Around here, it feels like summer is just getting started (we had a really cool summer in June and July), so it's hard to believe that we're nearing the end of the season!
Nevertheless, we're trying to eat as much summer produce as possible, before it's no longer available. Last year, I began trying to eat in-season produce as much as possible and I'll tell you - it is worth it! You really appreciate the in-season fruits and veggies, they are at their best in terms of flavor, and you know they weren't shipped in from out of state (or country!). Meanwhile, when the season is over, you aren't saying, "Oh, I wished I had had more corn!, etc."
The above Raw Hemp Tabouli from Rawvolution (different recipe name in the book, but I thought this better described it) was made simply of tons of herbs from the garden, cherry tomatoes (mine are so small, you don't really have to even chop them), and a sprinkle of onions and hemp seeds (the hemp seeds stand in for the traditional bulgar). I really loved this fresh parsley salad (the typical American version has more bulgar than parsley, but the real stuff has mostly parsley). Four stars! ****
Not so seasonal or fresh (or health), these Dulce Sin Leche Cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World (VCTOTW) kicked some serious ass, once again. Made these for a co-worker's birthday and as always, they didn't disappoint! Although, the glaze melted a bit overnight and I had to refrigerate them. The coconut on top is a must, for presentation, at least, but I will never understand the "I hate coconut" people, anyway...
Next up, this spicy and amazing Moroccon Spring Tagine from Vegan with a Vengeance was excellent and pretty easy. Except for the fact that all the veggies are actually summer ones, and not spring, so it was a perfect meal to have this week! Zucchini, tomatoes, carrots, onion, beans... Four stars **** and Mr. PLV even at the leftovers - twice! :) Speaking of in-season, we finally had grilled okra, too! No photo, as it was scarfed down too quickly. My mother, who is visiting, just couldn't get enough of it - yeah!
Last week, we feasted on a quick meal of vegan gnocchi (most gnocchi is, but Wegman's brand actually had the vegan symbol on it - yay!) with roasted tomatoes and roasted green beans. We had never had roasted green beans before, and they were pretty good! Three stars ***, maybe less - it needed some garlic.
Last week, I also used some of the slew of late-summer corn to make another Sweet Corn Chowder. This time, it was from Ani's Raw Food Kitchen. This was much better than the Rawvolution version, but still needed way more corn. I would double the corn. Nice and fresh and great with the avocado and cilantro! Three stars ***
Another quick, fresh and amazingly delicious meal came from Ani's book last week. This time it was Walnut-Cranberry Squash "Rice." The rice was made by grating a raw butternut squash in the food processor. I would never think of doing that, but it was incredible! Tasted a bit like stuffing. Yum, yum, yum and all raw!! Four stars ****.
It's been a while since I roasted root veggies, but since we got a few from the CSA the previous week, it was time to do something with them before they went bad. Roasting is a great way to use up veggies that are a tad past their prime. This was the Roasted Salad with Roasted Garlic Salad from Veganomicon. Even though it's hot as blazes out there, our central air made it comfy enough to use the oven for all this roasting. I figure, with all the meat I haven't eaten in years, my carbon footprint is already smaller than average (which it really is, I calculated it online) so I can afford a little electricity splurge now and then. And WOW, was this worth it! The roasted garlic makes a creamy, rich dressing, that's not overly garlic at all. And roasted turnips? Woah. Four stars, without reservations! **** Mr. PLV also liked this one, because of the taters.
I also roasted two small eggplants from the CSA to make my second-ever Baba Ganouj (recipe from Madhur Jaffry's World Vegetarian), which kicked ass! So yum, so easy, but so not photogenic :P Four stars anyway ****
These Pesto-Stuffed Mushrooms from The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen were also so incredibly good, we're going to make them again this week! I haven't had stuffed mushrooms in a while. I even used local bread (frozen last week) for the breadcrumbs. Wow! Mr. PLV ate almost all of them :) Four stars ****.
