Chipotle Chocolate Tofu Pudding, Salted Sorghum Granola, and Cashew Cream

*Next week, be sure stop by the very festive MFM winter market in downtown Memphis on Saturday, Dec. 14 -- we'll be there with copies of The Southern Vegetarian cookbook and would love to sign a book or two for you. Of course we think it makes a great gift!

You can't get any more clichéd than tofu and granola when it comes to vegetarian food, so here's to making what's expected into something that's absolutely delicious. We are reclaiming these items from the fringe! This is a variation of our Sea Salt Granola, the one we put on roasted beet salads and use to top Greek yogurt. It was one of the components of the chipotle chocolate tofu pudding and cashew cream dessert we created for our Enlightened Eaters Series talk at the James Beard House this week. 

We wanted to use some favorite recipes from our Southern Vegetarian cookbook and also highlight Southern ingredients in each of the three dishes we made. Here's what we used overall: Delta Grind grits, Steve's beans, peas, okra from Concord Farm plus our hickory smoked hot sauce from the farm's cowhorn and jalapeño peppers, Olive & Sinclair chocolate, Georgia pecans, Martin's Sorghum, Robert Hodum's honey, and Zatarain's Creole Mustard. We're working on a recap so that you can see how it all went and celebrate with us!


Salted Sorghum Granola

1/4 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup sorghum

1/3 cup canola oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon vanilla powder

2 cups oats

1 cup nuts and seeds (a mix of sliced almonds, pumpkin seeds, and pecans)

1 tablespoon sea salt 
Chipotle Chocolate Tofu Pudding
Cashew Cream (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk the sugar, syrup, oil, and vanilla. Add oats, nuts, and salt and combine. Spread it all out on a baking sheet. Bake it for 10 minutes, stir it up, and then bake it for 10 more minutes. It should be toasted and ready by then. Spread it out on a plate or two to cool. It'll last about a week in a sealed jar or container. (Makes about 4-5 cups.)

*Here's an easy upgrade for chocolate granola, another great gift: just add 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips to the warm granola after it's out of the oven and stir to coat it all before cooling it in the fridge. Jar, ribbon, done. 


Cashew Cream 

1 cup roasted and salted cashews (soaked for 3 hours in 1 cup water)
1 tablespoon honey (or agave nectar)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pour off and reserve the water used to soak the cashews. Into the blender cup of your immersion blender or food processor, add the cashews, honey, and vanilla. Blend and add just enough of the reserved soaking water to get things going. Blend until very smooth. Use as a garnish anywhere you'd use whipped cream. (Makes about 1 cup.)