Peachy Keen Green

This is my grandma Esther's recipe for Ostakaka (Ost = cheese, kaka = cake), a custard from her Swedish family (*) and one of Dad's favorites. It's not vegan, but I'm blogging it for posterity (and I may try to make it for Dad some day.)  This recipe is similar . Another favorite dessert recipe is grandma's lemon meringue pie . 1/6/17 Update: Cliff and Kathy gave us ostakaka from Nelson Food Pride  during my trip to NE. (Nelson, like grandma!) Kathy makes it every Christmas, but it's an all day, error-prone affair, so they bought it this year. Just in time, phew! Dad loved it with jam. Not too sweet. And much easier than making it :) 12/29/20 Update: Lisa Nelson Callihan says there is a cheat way to make it!!!  Use cottage cheese instead of milk and rennet tablets. Use the 4% milkfat cottage cheese if you can find it. Ingredients 1 gallon whole milk, non-homogenized (may have to get it from a dairy) 2 T flour 1/8 t salt 1/2 C suger 3 eggs, beaten 1 cup...

Judi made so many delicious things for  Thanksgiving  this year, including these slightly sweet and spicy brussels sprouts. Yum! Ingredients 1 1/2 lbs Brussels sprouts 1/2 cup oil 1/4 cup rice vinegar 1/4 cup brown sugar or maple syrup 2 T Sriracha fresh ground salt and pepper Instructions Preheat the oven to 400°F. Trim the base away from the brussels sprouts and discard. Cut the sprouts in half. Toss in a large gallon bag. In a small bowl, whisk the oil with the vinegar, sugar/maple syrup, and Sriracha to combine. Pour into the bag with the brussels sprouts and toss until they are fully coated. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Spread the brussels sprouts on a baking sheet, cut sides down. Roast until the crispy on the outside and golden and caramelized on the cut sides, 20 to 30 minutes. Serve immediately.

Munira's family gave us some sauteed mung bean sprouts last year, and they were such a treat; nutty and yummy. And, it turns out, pretty easy to make. I bought some mung bean seeds and a  sprouting jar with 3 different sizes of lids (for different bean sizes and sprouting stages), and now make my own sprouts to saute!  Ingredients Jar of sprouted mung beans 1 T canola oil 1 tsp red pepper flakes 1 tsp cumin seeds 1 tsp mustard seeds 1 tsp black cumin 4 cloves garlic 1 tsp turmeric 1 tsp coriander salt and pepper to taste For mung bean sprouting: 5 T mung bean seeds (about 1/3 cup seeds); I use  Todd's seeds sprouting jar; I use  Jar Seed Sprouter cool water Instructions Put mung bean seeds in a sprouting jar. Soak 8 hours. Rinse with cool water 2-3 times a day; swirl and drain. Always store in a tipped position in a bowl, so the water doesn't sit, but rather drips out. The sprouts will be ready to use in 3-5 days, when they fill the jar and it...

Larry's sister Cyndy made this for us a decade or more ago, and then made it again for Thanksgiving this year, which reminded me how delicious it is! Ingredients 1 C wild rice, dry 1 C chopped walnuts 1 C golden raisins 1 large apple, cored & diced 1-2 celery ribs, sliced grated rind of lemon 4 scallions thinly sliced dressing: 3 T lemon juice 2 cloves garlic 1/2 tsp salt fresh ground black pepper 1/3 C olive oil Instructions Rinse and cook rice in instant pot (2 C water, 20-25 minutes) or on the stove (4 C water, 1 part rice). (Instant pot requires less water and is easier!) Combine walnuts, celery, scallions, raisins, apple, lemon rind in a large bowl. In a jar with a tight lid, combine dressing ingredients and shake vigorously. Pour half of the dressing on the apple mixture and toss well. Combine rice with food mixture and pour on remaining dressing. Let sit 1 hour at room temp and serve on lettuce if desired. Can make the day before and let it sit overnigh...

