Gluten-free maple cupcakes

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First gluten-free cupcake experience. They're oddly colored from the buckwheat flour, which is a bit blue. Cover them with a little icing and you won't even notice!



INGREDIENTS

DRY1/4 t baking soda
1/4 t yeast 3 T buckwheat flour + 1 T dal flour 3 T maple syrup 1 T raw sugar pinch salt 1/4 t yeast 
WET3 T almond mylk + 3/4 t ACV3 T chia gel 1 t almond oil1 t vanilla
DIRECTIONS
To start, mix 1 t chia seeds + 1/3 c water. Let sit and become gel. Put aside. 
Now, mix almond mylk and ACV and let sit for up to 10 minutes. Then add remaining wet ingredients. 
Next, put dry ingredients into a separate bowl. Add wet to dry and mix well. 
This makes 3-4 yummy, um, interesting cupcakes. They're super mapley and unbelievably moist... that's from the chia seeds! 
It's a great first try. Have tips? Questions? Post them here! 

The best waffle you'll ever eat

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It's organic cherry season again! Finally!



We have a tradition at home we call: Waffle Saturdays. It's just as delicious as it sounds, too.

INGREDIENTS

Whole wheat flour
Yeast
Raw sugar
Hot water
Hempseed
Ground flax
Almond/soy/flax/coconut mylk
Optional: 1 small ripe smashed banana

DIRECTIONS

Preheat your waffle iron.

Now gather your ingredients. You'll also need a tiny bowl to proof your yeast and a large glass measuring cup that is larger than 2 cups.

Put a t of raw sugar + yeast + approximately 1/8 c hot water into the small bowl. Let sit 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, measure whole wheat flour up to the 1 cup line in your measuring cup.

Then add to your flour: (approximately) 1 T flax, 3+ T hempseed to flour mix. Next, pour yeast/water/sugar mixture on top of that. Add smashed banana, if using. Now you'll want to add mylk so your batter goes up to the 2 cup line. Stir well! It should be slightly runny, too.

Pour into your waffle iron. Cook as directed.

Serve with tempeh bacon, REAL maple syrup and organic cherries. Trust me on this. Organic fruit, especially cherries, are worth every penny.

Enjoy!

Roasted carrots

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These may be the easiest things you'll ever cook.. and also the tastiest. (Especially if you use local, organic carrots.) No, really.



Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

If they're large, as these carrots were, you'll want to slice them down the middle.

If they're organic, just rinse off the dirt and cut off the hard ends.

Now rub a smidge of olive oil on each carrot. Lay in your cast iron skillet and cover with your favorite spices. There's no wrong way to do this! My favorite combination: sprinkle a little soy sauce on the carrots, lay them in the skillet and sprinkle with thyme and garlic.

Cook 30 minutes. Pierce with a fork. If they're not soft, flip and cook another 15-20.

Enjoy! 

Roast anything and everything

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We got a bunch of stuff from our CSA this week.. and we honestly weren't sure what to do.

So, what's my default response to a random assortment of veggies... roasting, of course! It never fails to be fantastic. No kidding. Trust me.


Serves 2. Measurements are approximate.

Ingredients
Olive oil
Fresh garlic (you're going to peel every clove in your garlic head), whole or halved
About 1 c fresh green beans (sliced in half)
1 kohlrabi (peeled and diced)
3 turnips (rinsed and diced)
1 large new potato (diced, not peeled)
Garlic
Soy sauce
Thyme

We served with tempeh and roasted carrots. Delicious!

Preheat your oven to 400 (or so) degrees.

In a bowl, put a few T of olive oil. Now throw in all of your freshly rinsed and sliced veggies until everything has a bit of oil on it. Now sprinkle with your favorite spices.

We got a lot of fresh thyme from the farm.. so you guessed it, we used a lot of thyme! Also sprinkled a little garlic and soy sauce.

Roast 30 minutes. Stir and see how everything is cooked.

Roast up to another 30 minutes - but you probably won't need that long.

Enjoy! 

Borscht, a summer soup

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Borscht is a brightly-colored but lightly-flavored soup. Great for a summer evening when you've got fresh, local, organic CSA beets to devour.



We served it with some crisp bread. It was a great combo!


Serves 2

INGREDIENTS

3 whole beets
1 T olive oil
1-2 garlic cloves
Onion
2 med-large carrots
1 med potato
4 c water
1/4 of a cabbage, finely minced
Juice of 1 lemon
1 t dill
Salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

Boil your beets whole, skin included. Cook until they can be pieced with a knife and the skin can be removed.

Meanwhile, cut the rest of your veggies so they're ready when the beets are done. Now, sauté your onion and garlic until well done in a large pot. This is where you'll cook the soup.

When the beets are done, cool them so they can be handled. Remove the skin and slice thinly.

Now you're ready to put it together!

Add water, veggies - except cabbage - and spices to your onion/garlic in the pot. Cook until veggies are well done (30-45 minutes). Now add the lemon juice and cabbage and cook another 5 minutes, or until the cabbage is mildly-cooked.

Serve immediately. 

Diversions And Delusions (There Be Wool: Knitters Unite . . . And Colbert's Feet to Benefit)

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It's officially summer. I'm officially ready for winter. So much so that I've begun my "winter knitting"--starting first with a beautiful cowl (the Honey cowl) in Kelly Green--for obvious reasons this color speaks to me. I love, love, love knitting this cowl. The textured pattern is both squishy and fluid--better yet--I can practically manage working it with my eyes closed. It's a simple and brilliant design. Who knew that a mere "wyif" and "p1"  combination could create such a wonderful little experience. It does. It has. 

