MAKES ABOUT 5 CUPS.
TIME: 35 MINUTES, PLUS TIME TO CHILL.
Does cranberry sauce really need an introduction? You know what to do with it! We use agar to make this a little firm and the ingredients are kept simple-no orange rind or sneaky flavorings. But apple cider is the secret ingredient that keeps things interesting.
1 cups apple cider
2 tablespoons agar flakes (if you have agar powder, 2 teaspoons would be the equivalent)
cup sugar
12 ounces fresh cranberries (a little over 3 cups)
POUR THE apple cider into a small pot and stir in the agar. Let soak for 10 minutes to soften up the agar and make it easier to dissolve. Skip the soaking step if using agar powder.
Cover and bring to a boil. Once the cider is boiling, add the cranberries and sugar. Lower the heat to medium; the mixture should be at a steady simmer. Cover, leaving a little gap for the steam to escape, and cook for about 10 minutes. At this point, the cranberries should be popping and the juice should be red. Use your mixing utensil to crush some of the cranberries and help them along. Cook, uncovered, for about 5 more minutes. The cranberries should be mostly popped and crushed, and the juice should be thick and red.
Transfer to a container and refrigerate. Let cool until it mostly stops steaming, then cover tightly with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator until completely cooled and slightly jelled, about 3 hours.
BASIL-CILANTRO PESTO.
MAKES ABOUT 1 CUP.
TIME: 10 MINUTES.
This is our cheapskate pesto that uses almonds, which also have the benefit of making the pesto very bright and creamy.
2 cups loosely packed fresh basil leaves
1 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro
cup slivered or sliced almonds
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from about lemon)
teaspoon salt
cup olive oil
Place the basil, cilantro, almonds, garlic, lemon, juice, and salt in a food processor and blend until pasty, sc.r.a.ping down the sides occasionally. With the food processor on, slowly drizzle in the olive oil. Blend until relatively smooth and no large chunks of almonds are left. If you don"t have a food processor and are using a blender, then just add the olive oil at the end, since many blenders aren"t equipped with an opening to drizzle into.
CHEEZY SAUCE.
MAKES ABOUT 3 CUPS.
TIME: 15 MINUTES.
This is the nooch (our shorthand for nutritional yeast) sauce that we use whenever we need a melty cheesy topping for a meal. It"s quick, tangy, and flavorful. So many sauces like this call for a stick (gasp) of margarine-this recipe needs a measly tablespoon of olive oil, which makes you wonder if some cookbook authors are just being hateful. We use this on nachos, pastas, brunch things (see Tofu Florentine, page 72), or just to dip raw veggies in.
2 cups vegetable broth or water
cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
Pinch of dried thyme (crumbled in your fingers)
teaspoon salt
Several pinches of freshly ground black pepper
teaspoon turmeric
cup nutritional yeast flakes
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard
COMBINE THE broth and flour in a measuring cup and whisk with a fork until dissolved (a couple of lumps are okay).
Preheat a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Place the oil and garlic in the pan and gently cook for about 2 minutes, stirring often and being careful not to burn the garlic.
Add the thyme, salt, and pepper, and cook for about 15 seconds. Add the broth, turmeric, and nutrition yeast, and raise the heat to medium. Use a whisk to stir constantly. The mixture should start bubbling and thickening in about 3 minutes; if it doesn"t, turn the heat a bit higher.
Once the mixture is bubbling and thickening, stir and cook for about 2 more minutes. Add the lemon juice and mustard. The mixture should resemble a thick, melty cheese. Taste for salt (you may need more, depending on how salty your vegetable broth is), turn off the heat, and cover the pan to keep it warm until ready to use. The top might thicken a bit while it sits, but you can just stir it and it will be fine. Serve warm.
DILL-TAHINI SAUCE.
MAKES 1 CUPS.