a while back, when i started taking home carrots with really beautiful greens, i had to think up ways to use them.  so i started with pesto, which was obviously delicious what with the toasted almonds and parmesan cheese i added, but then i went in search for something a little more healthy.

i had seen the word gremolata used a lot on the tender greens menu, and looked it up because i was curious.  it turned out to be just the mixture i was dreaming of.  traditionally it is made with lemon zest, garlic and parsley, so i modified my pesto recipe to include plenty of lemon zest and shallots instead of nuts and cheese.  the result is still very delicious but a little lighter.

it is a great spread for sandwiches or mixed into hot pasta.  use it to top any cooked veggie or simply eat it on a whole wheat cracker.  try mixing with cooked brown rice and diced onion for a simple cold rice salad.  enjoy it anyway you would pesto!

carrot top gremolata
2-3 bunches of carrot tops
2 large shallots
1 head of garlic
1 c extra virgin olive oil
zest and juice of 1 medium lemon
1 tsp sea salt

top the carrots and rinse the greens well.  remove the thickest part of the stems and chop the rest about every inch or so.  then set them aside in a strainer or pat with a few sheets of paper towels to let them dry a bit.

peel the garlic and shallots and coarsely chop them, they will be blended later so there’s no need to mince them well.

heat up a large skillet and once hot toss in the carrot tops, followed by the chopped shallots and garlic, then a few tablespoons of the olive oil.  fry these all together just until the carrot tops are wilted.  then cut the heat and let the mixture cool a few minutes before blending.

meanwhile, zest and juice the lemon, removing any seeds.  add this to the food processor along with the rest of the oil, the sea salt, and the cooked greens.  blend everything until no large chunks remain.  store in a clean, air-tight container for up to one week.

yields about 16 oz (2 cups)

once summer has officially wound down and the fall produce begins to roll into the farmers’ market, i fondly anticipate the sunchoke’s return.  also known as a jerusalem artichoke, sunroot, or my favorite name – earth apple – this root veggie belongs to the sunflower family.  the roots grow all summer long while the flowers flourish up top, making roots ready for digging up in the fall.

they are most similar in taste and texture to a potato, but they are a little sweeter and much more earthy tasting.  they are high in inulin, a naturally occurring sugar substitute, which the body does not break down, so the sunchoke is lower in carbs and glycemic index.  i love roasting them in the oven but they can take quite a while, so i now boil them quickly first to make them cook a lot quicker.

when the crunchy parmesan finishes off these funny-shaped fries, they become a real treat.  the pungent bite of the chimichurri sauce, with lots of cilantro, lemon, and garlic compliments it perfectly.  whip up this recipe at your next autumn get together, for the few months these beauties are in season.

parmesan sunchoke fries
about 1 lb sunchokes (finger-like in shape and roughly the same size)
1 quart salted water
1 tbsp olive oil
salt & pepper
finely shredded parmesan cheese

chimichurri sauce
1 big bunch of cilantro (1/4th lb with stems)
1/2 c olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 cloves crushed garlic
1 large lemon – juiced and seeds removed

make the sauce ahead of time so it’s ready for when the fries come out of the oven.  you can make it up to 2 days ahead and store in an air-tight container in the fridge.  this recipe makes a lot more than you’ll need for these fries so you can use it in a ton of other recipes.  great with salads, in tacos, on burgers, as a marinade especially for chicken, or as a dip for anything else, like pita chips or veggies.

just wash your cilantro and remove most of the stems, combine in a food processor with all the other ingredients and blend for 10-15 seconds or until no large chunks remain.

for the fries, start by bringing the salted water to a boil over high in a medium-sized pot.  wash the sunchokes well, but i don’t bother scrubbing or peeling them even though they look pretty earthy.

slice all the pieces lengthwise into quarters, roughly the same sizes but they won’t be perfectly uniform.  when the water is boiling carefully drop the sunchoke pieces in and once it comes back to a full boil let it simmer on high for 5 minutes.

preheat the oven to 375F

when time is up shut off the stove and gently strain the sunchokes.  toss them in a medium bowl with the olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and fresh cracked pepper.  they will be too hot to toss with your hands and too fragile for using a mixing spoon so i spin them around in the bowl just to coat.  turn out onto a baking sheet and spread out evenly.