Evenings I've been curled up in a chair sitting next to Dr. Thyme watching the entire two seasons of Downton Abbey with the honey cowl work in my lap. So happy. So content. We both loved DA. I've never considered myself a Masterpiece gal. Today, I would classify myself in "groupie" status. We are now working our way through another outstanding Masterpiece PBS/BBC production: Sherlock. Whoa. LOVE. IT. Who is that guy? He's perfect as Sherlock.  
One night DH asked, "Are you going to work on my Christmas sweater, too?" To which I replied, "Seriously?" Of course my selfish knitting takes priority over ALL well-intended knitted gifts. I felt a pang of guilt over the matter. But this quickly passed. 
And now, onto knitting. And some news of the very strange and absurd.For those unaware, the art of knitting is under scrutiny. Big story. Big news. First a disclaimer. I am not an Olympic athlete. Nor do I pretend to be one when I knit. However, if you would like to spend a few minutes laughing yourself silly, might I direct you to the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard: Gawker covers this quite well. As does Mason-Dixon Knitting. At first when I read the Olympic Committee (yes, with capital letters, so you know this is for real) has taken umbrage with Ravelry and its many Ravelympic shenanigans (of the afghan, mitten, sock, hat, scarf, cardigan, and sweater sort)--I thought this was a very funny and clever joke.  What better way to get a knitter's attention than to create a scandal! I love a good scandal, don't you? Sadly, this is real. The OC apparently finds our knitting "denigrates" the Olympics. For those knitters who have the the gall to knit while watching the Olympic games and partake in such groups via Ravelry . . . be aware, be very aware. You are now colluding. And as such, may find yourself in . . . well, in "violation." Please someone tell me this is not really happening. Please. I want to know when the jig is up. In the off chance this whole thing is REAL, (and my fear is that the letter and all its lawyer speak are), I will humbly submit to finally learning to knit real socks. Not the kind that are knit with two different colors of yarn on one needle so I can tell the difference, but honest-to-goodness, wearable socks. For humans. For maybe even Stephen Colbert. But I think knitting some for my husband would have to come first (right after I finish the man-sweater), then socks for Colbert. **UPDATE: The Olympic Committee has since issued an apology. Twice. If THAT doesn't tell you something about the power of knitting folk, well, I don't know what does. I still think I'd like to knit a pair of wearable socks. On a completely unrelated venture. We have this little groundhog residing in the back yard. He's the most adorable little thing I have ever seen. I spotted him out back before he had spotted me (they are quite skittish) and quickly but ever-so-quietly ran back inside for my camera. I call him a badger. They can be destructive little critters. But cute beyond words just the same. And as you can see, he is on the "outside" of the veggie patch. Here is the latest veggie patch update. It's bone dry out there. I don't water everyday. I try to stick to the rule--an inch of water per week. I want to encourage deep roots on the plants vs. shallow. But the parched ground and lack of water here is stressing everything. I feel sorry for the trees. We had such a beautiful spring. And now. . . this. I have tomatoes on nearly all my tomato plants. No blight or foliage diseases have appeared. . . yet. I attribute this miracle to the fact that the rain we so desperately need has kept nasty airborne mold spores from attacking my plants. While I am very concerned over the lack of rain we've had here (especially given that most annoying of holidays is approaching)--I'm grateful to have such healthy and disease-free plants at this stage of the game. There be rabbits. . . big time. So it looks like, "No Beans For Me". I refuse to stress out over this. They've gotta eat--if I were a rabbit, I'd eat my garden, too.Veggie patch number two. Corn is up. Kale is up. (I've been juicing in the afternoons: two kale leaves, three carrots, an apple, some dates, celery and grapes--it's a delicious pick-me-up.) Other parts of the patch are "dormant" for now. I ripped up my pea vines last weekend and used my fresh peas in a curry. They were so tasty. I plan to plant a fall crop of peas--when the weather cools. A pain in the neck to shell--all one hundred or so of them, but totally worth it in the end. So while this little garden strip appears to be somewhat "bare" and pretty stark looking--every good gardener knows--you leave spaces open for the "next" crops. Just not sure what exactly that will be yet. This was a garden I had all tomatoes in last year. I rotated the tomatoes to the new beds and gave this one a tomato "break". It works wonders for the soil.I have to share my pasta endeavor. This weekend I made homemade pasta and TRIED my hand at shaping tortellini. This is the result. Okay, so I won't be heading to Italy any time soon. But still. These were quite good. Here's what I did: I poured a cup of Bob's Red Mill Semolina flour on the kitchen counter, added 1/3 cup of water and a tablespoon of EVOO, and a pinch of salt, then dove in with my hands. No bowls. No food processor. So easy. After the dough came together into a nice little round ball (I sprinkled a bit of water over it as I kneaded the dough)--after all the stickiness subsided, I set the dough in an oiled bowl to rest for and hour, then got my pasta roller out and had a blast. The pasta was perfect. We LOVED it! I am getting quite good at homemade pasta if I don't say so myself. 
And one last thing, because I really have been busy and never really know how or when to "edit" myself on my posts (I guess if you're a regular "visitor", you've figured that out by now). 
My reading diversions are many. My Kindle seems to be attracting more and more books--our library just began offering e-book lending. More for my Kindle! I am nearly finished reading, "A Widow's Story" by Joyce Carol Oates. Loved this book. Loved. It. JCO, as she refers to herself, is by far one of my favorite authors. Ever. I've read nearly all her books. Blonde and The Falls--two of my most favorite books ever. This book, however, is a memoir about the sudden loss of her husband, Ray, and the ensuing days, weeks and months after dealing with the trauma of the event, coping with the grief, the solitude and the onslaught of well-intended acts of support with which she must contend. While JCO does share some darker moments of surviving after the loss of her husband--of navigating the friends, flowers (which will perhaps give you pause the next time you decide to send "flowers" to someone grieving), and many-sleepless nights, she also brilliantly and gracefully lets us into her soul. I felt privileged to read this and better for having done so. 
And one other book I am heading into next right after the JCO memoir is a newbie: Bowling Avenue by Ann Shayne. You might know her from the Mason-Dixon Knitting blog. Bowling Avenue is Ann's new book. I have been reading Kay and Ann's blog for a l-o-n-g time. I love their blog. They've inspired many-a-knittin'-project in this house. As a fan of their blog, I thought it perfectly sensible I'd love Ann's new book. I read the first chapter as a sample and right away was hooked. If you go to Ann's page, you'll find a link there. I am always happy to help a knitting sister out. And, better yet, a writer-knitter sister. 
Meanwhile, let the sock lessons begin. Any tips from fellow knitters--experts in all things socks--I'd totally welcome.

