Processing the Gifts of Summer

It was a big produce weekend that started with picking up our organic peaches Friday and waking up to pick some wonderful figs on Saturday morning.  The first thing I did was whip up a vanilla chia pudding and added some of the chopped ripe figs. My husband is enjoying it right now.  Aside from snacking on the lovelies all day, I dried many of them for future recipes and snacks.

Figs headed for the dehydrator.












I delivered Rachel's peaches to her out on Puget Island and took out a couple of my own boxes.  I grabbed a few random veggies to use for our meal. I love this time of year when I go shopping in my own garden. We spent a lovely day canning, visiting, and enjoying the day.  We picked up Kaylee on the way out and I brought her a bead making kit for something to keep her busy.  She doesn't stay in much there though.  She gets to feed and run with chickens and kitties.  It's a pretty free place for a kid. She and Allison sat together and created bracelets for everyone there.  We were all decorated at the end of the day.  Every one helped out with the peaches, picking up a knife and peeling and pitting throughout the day.  I manned the jars and the canners, keeping them going.  We processed four boxes, eighty pounds, and ended up with 33 pint and a half jars.  That should make for some good peach treats through the winter.  We always have a great time doing this too.  This time Allison joined in and made a fresh apple pie with the apples she and Rachel foraged on the Island.

Sunday at home and I have lots of produce coming out of the garden right now.  I have to get to work preserving it so it doesn't go to waste. Even though we're not able to give away as much as we'd like, we are still pulling out a good amount of groceries.  This morning I had two very large heads of cabbage I wanted to get into something.  I made a nice pot of Tuscan Cabbage & White bean soup.  I used some white onions, red onions, garlic, carrots, collards, and herbs from the garden.  I added a couple of the ripe heirloom tomatoes I picked up at the organic farm Friday, and used some low sodium vegetable broth.  I cooked up about a cup of white beans ahead of time, but you could use a drained and rinsed can of white beans.  I seasoned it very simply with fresh garlic, sea salt, ground black pepper, a sprig of thyme, and a spring of rosemary.  Here's a link to a pretty easy recipe for cabbage and bean soup.

The big red cabbage became sweet & sour cabbage just like my grandmother used to make.  I put three pints up, but I don't think they'll last long.  I really like it. I think of my grandma with every bite.  This is really good stuff. It's pretty easy to make.

 Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage Recipe

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup vegan margarine, non hydrogenized
• 1 2-pound red cabbage, thinly sliced (about 12 cups)
• 6 Tbsp sugar
• 2/3 cup balsamic vinegar

Method

Melt the vegan margarine in a large pot over medium heat. Add cabbage and sauté until slightly wilted, about 5 minutes. Add sugar, toss to coat evenly. Add vinegar. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover, simmer until cabbage is tender, stirring often, about 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Serves 6-8.

The canning station is ready, I quickly put some cabbage soup and sweet & sour cabbage up for a quick meal sometime.

Somehow this weekend I also managed to squeeze in some almond and flax meal crackers with rosemary and garlic.  I made a pretty wonderful vegan capri cheese for them.  I've been playing with a few vegan cheese recipes.  I think I'll have some good ones coming up soon. I roasted up some beets & onions and it all made for a great Sunday dinner.

But that's not all, we still had a large zucchini and probably would like something sweet on hand this week.  I shredded it up and stored most of it for salads and meals this week.  But, not before I made a double batch some of what I call "Zucchini Muffin Top" cookies.  I made these gluten free too.

I should warn my calorie counting friends at work, I'm going to mess with their calorie count tomorrow. ***giggling***

It's a bit of work, but none of the fresh produce is wasted, we have some great handy meals for lunch and dinner this week, and we've stored some goodies for later.  I don't have to cook, if I don't want to, until at least Wednesday.  I'd say it was a successful weekend.