Another recipe adapted from a recipe in  The Indian Vegetarian  cookbook by Neelam Batra (see also the  diced potatoes and tomatoes  recipe). The original calls for 4 jalapenos (!!). I use one medium jalapeno; any more and we can barely eat it, it's so spicy. Shown here with Munira's yummy roti! Ingredients 2 medium eggplants (1 pound each) 2 T canola oil 1 T cumin seeds 1 tsp fenugreek seeds (optional) 2 tsp minced garlic 1 T (1 inch) minced fresh ginger 1 1/2 C red onion, chopped  1 1/2 C fresh tomato, chopped or 1 can diced 1/2 - 1 C chopped cilantro 1 small hot green or red pepper Optional: 1 cup fresh peas spices: 1 tsp paprika 1 tsp tumeric 1 tsp salt optional: 1/4 tsp cinnamon 1/4 tsp cloves 1/4 tsp nutmeg Instructions Wash the eggplant and poke holes in it with a fork. Bake in 400 degree oven for 40 minutes. Let cool. Puree in a food processor. (This can be done the day before and stored.) Saute cumin seeds in oil until they sizzle...

This bean dish was served at a lunch at work, in both vegan and with-bacon-and-ham forms. Judi and I thought the vegan one was delicious (don't know about the other!); I brought home leftovers, and Larry agreed. Turns out catering got the recipe from our admin assistant, Vickie, whose office is next to mine. So we bought dry red beans and tried it. The veggie broth had plenty of salt in it, so I don't list the half teaspoon of salt called for in this recipe, after tasting it. Anyway, it was easy and very flavorful! I think dry beans taste better than canned, but you could used canned, of course. And I liked cooking the dried beans in the large soup pot for this; I usually boil beans in a smaller saucepan, and that's messy. Big soup pot from now on for beans! Serve with rice or cauliflower rice and a veggie. Ingredients 1 pound dried red beans, rinsed 2 T olive oil 1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onions 3/4 cup chopped celery 3/4 cup chopped bell peppers (yellow or green)...

This potato dish is adapted from a recipe in  The Indian Vegetarian  cookbook by Neelam Batra, who also has a web site, Neelam's California Indian Cuisine . Thanks to my friend Munira for recommending it! I made this dish for a bbq at Judi's the other night, and she said it was blog worthy :) Ingredients 5 cups diced potatoes (~8-10 small red) 3 T olive oil 1-2 jalepenos, chopped (the original said 5!) 1 1/2 cups chopped onion 2 cups finely chopped fresh tomatoes 1 cup loosely packed finely chopped cilantro 2 T coriander 1 tsp cumin 1/2 tsp paprika 1 tsp salt fresh ground black pepper 1/2 tsp garam masala 3 T chopped cilantro for garnish Other vegetables as desired (I sometimes add peas or kale) Instructions Pre-cook the potatoes: I cut them into chunks and use a microwave steamer (5 minutes), in batches. In a pan, fry the onion and pepper a few minutes on moderately high heat. Add the tomatoes and cilantro and cook, stirring occasionally, until mo...

Judi found a "divine" recipe for  blueberry lemon energy bites  that she  modified slightly to use walnuts (for the omega-3s) instead, and she skipped the coconut. I tried with different dried fruits (blueberries, cherries) and add back the coconut (sometimes). Super easy and delicious! I want to try rolling these in cocoa powder next time... Ingredients 1 1/4 cups walnuts 1/4 cup cashews 1/4 cup oats 1/3 cup chia seeds 1 cup dates 1 cup dried blueberries, or dried cherries, or mix juice from half a lemon, and zest (optional) 1 tsp vanilla 1/4 tsp salt shredded coconut (optional) cocoa (optional) Instructions In a food processor, blend walnuts and cashews. Add berries, dates, oats, lemon juice, vanilla. Process until the mixture forms a rough dough. Add chia seeds, salt, and (optionally) shredded coconut if you like. Process to mix in. Taste and add more lemon if necessary. Roll into small (1 inch) balls. Optionally roll the balls into addit...

Yummy chocolately walnut crust from Judi (bottom crust only); try with pumpkin pie or  pudding pie .  Ingredients Chocolately walnut crust (1 crust) 2 C walnuts 6 dates + 2 T maple syrup or some combo 1 t vanilla pinch salt 1/4 C cocoa Instructions Mix ingredients in food processor. Press into pie plate. Bake 10 min at 350 and then remove and let cool.