bake for 30 minutes, gently stirring every 10 minutes or so.  then turn the oven up to 400F, take the fries out and sprinkle with a thin coat of shredded parmesan cheese.  bake at the elevated temperature for 3-4 minutes or until some of the cheese is turning brown.

serve them fresh out of the oven, use a spatula to get them off the tray.  put the chimichurri sauce in a small dish on the side for dipping and enjoy!

yields 2-3 servings

i’ll let you know right off the bat that to make some seriously good marinara you need to start with some seriously delicious tomatoes – i recommend buying organic heirloom tomatoes at the farmers market while they’re still in season.  because they can be expensive, i recommend finding a farmer that has great tasting tomatoes but is willing to sell you the less perfect ones at a discount.  at the markets i frequent in los angeles, good heirloom tomatoes are $3-4 a pound, but for soft ones you can sometimes get $1/lb.

once you’ve handled that, prepare yourself for the best damn marinara of your life.  it’s not that hard, you can make it overnight in a crock pot and then man-oh-man are you in for a treat.  i keep large jars of the stuff in the fridge for pasta, pizza, paninis or just to cover steamed veggies or brown rice.  but i’m trying to build up a reserve in the freezer because now that i know what tomato sauce can be, i can’t imagine making it until next summer without this stuff.

this recipe is very simple, using only onion, pepper and a few italian spices to compliment the tomatoes, but you can dress up your sauce with your own herbs and veggies.  it’s great with garlic or mushrooms too.

heirloom marinara
onion
sweet or bell pepper
olive oil
sea salt
black pepper
fresh basil
fresh parsley
soft heirloom tomatoes

dice up your onion, pepper and fresh herbs.  i used one onion, one sweet pepper (bell pepper would be fine) and a small handful of both fresh herbs.  heat up the oil in a large pot, about 1/4-1/2 cup, and soften the onion and pepper in the oil over medium-high heat for at least 5 minutes.  add in the herbs and a touch of salt at this point, as well as any other veggies you would want to modify your sauce with.  once cooked, add this mixture to the bottom of your crock pot and start adding in your tomatoes.  i have a large slow cooker, 5 liters i believe, so if you are using something smaller reduce the recipe.

you want to get all the juice and seeds from each tomatoes into the pot, because that’s where all the flavor comes from.  but the skins are flavorless and tend to curl up when cooked, leaving annoying little rods of skin that ruin the texture, so those are best left behind.  cut off any stems, tough or yucky bits and squeeze the inner contents of each tomato into the pot, keeping the skin in your hand (note: this can be messy! i do most the cutting over the sink and keep the crock pot close by.)  if the tomato is very soft if should slide out of the skin no problem, but if it’s a little less ripe i find it’s easier to skin on a cutting board with a sharp knife.  a cutting board with a lip around the edge is helpful so i can save any leaking juices for the sauce.

if the tomato is small and very soft i usually just let the meat of the tomato into the sauce whole, but for much larger tomatoes i either mash the meat up in my hands or dice it up on the cutting board.  this is just to prevent the sauce from being too chunky in the end, if you like your sauce even smoother you’ll want to either mash all the tomato pulp before you add it into the sauce or food mill/process the sauce after it’s cooked.

fill up your pot all the way to the top and let it cook on high heat.  i find that even high heat on a crock pot is low compared to the stove.  if you are cooking on the stove it will cook faster so you need keep on a low simmer for about 6-8 hours, stirring frequently.  in the crock pot i alternate cooking with the lid on and off (to let it heat up and also for the liquid to cook off) but it takes about 24 hours total for it to cook down.  ultimately the sauce should be half to a third of what you started with, and it should be thick, darker and almost caramelized in flavor.  i notice this sauce is usually a lot more sweet than store-bought varieties.

you can use it right away or let it cool before jarring it up to be stored.  thoroughly enjoy!

yields about 32-48 oz

there are way too many misconceptions about vegetables out there that simply must be squashed.  every week at the farmers’ market i cringe at the people who rip the tops off of their beets, carrots, turnips or radishes because, “they aren’t edible…right?”  certain parts of veggies are perhaps more bitter than others, but that just means you need to know how to treat them right.