Mexi Veggie Tofu Scramble ~ Vegan & Gluten Free

An easy Sunday and it's supposed to look a little like summer today.  Even though it hasn't lately, the farmer's market is starting to look like the sun was shining somewhere.  I picked up some fresh zucchini and Walla Walla onions yesterday and they've already made it into a couple meals.  This morning I put together a really simple, but tasty Mexican veggie tofu scramble.

I diced up a box of firm silken tofu and threw it in a medium frying pan with 1 TB hot coconut oil.  While that was working, I roughly chopped a Walla Walla, including the green tops, diced a red bell pepper, and sliced two small zucchinis.  I added the onions and red bell pepper to the tofu and let that sauté until the onions were translucent, then added the zucchini slices.

I keep a Mexican spice blend around that makes it easy to flavor anything quickly.  I sprinkled about 1 tablespoon of the spice blend in the pan and added about a ¼ cup of filtered water and let the mixture simmer until the liquid was absorbed.

Warmed some corn tortillas and served with some fresh pineapple. Filling, very nutritious, and tasty!

Mexican Spice Blend
    A Vegan Fusion blend

Makes 7 TB

¼ cup chili powder
2 TB cumin powder
2 tsp oregano, dried
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp cayenne pepper

Place all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix well.  Store in a glass jar.


Now, off to play in the garden.

Quinoa Burgers with Tzatziki Sauce

These were fun.  I saw a beautiful picture and recipe of a quinoa burger in another place I like to share recipes.

Love That Quinoa Burger from a blog called Eating Well... Living Thin~er

I gave it a try, but veganized the recipe.  They're lovely burgers, very flavorful, and easy to make.  I had some butternut squash left to use from the live nachos, so I sliced it up and put it on the grill next to the burgers. I heard the flour is very important to keep them together as patties.  I used some Cassava flour, mostly because I have some.  It not only made for gluten free burgers, I thought the cassava flour would be more moist than wheat flour and form a nice patty.

Quinoa Burgers ~ Vegan Style

2 cups cooked quinoa
3/4 cup Daiya cheddar cheese
1/2 cup firm tofu, crumbled
1 medium zucchini, grated and squeezed a bit to get most the liquid out, about 1 cup
     grated carrot is nice instead of zucchini also
3 teaspoons Enr-G egg replacer, whisked with 4 1/2 tablespoons filtered water
3 tablespoons all purpose flour, I used Cassava flour
1/3 cup chopped green onions
1/2 teaspoon ground stevia leaves, agave or other sweetener will work well too, this is optional
1 tablespoon tamari
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder, I used ground garlic scapes I dried last summer

In a large bowl combine the cooked quinoa, Daiya cheese, tofu, zucchini or carrots, egg replacer, flour, green onions, sweetener, if using, pepper, cumin, sea salt, and garlic powder.

Heat a grill or large frying pan and a couple teaspoons of olive oil over a medium heat.  Mixture will be slightly sticky.  I used a three ounce scoop and dropped the mixture onto the hot pan and lightly flattened to about 1/2 inch thick.  After they seared just a minute or two, I turned the pan down to medium low and let them cook slowly about eight minutes each side.

I served them with some vegan tzatziki sauce, grilled butternut squash, and a cucumber, red onion, and bell pepper salad.

Tzatziki Sauce

1 cup unsweetened vegan yogurt
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 teaspoons fresh chopped mint
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons olive oil
½ cup peeled, grated cucumber, patted dry

In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Vegan Pizza with Sunflower Seed Crust

These little goodies were a delightful treat for dinner last night.  There are two more crusts left, I think I'll make two more and use the rest of the sauce in some whole grain pasta with some greens for dinner tonight.

This is an easy crust that can be made in the oven or a dehydrator.  Making the marinara sauce and crusts on the weekend and storing for up to a week in an airtight container, makes for a quick, nutritious, and tasty meal during the week.  Just pour on some sauce, a couple slices of zucchini or whatever veggie that happens to be around and bake for 10 minutes.  You can use raw sunflower seeds or soaked and dried sunflower seeds.  I buy my seeds and nuts in large quantities, soak them, and dehydrate them so they're handy.

