Looking at the calendar yesterday I realized that we’re a lot further into November than I’d realized.  That means Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and I’d better start figuring out what I’m going to make!

With that in mind, I thought I’d go through past posts that would be appropriate for the holiday.  Let’s start with appetizers!  (Click on the photos for the original post and recipe.)

APPETIZERS

Hot Artichoke Dip

This Hot Artichoke Dip makes a great holiday appetizer.  It’s really easy to make, so you can spend more time on everything else you’ll be cooking.  It’s also a great dish to make for skeptical non-vegans because it’s creamy, decadent and delicious!

Cheezy Crackers

Cheezy Crackers are another great choice for pre-meal snacking.  They take just a little more effort, but you can make them a day or two ahead of time.  And your guests will be so impressed that you made crackers from scratch that it will be totally worth it!

Marinated Cheeze

Another make ahead dish is this Marinated Cheeze.  It’s so tasty on crackers or crusty bread, and you won’t have to worry about any vampire attacks during your meal since you and all your guests will have plenty of garlic breath perfuming the air.

Pepper-Crusted Cashew Goat Cheese

Since we’re talking cheese (creamy and cheesy seem to be a theme with me…), I have to post my favorite vegan cheese!  This Pepper-Crusted Cashew Goat Cheese does require some advance planning, but it’s so worth it.  It’s not difficult to make, though, so don’t be intimidated by the recipe.  I can also guarantee that it’s a safe bet to serve to non-vegans.  Whenever I make this it disappears almost as fast as I can put it out.

Union Square Cafe’s Bar Nuts

And finally, one of my all-time favorite snacks, The Union Square Cafe’s Bar Nuts.  These are incredibly easy to make, can be made ahead of time and reheated, and are so incredibly tasty.  You can use whatever nuts you like best, and the herbs and seasonings are perfect for Thanksgiving.

Okay, so now that we have a few appetizer ideas, let’s move onto to soup.  Normally I don’t serve soup with my Thanksgiving meal, but I’m thinking about doing it this year.  I have my eye on a cranberry and wild rice soup that I’d like to try out, but any of the following would be perfect on your Thanksgiving table.

SOUP

Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

This soup is sweet, savory and really yummy.  The recipe is a little bit more advanced, but the end flavor is worth the time and effort.

Cauliflower Bisque with Buttered Breadcrumbs

Ummmm… bisque.  This Cauliflower Bisque with Buttered Breadcrumbs is so delicious, and as I look at that photo I’m kicking myself for not making this more often.  Again, this is something you can very confidently serve to non-vegans.

Delicata Squash Bisque

Delicata Squash Bisque is incredibly easy, and one of the best soups I’ve ever tasted.  The quality of the vegetable broth you use is important here, so make sure to use a good one!

Okay, time for the main event.  For me, Thanksgiving is about sides (and it was even when I still ate turkey).  The past couple years I’ve also made a nut roast (two different ones last year) so that it feels like there’s a “main dish.”  Here are some of my favorite sides, along with that tasty nut roast.

THE MAIN EVENT

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Don’t let Roasted Brussels Sprouts scare you.  If you’re afraid of them or have had bad experiences in the past, you have to try cooking them this way, and I promise you’ll feel differently.  These were such a huge hit last year.  They’re another one of those easy dishes that free up your time for the more complicated ones.  And you don’t have to sacrifice any flavor.

Green Bean Casserole

This Green Bean Casserole is one of my favorite dishes.  The recipe is a little more involved, but making this classic dish from scratch is worth it.  I plan to double the recipe this year since it went so quickly last year.

Mashed Potatoes

Of course it wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without Mashed Potatoes, at least for me.  I make a giant pot of these every year, mostly so that there’s enough for me to stuff myself on them.  I mean, let’s just be honest with each other.

“Poultry” Gravy

There’s only one thing that can possibly make mashed potatoes better and that’s…”Poultry” Gravy!  This stuff is magical.  I make a huge batch in the morning and keep it warm in a crock pot.  You have to have plenty for the meal, and extra for the leftovers!

Holiday Nut Roast

The gravy is also amazing on this Holiday Nut Roast.  This is another recipe that takes a bit more work than the others, but that’s what makes it special.  What seems like a very disparate list of ingredients come together to make a perfectly textured savory and delicious roast.  It’s almost like stuffing and a main dish combined.  Definitely worth the effort.