Meanwhile, my garden continues to give me a pint to two pints of cherry tomatoes a day. Except for this plant, which I swear came from the same packet! It's giving us these beautiful elongated globes - plum tomatoes! They're not as tasty as the cherry ones, but they do have more substance. Someone said that getting different tomato varieties from the same seed packet is pretty common. Cool!
And, last but not least, THEY'RE BACK! :) Last summer, my "green bean seeds" flourished into melons. This year, three plants came back, even though I didn't really try! One withered in the sun, I tripped on another and accidentally ripped the vine out of the ground...and then there was one. Wonder if it'll taste better than last year? Well, I'm off to continue helping with the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves my father has been working on all week! Happy Early Christmas to me and my books! :)
A random mix of recipes, in no particular order...
First up....Chocolate cake. Raspberry preserves. Rich, fudgey, ganache-like frosting. Mmmmmm....
Despite not following the directions on how to apply the frosting and preserves (I just slapped the preserves in the middle and put the ganache in the fridge to quicken the cool-time before dousing the cake), this amazing Raspberry-Chocolate Blackout Cake with Ganache-y Frosting from Veganomcion was still decadent, flavorful and drool-worthy. Also, very, very easy! :) Four stars ****. Haven't baked in a while, so I thought a cake was about due.
Here's what the whole cake looked like. It would have been prettier with fresh raspberries and some frosting roses, but I didn't have the time, it was too hot, and it was for teenagers, who really didn't give a rats ass about looks (and who also scarfed it down!).
It was so hot, I spent my one day off last weekend, inside. OK, so we were painting three ceilings, so I wasn't really taking it easy. I called it, "bikram painting." It was so hot, ugh. But it's done and now it looks so smooth and new! Here is Mr. PLV, doing the easy part (I did the trim, edges, and around the light fixtures - hand cramp central!).
After that, all I wanted was something fresh, watery and cold. I splurged and got some organic fruit from the farmers' market, including a giant, dark red watermelon. These blackberries, cherries and blueberries were excellent, too! Holy antioxidants, Batman! Four, very sweet stars ****.
Mr. PLV was craving portabella mushrooms, so we grilled a few to top a huge-ass spinach salad with our own cherry tomatoes. (They just keep coming!) Three and a half stars ***. (That's leftover quinoa you see in clumps nearby).
Used up some of the CSA potatoes, too, and grilled them, then tossed them with our own parsley. Yum.....Three and a half stars ***1/2.
Had a CSA zucchini and some BIG ass tomatoes (also CSA/ organic) to use up, so Veganomicon's Greek-Style Zucchini-Tomato Fritters were baked in the oven. I used some local artisan olive-sourdough bread to make the breadcrumb crust. Wow!! Even Mr. PLV loved these and went back for leftovers, which he rarely does. Three and a half stars ***1/2. The cashew-cucumber yogurt-style dip was only OK. Two and a half ** 1/2, but it was probably my fault....long story.
Tonight, Mr. PLV baked our CSA eggplant in the oven for an hour, and I fried it up with some onions, spices, and another huge-ass CSA tomato. Wow!!! This was really, really good. The recipe was something like "Smoky Eggplant," from Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian. Great Indian food! Four stars ****. Unfortunately, the sauteed greens (beet, turnip, and chard) were horrible. Bitter, tough....even the great sauce from Vive le Vegan couldn't save them. Not even one star. I think it was the turnip greens that just didn't cook up right. Tips anyone?
Backing up some.... last week I had some pot sticker wrappers and seitan kicking around in the fridge. I tried my own recipe, added some ginger, scallions, soy sauce, and carrots to the diced seitan filling. Used a great dipping sauce from Vegetarian Times and wow! Four stars ****.
Finally, on Monday, our library's AC broke and we had to go home early. What a shame! :) I read an entire book (I'm a speed reader) while the acorn squash from the CSA was roasting, and while the awesome cornmeal-flavored crust was chilling for these Acorn Squash-Black Bean Empanadas from Veganomicon. They were well worth the effort, alongside a jarred salsa and some homemade guac. Wowee! Four stars for the crust, which kicked ass with the cornmeal crunch; three and a half for the filling. What an awesome week (and a half) of food! Stay tuned for more CSA-based recipes to come!
