When life hands you limes, make pie! Or parfait!

This is going to be one of those posts where I show you how to do one thing, but I am going to recommend another. This is a delicious recipe, but it just doesn’t set very well as a pie. Instead, I think this recipe would translate well to a parfait: crumble up some vegan butter cookies or graham crackers into a dessert glass, spoon some pudding on top, and add a dollop of vegan whipped cream (like Soyatoo), then chill for a few hours.

Eventually I’m going to experiment with this, too, and come up with a version that doesn’t require a pudding mix, because I know not everyone has access to the specific brand that’s needed for this recipe. Still, if you are able to make the recipe below, your taste buds will not be disappointed, even if the pie doesn’t set just perfect.

Vegan Key Lime Pie
Recipe from Food.com

• 1/2 cup fresh key lime or regular lime juice (or use lemon juice for a lemon pie)
• 1 12.3-ounce package Mori-Nu firm silken tofu
• 8-ounce package vegan cream cheese
• 2 teaspoons freshly grated lime peel
• 2 4-ounce packages Mori-Nu Mates vanilla pudding mix (must be this brand; it’s made to go with the tofu)
• 1 tablespoon agave nectar or other liquid sweetener, to taste
• 1 9-inch baked pastry shell or 1 9-inch graham cracker crust (Keebler’s pie crust is vegan)

Before you cut up your limes to squeeze the juice from them, grate a couple of limes or so until you have about two teaspoons of grated lime peel.

Grated lime peel

Cut the limes in half, then squeeze them using a citrus juicer into a measuring cup until you have half a cup of lime juice.

Fresh key lime juice

Drain any excess water from the tofu. Blend tofu and lime juice in a processor or blender until creamy and smooth.

Blending up the tofu and lime juice

Add the rest of the ingredients except for the pie crust, and blend again until smooth.

Adding the remaining ingredients

Pour the mixture into the pie shell.

So quick and easy!

Then chill two to three hours, until firm, or overnight.

Who can resist this yummy goodness?

This pie really was pretty good. It was creamy, tart, and sweet – everything you want in a key lime pie (or key lime parfait, of course!). Like I said before, I am going to experiment, though. I want to come up with a version that sets well and still gives me the creaminess that makes it heaven. I think I’m up to the challenge!

Yum.

What is your favorite indulgent dessert?

Coconut Ginger Vegetable Soup

Early last year I had the chance to go to Vegfest in Seattle. It is a food festival for vegans and vegetarians, and they are held all over the country. Chances are, if you live in the United States, there’s one not too far from you. It’s fun because you get to sample a lot of food products from well-known brand names, buy cookbooks, get freebies, and attend cooking demos.

While there, I attended a handful of cooking demos presented by PCC, a local co-op with locations in and around Seattle (very similar to Whole Foods, but smaller and member-focused – although anyone can shop there). I learned some interesting new techniques for cooking, as well as some inspiration for what to make next in my kitchen.

One of the demos showed us how to make a Thai coconut ginger vegetable soup, or Tom Kha Ja. It’s a lovely soup with some really interesting flavors and textures intermingling – lemony, spicy and creamy. The nice thing is that you don’t have to use the vegetables listed in this recipe if you don’t want – you can use whatever is on hand or others that you might prefer. The only things that I would recommend not skimping out on are the lime leaves (or lime peel), lemongrass (if you have it available in your grocery store), ginger, and of course, coconut milk. There are a few other key ingredients, but those really set the tone for supporting flavors.

Coconut Ginger Vegetable Soup
This recipe is based on the one created by Pranee Khruasanit Halvorsen, who also happens to be the person who demoed it, and who is a PCC Cooks instructor.

• 5 tablespoons canola oil
• 8 ounces or one package firm tofu, diced
• 1/2 carrot, diced (about 1/2 cup)
• 1 small onion, diced (about 1 cup)
• 8 button mushrooms, stems removed and diced
• 3 cups water
• 3 Thai or serrano chile peppers, smashed
• 2 stalks lemongrass, trimmed and smashed
• 1-inch piece of fresh ginger, cut into 8 pieces and smashed
• 8 Kaffir lime leaves, or peel of 1 lime
• 4 shallots, trimmed, peeled and smashed
• 1 small zucchini, diced (about 1 cup)
• 1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
• 1 jalapeño pepper, peeled and diced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 cup coconut milk
• 4 tablespoons lime juice
• 1/4 cup cilantro leaves, optional but highly recommended
• 2 tablespoons coconut cream (the top layer on canned coconut milk), optional

Drain and prepare your tofu.

