Moscow Food Co-op Recipes

The Universe in a Block of Tofu:
Frosty Treats of Life

by Rachel Clark Caudill, from the August 2006 newsletter

Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and caldron bubble.
Cool it with a baboon's blood,
Then the charm is firm and good.
                        --William Shakespeare

Baboon’s blood…human blood. When blood boils in sweltering August heat—or in the heat of the world’s pain—can it ever cool down, slow down, settle down? The charm is firm and good when the blood is cool…cool man, chill. Rime to the sublime.

Sizzle. Crisp. Scorch. The brutal August sun—the suffering, the wars, the ruins and spoils—strike my blood with fever. And I snap with boiling blood sap, naked toes beating a torrid rhythm of fear against the bone-dry earth.

It’s hot, hot, HOT. Too hot!

But wait! My body breaks. My mind recoils. Beyond hot! Stop! Toes touch the ground. Blistered acceptance. I sit. I stay. Panting fast. I’ve been waiting to inhale.

This is my blood. Drink. Do this in memory of me.

I drink breath. The blood of life courses the planet with its healing beat. The cool winds penetrate my lungs, blow into my heart. Open me.

Sweet relief. Awake, I know I can choose.

And now when the heat rises, I see it coming, and, rejoicing, I seek the cool frosty treat of life. Now I can plunge into the cold dark river, diving deep beneath the heat, to touch the core—the breathy rush of love.

And in the crispy, dry August furnace—the late-summer Palouse kiln—I switch the setting to ice. Cooled, the charm is firm and good.

The Chilled Treats of Life
Here’s an invitation to seek the shade, to shun burnout, and to celebrate the hard sun by turning your cold shoulder toward delight, to sweet relief. I offer you a flock of delectable frosty morsels, calling you to flight…

Frozen Raspberry (?) Tofu
Adapted from <Cooks.com>, this simple freeze celebrates tofu and our local, delectable raspberries. That hard sun bestows the nectar of the gods hanging plump and ripe from ivy green vines. Pluck, freeze, create, and feast. Divine!

3 C frozen raspberries
1 C drained soft tofu
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp of your favorite sugar, divided
orange juice (optional and to taste)

Into a food processor, toss raspberries (really, they must be frozen!), tofu, vanilla, and about a tablespoon of sugar. Puree until smooth. Add additional sugar and/or orange juice to taste. Serve at once in jelly jars (frost them by placing in the freezer for 10 minutes first). Now for the question mark: use blackberries, pitted cherries, strawberries, blueberries, or any other luscious berry to suit your own cool ways. Enjoy the succulent summer relief!

Ginger Peach Frozen Tofu
Also adapted from the folks at <Cooks.com>, this slushy sweet delicacy will plunge you to cool and heavenly stillness. Savor at your leisure…preferably expansive freedom from tasks, with time to breathe tossed in.

1 C tofu
2 peaches, sliced
1-2 tsp minced fresh ginger
1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 C honey
1 Tbsp oil (like cold pressed safflower or canola oil)

As before, toss it all in your food processor (or a bowl in which you’ll use an electric beater). Puree until smooth. Freeze until slushy, then reprocess and freeze again. While you wait, take time for yourself to cool down, relax, and taste stillness. For a creamier texture, process a third time just before serving. Serve as above.

Frozen Lemon Cheesecake with golden cherries. Mmmmmmm...

Frozen Lemon Cheesecake
This one, I admit, is my favorite and the reason I wrote this whole column. ‘Nough said…

1 large block extra firm tofu
3 fresh lemons, squeezed
2 Tbsp honey
1 4 oz pkg instant lemon pudding
You favorite sun-soaked berries (optional)
1 prepared graham cracker crust

Pull out your food processor and put in the tofu, lemon juice and honey. Mix well until smooth. Sprinkle in lemon pudding mix and blend until mixture becomes smooth again.

Place in a prepared graham cracker crust freeze for 3 hours. Pull out and thaw for 10-15 minutes before serving. Take your favorite sun-heated berries, and heap them on the frozen wonder, and open yourself to an experience of the sacred.

Copyright: Copyright on articles, recipes, and images are jointly held by the Moscow Food Co-op and the respective authors, except were otherwise noted.

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