Apricot-Glazed Cauliflower for One

Do you ever have a hankering for barbecue sauce and you’re allergic to tomatoes (on which most such sauces are based)? Try sloshing this sweet and tangy sauce on tofu, slabs of seitan, steamed veggies, or, as seen here, on cauliflower florets. Yum!

2 cups cauliflower florets

3 TBLSP apricot preserves

2 TBLSP miso (yellow or white)

2 TBLSP rice vinegar

2 TBLSP soy sauce or tamari

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

¼ teaspoon ground ginger

Heat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil (for quick clean-up).

1. Place the florets on the baking sheet and heave it in the oven while you mix up the sauce, about 5 minutes.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients (preserves, miso, vinegar, soy sauce, and garlic and ginger powders.
3. Pull the baking sheet from the oven and slather the florets on all sides with the sauce.
4. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
5. Pull the baking sheet out again, flip everyone over, and bake for another 10-12 minutes. The florets should be fork tender and the sauce should be golden brown and bubbly.

Serve with a refreshing salad. Seen here is a purple rice and zucchini salad, recipe coming soon! 

Applesauce Pancakes for One

Once the jar of applesauce is open, what are you going to do? Why, pancakes, of course!

½ cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons granulated sugar

½ teaspoon baking powder

Several sprinkles of ground cinnamon

A sprinkle or two of ground nutmeg

Pinch of salt

½ cup non-dairy milk (I like almond, but any will do)

¼ cup unsweetened applesauce

Slosh of vanilla extract

Non-dairy butter or coconut oil for frying

1. In a small bowl (I like to use a cereal bowl), combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, spices, and salt. 
2. Add in the milk, applesauce, and the vanilla, and stir until just barely combined.
3. Put about 1 TBLSP of butter or oil into the skillet over medium-high heat. Plop the batter into the butter once it’s sizzling at about ¼ cup per pancake. You should get four of ‘em. When there are bubbles all over the surface of the pancakes, flip ‘em, frying until they’re golden brown.

Serve with sliced apples, bananas, or other fruit, and top with maple syrup, jam, or applesauce!

Variations:

• Put slices of apple underneath the pancake batter in the pan to get an artistic effect.
• Make a buttermilk version by combining the non-dairy milk with a slosh of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice and letting it sit for a few minutes to curdle. Then proceed as above.
• I was running low on cinnamon, so I used cardamom. OMG. Try allspice or cloves, too. 

Kabayaki Sauce for One

This makes about ½ a cup, so you’ll want to use it for dips, dressings, and coating your tofu.

• ¼ cup tamari or soy sauce
• ¼ cup mirin
• 2 TBLSP granulated sugar

1. Combine all ingredients in a small sauce pan.
2. Bring them to a boil and then turn down the heat. Simmer on low heat for a few minutes.
3. When it thickens a bit, take it off the heat, which should take about 20 minutes, depending on the intensity of your stove.

Use to marinate tempeh, tofu, permeable vegetables (like parsnips, celeriac, or mushrooms), or dress your sushi with it. Yummmm!  

Beans on Toast for One

This is a simple English-style breakfast. You may not have had it, but once you try it, it will become a regular item. It’s fast, it’s filling, and it’s yummy!

1 slice of homemade bread (or store-bought, if that’s all you’ve got), toasted

2 TBLSP vegan cream cheese

4 TBLSP cooked beans (canned is fine. I like cannellini beans, but any will do)

1 green onion, chopped, greens and all

1/3 ripe avocado, sliced

2 TBLSP vegan cheese, shredded

Salt and pepper, to taste

1. Put the bread slice onto a tray, plate, or baking pan that can go under the broiler.
2. Slather the cream cheese on it (the bread, silly, not the pan).
3. Pile the beans on top of the toast in such a way that it’s spread nicely to the edges.
4. Sprinkle the green onion on top of that and spread out the avocado in yet another layer.
5. Sprinkle the shredded cheese on top of the whole mishegas and festoon with salt and pepper.
6. Put it under the broiler for 5 minutes (you’ll want to watch closely to keep it from burning).

Slice it into two pieces if you want to pick it up to eat it, or use a knife and fork as if you were a civilized person.

Tofu “Sour Cream” Dip for One

This tastes surprisingly sour, almost like sour cream.

4 ounces silken tofu (about ¼ package)

Juice from a wedge of lemon

1 clove garlic

Pinch of salt

1 TBLSP vegan mayonnaise

1 green onion, finely chopped

2 TBLSP fresh parsley, finely chopped (1/2 TBLSP dried will suffice in a pinch)

1 TBLSP fresh dill, finely chopped (1/2 TBLSP dried will do it too 

1. Combine tofu, juice, garlic, and salt in a food processor or blender, and whirl until smooth.
2. Remove from the processor and add in the mayonnaise, green onion, parsley, and dill. Taste for salt and possibly pepper
3. Chill for at least ½ an hour before serving.

Makes a good dip, or use it as a topping for potatoes (I like it on sweet potatoes), or you could mix it into your pasta sauce or plop it on your steamed veggies.

Seen here over steamed veggies (broccoli, string beans, mushrooms, onion, zucchini, and kale) and rice. 

