Saslaw!

Do you know what I do in the morning when I use my french press* and it's going soooo sloooow when I press it down? I pretend I'm a fancy European who is part of the slow food movement and I try and repress my impatient American "I want my coffee nooooww!" response. Okay, so I know my bought-at-Target Yuban Organic ground coffee is not anywhere near their goals, but it's one step closer from my former instant coffee drinking!
We had friends over last night and so I made some fixins! It was pretty hot yesterday so I picked out some cool things to make and then my husband just grilled some Tofurkys on the grill. Oh! And our friends brought marinated Portabellas that we grilled too! And they were so good! I'll have to get that marinade from her...

We got cilantro from our CSA, like a big bunch, so I have a lot for more salads or whatever...
I just chopped up a few strawberries, half a jicama, one orange and yellow pepper and half a red onion and then tossed them with 1/2 C chopped cilantro, 1 T balsamic vinegar and 2 T olive oil. It was pretty good, but next time I'd double the balsamic and olive oil and add lettuce. Without lettuce it was kind of like a slaw, kind of like a salsa but neither, really. It was saslaw! Anyway, it was very light and summery and good, whatever you choose to call it.
Next up was this deliciously rich Tofu Chocolate Pie! I ran out of vanilla extract so I subbed in almond and thus the almonds on top! It was quite serendipitous that I had sliced almonds to decorate! I feel so fancy! I was actually debating the almond extract, but then I caved and thought, 'no, better go with what I know' and then I started pouring the vanilla into the teaspoon measure and drip, drip, drip and suddenly I was like 'well, I guess we're going with the almond, then!'. I'm not sure you could really taste the almond except that maybe it made it taste richer somehow.

Chocolate Tofu Pie

1 box soft silken tofu (5)
1 C vegan chocolate chips (16)
1 C powdered sugar (16)
1 t vanilla extract
1 t almond extract
graham cracker crust (24)
a few sliced almonds (you didn't actually expect me to count them, did you?)

8! points per 8th

Blend tofu and extracts in food processor until smooth.
Pour chips into a 2 cup Pyrex measuring cup or other microwave safe vessel and nuke 1m. Remove and stir until chips are melted. Pour into tofu mixture and process well, scraping down sides. Add powdered sugar (sort of fold this in before you process it, thus avoiding a powdered sugar mushroom cloud) and process well, scraping down sides periodically.
Pour into graham cracker crust. Refrigerate 1 hour until firm.

Okay, I take it back on the Shari T. book, "The Visitor". I stayed up last night reading. So it's good. I have been drawn in. Now my only worry is that I'll be dragged into some long series of books and be thwarted by the library's missing one of them. I don't think she can wrap up what she's started with how many pages she has left. Curses!