Peachy Keen Green

We bumped into Elsa the other evening on a walk, and asked how she uses  Candied Buddha's Hand . She makes biscotti! Larry turned to me and said, "Biscotti, please." I found a recipe for vegan orange almond biscotti by Minimalist Baker  and made a few small adaptations (like adding orange juice as holycowvegan does). After experimenting with various flours (whole wheat, almond, and oat flour), eventually I landed on just white flour and cornmeal, which holds together well and is still yummy! Ingredients Wet: 1/2 C vegan butter 3/4 C sugar 2 flax eggs (2 T flax meal, 6 T warm water) 1 tsp vanilla extract Zest from 1 orange Juice from 1/2 orange Dry: 1 3/4 C flour  1/2 C fine cornmeal 1 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp sea salt 1/2 C sliced almonds, toasted 1/2 C  candied buddha's hands  (optional) 3/4 C chocolate chips (optional) Instructions Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix flax eggs in a small bowl and set aside to gel for a few minute...

Our friends Pat and Allen have a Buddha's Hand Tree, and offered us a chance to harvest a couple of the fruits! Pat also shared her recipe for delicious candied Buddha's citron. It's yummy as candy or in cookies -- and it makes your kitchen smell heavenly as you cook it up.  Ingredients 1-2 Buddha's hand citron, washed well, and chopped (as described below). For every 3 C chopped buddha's hand (I often have 6-9 C), use: - 2 C water (takes longer to reduce the more water you use) - 3 C granulated sugar (sometimes I use 2 C and it seems to work fine) Instructions Dice the citron, taking care to use only the portions that include the zest and some pith. Discard interior pith portion that has no zest. Option: To reduce cooking time below, place diced citron in saucepan covered with water, bring to boil and simmer 30-40 min; drain. Put candy thermometer in a pan, add the diced citron and the water and sugar. Put it on medium heat and wait for it to boil, stirring...