Morels and Fresh Asparagus in a Tangy Vegan Cream Sauce

We spent about four hours or more in the garden yesterday.  On the way home I was preparing dinner in my head.  It had been a long day and we did quite a bit of shovel work.  We were both tired and I knew when I hit the couch I'd be asleep very shortly.   I picked up some asparagus at the farmer's market and had set some morel mushrooms to soak in salt water before we left.  My first idea was to grill them with some other vegetables.  I didn't have the energy to start the coals and wait so I made a quick cream sauce.  It was pretty nice, I used some lemon juice and zest to give it a little tang, a heaping tablespoon of nutritional yeast, and a handful of some Daiya mozzarella cheese.  It took about 30 minutes from start to finish.

It was the first time I've ever used morels myself.  I've had them prepared by others.  They're pretty expensive at $20 a pound and I m not a mushroom expert.  I wouldn't feel safe picking them myself.  Christy had some at the produce store, so I picked up a quarter pound. They really have a great flavor and from what I've heard, pretty nutritious.

Health Benefits of Morels

"The nutritional content of morel mushrooms provides several health benefits, including cardiovascular and weight loss support. A 1-cup serving of morel mushrooms provides 1.8 g of fiber. Fiber absorbs bile acids in the intestines and prevents them from re-entering the bloodstream and forming cholesterol, a substance that clogs arteries and causes cardiac arrest and stroke. It also slows carbohydrate digestion, along with the 2 g of protein in morels. Together these macro-nutrients maintain a steady blood glucose level that provides consistent energy throughout the day, preventing binging and excessive snacking."
 

 

Morels & Fresh Asparagus with Cream Sauce

About 1/4 lb fresh morels

     1 tablespoon salt for soaking morels

1 lb fresh asparagus

2 tablespoons vegan margarine, I used Earth Balance

2 Cups non dairy milk, not low fat (soy or hemp work best for a creamy texture)

3 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice

1 tablespoon lemon zest

1/4 cup chopped green onions

1 tablespoon nutritional yeast

3 tablespoons grated Daiya mozzarella cheese

Sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste

2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley

8 ounces of your favorite pasta

Rinse morels and slice in half, soak in filtered water with about 1 tablespoon salt for an hour or more, drain and rinse with filtered water.

Cook, drain, and rinse pasta.

Steam the asparagus for about 3 minutes until bright green.  The asparagus should be 'al dente. Remove to colander and cool with water.  Cut asparagus into 1 " pieces.  Set aside.

In large skillet over medium high heat, add margarine and morels.  Cook the morels until tender, about 5 minutes.  Add the milk and cook until bubbly and begins to thicken. Add lemon juice, zest, salt, pepper, green onions, and parsley.  Simmer about 3 minutes or less. Combine with asparagus and pasta.  Serve immediately.  

This should serve about 4

Garden Update

It's been awhile since I shared a garden update.  We've been out every chance we can get turning the soil and planting our garden.  We're almost planted.  We've got one more section in the back to turn, but we're running out of room now.  Friday afternoon I planted:  eight ball zucchini, delicata squash, broccoli, jalepeños, Thai chilies, some more flowers, & basil.  Yesterday we planted: three or four kinds or tomatoes, persimmons, yellow paddy pan squash, crookneck squash, zucchini, Anaheim peppers, mustard greens, and fennel. We only have one more section to plant. Hopefully we'll get potatoes and collard greens soon, and some more flowers :)

The artichokes have come in healthier than I've ever seen them.  It's the third year for these plants and I've counted more than ten artichokes already on two plants.  There are lots of herbs coming in and the chard made it through the winter.  I love it that we can take something home when we've just begun the harder work of gardening.  The ground was really tough and muddy this year.  It took awhile to get out there in our wet spring, but we managed to get a lot in. 

Asparagus Tamales ~ Fresh, Local, & In Season

It's asparagus time of year again and I've been enjoying it.  I think I've eaten steamed asparagus spears at least twice a week for the last month.  My favorited grilling it just until it turns bright green.

I made tacos with grilled asparagus with black rice, roasted red peppers, avocado, and Daiya Cheese, in hand made corn/flour tortillas.