Jam Sessions ("A Little Nina Simone Would Do You Good" And My Summer Drought Harvest)

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When I heard the temps would be in the "dangerous/triple digits" range for an undetermined period of time, I made a mad dash to the store for provisions: canning jars, Bing cherries, Rainier cherries, plums, blueberries (two pounds each), sugar, lemons and chocolate. If things were going to get bad, really bad, I wanted: bread, homemade cherry plum jam, Pandora (my Nina Simone station!), chocolate and my favorite espresso--Lavazza. I pretty much lived off these things the past few weeks--give or take. 

The lack of rain, the intense heat, the cave dwelling, the near-dying-but-not-quite-ready-to-call-it-quit plants I am constantly worrying over--like a mother hen--is taking its toll. I am lucky I was able to get in one crazy five hour mega canning of the blueberry and cherry kind just before this ridiculous weather set in. I have been going through at least a jar of jam every other day. I don't know what it is, but the sound of the spoon hitting the side of the jar, the glob of luscious jam spilling out onto my rye bread toast first thing in the morning, sipping my espresso, sneaking in a brief moment of quiet time on the porch before the searing temps set in--bracing myself for the rest of the day--this little jar of jam makes me smile. 
By mid-day, it's time for music. Nina Simone has been my go-to respite. There is only one other female jazz artist I think ranks with Ms. Simone--and that would be Shirley Horn (in my humble opinion). I require music to live. If you're unfamiliar, might I suggest Pandora for your listening pleasure. Seriously. Go there now and listen.
I've been making great strides with the guitar. By great strides, I mean, I have moved from playing first position to now playing (and memorizing the notes for!) second position--better known as D Major Scale. I didn't think I'd make it through these lessons. My instructor told me: If you get this--you'll be half past where most people give up. To my ears this was more of a challenge than a typical homework lesson. I was NOT going to be undone by a little shift of "guitar positions". And so we sat on the same page of the same song with the same notes for over three weeks before I felt we could "move on". Let's just say Dr.Thyme declared both Angels We Have Heard on High and Joy to the World--off limits this December. They're just referred to as "those songs" now. Um. Okay.Weighing the plums--went into the jam with the cherries.The ready-for-filling jars.The jam cooling on the porch in the morning sun.This morning--my tomato harvest. Un-believable. I couldn't get a red tomato off the vine last summer to save my you-know-what. 
Here we are in the WORST DROUGHT since the Dust Bowl (and here's a link to the Drought Monitor website--we are in the "severe" drought category in Missouri right now)--and the tomatoes seem to be doing better than last year.
 Just looking at the rest of the landscape around me is enough to make me cry. And I have cried. I try to limit my watering to the plants that I feel have a "chance" at making it--even though several plants/trees and bushes have begun to die--or are leaf dropping. They are stressed, they've got to call it a year and resort to their "winter" selves. This is a devastating thing to witness. I've not got the words to tell you how much angst this whole thing has caused me. I have no idea whether or not they'll make it through the winter. The time and energy I have put into my garden. . . well, it just is too much to think about right now. It's the optimist in me that thinks they'll all "return" next spring. There's no way of telling. If the rains came now, we'd maybe be spared. But it needs to rain for a week. I am just crushed.   
Meantime, I have some of the best looking tomatoes I've ever grown. Go figure. There will be some canning soon. Or not. Maybe just really awesome pasta with the day's garden grub.Apple Cucumbers. Never heard of them before. Found some seeds this spring at a local nursery. Liked the picture on the seed packet, planted them and look at these things--they LOVE it! I have to come up with a plan because I am going to be apple-cucumber-crazy here soon. Apple cucumber vines.My zinnia seeds are finally flowering. (A rabbit or two has been making their home in the garden--seemed to love my zinnias.) I knew it'd be a matter of time before said "bunnies" were part of another food chain and that seems to be where we're at right now as evidenced by the flowers making it to maturity. Sorry bunnies. 

Heirloom Tomato Pot Pie with Biscuity-Thick Crust

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I hadn't turned my oven or stove on in over a week. I felt like a ghost in my kitchen. My dear oven sat unused. My stove beckoned. My heart craved pastry. I had twelve pounds of tomatoes taking up some valuable kitchen real estate. No complaints. I'm just saying. Actually, I'm tickled to death over my abundant tomato harvest this year. I'd even go so far as to say "giddy". The rest of my yard, however, is sporting beige tones. Sigh. I promised myself I'd abstain from whining about this godforsaken summer.  

