Vegan with a Vengeance

chocolate. Need I say more? Okay, this is rich, creamy, and what’s more is you don’t have to bake it. I listed the milks to use in order of preference; I have made it with all four and I like coconut milk the best, but it’s good with the others as well.
    1 prepared Chocolate Cookie Pie Crust (recipe follows) or graham cracker crust
    FOR CHOCOLATE BOTTOM:
    4 ounces semisweet chocolate
    Â¼ cup rice or soy milk
    FOR THE FILLING:
    12 ounces extra-firm silken tofu (the vacuum-packed kind, like Mori-Nu)
    Â¾ cup creamy all-natural peanut butter
    1½ cups confectioners’ sugar
    2 teaspoons vanilla extract
    â…” cup coconut milk, soy creamer, rice milk, or soy milk
    1¼ cups boiling water
    3 tablespoons agar
    Prepare the black bottom:
    Melt the chocolate in a makeshift double boiler (page 206). When the chocolate has melted, add the soy milk and whisk until smooth. Remove from heat. Pour most of this mixture into the prepared pie crust, reserving a couple of tablespoons to drizzle over the top of the pie. Transfer the chocolate-coated pie crust to the fridge.
    Make the filling:
    Combine the tofu, peanut butter, sugar, and vanilla in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth.
    In a saucepan over moderate heat, boil the agar in 1¼ cups boiling water. Stir constantly until dissolved. This takes about 10 minutes. When dissolved, pour into a glass measuring cup (if you have only plastic, let the mixture cool just a bit before pouring it into the cup, so it doesn’t melt the plastic).

    There is usually ⅓ cup agar at this point. You want the liquids to be 1 cup but you can’t add it to the agar mixture or it will firm up, so if you have ⅓ cup agar and water, add ⅔ cup of milk to the tofu mixture and blend. Then add the agar and blend again.
    Assemble the pie:
    Slowly pour the peanut butter mixture into the pie crust. Drizzle the remaining chocolate over the pie. Run a butter knife through the chocolate in straight lines to create a pretty pattern. Refrigerate, wrapped in plastic wrap, for at least 3 hours.
No-Bake Chocolate Cookie Pie Crust
    You can use any chocolate cookie that is waferlike. I like to use Newman’s Tops and Bottoms, but if those are not available, try Nature’s Path Deep Chocolate cookies.
    1½ cups chocolate cookies, crushed
    2 tablespoons sugar
    â…› teaspoon salt
    Â¼ cup canola oil
    1 tablespoon rice or soy milk
    In a food processor fitted with a steel blade, or a blender, combine the cookies, sugar, and salt. Pulse into fine crumbs. Remove from the processor and pour into a pie plate. Drizzle with the canola oil and mix with your fingers. Drizzle with the soy milk and mix with your fingers. Press into the pie plate. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Sweet Potato Pie with Three-Nut Topping
    SERVES 8-12
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    This is one of the first recipes I ever got off the Internet and veganized, so it is close to my heart. I love the combination of the three nuts but you can improvise with just one nut of your choosing; pecans are a great choice. Some people think sweet potatoes should only be a side dish and not a dessert; those people are not to be trusted so keep your distance.
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    FOR THE GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST:
    â…“ cup walnuts, toasted
    â…“ cup hazelnuts, toasted
    â…“ cup almonds, toasted
    10 graham cracker sheets
    Â¼ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
    Pinch each of ground ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, and allspice
    5 tablespoons canola oil
    FOR THE FILLING:
    1¼ pounds sweet potatoes
    2 tablespoons arrowroot
    Â½ cup sugar
    Â½ cup soy milk
    3 tablespoons canola oil
    2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
    6 ounces firm silken tofu (half a package of the vacuum-packed kind)
    1 teaspoon ground ginger
    Â½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
    Â½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
    Â¼ teaspoon ground allspice
    â…› teaspoon ground cloves
    FOR THE TOPPING :
    Â¼ cup nonhydrogenated margarine
    Â¼ cup brown sugar
    2 tablespoons maple syrup
    â…“ cup whole almonds, toasted
    â…“ cup whole hazelnuts, toasted
    â…“ cup walnuts, toasted
    Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake the sweet potatoes until tender, about 1 hour. Meanwhile, make the crust.
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    Make the crust:
    Grind the nuts in a food processor, crumble in the graham crackers, and grind into crumbs. Add the sugar and spices, pulse to combine. Add the oil and pulse to moisten the crumbs. Press into a 9-inch (preferably glass) pie plate, set aside.
    Make the filling:
    When the sweet potatoes