A colleague of Larry's made this for a party at Pivotal about 3 weeks ago. So easy to make, and really good! The fresh tomatoes, onion, cilantro, and lemon really make it. I took it to our friend Munira's house tonight, and it paired nicely with grilled veggies. Her family ate it up, yay! Ingredients 1 can kidney beans 1 can garbanzo beans 1 can black beans 3 tomatoes, chopped 1/2 red onion, chopped 1/4 cup olive oil (or more) 1/4 cup red vinegar (or more) 1 lemon, juiced 3/4 - 1 cup cilantro, chopped Salt and pepper to taste Instructions Drain the beans and toss in a bowl. Add tomatoes, onion, and cilantro. Whip together the olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, salt, and pepper, and add. Mix it all up. Season to taste. Eat!

So many tomatoes in our new garden bed! And our friends Elsa & John gave us some lovely zucchini from their garden. So I though I'd try to make a primavera similar to one at our favorite Italian restaurant. I tried this a couple of weeks ago, and the result was good, but we wanted even more flavor... so this version has a few changes (red wine instead of white, adding olives, more mushrooms). It was delish!  Note: I didn't measure as I made it, so the amounts below are just rough guesses; adjust as you like. Ingredients 1 onion, chopped 2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms 2-3 cups diced fresh zucchini  2-3 cups diced fresh tomatoes 1/4 cup olive oil (or more if desired) 1 small can sliced olives (black or kalamata) 1/3 cup red wine  4-5 cloves garlic, minced 1 T dried oregano  1 T dried basil  1 tsp each salt and pepper (or to taste) 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (or to taste) 1/3 cup fresh basil, chopped Pasta (we like Garofalo whole ...

We got a batch of bananas that wasn't so tasty, so I thought hey, why don't I try to sweeten them up a bit and fry them? A quick google search found a good recipe for  fried honey bananas  that I adapted a bit. Photo courtesy of that recipe page, because we ate them too fast to get a photo! Super easy and delicious. Ingredients 2 bananas, slightly under-ripened, sliced 1-2 T maple or agave syrup 2 T water olive oil cinnamon shredded coconut (optional, but yum!) Instructions Drizzle a little olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Arrange banana slices in pan and cook for a couple of minutes on each side. Meanwhile, mix the syrup and water. Pour the mixture over the bananas. Allow to cool and sprinkle with cinnamon and shredded coconut. I made it with 2 T agave syrup the first time, and it was plenty sweet. I might try 1 T next time.

Matthias and Petra from Lugano left a box of Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry cups in our freezer when they left, and surprise, the pastry cups are vegan! Our house is being painted this week, so I decided to try out a treat for the painters, who are doing an awesome job. It was yummy and easy! The painters gobbled them up. I definitely need to make these again. I just saw pictures of folks poking through the top of the pastry to put the cream inside the cup. Oooooh, I guess that's part of the design. I just put the cream on top. But it was still delicious! Ingredients 1 box of 24 read-to-bake bite size Puff Pastry Cups from Pepperidge Farm 3/4 cup raw cashews 2 T confectioners sugar 2 squares of dark chocolate, melted 1 tsp vanilla extract (Optional) grated chocolate and/or shredded coconut Instructions Soak the cashews in water for a couple 2 hours if you can (though it will still work if you can't wait -- I soaked them for 10 minutes and then lost patience :). Drai...

We love Field Roast  sausage, and often buy 12-packs of apple, Italian, and Mexican Chipotle sausage for pool party bbqs. The chipotle is too spicy to eat straight, but is great in a soup! A quick google search brought up a Spanish-style soup that uses chorizo, along with beans and cabbage, more of my favorite things. Easy and delicious - and it hits you with a slow POW at the end. I like to add both green and  purple cabbage -- it's so healthy  and both last a long time in the crisper, great for soups and stir fries anytime. Ingredients 4 Chipotle FieldRoast sausages, sliced into medallions 3-4 cups cooked (or canned) white beans 2 T oil (I use canola) 1 large onion, diced 5-6 cups veggie broth 4+ cups green and/or purple cabbage, chopped (optional) 2 cups kale, chopped 1-2 T white vinegar Spices: 4 cloves garlic, diced 1 can diced tomato - or large tomato, diced 1 bay leaf 1 tsp salt fresh ground pepper (optional) pinch saffron threads Instructions ...

