Raw Summer Pudding for Fruits

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.

Summertime Fruit Cocktails

Here are some cures for the summertime blues.

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).

After the Berries of Summer Are Gone

What happened to summer this year? At least I enjoyed a few handfuls of plump little berries. I miss the glistening skin on fresh berries I’ve just rinsed before biting into their juicy pulpy interiors.

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.

Baby Bok Choy Salad with Wakame

Makes about 1 quart

1 lb baby bok choy, thinly sliced on a diagonal
2 Tbsp sesame oil
3 Tbsp ume plum vinegar
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp brown rice syrup
1 tsp grated ginger
1 oz dried wakame, cut into small pieces
3 scallions, sliced diagonally
3 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds

1. Rinse the bok choy well and spin dry. Set aside.

2. Whisk together sesame oil, ume plum vinegar, soy sauce, rice syrup, and ginger. Toss with bok choy and wakame, massaging the dressing into the greens with clean hands. Toss with scallions and sesame seeds.

3. Allow to sit at least 15 minutes before serving, or store in refrigerator until needed. Eat cold salad with hot or cold brown rice or soba noodles.

Lasagne Verdi con Pinoli

Green lasagne of spinach pasta, basil pesto, and zucchini with a pine nut béchamel.

Notes: I squandered my afternoon making the lasagne from scratch, but it would be more fit for a weeknight dinner by using about 3/4 cup pre-made pesto and dry lasagne noodles (which will take longer to boil). Throw the tofu ricotta together the night before. And the zucchini slices don’t even need to be salted and washed—I just seem to have rotten luck with getting bitter zucchinis, and I wanted them to be perfect. I used a mandoline to get quick even slices. Lastly, the lasagne strata are greatly open to improvisation: I left zucchini on top peeking through green noodle strands, but the spinach pasta recipe makes enough for a third noodle layer over another layer of vegetables, tomato sauce, or whatever else strikes your fancy. Be an architect: build your meals.

Makes 12 servings (about one 3″x4″ piece each)

Spinach Lasagne Noodles

1 cup semolina flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup water
3 Tbsp puréed spinach

Tofu Ricotta

14 oz drained firm tofu, patted dry
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt

Basil Pesto

2 cups basil, packed
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup pine nuts
6 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp salt

Pine Nut Béchamel

1/2 cup pine nuts
2 1/2 cups soymilk
2 Tbsp dry white wine
1/4 cup Earth Balance margarine
1/4 cup flour
1/2 medium white onion
several slices lemon peel
bay leaf
2 cloves
salt
white pepper
nutmeg

2 lbs zucchini (about 5 medium), sliced into thin rounds
salt

extra pine nuts, for topping

1. For spinach lasagne: Mix semolina and all-purpose flours in a medium bowl. Mix water and puréed spinach separately, then add to flours. Work flour into liquid until dough can form a soft green ball. Cover (as with a damp towel) and let sit for 30 minutes. Divide dough into three portions; work with one portion at a time while keeping remainders covered. Flatten dough somewhat into a rectangle and pass through a pasta roller several times until thin and elastic, folding in half each time and gradually rolling to about half the final desired thickness (pasta will plump when boiled). Repeat with remaining dough and cut into rectangular sheets to fit a 9″x13″ pan. Noodles can be sticky; allow to dry on cooling rack (or draped over chopsticks or long utensil handles held up by tall pots). Cook noodles just several pieces at a time, gently lowering into a generous amount of well-salted boiling water, for 3 minutes. Remove from water (gently) and dry on cooling rack.

2. For tofu ricotta: Crumble tofu with hands and toss with lemon juice and salt. Keep refrigerated until needed.

3. For basil pesto: Process all ingredients in blender (or pound in mortar with pestle, adding basil a cup at a time) until a smooth sauce is formed. Store in refrigerator.

4. For pine nut béchamel: Blend pine nuts, soymilk, and white wine until smooth and cream-like. Melt margarine in a medium saucepan over low heat, then whisk in flour to form a smooth paste. Heat and stir for 2-3 minutes. Stir in pine nut cream about a cup at a time, whisking until smooth after each addition. Add onion, lemon peel, bay leaf, and cloves, and raise heat slightly to bring sauce to a simmer. Simmer at least 20 minutes, stirring every few minutes. Remove onion, lemon peel, bay leaf, and cloves, then season to taste with plenty of salt and a pinch of white pepper and nutmeg. Remove from heat.

