Lemon Melt-Away Balls for One

These little minxes will be gone before you can say “ooooh, yummie!” Just in case, the recipe doubles well.

Makes 4 or 5 balls.

½ cup almond flour (I used rice flour and it was just fine)

2 TBLSP coconut flour

Pinch of salt

2 TBLSP maple syrup (or agave nectar)

4 teaspoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon lemon zest

½ teaspoon lemon extract

½ teaspoon vanilla extract (or all vanilla if you can’t find lemon extract)

3 TBLSP coconut oil, melted

1. In a small bowl, combine the flours and salt.
2. In another small bowl, combine the maple syrup, lemon juice, zest, and vanilla and mix well.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until well combined. Add the melted coconut oil, and blend it in well.
4. One spoonful at a time (about a generous tablespoon), roll the dough in the palms of your hands into a ball.
5. Refrigerate for 15-30 minutes.

Variations:

• Roll the finished balls in shredded coconut flakes, granulated sugar, almond flour, cocoa, or powdered sugar. (This variety is shown in the photo.) 
• Flatten the balls into cookies and run them in the dehydrator or oven at the lowest setting (110 degrees Fahrenheit) for about an hour. 

Creamy Lemon-Asparagus Pasta for One

Asparagus is a really good price right now, and I’m thrilled, because I love it. Paired with this tangy and creamy sauce and a bit pf pasta, it’s the basis for one of the best meals ever.

½ cup pasta (I like gluten-free, but just use your favorite)

1/3 bunch of asparagus

1 ½ TBLSP olive oil, divided

Sea salt to taste

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

2-3 thin lemon slices, skin and all

1 large clove garlic, minced

1 to 1 ½ TBLSP corn starch (or all-purpose flour, if not gluten-free)

¾ cup almond milk (or other non-dairy milk)

2 teaspoons nutritional yeast

Juice of ½ lemon

 Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and cook the pasta. Drain it and set it aside.
2. Meanwhile, put asparagus on a baking sheet and toss with ½ TBLSP of the olive oil, salt, and pepper. Top with two or three thin slices of lemon.
3. Bake for 20-25 minutes.
4. When baked through, chop asparagus into bite-sized pieces and set aside.

1. While the asparagus is baking and the noodles boiling merrily, heat the remaining olive oil (1 TBLSP) in a small skillet and sauté the garlic in it (about 2 minutes). Be sure to move on to the next step before the garlic has actually browned or it will be bitter.
2. Add the cornstarch to the milk and stir it thoroughly. If there are lumps here, there will be lumps in your sauce, so keep going until it’s a smooth slurry.
3. Add the corn starch slurry to the garlic oil and whisk it in for about 30 seconds. Turn the heat down and continue whisking away until the sauce begins to thicken a bit. Add a pinch of salt and pepper, if you like, and keep whisking.
4. Once it’s thick, add the nutritional yeast. Whisk it in thoroughly or put the sauce in a blender or use an immersion blender.
5. Return to the skillet over medium heat and add in the lemon juice.
6. Add half of the asparagus to the sauce and stir to coat.
7. Place the pasta on your serving dish and top with the sauce and then the remaining asparagus pieces. Serve with a lemon wedge, if you like. Devour with the hunger of a thousand starving vultures. 

Lemon Curd Tart for One

This little treat will bring out the two-year old in you. It’s ooey, gooey, messy, and sweet, and you won’t be able to stop eating it. Thank heavens there are two of them!

For the Crust:

1/3 cup raw almonds

½ cup pitted dates

Pinch of salt

For the Lemon Curd:

1 TBLSP cornstarch

1 TBLSP cold water

6 ½ TBLSP fresh lemon juice

6 ½ TBLSP granulated sugar

2 teaspoons lemon zest

Pinch of salt

2 teaspoons almond milk (or other non-dairy milk)

2 teaspoons vegan butter

Line a single-serving-sized casserole or two ramekins with parchment paper. This may be a nice art project for you, as parchment paper doesn’t come in little ramekin shapes. You might try only lining the bottom and thoroughly spraying the sides with cooking spray. It won’t come unstuck quite as well, but you can pry it off the sides with a slender knife. It’s sticky more than anything.