It's funny, someone recently referred to vegan food as "monkish" compared to the standard American food. I nearly screamed! Well, I certainly did laugh out loud, anyway. Turns out, the person really didn't mean to use that word (he's not an English scholar - he just meant that it was very different ), but it does give me an opportunity to show fellow bloggers/blog-readers, just how wrong that statement is!
For example, this Corn and Fresh Tomato-Basil Pizza with Garlic Pistou from Vegetarian Times was anything but austere, bursting with flavor and pizazz! The roasted garlic was combined with basil fresh from our garden, as well as some pine nuts and other things, to form the pesto of sorts that was spread on a homemade crust (gee, can you tell that's homemade?), then topped with fresh corn and cherry tomatoes from our CSA. A sprinkle of more homegrown basil topped it off. 
Here's a yummy close up. This was a decent three-star recipe ***, but our crust was way too thick and a little doughy in places. We're determined to get better!
Then, speaking of bursting with flavor and spice, something was cooking in our steamer last week...
Sausages! Meatless - duh - and completely amazing. I have some work to do on my wrapping technique, so they don't have pointed edges and are a little more "shapely" but the texture and taste were amazing! Spicy and perfect. These were my first try, and a wicked easy recipe from Isa, courtesy of Vegan Dad's blog. Thanks, Vegan Dad! Mr. PLV loved, loved, loved these and can't wait to try some recipes with them!
Meanwhile, I sliced them up with some fresh basil...
And added them to another recipe - Roasted Tomato-Fennel Pasta with Pine Nuts, Capers and Basil published in Veg News, but originally printed in Eat, Drink and Be Vegan, by Dreena Burton. The recipe didn't call for sausage, but the fennel flavors matched up perfectly and the sausage made the whole dish even more satisfying. Yum! Now, what monk eats like that? Four stars ****.
Then, after a long car ride home from the in-laws, I was greeted with this heavenly dish from Mr. PLV's mom...a foil packet to throw on the grill, she said, and some fluffy rice to accompany it. I wasn't prepared for the sensational flavors and aromas when I first opened it up! Asparagus, mushrooms, and red peppers, along with some spices, green onions, and dill, combined for a sensory overload. It was sooo nice to get out of the car, unpack, turn on the grill and eat in 8 minutes! Beautiful, and certainly the best dish of them all. Four stars of thanks to her! ****
I promised I would post about these amazing Cinnamon Rolls, from Vegan Brunch on my last post, so here they are in all their glory! A picture cannot do these bad boys justice. I wanted to put my face into the pan :) Luckily, there were lots of people around, so I made do with a half...and then another half...and then a bit or nibble more. Five stars *****, if I can give that many - I can never remember my new rating system....
My big sister from Rhode Island (almost a veg-head) made these from scratch along with: tofu scramble, fresh watermelon and blueberries (which were a thousand times better than the ones in VA!), potato hash (sweet and regular), and banana-chocolate French toast. It was a brunch to remember....wish we didn't live so far away!
We also ate at Crazy Burger while we were up there, which had a pretty decent number of vegan burgers on their menu, despite the plethora of dead-animal ones :( The link above shows you a menu slightly different than the one we saw. The burger shown here is the Just Plain Nuts one, which was served open-faced on a pepita-corn cake (polenta) with this amazing sun dried tomato-artichoke pesto. Gluten free and a good price! My only complaint was that it was way too much to eat :) Three stars ***. (Oh, and that isn't a Styrofoam container. It was biodegradable paper!).
Back home, I was saddened to see that my zucchini plants are just about dead (even with a friend watering them, they just didn't make it). However, my tomato plants are making up for it! This handful is about what I pick during one afternoon lunch break. Warm from the sun, I just pop them in my mouth along with whatever goodies I'm munching on. These are my first self-grown tomatoes since I was a little kid!
