Category: Vegan Farmer’s Market

by betsy

Vegan Savory Southern Tarts with Butter Bean Puree, Fresh Figs and Sweet Tea Drizzle Published on One Green Planet

These beautiful tarts are so easy to make from summer’s bounty of butter beans, figs and fresh herbs.

The availability of these ingredients along with my Southern-steeped heritage were the inspiration for this unusual but really mouth-watering combination.

The butter beans cook while you make and bake the crust and then just get processed with the other ingredients.  And the drizzle is short on cooking time.  So, the tart goes together much more quickly than you would think, especially for something so darn pretty.

Find my recipe at One Green Planet.  Thanks OGP!

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by betsy

Roasted Zucchini and Japanese Eggplant with Vegan Horseradish Sauce

Yield: 4 servings

This dish tastes so cool and refreshing on a summer evening.   The tanginess of the sauce is the perfect counterpoint to the sweetness of the summer squash.  And it’s delicious with lots of other dishes too!

The dish was inspired by the anti-vegan, Guy Fieri, of Food Network fame.  On a recent program, he roasted root vegetables and served them with a horseradish sauce.  I didn’t watch the rest of the program, so I don’t know the recipe for his sauce, but this one is good enough to eat with a spoon!

I served this dish to my friend, David (the choral director at our school, otherwise known a my “building husband”), with my Savory Southern Tarts with Butter Bean Filling and Sweet Tea Drizzle and a side dish of sliced heirloom tomatoes sprinkled with a little sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, and nutritional yeast, garnished with a sprig of basil.  It was the perfect light, but satisfying antecdote to the 97 degree temperatures.

2 small to medium zucchini, cut in half lengthwise and then cut crosswise into 1/2 inch pieces

2 Japanese eggplants, cut in half lengthwise and then cut crosswise into 1/2 inch pieces

2-3 tablespoons olive oil

Sea salt to taste

Freshly ground black pepper

Vegan Horseradish Sauce (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Place all squash pieces on a rimmed baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle very lightly with sea salt and toss to coat.  Place pan on middle rack of  oven and roast for 20 minutes, tossing and turning after 10.  Remove pan from the oven, sprinkle squash lightly with black pepper to taste, toss lightly, and spoon onto a serving platter or individual plates.  Drizzle with sauce (9and serve warm or at room temperature.  Alternatively, sauce may be passed in a small bowl.

Vegan Horseradish Sauce (You will have some leftover and you’ll be so glad!)

1/2 cup vegan mayonnaise, purchased or home made (I tend to prepare Vegenaise over Nayonaise if using purchased)

1-2 tablespoons horseradish, or to taste  (not “prepared horseradish,” as it is not vegan)

1 teaspoon Dijon or yellow mustard

1 large clove garlic, minced

2-3 tablespoons minced fresh chives

Sea salt and white pepper to taste

Optional: 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

In a medium bowl, whisk together all ingredients.  Adjust seasoning if necessary and whisk again.  Store, covered, in the refrigerator, until serving time.

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by betsy

Oh My “Dog”!: Vegan Thai “Not” Dogs with Asian Kale Slaw, Chili-Lime Mayo, Cilantro and Cashews

Dear “dog”!   This is surely the best “dog” I’ve ever eaten, much less made, and it ranks right up there with some of my favorite meals.

Last night, my dear, dear friend, Sharon Clohessy, aka Ms. C–the art specialist for our district–and I went on a beach picnic for two.  She lives at the oceanfront, so we loaded up, walked across Atlantic Avenue (think Monopoly board) up a little path shaded by a canopy of trees, and we were at the wide sandy beach.  

 We love being able to do such “frivolous” things mid-week when school is not in session.  But we enjoyed ourselves so much that we plan to continue right into the fall.  Time spent with Sharon is always magical, and we happened to be at ocean’s edge during the “magic hour” when everything takes on a silvery, barely pinkish hue.  I haven’t been so relaxed, yet stimulated by our conversation, in a long time. 

For our meal, I was inspired by a food feature in a recent magazine–maybe Southern Living?–about non-traditional hot dogs.  One was Thai and I have been fantasizing about it ever since.  However, I didn’t use their recipe, which wasn’t vegan anyway, preferring instead to create my own.

I decided on a kale and cabbage slaw (even though kale isn’t in season here)–because a day without kale is like a day without sunshine–and a Chili-Lime Mayo, though that name doesn’t do it justice, as I also whisked in creamy natural peanut butter and coconut cream.  OMG!  It is out of this world, good enough to eat unaccompanied, as you can see in the photo below.  We topped our dogs with fresh cilantro leaves and chopped cashews.  Truly, this is a stunning rendition of a lowly “dawg.”  I ate leftovers for lunch AND dinner today!