Sweet Potato Casserole

And to transition us to dessert, here’s my favorite Thanksgiving dish – SusanV’s Sweet Potato Casserole.  This is the best sweet potato casserole I’ve ever tasted.  I love having something sweet and spicy to contrast with all the savory foods on my Thanksgiving plate.  It makes for great left-overs too.

Okay, now for the real desserts!  It’s hard to stray from the classics, which for my family were always pumpkin and apple pie.  I was never a huge pumpkin pie fan (although I bet I’d feel differently now), but pumpkin cheesecake is something I can definitely get behind.

DESSERTS!

Pumpkin Patch Cheesecake

This version is creamy, delicious and perfectly pumpkin-y.  It’s also much easier to make than you’d expect.

Easy Refrigerator Cheesecake

If you’re looking for something even easier, this (almost) no-bake cheesecake has you covered.  You do have to bake the crust of this Easy Refrigerator Cheesecake, but it’s still one of the easiest dessert options out there.  It’s almost like pumpkin mousse, and it will definitely impress your non-vegan guests.

Frangipane Pear Crostata

If you want to skip the pumpkin all-together, you could make this Frangipane Pear Crostata.  It takes just a bit more effort than the cheesecakes, but it’s an elegant dessert that’s not too sweet, making it the perfect finale for a rich Thanksgiving meal.

German Apple Cake

While I’m not a huge apple pie fan, I love apple cake!  If you want to switch things up this year you could make this German Apple Cake in place of the pie.

Chocolate Chip Date Cake

Now, I know it isn’t traditional, but this Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake is one of my all-time favorite desserts.  It’s simply delicious.  The flavor and texture are awesome, and it bridges the gap between Thanksgiving and the winter holiday season to come.  You could even make mini-bundts like Jenn over at Cookin’ Vegan.

Hopefully these recipes will help get you started on your vegan Thanksgiving menu, or maybe if you’re not vegan they’ll give you an idea of something to serve your vegan or vegetarian guests.  Now I just need to figure out what my menu is going to be.  What are you guys planning to make for Thanksgiving this year?

It’s been a while since I’ve done any cooking that’s more involved than my beloved Quick Noodles w/ Kale & Tofu or Pasta w/ “Meat” Sauce (I make versions of these weekly), but Ryan’s best friend was in town the other night so I wanted to cook a more substantial dinner.  I’d also been craving some cozy comfort food, so I decided to make some Fried Chicken, Mashed Potatoes w/ Poultry Gravy and Popeyes Biscuits.

I know I’ve posted about these recipes before, but they’re so good that I just had to share this plate with you guys.  This is “last meal” caliber food for me, although I ate way too much and was totally uncomfortable the rest of the night.  Guess I forgot that my stomach is squished by this little girl, so I don’t have as much room as I used to!  Even so, it was definitely worth it.  Just look at this crazy deliciousness…

Do you guys know about Meatless Mondays?  If you’re one of my non-vegan readers, you may not have heard of this campaign, but it’s becoming more and more mainstream, and now even Oprah is in on it.  I’ve been wanting to start a Meatless Monday feature on the blog for a while now, and I’m excited to kick the whole thing off with a brand new C’est La Video!

You may be on board with the idea of going meatless one day a week, but if you’re anything like I was before I became vegetarian, you hear the world “meatless” and imagine a day of carrot sticks for lunch and a boring salad for dinner.  Even with the best of intentions, if you don’t know what to eat, you’re just not going to stick with it.

Add to that the fact that most of us are busy people, and we don’t always have a ton of time to spend in the kitchen at the end of a long work day.  If you’re intimidated by vegetarian food, you’re even less likely to want to cook, and you’re already writing off Meatless Mondays before even giving them a shot.

I want to show you guys that you can have a great meal that will be familiar to you and your family, and it doesn’t have to take a lot of time and work.  I promise you that no one will miss the meat, and even though this meal uses some pre-made products, it’s so much better for you than its non-vegan counterpart.

Is it better to make everything from scratch?  Of course it is, but you certainly don’t have to.  Using pre-made products can be a huge help, and I want to make sure you don’t have any excuses for not going meatless on Mondays!  There are plenty of great all-natural products out there, so just make sure to read those ingredient lists and choose high-quality pre-made foods.