They also go well on a raw salad, featured here with a lemon-dill dressing from Rainbow Green Live-Food Cuisine. I was pretty disappointed in this dressing. It was wicked easy, but seemed to curdle and froth up, and was way too lemony. One star *. Oh well. The greens, cucumber, zucchini and larger cherry tomatoes were straight from the latest CSA pick up. Can't wait to dig into the first cantaloupe of the season that came with it!
We also got twelve ears of corn - wow! I put one on a salad (minus the cob, of course - raw corn is so good!) and turned four more into this Harvest Corn Chowder from Rawvolution. It was really easy to make, but I was disappointed in the flavor. It just didn't taste enough like corn! The other flavors (cumin, garlic, tamari) were nice enough, but I really wanted that corn taste. Perhaps the corn just wasn't sweet enough! I have to say, it isn't the best corn I've ever had. But at least it's organic - yay!
We also got a small bag of shiitake mushrooms from the pick up. Here they are, soaking in some Bragg's, alongside some chopped and diced tomatoes, red pepper, carrots and chives (from my own garden- yay!). The chopping was pure pleasure today, as Mr. PLV sharpened all our knives. I held the red pepper in the air and slid the knife across - it sliced through like non-dairy butter!
Mushrooms are so good for you. Besides offering selenium, copper, and other vitamins, they have shown to be anticancer, antiviral, and absorb cholesterol. We are advised (see link above - although I've heard this from many sources) to avoid raw white button, portobello, and cremini mushrooms, though.These Raw Veggie Wraps from Vegan A Go-Go, were whipped up with ease from the ingredients in the above photo, wrapped in rice papers with a little raw zucchini hummus (I really like the one from Rawvolution). The dipping sauce was just the leftover Bragg's from the mushroom marinade. A quick, cool, delicious lunch, alongside a green smoothie. Ahhh....nothing like eating raw vegan food in the summer! Have a great weekend everyone!
After finally getting some well-deserved vaca this past weekend, I'm finally back in the blogosphere (or whatever you call it) with some great food finds!
Using up leftovers before we left (redundant but true) was imperative. I didn't let a single bit of produce go to waste. I even cut up the last of our celery and zucchini to eat with dip on the road. Above, you see a quick meal we made with some leftover kohlrabi and potatoes. The recipe, Indian-Inspired Kohlrabi with Peas and Potatoes, was initially on the Fat Free Vegan blog, but the link appears to be broken. I've linked the recipe title to a recipe that seems exactly the same. Even though it contained coconut, Mr. PLV seemed to like it quite a bit! I loved it and gave it 3 1/2 stars ***. The flavors were awesome and it was very comforting. Easy, too.
A week before we left, my mother-in-law came to stay for a few days. After trotting out our favorites (Baked BBQ Tofu from Veganomicon and Kung Pao Seitan from Vegan Planet), it was time for something a little more familiar to her taste buds. I spent a morning at the grill before it got too hot outside, with some thinly sliced eggplant, roasted red peppers, and summer squash. Then, with a homemade pesto (basil straight from the garden!) and a jarred tapenade (you can't do it all) ...
I put together this Mediterranean Pressed Sandwich, from an old Vegetarian Times issue. With some balsamic vinegar drizzled over it all, then everything sandwiched on ciabatta bread (vegan!), wrapped up tightly, and pressed under a cast iron skillet for the day in the fridge, by dinner it was chilled and yummy and "seemed" like no work at all. The flavors melted together in a harmonious, "ummmmmm....." of yum. But I have to warn you - it is quite a bit of work. Three and a half stars - oh, what the heck - four!
On the side, we served Green Beans Tossed with Walnut-Miso Sauce, from Cooking Light. This is one of my favorite recipes for green beans. Three stars this time because I under-cooked the beans, but normally four ****.
