Roasted Tofu with Leeks and Black Bean Sauce
Serves 2

1 16-ounce block of extra-firm tofu
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon paprika

Sauce
1 medium leek, white and some green part, cut into 2 inch sections
2 tablespoons fermented black beans, mashed with a fork
1 teaspoon oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1/3 cup water
Arrowroot dissolved in water

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. In a bowl, combine the oil, salt and paprika. Cut the tofu into cubes and gently toss to coat with the mixture. Place each tofu cube in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment. Roast for 15 minutes on each side.

Heat a wok to hot, add the oil. Swirl the oil to coat the wok. When the oil is hot, add the garlic and black beans. Stir-fry for a few seconds, then add the leeks. Stir-fry for a few minutes, add the water and cook until the leeks are tender.

Slowly add the arrowroot mixture and stir to thicken the sauce to desired consistency. Add the tofu and mix well. Serve with rice.

Cream Cheese Cut Out Cookies

• 1 cup non-dairy butter, softened
• 8 ounces non-dairy cream cheese, softened
• 1 1/2 cups sugar (10.5 ounces)
• 1 tablespoon flax meal + 3 tablespoons water
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (17.5 ounces)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

In a small bowl, mix flax meal and water and set aside to thicken.  In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and salt.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter and cream cheese until fluffy.  Add sugar and beat again until fluffy and light.  Add the thickened flax mixture and the vanilla – again, beat until light and fluffy.  Stir in the flour and salt until just combined.  Chill until firm, at least 1 1/2 hours or overnight.  

On a lightly floured surface, roll to 1/4 inch thickness.  Cut out and bake on ungreased cookie sheets for 10-12 minutes at 375.  Let cool for a couple minutes on the cookie sheets before removing to cooling racks.  

Makes about 56 3-inch cookies.  

Strawberry Icing 

• 3 tablespoons strawberry puree
• 3/4 cups powdered sugar (4 ounces)

Sift powdered sugar into strawberry puree and whisk until smooth.  You should have a thick, mostly opaque glaze.  If it seems too thin, add more powdered sugar.  

To assemble:

Once cookies have completely cooled, spoon a small amount of glaze onto each cookie and spread into a v.  Let sit until the glaze has hardened, about 2 hours.  (The glaze won’t completely harden, but it will dry out enough for you to wrap up cute and give to your sweetheart.)

Chinese 5-spice Baked Tofu
Makes about 9 pieces

1 pound firm tofu
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon Shaoxing rice wine
1/2 teaspoon Chinese 5-spice powder
Salt and pepper to taste

Cut the tofu into 1/4″ thick slices. Wrap the slices in paper towels and place a heavy weight on top for about an hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the ingredients for the marinade in a bowl and stir until well combined. If it seems a little too thick, add a tiny bit of water to thin it out. Add the tofu slices one at a time to the marinade coating well on all sides. Place the slices on a tin-foil lined baking pan. Bake for 15 minutes on each side.

Vegetable Fettuccine Alfredo
Serves 2

8 ounces whole wheat fettuccine
1 teaspoon olive oil
3 garlic cloves
1/2 cup broccoli
1/2 cup asparagus
3 ounces crimini mushrooms
Handful of cherry tomatoes

Bring a large pot of water to boil, cook the pasta according to the package directions.

Heat a saute pan or wok, when hot add the olive oil, the garlic and then the broccoli, asparagus and mushrooms, cook until desired tenderness. Set aside. Slice the cherry tomatoes in half and set aside.

Creamy White Sauce
1 12-ounce package silken tofu
1 tablespoon vegan butter
1/4 cup vegan sour cream
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon rosemary
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup strong vegetable broth

Mash the tofu in a bowl, combine the rest of the sauce ingredients except the broth. Blend, adding just enough broth to make it smooth and creamy. Transfer to a sauce pan and heat over low heat, do not boil.

To plate, add desired amount of sauce to the pasta and vegetables, mix well and divide between plates. Alternatively, place pasta/vegetables on plates and spoon sauce over the top. I like mine premixed.

Buffalo Style Roasted Tofu
Serves 4

1 16-ounce block of extra-firm tofu
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon paprika

Buffalo Sauce
1/4 cup Frank’s Red Hot Original Hot Cayenne Pepper Sauce
1/8 cup Earth Balance Soy-Free Butter

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. In a bowl, combine the oil, salt and paprika. Cut the tofu into cubes and gently toss to coat with the mixture. Place each tofu cube in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment. Roast for 15 minutes on each side.