Sharon contributed marinated cucumbers, a delicious Cupcake Sauvignon Blanc, and, for dessert, simple pitted cherries and sliced white peaches.  So perfectly simple and elegant.

Even if the beach is far away from wherever you call home, I hope you will “relish” this special dog.

Yield: 4 servings

4 whole wheat hot dog buns, split in half lengthwise not quite all the way through, drizzled with olive oil, and toasted 7 to 8 minutes on a baking sheet at 400 degrees (wrap in foil and keep warm, if desired)

4 of your favorite vegan “not” dogs, grilled (2 minutes on each of 4 sides on an oiled indoor grill pan; adjust time if grilling outdoors; wrap in foil and keep warm if desired)

Asian Kale Slaw (recipe follows)

Chili-Lime Mayo (recipe follows; you will have some left over and you’ll be glad!)

4 or more tablespoons cilantro leaves

4 or more tablespoons chopped roasted and lightly salted cashews or peanuts

Place about 1/4 of the slaw on each toasted bun.  Top with a grilled “not” dog.  Add a generous squiggle of the Chili-Lime Mayo, and top with 1/4 each of the cilantro leaves and chopped cashews.  Serve immediately.

 

Asian Kale Slaw

If I’ve learned anything about cooking, it is that people’s palates vary dramatically.  So, while this balance of flavors tasted perfect to me and my friend, you may want to adjust the sweet-tangy balance, and you should feel free to do exactly that!  Fluffying with a fork is a key step.

2 cups coarsely torn and lightly packed fresh kale

6 leaves ocabbage (I used green cabbage, but use red if you prefer)

1/2 cup 1 1/2-inch carrot pieces, peeled

1/2 of a yellow, orange, or red bell pepper, stemmed and cored, all seeds removed

1/4 cup vegan fish sauce (sold as vegetarian fish sauce in Asian markets)

2 tablespoons natural sugar

1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar 

Pinch sea salt or to taste

You may shred the veggies by hand, but I use the grater attachment of my food processor.  If using a food processor, pack the kale into the tube, turn the machine on, and use the plunger to press the kale firmly and steadly onto the blade.  Repeat with cabbage, tightly rolling two leaves at a time and feeding them into the tube in the same manner.  Repeat with carrots.  Scrape veggies into a medium bowl before repeating with bell pepper, as it may create significant moisture that needs to be drained/blotted.  Add the pepper to the bowl of veggies along with remaining ingredients and toss the mixture with a fork to combine.  Cover and refrigerate until serving time.

 

Chili-Lime Mayo

As with the slaw, this balance of flavors tasted delicious to me and my dining companion, Sharon–as you can see, she’s “drinking” it out of the bottle!–but feel free to adjust to suit your taste.

1/4 to 1/3 cup vegan mayonnaise (homemade or prepared; to cut the tang, use half vegan sour cream)

Zest and juice of 1/2 large lime

1 teaspoon Sirachi chili sauce or to taste (feel free to substitute your favorite chili sauce)

1 tablespoon softened creamy natural peanut butter (I heat it for a few seconds in the microwave)

1 tablespoon cocont cream (not coconut milk)

Pinch of sea salt

Optional: 1 clove garlic, minced (I don’t prepare this mayo with garlic, but I think it would be tasty, so if it sounds good to you, add it!)

Whisk all ingredients together until smooth in a small bowl.  Spoon into a “squirt” bottle if desired to allow you to add it to your “dogs” in a pretty squiggle.  Refrigerate until serving time.

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by betsy

Vegan Zucchini, Onion, and Yellow Squash Gratin

Yield: 6 to 8 servings as a side dish

Olive oil

1 medium-large zucchini, trimmed, split lengthwise, and cut crosswise into 1/2-inch slices

2 small yellow squash,  split lengthwise, and cut crosswise into 1/2-inch slices

1 small yellow onion (or half of a medium-large), peeled, halved, and cut into 1/4-inch slices

Sea salt to taste

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Red pepper flakes to taste

3 tablespoons nutritional yeast

1 tablespoon vegan butter (I like Earth Balance)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup Panko bread crums (any bread crumb will do, but I love the crunchiness of Panko)

3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh herbs (I use equal parts sage, basil and oregano, but use what you have)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Oil a 9-inch glass or ceramic pie dish with non-stick spray (or olive oil).  Add both squashes, drizzle with a little more olive oil, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.  Toss and then spread to an even layer.  Top with sliced onion and sprinkle with additional salt, pepper and 1 tablespoon of the nutritional yeast.  Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes.   Meanwhile, stir together the melted butter, olive oil, bread crumbs, remaining 2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast and herbs.  After the vegetables have cooked for 20 minutes, remove the foil from the dish, sprinkle the top of the veggies evenly with the bread crumb mixture, and return to the oven for 10 minutes.  I like the top very brown and crispy, but if you prefer less color and crunch, simply remove the gratin from the oven after about 8 minutes.  Serve immediately or at slightly warmer than room temperature.