I came across a "vintage" tomato pie recipe a few months back. I made a mental note to myself to make said pie once the harvest began. Revisiting the recipe didn't inspire quite the same level of excitement as it had in February. In fact, upon closer inspection, I'd decided I could do much better. Feel free to Google "tomato pie" and you tell me what you think. 
 I am smitten with the result of my newly created spin on the classic. First of all, it's in a pie shell! Second of all, it's not poured and baked on TOP of a pie shell resulting in a less-than-desirable texture, think: "soggy". 
For the pie dough--you are forgoing the usual "roll to 1/8" thickness" and using your hands to gently form the dough until it yields to the warmth of the palms and fingers over a lightly floured counter, then flattening it into the shape of whatever vessel you choose to bake your pie--to about a half inch thickness. Very easy. No stress. The dough recipe I decided to use was the same recipe I used a while back for my Peach Galette. While I didn't solely rely on tomatoes to fill my pie, I kept to the theme of fresh summer and mostly locally grown veggies to support the rest of the dish itself. 
Yes. Some baking is required. I've become a student of pie dough. I am constantly reading techniques on how best to create the most delicious pie dough--flaky, buttery, intensely delish. I believe the galette dough to be one of the best I've had. Thanks again to Flo Braker and her brilliant pastry mind.Essential to the pie's aroma and filling are fresh herbs from the garden. I had some oregano and basil ready for harvest. (The fact is, I make it a point to ALWAYS have fresh basil and oregano ready in my garden in summer--drought or no drought.)See what I mean--simple, rustic. No precision required. The only mandatory part of the tomato pie baking process is to chill the dough for at least a half hour in the freezer--then move to the fridge for another twenty minutes--or chill for one hour in the fridge. I added in some cooked wild rice. I felt it added an essential earthiness to the pie's robust summer flair. Also, I felt I needed to give the pie a bit more umph and did so with a few Gardein patties. Your call in that department, of course. 
Heirloom Tomato Pot Pie with Biscuity-Thick Crust
5-8 heirloom tomatoes chopped2 medium-sized sweet onions chopped1 yellow zucchini halved, then quartered1 green zucchini halved, then quartered2 celery stalks, chopped4-6 cloves garlic minced1-2 jalapeno peppers, seeded/minced (*optional, but I had two dozen on hand, to they needed to be used)1 cup cooked wild rice2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar2 tablespoons Earth Balance butter1 cup vegetable stock1-2 Gardein Chick'n patties, cooked and chopped 1/8 cup chopped fresh basil2 stems fresh oreganosalt and pepper to taste1 single or double crust pie dough
Preheat oven to 425. Lightly spray your pie dish with non stick cooking spray. Line a cookie sheet with foil and set aside. Make sure you've prepped the pie dough and have it on stand-by in the fridge. You won't need to spend a whole lot of time rolling it as you are free-form shaping it, so it can be managed toward the end of the veggie cooking. Next, if you are adding wild rice, be sure to get the rice cooking now. For the filling, add 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil to a large saute pan over medium heat and begin adding all the chopped veggies. Allow the mixture simmer for about 20 minutes--until the onions begin to get translucent--stirring every so often. The vegetables in this dish don't need to be cooked until they fall apart--you want to retain some shape as the pie baking time will break the veggies down further. Toward the end of the cooking, add the vegetable broth, then, add the butter. Whisk the butter into the mixture slowly, allowing it to melt and thicken the sauce. Finally, fold in the rice (if using). Remove the pie shell from fridge and over a lightly floured kitchen counter, begin shaping the dough by hand to fit over the pie dish you plan to bake your tomato filling in. Pour tomato filling into the dish. Top with a couple of leaves of fresh basil and fresh oregano. *If you have more tomato mixture than will fit into the pan, no worries, save the extra to use on a sandwich the next day. Place the pie dough over the filling. With a knife, cut small slits in the dough to allow the steam to escape. Place the foil-lined cookie sheet in the oven, then carefully place the pie dish on top of the cookie sheet. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the pie crust begins to brown around the edges. Remove from oven and allow pie to sit for fifteen minutes to cool before serving. This is delicious as a leftover the next day! Enjoy!

Indian Spiced Quinoa Patties with Farmer's Market Corn Medley (OMG: It's Raining!)

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I wanted to write about these quinoa patties we'd had for over a week now. But the heat had stifled my writerly self to the point of such despair that I'd contemplated shunning "The Blog" for the remainder of the season until my heart and mind could once again muster the strength to put into words food stuff and my ramblings. Then I had that chocolate moment last week and that sort of broke the spell. Thank. God.

We have rain. Finally! And not just a teaser-rain. A real honest-to-goodness gully washer. Deep. Breath. Hubby and I are sitting out in the screened-in porch, and I'm a bit "chilly" so am wearing a sweatshirt! A. Sweatshirt. I am giddy with excitement! Now, I know better than to think this will last. So I pray. . . fall then winter. Fall then winter. My mantra for today and all days from here to eternity.   Action shot: rain.Action shot: hummingbird. How cool is that? (Okay it only took a hundred and fifty attempts, but still.) 
The recipe for this lovely little quinoa patty can be had from one of two places. First from a wonderful new cookbook by a blogger I'd not heard of prior to stumbling across his collection of recipes--in the grocery store of all places: Herbivoracious by Michael Natkin. The book is gorgeous in its own right--photos that are cook-inspiring and real--as he states in the introduction: he took the food photos himself. (Being a blogger and one who deals mostly in foodie things--I totally respect that). The recipes offer a spin on amazing veggie dishes, many an exotic flavor and spice included to tempt you to want to get in the kitchen and COOK! Or you can go to Heidi Swanson's version of the quinoa patties at 101cookbooks. Either recipe will put you on the right track. I gleaned inspiration from both for mine. Ultimately, I settled on frying my patties in my cast iron skillet. More and more, my 10" Lodge skillet is my go-to pan. In fact, were I to be stuck on a deserted island and could only take one thing from my kitchen, I'd grab that cast iron skillet in a nanosecond. (Right after I pocketed some chocolate.)
As for the corn ensemble, you can see for yourself what direction I went with. I had just come from the farmer's market and had six ears of corn. I used two of the ears for this stir-fry of sorts. I relied on cumin, coriander, some turmeric, onions, garlic, scallions, squash, red potatoes, jalapenos, fresh oregano and thyme--all with the intended purpose of pushing the corn dish in the Indian flavor direction as I had with the quinoa patties. It worked beautifully. I then topped it off with some sliced fresh tomatoes from my garden and whisked up a vegan mayo/horseradish/lemon sauce for drizzling over the top. So very yummy.
The forecast is for a return to 100 degree days for the next four days. Hard to believe as I sit here in the cool rain. Typical St. Louis. But grateful nonetheless for the break we've been granted today.
  

