A Worthy Tofurkey

My vegetarian best friend introduced me to tofurkey when I was 19 and I loved it. It might even have been my first experience with tofu which was probably a good way to experience something new since it had a level of familiarity and comfort. You can even find pre-made tofurkey in the stores around the holidays and all you have to do is baste and roast them, but I prefer to make mine from scratch. I find the tofu is too tough for my preference and the stuffing is sub-par. It doesn't take that much extra work and the results are way better if you do it yourself. You will need to plan ahead and prep the tofu 24 hours ahead of time.

Ingredients:

• 70 oz of extra firm tofu
• 3/4 cup soy sauce
• 5 teaspoons dried/powdered sage
• 5 teaspoons garlic powder
• 5 teaspoons onion powder
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 cups of your favorite stuffing

1. You need to prepare the tofu 24 hours in advance in order to allow the tofu to absorb the flavors and for it to drain out excess moisture. Put all of the tofu into a blender or food processor - do in 2-3 batches if necessary. Add 1/2 cup soy sauce, 4 teaspoons sage, 4 teaspoons garlic powder, and 4 teaspoons onion powder. Blend well. 
2. Line a colander with cheesecloth. Pour all of the tofu into the colander, inside of the cheesecloth. Place something heavy over the top and gently push down. Place something under the colander (like a plate with steep sides or a sheet pan) to catch the liquid that drains and place in refrigerator overnight. 
3.  Remove tofu from refrigerator. Scoop out whole from middle of tofu so you have a tofu bowl. Fill hole with stuffing and pack it down gently. Place the removed tofu over the hole and flatten the top. Make sure it's packed down tightly as the top is going to be the base of your tofurkey. 
4. Rub your baking dish or pan with a tiny bit of olive oil. Place on top of the colander and flip your tofurkey upside down on to the baking dish or pan. 
5. Preheat oven to 350. 
6. Mix together 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1 teaspoon sage, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder, and 2 tablespoons olive oil - this is your basting liquid. 
7. Brush basting liquid onto the tofurkey before placing into the oven. Bake for 1 1/2 hours, basting every 30 minutes. 
8. Allow to cool well. Slice and serve!

Cinnamon Toast Rolls

I loved cinnamon toast when I was a kid. I would butter the bread and sprinkle it with cinnamon-sugar, and then my mom would toast it up in the oven for me. These cinnamon toast rolls are the same thing I loved as a kid, but it a new package... and with icing! The sugar actually caramelizes in to a chewy glaze hidden in the folds of the crispy toast. I'm going wine tasting with some friends in Los Olivos today and decided to whip these up so we'd have a snack for the 45 minute drive.

Ingredients:

• 24 slices of white bread, crust removed
• 4 tablespoons Earth Balance or margarine, melted
• 1 1/2 cups cinnamon-sugar
• 1/2 cup cinnamon icing: powdered sugar moistened with water and flavored with cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Using a rolling pin, flatten a slice of bread. For each side, brush with Earth Balance and sprinkle with 1/2 tablespoon cinnamon-sugar. Fold 2 sides into the middle and fold in half again. Roll up and place inside a mini-muffin pan. Repeat for each slice of bread.
3. Bake for 20 minutes. 
4. Let cool before icing. 

Aguas Frescas

Aguas frescas, drinks made from fresh fruit, water, and sugar, are hugely popular in Mexico. There is some confusion in terms internationally between these aguas frescas and bottled soft drinks. In Guatemala and Nicaragua, these are referred to as frescos, short for refresco, which in Mexico means soft drinks. Soft drinks in Guatemala are called aguas, short for aguas gaseosas, but easily confused with the Mexican aguas frescas.

The terminology may be confusing, but aguas frescas are easy to make and are delicious. This is an easy recipe which you can insert any fruit into. Some of my favorite fruits in aguas frescas are watermelon, cantaloupe, strawberries, cucumbers, and mangos, but the one pictured is with honeydew melon. Also add the sugar slowly as some fruits will be sweeter and not need as much. A splash of lime always livens things up too. 

Ingredients:

• 6 cups fresh fruit, cut into chunks, seeds and skin removed if necessary
• 3 cups water
• 1/4-1/2 cup sugar
• juice of a lime

1. Place the fruit and water in a blender and puree until smooth. You can strain the juice if necessary, but I usually don't mind it with some pulp.
2. Add sugar and lime, small amounts at a time until you have desired flavor. 
3. Serve over ice and enjoy. 

Easy Popcorn Balls

Popcorn balls are an iconic holiday treat. They were hugely popular in the late 19th century as a holiday food, probably because they doubled as Christmas tree ornaments (I prefer to eat them). Although they are associated with winter, the far-fetched legend of their invention says popcorn got their start in the summer. As they story goes, there was a corn field in Nebraska getting scorched by the summer sun and it got so hot that the corn started popping right off the stalks. At the same time, there was a deluge of warm rain over a sugar cane field next door. The rain washed the syrupy sugar downhill toward the popped corn, rolled it into balls, and voila, you got popcorn balls!

If you've every made popcorn balls then you know what a daunting task making them can be. The candy syrup is too hot to handle and then once it's cool enough to touch, it's too hard to get an even coating on the popcorn. It take a couple tries so be prepared to toss your first, and maybe the second, batch. And be sure to give yourself plenty of space to spread out.

This is a super easy and traditional recipe that I have taken from Paula Dean with my own tips inserted.

Ingredients:

• 18 cups popcorn- salted, but with no butter. For me this was 1/4 cup kernels before being popped.
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 1/3 cup water
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• non-stick cooking spray

1. Put down silicone mats or parchment paper on large working space. 
2. In medium pot, combine sugar, water, corn syrup, vinegar, and salt, and cook over high heat until it reaches 250F. Going any higher than 255F will make the syrup too hard to handle when cooled so pull off the heat at 145-150 as the temperature will raise slightly even after removed from heat. Once removed from the hear, stir in the vanilla. 
3. Pour half of the syrup over the popcorn and using a spatula, immediately start tossing. Pour the remainder of the syrup over the popcorn, and toss again to get a light even coat. 
4. Once the syrup is cool enough to touch, you need to form the popcorn into balls. Use the non-stick cooking spray on your hands to keep the popcorn from sticking. Form into 14-16 tight balls and place on parchment paper to allow to finish cooling and harden.