Lavender lemonade and gazpacho!

I thought the title deserved an exclamation point, since both recipes relate to one dear Megan H!

Megan wanted a non-alcoholic beverage for her grad party, and since I've been trying to make everything in Bryant Terry's incredible Vegan Soul Kitchen, this seemed like a good opportunity to try out the lavender lemonade. Megan was also the person responsible for me trying my first chilled soup! (A delicious chilled beet/cucumber.) I have a weird thing about temperature, and get sketched out if something is lukewarm or cool when it should be hot. Piping hot. But, since gazpacho is supposed to be cold, it makes sense to me.

LL:
In a saucepan, combine 2 cups of water with 1/4 cup dried lavender buds (I used a bit more because I looooove lavender. I also used buds that were, ahem, 4 years old, so I thought the recipe might need a bit more pep.) and bring to a boil, covered, for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let steep for another 10 minutes. Strain the lavender buds and combine in a big jar (or pitcher) once cool. Add 3/4 c. fresh-squeezed lemon juice (this took me 3 lemons, but Bryant Terry suggested 6-8), 1/2 c. agave nectar or simple syrup, and 4 more cups of water.

Gazpacho (based on Mark Bittman's recipe in How to Cook Everything Vegetarian):
I used 4 medium-sized tomatoes, but he says 2.5 pounds. Since I got 'em at the farmers' market (and don't have a scale), I just guessed. It seems like gazpacho lends itself to guessing.
1 cucumber, peeled and chopped
2-3 baguette slices, or more to taste (ideally a bit stale, but I used completely fresh bread and it was fine)
2-3 T. sherry vinegar
1/4 c. olive oil (can drizzle more on later)
1 cup water
SALT (at aforementioned graduation party, I cornered Megan's friend Kate--a chef!--and asked her a lot of questions about cooking. One of her tips was to add a lot more salt to things than you might think.)
pepper

Just toss everything into a blender or food processor and combine. So simple! And then chill, of course.

Fettuccine with cabbage and sausage

We've been swimming in cabbage this year from our CSA. A few heads are still fermenting in Megan's crock, but one can only bogart a friend's fermentation vessel for so long ...
I found this recipe in a magazine whose name I cannot reveal for fear of public humiliation. Thankfully, the meal was pretty good.


1/2 lb sausage
6 c cabbage
3 shallots
olive oil
1/2 lb fettuccine
3/4 c chicken broth

Brown sausage and set aside. Add some olive oil to the sausage pan and fry up the shallots and cabbage (6 min). Add chicken broth and simmer (3-4 min). Combine with sausage and noodles.

Green Enchilada Sauce

I actually made this sauce and froze it a week or so ago and am just now getting around to posting it. I love enchiladas in the fall and winter, but don't like the canned sauce with all of the weird stuff in there. It turns out it is embarrassingly easy to make. So when tomatillos appeared at the market last week - I had to do it.

I got this recipe from The Minnesota Homegrown Cookbook, which is an amazing collection of local food restaurants, including the Birchwood and Lucia's. There are lots of stunning photos too. I actually gave the cookbook as a gift, but snuck a few recipes before wrapping it up. This recipe is from El Norteno on Lake Street.

1/2 lb. tomatillos, husks removed, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
4 jalepenos, chopped

Simmer all ingredients in vegetable oil for 10 minutes. Process mixture until smooth and add salt to taste. And that is it! I froze my sauce in jars, with extra room to freeze.
*I have no idea how much my tomatillos weighed, so I guessed at amounts - and got way spicy sauce. Beware!

Here is El Norteno's enchilada recipe (Chicken) - though I tend to just mix beans and sauteed veggies with lots of cheese for mine:
10 corn tortillas
2 c. shredded chicken
1 1/2 c. chihuahua cheese
1 c. chicken broth
sour cream, chopped onion, cilantro for garnish

Preheat over to 350 degrees. Place less than 1.4 c. chicken and 2 T. cheese in each tortilla. Roll and place seam side down in a 9x13 baking dish. Pour sauce over all and sprinkle with additional cheese. Bake and garnish.
*Um, please note I have never made this recipe and must have missed what to do with that cup of chix broth. Pour it over as well?? and probably bake until browned?? oops.

chocolate dipped coconut macaroons

better late than never. these were made for kp and e's 5th anniversary party. the recipe is shockingly quick and easy. they taste great and people tend to be impressed by chocolate-dipped anything. this little gem is straight from 'how to eat supper' by lynne rossetto kasper--of 'splendid table' fame. her syrupy sweet voice drives me crazy but the woman knows what she's doing in the kitchen.

2 lg eggs, beaten
1/2 c sugar
generous pinch salt
1 teasp. almond or vanilla extract (i've done both with equally good results)
3 c shredded coconut

whisk eggs, sugar, salt, extract. blend coconut into mixture. drop by even tablespoons onto parchment paper lined cookie sheet. bake at 350 for 18-24 minutes.

melt semi-sweet chocolate chips in double boiler. i never measure my chips so use your best guess. spread chocolate on bottom of macaroons or dip top first into chocolate. let harden--putting them in the fridge helps in the summer heat.

makes at least a couple dozen.