Sunflower Seed Pizza ~ Vegan & Gluten Free
This is my version of a recipe from Deliciously Organic.

Makes about 6 – 6″ pizzas

For the crust:
1 1/2 cups sunflower seeds (I used soaked and dehydrated seeds, but raw or toasted seeds will also work well)
2 roasted red, orange or yellow bell peppers
1/2 teaspoon dried basil and oregano
1/2 teaspoon Celtic sea salt

For the Marinara:
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (24-ounce) jar crushed tomatoes (I used home canned organic tomatoes)
1/2 teaspoon Celtic sea salt
1/2 teaspoon dried basil, rosemary, and oregano

Any other toppings of your choice: mushrooms, tempeh, basil, greens, etc.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 300ºF, adjust rack to middle position, and place a pizza stone or pizza baking sheet in the oven (the stone/pan needs to preheat along with the oven). Place sunflower seeds in the bowl of a food processor. Process until finely ground. Add bell peppers, Italian seasoning, sea salt and cheese.

Process until smooth.
Place a small sheet of parchment paper on the counter. Place a 1/4 cup scoop of dough on the parchment. Spread dough into a 6″ round. Bake on the preheated pizza stone for 20 minutes.  I used the dehydrator at 115º flipping after about three hours.  They were ready to use in about two to three more hours, crisp, but still a bit pliable.  They are going to bake in the oven for another ten minutes, so not quite crispy is desirable. I don't know, is there an 'al dente' for seeds and nuts?

Meanwhile add the marinara ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

Remove crust from the oven. Top with 2 tablespoons marinara and sprinkle with a few tablespoons of toppings of your choice. Bake for 10 minutes. Serve.

I used simple toppings, thinly sliced yellow zucchini, some of the roasted peppers I used for the sauce, and Daiya vegan cheddar and mozzarella style cheese.

I can't believe it's Tofu ~ Tofu Quiché

I made some awesome tofu quiché in muffin cups yesterday.  I created a variation of my friend Felicia's recipe.  She brought some to the last potluck and I always have some tofu and fresh veggies around. Thought I'd give it a try this weekend. This is an easy meal and can be made with just about any vegetables.  She did find out while creating her recipe that the vegetables that contain the most moisture, like zucchini, should be dried a little or sauteéd first. I sliced a yellow zucchini very thin and weighted the slices between paper towels for about 30 minutes.  I had some fresh asparagus spears and just chopped them in about 1/2 inch sections. I also chopped some green onions to add to the vegetable mixture.  I didn't use mushrooms this time, but that's OK, my honey doesn't care for them much.  I also didn't have soft tofu, but I did have some vegan cream cheese in the fridge, which is made with tofu.  It worked great.  The little quiches came out firm, but fluffy. For my gluten intolerant friends, it's not only vegan, it's also gluten free.

Tofu Quiché

      by Felicia Divina

2 tsp minced garlic
1 c chopped vegetables, spinach works best for me but anything low moisture, if you use zucchini saute first to get moisture out or dry it with paper towels. (I used asparagus, green onions, & sliced yellow zucchini.)
1 1/2 c chopped mushroom, sauteed (add the rosemary here if you are using dried)
tsp chives
tsp rosemary
1 box firm tofu
1/2 c soft tofu
3 or 4 TB nutritional yeast
2 TB cornstarch  (I omitted the cornstarch)
2 tsp tahini (heaping, I love the stuff)
1 tsp tamari (Tamari is my addition to her recipe)
pinch freshly ground black pepper
pinch turmeric (I used big pinch turmeric, about a teaspoon)

I also added a sprinkle of cayenne to the top of each and a little Daiya cheddar and mozzarella style vegan cheese.

