What can I say, it’s soup season right? So bring on the soup! And this one’s got ’seasonal’ down to a science, perfect for harvest potatoes, autumn apples, and of course, the rocket. I grew some garden rocket myself this year (you may know it as arugula, or roquette) but it couldn’t weather the summer’s heat. Maybe you’re growing a patch in your fall garden?

Regardless of whether it’s all store-bought or farmer fresh, this simple soup will certainly hit the spot. With a slight arugula spice, a nip of apple tart, and a heart that’s anchored in taters, you really just can’t go wrong. This is a seasonal celebration soup, so ladle up a bowl while you contemplate the awesomeness of autumn. And enjoy!


Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 medium potatoes, cubed
1 yellow onion, diced
2 stalks celery
2 cloves garlic, pressed or finely diced
1 tart apple (I used a lovely organic granny smith)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
3 cups veggie broth + 1 cup water
1/4 cup dry sherry or vermouth

1 pinch nutmeg
1 teaspoon thyme (or 2 teaspoons fresh)
1 teaspoon oregano (or 2 teaspoons fresh)
1 pinch ginger

1 teaspoon agave
2 cups tight packed shredded arugula leaves, stems removed

salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Homemade vegetable stock

Instructions:
Heat the olive oil in a deep skillet, and add the potato, onion, celery, and garlic. Sauté the veggies until the onions soften, about 5 minutes. Add the apple, lemon juice, stock, booze, and spices. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the agave and arugula and continue simmering until the potatoes are soft, about 10 minutes. Transfer half the soup to a blender and puree, or use an immersion blender to blend in the skillet (don’t overdo it! you want those chunks)





Salt and pepper to taste, and garnish with fresh arugula, fresh thyme, or vegan bacon bits. Revel in the season!

First burritos and now enchilada sauce – I’m on a Mexican kick these days! I suppose it makes sense, since I associate Latin flavors with hot weather and carefree evenings. Nothing says summer quite like guacamole and pico de gallo . . . except maybe a mezcal margarita!

I’ve always loved enchiladas, but gave them the boot after reading the back of the canned sauces (think sugar, preservatives, and MSG, for starters). But I missed them too much, and so early this summer I set about testing recipes. And you know what? Enchilada sauce is actually really simple to make.

To me, red sauce always tasted like nothing else did, so I figured it had to have some strange exotic additive, some odd ingredient that would make it impossible to master. But . . . nope. It’s just aromatics, stock, tomatoes, and chilis. And it’s easy!

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon oil

1 onion, chopped

a few cloves garlic, chopped

a handful cherry tomatoes

1-2 oz dried whole chilis – I use about 1.6 oz Anchos

1 1/2 cups veggie broth

1 can fire roasted tomatoes

1/4 cup vinegar (white or cider, I use cider)

2 tablespoons flour (use chickpea or rice for gluten-free)

3 tablespoons chili powder – I used 1 each Ancho, Chipotle, and ‘chili spice’

1 teaspoon cumin

salt to taste

1/4 cup Tofutti™ cream cheese (optional)

Instructions:

Place chilis under water in a bowl, allow to rehydrate (an hour or so).

Heat a pan over medium heat, add the oil, and then add the onions and garlic. Sauté until they begin to lighten, then add the fresh cherry tomatoes. Sauté another few minutes.

Add the rest of the ingredients, bring them to boil, and then reduce the heat and allow to simmer for a few minutes.

Turn off the heat and let the mixture cool before transferring to a food processor. Blend until smooth.

For a creamier sauce, which I highly recommend, add the Tofutti™ and re-blend.

The first thing I did with my sauce was – of course – enchiladas! Two small corn and black bean enchiladas, topped with a homemade vegan ‘cheese’ sauce, and cooked up in a bread pan. SO cute!

A few days later I used the leftover sauce in ‘bowls’, which is this sort of trendy and terrific way of dining that’s popping up all around Portland. It’s basically just grain + legume + green, topped with sauce = surprisingly awesome way of eating. In this case I used brown rice + pinto beans + kale + roasted zucchini, topped with the enchilada sauce. Divine!

Oh holy goodness you guys, these are seriously addictive.

I came across the concept a few months back when I went RAW. Kale chips are sort of ‘trending’ around the RAW food community right now. And although I could buy a local version around town, I was [of course!] determined to make my own. And I did – with my good friend Katie who has an Excalibur dehydrator (*swoon*). Remember this pic?

That’s our first batch of kale chips! They were amazing, gobbled up and gone within days, and bookmarked in the back of my brain for further tinkering. I was waiting to acquire a dehydrator of my own, which . . . sort of hasn’t happened yet.

And then last week, I just couldn’t wait any longer! I mean sure, RAW food is great and all. But these are still so good for you, whether they’re cooked or not! Kale is overflowing with calcium, lutein, iron, and vitamins A, C, and K, plus beneficial phytochemicals and antioxidants. Tahini is rich in calcium, protein, vitamin E and the B vitamins, as well as essential fatty acids. And nutritional yeast is like the vegan dream food – it’s high in protein and has B vitamins including B12, as well as folic acid and zinc. So what was I waiting for?!