We're planning a trip to southern Oregon pretty soon and as I planned our drive around some of my favorite farmer's markets and produce stops, I remembered the asparagus tamales a Mexican woman sells at the Salem farmer's market.  She sells frozen tamales by the dozen, but I've never bought that many as it's a two hour drive and no matter how I kept them on the way home, they'd have to be cooked an eaten as soon as we got home.  I thought I'd try it myself.  It's been a long time since I made tamales.  They're a bit labor intensive, so I don't make them very often.  This is a simple recipe, but including all the prep, it took me four hours from start to finish.  I washed a lot of asparagus so I could put mostly the nice tips in the tamales.  I steamed the rest of the asparagus and mixed it with some of the chiles I roasted and some spelt berries and some pineapple.  That made a great salad, cold or warm for my lunches this week.

I don't usually use a recipe for tamales, but I thought I'd look around for some vegan ideas and I'd like to share, so I need some measurements..  I found a recipe I liked pretty well, changing just a few things as I went along. I made the filling with a little more chilies than in the recipe.  I had some dried Pasillo peppers I soaked in filtered water until they were soft and easy to use.  I strained the seeds and bits out of the chili water and used that as a liquid while sautéing the peppers and onions.  I also used fresh jalapeño peppers and one large sweet red pepper I roasted, peeled, seeded. The cheese sauce called for vegetable broth powder and that's something I just don't have in my kitchen so I thought a little light miso might be nice.  I've used that in a number of vegan cheese sauces.  It worked out just fine.

Traditional tamales are prepared with lard, which is technically dairy-free, though certainly not vegan and not exactly healthy. These dairy-free cheese and jalepeno tamales are lard-free, vegan tamales that can be filled with many different kinds of fillings, from beans to veggies to sweet potatoes, and they are so much fun to serve!

I used dairy-free cream cheese in this recipe, but if this is not available, dairy-free soy margarine or even all-vegetable dairy-free shortening will work as well.

I doubled this recipe and ended up with about thirty tamales, half went into the freezer for a quick meal later.

Vegan Tamales

by Ashley Skabar

Makes 12 tamales

Ingredients:

• For the Tamales:
• 14 large dried corn husks
• 1 8-ounce tub dairy free cream cheese
• 3 cups masa harina
• 1 3/4 cups warm vegetable stock
  
  For the Filling:
• 1 T. olive oil
• 1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
• 2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 jalepenos, finely chopped and seeded (I also added a a couple Pasillo peppers I had around)
• 3 T. finely chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 t. salt
• I added about three large fresh Asparagus Tips, 1 inch sliced, to each one - I put the asparagus in raw as it will steam plenty with the tamales.
  
  For the Dairy-free Cheese Sauce:
• 2 cups plain dairy-free soymilk or almond milk
• 1/4 cup Tahini
• 2/3 cup nutritional yeast
• 2 t. turmeric
• 1/2 cup vegetable broth powder (I used about 1-2 TB light miso paste)
• 1 T. prepared mustard
• salt and pepper, to taste

Preparation:

1. Place the corn husks in a large bowl. Fill with water to cover, then place a plate or pan on top of the husks to submerge them for 1 hour.

2. Meanwhile, make the masa dough. In a medium-large mixing bowl using an electric hand mixer, beat the dairy-free cream cheese on medium speed for about 1 minute, or until aerated and fluffy. Add the masa harina and stock gradually, beating until well combined. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 1 hour.

3. Meanwhile, make the filling. In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, heat the olive oil, adding the onion and garlic once hot. Cook for about 4 minutes, stirring often, until the onions are soft. Add the jalepenos, cilantro and salt, and cook for about 2 minutes more, or until the onions are translucent. Remove from heat and set aside.

4. Make the dairy-free cheese sauce. In a small sauce pan over medium-low heat, heat the soy milk and tahini. When just warm, add the nutritional yeast and turmeric, stirring until well combined, followed by the vegetable broth powder, stirring well until dissolved. Add the prepared mustard and cook until desired consistency. Salt and pepper to taste.

5. Assemble the tamales. Tear 2 of the corn husks lengthwise (with the grain) into 12 strips and set aside. Drain the remaining corn husks and pat them dry. Place one of the corn husks on a dry work surface. Place about 1/4 cup of the masa harina mixture in the center of the corn husk, pressing the mixture into a rectangle and leaving about a 1- 1 1/2 inch border on the sides. Place 2 T. of the vegetable mixture onto the center of the masa rectangle, followed by about 2-3 T. of the dairy-free cheese sauce. Bring the "long sides" of the corn husk together without folding them over. Tuck in the ends of the cornhusk, then continue to fold the long sides of the husk around the tamale. Using one of the corn husk strips, tie the tamale to secure. Repeat with the remaining corn husks and batter.