In a wok, melt the butter. Turn off the heat and add the hot sauce. Stir to combine. Add the freshly roasted tofu and toss until throughly coated. Serve immediately with celery sticks and ranch dressing.

Ranch Dressing
Makes a little over 1/3 cup

1/4 cup soy milk
1/4 cup Vegenaise or other vegan mayonnaise
1/4 teaspoon granulated onion powder
1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon fresh parsley, minced
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl and whisk to combine. Chill until ready to use.

INGREDIENTS
The amount of each ingredient is up to you, depending on how many you are serving
- chow mein noodles, baked as per this recipe
- dried shitake mushrooms
- boiling water
- oil
- crushed garlic and ginger
- water chestnuts
- edamame
- sliced romaine lettuce leave (or some other green)
- soy sauce
- splash of sesame oil

METHOD
1. While noodles are baking, soak mushrooms for about 20 mins, until soft. Drain and reserve water, then slice mushrooms.
2. Heat oil in a wok, the briefly fry ginger and garlic until fragrant. Add water chesnuts and edamame and fry for a few mins. Add greens and fry until soft but still vibrant.
3. Add noodles to the pan along with as much of the reserved mushroom soaking water as you want to make a sauce. Season to taste with soy sauce, then stir in the sesame oil. Serve.

INGREDIENTS
1 package of shell pasta

1 jar of tomato sauce
1 package of extra firm tofu
Nutritional yeast

Fresh basil, chopped

Garlic powder
Salt and pepper
Lemon juice

STEPS
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Boil the shell pasta.

*You can make the filling in a food processor, or you can use your hands.
If you are making it by hand, mash up the tofu until it resembles a firm ricotta cheese texture.

Add desired amount of nutritional yeast, basil, garlic powder, salt, pepper and lemon juice.
In a casserole dish, spread out some tomato sauce.
Fill the shells with a couple spoon-fulls of the tofu filling.
Top with the remaining tomato sauce, and bake for 15-20 minutes.

While we wait patiently for the next new episode of Vampire Diaries (Thursday, March 25, 8/7c on the CW), TVGuide.com talked to executive producers Julie Plec and Kevin Williamson about where the show is heading this spring. Spoiler alert: They reveal key details about the season finale.

TVGuide.com: How will the love triangle between Stefan (Paul Wesley), Elena (Nina Dobrev) and Damon (Ian Somerhalder) evolve in these next episodes?
Williamson: One of the most important things Julie and I wanted to do this season is cement the love between Stefan and Elena. It’s that love story that will be the anchor of this entire show. We have to earn that.

TVGuide.com: All signs point to Alaric’s wife, Isobel (Mia Kirshner), being Elena’s mother. When will we learn more about that?
Plec: The signals are pointing very much in that direction.
Williamson: In regards to what happens, there’s still a few surprises with all of that.
Plec: The next episode is very much about Elena’s search to try to get to the bottom of who this woman is and how, if at all, she connects to Alaric.

TVGuide.com: We’ll soon be meeting Jonathan Gilbert. How does he come into play?
Williamson: Uncle John [David Anders] comes to town for one reason and then you slowly start to realize he could be there for another. He has a hidden agenda, just like everyone else in town.
Plec: He’s stepping in to fill the shoes on the Founders’ Council, with there being a lack of Gilberts representing the founding families. Uncle John gets in there to stir things up.
Williamson: One of the surprises is that he shows up, interestingly enough, just after that tomb is opened. How convenient.

TVGuide.com: Was he in the tomb?
Williamson: Maybe…not.
Plec: Oh, gosh no. [Laughs]

TVGuide.com: The tomb is still open, isn’t it?
Plec: Yes, and there’s some good that comes out of there and there’s some very, very, very bad that comes out of there.
Williamson: And there’s some stuff that launches us into a whole new story line.

TVGuide.com: Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen) is starting to figure out that there are vampires. Will that put him in danger?
Plec: Jeremy has seen too much. We’re exploring how he starts to dig a little bit deeper and put the pieces together of what exactly vampires are and if they’re real. Is this pretty girl that he kissed in the woods, who we saw little veiny eyes on, is she one? The vampire has a crazy allure, as we’ve seen between Elena and Stefan, so is he going to fall for her or have some feelings for one of his own?
Williamson: Or is he going to fall in the footsteps of the Gilberts that came before him?
Plec: Which are no friends of the vampire.

TVGuide.com: What should we expect in the season finale?
Plec: What we’ve been building to from the beginning — it’s something we took directly from the books — is this event called the Founders’ Day Celebration, which is the anniversary of the founding of the town. We’re looking into big period costumes and Civil War reenactments and maybe some parade action with some big floats. It’s going to be the big event that connects us back to 1864 and what went down back then. It messes things up so when we come back in Season 2, everyone has a reason to tune in again. There are nine “oh my God” moments.

