Be sure to always buy organic tofu. Commercially grown soy crops are treated with enormous amounts of pesticides and are genetically modified. Over 80 percent of this is fed to livestock, mostly chickens and pigs, but also cows and farmed fish. With organic tofu you’ll be safe.

Ingredients:
    • 1 LB extra-firm tofu
    • ¼ c soy sauce
    • ½ ts smoked paprika
    • ¼ ts cayenne pepper
    • 2 flax eggs *
    • ½ medium-sized onion, finely chopped
    • 2 TS capers (optional, leave out if you don’t like them)
    • ½ c peeled, cubed butternut squash 
    • ½ c breadcrumbs
    • 2 TS olive oil (plus 2 T if pan-fried)
* 1 Flax egg:
1 TS ground flax seeds mixed with
3-4 TS water
Let rest 10 - 15 min

Preparation:
Prepare the 2 flax eggs.
Crumble the tofu into grain-like pieces (I cut the block into large chunks and then use my fingers to crumble it, or you can mash it with a fork). In a medium-sized bowl, combine the tofu with soy sauce and any spices you want to use, let soak for 15 minutes. 

Heat 2 T olive oil in a frying pan over medium high heat, saute the onions until translucent and slightly browned, lower the heat  a bit, add the squash and simmer for 10 minutes or until squash is softened. Turn off the heat and let it cool down, then add it to the crumbled tofu, together with the flax eggs and breadcrumbs. Mix well.

Use your hands to form patties with a diameter of about 2 ½ - 3 inches and about ¼ inch deep. 

I tried three different ways to finish the patties:
    1. Baked:
Preheat your oven to 400 F. Place the patties on a non-stick baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. The outside became evenly brown and crisp, while being soft inside.

​2. Air Fried:
I placed the patties in my air fryer and let it run for 10 minutes at 400 F. They turned out to be somewhat more crunchy.

3. Pan-fried: 
I added 2 TS olive oil to a frying pan. When the oil was hot, I placed the patties into the pan and fried them for about 5 minutes on each side. The coloring wasn’t as even as with the other two methods.
​

​Choose your preferred method, and enjoy.

Hebe Garcia sends in this recipe of Holiday Cheer

Coquito is a popular Christmas coconut rum nog traditionally served in Puerto Rico. This is my mother’s egg-free recipe which has an ice cream twist. Sprinkle with ground cinnamon or nutmeg and serve.  Cheers!
​
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Additional Time: 8 hours

Ingredients
1 (15 oz) can cream of coconut
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk
1 cup coconut-flavored rum
¼ cup water
1 scoop vanilla bean ice cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cinnamon sticks
2 whole cloves
1 pinch ground cinnamon
1 pinch ground nutmeg

Directions

• Place cream of coconut, condensed milk, evaporated milk, coconut rum, water, ice cream and vanilla extract in a blender. Blend until smooth and well-combined, about 3 minutes.
• Pour coconut mixture into two 20 oz glass bottles or jars. Add 1 stick cinnamon and 1 clove to each container; shake well. Chill coquito 8 hours to overnight.
• Shake container before pouring coquito into shot glasses or small cups. Sprinkle cinnamon or nutmeg on top before serving.

 
 
 
 
 

by Jessica Rath

It saves energy. It uses less electricity because it doesn’t emit much heat; plus, foods are cooked much faster than in an oven.

It saves calories. Deep-fried foods need several cups of oil, air frying takes just a teaspoon; sometimes a little more.
​
It saves time. A conventional oven has to be preheated; by the time the oven is ready the meal in the air fryer is already cooked. 

Plus, it’s convenient because you can leave it and let it do its thing; it’s easy to clean; food cooks quickly so nutrients tend to be retained; and you can use it to reheat leftovers and thaw frozen food.

Here are some recipes to get you started:

​Preparation:
Cut the tofu and place in a medium bowl. Crumble it, either using your fingers or a fork. Add soy sauce and other ingredients except olive oil and cheese, mix thoroughly, and let rest. 

Prepare the mushrooms: wipe the caps with a moist paper towel; normally, that’s all it takes to remove dust and dirt. Remove the stems and save them for soup stock or stir-fry. Using a teaspoon, gently scrape off the black gills from the mushroom caps. Make sure you don’t create nicks or cracks in the rim. Brush the caps with a bit of olive oil and set them cap-side down on a plate. Divide the stuffing mixture evenly between the mushrooms, pressing it down gently so they are full but not overflowing. Top with vegan cheese. 

Place the mushrooms into the basket of your air fryer. Set the temperature to 375 F and fry for 10 minutes. Increase temperature to 400 F and fry for another 3 - 5 minutes, until the cheese has browned.

​Preparation:
Wash the potatoes, scrub them with a vegetable brush, and pat dry. You don’t have to peel them if the skin is thin but remove any spots. Cut them into half and then into wedges about ¼” thick. Rinse in cold water to remove starch, then dry well with paper towels. 
Toss with olive oil, salt, and spices.
Place into the airfryer in roughly one even layer. Fry at 375 F for 10 minutes. Shake them, increase temperature to 400 F, and fry for another 10 minutes.