Meanwhile, my garden continues to thrive (well, my garden minus the zucchini, which I have sadly given up on). These cherry tomatoes are covering nearly every inch of all the huge plants that I have somehow not killed this spring and into summer. I eat the ripe ones straight off the plants, still warm from the sun, on my lunch break.
Huge carrots, well fat ones at any rate, surprised us last week at the CSA pickup. They did have tops and I stupidly chucked them into the compost bins before realizing that you can eat them (courtesy of some ideas behind Green For Life, which is alternately annoying and amazing me). The carrots? Sweetness :)
Speaking of sweet, can you find my sweet kitty? Bear is the master of disguise. Agent 009 reporting....
Next post - Vegan Cinnamon Rolls from Vegan Brunch!
Just like at Thanksgiving, most holiday feasts or celebrations involving food are celebrated more for their side dishes than the main one (in many households, a big hunk of meat). This 4th of July, it was no different.
But first, check out this beautiful bowl of fresh fruit! My first fruit salad of the season to feature blackberries and blueberries (although this is an older photo - probably taken a week ago). Isn't it funny how alone, these fruits are good, but combined they are a masterpiece (both visually and on the palate)?
However, nothing beats blackberries, fresh from the farmer's market, and still warm from the sun -yeah! These just melted in my mouth. I mean, seriously. I didn't even have to chew...
But back to the 4th...we made a hideously large amount of food - makes me feel awed, guilty and honored to live in this country and have all the pleasures of life that we often take for granted.
And, as usual, the BBQ seitan was relegated to the side, while the "sides" took front and center stage! We tried some new dishes this year including: Prospect Park Potato Salad from Veganomicon, which was decent, but needed some onion and more salt and pepper. Not as good as my family's recipe, which I have yet to veganize but I promise I will this summer! Two and half stars ** 1/2 for this one, though. Also, Cucumber Salad, from a recent Veg News email, which was spicy and fresh and all around yummy! With jalapeno, peanuts, and mint, it was easy and delicious! Three solid stars ***. As usual, we had to have my family's Three-Bean Salad, from god knows where, but the reduced fat version I started making several years ago is always a big hit. The coleslaw and BBQ seitan was a repeat of the recipe from Veganomicon that we made a week or so ago - still very, very good! We also had grilled corn with this great jerk rub from Cooking Light that I've used for almost a decade now! We also love the Cajun and North African spice rubs, too.
Well, that's it for the weekend's food. We'll be eating leftovers for several days now! Oh, I did make a raw bok choy paneer, from Rainbow Green Live Food Cuisine, my newest acquisition, as recommended by a raw foodist friend. Mr. PLV ate it with some naan and I had it with some brown rice. It wasn't attractive enough for a photo, and was just too rich to eat alone, but it was very, very good! Three, maybe three and a half stars! ***
This past weekend brought a gorgeous bouquet of colorful food into our household. My mango finally ripened enough to give us this Quinoa-Black Bean-Mango Salad, from Veganomicon. With cilantro straight from my garden, I didn't even bother serving it atop lettuce. I cut down on the quinoa, too, although it was perfectly cooked in the rice cooker (the best appliance ever! well, next to my immersion blender...).Three and a half, maybe even four stars **** for this dish. Great flavors, textures, and colors.
Speaking of colors, check out the bold red and brilliant green on this plate! It looks like Christmas except for the heat and humidity (OK, so it has been beautiful these past few days, really). The BBQ Tofu from Veganomicon was even baked, so no one had to stand in front of a hot grill. Except Mr. PLV did, even though it was just for those crispy, tender, grilled rosemary-olive oil new potatoes. No recipe. Just scrub 'em clean, quarter them, toss them with olive oil (extra virgin, as always), grill them for about 20 minutes, then toss them with fresh rosemary, salt and pepper. The best part about this meal? The beans (barely steamed) and potatoes were from CSA pickup #6! Yum, yum, yum. The tofu came out pretty good. You bake it first, then add the sauce and bake a little while longer. The sauce itself (from the recipe) was too spicy for us, and could've been a little sweeter, but while we could add more sugar or molasses, we couldn't extract the spice. We're hoping to use this sauce recipe on some seitan for our cookout on the 4th. Three solid stars for the tofu, four for the whole plate ****.
