Okay, right off the bat I have to tell you that yours truly took the above photo.  I don’t think I’m anywhere near Ryan’s level yet (although in my defense, he has been doing it for over fifteen years and happens to be amazingly talented), but I think I’m off to a good start!  He’s been giving me some photography lessons of late so that I can eventually take over as he’s getting busier and busier with work.

So, onto the food!  One of my favorite summer dishes is a simple potato and green bean salad with a vinaigrette dressing.  You know me and potatoes… it’s hard for me to not like anything even associated with them.  Green beans were one of the only vegetables I used to eat, so they’re a favorite as well.  You can use any type of green bean here, but I prefer thin haricots verts.

There was a feature on ways to use a basic vinaigrette in the magazine Real Simple years ago.  I copied the pages from my Mom’s issue and made that version many times over the years.  For some reason I always misplace the recipe, but I’ve made it so many times that now I just improvise.  The original calls for lemon juice, but you can play with different vinegars and use whatever you have on hand.  I think the original called for honey as well, so I use agave nectar instead.

This salad would be perfect to bring to a picnic or barbecue, or just to have alongside a sandwich for a nice lunch.  I also sometimes add bac’un bits or tempeh fakin’ bacon if I feel like it.  I didn’t this time, but it’s a nice addition that makes the flavor a little more hearty.

Green Bean Potato Salad with Shallot Vinaigrette

10 ounces green beans
20 ounces baby potatoes
1 medium shallot, minced
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons agave nectar
2 teaspoons minced chives
2 teaspoons minced tarragon
salt & pepper, to taste

Wash the potatoes and cut them in half.  If they’re large you can quarter them.  Put the potatoes in a pot and cover with fresh water.  Add a pinch of salt and bring to a boil.  Once they’re easily pierced and slide off the knife or fork used to test them, drain them and put them in a large bowl.

While the potatoes cook, you can either steam or boil the green beans.  Tip and tail them, and slice them into about 1 to 1 1/2-inch lengths.  Make sure they’re cooked enough to not be squeaky (this drives me crazy!), but not so much that they aren’t overcooked and mushy.  I just keep tasting them to make sure they’re the texture I like.  Drain them, and add them to the bowl with the potatoes.

For the vinaigrette, mince the shallot and add it to a small bowl.  Pour the white wine vinegar over the shallot, stir, and let the mixture set for a couple of minutes.  Add the olive oil in a thin stream while you whisk, and then add the mustard and agave nectar.  Whisk the vinaigrette well to incorporate everything, and add salt and pepper  to taste.

Pour the dressing over the hot potatoes and green beans, and toss to coat.  This will keep well in the fridge over night, but it’s best served at room temperature.

Notes: If you don’t have fresh herbs you can use dry.  Just start by adding 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon dry and add more to taste if needed.  You can also use other herb combinations, or just leave them out altogether.  Don’t worry about have exactly the measurements listed – I just used those because they happened to be the amounts I grabbed at the farmers market.  You can always double the vinaigrette if you need to, or save some of it for a different salad if you have too much.

I came across these gorgeous miniature eggplants at the Farmers’ Market yesterday morning and just couldn’t resist them. I’ve never had them before and had no idea what I was going to do with them, but I knew I could probably figure something out.  You might not be able to tell from the photo, but each of these eggplants is smaller than a regular sized egg.

I didn’t want to loose the beautifully colored skin of the little eggplants, so I thought I might grill them with the skins on.  When I also found this beautiful purple basil at the same market stand (which I’ve also never cooked with), I figured that just like the eggplant, basil is basil regardless of the size and color, and it would be perfect chopped and sprinkled over the grilled eggplant along with a squeeze of lemon juice.

Then I realized it might be really tasty to make a lemon basil pesto and serve everything bruschetta style on some toasted baguette slices.  Of course I never need an excuse to make basil pesto.  It’s definitely one of my favorite things, and I love that it’s as easy as throwing everything into the food processor.  I was really interested in seeing how the pesto would turn out with this purple basil as the base.

I’m happy to say that it was super tasty.  Pesto is so good that everything it touches is delicious.  Spread on some toasted garlic-rubbed bread and topped with little slices of grilled eggplant, it was the perfect summer afternoon snack.  It’s impressive enough to serve to guests, but simple enough that you won’t be slaving in the kitchen.  And if you have an outdoor grill, even better – your kitchen will stay cooler, which is always a plus in the hot summer months.