This meal is less of a recipe and more of an assembly.  If I don’t have my favorite garlic bread spread in the fridge, I use the method shown in the video to make some Speedy Garlic Bread.  It’s really tasty, and couldn’t be easier to make.  Use a baguette, ciabatta, or whatever kind of bread you like best.

My favorite recipe for marinara sauce is also really easy to make, but some nights it’s just easier to open a jar.  Who’s with me?  Just make sure the pre-made sauce is meat and dairy free.  And don’t forget to include some veggies to round out this meal.  Some roasted or sauteed broccoli or asparagus would be tasty, but you could also serve a simple side salad like I do in the video.

Shells with “Meat” Sauce

1 pound conchiglie pasta (shells)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 bag of Boca Ground Crumbles
1/4 to 1/2 cup red wine, vegetable broth or water for deglazing the pot
1 26-ounce jar of pre-made marinara sauce (I used Trader Joe’s Tomato Basil Sauce)

Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the pasta.  While the water comes up to a boil, heat a tablespoon or so of olive oil in a pot over medium heat.  Once the pot is heated, add the meatless crumbles and saute.  If they stick to the bottom of the pot, deglaze it with your liquid of choice (I like using red wine.)  Once the crumbles are heated through, add the marinara sauce to the pot, and give it all a good stir.  Cover, and reduce the heat to a simmer.  Stir occasionally.

Once the pasta water is boiling, add a generous “pinch” of salt and the pasta.  Give it a stir, and boil according to the package directions.  Once the pasta is al dente, strain it and add it to the pot with the sauce, stirring well.  Serve with Speedy Garlic bread (recipe follows.)

Speedy Garlic Bread

Sliced Bread (I usually do 2-3 slices per person)
1 whole clove garlic, peeled
Non-dairy Margarine
Vegan Parmesan

Toast, broil or grill the bread.  Cut the top off of the garlic clove, and rub the cut end on the hot bread.  Spread with margarine, and sprinkle with the vegan Parmesan.

Notes: You can use different pasta shapes if you’d prefer, but I like how the shells hold the “meat” sauce.  Don’t worry about using the exact same size jar of sauce – just use something close to that size so that you have enough sauce to coat all the pasta.  If you can’t find Boca Crumbles feel free to use another brand, or you could even cut up a couple veggie burgers.  Just make sure to check the ingredients for dairy or eggs.

In my last Portland post I brought you up to speed on the first couple days of our trip.  Sunday I was in workshops all day for Vida Vegan Con, and as a result, I was totally wiped out that evening.  So we ended up just wandering around the neighborhood near the hotel (which is close to the PSU campus and has this awesome wall painted with book bindings) and stumbled upon Hot Lips Pizza.  They had vegan cheese available, but we actually got a couple different tasty slices that were cheese-free and packed with lots of veggies.  The staff there was unbelievably nice and accommodating, and I can’t recommend this place enough.  It was a perfect quiet Sunday night.

On Monday I finally got to try Homegrown Smoker, which we had for lunch.  I got the eggplant po’ boy sandwich with sweet potato fries, pictured above.  The sandwich was awesome, but the fries weren’t the best that I’ve had, though I’m pretty spoiled on good sweet potato fries here in LA.

Ryan got the Macnocheeto, a burrito that was packed with smoked soy curls, barbecue sauce, beans and mac n’ cheese.  It was insane.  Definitely the best mac n’ cheese I’ve had outside of the New Farm recipe, and I’m picky about my vegan mac n’ cheese!  Ryan had actually eaten the burrito on Saturday while I was at the conference, and he ordered it again on Tuesday before we left for the airport if that gives you any idea how much he loved that thing!

The only downside of Homegrown Smoker was they closed early a couple days, which threw a bit of a wrench in our plans.  We had asked how late they would be open, but when we went over they had closed more than 45 minutes early, which was kind of frustrating.  Their truck is located near the hotel where we stayed, so we at least didn’t have to go out of our way.  Other than that, this place was awesome, and definitely one of the highlights of our trip.

After lunch we headed over to Voodoo Doughnut.  Fortunately we didn’t have to wait too long, though it felt like we did because the guy in front of us was playing terrible music on his cell phone the whole time.  My temper has gotten much shorter as the pregnancy hormones take over (and my temper wasn’t so long to begin with…).  I kept dreaming about grabbing his phone and whipping it into the street.  Thank God there were vegan doughnuts at the end of the rainbow to soothe my agitation.