I'm a woman, I live in Missouri and I vote. . . Akin

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I've let two days pass. Thank god I live in a country where freedom of speech is granted, but never to be taken for granted.
I was appalled to open the paper and read yesterday's headline in the Post-Dispatch regarding the "legitimate rape" comment. No, let me restate that, I was trembling mad. I re-read the piece twice just to be sure I hadn't missed any detail. 
What I cannot come to grips with is this: Republicans can't seem to release themselves from wanting to legislate a woman's body. 
Get out of our bodies.
I make no apologies for being a woman. A strong woman. A woman who was always told by her mother to stand up for her rights. Don't ever be afraid. Don't ever allow intimidation influence your opinions. Stand tall.
 I was a kid who aspired to be an attorney. In grade school, I took pen to paper to write a letter to President Gerald Ford expressing said hopes and--received a letter back! The local paper ran a column about my letter. 
The world I was entering was slowly reckoning with the fact that women were no longer relegated to being second class citizens--submissive "types". My generation would have more choices than any female generation prior.
I don't need to elaborate or dredge up my own personal scars, or explain why I had such a visceral reaction to this unseemly comment. I simply need to vote. And I will. And because we live in a democracy and because other great women before me fought for this right, I will absolutely take the only action I can in the face of this insult. 
As of my writing, an apology has been issued. 
Apology not accepted. 
  

Easy as pie

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I love pot pie.

...but I prefer it simply with a bottom crust and no top. My husband, however, wants a solid top AND bottom crust. So we compromised and I only used half as much top crust as he wanted. We'll just save the remaining strips of crust for another pie. Apparently being married means you have to compromise. Who knew?!



Using local veggies from our CSA, and a few other everyday things we had in the kitchen, we made the yummiest, warmest, most comforting pot pie in quite a while. (We didn't make the crust, of course. What can I say.. I was tired!)

Step 1: buy a vegan pie crust. No, this is not a difficult thing to do. Yes, it will be better than the cheap pie crusts you'll find in a grocer's freezer. No cholesterol. No saturated fat. Perfect. (We still can't believe the pie crusts with lard were about a buck in the freezer section, while this healthy, vegetable-fat pie crust was like 4x as much. Ridiculous!)

But I digress..

Step 2: gather your ingredients. This is a rough estimate of what I used.

INGREDIENTS
Veggies:
2 small beets (we had a red and yellow beet)
1 med-small potato diced into bite-sized pieces
Handful of fresh green beans, rinsed and sliced into bite-sized pieces
2-3 carrots, sliced
Diced, baked tofu (just follow the recipe but dice your tofu first)

Sauce (you'll want enough to fill in around your pot pie innards):
About 2 c almond mylk
1/2 head of garlic, diced small
1 T onion, minced
1 T whole wheat flour
3 T nutritional yeast
1 t soy sauce or sea salt
Optional spices: fresh thyme, onion,

Step 3: have your tofu pre-cooked or do that first. You can also substitute seitan. Or leave it out completely.

Step 4: let one of your pie crusts thaw and flatten it out. Slice it into thin strips. This will be the top of your pie.

Step 5: mix all of your sauce ingredients in a skillet. *Cook your onions and garlic in a little oil first if you'd like to. Then add remaining ingredients on top. Mix well. Let cook a few minutes until it thoroughly mixes.

Step 6: rinse and ready your veggies.

Step 7: now layer as you'd expect. Put your raw veggies in first. Make sure it's filled to the top!



Step 8: now cover with your sauce. *You can see from the picture that I didn't have quite enough sauce so I simply poured extra almond milk on top, to fill the pie to the rim. Your veggies need the extra juice.



Step 8: Place your sliced pieces of crust in any fashion you prefer. You can even cover with an entire bottom crust.

BAKE

To get a beautiful, flaky crust and perfectly-cooked veggies, you'll want to cook it slowly.

First, 45 minutes at 325 degrees.

Then, 25 more minutes at 350.

Finally, 5 minutes (or until browned) at 400.



Trust me.. this pie is worth every second.

Enjoy!

Quick pickles

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These are as quick to make as they sound. They're easy peasy. But take note: they do not last as long as processed, regular pickles. So, eat up!



On the left: vinegar pickles
On the right: sweet pickles

INGREDIENTS

For sweet pickles:
1 c raw sugar
1 c white vinegar
1 c water
dash salt
onions (optional)

For savory pickles:
1 1/2 c white vinegar
1/2 c water
1 T sugar
1 t salt
1 T pickle spice

DIRECTIONS

Step 1: fill your jar with sliced cucumbers.



Step 2: boil your ingredients.

Step 3: Once your liquid has boiled for a few minutes, simply pour directly over your cucumbers. Close your jars and refrigerate.

They'll be ready in 24 hours. See? Easy!

*Using smaller jars? Half the recipe.

Fresh corn and edamame-sesame salad

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This is even better when using farm-fresh corn, freshly shaved off the cob. WOW.