Baby Eggplant Bruschetta with Purple Pesto

8-10 baby eggplants
3 cups loosely packed purple basil
3 tablespoons raw pine nuts, divided
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
3 cloves garlic, divided
large pinch of gray salt
juice from half a lemon
2 1/2 – 3 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 baguette, sliced
1 tablespoon chopped Italian parsley

Wash and slice the eggplant, and either spray or brush the slices with olive oil.  Cook them over high heat on a stove-top grill pan, or on a traditional grill.  Set aside.  While the pan is still hot, grill the slices of bread, and set aside to cool slightly.  (I sprayed the slices with olive oil, but you don’t have to.)  Peel one of the cloves of garlic, and slice off the top.  Rub the garlic on one side of each of the bread slices once they’re cool enough to handle.

Put the basil, remaining 2 cloves of garlic, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, salt, 2 tablespoons pine nuts and 1 tablespoon olive oil in the bowl of a food processor, and process until a rough paste forms.  Stop the machine, scrape the sides and taste the pesto.  You might need to add more lemon juice, olive oil or salt.

Toast the remaining tablespoon of pine nuts in a small saute pan, carefully watching to make sure they don’t burn.  To assemble, spread each slice of bread with some of the pesto and top with a couple slices of the grilled baby eggplant.  Sprinkle with a tiny bit of salt, the toasted pine nuts, chopped parsley and a drizzle of olive oil.  You can also garnish these with some small leaves of purple basil.

Notes: You can use this pesto as you would regular green pesto – we had the rest of it with some gnocchi for dinner.  If you can’t find purple basil, this would also work with regular green basil.  If baby eggplants are not available where you live, you can substitute 1 small globe or one large Japanese-style eggplant.  I also found that the baby eggplants were just a little bit bitter.  I hadn’t salted them, because I figured since they were so small they wouldn’t need it.  Not sure if any of you have experience cooking with them, but if you do, I’d love to hear how you prep them, and if they’re normally bitter at that size.

Never heard of zebra potatoes before?  Neither had I, until Ryan found these at the Hollywood Farmers’ Market.  We couldn’t resist picking some up to experiment.  Of course you never have to twist my arm to try a new variety of potato!

These look like a mix between a red potato and a Yukon gold.  I’m not sure what they’re actually a mix of, but they had a great texture and flavor reminiscent of those two types of potato.  I chose to mash them, but since they look just like any other potato once peeled, I think that next time I’d roast them, keeping the skins on so you can still see the mix of colors.

I paired these up with some gardein chick’n scallopini and roasted asparagus, one of my favorite combos. The recipe for the scallopini is right on the bag, but in case you’d want to make this with some other meat substitute, here are the basics…

You start by dredging the cutlets in flour before pan frying.  Once they’re golden brown, remove them to a plate and add some wine or veggie broth to deglaze the pan, or in non-cook-speak – scrape up all the yummy bits that are stuck to the pan.  Once the liquid has boiled and reduced a bit, add some capers, some margarine and some lemon juice.  I just eye-ball all the amounts and keep tasting and stirring until I get it just right.  Add the cutlets back to the pan to coat them in sauce and serve.

The asparagus is even easier.  I just give it a wash and a snap that removes the woody lower part of the spear, toss with some olive oil and salt & pepper, and roast the whole thing in a 425 degree oven on a parchment-lined baking sheet.  I stir them after about 10 minutes and cook for maybe ten more minutes, maybe less, depending on how thick they are.

I love mashed potatoes so much that they get their own post, although I prepped these a little differently because I had some cashew cream on hand that I used in place of non-dairy milk.  They won’t help you fit into your jeans, but they’re worth the extra exercise!

I’ve been dying to try morel mushrooms for so long now, but I’ve never been able to find them in the past. When I realized it was finally morel season, I became obsessed with finding some.  The only place I’ve found them so far is at the Hollywood Farmers’ Market, but I’ve read that they’re also at some markets in Santa Monica.  I bought a large handful, partly because they’re pretty expensive, and also because I was a little worried they wouldn’t be able to live up to the hype, and I didn’t want to go all in if that was the case.

The first thing I did after getting them home was look online for recipes and prep information.  Some sites said they needed to soak in salt water before cooking, and others said the worst thing you can do is soak them in water, because it dilutes the flavor.  Mine were pretty small and seemed clean enough, so I just wiped them a bit.  Soaking fresh mushrooms just seems wrong to me, but maybe some of you have more experience with morels and can lend some insight…

I decided to go with a simple preparation so that I could really experience the flavor and texture of the morels on their own.  Mine were pretty small, but I still sliced them in half so that more surface area would get coated in “buttery” and salty goodness.  I tossed them with a little white rice flour (one of the recipes I came across said this would yield a more crispy result), and then pan fried them until golden in some Earth Balance margarine.  I finished them off with a little sprinkling of Maldon sea salt.