the farmers i work for usually sell carrots without tops, because if the greens are allowed to wilt before you eat the carrot then most of those nutrients will go down into to the root, making the carrot much sweeter.  but because customers wanted the prettier looking carrots, they also started carrying bunches with fresh green tops.

while the carrots themselves aren’t quite as sweet, you get the greens too, which are fun to experiment with – especially since i hadn’t cooked with them before.  the most common recipe i had heard of was pesto, so i gave a simple recipe a go with some seasonal green garlic, blended it up in my food processor and since then i must have made at least 7 more batches, it’s just that good!

stick it in a jar and freeze it to last you all year.  you’ll want this seasonal treat on everything.

carrot top and green garlic pesto
2 bunches of carrot greens (from 8-12 medium carrots or about 2-3 cups chopped carrot tops)
1 head of fresh green garlic
1 c extra virgin olive oil
1/2 c parmesan cheese
1/4 c toasted almonds
salt and pepper to taste

start by toasting the almonds if you are using raw ones.  simply heat up a skillet over high heat, add the almonds to the dry pan and toss every few seconds until aromatic and starting to brown.  set aside or put right in the food processor.  it’s fine if you are using pre-salted or pre-toasted almonds, if they have their own salt you may not need to add as much, if any, at the end.

prep your carrot tops, and definitely save the carrots for another recipe.  cut the carrot tops off, rinse them well, shake dry and coarsely chop up (including most of the stemy parts), set aside.

next cut the roots off of the garlic and remove any papery outer skin, but most skin should be tender if the garlic is fresh.  chop the whole thing up excluding any really dried top greens.  if there is any dirt within the layers simply rinse out, other than that chop the whole thing up, from the bottom white section all the way up to the green part.  these can look a lot like leeks so make sure to ask when you are buying them at the market to make sure you are getting the right thing.

heat up a large skillet over high heat and add in the carrot tops, green garlic and 2 tbsp of the olive oil in the pan all at one time.  cook until wilted which should only be about 2 minutes or so.

once wilted, transfer to the food processor and add all remaining ingredients.  i found i only needed a pinch of sea salt and pepper because much of the saltiness is added by the parmesan, so it is a good idea to blend first, taste, then add in the salt if needed.

i have made double batches but that is the most my food processor can handle without exploding.  put jars of the stuff in the freezer and it will keep for months, in the fridge keep no longer than 2 weeks.

it’s awesome on toast, pasta, sandwiches, mixed with mayo, in potato salad, whatever.  enjoy!

we are at the very peak of stone fruit season.  apricots have been around for a while, peaches are just now getting good and cherries are the sweetest they can be right this very second!  for these few weeks of the year we can see nectarines, pluots, and apriums next to white, yellow and doughnut peaches, alongside baskets of red and rainier cherries.  so i gather them up while i can!

i often think of baking them into tarts, pies or cakes, but i must admit i feel guilty cooking such beautiful, fresh fruit.  i’m usually tempted just to eat it as is – raw and unaltered – to preserve its subtle sweetness and soft juicy texture.  but i wanted to find a recipe that accented these qualities while making the fruit more portable and even more palatable.

since the ripening of stone fruit makes me think of summer, and they have a similar texture to tomatoes, i decided to turn the fruit into a salsa i could enjoy all summer long as harvests yield different varieties.  instead of fresh cilantro i used big fresh basil leaves, which are so sweet smelling i melt whenever in the vicinity.  these compliment the sweetness of the fruit quite nicely, and the presence of all the other classic ingredients – garlic, onion, and a little salt, oil and citrus juice – leaves no question that this is still a true salsa.

mixed stone fruit salsa
3 c chopped mixed stone fruit
1/2 c chopped red onion
2 cloves minced garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp lemon or lime juice
1 tbsp minced basil leaves
1 tsp kosher salt

you can pick whichever stone fruits you like, cherries, plums, pluots, peaches, apricots or apriums.  i just grabbed an assortment at the farmer’s market.

