i love pizza in all it’s forms. sure it’s traditionally topped with red sauce and gooey strands of cheezy goodness, but also layered with pesto instead, or no sauce at all. with this recipe i had the idea that rather than worrying about not only making a sauce but also a cheese substitute, i could make a combination of the two.
the sauce is made creamy by a little coconut milk, while all the flavor explodes from the roasted garlic, which permeates the soft chewiness of the crust. complimented nicely by hints of tangy sweetness from sun dried tomatoes and little bursts of freshness added by thyme.
if you’ve never taken a crack at making your own pizza, what better time than now?
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i never much liked the traditional green bean casserole, with it’s soggy canned beans and overly creamy sauce. yet i could never help but mentally group it in the upper echelon of thanksgiving foods. it has somehow always seemed just as essential to the dinner as stuffing and mashed potatoes with gravy, it was just a shame i didn’t enjoy it as much.
but this year, when i started brainstorming what i wanted to cook, i couldn’t help remembering vegan yum yum’s decontructed green bean casserole from last year. which inspired me to reinvent the dish the way i wanted it.
i took advantage of two forms of cooking that have been obsessed with lately – caramelizing and roasting. sure i have to wait the better part of an hour before i can eat, but for the taste of slow cooked food, it’s worth it. and as the whether cools down and daylight hours shrink significantly, i appreciate every extra ounce of warmth that my food can absorb before it hits the plate. this is truly my definition of comfort food.
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last year i made homemade pumpkin applesauce, a real fall favorite. packed with cinnamon, vanilla and brown sugar, it was a decadent traditional treat made fresh with organic ingredients. but i’m on a low sugar kick lately and wanted to make a much lighter version.
instead of brown sugar, i sweetened it with the fresh juice of fuji apples – the first of the season. and since asian pears and yams are in abundance at the farmers’ market i thought they would mimic the flavors of apples and pumpkin quite well, even adding a hint of vanilla from the pears and a creaminess from the yams.
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last week at the farmers’ market a customer came up to my stand and told the girl i work for that her recipe for okra was amazing. obviously i had to get it and see what it was all about.
the recipe as she told it was, “half and onion, some okra and some tomato, chop chop chop, fry in some oil, then add oyster sauce.” sounded easy enough, and while i didn’t feel like enjoying any oyster sauce in the mix, i had red miso paste which substituted perfectly.
not only is the recipe unbelievably simple – with only 5 ingredients and about 10 minutes start to finish – the result truly was amazing. i was mesmerized by it, never before had i tasted such a combination of flavors or textures. i expected more of a stir fry but what i got was definitely an asian-style marinara. it’s awesome with bread to dip in it or over noodles, or you could serve it up over steamed vegetables, rice or any other grain.
while heirlooms are pretty much done for the season, you can still get some tasty varieties out here in california. that is, at least until the frost hits, so enjoy while you can!
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i remember fondly the trips to the grocery store when my mother let me get that ooey gooey caramel sauce they stack next to the apples in the produce section. if you eat it on fruit it must be healthy…right? not in the copious amounts i managed to wrap around a tiny wedge of apple.
now that i am older i have a better appreciation for the fruit to sugar ratio, as well as a taste for a little salt with my sweets. so i came up with this, a lighter version of the caramel sauce i once loved. it’s still creamy and sweet, but not as thick, so you get a thinner layer over that slice of apple.
but don’t get me wrong, you don’t have to eat it with fruit. it’s also amazing to drizzle over soy ice cream or swirl into a batch of brownies. enjoy!
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Also posted in sweet | Tagged caramel, dipping sauce, salty |
the cool thing about purslane is it’s a succulent! while most lettuce greens you eat are delicate and thin, this one is thicker, crispy, lemony and slightly salty. they are a very different texture than other edible greens. and while it is considered a weed, purslane is the highest source of omega-3 fatty acids amongst leafy vegetables.
it can be sautéd, stewed or used as a substitution for spinach, but it makes an amazing salad because of it’s fresh taste and texture. i’ve mixed it here with roasted corn because it is one of my favorite summer foods, radish for a crisp bit of spiciness and dill because, besides being a flavor i always enjoy, it never fails lighten up any dish.
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Also posted in salad | Tagged corn, dill, dressing, purslane, radish |
it’s officially spring. increased sunlight and higher temperatures allow for better digestion, so my body is naturally seeking fresh fruits and vegetables to detox from a winter of eating slow cooked stews and starchy sweets.
i’ve been searching for simple and refreshing recipes and this one is a definite winner. the cucumbers, cilantro and lemon juice give it a light, fresh, cool flavor, while the avocado and oat milk keep it creamy.
if you have a blender and a few minutes you can make this recipe. it can easily be made raw depending on the type of milk you use, and it would also work well as a chilled soup!
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i started playing around the silken tofu a while ago. it works well as an egg replacer in baked goods or egg dishes. but it also makes a thick, creamy sauce when blended, like in my recipe for vegan sour cream.
recently, i’ve been brainstorming ways to turn tofu into a creamy pasta sauce and the result was surprisingly simple. it just takes a little roasted garlic, some olive oil and salt! the rich, sweet flavor of the roasted garlic gives the sauce all the flavor it needs and this simple sauce could be used in any dish you’d like!
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Also posted in entree | Tagged baked, garlic, pasta, spinach |
mushrooms were super cheap at the market recently, which can mean only one thing – they are slightly old and have to be used fast. i bought three or four containers so i had to think up a way to use a lot of mushrooms in one simple recipe.
by frying them up in a little oil and blending them with some tofu and walnuts i was able to make a large amount of tasty spread that i could use for days to come. they were good on tiny toastettes and even better spread on some kalamata olive bread to make a sandwich.
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this recipe started off as an attempt at ketchup, but the result was much thicker – and tastier – than a traditional ketchup. the vinegar and brown sugar are standard for a ketchup recipe, giving it a tangy flavor, but i added some curry spices (turmeric, cumin and coriander) as well as some cayenne pepper and ginger powder to give it a little kick.
pretty much anything fried would be delicious if dipped in this sauce, like french fries or pickle chips. tune in tomorrow to see what we dunked in it!
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Posted in sauce | Tagged curry, tomato |