Meatless Monday Summery Corn and Basil Soup + Lower Fat Cheesecake

Vegan Corn and Basil Soup

This was super fast and easy to make! It can be served hot or cold - and is especially delicious chilled on a warm summer night.

16 oz. organic frozen sweet corn kernels, defrosted (I used white, but yellow works too)

3 cups water

2 cups soy creamer (Silk or Trader Joe's brand are great)

1 cup raw organic cashews

6 fresh basil leaves (more or less to taste)

2 medium cloves garlic

1 tsp. kosher salt or to taste

1 tsp. fresh ground pepper

Reserve 1/2 cup of corn kernels. In a blender, combine remaining kernels and all other ingredients and puree until smooth. If you find the soup is too thick, you can thin it out with a bit or soy creamer or water. Season to taste. Add the whole corn kernels to the pureed soup for a bit of crunch. This soup is delicious as is, but can be heated up if you'd prefer.

Serve with regular or Tofutti sour cream and/or a drizzle of basil oil if desired. Pairs nicely with a hearty salad and crusty piece of bread.

Lower Fat Vanilla Cheesecake with Gingersnap Crust

15-16 oz. (approx 2 packages) Farmer Cheese (find the brand with the least about of fat - I used Friendship brand)

8 oz (approx 1 package) Light or Low Fat cream cheese

2 1/2 cups ginger snap cookies (I like the Trader Joe's all natural ginger snaps that come in a plastic tub)

2 eggs

2 tbs. Earth Balance or butter, melted

3/4 cup organic white sugar

2 tbs. good quality vanilla extract

1 tbs. fresh grated lemon zest

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In a food processor or blender, blend ginger snap cookies with melted butter or Earth Balance until it makes fine crumbs. Press the crumbs evenly into the bottom of an approximately 10-inch baking dish. Bake for 5-7 minutes in the oven to harden the crust. Leave your oven on, as you'll be baking the filling as well.

Let the Farmer Cheese and cream cheese come to room temperature. Clean out the crumbs from the food processor or blender. Add the Farmer Cheese, cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and lemon zest. Process about 30 seconds until smooth, then add the eggs and process an additional 45 seconds or so until everything is smooth and creamy. Pour the filling into the pre-baked crust and bake cheesecake for 60-65 minutes or until the middle is no longer jiggly. Baking time may depend on the depth of your baking dish. Let cool for at least an hour before serving - if you can (I admit, I couldn't wait and had a piece while it was still warm). Don't worry if your cheesecake cracks on top, just call it rustic! It will taste great either way.