I've always wondered a bit about tofu shakes ever since I first heard of them, probably eight or nine years ago. This past week, I had a rare moment when the only appealing foods were all rather bland sounding. I think my body was revolting from all the food I ate the week before, first at a work conference where they sent us grazing between meetings (I think food coma to keep us quiet might have been the goal), and then on vacation in the lovely Colorado mountains (ahem, Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory). I made a batch of tofu shake, which made about four glasses full. It was quite the thing I wanted, and I know it's going to be a great craving in the future.
TOFU SHAKE
one package of silken tofu
1 cup frozen blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries mixed
1 ripe banana
Blend. Drink. Thank yourself for a healthy alternative to all the other shakes. Including the masterfully created Baskin Robbins Chocolate Oreo Shake that has been dubbed by Men's Health as the #1 worst food in America. It weighs in at 2,600 calories, 135 grams of fat (59 of which are saturated), 263 grams of sugar and 1,700 milligrams of sodium. WOW.
I saw oyster mushrooms at the store and couldn't resist! All their delicate little flutes remind me of beautiful blue whales. After returning from a trip to China a few months ago where I feasted on all sorts of mushrooms whose names I don't know and can't imagine, I was ready for some more funky looking 'shrooms. Thankfully, the name refers to the appearance of the mushrooms, and not the taste or texture. The Chinese name, píng gū, translates as "flat mushroom." Not only are these guys super cute, they are also super friendly - they can be used in mycormediation. Nice word I know, quite the tongue tumbler, just meaning that these mushrooms can be used to reduce the contamination of soil and clean up after humans, in such cases as diesel oil spills.
The oyster mushrooms were definitely the star of the soup. They have a delicate taste, and were great paired with sauteed onions, big chunks of cabbage, and squares of rutabaga. I also threw in some garlic, white potatoes, and garbanzo beans.
After sauteeing the onions and garlic, I added the mushrooms on top and let them partially steam. Then I added vegetable broth, the other veggies, salt, pepper, and ginger. It was simple and delicious.
For this week, LyB of 
I actually omitted the alcohol, and just added the steaped prunes. I also added a couple of handfuls of roughly chopped pecans to the flour and ground pecan mixture. This cake is quite dense and fudgey so the added crunch and texture was nice. 
When Stephanie at 
The icing was an adventure since I discovered in the middle of making it that I didn't have any cream of tartar. Now I know you can't substitute corn starch...but I did anyway, just to see. It turned out runny so I put it in a pan and cooked it until it got bubbly and just a little singed on the bottom, like a slightly roasted marshmellow. I loved it on the cupcakes! The cake is amazingly brownie-like and scrumptious with a lovely deep dark chocolate color. The weird icing made it very s'more like which I loved. It turned out to be a very good mess-up. 