For some reason I didn’t have super high expectations for these, but they were awesome.  We got two that were creme- filled – the white one with sprinkles and the chocolate one with two white dots (I don’t remember the names of all of them.)  They were dreamy, and we actually liked the long john the best, despite the fact that we only got it off the recommendation of the girl who helped us.  The one with the Oreos, chocolate and peanut butter one top was good, but it almost had too much going on.  The smaller one was a chocolate cake doughnut with peanut butter frosting, and it was our least favorite, thought it was still tasty.

After Voodoo we headed over to Powell’s bookstore for a bit before making the short trek on the train back to the hotel for some rest (man, I miss readily accessible public transportation!).  I definitely found that I wasn’t able to walk as far as I used to pre-pregnancy, so our last days of the trip were definitely slower and packed with lots of down time.  It was kind of nice to be forced to slow down actually.  It made us realize how much we busy ourselves, even when we don’t need to.

One of our favorite parts of the trip turned out to be something that we hadn’t even planned.  We were going to try to head over to the Japanese Gardens before leaving for the airport on Tuesday afternoon.  We asked someone at the front desk of the hotel what the best route would be to get over there, and as we realized that it might not be as easy as we thought, we debated whether or not we wanted to go.  She suggested we check out the Chinese Garden instead, which was closer, though smaller than the Japanese Garden.  She also told us that it had a tea room, which sounded like a pretty appealing way to spend the gray morning.

It turned out to be perfect, and we absolutely loved it there.  We were able to join a tour that had just started, and afterwards we hit the tea house for some drinks and snacks.  I had a white Earl Grey tea, and Ryan had an unfiltered saki.  We got some edamame, which is in the photo above, and it came seasoned with soy sauce, ginger, garlic, five spice powder, nori and sesame seeds.  It made us wonder if we can ever eat regular edamame again, and we definitely want to try to recreate this at home.  We also ordered some veggie dumplings, which we ate too fast to get a photo of.  It was such a beautiful setting, and I highly recommend checking it out if you happen to be in Portland.

We were sad to leave Portland, and we really look forward to heading back there some day.  I’m glad we took a couple extra days so that I could see more of the city.  And speaking of seeing the city, stay tuned for my next post – Ryan shot some cool video while we were up there that I can’t wait to share with you guys!

Ryan and I got to Portland Friday morning, and after an early check-in, some unpacking and map-studying, we hit the ground running.  We started at Hungry Tiger Too and had some nachos and tofufuffalo wings (tofu buffalo wings).  Ryan was able to kick off his craft beer tour of Portland, and I was in heaven with the food and awesome music.

Once we were happily fed we headed over to the vegan mini-mall, where we checked out Herbivore, Sweet Pea Bakery and Food Fight grocery store.  I probably could have spent hours at each place.  We got a Charlie Brown bar from Sweet Pea, which had an oatmeal cookie-ish base topped with creamy peanut butter and chocolate.  I don’t have a photo because we ate it too fast!  We also got a raspberry cheese danish, which was mind-blowingly delicious.  We saved that one for Saturday morning…

After checking out the mini-mall we headed back to the hotel so that I could take it easy before the VegNews sponsored meet and greet for Vida Vegan Con.  I popped in for some cupcakes and sparkling cider, and then Ryan and I headed out to Portobello.

Our anniversary was last week, and we figured we’d celebrate with a nice dinner in Portland.  Portobello was highly recommended, and I’m so glad it was!  We had an amazing meal in the “Bliss Booth”, which was this awesome little booth tucked away in back and painted to make you feel like you were in an enchanted forest.

It was a little dark so we didn’t get any shots of the food, but it was spectacular.  We split some focaccia with olive oil for dipping to start.  It may sound simple, but it was some of the best bread I’ve ever had.  The best part was the salt on top, which I’ll definitely be copying next time I make homemade bread.

Ryan got the gnocchi, which came with an assortment of veggies (the three sisters to be exact).  The gnocchi was perfect and Ryan described the dish as being “like a garden in your mouth – in a good way.”  It was pretty outstanding.  I got a dish that had thin slices of portobello atop a mushroom duxelle, polenta and braised greens.  The whole thing was topped with an Italian green salsa sauce.  It was rich and delicious, and it made me want to curl up in front of a fireplace.  And for dessert – tiramisu!  I was so stuffed that I was in pain afterwards, but I think the baby liked it because there was plenty of dancing and kicking after the meal.