Cutting up tofu to fry

Heat a wok or skillet, then add three tablespoons of canola oil. Fry the tofu until all sides have a golden crust.

Frying the tofu

Remove the tofu from the pan, and set aside.

Dice your carrot, onion and mushrooms.

Diced carrot, onion and mushrooms

In the same pan you used to fry the tofu, sauté your carrot, onion and mushrooms with the remaining two tablespoons of oil for three to five minutes until translucent and fragrant.

Sautéing carrots, onions and mushrooms

Place the vegetable mixture in a large pot with water and bring to a boil.

Adding the water

Prepare your chile peppers, lemongrass and ginger by smashing them all. Just use the flat side of your knife and give each of them a few good whacks. You don’t have to do it too hard or too many times. The key is to allow the soup to extract the flavors of these ingredients.

Trim the top, then smash with the flat side of your knife

Trim, then using the flat side of your knife hit the lemongrass a few times to smash it

Do the same with the ginger - using the flat side of the knife hit the ginger until it is smashed

If using lime peel, trim and roughly peel a lime with a knife.

Trimming a lime for its peel

Prepare your shallots by peeling and dicing them. I recommend that you use one full shallot or two to four shallot cloves (they look like very large garlic cloves).

Chopping up shallots

When your water comes to a boil, stir in the chile peppers, lemongrass, ginger, lime leaves or peel and shallots. Let boil for five minutes.

Nearly there - just a few more steps!

Prepare your zucchini.

Dicing zucchini

Remove the stem and seeds from your jalapeño, then dice. Grab your corn (I used a whole package of frozen corn).

Diced jalapeño and frozen corn

Add zucchini, corn and jalapeño to your pot and cook for two minutes.

Adding the rest of the vegetables to the soup

Stir in salt, coconut milk and lime juice.

Add some coconut milk to make it creamy

To serve the soup, remove the large pieces of lemongrass, ginger and chile peppers, as well as the lime peel and lime leaves, then ladle into soup bowls. Add your fried tofu and garnish with cilantro and one teaspoon of coconut cream.

Delish!

This is such a yummy soup – and so versatile and forgiving if you don’t have everything you need. I think potatoes would go nicely in this, as well as snow peas, and other kinds of mushrooms, too. To reduce the fat, use a low fat coconut milk, sauté your vegetables in water, and bake your tofu (without oil) instead of frying it.

What soups are you enjoying right now?

Vegan Red Velvet Cupcake

So many people love red velvet cake and cupcakes. I haven’t ever really been one of them, probably because I was never given too many opportunities to try them. When I finally had a red velvet cupcake several years ago in New York, I was underwhelmed. The flavor wasn’t very memorable – mainly it was just pretty. But then I made them myself a few weeks ago, and I got why they were special: chocolate.

Don’t mistake me – red velvet cupcakes don’t have a very strong chocolate flavor, but you do have a hint of it, which is sometimes all you need. This particular recipe is a winner because the flavor, color and texture is all exactly what you’d want in a red velvet cupcake. It’s sweet, mild on the chocolate, the color is a lovely shade of dark red, and moist, plus the cupcake holds together pretty well. The frosting is not very thick, but it complements the cupcake with a creamy, sugary finish. I shared these cupcakes with some friends, none vegan, and they all agreed that they were delicious!

Vegan Red Velvet Cupcakes
This recipe is taken from Food.com
Yields approximately 12 cupcakes

For the Cupcakes:

• 1 cup vegan milk
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup vegan granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup canola or vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons vegan red food coloring* or two small bottles of red food coloring
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 teaspoon chocolate extract, optional (this can be hard to find, so omit it if you cannot locate it in your local store)

For the Frosting:

• 1/4 cup vegan butter, softened
• 1/4 cup vegan cream cheese, softened
• 2 cups vegan powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line muffin pans with liners.

Whisk together the vegan milk and vinegar and set aside to curdle. Note that I have only used soy milk in this recipe, so I do not know if other vegan milks will thicken in this step.

Curdling soy milk with apple cider vinegar

Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl and mix.

Sifting the dry ingredients

Add the oil, food coloring, chocolate extract (if using), vanilla extract and almond extract to the curdled soy milk. Whisk well to combine.