 6. Cook the tamales. Fill a stockpot with a steamer insert with water so that it is just about 1/2 inch below the basket. Bring the water to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium. Place the tamales upright in the steamer basket, cover, and steam for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, or until the batter is firm and easily comes away from the corn husk. Remove from heat and let the tamales stand for about 10 minutes before serving. Serve with salsa, dairy-free cheese sauce or just as they are!

 I added a little tomatillo sauce, some of the dairy free cheese sauce, grilled asparagus, and a pineapple and mango salad.

Vegan Creamy Broccoli Soup and Charlie Free "Tuna" Sandwiches

I made some fresh vegetable soup this weekend.  Pretty cool, it's snowing today and all the vegetables in this soup were picked this week.  My local farmer has some green houses and quite a few goodies left in the fields. Good thing too, because what's left out there will probably freeze this week.

I did a creamy broccoli/vegetable soup.  I sauteed diced garlic, onions, carrots, a couple sliced parsnips, and lots of fresh celery including the tops and leaves in a bit of homemade rosemary oil until they were soft.  I added some sea salt, fresh ground pepper, sage, and oregano to the mix while it was cooking.  I added some vegetable stock and let it all simmer and reduce for about 20 minutes.  Then I added filtered water, I'd say about 2 lb of fresh broccoli, and the tops of the celery.  I let that simmer about 20 minutes then transferred about a third of it to my blender and added a small block of firm tofu, about 12 oz. I blended it all together until it was smooth and creamy and added it back to the soup pot.

We made a nice lunch of it along with some Charlie Free "tuna" sandwiches.  I made a mock tuna salad with whole grain tempeh, vegan mayonnaise, celery, red onion, garlic, shoyu, stone ground mustard, some of my zucchini pickles I made this summer, chopped Italian parsley, chopped garlic, and a little balsamic vinegar. Instead of lettuce, I used some raw collard greens. I made them with "Good Seed" bread from Dave's Killer Bread.  Nice Lunch, followed up with some fresh homemade vegan pumpkin pie ice cream.

Roasted Fall Vegetables

The roasted vegetables are my husband's handiwork. He brought home some very large, tired carrots I wasn't interested in using. I already had a few things going. He said he would peel and clean them. So, I walked him through the process while he prepared the vegetables. He added some parsnips, a large beet, a big yam that needed a home, some homemade garlic chili oil, and fresh herbs. He's my favorite sous chef.

Pumpkin Polenta

I ran across this idea from a blog I read called Gluten Free Goddess.

Her recipe is for four servings, I doubled the polenta recipe to use in other meals later.  I used four cups low sodium vegetable broth, 2 cups water and 2 cups polenta.  When the polenta had absorbed most of the liquid I added 1 can of coconut milk, about 3 cups pumpkin pureé.  The pumpkin came from the garden, but I didn't grow it.  It just appeared in the corn rows.  I assumed it was either a gift or the folks stealing the corn put it down and forgot it.  I also added fresh herbs from my garden, parsley, rosemary, and some purple basil. When it had simmered a little I added 2-3 TB vegan margarine and 1 1/2 TB agave.

Tomatillo-Avocado Salsa Fresca
by Karina Allrich - Gluten Free Goddess

3 tomatillos
1/2 orange or yellow bell pepper
1 Anaheim chili pepper
1 fresh lime
A dash of extra virgin olive oil
A drizzle of raw organic agave nectar
Sea salt, to taste
A handful of fresh chopped cilantro
1 small avocado

Remove the papery skins from the tomatillos and wash the stickiness off with produce soap and water. Roughly chop. Toss into a bowl. Wash and halve the bell pepper; seed and chop one half. Add to the bowl. Stem and clean the chili pepper; dice. Add it in. Drizzle the mix with fresh squeezed lime juice, olive oil and agave nectar. Season with sea salt, to taste. Add in fresh chopped cilantro and stir to combine. Cover and chill till serving.

Just before serving, peel and pit the avocado, dice it and add the avocado to the salsa.

This is the same pumpkin polenta chilled, then sliced and warmed, served with black beans and roasted vegetables (carrots, beets, parsnips, and yams).