To Make the Crust:

1. Place almonds, dates, and salt in a blender or food processor and pulse until it’s a sticky mass.
2. Press the dough into the ramekin bottom and up the sides. The sides don’t need to be completely covered, but make sure that the bottom is. If you like, you might use a little knife to make sure that the soft crust isn’t pressing up against the walls of the ramekin, which will make it easier to remove later.

To Make the Lemon Curd:

1. In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch and water, stirring until all the lumps are gone. You might need a whisk.
2. In a small saucepan over medium heat, stir together the lemon juice, sugar, zest, and salt.
3. Once the sugar is dissolved, add in the cornstarch slurry and the milk, stirring well to combine.
4. Stir constantly until the mixture begins to thicken and the first few bubbles appear on the surface, about 6 ½ minutes. Don’t walk away from this, or the bottom will burn.
5. Add the butter and cook, stirring constantly for 2-3 more minutes, until it thickens to the point of a thick pudding.

Assemble the Pie:

1. Pour the still-molten curd into the pie crust, or let it cool in a separate container and smoosh it into the crust later. Either way, cover it with plastic wrap, letting the plastic touch the surface of the curd to prevent a skin from forming.
2. Let it cool to room temperature, then stick it in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours.

Variation:

• Push chocolate chips into the soft curd in a pretty pattern.
• Melt about 1 ½ TBLSP chocolate chips and pour it over the top of the curd. Let it cool in the refrigerator until the chocolate is solid, about 1 hour.
• With the extra curd (there will be a few TBLSPs left over), line some candy molds with melted chocolate chips, fill with curd, and top with more melted chocolate chips. Refrigerate or freeze until you can remove them from the mold without squishing them. 

Asian Lemon Tofu for One

You’ll need more pans and bowls than usual for one of my recipes, but this dish is well worth the extra washing up. This is a good recipe to make sure that you’ve read ahead and sliced or measured everything before you turn the heat on.

I made the rice and green beans shown in the picture ahead of time and just microwaved ‘em hot once the tofu was fried and cooling its heels on paper towels. But if you have your own sous chef and enough kitchen space, you can probably do it all at once. Be careful—you might have to make extra and share!

6 ounces of extra firm tofu (about half a tub, or perhaps a cup of tofu)

¾ teaspoon flax seed meal

1 teaspoon water

½ cup vegetable oil, plus 1 TBLSP, divided

2 TBLSP sugar

1/3 cup water (or vegetable broth)

5 teaspoons cornstarch, divided

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon dry sherry (or mirin)

1 teaspoon tamari (or soy sauce)

2 pinches of salt, divided

A pinch of baking powder

1 TBLSP vegetable oil

1/3 lemon, sliced thinly

1. Press the tofu for 15 minutes between two plates with a couple of heavy cans on top. (Protect your surfaces by putting it on a towel or a baking tray.)
2. Heat the waffle iron (yes, the waffle iron) until the light goes off. Spray with non-stick cooking spray. 
3. Slice the pressed tofu into ½-inch thick slabs, place in a single layer on the waffle iron plate, and close the lid. Your mileage may vary, but it took mine about 7 minutes to be cooked into a firm and yummy waffle-shaped slab of tofu. When you can pick it up and it’s pretty firm when you poke it, and it’s just starting to brown, it’s done. Cut the tofu waffles into bite-sized shapes.
4. While the tofu is waffling around in there, combine the flax seed meal with water in a small bowl. Leave it to sit while you mix up the marinade.
5. In a small bowl, combine the sugar and water until the sugar is dissolved. Then add 1 teaspoon of the cornstarch and the lemon juice to it and give it a stir. You might need a whisk to get it smooth. No lumps! Now add in the sherry/mirin, tamari, and a pinch of salt. This is the marinade.
6. In a bowl large enough to hold the tofu pieces, combine 4 teaspoons of the cornstarch, a pinch of salt, and the baking powder. Stir in the flaxseed “egg” to make a nice batter. You might need to add water to make it more fluid. It should be a thin paste—a batter.
7. Heave the tofu pieces into the batter and move them around enough to know that everything is well coated.
8. In a heavy skillet, heat ½ cup of the vegetable oil. Fry the tofu pieces until golden, turning occasionally. They will be inclined to stick together, so have a Separation Plan in place (I used a second utensil). Drain on paper towels or newspaper. Place lovingly on your serving plate, on a bed of rice, perhaps, or lettuce.
9. In a small non-stick skillet or saucepan, stir fry the lemon slices in 1 TBLSP of the oil for about 30 seconds. Add the marinade and continue stirring the lemon slices for three minutes or until the sauce thickens.
10. Pour the sauce over the prepared tofu.