Spray muffin tin, spoon veggies into tins

Blend everything but the veggies in food processor or blender until smooth.

Pour over the veggies. Bake at 350º for about 25 to 30 minutes, they will be firm and golden brown.

Gert's Moussaka, Vegan Style

While chatting with a my lifelong friend/sister, Barb, on Facebook the other day she mentioned a couple of her mom's family recipes, Moussaka and Stifano.  I think of Moussaka as a Greek lasagna, usually made with eggplant and ground meat, lamb or beef.  It has layers of potatoes, a tangy tomato meat sauce, cheese, and a generous amount of creamy béchamel sauce poured on top of the layers, and topped with cheese.

Gert was one of my favorite mom's growing up.  She had a wide range of talents and great stories to tell of her life experiences.  We remained friends as I became an adult.  I'd come to visit Barb unannounced and if she was not home it wasn't a problem.  I was at home there and stayed anyway. Sometimes Gert & I would crack open a bottle of wine and talk through the night.  I was more at home at her house than my own parents' house. She lost the battle with stomach cancer some years ago and I do think about her from time to time and miss her. Gert was a lot of fun to be around.  She has lived all over the world and when she made an authentic ethnic dish, it was authentic.  I don't think she'd mind what I did with her family recipe. I also made a vegan version of her Stifano, a Greek beef stew, using stew meat size seitan pieces.  I'll be posting that later.  Simmering for three hours in the crock-pot, this dish made my house smell wonderful.

My version of Gert's Moussaka, vegan style.

2 Large eggplants, sliced 1/2" thick
1 14 oz. tube Gimme Lean ground beef style veggie protein - I think Soy curls would work well for this dish
3-4 small zucchini, sliced
1 1/2 pounds red potatoes
1 cup organic Panko breadcrumbs
Cooking oil such as Olive, I used hazelnut oil
1 onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
8 ounces tomato sauce, I just blended my home canned tomatoes
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon chopped dried parsley
small sprig of fresh rosemary
fresh thyme leaves, about 1 teaspoon
1/2 cup red wine
about 1/2 - 3/4 cup Daiya mozzarella style vegan cheese
sea salt and ground pepper to taste

Béchamel Sauce:

1/2 cup, 1 stick, vegan margarine, I used Earth Balance organic
1/2 cup spelt flour
3 cups non dairy milk
1/2 teaspoon tumeric
pinch of nutmeg
sea salt & pepper to taste

Slice and cook the potatoes in a small amount of water for ten minutes or until just tender, al denté.  Set aside.

Peel and slice the eggplant and the zucchini and toss them with a little sea salt.  Then I put them in the dehydrator for an hour or so to let the moisture evaporate.  If you don't have a dehydrator, you can put the slices between paper towels and weight with another plate for an hour or more.

While the eggplant is drying, prepare the 'meat' sauce.  Dice or crumble the veggie protein which looks a lot like ground beef and brown it in a couple tablespoons of oil.  Then add the diced onions, garlic, sea salt, and pepper.  When the meat was brown and onions tender add the cinnamon, nutmeg, herbs, and tomato sauce.  Stir well, add the wine, and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring a couple times.

The eggplant can be steamed, or sauteed with or without a breading.  I chose to dip them in some egg replacer and dredged in a little spelt flour.  Then I gently fried them in a little hot oil just until they were golden, not very long.  Then put them aside on a paper towel until I needed them.  I suppose when I have fresh picked eggplant from the garden I could just put the slices 'as is' without any prior cooking. But, since I used eggplant from the market which is probably not so fresh, it needed some tenderizing first.

Lightly oil a 9" x 13" pan and sprinkle the panko bread crumbs in the bottom.  Leave a small space around the edges of the pan so the bechamel sauce can ooze over the sides of the dish. Make the first layer with the sliced potatoes.  Top with a layer of eggplant slices, add the tomato 'meat' sauce, sprinkle with the shredded Daiya cheese.  Add the zucchini slices next.  Top with a layer of eggplant slices.

