Lower impact kugel

I am a strong believer in the power of food to heal. Lately, I have been in need of some emotional healing, and for this tough job what better healing foods are there than comfort foods? When I was younger my comfort foods were mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, fried chicken, fried potato latkes, cheesecake...mmmm, pretty much anything that was bad for me and the environment, but oh so good for my soul :) I believe that comfort foods don't have to be bad for you and the earth, they just have to transport you back to a place where you felt safe and loved. Now when I feel down or tired or...even slightly uncomfortable I make tasty lower calorie vegetarian or vegan versions of my favorite classics. Growing up, my mother always made us traditional Jewish treats like potato pancakes (latkes), noodle pudding (kugel), and chicken noodle soup. Kugel is still one of my favorite things to eat and every once in a while I sneak a slice and as I lay in pain from the dairy backlash later I think "it was worth it"...

So last night after two days of having a horrible cold, I decided I needed some kugel. I made a plan to morph one of my favorite kugel recipes into a dairy-free, egg-free masterpiece and set out to our local health food store. I was able to find all but the egg-free noodles (I am certain the salesperson later recounted the tale of the red-nosed girl who asked for egg noodles without eggs and then proceeded to stand in front of the selections for 15 minutes before sighing heavily and placing the egg noodles in her cart). So I decided that this batch will be close to egg free and when I locate some eggless noodles of sufficient breadth to take on my custard I will try again!!

Anyways, the recipe I am remaking is Emeril Lagasse's classic kugel recipe:

Emeril's recipe is absolutely delish but unfortunately here are the nutrition stats per serving:
446 calories
28g fat
16g saturated fat
150mg cholesterol
2g fiber
29g sugar
12g protein

And...here are the nutrition stats after making my modifications:

260 calories

12g fat

5g saturated fat

40mg cholesterol

3g fiber

19g sugar

6g protein

Still not a health food, but my version definitely has less impact on you and the environment...AND most of the fats are from plant products, yay! Ok, enough kugel-pushing ;) here is the recipe:

A Slimmed-Down Emeril's Kugel:

Makes 12 servings

Ingredients

• 1 pound wide egg noodles (or egg-free noodles!!)
• 2 Tablespoons Earth Balance soy-free buttery spread
• 12 oz mori-nu firm silken tofu
• 12 oz greek-style plain coconut-milk yogurt (you can use regular coconut milk yogurt, but the greek style has more fiber!)
• 1/2 cup brown rice syrup (or sugar, or your preferred sweetener)
• 1 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk beverage (or your favorite milk substitute, preferably with some fat in it)
• 2 eggs (see note below)
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1 cup pecan pieces
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 cup golden raisins

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the noodles and cook until tender, about 6 to 8 minutes. Remove and drain. Toss the noodles with the buttery spread. Mash the tofu with a potato masher, take 1/2 cup of mash and mix in 2 Tbsp of cornstarch, whisking well, then whisk in the two eggs. In a large mixing bowl, mix the mashed tofu, tofu/constarch egg mixture, yogurt, coconut milk, and vanilla. Mix well. Fold in the noodles and raisins. Mix well. Pour the mixture into a buttered 9 by 13 - inch pan. In a small mixing bowl, mix the brown sugar, pecan pieces and cinnamon, together. Mix well. Sprinkle the mixture on top of the egg mixture, evenly. Bake for about 1 hour or until the pudding is set. Remove from the oven and cool before serving.

There you have it, now just cut and serve to your friends and family without telling them it has tofu ;)

Note: To make this totally vegan which I will try next, just use egg-free noodles, and instead of adding the two eggs, just whisk another 4 tsp of cornstarch into another 1/3 cup of the mashed tofu. I'm sure it will come out great! Or if you prefer more eggs, just use all 5 eggs, and just add the tofu to the recipe mashed (without adding any cornstarch).