5. To prepare zucchini slices (optional): Toss slices with a generous amount of salt (at least 1/4 cup); set in a layer between paper towels to drain for at least an hour. Rinse off zucchini well, so that slices no longer taste salty. Pat dry with paper towels.

6. Assembling the lasagne: Lightly grease the bottom of a 9″x13″ baking pan with olive oil. Lay down a flat layer of spinach pasta, followed by about 2/3 of the zucchini slices, then the tofu ricotta. Top with another layer of pasta, spread with pesto sauce, and pour béchamel all over. Top with remaining zucchini, slices of left-over pasta, and extra pine nuts. Bake in a preheated 350° F oven for 25 minutes, then place under broiler for extra 3-4 minutes to crisp top and toast pine nuts.

It was my St. Patrick’s Day dinner, but I couldn’t help but add some jarred red marinara to the plates—pretty.

Spring Green

To celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, the advent of spring, or just the natural vibrant verdure of fresh foods, here are a few emerald-hued recipes:

• Kiwi Sorbet from The Delicious Life. This is the recipe where kiwis really come into their own. I was smitten with this sorbet as the first bit of frozen goodness melted on my tongue—so good, and so beautifully green.
• Creamy Herb Dressing from Food & Wine made with plenty of fresh green herbs, plus two tablespoons of expeller-pressed grapeseed oil. You can make it as the recipe is, oil-free and fat-free, but I like the tastiness and pretty greenness the oil adds.
• Honeydew Sherbet, pictured at top. Make a simple syrup by stirring 3/4 cup sugar with 1 cup water and heating until sugar is completely dissolved. Allow to cool, then blend with 2 cups honeydew melon, 2 Tbsp lime juice, 2 Tbsp coconut milk, and ¼ tsp salt. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions.
• Spicy Chickpea Purée from Deborah Madison’s Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. Serve with chilled cucumbers and a sauce of blended jalapeño, cilantro, and lime juice for a tasty sandwich filling.
• Green Frosting from Bittersweet. Cookies and cakes topped with this avocado frosting become green, sweet, delicious desserts to lure all the little leprechauns to your kitchen.

Merry Marzipan Stollen

My mother doesn’t let the holiday season slip by without buying chocolate advent calendars, sparkling apple cider, and a loaf of marzipanstollen. Why? Because it’s Christmas. This year I forwent the advent calendar but decided to attempt a homemade vegan stollen to share with her and enjoy myself. She turned out to be much more enthusiastic about the rugelach I made, but I enjoyed my marzipanstollen far more than any store-bought ones I’ve had in the past. It is also very easy and fun to make, as a bread machine takes all the work out of the dough.

Note: I put my marzipan in the dough before folding it in thirds because I am dumb, so it got rolled out flat.

Easy Marzipan Stollen

Adapted from Holiday Inspirations

Makes 2 loaves

Stollen

• 1 cup almond milk
• 2 tsp lemon zest
• 1 Ener-G Egg Replacer “egg” (1 1/2 tsp Ener-G Egg Replacer beaten into 2 Tbsp warm water
• 2 Tbsp Earth Balance margarine
• 3 cups bread flour (or 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour + 1/4 cup vital wheat gluten)
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup chopped dried or candied cherries
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1/4 cup chopped toasted almonds
• 3.5 oz soft baking marzipan (7 oz if you want plenty of marzipan)

Icing

• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp almond milk

• Sliced almonds, for garnish

1. Add milk, lemon zest, “egg”, margarine, flour, sugar, salt, nutmeg, and yeast to a bread machine according to manufacturer’s directions. Select dough cycle. When dough cycle is complete, remove dough from machine. Punch down. Cover with a damp tea towel and let rest 10 minutes.

2. Roll dough into a 12-inch square on a lightly floured surface. Sprinkle cherries, raisins, and almonds over dough. Fold over one side of square to the center, then opposite side to form 3 layers. Cut dough in half crosswise and roll into 8×5-inch rectangles.