Green Tomato Bread

If you live in the Pacific Northwest, I don't have to ask if you had any green tomatoes in your garden this year. I pulled some of the tired tomato plants the other day and brought home a box of red and a box of green tomatoes.  Some of the green ones will ripen, some of them I'll use now.  I googled green tomato recipes and found a few I wanted to work with.  I made two of the bread recipes yesterday, they are both very good. 

They're both called Green Tomato Bread.  Of course I made some changes, I made them both dairy free. One is made with green tomato puree, and molassest.  I used date sugar instead of brown sugar, wild flower honey, grape seed oil, egg replacer instead of the eggs, and roasted pecans instead of walnuts.  It's a dense bread, almost a cake. This one is vegetarian because I used the honey, but if you use agave it is a vegan bread.

The second one, by the Southern Chef in Louisiana, came out a little more light and bread like. This recipe called for two cups of sugar, too much for me, I used 1 cup of agave instead. Other changes I made were: egg replacer instead of eggs, applesauce instead of oil and roasted pecans and cashews.

Vegan Apple Spice Ginger Cake

It's that time of year for apples in the Northwest.  I received a large bag of apples from a friend and made some homemade applesauce and put some up in jars last night.  Today I combined some of that applesauce with some freshly grated ginger, freshly ground Jamaican allspice, some molasses and maple syrup for a not too sweet, but flavorful apple spice cake.

1/4 cup molasses
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1 cup applesauce
1½ tsp ground Jamaican allspice
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
1½ cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 tsp grated ginger
1 medium apple, diced

    *  Combine the molasses and applesauce in a large bowl.
    * Combine remaining ingredients and stir into the liquid. (If the batter seems very dry, add a little more applesauce or a little water.)
    * Bake in a nonstick or pan-sprayed 8x8-inch baking pan, in a 350 degree oven, for 30-45 minutes or until it tests done.

Whipped Tofu Topping

This is a delicious nondairy alternative to whipped cream. Keep blending until it is really creamy.

Ingredients:
 8 ounces silken tofu
 2 tablespoons maple syrup or agave nectar
 2 tablespoons oil
 1 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract
 1 tablespoon soy or other nondairy milk, if needed Puree tofu, sweetener, oil, and vanilla or almond extract in blender or food processor until very smooth and creamy. Add milk if necessary for creamy texture. Chill for at least one hour before using. It will firm slightly as it chills.

Makes about 1 cup

Note: A few drops of liquid stevia extract can be substituted for other sweeteners.

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. 

Dairy Free Mint Ice Cream

Dairy Free Mint Ice Cream with homemade Chocolate Sauce.

I just started going through the recipes in the Veg News food issue.  This is the first one I had to try.  I broke down and bought a little kitchen ice cream maker for the occasion.  I can see a lot of fun with this little gadget.

 
Raw cashews, coconut, agave, fresh mint from the garden, vanilla bean, and a dash of salt. The chocolate sauce is made with raw cocoa and agave with the seeds of a vanilla bean.

This ice cream received quite a few thumbs up from the fans at work.  They are getting a little less worried about trying the vegan treats I bring in.

Living Corn Chowder

On the way home from the gorge last weekend we picked up some peaches and some beautiful fresh corn.  Ours isn't quite ready in the garden.  I made a very fresh, lively corn chowder.  It's called living corn chowder because this is a cold, raw vegetable soup.   It's a  very refreshing summer treat. Most of the other ingredients were grown in my garden.

This recipe is a variation of Aiyah's Garden Living Corn Chowder, in the Blossoming Lotus, Vegan World Cuisine Fusion Cookbook.

Filtered water
3 cups fresh corn
1 C avocado
¼ cup diced fennel bulb
¼ cup diced onion
1 Tbl Shoyu, or to taste
1 tsp Ginger, peeled & minced
1 tsp Garlic, peeled & minced
1 tsp Sea salt, or to taste
1 tsp Fresh jalapeño, seeded & diced
¼ tsp black pepper
2 tsp Cilantro, minced
½ cup Red bell pepper diced

Place 2 cups of corn and all remaining ingredients except cilantro and red bell pepper in a blender and blend until smooth.  Add the remaining corn, bell pepper, and cilantro.  Serve chilled.

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.

