Summer is in full bloom and it’s brought along the most beautiful bounty. My kitchen is so full of color and life, I can’t help but photograph it! So here’s a little ‘food porn’, haha, from me to you. Enjoy!

Big Ass Salad (BAS). I’ve been eating *lots* of these! This one featured [organic] crispy crunchy romaine, cucumbers, radishes, red onions, red bells, avocados, carrots, chia seeds, and hemp hearts – tossed in lemon juice, garlic, and olive oil.

Raw Wraps! Stuffed with sunflower seed paté, cucumber, carrot, leeks, and avocados, served with a turmeric tahini dip.

Cinnamon Rolls. I made these for Damian’s first father’s day, and they were very much enjoyed by both him and my father-in-law. I didn’t actually have any, but I’ve made the recipe before and can attest that they are maybe the most delicious, and most naughtiest, breakfast food on the planet. =)

Strawberries! I growed these myself, ain’t they cute? I think this handful went straight into my blender (before I realized Waits reacts to them).

Wakame seaweed salad. This puppy packs something like 50% of my RDA for iron, and about 25% for calcium. I like it with sesame oil, lemon juice, sesame seeds, crispy cucumber, slivered onion, and a side of avocado slices. Mmm delicious!

Black bean and quinoa salad, with onion, tomato, avocado, black olives, and plenty of homegrown cilantro. This is a summer staple, and SO GOOD. Damian scoops it up on organic corn chips; I use it as filling for raw cabbage leaf ‘tacos’.

Remember when I showed you all the cherries that Damian harvested from our tree? Well, this is what I did with them!

For Damian I baked miniature cherry pies. How friggin’ cute is that??!

For myself I made raw chocolate cherry tartlets. Oh. My. God.

Plant Blood! For this veg*n vampire, muahaha. Cucumber-cilantro-celery-watermelon, plus the watermelon rinds (which are really good for you!) My first homemade green juice! Also, can you find my family hiding in this pic? ;-)

Damian bought me a raspberry bush for my first mother’s day. Isn’t that so sweet? This is the first teeny harvest. Harley was very interested . . .

My first batch of kimchi fermenting on the counter. Success! I’ll post a tutorial soon, this stuff is so amazing and crazy good for you!

Raw sushi! With chunky almond paté in place of rice, filled with cucumber, avocado, and red bell pepper. Served with kimchee (store bought).

‘Peanut Butter & Jelly’ green (pink?) smoothie. Such a treat!

This was an amazing farmer’s market stir fry, sublimely simple with sesame, tamari, garlic, and ginger. Featuring snap peas, sweet onions, tempeh, and shiitaki mushrooms. We eat this weekly these days – just had a variation tonight!

I honored the first peaches of the season in this raw tart. The peaches sit on a bed of vanilla cashew cream and are garnished with fresh berries and a generous dollop of raspberry cashew cream. Um, yeah. AMAZING

I’ve been so inspired around food lately, just loving this delicious, health-giving, high-raw fare. I’m coming up on my 2 year Veganniversary, and I’m really feeling so grateful and so delighted to be veg*n! To explore and enjoy such diverse plant-based cuisine, it’s so powerful! Such a positive force in a mindful life.

So what about you? What foods have you been enjoying lately?

Yesterday I shared some photos from a recent Farmer’s Market excursion. Being the Ultimate Food Geek™ that I am, the Farmer’s Market is pretty much my favorite place in the world. Especially this year – I’ve been eating super healthy and super seasonal, and I can feel it energizing every cell in my body! Food is so magical!

And as you know, each week Damian and I choose something special, our ‘ingredient of the week’. Sometimes it’s just something standard that happens to be at the absolute height of its season and thus overflowing with nutrients and irresistible flavors – think blueberries, sugar peas, asparagus, or raspberries! But more often than not we try to select something a bit more unique. Ideally, something we’ve never tried before. As they say, ‘variety is the spice of life‘ . . . and we like or life spicy!