Power Squares

I should be packing for my Duluth bike trip tomorrow - but instead I am thinking about the food we will be eating, the hazelnut no-need-to-refrigerate cream I discovered, homemade granola bars, and also these. They are kind of like the bird bars at the co-op, only better because there is dried fruit. They are also wheat-free, and there is no baking involved - which makes them especially nice to prepare in an un-air-conditioned house when it is 95 degrees or some such hotness. They are now wrapped up in wax paper, ready to supply some fuel for the hot biking days ahead!

This recipe is from rebar - a restaurant (and cookbook) that makes good, not so sweet, whole food types of recipes:
3/4 c. dried apricots, cut into pieces
3/4 c. dried apple
4 brown rice cakes
1 c. unsweetened coconut
1/2 c. sunflower seeds
1/2 c. pumpkin seeds
1/3 c. sesame seeds
1/2 c. rolled oats
1 1/4 c. fruit sweetener*
1/2 c. natural peanut butter, slightly warmed

*Fruit sweetener is hard to find - but it turns out apple juice concentrate works. I used a combo of barley malt syrup and honey to equal the same amount of fruit sweetener, and they taste great.

1. In food processor, pulse apricots, apples and rice cakes to a fine texture. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside.
2. Pulse coconut, seeds, and oats to roughly combine. Add to the fruit mixture, along with sweetener and peanut butter. Mix everything together until well combined. Cover and chill dough for at least 1 hour.
3. Roll/press the dough into balls or small squares. Press/roll in toasted sesame seeds to coat. *The recipe also says to refrigerate - but i wonder if that is due to the fruit sweetener. I think that with honey - you can leave it out. I have mine in the fridge until we leave- then they will be in the warm warm pannier until we eat them all!

Makes 14-15 bars.

Wild rice soup

I made this soup for breakfast (weird, I know, but I was craving it!) a few days ago but have procrastinated adding it to the blog. With the Uptown Art Fair raging outside my window, now seems like a good time for distraction.

This recipe is from Heidi Swanson's amazing Super Natural Cooking. I am a huge fan of hers (can't go wrong with a Heidi recipe!) and am almost as excited for the release of Super Natural Everyday as I am for Mockingjay (only 17 more days!!!). I had a yam that needed using, so I substituted that for the sweet potato--either is fine. Please note: food photographer, I am not. This soup tastes way better than I managed to make it look.

Creamy Wild Rice Soup
2 T. coconut oil
1 1/2 t. red curry paste
1 large clove garlic, finely chopped
1 shallot, chopped
1 yellow onion, chopped (I use whatever I have. I was short on onions this time, so used 1/2 a red one and a bunch of scallions. It still tasted great.)
1 cup wild rice, rinsed
4 cups water
1 orange-fleshed sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice
Fine-grain sea salt (I use coarse)
2 t. ground turmeric (I love turmeric so I add a bit more)
1 T. natural cane sugar
1 T. shoyu
1 (14-oz.) can coconut milk
Squeeze of lime juice

Heat 1 T. coconut oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat, then add curry paste, garlic, shallot, and onion, and saute until the onion begins to soften (she says 3-4 minutes; mine seem to take more than 5). Evenly distribute the curry paste.

Stir in the wild rice and 3 cups of the water, and bring to a simmer. Lower the heat and cook, covered, for approx. 40 minutes (taste to be sure the rice is done).

Sweet potato croutons (make while the rice is cooking):
A small dice seems to work best for these. Warm the rest of the coconut oil (1 T.) in a skillet over medium-high heat, then add the potatoes and salt to taste; make sure they get coated with the oil. Toss them every few minutes until they're crisp and cooked through.

When the wild rice is tender, add the turmeric, sugar, shoyu, coconut milk, 1 cup water, and 1 t. salt. Stir, return to a simmer, and cook for 5 more minutes. When ready to serve, add a squeeze or two of lime juice and top with the sweet potato croutons. Yum!

grilled pizza

i don't know when it was that i first heard these two wonderful words put together: grilled. pizza. all i know is that it's something that i've wanted to try forever, and finally did last night. steve and allison were coming over, and you know how sometimes you have certain friends that you want to impress with the culinary skills you think you have? this is def the way to go.

i've tried so many pizza dough recipes that i should probably look like the pillsbury dough boy by now, except for the most part, they've been inedible. a few weeks ago, the strib had an article about grilling pizza, and wha-bang! it's delicious. i credit them for the dough, but play with your own toppings. i had two parties on mine: half fig, basil, and goat cheese, half fresh mozzarella, basil, cherry tomatoes from the garden, all slathered in garlic & olive oil. i meant to use green onions and top it off with fresh avocado, but i'll just have to save that for next time.

(picture note: this is not my picture. the whole process went so fast that we didn't have time to take a picture. if you have time today, though, go google grilled pizza images and see the crazy combos that come up.)