Christmas in July

My friend Shelley throws the best parties, so much so that she throws two Christmas parties a year. I wanted to come up with a a new way to enjoy something common. With that in mind I came up with a dessert dip - cheese and crackers.

Cheesecake Dip with Ginger Snap Cookies:
1 8 oz. container Tofutti Cream Cheese
1 12 oz. container vacuum packed firm tofu
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
2 Tablespoons corn starch
2 Tablespoons soy milk
2 Tablespoons raspberry jelly.

Blend cream cheese, tofu, lemon juice, corn starch and soy milk in a food processor until smooth.
Place in square baking pan and bake at 375F for 25 minutes.
Let cool completely.
In a glass dish spread sides with a bit of raspberry jelly. Layer cooled cheesecake dip with some raspberry jelly in a decorative fashion.
Put in the fridge for 2 hours before serving with ginger snap cookies.


The dip was a hit!

Pesto and Hummus Sandwich Spreads

I told you my food processor would make my life exciting again!

Pesto and Hummus sandwich:

Webly's Pesto:
3 cloves of garlic
1 Tablespoons sun dried tomatoes
1/4 cup cashews
1 cup tightly packed basil
1 teaspoon lemon juice
3 Tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Throw it all in the food processor and blend until smooth.
The mixture will be a bit thick, like peanut butter.
I like to keep it this consistency until I know what I will be using it for. The thick consistency is good for a sandwich spread but if you're using it with pasta you'll want to add more oil to make it more like a sauce.

I didn't write down my ways of making hummus, but it's pretty straight forward with chickpeas, lemon, thanini, garlic, paprika and olive oil. The only thing I do different is cup the normal massive amounts of olive oil with some water.