Peachy Keen Green

Laurie tried out some new recipes for dinner when we stopped by on our way back from our Nebraska road trip -- and it was delicious! Who'da thought that cabbage could make such a good steak? The mushroom gravy, with finely chopped mushrooms and coconut cream and nutritional yeast, was a perfect, rich complement to the potatoes and cabbage. She used green cabbage; I've tried green and purple, and also cauliflower. All yum! The mushroom gravy ties it all together. Ingredients 1 cabbage, green or purple Canola oil for brushing garlic powder  red pepper flakes black pepper to taste salt to taste lemon juice (to squeeze on top after) Gravy: Mushrooms, 8-10 oz 1/2 C onion  2 T canola oil  3 cloves garlic, minced red pepper flakes  salt & pepper to taste 1/2 C nutritional yeast 1 C coconut cream (can freeze other half can) or Cashew sauce (make in blender): 1/2 C cashews 2/3 C water 2 T olive oil 1 T lemon juice 1 garlic clove 1/2 tsp salt Instructions Make  mashed...

I've made half a dozen fruit pies  in the past few weeks because of our prolific pear tree. I usually mix blackberries with the pears, because we have to use those up, too. But recently, for something different, I mixed strawberries with the pears, and it was delicious. Color-wise, it reminded me of the rhubarb pie we loved as kids; Mom made it from wild rhubarb we picked from patches near the corn crib. ( Rhubarb pie is a big deal in Nebraska. ) She made it straight -- all rhubarb -- but I decided to look for recipes with strawberries, so I wouldn't have to add a ton of sugar (rhubarb is pretty tart). I gave the following a try, and it was amazing! It's different enough from my other  fruit pies  that it earns its own post. Serve this with (vegan) vanilla ice cream.  If you're generous with the filling, this easily makes 2 pies.  Ingredients 3 C strawberries, fresh or frozen 2 stalks rhubarb, chopped (about 2-3 cups) 2 T flour 2 T arrowroot or cornsta...

Oh my, these are delicious and healthy. This recipe is adapted from my favorite Isa Does It cookbook to use slightly less sugar and a couple other small tweaks. This makes a dozen; consider doubling so you can freeze some! You'll eat a dozen way too quickly. Ingredients Dry: 1 C whole wheat flour 1 1/2 C wheat bran 1/3 C sugar 1 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt Wet: 1 C almond milk 1 T apple cider 1/4 C canola oil 1/4 C applesauce 2 T molasses 1 T maple syrup 1 tsp vanilla 1 C blueberries (fresh or frozen; I like small wild frozen) Instructions In a medium bowl, combine almond milk and vinegar and set aside to curdle. Preheat oven to 350. Mix dry ingredients. Make a well in the dry ingredients and add the wet ingredients. Stir the wet ingredients in the well, and then mix the wet and dry together until just moistened, being careful not to over mix.  Fold in blueberries. Lightly butter 12-cup muffin pan. Fill each muffin well most of the way full with batter. ...

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 1/2 C raw or dry roasted cashews (optional) Stir fry sauce: 1 tsp black pepper 1 T soy sauce 2 T water 1 T maple syrup 1 tsp rice vinegar Optional...

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...

Alba clamshell mushrooms and fresh zucchini arrived in our last farmer's market delivery, and Viki left a nice bottle of white wine with us, and we still had a little arborio rice from John & Wanda's visit last year when they made us a delicious farmer's market risotto... So, with the help of my Isa Does It cookbook, I decided to try my first risotto. I've made it a few times, trying different mushrooms, squash types (including acorn), and wines (white & mango), and it's always delish! I Ingredients 1-2 T canola oil 2 zucchinis OR acorn squash, chopped 8 oz mushrooms 1/4 C sun dried tomatoes, chopped 1/3 C peas 1 onion, diced 3 cloves garlic, minced 1.5 C arborio rice 1.5 C white wine or mango wine 4 C broth 1 tsp thyme several dashes fresh black pepper 1/2 tsp salt 2 T fresh lemon juice 1/2 C cashew cream (3 T cashew butter + water, or 1/2 cup soaked cashews blended) Instructions Precook veggies: Saute squash in oil, and add mushrooms after a few minutes. R...