You'll use about two small bottles of red food coloring

Make well in center of dry ingredients and gently fold wet ingredients into dry, mixing until large lumps disappear. Do not over mix, or your cupcakes will turn out gummy – small lumps are okay.

Finishing up the batter

Fill cupcake liners about three-quarters full as these cupcakes will rise fairly high. And make sure you use the right size of cupcake liners – mine were too small for my pan, but I used them anyway!

Filling the liners with the batter

Place in hot oven and bake 18-20 minutes until done, or until toothpick inserted in the center of one of the cupcakes comes out clean.

Cool cupcakes in the pan for five mintues, and then transfer to a cooling rack or surface to cool completely.

Cooling on the rack

Using a hand mixer (or by hand), cream together the vegan butter and vegan cream cheese until just combined.

Mixing it all by hand

Whip in the powdered sugar in 1/2 cup batches. Scrape down the sides and mix until smooth and creamy. Mix in the vanilla.

Now it just needs to chill to firm up a bit

Keep tightly covered and refrigerated until ready to use.

When ready, spread some frosting on each of the cupcakes.

Spreading frosting on red velvet cupcakes

Then serve and enjoy!

Worth it.

What is your favorite cupcake?

Orange Jack-O-Lanterns for Halloween

There are some amazingly adorable ideas for Halloween out there on the interwebs. I am impressed with what people have thought up – like a chocolate caramel apple that looks like a cauldron or mashed potatoes in the shape of ghosts. It’s such a fun time of year when everybody has their creative witch hats on, and both kids and adults alike can have a scary delightful time.

I ran across a really cute idea a few weeks ago for orange jack-o-lanterns. It’s an extraordinarily easy recipe; it just takes a little effort to empty the oranges of their guts, but that’s the messiest and longest part. After that it’s just a few steps and you’ll have a cute little dessert that you, your guests and kids will oh and ah over.

Orange Jack-O-Lanterns
Recipe from Martha Stewart Recipes

• 4 navel oranges
• 2 pints mango, passion-fruit, or orange sorbet, or vegan vanilla or coconut ice cream, softened

Be sure to select oranges that have a somewhat flat bottom so they can stand upright, and don’t forget to buy two pints of your favorite vegan ice cream or sorbet – a single pint will not fill all four oranges (I learned the hard way).

Oops - I only bought one pint, but I really should have gotten two!

Slice off the top quarter or so of each orange, and reserve for lid. Using a grapefruit spoon or paring knife, scoop or cut out interior of oranges. Reserve flesh for another use, such as fresh orange juice.

You'll use the top for the lid, so hang onto it

Carve a face or some other Halloween image on the orange.

Carving is pretty easy, but I'd recommend using a small knife like a paring knife

There are a variety of ways that you can decorate the lid, but I found using a cinnamon stick is a great way to make it more interesting as well as functional. Break a cinnamon stick in half (you can get it to give more easily if you score the middle (horizontally) with a knife. Poke a hole in the top of the orange lid with a knife and twist, take your half-sized cinnamon stick and poke it through the hole.

Adding a cinnamon stick as a decorative addition

Pack each orange with sorbet or vegan ice cream, and top it with a lid. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet, and place in the freezer until firm, about 30 minutes.

All it needs to do now is freeze!

Serve immediately from the freezer as it can melt quickly if it sits out for too long.

Frozen Jack-O-Lantern

The ice cream or sorbet does take on the flavor of the orange a little bit, so be sure you use one that compliments the orange. I found that the vanilla bean coconut ice cream I used was a perfect pairing.

Also, if you’re like me and you wind up with more hollowed out oranges than you do ice cream, then pop a tealight candle inside and light it. It creates a lovely glow and can be great for your table.

Who says that lit jack-o-lanterns all have to be pumpkins?

What are some of the cuter or more fun ideas you’ve run across so far for Halloween that you’d like to try?

Candy Corn Parfait, a grown-up dessert for Halloween

Even though I never dress up, host parties or go to them, I somehow still manage to get really really excited for Halloween. I have spent literally hours this year poring over recipes and recipe ideas for this holiday, wondering what I should conquer first. Some of these ideas are incredibly easy, while others are a bit more complicated. There are those that are completely kid-friendly, while still others are meant for grown-ups.