chop up all of the assorted stone fruit, removing any stems or pits, dicing everything up into small cubes.  mince the jalapeno (removing the stem, seeds an pulp first), onion, garlic and basil.  mix this all together with your lemon juice, olive oil and salt.  enjoy immediately or let sit in the fridge for about an hour to let the flavors meld together.

yields about 4 servings

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?

crust
1 1/2 tsp active yeast
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp ground coriander
1 c warm water
about 2 c unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp + 2 tbsp olive oil

roasted garlic coconut cream
2 heads garlic
1/2 c coconut milk
1/4 tsp salt

toppings
1/2 c sun dried tomatoes
a few sprigs fresh thyme

mix together the dry active yeast, sugar and ground coriander in a large bowl.  mix in the 1 cup of water, which should be warm to the touch.  set aside for a few minutes until it foams.

then toss in the salt and 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and slowly sift in about 1 3/4 cups flour until it sticks together into a loose dough.

lightly flour a cutting board and turn the dough out onto it.  lightly knead it for about a minute, then set the ball in a large bowl greased with 2 tablespoons of olive oil.  turn the dough over to cover in oil.

then let sit in a warm place until it doubles in size, this may take an hour or two.

meanwhile roast the heads of garlic.  chop the tops off to make them easier to extract later.  lay them in aluminum foil and cover with a little olive oil.  roast at 375F for about an hour until light golden brown.

when they are cool enough to handle you can pop the cloves out with your fingers.  blend them with the coconut milk and salt, and set aside.

at least an hour before you assemble the pizza rehydrate your sun dried tomatoes in water, and drain before using.

once the dough has risen, preheat the oven to 475F to give it plenty of time to heat up.  lightly flour a large baking pan, then sprinkle the top of the dough and your hands.  gently remove the dough from the bowl onto the pan – it will deflate a little.  lightly flour the dough again if needed and press out to a large oval, slightly thicker around the edges.

lightly pour the cream across the crust, then dress with the sun dried tomatoes and bits of fresh thyme.

bake at 475F for 10 minutes or until lightly brown around the edges and the cream is starting to bubble.

cut up and enjoy immediately!

yields 3-4 servings

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.

creamy caramelized onion gravy
1 large yellow onion
3 large cipollini onions
1/4 c vegan margarine (like earth balance)
1/4 c olive oil
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp flour
1/2 c veggie broth
1 c soy milk

roasted snap peas and green beans
3/4 lb green beans
3/4 lb snap peas
olive oil
salt
pepper

start with the onions, because those will take the longest.  remove the skin and chop them up into small slices.  i love cipollini onions because they are tiny and cute.  but i hate them because they are so awfully hard to peal.  that’s why i try to pick out the largest ones i can. if you can’t find cipollinis then use an extra half of a yellow onion.  remember that they will cook down significantly from their size when raw.

melt the margarine and oil over high heat, then toss in the chopped onions.  mix around for a minute to make sure the onions are evenly coated, and so they’ve gotten a chance to warm up a bit.

cover, reduce the heat to medium and let sit for about 45 minutes.  check on them and stir every 5-10 minutes (every 2-3 minutes towards the end) until they are much smaller in size, brown, translucent and sweet.

toss in the salt and stir around, then sift in the flour and mix well.  add the veggie broth and turn up the heat to warm it up, but reduce the heat a little if it begins to bubble too much.  do the same with the soy milk and then cook down until it’s the consistency you’d like.  then you can set it aside and re-heat upon serving.

while the onions are cooking, start in on the the beans and peas, by removing the stems.  you can “de-string” your peas if you’d like but i eat them as is.  wash and drain well, then place them in a large bowl and toss them with a drizzle of olive oil and a healthy sprinkle of salt and pepper.

lay them out on a pan covered in aluminum foil or parchment paper, and bake at 350F for 30-40 minutes.  mix and turn halfway to ensure even cooking.  i stuffed them all on one tray but lost a few in the process, so it would be best to use two trays.

bake until starting to wrinkle and get slightly brown around the edges, but they should still be green.

serve the beans and peas with the gravy over them and top with bread crumbs if you’d like.  enjoy with friends and family!

serves 4-6 as a side

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.