***As a note, my friend Katie and I just couldn’t get enough of these. Like, it’s really hard to stop eating them. BUT, my husband can’t stand them, so maybe they’re not for everyone? Just a heads-up.

Smokey BBQ Kale Chips

Adapted from renegadehealth.

Ingredients:

2 big bunches of kale

1/2 cup tahini

1/4 cup tamari

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

2 cloves garlic

1 teaspoon onion powder

2 teaspoons BBQ spice – your favorite blend

a couple drops of liquid smoke (to taste)

water to thin as needed

Instructions:

Rinse, de-rib, and rough tear the kale into a giant bowl.

Put all of the other ingredients into a food processor or blender and mix until smooth.

Pour the mixture over the kale, and use your hands to toss it all together. Squish Squish! Get it good and covered.

Spread the kale out evenly on lined or oiled cookie sheets, glass platters, or whatever works. I think I did a cookie sheet, 2 casserole dishes, and a glass pie ‘pan’. You only want one layer of kale, so it’s going to cover a lot of space.

Now the ‘cooking’. You want this to be as ‘dehydrated’ as possible, instead of baked. Ideally, you could put your oven on the lowest setting when you’d be home for 6-8 hours or so (please don’t do this overnight, okay guys?). Otherwise, just decrease the cook time as you increase the temperature. I think I did mine at about 250º for 4 hours (ish). Every oven is different so you’ll need keep an eye on it and be your own judge. Just remember that too much heat will change the flavor. Crispy, but not crunchy. Don’t overcook them!

I promise this is easier than it sounds. It’s intuitive, and you’ll know when they’re close by what they look and smell like. Just try not to eat them all in one sitting!

In my hometown, Summer Solstice is a great grand affair. There’s a crazy parade with open entry, an annual theme and floats and stilts and bikes and trikes and costumes and ART, everywhere. It draws all kinds of people, and the little ones run wild like tiny face-painted gremlins, while the last of the old hippie enclave strip to their skivvies and dance around like big body-painted bohemians. What a party!

Imagine my surprise when I realized that this was just a regional thing. Or maybe just an aged hippie thing (big ups to all my parents!)  Most people, in fact, do not even celebrate the longest day of the year. What a shame! 

This year, we kicked off the first day of summer with our first official BBQ. I wanted to try something different, and decided to dust off that old bottle of mezcal.  Mezcal is related to tequila, but is derived from various agave plants. Tequila is solely a product of Blue Agave. But mezcal has a distinctly smokey flavor, and it’s amazing and smooth and mild and it makes a totally mean margarita. I absolutely adore this liquor, and I brought back as much as I could from my honeymoon in Mexico!

With it’s seriously smokey flavor, mezcal just seems suited for grilling. And what better way to offset the the intensity of agave liquor, than the sweetness of agave syrup? The result was perfect synergy.

That there drink is a watermelon daiquiri, also highly recommended!

Ingredients:

2 pineapples – carved, cubed, and skewed

1 cup mezcal

1/2 cup agave

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions:

First things first, make a mezcal margarita.

Next, soak ~15 bamboo skewers, an hour at least, so they won’t burn on the grill.

Combine the mezcal, agave, vanilla, and cinnamon in a glass jar with a lid. Shakey shakey shakey (it helps to do a little dance). 

Construct the skewers and then a few hours before grilling, drizzle them liberally with the mezcal mixture. [I assembled the skewers and the marinade separately the day before, and then did the drizzle the next morning]

Grill those suckers! Braise them frequently and rotate as well. Try to use up all of that mezcal mixture. They’re done when they darken and soften, but you should taste them to test. Keep tasting. Mmmm, yeah. Taste MORE!

And have another mezcal margarita. To summer!

My first real harvest!!!

My snow peas seem to have gone feral. Wild and unbridled, they’ve exploded from their pea patch, clamoring for sunlight and climbing, climbing, climbing. They’re almost as tall as I am (and that’s over 6 feet, oi!)  And best of all, they’ve begun bearing pea pods.

In honor of my garden’s first fruits, these lovely little legumes, I had to do something special. These guys are super sweet and snap with a crispness that’s unparalleled! Short of snacking on them raw (which we certainly did, oh of course), I wanted something simple that would lift them up and let them shine, full flavor on display. Here’s what I did:

Sautéed Snow Peas with Fresh Mint

Ingredients: 

a few hand fulls of snow peas, freshly picked

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 scallions, diced

1 clove of garlic, crushed

salt and pepper to taste

1 tablespoon fresh mint leaves, sliced into thin strips

dried lemon rind, for garnishing (optional)

Instructions:

Place a skillet over high heat and let it get good and hot. Add the oil and again, allow it to heat up. Add the garlic and scallion, stir for a few seconds, and then add the snow peas. Sauté until just al dente, under 3 minutes. Remove from heat, toss with the fresh mint, salt, and pepper, garnish with lemon rind, and serve immediately.

It’s so easy, it’s like cheating!

Served with Roasted Heirloom Squash Marinara, and a crusty loaf.