Take this easy-to-make parfait, for instance. It can be made for kids, but overall this one is for the adults. With a little orange liqueur and a wine glass, this one is a candy corn lover’s dream, mimicking the yellow, orange and white layers found in this candy often seen in trick-or-treat bags and bowls – a perfect twist for your more sophisticated Halloween party or dinner. The end result of the recipe below serves one, but you’ll have enough lemon curd for 4-6 glasses. Make it kid-friendly by omitting the liqueur and using a sturdier clear bowl or glass.

Candy Corn Parfait
This recipe is adapted from the one found on the Food Network website

Lemon Curd
This recipe is by Kim Garr and can be found on VegNews

• 3/4 cup coconut milk, preferably from a can
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice, or the juice of 2-3 medium-sized lemons
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/2 cup vegan sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest

Remaining Ingredients for the Parfait
This makes a single serving, depending on size of glass and preferred amount for each individual serving

• 1 large orange, or 1 10.75-ounce can of mandarin oranges
• 1 to 2 tablespoons orange liqueur, optional
• 3 tablespoons vegan lemon curd
• 1/4 cup vegan whipped cream, like Soyatoo (either in a can or box)

For the lemon curd, cut and juice two to three lemons, then pour into a small saucepan.

Tip: when juicing lemons, juice first with the cut side up, then turn over and squeeze again - this gives you more juice than you would get otherwise

Zest about a teaspoon of lemon peel (ideally do this before you juice your lemons, but I somehow forgot!).

Zesting lemon peel

Pour in the coconut milk. Store the unused coconut milk in your refrigerator.

Use unsweetened coconut milk from a can

Add your remaining ingredients: corn starch, sugar, vanilla extract, turmeric and lemon zest. Per the original recipe, you can stir in the lemon zest after you take the thickened curd off the stove. Stir or whisk the mixture on medium heat for two minutes, then turn to low and continue to stir for several minutes until it begins to thicken.

Adding remaining ingredients

Once it has thickened, take the lemon curd off the heat and pour into a container, then let sit for ten minutes before chilling for an hour.

Thickened lemon curd

Once it has been in the refrigerator for at least an hour, it will be set even more. You can use the lemon curd for other things like spreading on toast or muffins, or as a filling to pies and tarts, or as a lemon pudding.

Thick lemon curd

For the parfait, if using a regular orange, peel and segment the orange with a paring knife, removing the membranes and white pith, then chop the orange segments. If using canned mandarin oranges, drain the juice. Either way, place the oranges into a bowl, then toss with the orange liqueur and let sit for about ten minutes.

Grand Marnier and mandarin oranges

Meanwhile, if making your own vegan whipped cream using Soyatoo, open the box and dump the contents into a metal mixing bowl.

Soyatoo whipped cream

Put the mixer on its highest setting and let it go for about three minutes or until the whipped cream is at the desired thickness. Any leftover whipped cream can be stored in the refrigerator, but it should be used within a few days.

Vegan whipped cream

Using a clean and dry wine glass, place about three tablespoons of lemon curd on the bottom. Then spread a dollop or two of whipped cream on top, creating a flat surface. Add the oranges.

Assembling the candy corn parfait

Finally add a nice finish of whipped cream, then serve.

Finishing touches

This is a delicious dessert, but I admit that the Grand Marnier was a bit much. I would have preferred a touch less, or at least allowing the orange segments to drain a bit before placing them into the glass. Still, I think this is a beautiful parfait and perfect to serve to the guests who love citrus desserts.

A sophisticated and vegan candy corn dessert - Happy Halloween!

Are you making anything fun or special for Halloween this year?

Vegan Blueberry Crisp

Today is Spirit Day. I didn’t realize it until yesterday when I saw a friend post about it on Facebook. I don’t even think I knew about it until yesterday, but regardless, I was inspired to do this post. A post about blueberries and suicide.

In a nutshell, today is supposed to be about trying to stop lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning kids from killing themselves, and standing up to bullying. You might see a lot of purple t-shirts and sweaters and dresses today. Purple means that you’re standing in support of LGBTQ youth. I, too, am wearing purple.

Spirit Day 2011

But earlier this week, before I knew about Spirit Day, I saw in the news about another gay teenager who killed himself. I watched some of his videos (all singing – and seemingly happy), and I visited his Tumblr site – full of depression, talking about self-harm, being alone, and many posts tagged with “suicide”. The last one had the tag of “suicide note”. He said he didn’t want to wait for it to get better. Three years would be too long.