If you watched the Oscars on Sunday night, then you’ll know that the The Cove won for Best Documentary for its unflinching expose of the Japanese coastal town of Taiji, where fishermen hunt and slaughter dolphins.

But the makers of the film have not finished uncovering marine abuse. According to the New York Times, the filmmakers (who include actor Fisher Stevens) initiated a sting operation on a Los Angeles restaurant (ironically called “The Hump”) after hearing from friends that whale was on its menu.
Associate producer Charles Hambleton sent two activists who posed as diners and ordered an omakase meal. (Omakase basically means “chef’s choice” and you allow the chef to select what food he will be serving you. It’s a special meal and usually costs more, as the quality is expected to be the best.)

Sure enough, the waitress served the activists a dish described as “whale.” (The terminology was confirmed by a marine mammal professor.) One of the diners was Crystal Galbraith; she told Slashfood she participated in all the sting operations. “Before I went I had Googled images of whale meat so I knew what it would look like, but it was still pretty shocking to be served it,” she confessed.

Last week the filmmakers and federal agents returned to the restaurant and were once again served whale meat, which is illegal in the U.S. Stiff fines of up to $20,000 and a year in jail are possible punishments.

“We were happy to get the feds involved so it was official and something could be done,” says Galbraith. She also says that she has heard of two other restaurants in Los Angeles also serving illegal sushi.

The Cove is now available on DVD.

After a six-year Grey’s Anatomy stint marked by almost as many controversies as triumphs, Katherine Heigl is thisclose to getting what she has long desired: a discharge.

Sources confirm to me exclusively that series creator Shonda Rhimes has agreed to release the fast-rising movie star from her contract. It’s now up to ABC Studios and Heigl’s reps to hash out a final exit agreement. (A rep for ABC Studios declined to comment. Coincidentally, as of today Heigl is without a publicist.) Why is this all coming down now? That’s where things get interesting…

After taking more than half of the current season off to make another movie and connect with her adopted daughter, Heigl was scheduled to return to the Grey’s set on March 1 to begin work on the five remaining episodes of the season. There’s just one problem: March 1 came and went and there was no Heigl.

A source within the actress’ camp claims Heigl “was at home and ready to return to work.” Another insider, however, “insists it’s much more complicated than that.” The source adds that talks between Heigl and ABC have been going on for months and last week both sides mutually decided that the best solution would be to part ways now as opposed to at the end of the season. As a result, Heigl is not expected to return to the Grey’s set, which means her final episode as Izzie has already aired.

The break-up caps a long history of tumult between Heigl and Grey’s. Here’s a quick recap of some of the more high-profile squabbles:

* In 2007, Heigl found herself in the middle of the TR Knight/Isaiah Washington feud when she publicly dissed Washington for repeating the F word at the Golden Globes.

* In 2008, Heigl took a swipe at Grey’s writers when she announced that she wasn’t entering the Emmy race because “did not feel I was given the material… to warrant a nomination.”

* Over the summer, she groused to David Letterman that Grey’s was subjecting her to intolerable working conditions. “Our first day back was Wednesday,” she said, “and it was — I’m going to keep saying this because I hope it embarrasses them — a 17-hour day, which I think is cruel and mean.”

Bottom line: There’s no love lost on either side as this whole sordid chapter comes to an end.

Soy sauce-flavored Kit Kat isn’t a new concept — it’s just one of many other flavors, like green tea, melon, and pineapple, that have been readily available in Japan.

But apparently, the novelty flavor also happens to be the nation’s current bestselling Kit Kat variety.

A company in Australia has launched pants made from bananas.

According to Reuters, AussieBum introduced the underwear as an eco-friendly alternative.

The pants are made from 27% banana fibre, 64% cotton and 9% lycra, the company’s spokesperson Lloyd Jones said.

“Naturally you can’t really add any more banana fibre than that because it might be a bit squishy,” he added.

He explained that the banana fibre is made from a bark weave from the banana plant and revealed that it makes the underwear lightweight and absorbent.

Jones also emphasised that the pants do not smell of bananas.

On Tuesday, Fox 411 reported that John Krasinski is the frontrunner for The First Avenger: Captain America, but that doesn’t appear to be the case.

Both Heat Vision and Deadline New York have received an update on who Marvel Studios is looking at now for the coveted role. According to them, Wilson Bethel (HBO’s “Generation Kill,” “The Young and the Restless”), Mike Vogel (Cloverfield), Chris Evans (“Fantastic Four” movies) and Garrett Hedlund (upcoming Tron Legacy) are reading for the role, have tested or have received test offers.