So a few weeks back we waded into the waters of that big and burly bush bean, the fava. Neither of us had ever eaten favas, and I certainly hadn’t cooked with them. Not that I’d let something like that stop me! I did what I always do – I asked the farmers. They began sharing their preparation methods with me, and a few other patrons overheard and jumped in with their favorite techniques, and pretty soon we were in the midst of a full on recipe-swapping fava convention. LOVE IT!

There were tons of great ideas – favas can be enjoyed in so many ways, including raw – but as soon as I heard the words ‘like a hummus’ I knew what I would be doing. I have a deep and undying love of hummus and any excuse to riff on that template is a happy day in the kitchen as far as I’m concerned.

I think dips are an essential warm weather food. A protein-packed dip (like this one) is the perfect dinner for a hot summer night, and it’s a common theme around our house. Simple and seasonal and totally refreshing.


Ingredients:
fresh favas, between 1-2 cups shelled beans

1 medium onion, chopped
2-4 cloves garlic (to preference), chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
splash of cooking wine (I use dry vermouth)

1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh oregano
1 tablespoon fresh thyme

1/2 cup cherry tomatoes
1 ‘heavy’ tablespoon minced parsley
1 tablespoon olive oil





Instructions:
Split the pods and remove all beans. Favas have two layers you have to get through – the outer pod and then a transparent ’skin’ covering each bean. To get this off you need to steam them. 15 minutes or so should do it. Once they’re cooled you can pop them out of their ’skin’.

In a large pan heat the olive oil over medium. Add the chopped onion and sauté until glassy. Add the garlic and the favas, cook a bit more, then deglaze with a splash of wine. Turn the heat to low and simmer a few more minutes.

Transfer the entire contents of the pan to a food processor or blender. Add the lemon juice, olive oil, oregano, and thyme. Blend until smooth. If you need more liquid you can add water or olive oil or lemon juice, whichever your preference. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Chill the dip in the fridge before serving. While it’s cooling down, dice the cherry tomatoes and mince the parsley. Mix these along with the olive oil and use as a garnish atop the dish when you serve.





This is great served as a party dip with sliced veggies (my favorite) or organic corn chips (Damian’s favorite). But you can also make it more ‘meal-like’ by wrapping it up in the vessel of your choice. Flat breads are great for a heavier meal, while cabbage leaves are awesome for something lite and refreshing. Top with avocados for absolute deliciousness!

Damian and I like to start our warm-weather weekends right, with our ritual trip to the Saturday morning Farmer’s Market. We have this ongoing challenge (it begins anew each annual market cycle) where every week, along with all our produce staples, we choose one unique. We try to choose something special and in-season, but it can range from as elementary as boysenberries to as alien as fiddleheads. It’s an awesome game that keeps us excited and trying new things. So far this year we’ve done mustard greens (new favorite!), asparagus, and . . . fennel bulb.

Fennel is a Mediterranean herb that shares a flavor profile with the likes of anise and tarragon. It’s also the secret seasoning in Absinthe!

Truth be told I’m not a huge fan of black licorice and its kin, but fennel is the mellowest of the family and really quite nice. And here it adds an interesting layer to this old stand-by soup. Special thanks to S for inspiring this dish!


Ingredients:
~8 red potatoes

1 fennel bulb
3 celery ribs
3 carrots
1 yellow onion
2-4 of cloves garlic, diced
1 tablespoon olive oil

2 cups green split peas
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon thyme
1 tablespoon basil
8 cups veggie broth or water, more as needed

salt and pepper to taste


Instructions:
Cube the potatoes and spread them in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake at about 350º for about 15 minutes, or until they’ve just developed a bit of a ’skin’.

In the meantime, rough chop all the veggies. Sauté the fennel, mirepoix, garlic, and olive oil in the bottom of a soup pan, until the onions are glassy. Transfer to a food processor or blender and add 2 cups of water/veggie broth. Blend until smooth.

Pour the blended mixture back into the soup pot over medium heat. Add the split peas, spices, bay leaf, and potatoes. Cover with the remaining 6 cups of liquid and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until split peas are very tender (30-40 minutes). Add more liquid if needed.