Preheat the oven to 350º and make the béchamel sauce.

Béchamel Sauce

Melt the vegan margarine.  Using a whisk, add the flour to the melted margarine whisking continuously to make a smooth rue.  Allow the mixture to cook for a minute but do not allow it to turn brown.  Add non dairy mild in a steady stream, whisking continuously.  Simmer over low heat until it thickens a bit but does not boil.  Remove from heat, and stir in turmeric, nutmeg, salt, and pepper.

Pour the béchamel sauce over the eggplant and be sure to allow sauce to fill the sides and corners of the pan.  Smooth the bechamel on top and sprinkle remaining cheese.  Bake in 350º oven for 45 minutes or until sauce is a nice golden brown color.  Allow to cool for 15 - 20 minutes before slicing and serving.

Most of this dish can be made ahead of time, but it's best to make the béchamel sauce right before you intend to bake it.

Enjoy, I am going to go have some right now.

Raw Teriyaki Noodles

I have posted these before, but it's been awhile.  Made this with the first zucchini of the year.  I'm always amazed at the taste and texture of the fresh picked vegetables each year.  The zucchini is juicy and buttery. We came in from the garden late and we were hungry.  This dish took me all of fifteen minutes to prepare.

Raw Teriyaki Noodles

3 TB Cold pressed vegetable oil, (pumpkin seed, avocado, hemp, extra virgin olive oil)
2 TB White wine
2 tsp Tamari
2 TB Miso
2 TB Raw agave
1 TB Fresh ginger, grated
1/4 cup Sesame seeds
3 - 5  Medium zucchini (about 5 - 6 cups zucchini) Depends on what you call a "medium" zucchini
2 Red Bell Peppers seeded and small diced

In a small bowl whisk together, the oil, wine, tamari, miso, agave, and ginger until well-blended.  Stir in 2 tablespoons of Sesame seeds.

Using a Japanese spiralizer or vegetable peeler, make fettuccine-style noodles.  In large bowl add noodles and red bell pepper, pour on dressing, and toss gently.  Sprinkle on remaining 2 tablespoons sesame seeds and serve.

Tofu Piccata

I came across this recipe by way of a Facebook post from a vegetarian page, Vegweb.com.  I had some super firm tofu I needed to use.  I was introduced to the super firm tofu at the Vegan Fusion workshop I attended a couple weeks ago.  It's very nice as it can be made into cutlets and and is very easy to work with. I made some coconut crusted tofu cutlets and took some to work the other day.   One of my co-workers who tried it said it reminded her of chicken.  It's that dense.

The recipe called for linguine pasta, but I used zucchini instead. The first one from our garden this year. I made noodles with my spiralizer and marinated them in a little olive oil, lemon juice, and sea salt.  I warmed them in the dehydrator just before serving.  I just happened to have some capers. My friend, Felicia, purchased a couple jars on sale and gave one to me. Thanks Felicia. I didn't have any parsley, but I did flavor the sauce with fresh thyme.  That prompted me to plant a few more parsley plants in the garden.  I shouldn't be out of any herb. We steamed some of the artichokes we picked Monday.  A very nice, somewhat homegrown, vegan meal. 

Tofu Piccata

4 to 6 ounces linguine pasta (I used raw marinated zucchini noodles)
10 ounces extra firm tofu (super firm tofu worked really well)
Sea salt and ground pepper
3 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons vegan margarine, divided
1/4 cup white wine
Juice of one lemon (about 2 tablespoons lemon juice)
2 tablespoons capers
4 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley


1.  Press the tofu between paper towels for 10 minutes to remove excess liquid.  Cut into four 1/8" slices.  Salt and pepper each side.  Dredge in the flour.

2.  Cook Linguine according to directions.  Or, use zucchini noodles marinated in olive oil and lemon juice for about 20 minutes.

