Vegan Broccoli Quiche

I was first introduced to vegan quiche by my friend Sarah, who can make ANYTHING vegan. Popovers, reubens, you name it. She also introduced me to this spice called kala namak, otherwise known as "black salt". It is neither black nor salt. It's a sulphured mineral, so it smells and tastes kind of eggy. Her quiche was wonderful, but I was quite skeptical about my ability to pull of this feat. However, I am quite happy with it, and will definitely make more quiches in the future!

She adapts her recipe from the ppk's version, and so did I. Here's my version. This makes two pies.

2 medium onions
5 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 cups broccoli florets
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried basil
2 tsp tumeric
2 tsp black salt
1 teaspoon salt (or to taste).
A good dose of black pepper
2 1/2 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 c. raw, unsalted cashews
2 pounds extra firm tofu
grated vegan cheddar cheese, if desired.
2 9 inch prepared pie crust

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Farenheit. Poke the pie crusts with a fork a couple of times, and bake them for ten minutes. Remove.

Either chop or food process the onions and garlic. Put some olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat, and add onions, garlic, thyme, basil, and turmeric. Scrape the saucepan occasionally to prevent sticking and/or burning. Add the cashews to the food processor, and process until finely ground. Crumble in one of the packages of tofu, and process until well mixed. By about this time, the onions should be ready. Take them off the heat and scoop the tofu mixture into the pan. Mix thoroughly. Crumble the other pound of tofu into the processor, and add the nutritional yeast. Process until thoroughly combined, and then add that to the mixture as well. Mix thoroughly.

Add broccoli florets to mixture. Scoop about half of the mixture into the two crusts, and add some vegan cheddar cheese if desired. Then add the rest of the mixture, and grate on some more if desired. Bake for about 40 minutes.

Ramya's Cardamom Chocolate Chip Cookies

One of my very good friends made these cookies for me ages ago, and I loved them. It's the perfect twist on an old, feel-good favorite. A couple of nights ago, I made a vegan version for the first time. She adapted it from this recipe.

Here's my version:

4 c. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp ground cardamom (at least!)
2 sticks earth balance
1 cup sugar
1 ¼ cups packed dark brown sugar
2 flaxeggs
2 Tbsp vanilla extract
2 c. vegan chocolate chips (I used Ghiradelli semi-sweet).
about a cup of soy milk.

Preheat oven to 375-degrees F.

Combine dry. Make flaxeggs in a large bowl. Combine wet ingredients into flaxeggs, including about half of the soy milk. Beat until it's a uniform consistency. Add dry.

Form into cookies onto cookie sheets and bake for about ten minutes.