Variations:

If you like a little heat, toss some pepper flakes into the sauce as you’re cooking it up. I can’t have red pepper, but black pepper is a nice addition too.

Lemon Chia Chocolate Chip Bread for One

The texture of this little bread is amazing. Try to imagine silky smooth sand, unctuous and moist, plus chocolate chips, and you’re close. It’s sweet, but not like dessert, more like morning sunshine and birdsong.

½ cup brown rice flour (8 TBLSP)

1 TBLSP oat flour (or other flour)

1 TBLSP flaxseed meal

1 TBLSP chia seeds

¼ cup unsweetened applesauce (4 TBLSP)

1 TBLSP maple syrup

1 TBLSP olive oil

½ TBLSP coconut oil

1 TBLSP vegan chocolate chips

½ TBLSP lemon juice

Zest of ¼ lemon

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

For the Glaze (optional):

1 teaspoon brown rice syrup or maple syrup

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray two ramekins or a small loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray.

1. In a small bowl, add all the ingredients. Stir it thoroughly so that there aren’t any lumps. (The chia seeds will want to clump together.)
2. Glop the batter into the prepared pans and smooth the top.
3. Bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
4. Let it cool to room temperature in the pan on a wire rack. Once it’s cooled, remove it from the pan, and if desired, drizzle the brown rice syrup (or maple syrup) on top.

Baked Lemon Tofu for One

One doesn’t normally think of tofu as being loaded with flavor. This simple little dish belies that thought. The sauce is amazing, and after marinating and then baking in it, you’ll be surprised at how much tofu you devour.

½ a block of firm tofu, about 1 cup’s worth

1 TBLSP tamari (or soy sauce)

1 TBLSP lemon juice

1 TBLSP olive oil

1 TBLSP Dijon-style mustard

Big pinch of granulated sugar

1/ teaspoon dried thyme

Salt and pepper to taste

1 TBLSP chopped fresh parsley

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

1. To prepare the tofu, slice it into thick slabs (about 1” thick) and press it between two plates. You’ll want to put this arrangement with a couple of heavy cans (or more plates) on top of it onto a baking sheet or a plate or something to keep it from making a mess. Let it sit for about 15 minutes. This squeezes out some of the water and makes room for the marinade. (You can do this without pressing the tofu, but it will fall apart more—you won’t have nice cubes. That’s okay. Beauty isn’t everything.)
2. In a shallow bowl, combine the tamari, lemon juice, olive oil, mustard, sugar, thyme, salt, pepper, and parsley, whisking it together. Add the tofu, turning it to coat it well with the marinade.
3. Place the tofu in a shallow baking dish with about half of the marinade and bake for 10 minutes. Give the tofu a stir, pour the rest of the marinade over it, and bake for another 15 minutes.

 Serve over rice or noodles or just eat it straight out of the pan. 

Lemon Blondies for One

This little darling is more of a cake than a cookie, but it’s bite-sized, tangy, and quick, so I compromised and called it a blondie.