Viki brought her adaptation of a carrot-top chimichurri  to our outdoor distance gathering, and I fell in love with it! The tang and garlic are amazing on bread, or as a salad dressing (see Viki's salad, below). I made a pesto with carrot tops a couple of months ago and it was meh... After that, I just ended up throwing carrot tops in soup (it was great in split pea soup) . But next time I get farmer's market carrots, I'm definitely making this! Ingredients 1 C finely chopped carrot greens 2 tsp dried oregano 1 tsp cumin 1/2 tsp sweet paprika (that is, regular, not smoked) 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes 2 garlic cloves, minced 1/2 tsp sea salt Freshly ground black pepper 2 T rice vinegar 2 T red wine vinegar 1/4 C extra-virgin olive oil Instructions In a small bowl, combine the carrot greens, oregano, cumin, paprika, red pepper flakes, garlic, salt, and pepper. Stir in the vinegar and olive oil. Taste and adjust seasonings.

During the pandemic, I ordered some soy curls  and made fake chick'n nuggets out of of them, adapting this " chicken" soy curl salad . It was quite good! But it's much easier to buy fake chick'n from the store.The recipe for soy curl chick'n is at the bottom, in case you're inspired to try,  but nowadays I just buy and bake fake chick'n nuggets from Trader Joe's and cut those up over the salad. Delish.  Ingredients Fake chick'n, like TJ's fake nuggets, baked and cooled Lettuce Mix of veggies, like: Tomatoes Cucumber Radish Carrots Sprouts Bell pepper Black olives (sliced) Ranch dressing: 3 T vegan mayo 1 T non-dairy milk 2 tsp vinegar 1 tsp poppy seed a few chives, chopped (optional) 1 tsp dill Instructions On a bed of lettuce, arrange vegetables in piles around outer circle. Cut up fake chick'n nuggets and place them in the center. Top with ranch dressing applied lightly with sweeping motion. Eat! Or: Make-your-own fake chick'n 1 1...

Every year we have so many oranges! They're more difficult to give away this year given COVID... we give to a few neighbors and friends, but I can't take them to the office and hand them out like in past years. An abundance of pears lead to ginger pear sauce  and too many fingers led to candied buddha's hands ... so doh, why not try my hand at marmalade? After skimming several recipes on the web, I decided to adapt this orange lemon marmalade recipe slightly to use less sugar and more oranges. It's just a little tart, and really delicious! The neighbors loved it. One request from Kurt & Pete: Cut the rinds into even smaller pieces. Ingredients 5-6 oranges rinds from another 2-3 oranges rinds from 2 lemons 1 lime (all of it if it's small, or just rinds) 8 C water 6 C sugar Instructions Wash the oranges and lemons well and cut off any bad parts. Thinly slice and throw in a big pot. Eat a few oranges after you cut off the ends because they are so delicious. Realiz...

Munira brought back a masala dabba for me from India. So exciting! The next morning I filled it with some of the spices I use the most, and drew a key to help me remember what is what. It was SO fun to use it to make my  Pav Bhaji this weekend. I need to make Aloo Patta Gobhi next. Thank you SO much, Munira!

Larry put Japanese miso powder on his Christmas wish list; he wanted powder since paste can go bad if you don't use it up quickly. Good thing, since we just opened the jar today, 5 months later! He made up a quick recipe using our roasted seaweed snacks, some silken tofu in the pantry, and chives from our garden. It was super fast and delicious. Serve with spinach salad and yakisoba! Ingredients 1 T miso powder (we like marukome from Japan) 1-2 roasted seaweed, cut up 1/4 cup tofu, cubed 1 T chives, chopped 1.5 C hot water Instructions Cut up tofu into cubes and toss into soup bowls. Using a scissors, cut up chives and seaweed over each bowl. Add miso powder to the bowls.  Put water in a kettle and heat it up to boil. Pour hot water in the bowls. Stir and serve! Larry says that in Japan, on often eats it by slurping from the side of the bowl, stirring as you slurp. 

Our neighbor Elsa gave us 4 beautiful fresh leeks from her garden. I had been planning to make my chickpea tart , but then I found a mushroom leek quiche in Vegan Comfort Classics that looked worth a try! Here's my slightly adapted version, using zucchinis and mushroom. The red pepper relish is amazing on crackers or anything else you might serve a chutney with.  If you don't have time to make the relish, cranberry sauce or mango chutney is pretty good with the quiche. The Parm is totally optional; I've made this several times and don't usually bother with it anymore. Ingredients 1 large or 2 medium pie crusts; I like Wholly Wholesome or an easy  whole wheat pie crust Veggie saute: 2 T canola oil 2 C leeks or onion, diced 1-2 C mushrooms, sliced 2 C zucchini or broccoli, chopped 1 clove garlic, minced 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp pepper 1 tsp sage (or 1T fresh) 1 tsp tarragon Tofu mix: 2 12-oz silken tofu 1/4 C nutritional yeast 1/3 C chickpea flour 1 T white v...