Stuffed Squash Flowers

The garden is going great.  It provides about a basket a day of a variety of fresh food.  I have lots of herbs drying and really don't have the need to shop for vegetables or herbs right now.  We're only buying fruit at the local produce and farmer's markets and a few things we don't have growing.  I tried to grow some cantaloupe this year and the plants look great, lots of pretty yellow flowers, but so far no fruit. Without a warm spring, most of the plants are producing less and/or later than usual.  I noticed quite a few ears of corn growing and we should have lots of tomatoes ripening soon.

 
We also have lots of squash flowers and I have heard of them being a great treat to eat but haven't tried them before.  I've read some of the nutritional benefits and they are high in potassium, vitamins B and K, and beta carotene.  Thought I'd try it.  Last weekend my friend and I sauteed some flowers in a little oil and herbs and they were delightful.  Yesterday while in the garden, I picked a variety of squash flowers:  summer, zucchini, spaghetti, crookneck, and pumpkin with the idea of stuffing them with a little cheese and herbs and cooking them. The flowers to use are the male flowers, they grow upright on a stem and don't produce squash.  The female flowers have what looks like a little squash at the base.  You can use those, but that will reduce your squash yield.  Leave a couple male flowers so the female flowers can be pollinated.

I used some herb goat cheese, chevre, and a sliced anaheim pepper, also from the garden.  I scooped the cheese with a little tasting spoon, added a couple small slices of the pepper and made a little ball.  I stuffed this at the bottom of the flower.  I dipped them gently a somewhat thin batter of WW flour and homemade soy milk.  Then I warmed a mixture of sesame and safflower oil in a nonstick pan.  I sliced some garlic cloves and toasted them in the oil with a couple sprigs of rosemary and thyme and removed them when they were crisp and set them aside for garnish. Then I sauteed the flowers in the oil until they were just golden brown.

 I added a little black bean corn salsa and the toasted garlic chips I made earlier and it was a full meal for two. These were so good, this plate didn't make it far.  We just stood here after the photo and had dinner.

Artichoke-Chili Bisque and a Little Tree Climbing

Been having some busy days, haven't had time to sit down and blog.  My granddaughter and her mom moved to town, I am so happy about that.  I can see her anytime now and have some good grandma time.  My honey and I spent some time having fun together last weekend, including a visit to the Tree to Tree Adventure Park. This is us 30 or more feet in the air.

I took these swings very slowly, he jumped. Notice, the feet are in the air.

It was a great test of self trust.  I did three courses, my husband did all of them.  Although they make sure you are safe and most people can do this, it is physically demanding.  It's Thursday, we did this Sunday and my arms and thighs are finally not sore.  I am looking forward to doing this again.

What did I make for dinner?

Last weekend we ventured out to Puget Island to a friend's house for dinner.  She's a kitchen witch, not a vegetarian, but a whole foods kitchen witch, a flexitarian. She doesn't use processed foods and when she does prepare animal protein, it's from a local source.  She knows lots about herbs and preparing wild greens.  I'm learning quite a bit from her.  I love to give her vegetables from my garden and then see what she creates with them. We made dinner together Saturday afternoon.  She marinated some fresh tuna fillets, wrapped in bacon, they looked like little fillet Mignon. She seared them gently in avocado oil with a little fresh thyme and sage. She also made a barley salad with black beans and fresh vegetables: corn, zucchini, chilis, onions, garlic, and fresh herbs.  I contributed vegetables for the salad, a dressing made from oranges and tahini, and a fresh artichoke-chili bisque.

Fresh garden salad with Orange Tahini dressing, Vegetable Barley salad, Artichoke-Chili Bisque, and Tuna Fillet

Artichoke-Chile Bisque (Vegan)

10-12 small artichokes, steamed and the outer tough leaves removed
6 roasted Anaheim chilis, skin and seeds removed
1 cup roasted cashews (I roasted raw cashews gently in a saute pan)
3-4 cloves fresh garlic
seas salt, dill, a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes, black pepper, and shoyu to taste
3-4  cups filtered water (Start out with 3 cups water then add more depending on the consistency you like, I like it kind of thick.

Blended together until smooth.  This can be eaten warm or cold. 

We also tried sauteing squash flowers for the first time.  I picked a variety of squash flowers Saturday morning, zucchini, summer squash, delicata, and pumpkin.  She sauteed them in the oil from the tuna fillets.  They were pretty fun to prepare, they get puffy again every time you turn them.  I missed getting a picture of them.  They were so good, they didn't last too long.  I have heard you can stuff them, I will try some again soon.