Note: this dish is also delicious with 1/4-inch thick slices of tomatoes (from a cored medium-large tomato) arranged over the top of the onion before the vegetables are sprinkled with the bread crumbs.

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by betsy

Vegan Penne Pasta with Fresh Peas, Smoked Paprika, Walnuts and Cream

Yield: 4 servings

This flavorful and pretty pasta dish was inspired by the popular Italian favorite made with peas, ham or prosciutto and cream.  I simply cleaned it up and veganized it, substituting smoked paprika for the pork and unsweetened soymilk for the cream.  I added walnuts for additional flavor, texture and nutrition and a little lemon zest to brighten, lighten and freshen the dish even further.  I hope you love it.

Note: I created the recipe and photographed it in May when “May peas” were in our farmer’s market.  But then I got consumed by other obligations and never posted.  I really hope you can still find fresh peas in your area.

Approximately 1/2 cups fresh peas (I used May peas from the farmer’s market)

Sea salt to taste

8 ounces whole wheat penne pasta (11-12 minutes)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 cup thinly sliced spring onions (a ratio of about 3:1 white to green parts)

2 medium cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon all-purpose flour

1/2 unsweetened soymilk + extra if desired

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 tablespoon nutritional yeast

Freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup walnut pieces

Zest of 1 medium lemon

Place peas in a 2 quart saucepan, cover with water, add a pinch of salt, and place over medium high heat, loosely covered.  Simmer for 20 minutes or until tender, adding more water if too much evaporates.  Meanwhile, heat a pot of generously salted water to boiling.  Add pasta, stir, loosely cover, and simmer for 11-12 minutes or until pasta is al dente.  Reduce heat if necessary.  (I confess, that I NEVER use as large of a pot or as much water as recommended.  It seems unnecessary and wasteful, as long as the pasta has room to agitate.) 

While peas and pasta cook, heat olive oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat.  Add onion and sauté, stirring frequently for a couple of minutes.  Reduce the heat if necessary to prevent from cooking too fast.  Add garlic and sauté, stirring constantly, for another minute.  Then stir in peas.  Sprinkle with flour, stir to incorporate, and then stir in soymilk until it reduces down.  Drain the pasta, reserving about  1 and 1/2 cups.  Stir in the pasta and then add the pasta water a little at a time to loosen the sauce to the desired consistency.   (Leftover reheating note:  this pasta seems to absorb a lot of the moisture when refrigerated, so save some of the pasta water to add to your leftovers when reheating.  Plain water can’t as successfully be added, as it lacks the starch from the pasta that helps thicken the sauce to the desired texture.)  Sprinkle in the smoked paprika, nutritional yeast and a pinch of black pepper.  Stir until incorporated.  Fold in walnut pieces and lemon zest.  Check for seasoning and adjust as desired.  Serve immediately.  (Reduce the heat at any time that the mixture appears to be cooking too fast.)

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by betsy

Annie’s Vegan Herbed Cucumber and Chickpea Salad

Yield: 4 servings

On a recent Saturday afternoon, I had the most lovely lunch with my magnificent friend Ann Dearsley Vernon.  A few years back, she retired after a three decade career as Education Director/Education Director Emerius of the Chryser Museum.

If possible, her calendar is fuller now than then.  Everyone loves to be in the company of this bright, beautiful, disarming, elegant, tough, and witty 73 year old.  So, in addition to a slate of social engagements, she is a highly sought-after speaker, event chair, judge and, otherwise, active volunteer committed to a number of causes near and dear to her heart, from art education to civil rights to the YWCA and more.

In my case, we were combining business with an opportunity to catch up.  The only thing that has slowed down this powerhouse in the last two years was, unbeknownst to her, congestive heart failure due to heart damage sustained during a childhood bout with rheumatic fever.

Barely 9 months ago, Ann had a heart pump known as the LVAD (left ventricular assist device) installed.  Though it dramatically changed her life in some ways, it also saved it.  Henceforth, she will forever be joined to a computer and set of batteries neatly tucked into a compact black shoulder bag that operates the pump through a wire that enters her body beneath a sterile dressing.