For the Blondie:

1 TBLSP non-dairy butter

2 TBLSP granulated sugar

Pinch of lemon zest

2 TBLSP all-purpose flour (gluten-free flours, like brown rice or chickpea work fine too)

Pinch baking powder

½ TBLSP lemon juice

For the Glaze:

2 TBLSP confectioner’s sugar

¾ teaspoon lemon juice.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a single-serving loaf pan with parchment.

Make the Blondie:

1. In a small bowl, combine the butter, sugar, and zest until it’s smooth.
2. Add the flour, baking powder, and lemon juice, stirring with a whisk or a fork. There should be NO lumps! None! Get them all!
3. Spread the batter into the prepared pan.
4. Bake for 25 minutes.

You’ll want to glaze this little beauty while it’s still hot.

Make the Glaze:

1. In a small bowl, combine the sugar and lemon juice with a whisk. Keep going until it’s very smooth. You might need to adjust the juice or the sugar to get it so that it pours slowly.
2. Drizzle evenly on top of the warm blondies.
3. Let cool to room temperature, and then put it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or so.

Slice into two or three blondies, if you like. Or just eat it as it comes. 

Peanut Butter Pillow Cookie Recipe for One

This little cookie looks fancy, but it’s really very easy to make. And the combination of peanut butter and chocolate, well, it’s a classic!

3 TBLSP flour

1 TBLSP sugar

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon espresso powder

1 TBLSP cocoa powder

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1 TBLSP vegan butter

1/2 TBLSP almond milk (you might need a dribble more if the dough is too dry)

2 TBLSP powdered sugar

1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoons peanut butter (I like crunchy, but it doesn’t matter much; almond butter is also very tasty.)

1/8 teaspoon almond milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place a small amount of parchment paper on a baking sheet.

1. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, espresso, and cocoa in a small mixing bowl. (Use a cereal bowl. If the bowl is too big, you’ll be chasing the ingredients around.)
2. Cream in the vanilla and butter.
3. Mix in the milk. It should be a dryish dough that you can collect and squish into a ball to finish mixing in your hands. (Yep, you’re going to get your hands dirty for this one.)
4. Divide the dough in two and roll each into a smooth ball. Flatten them into disks about 1/4-inch thick. Put them on the parchment for now.
5. Mix together the powdered sugar, vanilla, peanut butter, and almond milk. It will make a thickish paste that you can roll into two 3/4–inch balls. There may be a little left over.
6. Pick up one of your chocolate disks and lay it across the palm of your hand. Put one of the peanut butter balls in the center of the disk. Fold the edges of the chocolate disk up and around until they enclose the peanut butter ball. Roll the whole lovely dark orb between your two hands until you can’t find the seam anymore and put it back onto the parchment. Do the same with the other disk and peanut butter ball. You can flatten them slightly if you like, but they will relax in the oven, so it’s up to you.
7. Bake for 10 minutes. Let them cool all the way down before you move them, or they will crumble when you try to pick them up. 

Makes two medium-sized cookies.

Pomegranate-Sweet Potato Bake for One

This dish looks like the holidays. Or autumn. Or maybe winter. I don’t know, but it’s orange and sweet, and tastes lovely, and you’ll wish you’d made two. (I just do it. I know I’ll want it again tomorrow, every single time.)

Olive oil or baking spray

½ medium sweet potato, sliced into medallions

½ cup garbanzo beans (or other light-fleshed bean), rinsed well and drained

1/3 cup pomegranate seeds (did you know that they’re called arils?)

2 TBLSP orange juice

4 teaspoons maple syrup

¼ teaspoon salt

Several shakes of ground cinnamon

A couple shakes of ground ginger

2 shakes of ground cloves

2 shakes of ground nutmeg

2 TBLSP chopped pecans

2 teaspoons brown sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray a single-serving casserole dish or smear it with oil.