Then came the moment of truth – the tasting.  For me, they totally lived up to the hype.  I love the flavor of mushrooms, but I can sometimes be picky about the texture.  A huge, soggy portobello just doesn’t do it for me.  I prefer when the mushrooms are cut smaller and really caramelized.  The flavor of the morels was amazing, and the texture was even better.  They were firm, and even a little chewy, but not in a rubbery way. I could happily eat platefuls of them.  Now I’m even more obsessed, so if any of you are morel fans and have favorite recipes, send them my way!

I sometimes forget how great a simple salad can be.  This one is from Janet Fletcher’s “Fresh From the Farmers’ Market”, and I used a mix of baby escarole and frisee lettuces.  Combined with the shallot vinaigrette, avocados, and oranges, this salad is full of different textures and flavors, all of them fantastic.  It calls for naval oranges, but when I saw our market had blood oranges – which I think are perfect for salads because of their beautiful color – I grabbed them up to use alongside the regular naval oranges.

I have a real soft spot for blood oranges.  The first time I had one was in Barcelona, Spain.  I studied abroad in London my senior year, and during our spring break, my dear friend, Lindsay, and I traveled around Europe together.  Lest you think it was some extravagant and lavish trip, let me dispel that image.  We did the trip on the cheap, often sleeping on trains or staying in less-than-glamorous hostels.  We lugged our backpacks all over the place and ate as much street food as we could get our hands on.

In Brussels we had a real Belgian waffle chock full of pearl sugar from a street vendor, and we still talk about that waffle to this day.  We spent almost a full day in cold, rainy Austria eating pastries in a cafe.  And don’t even get me started on Italy… One of our goals was to eat gelato at least twice a day while we were there, and at least three times on our last day.  I clearly wasn’t vegan at the time!

The whole trip really revolved around food for us, and during our brief stop in Barcelona, we were directed to the Boqueria Market where we bought some blood oranges.  I’d never seen them before, and I thought they looked and tasted amazing.  Every time I see a blood orange, I think of Lindsay and of that trip, one of the best of my life.  I so vividly remember all of the food we ate and all of the little adventures we had along the way.

On Saturday I presented a dessert demonstration at Animal Acres’ Compassionate Cooking Extravaganza, and I had the chance to see a couple of the other presenters including Rod Rotondi, founder of Leaf Cuisine and author of “Raw Food for Real People”.  His presentation about raw foods was extremely informative.  In particular, I really appreciated that he made the whole thing seem so approachable as I’ve definitely been intimidated by some raw food recipes in the past.  Rod taught us how to make this kale salad, and I was really excited to try it at home.

I used one bunch of kale, pulling the leaves off the stems by running my thumb nail down them (one of my favorite tips from the presentation – so much easier than how I’d been cutting out the stems!).  I washed up the leaves in my salad spinner, and then tore them into teeny pieces.  I added the juice of about two lemons, sea salt and some avocado.  (I say “some” avocado because the two I had were not in their prime, and I had to cut away lots of bad parts.  Rod’s version had plenty, and it was really creamy and delicious.)  Then you just mash everything together and massage the “dressing” into the kale leaves.  I added some chopped raw almonds for some added texture and flavor.

This couldn’t have been easier to make, and it was really tasty.  It also makes a lot of salad, which is nice because it only tastes better the next day – I’m having it for lunch as I write this!

I love artichokes, but I so rarely buy them fresh.  Maybe it’s because I think it’ll be too much work to prep and steam them.  Once I do it though, I realize that it really isn’t that hard, and it’s so worth it.  They’re delicious, and they’re also really fun to eat.

I’d been thinking about Easter recipes, which for me means spring recipes, and when I saw artichokes at the farmers’ market I thought they’d be the perfect thing to kick off an Easter meal.  They have that special occasion feel, but they don’t require a ton of work since the majority of their preparation time is spent in the steamer.

Steamed Artichokes with Tangy Dipping Sauce
serves 4

4 medium to large artichokes
1 lemon

Prepare a steamer large enough to hold the artichokes.  Cut the lemon rind off the lemon, and put the rind into the water in the base of the steamer.  Cut the lemon in half.

Cut the stems off of the artichokes so that they stand upright, and pull any small leaves off the bottom.  Rub the cut stem area with a lemon half.  Cut about 1 1/2-inches off the top of the artichoke, and again, rub with the lemon half.  With a pair of kitchen scissors, trim the tips off of the remaining leaves.  Don’t worry about cutting to much off since the part you want is at the base of the leaf.  Rub the cut leaves with the lemon, and put the lemon halves into the water with the lemon rind.  (You can measure out 2 tablespoons of juice for the dipping sauce before you add them to the pot.)