You probably remember a few weeks ago a gay teenager who committed suicide, even after he had made his own It Gets Better video. He seemed to be a stable kid, but apparently his classmates egged him on to kill himself until he finally did a few months after making that video. Then they went on to continue bullying his sister.

Of course, we can’t forget all the other teens who killed themselves. The kids who felt like they weren’t loved or worth it. The kids who weren’t gay, but straight, and who were killing themselves because they felt alone. The kids who were killing themselves despite the efforts they, their families and their schools were making.

What bothers me in all of this, aside from the caustic and lethal bullying, is that any of these human beings decided that they were not loved enough, either by themselves or anyone else. Well, let me tell you – as soon as I watch one of these videos or read one of these news stories, all I feel is love. Well, and loss, too. We will never know what brilliant things these people could have done with their lives, rather than having to have society be reactive in their fight against discrimination because someone else was a casualty of a complex and hard world.

The thing is that teenagers hear us adults railing on about how much we love them, and how difficult things were for us when we were that age, but they don’t always understand that we really mean it, that we really have been there. I could recite a whole list. All of my education happened at Christian schools, but I was bullied in elementary school and in high school. I’ve been called a bitch, told that I was ugly and worthless, and had people tell me I was going to hell. I, too, have thought it would be easier to kill myself than to have to deal with the stress of real life, but I think that I never wanted that enough. Life was always more appealing. Still, I have, time and again, felt like no one would understand my situation, whatever I was going through. Yet I’ve discovered that more than enough people, perhaps too many, understand.

I’ve come a long way, a very long way, and so have they.

I want to share three things that have saved me from my feelings of hopelessness and depression.

• Love. I finally learned to focus on me, and to be spiritually aware of my place in the Universe. Life is a roller coaster ride no matter what age you are. But I know that I’m here, awake and alert and conscious, because my life is valuable. No matter what you believe, if you are a Buddhist or Muslim or Christian or atheist, you cannot discount the amazing opportunity you have to make the most of this existence. So I love myself, and most importantly, I give myself permission to accept the love of others.
• My talents. I don’t just bake and cook – I write, I draw, I play with clay. Depression took its toll on me for quite a while, but then I took some art classes and I felt amazing. It was as if I had trapped my creative self deep down and had forced it to stifle, until I was losing oxygen. It was a huge relief to finally allow my imagination to run wild. Some of my pieces have already shown up on Novel Eats. A whole bunch more are soon to make an appearance. It feels good to hold onto – and show off – physical manifestations of inner healing.
• Therapy. For a long time I wanted to work things out on my own, but there came a time not too long ago that I realized that I couldn’t solve all my challenges by myself. I think that a lot of people believe that they are weak or stupid or shameful if they see a therapist. I am here to tell you that it is okay, more than okay to get help and talk to someone, someone who has seen other people like you or me and helped them become happier and healthier people. I have been seeing a therapist regularly since the beginning of this year and I can tell you that while it isn’t easy to go to each appointment, I am better for it.

There are amazing people in my life who I am grateful to have met. I have met and worked with some wonderful gay men who I still consider friends. I recently had the privilege of digging into an apple crisp next to a warm fire with a lovely lesbian couple. One of the people who is most dear to me is a transgender woman. There are also amazing straight people in my life who have struggled, but who are better for the struggle. Mothers, fathers, family members, old friends from college and high school and new friends from the past few months. They are each finding their way, regardless of what has hit them full force in the gut or heart. You can, too.

So I decided to make blueberry crisp for the people who are considering suicide, whether they are kids, teenagers, adults, gay or straight, bi, trans or questioning. If you are considering suicide, I know that blueberry crisp isn’t going to change your mind, but I want you to know that people like me do love you. I’m just a silly food blogger who tries to make things better with some berries, sugar and cinnamon. Sit down, have a bite with me and let’s be friends, if not in real life, then virtually. Then, as a friend, I’m going to ask you to please get help, and if that help isn’t enough, then get more. Get so much help that you finally realize that it’s okay to stick around until that day that we all die, when we haven’t planned it, but when the cells in our body and the Universe say it’s time.

• LGBTQ Youth – If you are considering suicide, please call The Trevor Project at 1-866-488-7386.
• Everyone and anyone – If you are considering suicide, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255)
• Visit GLAAD’s website for more on Spirit Day.

