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!
Green 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!
Avocado & Pear Salad with Basil Lime Dressing
I love it when a random “grab two things and see what happens” move in the kitchen turns out to be so yummy. This avocado & pear salad is an extremely easy recipe that mixes pears with avocados, and finishes it off with some fresh lime and basil. Add this to your list of simple raw fruit and vegetable go-to’s. It’s perfectly refreshing for hot summer days. 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 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
Green Beans with Lemon, Tarragon & Chia Seeds
This green beans with lemon recipe is another one of those super simple, “too tasty and easy to be true” dishes for an easy lunch or dinner side dish. Sometimes demonstrating that you can grab one vegetable from your garden or the Farmers Market, and easily turn it into a fairly complete meal or tide-over, is the best way I can use my blog space! The chia seeds provide extra complete protein and healthy fats to this, making it a decent light meal. And you can always add more chia seeds to suit your own nutritional preference and taste. So enjoy this one and let me know in the comments all the different ways you did! I used some rattlesnake beans from my garden for this recipe.
Grilled Figs in Lettuce Cups with Caramelized Onion & Chèvre
It’s that time of the year again! The onslaught of ripening figs is happening faster than we can keep up with. Here is a really easy way to enjoy some grilled figs, and gobble them down without making a huge production out of it. Enjoy!
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!
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.
Maca Cacao Sprouted Brown Rice Pudding
Yesterday I attended a seminar given by Australian herbalist Lee Carroll on the subject of integrative herbal and whole food nutrition. If you are thinking that I walked away with a recipe for sprouted brown rice pudding, you are oddly correct. At one point, while discussing Dysbiosis and how to support healthy microbiota, he shared cacao’s benefits, then proceeded to rattle off a rice pudding recipe that he sometimes shares with his patients in Australia. It sounded so intriguing I jotted down the rough concept, and decided to give it or something similar a try. The key ingredients that caught my attention were brown rice, tahini, cacao, and Manuka honey.
This recipe uses a cacao-maca powder blend, but you can use all cacao powder if you want. Manuka honey is considered to have all sorts of nutritional benefits. But getting pure, unadulterated Manuka honey can be a bit pricey. Having said that, a little bit goes a long way. So if you want this pudding to be packed with more nutrition, try to keep it pure. The tahini provides the fat component that gives this pudding a creamier consistency, along with the way the rice is cooked. Altogether, this pudding packs some substantial nutrition for a sweet treat. I can see this as a dessert, evening chocolate craving fix (that is gradiently healthier than many alternatives), or even a quick breakfast.