Mole Tofu Tacos and Carrot Cake

Sometimes I get up early on the weekends.

This is not by choice.

I went to bed at 3 AM, clutching my hot water bottle (and teddy bear) like a baby and lamenting the fact that my nail polish had smudged. But then I woke up at about 5:24, rip-roarin'-ready to go (probably the Red Bull I had at like 11 PM last night). This happens quite often, actually, and so when I can't get back to sleep, I take advantage of my lack of exhaustion (rarely happens when I actually need it) and clean. Clean, clean clean. Especially when my parents will be seeing my room around 4 hours later. Can't wait to see you, Mama and Baba!

Anyway, after I took a walk (me? walking?) out on Indian Hill with a friend of mine, I came home and decided I wanted to make something with tofu again, since I finished the ginger-sesame marinated tofu pretty damn quickly the day before. I had been eyeing this mole tofu taco recipe from Cara's Cravings for quite some time, but I always shied (that word looks SO weird) away from it because getting chipotles in adobo sauce would involve going to the store since Weshop doesn't carry them. But I figured I'd improvise, as usual, and just use green chiles (I'm so creative). Also Cara's Cravings has tons of other amazing recipes and you should all check it out.

About a third of the way through the recipe (aka the important part), I realized that I had forgotten I was halving the recipe. Meaning I had just put a tablespoon of molasses instead of half a tablespoon. I hate molasses and was reluctant to put it in the sauce, but I figured it was somewhat essential to the flavor. Anyway, we just added another onion (my friend Naomi was over. Hi Naomi!) and it turned out fine. I'd even go so far as to say...delicious.

"You should definitely add cilantro. It'll make the photo look less....yeah just add the cilantro." -Naomi

Mole Tofu Tacos
from Cara's Cravings

Ingredients

• 2 14oz. packages firm tofu
• 1 1/2 large onions
• 1 T coconut oil
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, minced (I used green chiles instead, but next time I'll be less lazy and go to the store to get these)
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 T molasses
• 3/4 tsp cinnamon
• 2 T unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 T creamy peanut butter
• 2.5 c vegetable broth
• 3 oz. tomato paste
• 3 dates (I didn't have these, so I omitted)
• 1/2 tsp salt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees F. Spray one or two 9x13" glass baking dishes with olive oil spray. Drain and press the tofu, then dice into cubes and arrange in the trays. Spray the tofu with more cooking spray. Bake for 30 minutes, turning 3-4 times, until lightly browned on all sides. Remove from oven.
2. While the tofu is baking, heat the coconut oil over medium heat in a saucepan. Sauté the onions for about 4 minutes. Add the garlic, chipotle pepper, cumin, and coriander. Cook for about 1-2 minutes more, stirring.
3. Add remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and puree the sauce, using an immersion blender or a regular blender/food processor.
4. Return to pot and add the cooked tofu. Simmer for 15-20 minutes, uncovered, until sauce thickens.
5. Heat some corn tortillas, get out lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, whatever you want.

So delicious. So thick. Who knew that chocolate, peanut butter, adobo sauce, and tomatoes went together?

Anyway, after I took a nap instead of doing work, I had an hour to kill before my friends Ellen and Codi arrived. Since house brunch was the next morning (aka in 3h20m), I figured I'd make the carrot cake then instead of waking up earlier to make it in the morning. It was easier to make than expected. I (smartly) thought that I had to grate the baby carrots by hand, until I realized (aka looked up on the internet) that I could just throw them in the food processor for a few seconds. Those things are magical, I tell you.

After eating a good portion of the batter (fingers crossed no salmonella), I poured it into the springform pan (I don't have a cake pan)....and the bottom almost fell out. Luckily I have awesome reflexes, so I caught it just in time. But man, if it had fallen....I don't even want to think about what cleaning that would be like. K here's the recipe, sent to me by my awesome friend Ellie.

Also I don't like cream cheese frosting, so you can just look up the typical recipe for it if you want.

"I'm too tired to think of a quote right now but I'm so overtired I can't even go to sleep so that's why I'm writing this blog post" -an exhausted me

Carrot Cake with Vanilla Icing
recipe courtesy of The Food Network

Ingredients

• 2.5 c all-purpose flour
• 12 ounces grated carrots (if using baby carrots, just throw them in the food processor for a few seconds)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp ground allspice
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/3 c sugar
• 1/4 firmly packed brown sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 6 oz. plain yogurt
• 6 oz. vegetable oil (I used half Smart Balance, half vegetable oil)
• frosting/icing/whatever

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Spray a springform/cake pan with some Pam. If using a cake pan, use a 9-inch round and 3-inch deep one, and line the bottom with parchment paper. Set aside.
3. Put the carrots into a large mixing bowl and set aside.
4. Put the flour, baking powder, spices, and salt in a food processor and process for 5 seconds. Add this mixture to the carrots and toss until they are well-coated with the flour.
5. In the bowl of the food processor combine the sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and yogurt.
6. With the processor still running, drizzle in the vegetable oil. Pour this mixture into the carrot mixture and stir until just combined.
7. Pour into the springform/cake pan and bake on the middle rack of the oven for 45 minutes. Reduce heat to 325 degrees F and bake for another 20 minutes.
8. Remove the pan from the oven and allow cake to cool 15 minutes in the pan. After 15 minutes, turn the cake out onto a rack and allow it to cool completely. Frost or ice with frosting or icing (...).

Yeah I made the mistake of just pouring the icing on with a mere plate underneath. It ended up getting everywhere--on the floor, on the table, on me. It was not fun to clean up this morning. The floor was really sticky.

Oh also I was in the Argus (our school newspaper)! Naomi wrote an article on food and blogging. There are some other really cool blogs there too, so check it out!

Song of the Day-- Salento by René Aubry. A beautiful song to listen to as the sun is rising, or at any time of day.

Recovery Quote of the Day.

Okay, I think it's time I go back to sleep until Mom and Pops get here (slash play DS). Happy Easter (weekend) and a shout-out to my whole family, wherever in the world they may be--love you and wish I could be with you all!!

-Carina