Spiced Applesauce Cake for One

Even if Autumn is a just beginning, you can force the issue with this little cake. I’m so glad it made two little cakes! Yummmm.

For the Cake:

9 TBLSP all-purpose flour (1/2 cup plus 1 TBLSP)

½ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Pinch ground nutmeg

Pinch ground ginger

Pinch of ground cloves

½ cup unsweetened applesauce

6 TBLSP brown sugar

2 TBLSP canola oil

1 TBLSP white or apple cider vinegar

Slosh vanilla extract

2 TBLSP raisins

2 TBLSP chopped walnuts

For the Icing:

6 TBLSP powdered sugar

1 ½ TBLSP maple syrup

1-3 TBLSP water or non-dairy milk

Make the Cake:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease a 4-inch baking pan. A single-serving casserole will do just fine, too. Mine went nicely into TWO four-inch pans, which meant I get cake tomorrow too! Yay!

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger.
2. In another small bowl. Whisk together the applesauce, brown sugar, oil, vinegar, and vanilla.
3. Add the wet mixture to the dry, and stir until just barely combined. Don’t overmix or you’ll get a tough cake.
4. Fold in the raisins and walnuts. Plop the batter into the prepared pan, making sure that the top is even. 
5. Bake for 35-40 minutes, rotating the cake once about halfway through. Keep baking until a toothpick comes out clean.

Let the cake cool completely in the pan before removing. It will go faster if it’s up on a wire rack.

Make the Icing:

1. In a small bowl, whisk the sugar and maple syrup together until it’s very smooth.
2. Add the water or non-dairy milk 1 TBLSP at a time until it’s a smooth and thick icing that’s still pourable.

Assemble the Cake:

1. When the cake is completely cooled, run a knife around the inside edge of the pan to loosen it. Unmold the cake and set it on your serving plate. You might want to put little rectangles of parchment paper under it so you can pull them out later and not have icing on your plate, but don’t worry about it too much.
2. Lightly drizzle some of the glaze over the top of the cake. If you want it sweeter, coat the top more thoroughly. There’s plenty of icing for both little cakes and some for the cook, too!

Tofu Frittata for One

Breakfast can be quick and clean, or it can be slow and messy. This treat is a tasty combination of both, plus it will keep your engine purring all day long.

2 ounces silken tofu (about ¼ of a package)

1 TBLSP vegan butter

1 ½ teaspoons cornstarch or arrowroot

Pinch of baking powder

Pinch of salt

Pinch of freshly ground black pepper

Pinch pf turmeric

Pinch of onion powder

Pinch of garlic powder

Pinch of kala namak, or black sea salt

½ TBLSP olive oil

¼ onion, diced small

1 mushroom, diced

¼ zucchini, shredded

2 TBLSP frozen or fresh corn kernels

4 or 5 zucchini slices and some onion shreds for the top

Sprinkles of shredded vegan cheese

1. In a blender or food processor, combine tofu, butter, cornstarch, baking powder, salt, pepper, turmeric, onion and garlic powders, and the kala namak. Set aside.
2. In a small oven-safe skillet (non-stick, if you’ve got it), heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and mushrooms and let them cook until they’re soft but not completely cooked through, 2 minutes or so.
3. Add the zucchini and corn to the onions and cook for another 2 or 3 minutes.
4. Pour in the tofu mixture and turn the heat down to medium-low. Stir the contents a few times to make sure that it’s all pleasantly intermingled and smooth the top. Decorate with zucchini and mushroom slices. Let it cook undisturbed for 15 minutes.
5. Place the skillet under the broiler and let it cook for 3 minutes, until the top is browned.  Watch it like a hawk so that it doesn’t burn. When it’s golden, bring it out to sprinkle the cheese on it—not much! A little bit is all you need—and put it under the broiler again for another minute or so. Be sure to protect your hand from the hot handle!

Let it sit on a wire rack (or the stove’s burner) for 15-20 minutes before removing from the pan and devouring. Eat the whole thing! You’ve earned it!  

Banana Bread for One

I eat a banana every day. Sometimes, I just can’t look at a bowl of cereal or a smoothie, though, and I have to burst out in happy banananess!

7 TBLSP flour

Large pinch of salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Small pinch of baking soda

A shake or two of ground ginger

2 ½ TBLSP sugar

4 TBLSP of mashed-up ripe banana

1 TBLSP melted vegan butter

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1 TBLSP almond milk (optional, to moisten if necessary)

1 ½ TBLSP walnut bits

1 TBSPL chocolate chips

1 TBLSP raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray a muffin tin (just two muffins) or mini-loaf pan with oil or cooking spray or line two muffin holes with paper.

1. Mix the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, and sugar together in a small bowl.
2. Combine the mashed banana, melted butter, and vanilla together in another small bowl. Stir the wet into the dry ingredients.
3. Add milk by dribbles until it makes a wet and pourable batter that’s thicker than pancake batter and looser than bread dough. You may not need any milk at all, if your banana was moist enough.
4. Add the walnut bits, chocolate chips, and raisins, and stir just enough to incorporate them. Don’t over work it.
5. Pour into prepared pan. Smooth the top of the batter.
6. Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Allow to cool on a rack. It will deflate a little bit.