Once the water is boiling, stand your artichokes in the steamer, stem side down.  Steam them for 45-55 minutes, depending on their size.  If they aren’t uniform in size, make sure to check the smaller ones sooner. You can tell when they’re done by pulling on a leaf.  If it pulls away easily, they’re ready to go.  You can also double check by inserting a knife into the base of the artichoke to make sure there’s no give.  Serve with Tangy Dipping Sauce (recipe follows).

Tangy Dipping Sauce

3/4 cup vegan mayo
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons capers
1 tablespoon chopped shallot
1 tablespoon loosely packed fresh parsley
1/8 tsp salt (or to taste)

Combine all the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor or blender, and puree.  Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed.  You can always start with half the amount of lemon juice or capers and add more to taste.  This is also a really good with carrots or other raw vegetables.

Recently Chicago Soy Dairy put a challenge out to vegan bloggers to come up with some unique ways to use Teese, their vegan version of cheese.  They’d send some complimentary Teese your way, and asked that in return you’d find a fun way to use it and post about it on your blog.

I’m a big fan of Chicago Soy Dairy.  I use their Dandies marshmallows in a couple of products for C’est La V, and I’ve enjoyed Temptation non-dairy ice cream when I’ve been back home.  (And of course, being a Chicago girl, I can’t help but love a vegan company that’s headquartered there!)  I was really excited about this challenge because the only flavor of Teese that I’d had a chance to try was the cheddar, but I’ve been dying to try the others.

The one thing that I found difficult about this challenge was coming up with something “different” to use the mozzarella in. Honestly, I’m so tired of not being ably to make recipes that call for mozzarella (like pizza, lasagna, etc. – the exact things that are so overdone when it comes to Teese), that it was hard to not just go hog wild making things that I normally am not able to.

But I did want to try to honor what they were asking for, so I went to one of my favorite sources of Italian recipes (which you have to do when dealing with mozzarella, if you ask me!), Michael Chiarello.  Now if you saw the “vegan” episode of Top Chef, you might have a low opinion of him since he was so totally stumped on what to make.  The irony for me is that I love his food and cookbooks, and I’ve easily vegan-ized many of his recipes.  He also has plenty of recipes that happen to be vegan already, like his marinara sauce, which is my absolute favorite and my go-to tomato sauce.

I looked through his recipes and found these Potato Cakes with Mozzarella and Pesto.  The only adaptation needed to make these vegan was using Teese instead of dairy mozzarella, and making sure to use a dairy-free pesto – I like the non-dairy pesto from Basiltops.  I thought these might be difficult to make, but they really weren’t.  They’re just a bit fussy, and you have to be careful because the potato cakes are very delicate.  I found these to be pretty hearty – maybe it was all that olive oil!  But if you’re a potato fan, which I am, these are pretty awesome.

So how was the Teese?  It was so good in these!  It added a nice amount of flavor and salt, and I think I would definitely add more to the middle of the cakes next time.  I ended up broiling the Teese on top because it was taking a while to melt in the oven, but you could probably just put them in at a higher heat and it would melt just fine.

Stay tuned to see what else I made with my Teese!

Whenever I get my new issues of Vegetarian Times or VegNews in the mail, the first thing I do is check out all the recipes and mark what I want to try.  Unfortunately I usually forget all about them in the chaos of Saturday baking, and then I find myself at our Farmers’ Market booth on Sunday with no meal plan or list of ingredients that I need to buy.

I’m trying to be better about that, and this past week I actually brought my Vegetarian Times with me so I could make a list once our booth was set up.  It helped that I knew it was going to be a busy week, and I really only needed to plan two dinners.  I thought I’d try this soup for one of them, since it seemed easy to make and I love me some good, creamy soup!

If you like Artichokes, you’ll love this soup.  The garlic and leek flavors come through, but not nearly as strong as the artichoke flavor.  I did use an extra two ounces of artichokes, but I think even without that they’d be the most predominant flavor.  We ate this with toasted sourdough bread that we spread with Earth Balance, and it made for a really nice (and light) warming dinner.