A day earlier, we (meaning, I) spent some time chopping and then threw this dish together: Basmati-Dill Chickpea-Chard Bake or some equally long name, from, Veganomicon. It was really easy, once you chopped everything, and we used jasmine rice instead of the basmati, with a little extra water, and it came out just fine. In fact, the flavors reminded us both of stuffed grape leaves! The lemon and the greens and the rice and even the occasional chickpeas were like eating grape leaves that had been unraveled. Delish. Three, maybe three and a half stars - needed some help in the heat-spice department. (Did I change to a five stars rating a while back? Because I'm still using the four star rating here.... oh well). 
And, of course, the token garden picture, this time of my beautiful orange-yellow flowering zucchini plants. Unfortunately, I must be the only person on the entire continent who has a hard time growing these things. Last year, the mildew took them. This year, the flowers are opening, but then just dropping clean off the stems! I wonder if they're not being pollinated. I think I might move them near my back garden, although I saw a bee in one flower today. Advice from fellow zucchini growers would be great!
Around here, it feels like summer is just getting started (we had a really cool summer in June and July), so it's hard to believe that we're nearing the end of the season!
Last week, we feasted on a quick meal of vegan gnocchi (most gnocchi is, but Wegman's brand actually had the vegan symbol on it - yay!) with roasted tomatoes and roasted green beans. We had never had roasted green beans before, and they were pretty good! Three stars ***, maybe less - it needed some garlic.
Last week, I also used some of the slew of late-summer corn to make another Sweet Corn Chowder. This time, it was from Ani's Raw Food Kitchen. This was much better than the Rawvolution version, but still needed way more corn. I would double the corn. Nice and fresh and great with the avocado and cilantro! Three stars ***
Another quick, fresh and amazingly delicious meal came from Ani's book last week. This time it was Walnut-Cranberry Squash "Rice." The rice was made by grating a raw butternut squash in the food processor. I would never think of doing that, but it was incredible! Tasted a bit like stuffing. Yum, yum, yum and all raw!! Four stars ****.
It's been a while since I roasted root veggies, but since we got a few from the CSA the previous week, it was time to do something with them before they went bad. Roasting is a great way to use up veggies that are a tad past their prime. This was the Roasted Salad with Roasted Garlic Salad from Veganomicon. Even though it's hot as blazes out there, our central air made it comfy enough to use the oven for all this roasting. I figure, with all the meat I haven't eaten in years, my carbon footprint is already smaller than average (which it really is, I calculated it online) so I can afford a little electricity splurge now and then. And WOW, was this worth it! The roasted garlic makes a creamy, rich dressing, that's not overly garlic at all. And roasted turnips? Woah. Four stars, without reservations! **** Mr. PLV also liked this one, because of the taters.
These Pesto-Stuffed Mushrooms from The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen were also so incredibly good, we're going to make them again this week! I haven't had stuffed mushrooms in a while. I even used local bread (frozen last week) for the breadcrumbs. Wow! Mr. PLV ate almost all of them :) Four stars ****.
Meanwhile, my garden continues to give me a pint to two pints of cherry tomatoes a day. Except for this plant, which I swear came from the same packet! It's giving us these beautiful elongated globes - plum tomatoes! They're not as tasty as the cherry ones, but they do have more substance. Someone said that getting different tomato varieties from the same seed packet is pretty common. Cool!
And, last but not least, THEY'RE BACK! :) Last summer, my "green bean seeds" flourished into melons. This year, three plants came back, even though I didn't really try! One withered in the sun, I tripped on another and accidentally ripped the vine out of the ground...and then there was one. Wonder if it'll taste better than last year? Well, I'm off to continue helping with the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves my father has been working on all week! Happy Early Christmas to me and my books! :)
