agent chocolate cream comin' at ya with a few tried and true recipes, a few tips and a few that i've just made up and haven't actually ever made but hey, cookin's all about the experience and sometimes you have good ones, sometimes you have bad ones . . . . . . . even when i wasn't vegan i've always cooked vegan (since i've been vaguely politically aware anyway) cos its better for the earth, better for the animals, and it makes you more creative and innovative - cooking from conventional cooking books and listening to that crap about eggs holding stuff together is like buying nikes 'cos the ads tell ya to, and eating mcdeath cos the billboards make it look yum . . . . whoops sorry bout the rant, it just came out, food is definately my passion in life . . . . .

Also, i understand that not having amounts is kind of annoying, but hopefully its kinda obvious, and not too difficult to follow - i'm happy to take on feedback and try and figure out amounts if ya all need them . . . . . .

SAVOURY PUMPKIN AND TOFU PIE with BROWN RICE BASE

Vegan, wheat free and oh so tasty . . . .

block o' tofu
chunk o' pumpkin
one onion
coupla cloves of garlic
chilli - to taste
ginger
brown rice - 200 g ????
seeds - pumpkin, sunflower, sesame
oil
fresh corriander

Cut pumpkin into smallish chunks and bake in the oven at a reasonably high temp
until it's cooked and crunchy on the outside, set aside
Boil the rice until cooked but not mushy, set aside
Cut ginger, garlic, onion, chilli into fine pieces and fry in a biggish pot or
wok. Add crumbled tofu and fry for a little while, then add cooked pumpkin, and
mush the whole lot all together, cook till its not too moist,add fresh
corriander, chopped finely and mix well.
Oil a biggish baking tin, then flatten rice and seeds onto the bottom and sides
to form a pastry crust. Bake till it goes crunchy but watch out that it
doesn't burn - the thinner the better.
When crunchy, put the tofu pumpkin mixture in, spinkle some seeds on top, bake
till the top is brownish.
Cool and throw at someone deserving.

MANGO TOFU MOUSSE PIE

Sweet, wheat free and processed sugar free

BASE

shredded coconut
sunflower and sesame seeds
almond meal
rolled oats
rice malt and apple juice concentrate

Put dry ingredients in a baking tray and bake till crispy
Add enough rice malt and apple juice to make the mixture sticky, then press into a cake tin with those sides that you can undo lined with baking paper, and bake for a fewminutes or unti beginning to crisp up

TOFU MIXTURE

three tofu blocks
three tins of coconut cream
one disc of palm sugar
four mangoes
juice of two lemons
15grams agar agar

Put coconut cream, palm sugar and agar agar in a pot, cook until agar agar is dissolved, then add sliced mangoes, lemon juice and crumbled tofu, cook for ten more minutes. Remove from heat, blend until smooth like cream cheese, pour onto base and refrigerate until set

VARIATIONS ON THA THEME

Be creative, invent your own - some ideas -

beetroot chocolate mousse pie
chocolate mousse pie
sweet pumkin pie

You can use the same bases for these different pies, the agar agar (its a sea vegetable, get it from Asian grocers) will help them set so if you want them more wobbly just use less !

Happy cookin'

submit more recipes to pieface@cotse.com