Garlicky Leek and Artichoke Soup
Serves 6 / Gluten Free

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium leeks, white parts chopped (2 cups)
9 cloves garlic, peeled
2 cups vegetable broth
2 cups water
1 10-oz. package frozen artichoke hearts, thawed OR 2 9.9-oz. jars water-packed artichokes hearts, rinsed and drained
2 medium boiling potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces (3/4 cup)
6 fresh thyme sprigs
2 teaspoons lemon juice
6 tablespoons prepared basil pesto

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add leeks and garlic, and saute 5 minutes, or until leeks are softened and translucent.  Add broth, artichokes, potatoes, thyme and 2 cups water; cover, and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium-low; season with salt and pepper and simmer, partially covered for 20 to 25 minutes, or until potatoes and garlic are very tender.

Remove thyme sprigs, and strip remaining thyme leaves into soup pot.  Transfer soup to blender or food processor, and blend until smooth.  Return to pot and stir in lemon juice.  Taste again for seasoning, and add more salt and pepper if needed.  Ladle soup into bowls, and garnish each with 1 tablespoon pesto.

Notes: I used frozen artichokes for this, and probably a little bit more leek and potato than called for.  The measurements don’t have to be exact by any means.  I also used a bouillon cube instead of prepared broth. For the pesto I used dairy-free pesto from Basiltops, and if you don’t have any pesto don’t let that stop you from making this.  It’s good on it’s own too!

Neither my husband nor I are really into Valentine’s Day.  We’ve done some fun stuff in the past and some years decide to do gifts, but the idea of going out for dinner on one of the busiest nights of the year just doesn’t appeal to us.  Why does it have to be that one night when we can go any other night of the year, and actually be able to get a table?  Whether or not you love the holiday, a nice meal at home can’t be beat.  I thought I would plan out a three-course Valentine’s Day meal that’s not too complicated, but still feels special.

I wanted to come up with a meal that used a lot of foods known for their aphrodisiac qualities (more on that in the next post), and foods that my husband and I actually like.  I love mushrooms – but only when they’re prepared certain ways.  Raw mushrooms in salads or things like that?  Not my thing.  A giant, soggy portobello that some places try to pass off as a “burger”?  Not so much.  But a mushroom that is caramelized just right and not at all spongy is right up my alley.

My husband on the other hand likes the taste of mushrooms, but he can’t stand the texture at all.  If I cook with them, they need to be chopped into tiny, tiny pieces or pureed.  Many a time he’s leaned over a steaming pot and said, “You’re gonna puree all that right?” even when I think I’ve chopped everything small enough.

I’d seen this soup in the February issue of Vegetarian Times and made a mental note that I really wanted to try it.  The idea of a rich and creamy soup seemed perfect for the holiday, and since everything is pureed, I figured it would go over well.

If you like the taste of mushrooms, you have to make this soup.  It’s super flavorful and incredibly smooth and velvety.  I think it would be a great starter for a meal with your honey, or with friends, or just for yourself if you’re flying solo on Valentine’s Day.

I’ll definitely be making this more often than just for special occasions.  There are several steps involved, but it’s by no means difficult to make.  And the payoff is really worth it.

Creamy Mushroom Soup from Vegetarian Times Magazine
Serves 6

1 oz. mixed dried mushrooms [I used porcini and shitake]
1 1/2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt divided
8 oz. fresh mushrooms, such as cremini or white button, chopped [I used cremini]
1/2 cup finely chopped shallot
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 clove garlic, minced (1 tsp.)
1/2 cup sherry
1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup soy creamer [I used unsweetened MimicCreme]

Place dried mushrooms in a medium bowl.  Cover with 2 cups hot water, and let stand 30 minutes.  Drain mushrooms, reserving soaking liquid.  Bring soaking liquid and broth to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Cover, and keep warm.

Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons oil in large saucepan over medium heat.  Add rehydrated mushrooms and 1/4 teaspoon salt; saute 2 minutes, or until mushrooms are tender.  Transfer mushrooms to a plate or small bowl, and set aside.

Heat remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons oil in same saucepan over medium heat.  Add fresh mushrooms, shallot, pepper, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt; cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently.  Add garlic, and cook 30 seconds, or until fragrant.  Increase heat to medium-high, and stir in sherry.  Simmer 3 minutes, or until liquid is reduced by half.  Whisk flour into broth mixture.  Stir broth mixture into mushroom mixture, and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 30 minutes.

Transfer soup to a blender or food processor, and puree until smooth.  Return soup to pot; stir in creamer and reserved rehydrated mushrooms, reserving a few for garnish, if using.

Notes: I pureed the rehydrated mushrooms along with the rest of the soup, and just saved a few for garnish. If you decide to leave them whole and just stir them in, I would recommend you saute them for longer than 2 minutes.  I couldn’t find sherry, so I used Madeira instead, and it worked just fine.  And if you’re avoiding wheat, I imagine you could leave out the flour and the soup would still be creamy and delicious.