I was in Vida Vegan Con workshops on Saturday, but Ryan went to check out the PSU Farmers’ Market, where he took the beautiful shot below and bought us some tasty cherries and a seeded baguette to snack on in the room.

After checking out that market he headed out to another one, the Saturday Farmers’ Market.  He got some jam for our neighbor who watched Omar for us, and he also got me a pair of earrings that I love so much I’ve worn them everyday.  Of course it was time for him to continue his beer tour of Portland too.  Even before getting pregnant I wasn’t a huge beer drinker, but I have to say that the pint below looks pretty enticing…

But as amazing as his day sounds, I can’t complain that I wasn’t with him.  While he was at the market I was in Fran Costigan’s chocolate desserts demonstration at Whole Foods, and I’m still dreaming about the chocolate cake that she made.  It was insane.  The baby loved it so much that I had to have two pieces, after I made sure everyone had already had a slice, of course.  It was all a great start to the trip, and more on what else we did in my next post!

We had some friends over for dinner this past weekend, and I thought it would be fun to make breakfast for dinner.  Fortunately, they were totally up for it, and not even knowing that we were planning on making mimosas, they brought me some non-alcoholic champagne!  Needless to say, I was very happy about that.  Thanks, Kevin and Denise!

I made Mom’s Morning Casserole from “Vegan Brunch.”  I’ve had my eye on that recipe for a while now, and I was happy to have an excuse to finally try it out.  I opted to make the cheezy sauce instead of using vegan cheese for the topping.  The sauce didn’t really thicken up (and that was after cooking it for way longer than what was called for), but it still tasted really yummy.  Fortunately the consistency wasn’t a huge deal since you pour it over the top anyway.  The casserole was surprisingly easy to make, and it was really tasty – the perfect savory breakfast flavor.

On the side I served toasted homemade bread with an assortment of jams.  Making the bread was actually MUCH easier than I thought it would be, and having fresh bread is pretty fantastic.  Is it wrong that the toast was my favorite part?  I used this recipe (thanks, Alix!).  I actually made the dough last weekend and had some left-over in the fridge, so all I had to do was let it rest and bake it off.  I know most people are already hip to that recipe and ones like it, but it was new to me, and dare I say, kind of life changing?

Dessert was coffee cake that I made from a Trader Joe’s mix and some teeccino.  I reduced the amount of margarine in the crumb topping for the cake, and I thought it turned out better than the last time I’d made it.  And yes, I totally cheated by using a mix, but I just don’t have the stamina I used to!  I’ll gladly take the help where I can get it.

Our friends aren’t vegan, but they really enjoyed the food.  It was fun to make something different than your standard dinner fare, and I’ll definitely be making that casserole again – for breakfast or dinner.

Alix and I threw another Moveable Feast last Saturday, and we were lucky enough to hold the event at this amazing location!  We’re so grateful to the homeowners for hosting the event.  It was the perfect setting for our Spanish-themed menu.

Here’s a shot of Alix photographing the sangria.  I didn’t get a ton of pictures of the food, but Alix posted a bunch of fantastic shots on her blog.  We’re in the process of picking our next date and theme right now, so if you have any requests we’d love to hear them!

You can contact us through veganfeast@gmail.com and follow us on twitter, and you can always schedule your own private Moveable Feast.  Also, if you’d be up for hosting a feast, your dinner will be free!

We’re also talking about scheduling some lower-cost meals and events to try to involve more of the community and those who might not be able to justify a pricey meal.  So stay turned for more info!

Ryan and I have a few go-to meals for nights like these, and Quick Noodles with Kale & Tofu is one of our favorites.  It’s easy to sub whatever ingredients you happen to have on hand, it comes together in no time, and it’s really nourishing.  Most importantly though, it tastes fantastic!

Feel free to make this your own by substituting your favorite greens, adding other veggies, changing up the sauce or even the protein that you use.  If you’re not a fan of pre-baked tofu, you can of course marinate your own, or use tempeh or seitan in its place.  And feel free to use whatever noodles you like best.  I’ve also used ramen and soba, but I find that I like somen the best in this dish.

For this version, I use a sauce that’s just slightly adapted from “The Vegan Table” by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau (a really great cookbook that I highly recommend.)  I’ve adjusted the amounts of each ingredient to my taste, and feel free to do the same once you make this.