Actors previously reported as testing including Krasinski, Michael Cassidy, Chace Crawford, Scott Porter and Patrick Flueger are no longer under consideration, say the sites. The part calls for a nine-picture deal, the second of which would be The Avengers.

To be directed by Joe Johnston, The First Avenger: Captain America is scheduled for a July 22, 2011 release.

Evanescence will finally release another record, after waiting four years since their last album dropped

Except don’t expect the same Evanescence you once knew!

For starters, only one person remains from the original Grammy-winning band – Amy Lee. You’ll recall that all the original boys in the band parted ways with Amy sometime ago to form a new group called Fallen, with new lead singer Carly Smithson.

It’s safe to say that Amy hasn’t spoken to her original crew in sometime, but she emerges now with new set of musicians and a new sound for the band. She explains:

“It’s not an organic record. Our idea is to take synthetic and atmospheric sounds and find a way to blur the line between organic and synthetic… There is something really cool happening in music right now. There are bands that sound like they’re from another time — it’s like ’80s throwback music with analogue synthesizers and Moogs. I love it. I’ve been listening to a lot of La Roux.”

After being arrested for a DUI after leaving a gay club and coming under a considerable amount of scrutiny due to his position on Prop 8, Senator Roy Ashburn has admitted publicly that he is, in fact, gay!!

However, the douchebag stands by his numerous votes against gay rights!!

Ashburn said today in an interview:

“I am gay… those are the words that have been so difficult for me for so long. But I am gay. There’s never been a doubt in my mind on the position of the … vast majority of people in my district … on these different issues. And I voted as I felt I should on behalf of the people who elected me. I’ve always believed that my personal life is personal and I have a public role, a public job, a public responsibility. But I felt I could keep the two separate. What happened … through my own actions the other night changed all that.”

“When I crossed the line and broke the law and put people at risk that’s different and so I do owe people an explanation. And so the best way to handle that is to be truthful and to say to my constituents and to all who care that I am gay but I don’t think its something that has affected nor will it affect how I do my job. I pray to God that I can find peace and I want to go back to work in the Senate.”

Chocolate Wafers:
8 ounces organic butter, room temperature
1 cup organic powdered sugar, (I use Wholesome Sweeteners brand)
1 teaspoon natural vanilla extract
1 cup cocoa powder (I use Dagoba’s cacao powder)
3/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

Chocolate Peppermint Coating:
1 pound good quality semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
natural peppermint oil to taste

Preheat your oven to 350. Racks in the middle zone.

Make the cookie dough: In a mixer cream the butter until it is light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar and cream some more, scraping the sides of the bowl a couple times if necessary. Stir in the vanilla extract and then the salt and cocoa powder. Mix until the cocoa powder is integrated and the batter is smooth and creamy, sort of like a thick frosting. Add the whole wheat pastry flour and mix just until the batter is no longer dusty looking, it might still be a bit crumbly, and that’s o.k. You don’t want to over mix and end up with tough cookies.

Turn the dough out onto a counter, gather it into a ball, and kneed it just once or twice to bring it together into once nice, smooth mass. Place the ball of dough into a large plastic bag and flatten it into a disk roughly 3/4-inch thick. Place the dough in the freezer for 20 minutes to chill.

Rollout and bake: Remove the dough from the freezer and roll it out really thin, remember how thin Thin Mints are? That’s how thin you need your dough, about 1/8-inch. You can either roll it out between two sheets of plastic, or dust your counter and rolling pin with a bit of flour and do it that way. Stamp out cookies using a 1 1/2-inch cutter (this time I used one with a fluted edge, I’ve done hearts and other shapes in the past). Place cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool completely on a baking rack if you’ve got one.

Make the peppermint coating:
While the cookies are in the oven you can get the coating ready. I use a makeshift double boiler to melt chocolate (a metal pan over a saucepan of gently simmering water), but I know many people who swear by melting chocolate in the microwave. Slowly melt the chocolate, stirring occasionally until it is glossy and smooth. Stir in the peppermint extract. If you think the chocolate needs a bit more peppermint kick, add more extract a drop or two at a time – but don’t go overboard.

Finishing the cookies: You are going to coat the cookies one at a time and then gently set them on a parchment-lined baking sheet to set. Drop one cookie into the chocolate and (using a fork) carefully make sure it gets fully coated. Lift the cookie out of the chocolate with the fork and bang the fork on the side of the pan to drain any extra chocolate off the cookie. You are after a thin, even coating of chocolate. Place on the aforementioned prepared baking sheet, and repeat for the rest of the cookies. Place the cookies in the refrigerator or freezer to set. They will set at room temperature, it just takes much longer, and I prefer them straight out of the freezer anyways

Make 3 or 4 dozen cookies.