Blueberry Crisp
This recipe is taken from the Blueberry Crisp II recipe on Allrecipes.com

• 4 cups fresh, frozen or canned blueberries
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup vegan sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup vegan mayonnaise, like Vegenaise or MindfulMayo
• Vegan whipped cream, like Soyatoo, or vegan vanilla ice cream (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

If using canned blueberries, drain and rinse them.

Rinsing canned blueberries

Place the blueberries into an 8-inch square baking dish, or smaller if cutting the recipe in half.

Spread the blueberries evenly in your baking dish

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, and cinnamon.

Mixing together the dry ingredients

Stir in the vegan mayonnaise until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. If they don’t turn out like crumbs, it’s okay.

My topping didn't turn out like it was supposed to, but that's totally okay

Pinch little pieces off the dough and place them on top of the blueberries until the berries are covered. Otherwise, just sprinkle the drier mixture over the top of the berries. (Either way will taste pretty good!)

Adding the topping for the blueberry crisp

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven, until the top is lightly browned.

Yum.

Let cool for a few minutes before serving, then top with vegan whipped cream or vegan vanilla ice cream.

A spoonful of goodness

I’d love to end the ills of the world with a few helpings of blueberry crisp, but I know that more needs to be done. What ideas do you have to make the world a more loving, respectful and compassionate place?

Let's have another serving of love please!

Algerian Bouzgene Berber Bread

I love it when I find a recipe that is already vegan. Of course, I enjoy turning popular vegetarian or meat dishes into vegan ones – that is probably pretty obvious by now – but there is something more satisfying when I discover that a recipe is already free of milk, eggs, meat or fish. What is even better about it is when the recipe doesn’t exist to be vegan, the recipe just is what it is. Believe me when I say that those are some of the best recipes out there – they aren’t trying to be something they are not.

I recently came across just such a recipe. It intrigued me for two reasons – first, I didn’t have to change a thing in the recipe, and secondly it uses semolina flour for a flat bread. I have always associated semolina flour with making pasta, so I was surprised seeing it used in this way. I can tell you that it most definitely works, but the bread is heavy and dense. You’ll want to make this to be a meal in and of itself if making this for a handful of people, or as a side or appetizer at a party – there is so much bread to go around that it really can’t all be eaten by one or two people. Plus, it tastes best fresh, so be sure to make the bread the same day that it will be eaten, but the sauce can be made a day or two in advance if you want to save time.

Algerian Bouzgene Berber Bread with Roasted Pepper Sauce
This recipe is from Allrecipes.com

Sauce

• 2 red bell peppers
• 4 tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 jalapeño pepper, chopped
• salt to taste

Flat Bread

• 2 pounds semolina flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
• 3 cups water, or as needed
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 6 tablespoons olive oil, for frying

Preheat your oven’s broiler. Place red bell peppers and tomatoes on a baking sheet, and roast under the broiler for about eight minutes, turning occasionally.

Roasting red peppers and tomatoes

This should blacken the skin and help it peel off more easily.

The skin should start looking like this

Cool, then scrape the skins off of the tomatoes…

Removing skins from roasted tomatoes

…and peppers, and place them in a large bowl. Remove cores and seeds from the bell peppers.

Removing the skins is really easy now - just be careful handling them as they might still be a little hot

Chop up your garlic.

Preparing the garlic

Chop up your jalapeños, discarding the seeds first.

Chopping jalapenos

Heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the jalapeños and garlic, and cook until tender, stirring frequently.

Sautéing garlic and jalapeños in olive oil

Remove from heat, and transfer the garlic and jalapeño to the bowl with the tomatoes and red peppers. Using two sharp steak knives (one in each hand), cut up the tomatoes and peppers to a coarse and soupy consistency. Stir, and set sauce aside.

Making roasted red pepper and tomato sauce

Grab your semolina flour.

You can use whatever brand you want, but I used Bob's Red Mill

Place the semolina in a large bowl, and stir in salt and 4 tablespoons of olive oil. Gradually add water while mixing and squeezing with your hand until the dough holds together without being sticky or dry, and molds easily with the hand. Divide into six pieces and form into balls.

Mixing all the ingredients together

For each round, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Roll out dough one round at a time, to no thicker than 1/4 inch.

Rolling out the dough

Fry in the hot skillet until dark brown spots appear on the surface, and they are crispy. Remove from the skillet, and wrap in a clean towel while preparing the remaining flat breads.