I had the honor of interviewing Ann about her experience with this revolutionary “HeartWare” device for an article in the Top Docs/Women’s Health issue of Hampton Roads Magazine, to be published later this summer illustrated by captivating paintings she has created about her journey (think Frida Kahlo meets Marc Chagall).  (I’ll be sure to post a link once it hits the stands.)

So, though she’d been jurying an art school exhibition for 3 hours, she breezed home, fetched me from her garden, and nonchalantly put together a perfectly light and perfectly delicious lunch to enjoy while we talked…and talked…and talked.

While she didn’t write down how she made this bean salad—that’s not her way—she described what she did and I tried to duplicate it.  I used chickpeas, as that’s what I had, but her version featured creamy cannellini beans.  Either way, it’s absolutely addicting.

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon mustard

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1-15.5 ounce can chickpeas (or cannellini beans), rinsed and drained

Approximately 1/2 cup finely sliced spring onions (I like a ratio of 2/3 white to 1/3 green parts of the onion)

1 medium cucumber, sliced in half lengthwise, seeds scooped with a spoon and discarded, then each half slit lengthwise in half again, and sliced crosswise into 1/4-inch pieces

3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh herbs (I used a ratio of 1:1 basil and oregano, but some parsley would also be good, so use whatever you have)

In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, vinegar, mustard, and a pinch of salt and pepper.  Set aside.  In a medium bowl, gently toss together chickpeas or beans, spring onions, cucumber and herbs.  Season to taste with additional salt and pepper.  Drizzle dressing over, toss gently again, check for seasoning, adjust as desired, and serve immediately or chill until serving time.  Toss again before serving.

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by betsy

Bloomin’ Best Vegan Sweet Potato and Pumpkin Butter Muffins

Yield:12 regular size (not super size!) muffins

I received such rave reviews on my recently created Bloomin’ Best Vegan Peanut Butter and Apple Muffins that I decided to try my luck with a sweet potato version. 

I know, I know…for a seasonal cook to be using sweet potatoes in May seems anethma.  But, our farmer’s market leaves their spuds in a cold cellar over the winter so that once the market opens again in the spring, its customers are treated to beautiful golden sweet potatoes.

I planned to make the sweet potato version of the muffins exactly like the peanut butter and apple inspiration, but I needed a substitute for the creamy moisture of the peanut butter.  Fortunately I remembered a gift of some unopened pumpkin butter (which contains no dairy despite the name) from my sister-in-law.  Its moisture content is even higher than peanut butter, though both are thick and creamy, so these muffins are  more delectably moist than their forebears.  Both are delicious.

Enjoy whenever sweet potatoes are in season–or brought out of the cold cellar–in your neck of the woods!

1/2 cup pumpkin butter

1/2 cup canola oil

1/2 cup unsweetened soymilk (you can use plain, but you might want to slightly decrease the sugar)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup natural sugar

2 cups white whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

Pinch ground allspice

Pinch ground cinnamon

Pinch ground cloves

3 cups finely grated sweet potatoes, skin on (fine like food processor-fine)

Line muffin cups with papers or oil well with nonstick spray.  In a large mixing bowl, stir together pumpkin butter, canola oil, soy milk and vanilla until well combined.  Stir in sugar, flour, baking powder and baking soda just until a smooth batter forms.  Then stir in grated sweet potatoes only until incorporated.  Divide evenly among prepared muffin cups and bake for 20 minute or until a toothpick inserted in the center of one comes out clean.  Allow to cool about 10 minutes in the pan and then remove to cool completely or to enjoy while warm.

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by betsy

Blooming Platter is Featured Cookbook Complete with Featured Recipe of the Week on VegKitchen

It’s such an honor when Nava Atlas, noted vegan cookbook author, blogger and artist, embraces a cookbook as she did The Blooming Platter Cookbook: A Harvest of Seasonal Vegan Recipes again in today’s VegKitchen Newsletter, also choosing my Angel Hair Pasta with Chard and Bell Peppers as her Recipe of the Week.

Just follow the link to this recipe which Nava calls “beautiful and nutritious” because, now that warm weather is here again–at least for many of us–chard will be showing up in gardens and farm markets across the country.  And, as Nava also says, this dish is at least as good if not better the next day…thanks so much, Nava for your ongoing support!

If you don’t already receive the VegKitchen Newsletter, you will want to.  Just click HERE to subscribe.

And be sure to heck out one of Nava’s latest projects: the Vegan Minute Channel on YouTube.

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