TOOTHSOME TOFU PIES

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Here's the perfect dessert for the chocolate-lovers in your clan. Begin making the crust by grinding the almonds in the food processor, pulsing the machine on and off until the nuts are chopped to a medium-fine size. Then add the remaining ingredients and process the crust-makings until they are well mixed. Press the nutmeat crust into the bottom of a well-greased 9-1/2" springform pan and bake it in a preheated 375°F oven for 8 minutes.

Now, using two thicknesses of cheesecloth, squeeze most of the moisture out of the tofu. Blend the squeezed cakes until they have a smooth, creamy consistency, then mix in the carob powder, the vanilla extract, and the almond extract.

With that done, combine the honey and water in a small saucepan . . . sprinkle on the agar . . . let the mixture stand a minute . . . and bring it to a rolling boil for 30 seconds. When the agar has cooled for 5 minutes, add it to the tofu base and blend the ingredients thoroughly. Then pour the filling into the cooled crust and chill the pie in the refrigerator until it's firm.

You can decorate your carob confection by piping a wavy border of whipped cream around the pie's perimeter and sculpting a rosette in the center, using a pastry bag fitted with a star tip. Then, with the help of a potato peeler, shave thin slivers of carob from a candy bar and sprinkle the tidbits over the rosette. This pie is sure to draw a hungry crowd . . . and it's likely to be devoured soon after the last carob shavings are in place!

Using the work bowl of your food processor, chop the nuts and rolled oats to the consistency of coarse flour by pulsing the machine on and off. After adding the flour, oil, honey, and vanilla extract, mix everything well. Pat the nutmeat crust into a 9-1/2" pie pan, and then bake the shell in a preheated 375°F oven for 10 to 13 minutes.

To make the filling, blend the tofu and vanilla extract until they're smooth. Next, mix the water and maple syrup together in a small saucepan, then sprinkle the powdered agar on top and allow the gelling agent to soften in the water for a minute. Now, bring the concoction to a rolling boil for 30 seconds. When the agar mixture has cooled for 5 minutes, add it to the tofu, processing all the while to blend the batter. Then toss in the chopped macadamia nuts, pulsing the machine on and off a few times to mix them in, and pour the filling into the cooled pie shell. Dabs of whipped cream and sprinkles of roasted, chopped nuts lend the final touches to the dessert.

EDITOR'S NOTE: If these recipes whet your appetite for more tofu cuisine, take a look at Louise Hagler's Tofu Cookery (The Book Publishing Company, $9.95). This compendium of recipes for all phases of a meal includes step-by-step directions for making tofu at home and instructions for freezing, marinating, and handling the product. And for a very thorough treatment of tofu and other soy foods, you'll want to read The Book of Tofu by William Shurtleff and Akiko Aoyagi (Autumn Press, $11.95). Excerpts from this noteworthy volume appeared in MOTHER NOS. 39-45. Both books are available from bookstores, or—for the list prices plus $1.50 for shipping and handling for 1 or 2 books, $2.00 for 3 or more—from Mother's Bookshelf ® , 105 Stoney Mountain Rd., Hendersonville, NC 28791.

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