Garden Zucchini Pie

Garden Zucchini Pie

Barb and I use to laugh at how we would harvest our fresh, healthy vegetables, steam them ever so gently, and then cover them in butter and cheese.  We knew we weren't eating exactly healthy, but we were going in the right direction anyway.  This is a variation of a recipe I've made for years.  One of my favorites, it's a variation of vegetable quiche.  I used to use milk and sometimes cream, and much more cheese than I do now.  I've slimmed it down by reducing the eggs and cheese and using non dairy milk.  This time I made my own soy milk so I know what is in that, soy beans, filtered water, and a dash of sea salt.  I try not to use eggs too much, but when I do, I use local eggs from free range chickens.

The Crust

3 cups grated potatoes, about five medium
1 beaten eggwhite
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Squeeze potatoes to remove excess water.  In a large mixing bowl combine the egg white, onion, and parmesan cheese.  Stir in potatoes and press into a 9 inch pie plate.  Pat mixture in the bottom and up the sides of the dish.  I like to think of it as building a bird's nest for my pie.  Bake uncovered in a  400° oven for 35-40 minutes until golden brown.  Cool on  a wire rack.

Filling

2-3 medium zucchini, thinly sliced (3-4 cups)
     I used a mixture of zucchini, starburst, and crookneck squash
2-3 cloves garlic minced
1 medium red bell pepper, diced
This time I added a diced serrano pepper for a  little extra zip.

3 beaten eggs
3/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (cheddar or Swiss cheese works well too)
1/2 cup non dairy milk
2 tsp fresh oregano
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Arrange vegetables in cooled potato crust.

In small mixing bowl combine the eggs, cheese, non dairy milk, oregano, salt, and pepper.  Pour on top of zucchini mixture in the crust.  Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes.  Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Before Baking

After Baking

I had some nice broccoli from the garden and made one with broccoli too.  I left out the serrano pepper on this one just in case my husband didn't like the spicy taste of the zucchini pie.  He didn't say anything and ate three pieces, so it must have been fine.

Broccoli Pie Before Baking

Broccoli Pie out of the oven

Gifts of the Summer

 I'm doing my shopping in the garden now.  I'm pulling out little summer squash, zucchini, artichokes, broccoli, chard, edible flowers, and many herbs.  The green beans are starting to appear and the tomatoes are starting to ripen.  My shopping list this week was short and consisted of small items I needed for the meals I will prepare for the week.  I wanted to make a zucchini pie so I needed some cheese and eggs this week, but most my groceries are coming from my garden or another local garden right now.

I surveyed my fresh groceries and made some pretty fun decisions about what to do with my fresh garden vegetables and the fruit of the season.   I had some organic soy beans in the drawer so I made some fresh soy milk to use in the zucchini pie.  I made some peach preserves sweetened with fresh local honey using Agar for thickener.  I only used a little, I didn't want a jelly consistency, just a thick fruit mixture.

Peach Preserves

I put up some blueberry freezer jam sweetened only with 1 teaspoon of powdered stevia to five pounds of blueberries. To make up for the liquid lost by omitting the sugar, I used one cup of water. I used pectin to thicken this time. It's fruity and sweet and doesn't taste like it's sugarfree.

Sugar Free Blueberry Freezer Jam

These little summer squash all became raw teriyaki noodles.  I'll post the recipe separately a little later. I have a handy little sprializer gadget that turns them into curly long noodles.  Tossed with a teriyaki sauce made from pumpkin oil, pomegranate juice, shoyu, miso, a little agave, and fresh ginger, they become a fresh Asian inspired dish.

Sunburst, Crookneck, and Zucchini Squash picked this morning.

I have some cabbage, four large heads, sliced and wilting in the crock for some homemade sauerkraut.  I also prepared some barley this morning and have been adding some sliced vegetables in throughout the day.   As I used the vegetables in other dishes, I threw the ends and pieces in with the cooked barley.  The barley has fresh cucumber, tomatoes, peppers, squash, peas, and fresh raw corn kernels.  I think I'll add some balsamic vinegar and a dash of chili oil and call it a barley vegetable salad. 

I still want to make something sweet for a dessert.   My friend, Morgaine, made a blackberry custard recently and I have some of the fresh eggs I bought for the zucchini pie left.  I think I'll hunt down that blog and make some peach custard with some of the preserves I just made.  I'll let you know how that works out.