3.  Heat a pan to medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon vegan margarine.  Add the tofu slices and cook for about 2 minutes on each side or until golden.  Remove from the pan.

4.  De-glaze the pan with the white wine.  Squeeze in the lemon juice and add the capers, stirring to remove any cooked-on bits from the pan.  Remove from the heat.  Add half of the parsley and remaining 1 tablespoon vegan butter, stirring until melted.

5.  Top the linguine with the tofu and drizzle the sauce over.  Sprinkle the remaining parsley over and around the plate.  Enjoy!

Tepary Beans & Zucchini Orzo

One of my holiday gifts this year was a basket of heirloom beans. This weekend I cooked up the Tepary beans. Tepary Beans are a little larger than a lentil, but plump up like a bean.  I just made a simple bean pot. Sauteed garlic, onions, chopped red bell pepper, simmered in low sodium vegetable broth.  I think I threw in some thyme, basil, a couple tablespoons raspberry balsamic vinegar, and a tablespoon of pumpkin honey.

The Orzo is a variation of a recipe in a book I've been reading this year, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. There are recipes at the end of many chapters and lots of good gardening and food preserving information in it.  There's even a whole day planned out canning chutney, barbecue sauce, relish, and tomato sauce.  The directions even tell you to invite a friend for that day.  Heads up Morgaine.  The chutney and relish recipes look good. I was looking for a recipe I'd tried last summer and came across this easy Zucchini and orzo.  I've had half a box of orzo sitting on my counter looking for a home for about a month.

They talk about the end of the summer when the gardens are overflowing with zucchini. People who don't ordinarily lock their doors make sure they are locked because someone might drop off a bag of vegetables it they don't.  That didn't happen this year in our area, hope it's better this year. They have lots of recipes to hide the zucchini so the family doesn't know how much they are eating. This my version of one called "Disappearing Zucchini Orzo". 

Prepare 8 oz. Orzo
1 chopped red onion
1 red bell pepper, diced
3 cloves chopped garlic, or to taste
2 large zucchini, grated (I used a couple very large yellow zucchini)
2 large carrots, grated
Olive oil for saute
Thyme
Oregano
1/4 cup vegan cheddar cheese
1/4 cup vegan mozzarella cheese

Saute zucchini, pepper, and carrots briefly with chopped onion and garlic until lightly golden.  Add spices to zucchini mixtue, stir thoroughly and remove from heat.  Combine with cheese and cooked orzo, salt and pepper to taste.  Serve warm or cold.

Vegetarian Lasagña

When I first moved here one of my new friends thought it was very strange that I would get up and make dinner in the morning, normal for me.  After this, my granddaughter and I will make a vegan chocolate birthday cake for grandpa and while it cools I think we'll check out the Toy Soldier Bazaar.   We have all day to play together, dinner is ready to pop in the oven.

I made a sauce with onions, garlic, julienne carrots and zucchini, a quart of my homegrown tomatoes, chopped green pepper, a diced mild chili, a small can of organic tomato paste, dried herbs from the garden, oregano, basil, rosemary, parsley, sea salt and fresh ground pepper. I added a little agave and some white balsamic vinegar, a dash of cooking sherry, and some sliced mushrooms.  Sliced large because my husband doesn't like them too much.  I still cook with them, but make them large enough for him to pick out.

I made the Ricotta by blending tofu, garlic, a dash of shoyu, oregano, basil, rosemary, parsley, about 1/4 cup olive oil, and about half a large chopped red bell pepper.

I have come along some on the cheese.  I've made this recipe for many years. I used to use cottage cheese, eggs, and Parmesan cheese for a ricotta and about a pound of mozzarella cheese and more Parmesan cheese. This only has about 4 - 6 oz. of cheese for the whole recipe.  I blended grated mozzarella, Parmesan, and Romano cheese.

There's also a layer of chopped greens from the garden, chard and beet greens, between the lasagna layers and the ricotta.