Quick Noodles with Kale & Tofu

1 bunch kale
1 package somen noodles
about 1 tablespoon canola oil
1 package pre-baked seasoned tofu
1/4 cup creamy all-natural peanut butter
2 – 4 tablespoons organic sugar
1/3 – 1/2 cup lime juice
1/4 soy sauce
pinch red pepper flakes

Fill a large pot with water, and place it over high heat to boil.

While the water is boiling, trim the kale, cut or tear it into bite-sized pieces, and give it a good wash.  Set aside.

Prepare the sauce by combining the peanut butter, sugar, lime juice, soy sauce and red pepper flakes in a medium-sized bowl.  Adjust seasonings to taste, and set aside.

Heat canola oil in a skillet over medium to medium-high heat.  Dice up the tofu, and toss it into the pan.  Saute it until the pieces are golden and crispy.  Set aside.

By now your water should be boiling.  Add the kale and boil it for about 4 to 5 minutes.  Add the somen noodles and boil for 2 minutes more, or until they’re cooked through.  Drain the kale and noodles in a strainer, and return them to the pot.  Add your sauce, and toss to coat the kale and noodles.  Add the tofu, and gently toss to distribute it.  Serve immediately, and refrigerate any left-overs.

Notes: Use whatever tofu flavor you like best – I used teriyaki for this.  You could also use crunchy peanut butter for a bit more texture.  This will work with any kind of noodles.  You can even use angel hair or spaghetti – just make sure to adjust the boiling time in accordance with the kale.  I give a range for the amount of sugar to use, and I’ve made this using both more and less.  It’s up to you how much to add, and I think it tastes great either way.  I used Shoyu for this, which I find to be stronger than soy sauce.  If you use a low-sodium soy sauce you may need to add a bit more.

I know they’re not good for you, but man were they worth it.  Popeyes Biscuits were one of my weaknesses, and the other day I started thinking about them and couldn’t get them out of my mind.  I figured there had to be a way to make a vegan version, and with the fantastical world wide web a quick search yielded a plethora of recipes to choose from.

I was pretty stunned at how easy these were to make.  Like the original version though, they’re definitely not health food.  But man, are they still worth it!  I was also kind of doubtful that four ingredients could combine to replicate the exact buttery flavor and tender texture of real Popeyes Biscuits, but they did.  My mind was seriously blown.  It’s kind of dangerous that these are so easy to make.  I’m really gonna have to hold myself back from making them way too often…

The recipe below is a combination of recipes and directions that I found online.  Enjoy!

Vegan Popeyes Biscuits

2 cups Bisquick (make sure you get a vegan version)
4 ounces vegan sour cream
3 ounces Club soda
2 – 4 ounces vegan margarine

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Brush some melted margarine in the bottom of a round cake pan [see Notes].  Mix the Bisquick, vegan sour cream and club soda together in a large bowl.  Sprinkle some Bisquick on your counter or board to keep the dough from sticking.  Dump the dough out and pat it down by hand until it’s about 1/2-inch thick.  Cut out rounds with a biscuit cutter, and place them into your “buttered” cake pan.  Brush the tops with some of the melted margarine.

Bake them for 7 to 10 minutes, or until golden.  Just before the biscuits are done, brush the tops with more melted margarine, and let them finish baking.

Notes: I used a 9-inch cake pan, but had an extra biscuit that I ended up baking in a smaller pan.  I’d use a larger cake pan, or even a larger square pan.  You don’t have to use as much margarine as the recipe calls for, but you can also save these for special occasions and splurge.  Besides, didn’t you want to  buy some bigger jeans anyway?

Ryan and I were invited to a birthday potluck over the weekend, and since I had to work on Saturday, I wanted to make something that wouldn’t be too complicated, but that would still be really tasty.  I’ve been wanting to try this recipe for a while, and it turned out to be the perfect thing: easy to make, seasonal, and no oven required (although I did broil the slices of bread, but that only took a minute or two).

I’m so glad I finally tried this recipe.  It was so tasty, and it’s definitely a perfect summer dish.  I look forward to making it with really juicy heirloom tomatoes – the ones I was able to get weren’t quite as ripe as I would have liked.  I also love that you can use whatever kind of bread and herbs you like, and you can customize the vinaigrette to your taste as well.

I followed the recipe as it was written, but I look forward to experimenting with this dish.  I have a feeling this one will be in the regular rotation!  What are you favorite no-cook summer recipes?