Following reports that Apple began rejecting App Store software with “minimum user functionality,” the iPhone maker has now set its sights on applications that employ a “cookie cutter” formula.

As detailed by TechCrunch, Apple has recently started cracking down on submissions to the App Store that are just “basic applications.” These apps are “little more than RSS feeds or glorified business cards.”

“In short, Apple doesn’t want people using native applications for things that a basic web app could accomplish,” the report said.

The issue has primarily been with iPhone applications built with “templates” that are available from a number of software generating services. Medialets CEO Eric Litman said the change in policy plays into Apple’s desire to control the user experience.

“Apple wants iPhone apps to be superior to Web experiences because they are extremely sticky and drive people specifically to buy the iPhone over competing smartphone platforms,” Litman said. “Apps that are too simple or largely indistinguishable from the Web, other apps or particularly other apps on other platforms send the message to end users that the iPhone app ecosystem might not be particularly special.”

But the report noted that Apple has also worked with developers like Appmakr, which helped to make content from The Atlantic available as an application, to add features like in-app purchases, instant notifications, offline access and more.

It’s yet another change in policy for Apple regarding the App Store. Last week, some developers said the company began removing applications the Cupertino, Calif., handset maker felt provided “minimum user functionality,” such as one that simply quacked like a duck.

Apple also removed software it felt contained content that was “overtly sexual,” resulting in a purge of more than 5,000 applications from the App Store.

In addition, a number of Wi-Fi scanners were also recently removed from the App Store, though they allegedly relied on unpublished APIs within the iPhone OS software development kit, breaking the terms set forth by Apple for developers.

Just when we thought no other records would be broken following the culmination of Avatar’s lengthy reign, we face another round of box office firsts. And this time the records belong to Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland. The 3-D spectacle starring Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter earned an estimated $116.3 million, the highest grossing weekend ever for a spring release. Not only that, but IMAX– which pulled Avatar from all its screens in exchange for Alice–was rewarded handsomely with its highest weekend gross ever, $11.9 million in only 188 theaters. (IMAX’s 9 additional theaters plus Alice’s shorter run time gave the company the added boost over its Avatar numbers.) If there was even a question as to whether or not 3-D was here to stay, it’s now officially been answered. Avatar was not an anomaly. In fact, what it did was expand the marketplace to all those moviegoers that were nonbelievers in the 3-D technology. They tested it out with Avatar, were convinced of the stunning visuals, and they are now back for more. In fact, IMAX alone sold out every seat they had for the entire weekend. And Disney counts 65% of its weekend gross on Alice from 3-D screenings. Kinda amazing, really.

Barbecued Seitan Ribz
(click for printer-friendly version)

Like Veggeroni, this seitan is baked dry rather than boiled. The results are a little spongier than Veggeroni, less dense, but I think the texture is perfect for absorbing the flavor of the barbecue sauce. You’ll be amazed at how easy this recipe comes together using your favorite bottled sauce.

1 cup vital wheat gluten
2 teaspoons smoked Spanish paprika
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 cup water
2 tablespoons tahini or other nut butter
1 teaspoon Liquid Smoke
1 tablespoon soy sauce
about 1 cup of your favorite barbecue sauce

Preheat the oven to 350 and lightly spray an 8×8 baking dish with canola oil. Mix the first 5 ingredients together in a large bowl. Mix the water with the nut butter, Liquid Smoke, and soy sauce and add it to the dry ingredients. Stir to mix well and then knead lightly in the bowl for a couple of minutes.

Put the dough into the baking dish and flatten it so that it evenly fills the pan. Take a sharp knife and cut it into 8 strips; then turn the pan and cut those strips in half to form 16 pieces:

Put it in the oven and bake for 25 minutes. While it’s cooking prepare your grill.

Remove it from the oven and carefully re-cut each strip, going over each cut to make sure that the ribz will pull apart easily later. Generously brush the top with barbecue sauce. Take it to the grill and invert the whole baking dish onto the grill (or use a large spatula to lift the seitan out, placing it sauce-side down on the grill). Brush the top of the seitan with more sauce:

Watch it closely to make sure that it doesn’t burn. When it’s sufficiently brown on one side, turn over and cook the other side, adding more sauce, if necessary. When done, remove to a platter and cut or pull apart the individual ribs to serve.

Serves 4

too bad Perez ruined it with his scrimbles.