On our way down US-101 Thursday evening, we stopped in Ventura for dinner at Mary’s Secret Garden, a place I’d seen good reviews about on Yelp. And their online menu grabbed my tastebuds’ attention.

Interior and ceiling of Mary's Secret Garden

As I entered, the size and decor provoked a mental response of: “Oh, great. Little hippie place.” But I want food to speak for itself.

Although without reservations, we were seated right away at one of the little tables. Our server was very pleasant and attentive. My boyfriend got a $7 pistachio-mint smoothie. That’s a steep price for a non-alcoholic beverage, but it was big and was it ever good. I thought I made great smoothies, but I could learn a thing or two from that rich blend of almond milk, mint, pistachios, bananas, and agave.

He ordered the Secret Burger, while I went for a raw salad. (Yes, we really are that sort of man-and-woman couple. Guess who picked up the check.) I was really impressed by the flavor of that burger. I’ve never had a meat imitation burger that I felt was so nicely… well, meaty. The texture was not beyond any other veggie burger, and it came on a bun with plain fixings. I thought the quinoa on the side was an annoyingly healthy, unimpressive accompaniment.

My salad, though, was something else! I’d sell my friends to get the recipe for that sun-dried tomato and balsamic dressing. It was drizzled over some lovely fresh spinach salad, tomatoes, and onions. Rich macadamia “cheese” with dollops of pesto sat atop the tomatoes to round out this great choreography of flavors. A little nut “Parmesan” sprinkled all over made every bite even better.

I really have no regret over the amount spent (by my boyfriend) on my dinner, so I hate to end with a disapproving note. He just couldn’t resist a chocolate-peanut butter cake. And I would not let him feel uncharitable by not sharing it with me. It was just a piece of cake, though, and not worth $8. How special is sugary peanut butter? And after the last few chocolate chips are gone, there’s nothing to console me. Oh well.

I hope to return, but I’ll certainly trade dessert for a smoothie.

Product: The Tea Room Maté & Cacao Nibs Chocolate Fusion
Price: $3.49 for 1.8 oz at Cornucopia (local health food store)
Type of chocolate: 72% cacao European chocolate
My notes: Very smooth, silky texture with a even dusting of crunchy bits (sugar? cacao?) like fine sand throughout. Soft snap. Sweet and citrusy flavor with a weird, almost coffee-like note that I assume is the yerba maté. Definitely detected the licorice-y star anise. Interesting.
Note to self: Just because it’s pricey, you don’t have to buy it.
Overall rating (out of five stars): ***

Beautiful. I wish my skin were as smooth as this chocolate.

Did my palate luxuriate in the flavor medley? I guess.

No super-fancy photo here, just a recipe for a raw pudding that will be phenomenal with any of your fresh summer fruit: strawberries, peaches, cherries, or (ahem) blueberries. Maybe coconut, too, if you’re lucky enough to have some. I had this for lunch today and it was too good not to share.

Don’t lick it off the blades of your blender. Only I can do that.

Summer Pudding

Serves 2

• 2 medium avocados
• 1 large banana
• 6-8 small dates
• 1 plum
• 1 scraped vanilla bean (or 1/2 tsp vanilla extract)
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• a bit of (raw) agave nectar, to sweeten to your liking

Blend all ingredients in a blender or food processor until silky smooth, stopping to stir or scrape sides of blender with a spatula when needed. Taste before adding agave nectar to sweeten. Serve topped with fresh fruit or berries.

Refrigerate this for up to two days.

Strawberry mojito from A cup of Mai. I blended the ingredients with ice for a slushy refresher. Find a vegan rum on barnivore.com’s list of vegan liquors.

To make a simple syrup for cocktails, stir together equal parts water and sugar, and heat over medium-high until sugar is completely dissolved. Let it boil a minute and then cool completely. Keep it stored in the refrigerator.

Agave nectar is also a great (albeit more expensive) sweetener with a summery personality that I love with fruit.

Now for my own recipe, a fruity and fizzy summer punch. You can make it with juice squeezed from the remnants of watermelon you might have after using a melon baller. I call it Watermelon Candy (because I’m sweet on candy).

Watermelon Candy

Serves 2

• 1/2 cup (4 oz) watermelon juice (squeezed & strained from fresh watermelon)
• 1/4 cup (2 oz) vodka
• 1/4 cup (2 oz) fresh-squeezed lemon juice
• 1/4 cup (2 oz) pomegranate juice
• 1 Tbsp (1/2 oz) triple sec
• ice cubes
• grapefruit or lemon-lime soda

Shake the watermelon juice, vodka, lemon juice, triple sec, and pomegranate juice in a jar or cocktail shaker. Serve in two glasses over plenty of ice cubes, and top off with soda (nearly as much soda as other liquids for a friendly, sweet drink).

I made rolls, layered triangles, and mini-cups. I’m sure the easiest way to do baklava would be layering your margarine-brushed phyllo sheets spread with nuts in a baking pan. After the pastry bakes up all golden-crisp, cut pieces are drenched in a flavored sugar syrup to sit. Your patience is rewarded after several hours. It’s a process, but not difficult as long as you work quickly with the phyllo. Have the oven on and all the other ingredients ready.

Sometimes I am in awe at how much I dedicate to cooking to make up for my failures as a human being. Oh… well. With these sticky-sweet, golden phyllo pastries, I may still have the world eating out of my hands, literally.

Other summery beers:

• Abita Strawberry Harvest Lager
• Shock Top Belgian White
• Pyramid Apricot Ale

I love leaving the kitchen window ajar while the wind and rain blow around. The cold air helps my ice cream freeze better as it churns. Later, a hot oven full of baking goodies fills the indoor air with warmth and tasty aromas.

Composition of the ice cream cake:

• Two layers of chocolate cake. I made One-Bowl Chocolate Cake from Better Homes & Gardens, leaving out the eggs and substituting soymilk for milk.
• Two layers of mint-chocolate chip ice cream that owes its flavor and color to lots of fresh mint leaves. The method is explained in the recipe from David Lebovitz. I omitted the egg yolks, substituted the whole milk and cream with full-fat coconut milk and vanilla soymilk (I didn’t want it too rich and creamy), and blended the steeped-mint mixture with 1½ Tbsp liquid soy lecithin and ¼ cup tapioca starch before reheating.
• On top, I drizzled 3 oz. Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Mint UFOs melted with 1 Tbsp vegetable shortening. I also used chopped UFOs for the ice cream. Mmmmminty.

Wooowooowooowooo… We are beamink you up. Do not rezist, Earthlink. We are flyink you to galaxy of minty chocolate. Woowooowooowoo…..

Rainier cherries, a favorite of mine this year.

Organic strawberries growing in Moss Landing.

Blueberries over honeydew for a sunny picnic.

Actually, I’m not sure any of the above are “true” berries in a botanical sense (maybe the honeydew). Oh well. It made for a nice title.

…I refused to bake him a cake!

I swear it’s what he wanted. For his birthday last March, he requested a raw chocolate cake, rich and decadent with no baking involved.

This was based on the Mocha Cake recipe in Sweet Gratitude: A New World of Raw Desserts. I covered it with Chocolate Glaze, Mocha Cashew-Free Frosting, and sliced almonds. I spoil my baby so.

Dates, coconut oil, almonds, cacao, and cold-pressed espresso were blended into a dense fudgy cake. Can food be sinfully nutritious?

And those are normal-sized birthday candles. This was a special tiny cake just for the two of us. And all the leftover Chocolate Glaze was for me. I can drink it like coffee.