1. Put the sweet potato slices, beans, and pomegranate arils in a bowl.
2. In another small bowl, combine the juice, maples syrup, and spices. Pour this mixture over the sweet potatoes and stir to make sure that everything is well coated.
3. Plop all the sweet potatoes and their juice into the baking dish. 
4. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.
5. Remove the aluminum foil. If the sweet potatoes don’t seem fork-tender, put the uncovered dish back into the oven for 10 minutes.
6. Sprinkle the pecans on top, and sprinkle the brown sugar on top of that. (You thought I’d forgotten, didn’t you?) Spray the top very lightly with olive oil or baking spray and return it to the oven for 10-15 more minutes, until the sweet potatoes are soft and the sugar has caramelized on the top.
7. Serve immediately, maybe with a nice green salad or a bowl of soup. Yummmm!  

Variations:

• You could serve this over rice, noodles, quinoa, or couscous.
• Tempeh or seitan would make a nice protein addition.
• Make extra sauce and marinate some tofu in it. Stir-fry (or waffle fry) the tofu and top the baked dish with it. 

Chocolate Mousse for One

This simple little recipe is surprisingly nutritious. And, it’s mousse! You can eat it as is, amend it as I’ve noted below, or—my personal favorite—load up a pie shell with it. It’s like fudge on a spoon!

1/2 ripe avocado

2 TBLSP cocoa powder

2 TBLSP agave nectar

2 TBLSP almond milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Put all ingredients into a blender or food processor and whale away at it until it’s smooth and unctuous.
2. Put it into a serving bowl and refrigerate for about an hour.

Variation:

• Toss in a dribble of mint extract for chocolate mint mousse.
• Add some chocolate nibs for some serious crunch.
• After it’s finished in the blender, stir in some puffed rice cereal for a little crunch. You have to eat this one soon, though, or the puffed rice gets soggy. 

Cheesecake with Cranberry Sauce for One

This little pie is just the touch of elegance you need with your cuppa on a winter’s night. If you have leftover cranberry sauce, all the better, as making this tiny amount might be silly. I don’t have any trouble using a full batch because I like to use cranberry sauce in my oatmeal, on ice cream, stirred into cookie dough, in sandwiches, stirred into muffin mixture, blopped on top of toast or scones, and—ta-da—on top of cheesecake!

For the Crust:

1 pitted medjool date

2 TBLSP nuts (I like a mix of walnuts, almonds, and peanuts)

A sprinkle of Chinese Five Spice (yes, really)

2 TBLSP shredded coconut

For the Filling:

¼ cup cashews, soaked for four hours or overnight

1 ounce firm tofu (about the size of your thumb)

2 TBLSP vegan cream cheese

2 TBLSP vegan sour cream

4 teaspoons maple syrup

A squirt of lemon juice (about a wedge’s worth)

A slosh of vanilla extract

For the Cranberry Sauce:

4 TBLSP fresh cranberries

2 TBLSP granulated sugar

2 TBLSP water

¼ of an orange’s zest

(If you’re making a full batch, it’s 2 cups of berries, 1 cup each of sugar and water, and the whole orange’s zest.)

To Make the Crust:

1. Cover the date in water. It doesn’t need to soak long, just a few minutes.
2. Put the nuts, Chinese five spice, and coconut in a blender or food processor and whirl away while the date is soaking.
3. When the other ingredients are thoroughly combined, add in the date. Keep whirling in the blender or food processor until it’s a sticky lump.
4. Press the dough into a 4- or 5-inch pie pan or two ramekins and set aside.

To Make the Filling:

1. Drain the cashews and put them in the blender or food processor with the tofu, cream cheese, sour cream, maple syrup, lemon juice, and vanilla extract. Pulse and whirl until everything is very smooth, perhaps four minutes.

To Assemble the Pie:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

1. Pour the filling into the prepared crust, spreading it evenly and smoothing the top with a spatula.
2. Bake for 20 minutes at 350, then turn the oven down to 250 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for another 20 minutes.
3. Cover with plastic wrap and then let it recline in splendor in the refrigerator for at least an hour. Leave it there as long as you can stand it—overnight is even better. I can never wait that long, though.

To Make the Cranberry Sauce:

(A full-sized batch is 2 cups of cranberries, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup water, zest of a whole orange. Two cups of cranberries is about what’s in one of those packets they sell all winter in the US.)