Season to taste. Serve with fresh cracked black pepper.





Enjoy this last little bit of soup weather, before it’s too hot to even imagine it!

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, because it’s secular, it’s personal, and it’s all about family (and food!). But I know that for a lot of veg*ns, this is a very stressful time of year. It can be hard to hang with the omni relatives, nibbling on lettuce and cranberry sauce and feeling altogether left out. So this year, whether you’re bringing a dish to join in with the family, or creating a whole meal to share with your ‘family’ of friends, you can make sure it’s amazing with these ethical edibles.


Entrées

• If taking on a main course seems overwhelming, never fear – you have options! There’s the ever-prevalent Tofurkey, available at Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, and online. There’s also the amazing Celebration Roast from Field Roast, a soy-free ‘grain meat’ company. This one is a bit harder to find, but it’s often at Whole Foods, and online ordering is always an option.
• For the more adventurous, you can create your own, homemade Un-Turkey. Here’s an awesome seitan roast recipe, and here’s an amazing instructional video.
• I also love the idea of stuffed gourds for Thanksgiving! If you’re fond of traditional flavors, you’ll love this recipe, complete with video, from Compassionate Cooks. But, if you’re into something a bit more exotic, these Moroccan Couscous Stuffed Squashes sound amazing! (just replace the butter with margarine and the chicken broth with veggie stock).
• Finally, I’m super in love with the look of this Celebration Pot Pie With Pumpkin Biscuit Crust from Susan at the FatFree Vegan Kitchen.

Sides

• Stuffing! Mmm, I love stuffing. This Sausage Stuffing looks divine, as does this mouthwatering trio of options.
• Vegan mashed potatoes are really easy – just sub alt milk and Earthbalance™ for dairy milk and butter. But if you’d rather go a non-traditional route, why not trying these Crash Hot Potatoes or Bubble and Squeak Cakes from Vegan Yum Yum.
• And what are potatoes without gravy?! You can find a super simple gravy recipe over at VegWeb, and a slightly more complex mushroom gravy recipe from Isa over at the Post Punk Kitchen. Plus, here’s a gluten free gravy from Book Of Yum.
• Green beans are pretty integral, right? Here’s a few of my favorite dishes I’ve come across: This Green Bean Casserole from the FatFree Vegan Kitchen, and another Green Bean Casserole from Vegalicious.
• And finally, the candied yams (or other such sweet potato delicacy). Another one from Susan at the FatFree Vegan Kitchen, this Pecan Topped Sweet Potato Casserole looks great. And don’t forget, marshmallows aren’t vegan, but you can find incredible Dandies available online here.

Desserts

• The Vegetarian Times offers an easy Pumpkin Pie Recipe.
• Here’s another Pumpkin Pie Recipe, this one soy-free and gluten-free too, woo-hoo!

Whew! That should set you up pretty nicely. Happy Thanksgiving!

I married a serious lentil lover. I think, if he could, Damian would eat this soup 3-5 nights a week. He requests it constantly, and lucky for him it’s an easy make. Unlike a lot of soups, this one comes together in well under an hour. It’s a super-hearty, super-healthy, and many many levels of delicious.


Ingredients:
2 ribs of celery
2 skinny carrots
1/2 yellow onion
2-4 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil

1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon oregano
1 tablespoon basil

1 cup green lentils
1 large tomato, diced
4 cups veggie broth or water, more as needed

handful fresh spinach
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
Dice the veggies and sauté the mirepoix, garlic, and olive oil in the bottom of a soup pan. When onions are glassy, add the bay leaf and spices and continue to sauté another few minutes.

Add the lentils and stir them into the sautéing veggies. Keep stirring them around for about 2 minutes (add more oil if needed). Add the tomato and broth, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for an additional 20ish minutes, until lentils are tender.

Before serving, stir in the spinach and vinegar. Spice as you wish.

Serve steaming in an old chipped mug, with a huge hunk of crusty bread.