A friend gave us their Veganomicon cookbook recently.. and I've found some pretty tasty recipes in there. Here's one of my new favorites.

INGREDIENTS

2 c frozen, shelled edamame
1 c fresh corn (just shave it right off the cob!)

Dressing:
2 T toasted sesame oil
1 T rice vinegar
2 t soy or tamari sauce

Topping:
2 T toasted sesame seeds (black or white)
Pinch of salt


DIRECTIONS

This is SO easy to make:

Boil your edamame enough to cook. I threw my corn cob into the same water with the edamame to cook a few minutes.

Now drain edamame and corn and run under cool water so you can handle them. Shell all of your edamame. Shave corn directly off cob into your bowl.

Here's the fun part: combine edamame and corn. Add dressing. Mix well.



Add sesame seeds before putting the entire bowl in the fridge to cool.

This is a large recipe.. so enjoy in your favorite lettuce or radicchio or on a salad.. or anywhere. Yummy!

Autumn latkes

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Another beauty from Vegonomicon. After all, veggies have zero fat.. so sometimes we have to add some, right?



Delicious!

INGREDIENTS

2 c peeled, shredded beets
1 c shredded carrots
1 c peeled, shredded sweet potato
1 shallot, finely chopped (optional)
1/2 c flour
Up to 1/4 c corn starch
1/2 t salt
Black pepper
1 t fennel seeds, chopped
1/4 c water
Frying oil

DIRECTIONS

Combine your veggies in a bowl and add shallot, flour, starch, salt, pepper and fennel. Mix well! Your veggies should be evenly coated. Add water and stir again until flour is dissolved.



Form your veggies into balls about the diameter of a quarter. Then flatten them out before frying.

Drain on towels and serve immediately.

*NOTE: I tried to enjoy these with pickles on my veggie burger but I feel the need to mention that fennel and pickles do NOT mix well. In fact, they mix horribly. Consider yourself warned.

Lingonberry tea cake

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Taken almost directly from Plant Based On a Budget. Trust me when I say that you've gotta give this website a try!



I didn't have orange marmalade (like their recipe called for)... but we try to always have lingonberries in the cabinet. You know, for lingonberry emergencies.

INGREDIENTS

2 c wheat flour
1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
2 t flax meal + 2 T water
1/2 c oil
3/4 c raw sugar
1/2 c lingonberry jam (ours is from IKEA)
2 1/2 c grated squash
1/2 t salt
1/2 c steel cut oats

DIRECTIONS

Grate your squash.

In a large bowl mix flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder.

In a small-med bowl mix sugar, oil, flax+water and lingonberries. Mix WELL. Add the squash and mix, mix, mix.

Now pour the oil mixture into the flour bowl and stir well.

Add the oats and stir until just mixed.

Oil your pan(s). You can use one 9"x5" pan or separate them into smaller pans, which is what I did. Leave some room because the bread will rise as it bakes.



Your house will smell unbelievably yummy. It took all of my willpower not to open the oven early. Wow. Trust me. You WANT this tea cake.

Chocolate Chip Oat Bran Muffins (Garden Dispatch: 110 Degrees)

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Yes. I baked. Out of necessity. Out of the need for comfort, for kitchen time, for sanity . . . for chocolate. It was not a difficult decision for me. This baking moment. I wanted to bake to heal. 
What's wonderful about being a cookbook lover is that in the midst of all that is awful in the world right now, I need only enter the small space that is my kitchen, place a hand on the spine of a book and therein lies emotional recovery. I chose the path of chocolate for mine.