1. In a small sauce pan, combine the berries, sugar, water, and zest and bring it to a boil. The sauce is finished when the berries have burst or turned mushy, about 6-7 minutes.
2. Take off the heat and let it cool to room temperature.

You can sauce the whole little pie, or if you’re being more delicate about it, serve yourself a slice and sauce that. If you’re being posh, put a smear of the sauce on a plate and settle a slice of the pie into it. Or, if you really like the sauce, set the cake into a puddle of it and then pour more over the top. Yummmy! 

Mocha Rocky Road Cookie Recipe for One

When we were teens, my brother and I used to make root beer floats. But we weren’t content with vanilla ice cream—oh no. It had to be rocky road, with the nuts floating to the bottom to provide that last satisfying bite. This cookie brings back those memories for me.

1 teaspoon canola oil

1 TBSP sugar

3 TBSP flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp espresso powder

1 TBLSP cocoa powder

½ tsp vanilla extract

1 TBLSP vegan butter

1/2 TBSP almond milk (you might need a dribble more if the dough is too dry)

1 TBLSP chocolate chips

1 TBLSP toasted walnuts

10-12 mini marshmallows

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place a small amount of parchment paper on a baking sheet.

1. Combine oil and sugar in a small mixing bowl. (Use a cereal bowl. If the bowl is too big, you’ll be chasing the ingredients around.) Then mix in flour, baking powder, espresso, and cocoa.
2. Cream in the vanilla and butter. Mix in the milk. Toss in the chocolate chips and walnuts, and mix them in too.
3. Roll the dough into a two balls and flatten them into disks about 3/8-inch thick. Place them on the parchment paper and bake for 10 minutes.
4. Switch the oven to broil, and pull the cookies out. Push five or six marshmallows into the surface and sides of each cookie, and then place under the broiler for 30 seconds. WATCH IT!!! The marshmallows will swell, brown, and then BURN.
5. Pull them out when the marshmallows are swollen and browning, and let them cool completely on the baking sheet. (If you pick them up sooner, they will crumble.) They will be very soft cookies about 2.5 inches across.

 Makes two medium-sized cookies.

Muscle Muffins for One

Makes 2 muffins

This little recipe whips up quickly, and with the inclusion of protein power, will give you the strength to get through your morning with ease. 

2 ½ TBLSP whole wheat flour

1 ½ TBLSP unbleached flour

1 ¼ TBLSP soy protein powder (optional)

½ teaspoon baking powder

Dash of baking soda

2 teaspoons brown sugar

Dash of cinnamon

1/2 fresh ripe banana

2 TBLSP almond milk

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

2 teaspoons pure maple syrup

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

2 1/2 TBLSP raisins or chopped dates

1 TBLSP walnut pieces

Preheat oven to 350 Fahrenheit. Lightly oil or line 2 muffin spaces in a muffin tin, or two ramekins. 

1. Place both flours, the protein powder, baking powder, baking soda, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl and stir to combine.
2. In another small bowl, mash the banana, and stir in the almond milk, oil, syrup, and vinegar.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, stirring until just blended and then stir in raisins and walnuts. Don’t over-mix it!
4. Fill the prepared muffin tins or ramekins and bake for 30-35 minutes or until done (when they pull away from the sides of the tin and when finger dents pop up again).

You'll devour both of these before you know it, but if you can control yourself, they're nice with faux cream cheese and a bit of fig jam. 

Variations:

• Replace banana with 1/2 apple, grated
• Replace banana with 4 or 5 TBLSP mashed figs (put them through the blender)
• Replace banana with 4 or 5 TBLSP mashed strawberries
• Replace banana with 4 or 5 TBLSP of peanut butter and replace the walnuts with peanuts
• Replace brown sugar in the dry ingredients with the same amount of blackstrap molasses in the wet ingredients
• Omit the protein powder and increase the flour to make up the difference for a non-muscular muffin. 

Here's a fig one, because, you know, figs.