3. Brush tops of dough lightly with water. Split marzipan in half and roll into two 8-inch logs. Set each log on top of a dough rectangle. Fold a long side over marzipan to within 1 inch of other side; press edges lightly to seal. Place loaves on a greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise in a warm place until nearly double (45-60 minutes).

4. Bake in a preheated 375° F oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden and loaf sounds hollow when tapped. Cover loosely with foil the last 10 minutes of baking, if necessary, to prevent overbrowning. Remove from baking sheet and cool on a wire rack.

5. Stir together powdered sugar, vanilla, and almond milk until smooth. Spread over cooled stollen loaves and sprinkle tops with almond slices.

Gingerbread Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes with Brown Sugar-Spice Pecans

You might not feel proud to serve these unpretty cupcakes to discerning guests. They appear deflated, a heavy mound of sugared pecans atop a soft gingery crust sinking into a creamy pumpkin crevasse. Oh well. You can just bake these for yourself and your friends with bad eyesight. If their tastebuds work, it’s a sweet autumn treat.

For lighter cupcakes (about 200 calories each), skip the pecans and top each cupcake with a dollop of Soyatoo! whipped cream.

Makes 12 cupcakes

Pumpkin pie filling

8 oz (1 cup) pureed pumpkin
6 Tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 Tbsp cornstarch
6 oz silken tofu

Gingerbread cupcakes

4 Tbsp Earth Balance margarine
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1/2 cup soymilk
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup graham flour
1 1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda

Brown sugar-spice pecan topping

1 cup broken pecans
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup powdered sugar
3 Tbsp Earth Balance margarine
1 Tbsp soymilk
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground allspice

1. Mix all ingredients for pumpkin filling in a blender; set aside.
2. Cream margarine & powdered sugar in large bowl. Add brown sugar, molasses, & soymilk. Mix well.
3. Mix flours, spices, salt, baking powder, & baking soda in medium bowl.
4. Fold flour mixture into liquid mixture until thoroughly moistened (but not too much).
5. Spread about 1 Tbsp of gingerbread batter onto bottom & sides of each of 12 regular muffin cups. Then spoon about 1 1/2 Tbsp of pumpkin filling into each cup. Top with remaining gingerbread batter.
6. Bake in a preheated oven at 350° F for 25-27 min. Let cool completely, at least several hours.
7. To make pecan topping, stir all ingredients together and heat in small saucepan over medium heat until bubbling. Allow to bubble for 3-5 minutes; stir and remove from heat. Let cool about 8 minutes before spooning onto cooled cupcakes.

Butternut Sage Risotto with Mushrooms

For me, autumn means uncontrollably incorporating winter squash and apples into just about everything I make. However, the butternut squash that goes into this risotto is justifiable not only because of its sweet taste and orange color, but the grated strands melt into the dish to help make it thick and creamy with little fat. Butternut squash also adds vitamins A and C, while all that garlic will help keep you healthy as the cold season befalls us. Or I like to believe it does. In any case, this dish is tasty, creamy, and filling which will make you feel good all on its own.

Notes: I used a mixture of fresh crimini and dried oyster mushrooms in this. It may take more or less broth, I can’t say for certain.

Serves 8

2 Tbs olive oil
2 large shallots, chopped
15 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup chopped sage leaves
2 cups short-grain white rice
12 oz fresh mushrooms
1 butternut squash, grated
1/4 cup dry white sherry (warm or room temperature)
6-8 cups vegetable broth, mushroom broth or water
pinch of saffron (optional)
salt & pepper to taste
2 Tbsp Earth Balance margarine
black sea salt (optional)

1. Heat broth/water in a tea kettle or a pot over medium heat. Keep your liquid at a simmer as you make the risotto.

2. Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add shallots and cook until translucent. Add garlic and sage; cook about 2 minutes.

3. Add rice to saucepan and stir for 3 minutes to toast and coat rice with oil. Add in mushrooms, butternut squash, sherry, and 3 cups of the liquid (broth). Stir in saffron, salt, and pepper. Continue to stir gently and frequently as the rice absorbs liquid. When rice gets thick and less soupy, add in another cup of your simmering liquid and stir. Keep adding liquid, stirring, and cooking until rice is al dente, around 30 minutes (give it a taste to see if it’s done).

4. Remove from heat and stir in margarine. Serve sprinkled with black sea salt.