Fruity BBQ Sauce and regular bbq sauce

A quick and easy barbecue sauce made with jam.  

Yield about 1½ cups
Time 10 minutes 

Tools
small saucepan
wooden spoon

Ingredients
1 c jam, jelly, or marmelade
½ c plain tomato sauce
2 T onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 t cider vinegar
1 t soy sauce
1 t strong mustard
1 t liquid smoke (optional)

Directions Combine everything over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Let cook for a minute or two, then taste and adjust seasonings. If your jam is very sweet, for example, you might want to add more vinegar and/or mustard.

Depending on the jam, your BBQ sauce might be quite chunky. For a smoother sauce, blend with an immersion blender.

Serve hot with tofu, tempeh, or whatever else your heart desires.

Notes This is a great way to use up leftover jam, but since they come in so many different varieties and levels of sweetness, you might have to do a lot of tasting and seasoning to get your sauce just right.

Barbecue Sauce

Easy recipe for a tangy barbecue sauce. Yield about 1½ cups Time 40 minutes Tools Wok or large saucepan Wooden spoon Ingredients 2 T sesame oil ½ c onion, diced ½ c tomato sauce or ketchup ¼ c balsamic vinegar 3 T Dijon mustard 3 cloves garlic, minced 2 T soy sauce 2 t molasses or maple syrup 1 t smoked salt ½ t pepper Directions Heat the oil over medium heat, add onions, and sauté until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in remaining ingredients and simmer, stirring frequently, for 30 minutes. Add a bit of water as needed to keep it from getting too thick. Notes The sauce will develop more flavor if you leave it in the fridge for a few days, but it’s terrific when freshly made, too. This barbecue sauce is excellent over fried tofu and fried tempeh.

Coconut Milk

Instead of buying canned coconut milk, make your own. It’s fast and easy, plus you know exactly what’s in it.

Yield about 3 cups
Time 20 minutes

Tools
blender, preferably high-speed
strainer or cheesecloth
bowl
wooden spoon

Ingredients
1½ c dried, unsweetened coconut*
3 c hot water

Directions Combine coconut and water and blend for 20-30 seconds. Let rest for 5 minutes.


Place strainer over bowl and pour the coconut milk into it. Press the coconut to force all of the liquid out.

If you’re not using it right away, transfer this thick coconut milk into a glass container and refrigerate for up to 4 days. It will naturally separate; just shake or stir before using. Or you can use a spoon to remove the top layer, which is coconut cream, leaving the thinner coconut milk for other uses.

As for the coconut itself, you have two options:

Put it back in the blender with another cup of water to make a thin coconut milk.
Dry it out and then add to granola or grind into coconut flour.
Notes Depending on what you’re using the coconut milk for, there’s a third option. For creamy desserts and sauces, of course, you just want the liquid itself. But when I make things like coconut rice, I blend but don’t strain – I just pour the whole mixture straight into my recipe.

Cashew Butter

 Save money and avoid preservatives by making homemade cashew butter.  


Yield about 2 cups
Time 5 minutes


Tools
high-speed blender, such as Vitamix
 glass jar(s)

Ingredients
3 c raw cashews

Directions Place cashews in the blender, snap on the lid 
Turn on the blender and slowly increase speed to high as you immediately start pushing the cashews down toward the blades. Blend for just a minute or two, just until all of the cashews have been ground up and the mixture is moving freely.

Transfer cashew butter to jars and refrigerate. It will last for weeks.

Almond Ricotta

Soft and fluffy with just a hint of sweetness, perfect for ravioli, lasagna, and cannoli.


Almond ricotta
Yield about 4 c Time 5 minutes, plus soaking Tools blender, preferably a high-speed one like Vitamix glass container with lid Ingredients 2 c blanched almonds (long soak) 1 c water pinch salt Directions Blend the drained almonds, water, and salt until fluffy and somewhat creamy but not
 completely smooth.
Notes Use immediately or store in the refrigerator for up to a week.