I sit here now--re-hydrating--after having ventured outside (ever-so-briefly!) to get a daylight photo of said muffins--and a few other shots of what remains of my garden. While, yes, it was during an unrelenting heat index of over 110 degrees that I'd decided I needed this photo of my chocolate muffins AND garden. I now feel like I might have overdone it a bit. A little too hot, perhaps. It will pass. Just my electrolytes talking.  Recently, I had the pleasure of purchasing The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook by Cheryl Day and Griffith Day. I adore it! Cheryl was on Paula Deen's, Best Dishes. I happened to catch the episode this past weekend while running on the treadmill. (Of course I watch Food Network when I run!) 
 I love anyone who bakes for a living. I read the Back in The Day cookbook from cover-to-cover. Because, to be honest, when I saw it hit the bestseller list under the "cookbook" category on Amazon (which I check obsessively)--I was, well. . . I was like--WHO are those two people and WHY do they look so dang happy?  
I adapted Cheryl's recipe for her Mocha Oatmeal Muffins and renamed mine because I actually modified her recipe quite a bit. Nonetheless, it was a wonderful recipe to start with and I am oh-so-happy with both my purchase and with these muffins. 
Just a quick tour of what remains of our yard. I'll try not to cry.This is the hill up to the second level of my garden patch. Nothing but solid packed clay. S-O-L-I-D clay. It will take weeks of rain to undo the damage from this drought. The Mississippi River in St. Louis is receding. Last I heard, it was at two feet. . . two feet! At the recorded lowest, the river was at minus six feet, back in early 1940s, I believe. I have a link to the Drought Monitor page here. This is like nothing I've ever lived through in my Almost Fifty years. I know I keep talking about it. And I know that talking about it won't make it go away--but if you live somewhere with rain and it's only in the nineties--well, count your blessings.  
I've been waking early. Really early. Dr. Thyme and I are both so exhausted at the end of the day with this heat, we've been hitting the hay around nine. I read for a bit before I nod off. I get maybe two pages into my book (I'm reading Toni Morrison's book, Home--love it!) and I am out like a light. As soon as the sun peeks through the drapes, I am up again--wide awake. After I take care of the kids, I head outside. It's all I can do to not turn right around and throw my hands in the air. Instead, it's me, my PJs, the hose and a cup of coffee.The worst summer of my life. One. Day. At. A. Time.View from the porch--looking over my herb beds. Gardening with raised beds helps in the watering department.  There are a few happy moments in my garden though. Like this one. A PERFECT tomato. For perfect salsa-making. 
But I digress.
Chocolate Chip Oat Bran Muffins*Adapted from, The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook
1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour1/2 cup whole wheat flour1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour (*use all-purpose if you don't have any of this on hand)1/3 cup Dutch processed cocoa1 cup light brown sugar1 teaspoon baking soda1/2 teaspoon baking powder1 teaspoon fine sea salt3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon1 1/4 cup quick cooking oats2 teaspoons ground flax seeds1 tablespoon bran (I used Bob's Red Mill)4 teaspoons Ener-G Egg Replacer mixed with 6 tablespoons water 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons canola oil1 cup unsweetened coconut milk mixed with 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar (for "buttermilk")6 oz. instant decaf. coffee prepared (I used Folger's packets)1 teaspoon vanilla extract1/8 teaspoon chocolate extract (*optional)1 cup chocolate chips*extra whole oats for topping the muffins before baking
Preheat oven to 350. Spray two large (or Texas-sized) muffin tins with nonstick spray. Set aside. In a small bowl, prepare your buttermilk mixture with 1 cup of unsweetened coconut milk mixed with 2 teaspoons of vinegar and set aside. Prepare your "coffee" if you don't have any made. (I keep instant coffee packets on hand for moments like this.) In a large bowl, add all dry ingredients--except for chips. Whisk the dry stuff together. In a medium bowl, add canola oil, "buttermilk", egg-replacer and extracts. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix with a spoon until all the dry ingredients are wet. Fold in the chocolate chips. Fill the muffin cups with the batter--a little over half full worked for me. Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with rolled oats. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven when a toothpick inserted in the middle of the muffins comes out clean. Allow muffins to cool in the pan for ten minutes. Carefully remove the muffins from the tin, then cool the remaining time on a cooling rack. Store in airtight container or a cake keeper. If you won't be eating them ALL in one setting, they store well in the freezer in a freezer bag--for noshing any time! 

Indian Spiced Quinoa Patties with Farmer's Market Corn Medley (OMG: It's Raining!)

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I wanted to write about these quinoa patties we'd had for over a week now. But the heat had stifled my writerly self to the point of such despair that I'd contemplated shunning "The Blog" for the remainder of the season until my heart and mind could once again muster the strength to put into words food stuff and my ramblings. Then I had that chocolate moment last week and that sort of broke the spell. Thank. God.

We have rain. Finally! And not just a teaser-rain. A real honest-to-goodness gully washer. Deep. Breath. Hubby and I are sitting out in the screened-in porch, and I'm a bit "chilly" so am wearing a sweatshirt! A. Sweatshirt. I am giddy with excitement! Now, I know better than to think this will last. So I pray. . . fall then winter. Fall then winter. My mantra for today and all days from here to eternity.   Action shot: rain.Action shot: hummingbird. How cool is that? (Okay it only took a hundred and fifty attempts, but still.) 
The recipe for this lovely little quinoa patty can be had from one of two places. First from a wonderful new cookbook by a blogger I'd not heard of prior to stumbling across his collection of recipes--in the grocery store of all places: Herbivoracious by Michael Natkin. The book is gorgeous in its own right--photos that are cook-inspiring and real--as he states in the introduction: he took the food photos himself. (Being a blogger and one who deals mostly in foodie things--I totally respect that). The recipes offer a spin on amazing veggie dishes, many an exotic flavor and spice included to tempt you to want to get in the kitchen and COOK! Or you can go to Heidi Swanson's version of the quinoa patties at 101cookbooks. Either recipe will put you on the right track. I gleaned inspiration from both for mine. Ultimately, I settled on frying my patties in my cast iron skillet. More and more, my 10" Lodge skillet is my go-to pan. In fact, were I to be stuck on a deserted island and could only take one thing from my kitchen, I'd grab that cast iron skillet in a nanosecond. (Right after I pocketed some chocolate.)
As for the corn ensemble, you can see for yourself what direction I went with. I had just come from the farmer's market and had six ears of corn. I used two of the ears for this stir-fry of sorts. I relied on cumin, coriander, some turmeric, onions, garlic, scallions, squash, red potatoes, jalapenos, fresh oregano and thyme--all with the intended purpose of pushing the corn dish in the Indian flavor direction as I had with the quinoa patties. It worked beautifully. I then topped it off with some sliced fresh tomatoes from my garden and whisked up a vegan mayo/horseradish/lemon sauce for drizzling over the top. So very yummy.
The forecast is for a return to 100 degree days for the next four days. Hard to believe as I sit here in the cool rain. Typical St. Louis. But grateful nonetheless for the break we've been granted today.
  

Vegan Coconut Macadamia Nut Shortbread Cookie Or Beige Food Stuff from My Kitchen (Caution: sourdough starting AND crochet wrapping included!)