Frying the bread

To eat the bread and sauce, break off or cut pieces of the bread, and scoop them into the sauce.

So hearty and delicious!

What are you doing with this summer’s last tomatoes and peppers?

Easy chilled peach soup

Some of you may remember that last summer I discovered that I was seemingly allergic to one of my absolute favorite fruits: peaches. I was extremely disappointed when I found that my mouth felt like cotton and my tongue itched. These are weird sensations to experience anyway, but when it is in direct relation to a long-loved fruit like peaches, it is so disappointing. This year, I seem to not be experiencing the same symptoms – or at least not as strong – so I am trying to still get my fix of summer peaches.

But let’s get to the important matter at hand – cold soup, most specifically cold peach soup. Soup and summers don’t generally mix, but this soup does the trick. It uses what is in season, plus a few other ingredients that are always available at your grocery store, and it’s easy to make. My suggestion would be to serve this at brunch, or as a first course with a small side salad drizzled with a raspberry vinaigrette. And of course, it’s perfect as a refreshing dessert after a heavy or spicy meal.

Chilled Peach Soup
Based upon the Pretty Peach Soup recipe found at Allrecipes.com
Serves 4 to 6

• 1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries, thawed
• 1-2 tablespoons water
• 3 cups fresh or frozen peaches, thawed
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice, or the juice of 2 small lemons
• 1-2 tablespoons water
• 1 cup peach nectar (you may substitute another nectar or fruit juice if peach nectar is unavailable)
• 1 cup plain vegan yogurt
• 1/4 cup vegan sugar
• 1 teaspoon almond or vanilla extract

Place raspberries in a blender; cover and process until smooth. If you are using frozen raspberries that have not been thawed, you may find that it will be easier to blend them with one or two tablespoons of water (or even three).

Making raspberry puree

Strain and discard seeds. It will be easier to strain if you use a spoon or spatula to scrape the bottom of the sieve. Once it is strained, cover and refrigerate the puree.

Straining raspberry seeds

Whether you use fresh or frozen peaches, make sure they're pesticide-free

Place peaches and lemon juice in the blender; cover and process until smooth. If using frozen peaches that are not thawed, you may need to add one to two tablespoons of water in case they have a hard time blending. Transfer to a bowl.

Making a peach puree

Stir or whisk in nectar, vegan yogurt, vegan sugar if needed (if fruit is tart) and almond or vanilla extract. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.

I taste-tested the soup before adding the sugar in case it wasn't needed, then I whisked it into the soup

To garnish with the puree, drizzle about one tablespoon of the raspberry puree in a large circle on top of each serving. Grab a toothpick or knife to start in on the design.

Now to garnish

Use a toothpick to draw six or eight lines toward the center of circle, forming a flower. Or you can do other designs, too. Just do whatever feels creative and fun for you, and if you mess up – don’t worry, it’s pretty anyway.

Making the final touches before serving

This soup is lovely and would be the perfect accompaniment to any meal. I would only recommend that you do not serve this on its own as it is quite sweet, and really needs something else to balance it out.

Beautiful for serving

Do you have any favorite cold summer soups?

Pretty any way you look at it

Easy cucumber salad

I’m still on a quest to find salads I enjoy. Ironic, don’t you think, considering that I’ve practiced a vegetarian or vegan diet my whole life? A lot of people think that if you don’t eat meat, you must love salad. Let me be the first (or hundredth?) to tell you that that is pretty much a myth.

But let’s get back to the topic at hand, and let me tell you one ingredient that is guaranteed to make me swoon over a salad: fresh dill. It adds such a unique flavor that never overpowers, and it’s plentiful in the summer making it nearly always available to toss into whatever salad you’re making. Sure, I love other things in salad, too, but I will never grow tired of the tangy, faintly lemony taste that accompanies this bright green herb.

This is a super easy salad to throw together, and all you need to do is wait for it to chill.

Cucumber Salad
Based upon Adrienne’s Cucumber Salad found at Allrecipes.com

• 4 cucumbers, thinly sliced
• 1 small white onion, thinly sliced
• 1 cup white vinegar
• 1/2 cup water
• 3/4 cup white vegan sugar
• 1 tablespoon dried dill, or to taste, OR 3 tablespoons fresh dill, minced

If the cucumber skin seems too tough or thick, peel your cucumbers before slicing them.

