Tofu “cheese”cake?

A long time ago, I made a delicious tofu “cheese”cake that was “almost vegan”. I hated explaining that it was “almost vegan” because it had contained chocolate. I think that recipe isn’t even posted on here at all — it was way before Umami & Me’s time! But ever since then, I have been on a mission to make a completely vegan tofu cheesecake and I think I have finally created it. And not to mention this one is not only vegan, but it is also gluten-free AND (for the most part) sugar-free as well! Oh. My. God.

I would like to introduce to you my banana coconut tofu “cheese”cake.

Reunited with tahini.

AHHHHHHHHH I FINALLY HAVE TAHINI IN MY CUPBOARD AGAIN. I seriously went through tahini withdrawal for a good 3 months. So what do I do with it? Make David Lebovitz’ tahini and almond cookies, of course.

Single-serving microwavable desserts.

So I saw Chocolate Covered Katie‘s Instagram the other morning on single serving oat cinnamon rolls and I pretty much had to make them almost immediately. I kid you not.

It’s never too late for pumpkin pie.

Yes, I’m aware that it’s nearly mid-March but that has never stopped me from making pumpkin pie! But this time, I tried to put a healthier twist on it and made it a no-bake raw pumpkin and kaya pie.

Forever a noodle queen.

If there is one thing I can eat every single day, it would be noodles — specifically, Asian noodles. Whether it is pho, ramen, udon, jap chae, bibimguksu, soba, mee goreng, pad thai, or even instant noodles, it really doesn’t matter to me. I love it all. I seriously think I can live off it forever, not even kidding.

Something that I haven’t had in ages would be yakisoba. And since I had a bunch of leftover frozen vegetables and noodles, this was the perfect option for a quick, weeknight dinner.

Coconut jam.

It seems like coconuts are all the rage nowadays. But as a Filipino, I freakin’ grew up with this shit! Coconuts are a huge part of our diet and it is not just limited to sweet dishes or desserts. We also use it in savoury cuisine as well such as laing laing (taro leaves simmered in coconut cream), monggo bean soup, ginataang (similar to a chicken curry in coconut milk), and so on! Of course they are popular in desserts as well such as ginataan and cassava cake.

But let’s not forget about a heavenly spread that is pretty much on par with Nutella: it’s called kaya, otherwise known as a coconut jam and it is a dream come true and a half. And I made it by accident. So proud of myself.

The best chocolate cake ever.

And what’s even more exciting about it? It’s vegan, gluten-free AND raw. Yes, folks. Probably the best thing ever created. This pure genius idea was brought to you by Chocolate Covered Katie, one of my favourite dessert blogs ever. She makes all the traditional desserts into delicious, healthy ones that you don’t end up feeling guilty about!

This was the first recipe I’ve tried out from her website and I haven’t looked back since. Her raw chocolate banana fudge cake is to die for.

Discovering new ingredients.

With that same bag of organic lemons in my previous post, I still had a couple leftover which I was going to reserve for some iced water with lemon. But instead of just wasting it on that, I decided to incorporate it in a new dish: Israeli couscous and cauliflower salad.

Move over, Cactus Club.

If you know me, you would know that I hate chain restauurants with a passion. Places like Cactus Club, Earls, Joey’s, Browns Social House, etc. Just very unimaginative food. Consistent, yes, but the food has never been outstanding (atleast since my highschool days). Cactus Club is probably the best out of the bunch, in my opinion, and yes, I do get trapped into going there sometimes out of convenience, friends’ choice, and its senstivity-free menu.

Now, if there is one dish that I have to choose out of the entire menu at Cactus that is the bomb dot com, it would be their teriyaki rice bowl. The good news is that I never have to go to a Cactus Club ever again because I just made that shit right in the comfort of my own home.

A little taste of Deutschland.

I love German food. Juicy bratwursts, rouladen, spaetzle, sauerkraut… Ugh, can you say heaven?! Besides all the big names in German food, there is one side dish that has totally stolen my heart and is completely simple and just seems to go with EVERYTHING. I’m talking about braised red cabbage.