Bake this in the oven on 400° for about 45 - 50 minutes until the cheese melts and browns and the sauce is a bit bubbly.

It tastes like Apple Cobbler...

but, it's zucchini cobbler with dairy free vanilla bean ice cream.

Ingredients

    * 8 cups peeled, chopped zucchini
    * 2/3 cup lemon juice
    * 1 cup sucanat
    * 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    * 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  
    * 4 cups whole wheat all-purpose flour
    * 1 cup date sugar
    * 1 cup sucanat sugar
    * 1 1/2 cups vegan margarine, chilled
    * 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

   1. In a large saucepan over medium heat, cook and stir zucchini and lemon juice until zucchini is tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in 1 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon and nutmeg and cook one minute more. Remove from heat and set aside.
   2. Preheat oven to 375°. Grease a 10x15 inch baking dish. In a large bowl, combine flour and 2 cups sugar. Cut in butter with pastry blender or two knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir 1/2 cup of butter mixture into zucchini mixture. Press half of remaining butter mixture into bottom of prepared pan. Spread zucchini mixture over top of crust, and sprinkle remaining butter mixture over zucchini. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon cinnamon.
   3. Bake 35 to 40 minutes, or until top is golden. Serve warm or cold.

I think I'd use less flour next time.  It was a little too much bread for me.  I cut the sugar in half from the original recipes I found.  The first one I found had so much sugar and butter, I could have used Brussels sprouts or mushrooms and my husband would have eaten it and he doesn't like either of those.

The ice cream is homemade dairy free vanilla ice cream made with coconut milk creamer, non dairy milk, coconut oil, vanilla bean, a dash of salt, and a tablespoon of vanilla vodka.  I read that the alcohol keeps the ice cream from crystallizing and getting too hard.

Fresh & Simple and from the Garden

Steamed Spaghetti Squash with Zucchini and Summer Squash Hummus, and a bowl of fresh Gazpacho Soup.

All picked from the garden this week.

The Zucchini and Summer Squash are blended with some sesame tahini, a couple small Anaheim peppers, garlic, cumin, fresh lemon juice, and a tablespoon of garlic/chili sunflower oil.

The soup is blended fresh tomatoes, cucumber, garlic, a couple peppers, sea salt, a dash of pepper, a handfull of fresh cilantro, and a little red onion.

I poured the blended mixture over fresh chopped tomatoes, and cucumbers and some whole steamed spelt berries. I garnished the soup with chopped avocados.

Roasted Garden Veggies

Columbia River Gorge, George, WA

We went to the Gorge this last Labor day for some sunshine, camping, wandering, and enjoying music with friends.  When we returned after not being to the garden for almost a week, we found that it had kind of exploded.  We harvested at least three carloads of veggies out of there this week.  I not only gave away lots to friends and family, our local produce stand took some too, giving me credit toward some winter veggies and fruit.  Life is good.

A portion of what I harvested yesterday became a tasty vegetable roast shortly after arriving home.

I sliced the squash, eggplant, and tomatoes to about a half inch thick. I chopped the parsley, a little fresh oregano, and the garlic. I layered it all in a glass baking dish lightly greased with some coconut oil. I added a little grated Romano cheese and some Panko bread crumbs to the top. I baked it for about 40 minutes at 375°.

Before Roasting, adding just a small amount of Romano Cheese

After Roasting.

The lemony early girl tomatoes were delightful with the roasted eggplant and fresh oregano. 

Local and "In Season" Processed Food

Enjoying and preserving the gifts of summer, I processed our food this weekend. 

Two batches of Tumeric Refrigerator Pickles, one made with cucumbers and the other with golden zucchini,

fresh tuna and peaches,

baked some zucchini loaf cake,

steamed some fresh from the garden artichokes,

and made some twice baked potatoes with summer squash and potato stuffing topped with a little freshly grated Parmesan cheese and fresh parsley.