Every summer, there is one dish that dominates mealtime. We try to make it whenever possible. Last year it was Grilled Romaine and the year before that, it was Heirloom Tomato Panzanella. This year, the winner is this lovely compliation of everything that is in peak season right now!
Summer in a Bowl (BEST SALAD EVER)
This salad has a different name in our house, but it has a bad word in it, and I know there could be some of my GOTRs that read this, so I am keeping it out of this part. The first time I made this salad was on my birthday which is April 30th, and it was after my first bite that I gifted this salad its signature name. We had it every day that week, and since then we've had it every week.
Vegan Strawberry Pistachio Crumble Pie
Strawberry picking is one of our favorite summer activities! Usually we pick about three to four buckets of strawberries, but this time we we had to scale back a bit due to the size of the freezer in our new house. (I'm fairly certain our freezer was designed by someone with only ice cube and frozen pea storage in mind)
Until we can get a new fridge/freezer, I've taken to bribing people with berry desserts in exchange for freezer space. This pie is my newest bribery tool! The strawberry fruit swims in a sweet syrup right on top of a rich layer of cashew cream, all of which is complimented by a salty pistachio crumble on top.
Spicy Almond Chickpea Salad Sliders
I love to be sneaky and trick people who usually shy away from anything labeled 'vegetarian' or 'vegan' into eating exactly those kinds of things and then watching their reactions of surprise and delight.
This is a GREAT recipe for that purpose.
Avocado Toast with Spicy Sauce and Seeds
Last week, we started a new chapter in our lives. We moved to into our first house!! Our house seems to have been built with our family in mind, and our neighbors are fantastic! The kitchen was a MAJOR selling point for us, I finally got the gas range I have been lusting after. Now if I could just get the hang of cooking on it... Until then, we will be eating toast for most of our meals until I can figure out how to not burn everything aside from eggs and soup. This recipe is for those times when you need a healthy, delicious, somewhat creative snack or a lovely vegetarian/vegan pleasing appetizer (and for those times when your brain must still be packed somewhere).
Blood Orange Kale Salad with Farro and Crispy Rice Clusters
One of the highlights of Citrus Season are Blood Oranges!!! They are so beautiful and happen to be one of the most nutrient dense citrus fruits out there! The next best thing about this salad aside from the blood oranges, are the crispy rice clusters. They are SUPER easy to make, delicious, and add a slightly spicy crunch to the salad. Who knew they would be so DARN good on a salad? They are also really good on their own. I've been eating these clusters by the handful....
Vegan Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Pie (NO BAKE!)
I made this Vegan Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Pie and then realized it was perfect for our vegan friends. The other reason I made these is because I have a friend who much prefers savory over dessert, and Take 6 bars are her favorite. I wanted her to be able to enjoy a little something sweet too! And anyways, I have never met someone who didn't like a peanut butter/pretzel/chocolate combo. Have you?????
Roasted Squash with Farro, Toasted Pepitas, Pomegranate & Warm Maple Cinnamon Drizzle
In walks you, tamer of delicious Thanksgiving vegetable delights. Carrying a platter of beautifully roasted butternut and delicata squash, topped with savory barley and farro, pomegranate and toasted pepitas, topped with warm maple cinnamon drizzle. As soon as you reach the table, the compliments start flowing, even conservative Aunt Janice pipes up!
Thanksgiving Vegetarian Wild Rice Dressing with Roasted Hazelnuts
My least favorite Thanksgiving dishes seem to be the items that no one would ever dream of replacing. Every Thanksgiving, I see the sponge like, wood colored stuffing along side the worm-like green bean casserole. I usually pass up both of those options, and not just to make room for pumpkin pie. Now that I am in charge of Thanksgiving, I look forward to more than just rolls and pumpkin pie! One of the highlights of our holiday meals is definitely my Wild Rice dressing. It has been a mainstay on our table for about five years now, and was one of the first, more creative vegetable dishes I made when we started cutting meat out of our diets.
Romaine Dream Boats with Toasted Pepitas
I've been roasting squash and sweet potatoes almost daily trying to perfect recipes for Thanksgiving sides, and after eating squash all day I wanted something opposite of roasted root vegetables.I turned around and looked at the groceries waiting to be put away. A head of romaine, some raw pepitas, and a bag of unsweetened cocoa. Romaine! Romaine is crunchy and crispy! So are pepitas! And then, Romaine Dream Boats with Toasted Pepitas were born.
This recipe is so easy to make, its not even funny. You don't even need utensils!! With the Holiday season quickly approaching, this is a great quick and healthy option! It is also really easy to make it look fancy...