Peeling and slicing cucumbers

Cut up your onion. If your onion is wider than it is tall, you can cut it in half, and then proceed to cut thin slices that look like half moons.

Slicing onions for cucumber salad

Combine the vinegar, water and vegan sugar in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir or whisk it occasionally as it is cooking, and then once it begins boiling take it off the heat.

Pour the sugar/vinegar mixture over the cucumbers and onions.

Adding the sugar/vinegar mixture to the cucumbers and onions

Add the dried or freshly chopped dill to the bowl of cucumbers and onions and mix everything together.

The magic ingredient - dill!

Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour to allow everything to marinate together, then serve. You can also make this a day or two in advance, and it will keep well.

Perfect for potluck or picnics!

I really thought this turned out great – and you’d never know that it didn’t have salt in it. I’ll also add this quick tip – if you’re making a regular lettuce salad and you need something tangy, just toss in a couple of spoonfuls of this, and you’ll be pretty impressed with the flavors it adds.

What is your favorite way to use dill?

I love foods that carry a kick. In my book, though, a little spice goes a long way; a touch of chili paste or a dash of cayenne is sufficient. I’m one of those people that asks for mild or a heat level of 1 or 2 out of 5. Just enough and I’m in culinary heaven.

But even mildly spicy foods can build up heat over time, and you need some kind of gentle salve to bring the delicious pain back down. One of my favorite desserts to do just this is rice pudding. It’s creamy and sugary, and has a touch of cardamom to give it a different kind of spice. (If you’ve ever been to an Indian restaurant, rice pudding is a pretty standard find on the menu to wrap a spice-filled meal.)

Here is a vegan version of an Indian rice pudding recipe I found online. If you use the same milk replacements I used, you can omit the sugar. It’s sweet enough without it. It’s also a very forgiving recipe, so if you don’t want to use cardamom, try cinnamon instead. Don’t like or have raisins or pistachios? Leave them out or replace them with something else.

Vegan Rice Pudding
Based on the Indian Rice Pudding found on Food Network
Makes approximately 4 small servings

• 1 cup cooked long grain or basmati rice
• 1 cup vegan milk
• 1/2 cup vegan milk, vegan creamer or vegan heavy cream alternative
• 3/4 cup coconut milk
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/3 cup golden raisins (optional)
• 1/3 cup unsalted pistachios, chopped (optional)

Cook your rice according to the package directions.

I used long grain white rice

Once the rice is ready, in a large nonstick saute pan over medium heat, combine the cooked rice and first cup of vegan milk. Heat until the mixture begins to boil.

Mixing in the first cup of vegan milk

Decrease the heat to low and cook at a simmer until the mixture begins to thicken, stirring frequently, approximately 5 minutes.

Starting to thicken

Increase the heat to medium, add the vegan heavy cream alternative and the coconut milk, sugar (if needed) and cardamom and continue to cook until the mixture just begins to thicken again, approximately 5 to 10 minutes. Use a whisk to help prevent the cardamom from clumping.

Adding in the remaining milks: MimicCreme and coconut cream

I wound up using this sweetened MimicCreme as a substitute for the heavy cream. It’s very sweet, so it’s best to omit the sugar in this recipe if you use this stuff. I also used a sweetened coconut cream, however my first preference would have been for unsweetened coconut milk.

I used this MimicCreme in place of heavy cream

Once the mixture just begins to thicken, remove from the heat and stir in the raisins and pistachios (if using).

Adding golden raisins to the creamy rice mixture

Transfer the mixture to individual serving dishes or a glass bowl and place plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pudding.

Getting ready to chill the rice pudding

Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Chilled and ready to eat!

This is really a pretty good recipe, but next time I would use a vegan creamer as a substitute for the heavy cream, and unsweetened coconut milk. I also didn’t use pistachios because I didn’t have them on hand, but I am sure they would have been delicious.

There is just one teensy thing, and I don’t know if it is because of the rice I used or what, but when I had let this chill overnight, the rice seemed to have dried out – which is odd to me, because the rice is sitting in a thick liquid.  When I had a bite right after it was finished cooking, the texture was perfect. So I think that what I’d do next time is plan to make this pudding the same day it would be eaten, then chill it for only a couple of hours at most.

Otherwise this is a delicious pudding and a perfect end to a spicy meal or a hot summer’s day!

Done and yum.

Do you have a favorite rice pudding?