!