Who loves that nuanced taste of ricotta cheese blended with herbs, tomatoes, and garlic? Who doesn’t actually? This recipe for vegan zucchini lasagna rolls delivers on the nuance while providing a more refreshing, more nutrient dense, clean version, that highlights the awesome natural flavors found in some of our favorite herbs and vegetables. These rolls are better suited for a lunch, brunch, or appetizer, but you could also have them for dinner along with some cooked grains, cannellini beans, and-or a green salad. Don’t let the small size fool you. The almond ricotta in these makes them quite rich and energy dense, and one can fill up on just a few. Get ready for a fantastic blend of fresh flavors!
Grilled Potato Bruschetta Mediterranean Style
Everyone I have ever asked says they love bruschetta! That tangy tinge of flavor from the tomatoes, mixed with fresh garlic and aromatic basil is just the kind of combination that makes life magnificent. But if you are avoiding gluten or bread, you might be wondering what alternatives are out there. This recipe uses grilled sliced potato in place of bread. And although it isn’t grilled bread (quite obviously), the finished product is delicious, satisfying, and quite a bit further up the nutrition scale. Give it a try!
Read MoreGreen Garlic Almond Cheese
Nothing says Spring like fresh green garlic at the farmer’s market. I grabbed a bunch the other day, and before I could put it into my bag this idea to make fresh raw almond cheese with green garlic popped into my head. This is a fresh, quick cheese that slightly resembles the consistency of a ricotta, and offers a nice, nutritious, dairy-free creaminess. The green garlic made it heavenly. You can use it on a sandwich with vine tomatoes, as an hors d’oeuvre filling or topping- as pictured, or try it in layers of lasagna. Enjoy!
Pea & Avocado dip with Pepitas & Cilantro
Fresh peas are in season! And I’m going to show you a way to enjoy them while making your healthy snacking easier with this pea & avocado dip recipe. Sometimes it can be a challenge finding a healthful dip that is not loaded with empty calories from refined oils, sugars, fillers, or commercial dairy products. This dip is a great solution to this challenge, and it seriously only takes about 10 minutes to make. Due to the lemon juice in the ingredients, it keeps for several days and has a lot of versatility in how it can be used. And, if enjoyed with fresh vegetables, this dip proves to be a very nutrient-dense snack—my favorite kind!
Read MoreIndian Spiced Black Eyed Pea Hummus
Now that the heavy-hitting holidays are officially over, it’s nice to lighten things up a bit. This recipe gives consideration to the New Year’s tradition that originated in the south, of eating black-eyed peas for prosperity in the New Year. But this offers more versatility. Enjoy this hummus on a sandwich, a top a cracker as an hors d’oeuvre, or even as a dip with raw vegetables, in the event you have already decided to take on a post-New Year’s detox or weight-loss program. I enjoyed it on some leftover sourdough bread crostini along side a baby green salad.
Read MorePortobello Bacon-Wrapped Figs with Vegan Yogurt
Shiitake bacon is a thing. But honestly, Portobello bacon is way better– because portobellos are larger, meatier, and therefore able to stand up to the bacon-making and fig-wrapping process. This recipe is super simple, quick, and a great way to enjoy all those figs that are starting to ripen in your yard, or starting to pop up at the market. Read More
Beet, Avocado & Tomato Salad with Blood Orange & Fennel Pollen
I recently stumbled across a jar of wild crafted fennel pollen at Cookbook, a funky little grocery market near my house. They carry stuff like locally grown produce, kombu, and to my delight, fennel pollen! Fennel pollen is kind of magical because it can be sprinkled on a variety of things- salad, popcorn, grilled fish, vine ripened tomato slices, fresh fruit– and it gives whatever it’s sprinkled on a really awesome, unique taste. And Fennel pollen has therapeutic qualities too! For this recipe I tied it into a salad with a citrus dressing, just pulling from some seasonal stuff I had picked up at the Farmers Market.
Vegan Hazelnut Pesto with Mango & Avocado Slices
Basil, basil, and more basil! When a basil plant decides to take hold it really pumps it out. So, I schedule a few minutes each day to go out and cut the flowering basil tops, to keep the plant going all summer long. Which winds me up with a lot of extra basil hanging around the kitchen. Here is a great sweet-meets-savory idea for a lazy afternoon salad, with vegan hazelnut pesto as the star of the show. You can also do a non vegan version of this by using parmesan or another hard aged cheese in place of the nutritional yeast. Enjoy!
Vegan-Paleo Squash Blossom Fritters
“Vegan-Paleo Squash Blossom Fritters” is about as complete a description as I could get for these very interesting, chewy-yet-crisp treats that were basically an experiment. But I guess that is how it’s supposed to work on here, right? I started thinking I was going to make a gluten-free, vegan squash blossom pancake, but the texture of these, coming from the tapioca flour, is definitely more “fritter”- like. These seem best right out of the oven, but I’ll bet they would be great cold or reheated also. The problem is, I gobbled them up so fast I didn’t have any to save for later, so now I have to wait until I get some more fresh squash blossoms on my hands.
Technically, these only fulfill the ingredient guidelines of being “Paleo.” In order to be truly paleo from a macronutrient standpoint, they wouldn’t be so heavy on carbs. But, they are gluten, grain, dairy free and totally vegan as well. So enjoy these as a healthier indulgence and as a great way to enjoy the season’s squash, zucchini and other blossoms from the garden or the Farmers Market. I’ll bet the chewy texture of these is unique from many things you have tried before.
Roman Slow Cooker Artichokes
Every year the artichoke root system in our garden pops out an abundance of fresh artichokes. For the first few years this is really fun and rewarding, but after a while, one yearns for some new ideas and ways to gobble up all those artichokes, without adding a lot of prep time. This recipe for slow cooker artichokes is super easy, with just about 15 minutes or less of prep time. Then you just set the cooker, get on with your day, and return to a crock pot full of tender, moist artichokes loaded with flavor.