Shuchi made this delicious  salsa for a pool party last weekend. It's fantastic and super easy to make. This one will become a pool party staple! Ingredients 1 bunch green (spring) onions (3-4 with green stems/leaves) 2-3 tomatoes, sliced cilantro - 1 cup (or 1 small bunch) 1 lime Tortilla chips (for serving) - I like the white chips at Trader Joes that have the aztec symbol Instructions   Add green onions, tomatoes, and cilantro in a food processor. Pulse for a few minutes till finely chopped. Add salt and squeeze lime. Serve with chips!

I've made many veggie curries with Trader Joes bottled curry sauce, and they're okay, but never as good as what you get at a Thai restaurant. Once I tried to make curry with store-bought curry paste and coconut milk, but it was eh. What's the trick? Well, we went to Thailand last November and I brought back some curry packets for gifts; I decided to try one. The directions called for coconut cream (not coconut milk). We also had some fresh ginger that I had frozen (grated) in ice cube trays, so I tossed in a cube. (I didn't add the fish sauce it called for.) Boy, what a difference. It was nice and spicy and flavorful. We thought we were in a restaurant! Here's what I did. Ingredients Blue Elephant Royal Thai Yellow Curry paste (or similar) 1 can coconut cream Fresh ginger (optional) Olive oil 1/2 cup water Veggies: 1 onion, chopped 12 cups mushrooms, chopped 1 cup cabbage, chopped 3 small potatoes, chopped and nuked 4 min 1 sweet potato, chopped and n...

After enjoying our friend Judi's "momba" smoothies so many times, we finally bought a good (Ninja) blender so we could make our own. Dr. Gregor has some videos about research that shows you get all the benefits of the kale and berries in blended form, but that's not true for all fruits. And Larry notes that they taste better than they look :) Ingredients banana carrots (1 or 2 small/medium) kale (5-10 leaves) oranges (1 or 2, peeled) apple or pear (1, cored) almond milk (maybe a cup?) frozen berries of your choice (maybe a cup?) Instructions Put everything in a powerful blender and pulse until mixed. I tend to mix everything but the frozen berries, and then add the berries at the end. Sometimes they come out green (if I go heavy on the kale and lighter on the berries), and sometimes they come out more purple (if I go heavy on blueberries). Makes 2-3 glasses, and keeps fine in the fridge until the next day if you can't drink it all. And with ...

My brother Jeff gave me a couple bags of dried fava beans this weekend. He gets them at his local farmers market. I soaked, boiled, and then sautéed them with some garlic and pepper. It was good, but needed something. Then I remembered that Jeff made a yummy fava dish a few months ago in Nebraska. So I called him up to ask what all he put in it. "Tomatoes and onion really go well with favas," he said. I had some chard in the back yard; how about that, too? "That's great, chop it up well!" And so I did. Later: "Didn't chopping the greens change everything? I think chopping releases more flavor and improves the texture." Yes, it does! It was delicious. Next: reminder to self to try this Portugese Fava recipe  (sans chorizo or with vegan chorizo). Ingredients fava beans onion, chopped tomatoes (1 can, or a few romas) chard or kale, chopped garlic to taste olive oil cayenne pepper salt other spices to taste Instructions If using dried f...

A new twist on pasta from Larry's sister Cyndy. Delicious and super healthy. Here's the recipe for 2 people; increase proportionally for 4. (Okay, way too much yellow in this photo; I'll get a better one later.) Ingredients 4 zucchini squash homemade marinara (with onion and mushroom to make it thicker) TJ's meatless meatballs Instructions Using a spiral slicer, create julienne strips of the zucchini. Be careful not to cut yourself against the blades when you're twisting near the end of the zucchini! Put the zucchini on a plate covered with a paper towel, and nuke for 3 minutes. (You may need to do a couple plates worth; nuke one plate while you're finishing the rest the zucchini.) Slice of the ends of the squash and nuke it, too. Optionally, put the nuked zucchini in a casserole dish, put a little pasta on it, and bake it in the oven for a few minutes. In a sauce pan, warm up the marinara with TJs' meatless meatballs, using about 6 meatballs fo...