yam and asian pear sauce
2 and 1/2 lbs of asian pears
1 lb of yams
1 c apple juice
2 c water
1 tbsp lemon zest
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp sea salt

gather up all your fruits and veggies and wash them well.  remove any bruises or blemishes.  chop all of your yams and asian pears into chunks – excluding the cores – and toss into a large pot.  you can peel them if you’d like, but the skin will get strained out at the end so i don’t bother.

chop up the apples small enough to fit in your juicer, it only took me two medium-sized apples to get 1 cup of juice.  if you don’t have your own juicer then you can pick some up from your local juice bar, or use the store-bought kind.  if you’d like a sweeter sauce you can use two cups juice and only one cup water, i prefer this treat on the less sweet side.

lastly, grate or finely chop your lemon zest.  this helps keep the fruit fresh because it contains citric acid, a natural preservative.

add all the ingredients into the pot and bring to a boil on high heat.  then cover, reduce to a simmer and let cook until soft and mushy.  it took me a little over an hour.  at first, stir every 20 minutes.  then as the liquid is mostly cooked off stir every 10, then 5 minutes.  keep your eye on it until it is so thick it will stick to a spoon when held upside down.  then you know it’s done!

remove from the heat and let sit for a few minutes before trying to handle it.  send the mixture through a food mill, apple sauce maker or even a strainer/sieve.  you could blend or food process it, but it will be a little more fiberous and might be a bit chunky.

makes a great snack or a light dessert, and it would work great as baby food.

yields 3-4 servings

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!

okra and miso marinara
2 tbsp olive oil
1 c red onion (1/2 a medium one)
1 c okra (about 1/2 a lb)
1 c tomato (about medium ones)
2 tbsp miso

prep whatever else you’re serving with the sauce first, since this recipe is so speedy.  i put some water on the stove to boil and threw in a few soba noodles.  they were done in just a few minutes.

if you’ve never shopped for okra before, it’s not too difficult.  just pick the pods that are firm, without any large blemishes or bruises, slight browning around the edges is fine.  i prefer smaller ones because i find they are slightly more tender.

chop up all your ingredients before you get to cooking.  exact measurements are not necessarily, about a cup of all your veggies, give or take.  i choose jubilee heirloom tomatoes because i like their color and flavor, but any kind will due – since they are being cooked you don’t have to start with the most delicate flavors and textures, which are easier to enjoy when raw.

heat up the oil in a frying pan over high heat for a minute or two before adding the onion.  sauté for a few minutes, or until soft, before adding in the okra.  if you’ve never worked with okra before, it’s notorious for being sticky.  you’ll notice when you cut it that it feels a bit slimy, and when you cook it you can see long strands when you stir.  this will help to thicken the sauce.

after a few minutes, toss in the tomato and sauté until they are soft and starting to make the mixture more liquidy.  then scoop in the miso paste, mix thoroughly and cut the heat.  serve up immediately however you’d like, it’s best fresh and hot.

yields 2 servings

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!

salty caramel dipping sauce
1/2 c vegan margarine
1 c turbinado sugar
1/3 c maple syrup
3/4 c soy milk
2 tbsp corn starch
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tsp sea salt

in a large pan over low heat, add together the vegan margarine, sugar and maple syrup.  cook for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until it all melts and begins to bubble a little.  be careful not too leave it unattended while cooking, sugars are fickle molecules and will harden if cooked too long.

sift together the soy milk and corn starch, and whisk until incorporated.  i use unsweetened, plain soy milk but using sweetened or vanilla flavored won’t affect the final product much.  cut the heat and pour in the mixture.

turn up the heat to medium and stir lightly until it begins to bubble again.  cut the heat and add in the vanilla and sea salt, which should be ground up if coarse.  the consistency should be that of a slightly thick syrup, but it will thicken even more upon cooling.

while still hot, pour the mixture into jars that have been cleaned very well.  be careful sealing them since the glass will be hot – i like to put the jar on a dish towel to wrap around it so i don’t have to touch the hot glass, and incase there are any spills.

you can keep it in the fridge for several weeks or give the extra away to friends.  if it begins to separate just give it a little stir.

yields about 2 1/2 cups

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