​Preparation:
Cut the tofu into ¼” cubes and place in a medium bowl. Add soy sauce and let it stand for about 10 minutes, tossing the tofu a few times so that the soy sauce soaks in evenly. Strain the tofu, reserve the soy sauce for another dish. Then coat the tofu evenly with the nutritional yeast.
Place into the airfryer, one even layer, and fry at 400 F for 10 minutes. Shake once or twice in between.

Jessica Rath
​You’d never guess it’s vegan. 

Although I enjoy watching The Great British Baking Show (you can catch the latest series on Netflix, with a new episode every Friday), I hardly ever feel tempted to try one of their bakes which often are visually stunning, but..: milk, eggs, butter, cream, etc. are almost always the basic ingredients. Often they add gelatin, lard, even suet; and savory bakes can include just about any part of various animals. Neither do I like spending lots of hours preparing different batters, doughs, glazes, stuffings, frostings, and decorations, unless there is a very special occasion. 

So here is an embarrassingly simple treat that doesn’t take much more than 20 minutes to prepare and is all vegan. 

Ingredients:
    • 1 prepared pie crust 
    • 1/3 cup organic sugar
    • 1/3 cup cocoa powder
    • 3 TS cornstarch
    • ¼ ts salt
    • Dash of cayenne pepper
    • 2 ¼ cup soy or other plant-based milk
    • 1TS cocoa butter
    • 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
    • Vegan cool-whip for decoration (optional – available at Sprouts f.e.)

Preparation:

Heat the oven to 350F and bake the crust for 10 minutes, let cool.

In a medium-sized saucepan, whisk all the dry ingredients together. Add the milk and whisk until there are no little lumps. Turn on the heat to medium, whisk constantly until the mixture starts to boil. Turn heat to low and keep cooking for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the cocoanut butter, stir until melted, then add the chocolate chips. Turn the heat off while the chocolate chips melt, keep stirring.

Pour into the crust. Cover with a piece of seran wrap to prevent a skin from forming, try to avoid air bubbles. Let it cool a bit and then move to the refrigerator and let set for at least three hours.

If you have a piping bag, fill it with some vegan cool-whip and pipe some rosettes around the edges of your pie. I don’t have one, so I just used a plastic bag, cut one corner off, and squeezed some dollops out. 

~ Hilda Joy

​​While visiting family in New Orleans, I checked out local cooking shows and really enjoyed watching a jovial and enthusiastic chef named Kevin Belton.  When I returned to New Mexico, I discovered his cooking shows here on PBS. Belton does not bother to give out measurements.  He just starts throwing ingredients together, and soon a dish is plated and ready to serve.  He likes promoting the many food festivals that occur all year long all over Louisiana and recently taught his viewers that Oktoberfest is celebrated throughout his state, thanks to the influx of Germans in past centuries.  They, of course, established beer breweries and started bakeries that to this day continue to supply NOLA’s many stores and restaurants with tasty bread.  Virtually every Louisiana community celebrates Oktoberfest.  Chef Belton recently presented a menu that started with large soft pretzels for dipping into mustard while drinking beer, pork schnitzels, and sauerkraut.  I jotted down the ingredients for this dish but had to guess at measurements based on using one pound of sauerkraut.  Here is my result, but please do use your own judgment about measurements when you “throw together” this traditional German October dish, which you may want to serve with bratwurst and potatoes.  Prosit!
Ingredients
​2 to 4 ounces butter
1/2 pound bacon, diced
black pepper
​1 medium onion, sliced very thinly
1 large crisp apple, peeled and sliced thinly
1 tablespoon caraway seed
​1 pound sauerkraut, rinsed and drained
beer to cover, about 1 can
 
Directions

1. ​In a large pan, melt butter and render bacon in it. (I prefer thick bacon)
2. Season with black pepper.
   ​Sauté onion and apple in the butter and rendered bacon until they soften.  Add caraway seed and stir.
   ​Add sauerkraut to the pan and stir to mix all ingredients.
3. Pour in the beer---just to cover sauerkraut.
4. Put lid on pan and heat sauerkraut thoroughly.

 
EnJoy

​Four days ago, we had a few intense thunderstorms and quite heavy rain, part of New Mexico’s yearly monsoon. As welcome as the moisture is, it killed my internet connection… And the company which provides this service, Windstream, can’t send a repair person before August 25. Unacceptable? You bet! Luckily a neighbor lets me use his connection.

Here is the recipe:
When I was little, and I mean REALLY little, potato salad was my all-time favorite meal. This was a few years after the war in Germany, when food was simple and anything but extravagant. Potato salad and hot-dogs, or better Wieners, would be served on special occasions, when my father’s siblings and my cousins and my family would gather at my grandparents’ house. It was somewhat like a pot-luck, and my father’s twin sister’s potato salad always tasted the best. When I was a bit older, I asked her about the secret ingredient, which was -- freshly grated horseradish! It’s not easy to find fresh horseradish, and the kind in a jar always has mayonnaise in it, so I use wasabi paste as an alternative when I make regular potato salad. It might work with this version, too, but I haven’t tried it.