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I've been in a rut lately. This is our third batch of these coconut shortbread cookies. I'm finding it difficult to "move on". They're the perfect beige food. (I have this overly obsessive nature--thus the "three batches" thing.) It all started with a cookie craving. I had to have a cookie with a long shelf life, and one that would step in as a late night dessert. These cookies aren't fussy. They have a light crumb--and I find the added coconut with macadamia nuts to be as close to heaven as you can get if chocolate isn't happening for you. (Rare. I know.) 
I stumbled across this recipe while I was re-arranging my cookbook collection. Which took me almost an entire day, a trip to Target for a new bookshelf and another trip to a used bookstore in search for. . . more cookbooks! (I actually hit a really good sale--hardbound books selling for three dollars a piece!) One of which was Nancy Silverton's, Breads from the La Brea Bakery. More on that in a second. 
This shortbread cookie appears in the Gourmet Cookie Book: The Single Best Recipe from Each Year 1941-2009. I love this cookbook. I picked a copy up when the book was first released as a Christmas present to myself. I haven't spent nearly enough time with the book and recipes, but all I can say is that there is not a single cookie in this book I wouldn't try. Plus, a picture accompanies every single recipe. That in itself grants it "most favorite cookie book" status in my kitchen. It's a gorgeous book. When they stopped printing Gourmet magazine, a little piece of my cooking heart broke. I abandoned all other "cooking" related mags for a while in protest. I'm back up to my four subscriptions.So during the cookbook foray, I found myself re-reading several bread books. I love reading about baking bread. Something about the science and all that stuff I missed in chemistry fascinates me. And I consider myself a worthy bread baker. Certainly better than a beginner at this point in my baking life. I made a really wonderful loaf (pictured above) of Jim Lahey's Rye Bread from his book, My Bread. One of my most treasured bread baking books. So effortless, yet such sublime breads. 
I'd gotten a little lazy during this heatwave and drought and shunned the oven for a bit, instead relying on purchased loaves of artisan breads from the grocery store. I'd had enough of being "hostage" to the heat. The oven has returned. Heat be damned.Sourdough bread baking has been this distant, unreachable "mystery" to me for many years. I LOVE sourdough bread. (I usually return from the store with a loaf or two.) It is the one indulgence I cannot live without. Well, and chocolate. Oh, and coffee. 
Anytime someone in the foodie world posts their "Sourdough from Start"--I read the posts in awe. Then kick myself for not having the guts to start a culture of my own. (I've had a few failed attempts with Peter Reinhart's sourdough. Probably my own fault--I have no patience.)
When I came home with the Nancy Silverton bread book and read the entire introduction on breads--realizing they nearly all required a sourdough starter, I thought it was time to get back up on the horse and try sourdough AGAIN. No, not according to her recipe for sourdough. (Because there's this "grapes in cheesecloth" part and other things that quite honestly I found a bit too much work for my novice sourdough self. Maybe another day.) Let me say, she DID inspire me to want to try my hand at sourdough one more time. Plus, she writes about the art of bread baking so beautifully, the price of the book alone is worth reading her introduction.
 Enter my Daniel Leader book, Local Breads.I found this book at a used book store, as well. I can't say enough wonderful things about this book. To be sure, it's not you're "five minute" bread baking book. However, if you want to explore The World "in breads", this is the book I'd start with. I've made several recipes from it. I took this to bed with me for several nights just so I could digest all of his bread baking wisdom. And then thought it time for me to put my big girl pants on and give sourdough a go via his direction. I am currently making: a Stiff Levain. If you are interested in the bread-head threads on such matters as "levains"--liquid or stiff, might I suggest The Fresh Loaf for your reading pleasure. (Seriously, I cannot tell you the number of times I have turned here for my bread curiosity.)
As you can see from the jar above, I have begun my journey. I read somewhere that the more bread you bake in your home, the better your bread becomes. That makes a lot of sense. Bread baking is a science. There are things in the air that help make bread happen. I'm no scientist. (However, I have a husband who is a scientist. But that still doesn't make me one.) As I contemplated this thought on "the more bread you bake. . . yadda, yadda"--I turned to husband and asked him what he thought of this notion of baking bread making your bread better. He said, "Makes sense." That's it? I asked. "Yep." 
That little exchange lit a fire in me and on a quest to prove I CAN make a sourdough starter. That's my jar of sourdough starter on day three in the photo above. It looks promising. I'll keep you posted. Meantime. . .My first butternut squash. One of the only rays of sunshine in my garden at this moment in time. I'll not speak further of the garden OR our yard for now.In the evenings my hands have been busy working on this new crochet throw for the living room. It's an easy-peasy pattern and is perfect for TV time. 
Vegan Coconut Macadamia Nut Shortbread CookieAdapted from, "The Gourmet Cookie Book"
2 tablespoons Florida Crystals sugar 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons macadamia nut pieces6 tablespoons unsalted vegetable margarine at room temperature 1/4 cup powdered sugar1 cup cake flour (spooned into the measuring cup, then leveled with a knife)1/2 teaspoon baking powder1/4 teaspoon salt1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract1/3 cup organic unsweetened coconut (plus 3 tablespoons for sprinkling on top)
Preheat oven to 325. Lightly spray a nonstick baking pan--either a 9 inch square or round pan, or an 11 inch rectangular pan will work. Place the macadamia nuts, sugar and vanilla extract in a food processor and pulse about twelve times--till the mixture becomes crumbly. In a medium bowl add all dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, salt, nut mixture and coconut and sift well. In another bowl, mix together the margarine and powdered sugar with a hand blender, until light and fluffy. Add the dry ingredient mixture to the butter mixture and with the blender mix just until the mixture comes together. The dough will stick together in a clump if you picked it up. Dump the dough into the cookie baking pan and press it into the pan until it covers the bottom evenly. Sprinkle 3 tablespoons of coconut over the top of cookies, lightly press into the dough to keep the flakes from falling off after baking. Bake the shortbread for about 25-30 minutes, until the edges of the cookie begin to turn light brown. Remove cookies from the oven and allow to cool for about five minutes in pan. Take a spatula and cut cookies into rectangular shapes--(you'll want to do this before the cookies cool completely). After cookies have been cut, cool completely in pan, then remove one at a time to a cookie jar--preferably to a tin jar which will keep the cookies crunchy.