Mom de Cuisine

This afternoon I was getting ready to make lunch for the kiddies.  I wanted to get them involved, but I also wanted to clear the fridge of some left overs for the weekend.  My first thought went to pizzas.  But we usually do pizzas and I wanted to do something different.  That’s when I remembered my husband had brought home some little smokey’s from the store last week because, “I thought the kids would love these!” That’s his code for, “I want to eat these, but I won’t admit it.”   Luckily I also had some puff pastry left over from my Fig Pop Tarts, so I thought I’d let the kids stuff their own Pigs in a Blanket.  I set out some cheese (cheddar and parmesan) spinach, mustard, and fig compote.  “C” wasn’t interested, but “M” happily sat down next to me at the dining room and we rolled up various flavors of piggies. 

However, as we were rolling, a little “mom guilt” began to set in.  Lil’ Smokeys are far from healthy.  Sure, I would serve some sliced fruit and veggies on the side, but this still wasn’t the healthiest of lunch choices.  But I quickly got over my guilt when I decided today was the perfect afternoon to whip up a batch of the Vegan Mousse I saw in my latest copy of Everyday with Rachael Ray.  I had seen recipes before using silken tofu to make mousse-like desserts, but just never got around to trying it.

Rach’s version looked great, it was topped with fresh raspberries and pistachios.  Fresh raspberries are outrageously expensive here and if I bought  pistachios, no way they would have lasted for me to get around to making this mousse.  In keeping with the dairy free idea of using tofu, I decided to whip coconut cream to top these and the last of some whole frozen strawberries.  My little Sous Chefs loved it.  They thought they had really hit the jackpot.  Smokey’s for lunch, then a big bowl of chocolate mousse for dessert, but a mom’s gotta have her secrets, right?!?!

Vegan Chocolate Mousse with Coconut Cream and Strawberry Sauce

Ingredients

1 12 oz. package soft, silken tofu

1/2 cup vegan dark chocolate, chopped

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 8 oz. can coconut milk

2-3 tablespoons powdered sugar

2-3 tablespoons coconut milk powder

1/2 cup frozen strawberries

1-2 tablespoons water

zest and juice of half a lemon

1-2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Preparation:

To make the strawberry sauce: combine strawberries, lemon juice, zest, sugar, and water in a small sauce pan.  Boil until reduced and thick.  Remove from the heat and cool.

To make the coconut cream:  Chill coconut milk 1-2 hours, preferably overnight.  Whisk milk, sugar, and coconut powder with an electric beater until combined and slightly thickened.  Chill at least 30 minutes.

To make the Mousse:  Chill tofu 1-2 hours, preferably overnight.  Melt chocolate in a double broiler and cool.  Using a blender, combine chocolate, tofu, and vanilla extract. 

To assemble the Mousse:  Pour 1 cup tofu mixture into an ice cream bowl.  Top with a dollop each, coconut cream, strawberry sauce.