A hearty, nice corn chowder, from Vegan with a Vengeance . You can use frozen corn, but I think it's better if you use fresh. I made this the first time with my sweet corn harvest (see photos below). It was exciting to turn my lemon-ears (corn that most anyone else would have sent them to the compost bin) into chowder-ade! The soup has some nice heat, and the maple syrup gives it a slight contrasting sweetness.  And it's easy to make. Serve with nice whole wheat bread, crackers, or salad. I ngredients 1 T olive oil 1 medium-size onion, diced 1 large red bell pepper, finely chopped (about 1 1/2 cups) 1 cup carrots, diced 1-2 jalapeño peppers, diced 1 tsp dried rosemary (or more, fresh) 1 tsp dried thyme A few dashes fresh black pepper 1 tsp salt 3 cups vegetable broth  3 cups fresh corn (from about 5 ears of corn) 2-3 medium potatoes, sliced into 1/2-inch chunks 1 bay leaf Pinch cayenne Juice of 1 lime 1/4 cup plain almond or soy milk ...

During a visit to Nebraska, Dad's friend Jack gave him a bag of about 30 fresh-picked peaches. I decided to try to make a pie, and after a little googling and experimenting, came up with an easy, yummy recipe. When our ripe pears and blackberries start entering the house in buckets, I can easily make a dozen pies. I freeze some blackberries and sliced-up pears so as to spread that out over time. Pears and strawberries are another great combination. That mix reminded me of  rhubarb pie , another great mix. And figs work, too! Ingredients 4-5 cups fruit, fresh or frozen: peaches, pears, apples, blackberries, strawberries, figs, or mix Dry: 2 T flour 2 T arrowroot or cornstarch 1/2 cup brown sugar 1 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp nutmeg (optional) Wet: 1 T lemon juice 1 tsp vanilla Dots of vegan butter 2 vegan pie crusts (like  Wholly Wholesome ) or make a vegan pie crust Instructions Arrange pie crust in pie pan and chill. Cut up the fruit; no need to peel. Don't be shy, cut up a lot. ...

Mark brought Trader Joes Beet Hummus to our pool party this weekend, and we loved it! I had 3 huge (potato-sized) fresh beets from Farmdoor in my fridge, so I decided to give it a try. I cut up one of the big beets, microwaved it for 6 minutes, and added it to my regular hummus recipe . Yum! It's delicious, and very slightly sweet from the beet. The Trader Joes version lists balsamic vinegar in the ingredients, and we tried adding a little to a bit on the side, but didn't like it so much. It has a whole lemon, and I think that's enough acidic punch. Ingredients 2-3 large cooked beets, cut up 1 can garbanzo beans, drained 2 T tahini 1 lemon, juiced 1 clove garlic (or 1 tsp minced) 1/2 tsp salt 1-2 T olive oil Instructions Drain and rinse garbanzo beans. Put all the ingredients in a food processor and blend! Scrape into a bowl to chill, or serve right away. Note: If you're starting from raw beets, you can cut them up into half-inch chunks to microwave th...

Our perfect veggie burger from Oh She Glows . The nuts and seeds really make it, it's crispy outside, and it stays together well. I'm not a big parsley fan, so I use fresh basil instead of parsley, but otherwise I follow the recipe pretty much exactly. I usually make them for summer bbqs, so I prebake them 15 minutes and then we grill them a few minutes outside. Makes 8 burgers; sometimes I double it to have leftovers. ( Image from Oh She Glows ) Ingredients 1/2 cup diced onion, 1 large garlic clove Flax eggs: 2.5 tbsp ground flax + 1/2 cup warm water, mixed in bowl 1 cup oats, processed into flour 1.5 cups bread crumbs 1 cup grated carrots 1 cup cooked black beans, rinsed and roughly mashed 1/4 cup finely chopped basil (or other herb) 1/3 cup toasted almonds, sliced or chopped 1/2 cup sunflower seeds 1 T olive pil 1 T soy sauce 1.5 tsp chili powder (heaping) 1 tsp cumin (heaping) 1 tsp oregano (heaping) 1/2 tsp salt (heaping) ground pepper to taste In...