Peachy Keen Green

I came home from Nebraska to a couple of bunches of celery in the fridge that needed to be used. I adapted this celery black pepper tofu recipe from Vegan Richa and it was pretty good! Over time I changed added more spices and liquid to the marinade, substituted corn flour in place of arrowroot or cornstarch (tastier!), and added in more veggies. Gets better every iteration! Ingredients 1.5 C tempeh or firm tofu, cubed in small chunks Marinade: 1 T soy sauce 1 T lemon 3 T water 1/4 tsp garlic powder 1/4 tsp black pepper 1/4 tsp onion pwd  1/4 tsp smoke paprika 2 T corn flour or cornmeal Saute: 1 T canola oil 1 inch ginger, finely chopped 1 hot pepper OR red pepper flakes 1/2 onion, chopped Add a variety of veggies, such as: 8 cloves garlic, chopped 1 C celery, chopped  1 C carrot, chopped 1 C red pepper, chopped 1 C cabbage, chopped Stir fry sauce: 1 tsp black pepper 1 T soy sauce 2 T water 1 T maple syrup 1 tsp rice vinegar Optional: Add a little commercial stir fry sauce at ...

I needed some cookies to fill the empty space in a box I'm mailing to Dad, and I've had these cookies by Vegan Richa on my list for awhile to try. I actually made some "regular" chocolate chips cookies (very similar except with vegan butter, a flax egg, and no oats) at the same time so I could compare the two, and these were much better! Here's a very slightly adapted version. Makes about 2 dozen cookies. Ingredients Dry: 3/4 C old fashioned oats 3/4 C flour 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/4 tsp salt Wet: 1/2 C almond or peanut butter 1/3 C brown sugar (1/2 C for sweeter) 2 T (or more as needed) non dairy milk  1 tsp vanilla  1/3 C chocolate chips (1/2 C for more chocolatey) Instructions Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix the wet ingredients together until smooth.  Mix the dry ingredients together. Add the wet and dry together and mix well. Fold in the chocolate chips.  Roll into balls and place on baking sheet with silicon liner. Press each ball down slightly to flatten...

So many figs! I made a fig pie , which was pretty good, and we actually tried our hand at canning fig jam (see photos below). The result was yummy, though quite the effort and a bit sweet (so much sugar!), so I wanted to try something different, even if it meant filling my freezer instead of my pantry. I also have some apples to use up, and wondered if they might go together well. So I googled "fig apple sauce" and found several recipes for compotes. Here's my adaptation of what I found - and it was delicious! Not too sweet, and the mix of fruits is nice. I bet this (uncooked) would also make a great pie filling. Hm..... :) Ingredients 15 fresh figs (roughly) 2 large apples Juice from 1-2 lemons 1/4 cup brown sugar 1/2 tsp cinnamon  Instructions Chop figs and apples in relatively small pieces. Mix together in a large saucepan with lemon, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Let sit for an hour or two (optional). Bring to a boil and cook for 20 minutes, stirring frequently. Turn of...

Larry has fond memories of cold spinach salad in Japan. We compared several recipes, and did a mix of several (from  salu salo ,  fine cooking ,  iheartumami ,  and  bon appetit  - seriously, you used frozen spinach?). Serve with Larry's miso soup  and TJ's yakisoba! Note that I originally tried 3 T sesame seeds, 3 T soy sauce, 1.5 T rice vinegar, and a little sesame oil, but the dressing was too strong. Then I reduced it 2/3 (2 T sesame, 2T soy, etc.) and it was still too strong for us. The following pares it back even more because we like it mild so the spinach taste comes across; increase if you like it stronger. Ingredients 2 lbs fresh spinach (2 bunches or 1 Costco box) Salt (for boiling water) Dressing (mild version) 4 tsp sesame seeds  2 tsp rice vinegar (or rice wine or sherry) 4 tsp soy sauce 1 1/2 tsp sugar  Instructions Prepare spinach 30 minutes to 3 hours ahead: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil add a pinch of salt...