Treats
Plum and Crystallized Ginger Crisp
It’s one of the great ironies of life that the best fruit for baking is always ripe when it’s too hot to bake. I know, I know, tart cherries and peaches and plums are special summer treats, and I should revel in the chance to stand by my hot oven and bake. Of course, you can always freeze your fruit to bake later, as I often do with my tart cherries, or the Peach harvest. My best solution is the simple crisp. It bakes in about 35 minutes, and requires very little effort. This Plum and Crystallized Ginger Crisp is a sweet and juicy way to celebrate my locally grown plums.
It’s Rhubarb Bar Time!
These crunchy, luscious bars are packed with oats and nuts and rhubarb, making them a very respectable snack or light meal. I like to wrap a few in waxed paper to take along when I’m working or on the go.
Blueberry Blue Cornmeal Cobbler
The world around us offers a full palette of blue hues, from the ever-changing skies to the wide azure sea. We live in denim and paint our bedrooms blue for a calming place to lay our heads. But our food tends toward the browns, the greens, the beiges, with pops of orange and red. But the blue foods are some of the most nourishing, and should be on everyone’s shopping list. This Blueberry Blue Cornmeal Cobbler is a juicy treat that places two blue all-stars front and center.
Banana Muffins with Bubbly Water?
When you start baking plant-based, it may seem as if replacing the eggs in your favorite recipes is going to be impossible. But I’m here to tell you, with a few swaps, it’s easier than you think. In this recipe, I’m going to show you how seamlessly you can replace an egg with some simple bubbly water, and never miss the eggs at all. Banana Muffins with Pecans is the kind of quick recipe you need in your back pocket, ready to use up those over-the-hill bananas in a flash.
Apple-Cranberry Strudel, Thanksgiving or Anytime
If there is one non-negotiable at most Thanksgiving meals, it’s the pumpkin pie. I have to say that I’m in that camp. But there’s room on my table for more than one dessert at the holidays. Nudge that pie over just a little bit, and make room for this strudel. The crisp filo shell is filled with tender apples, lightly spiced with cinnamon and studded with plump dried cranberries. Apple Cranberry Strudel is a celebration of the Fall apple harvest and a nod to the cranberry harvest as well.
Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chip Cookies
Let me be clear, these cookies make much more sense than the Pumpkin Spice Corn Chips On the end cap at your favorite grocery store. These are lovely pumpkin cookies with pumpkin appropriate spices, and some chocolate thrown in for good measure.
Lighten Up with Cantaloupe Kanten
I usually steer clear of talking about weight loss. There are plenty of people hyping products and pitching miracle weight loss foods. That’s not my thing at all- I believe in eating a balanced diet of real, whole foods. But yes, sometimes I get out of balance and start adding on a pound or two. That is when I steer toward foods that are filling but lower in calories. This Cantaloupe and Raspberry Kanten is a perfect snack or dessert for those moments.
No-Churn Almond Ice Cream with Homemade Chocolate Sauce for Summer Fun!
No-churn ice cream is greatly improved with the addition of aquafaba. Aquafaba, also known as the liquid you have been draining off of channed chickpeas and pouring down the drain, is the secret to the success of this delicious dessert. By whipping aquafaba to a meringue-like loft, you can incorporate it into a rich mix of coconut cream and almond butter, to give it a texture similar to churned ice creams. Really. Most non-dairy no-churn ice creams are plenty creamy, but when frozen, become a hard block. This one can be scooped straight from the freezer, without having to sit and soften at room temperature.
Creamy Fudgesicles, a Summertime Favorite
Lately, I’ve been hearing that faraway chime that quickens my heart, although it’s been years since I bought anything from the ice cream truck. The repetitive tune is Proustian, striking a spot in my brain that connects it to lazy summer afternoons of long ago. Those endless, nowhere-to-be and nothing-important-to-do kinds of days were made extra special by the arrival of the “Jingle Skoot” truck, with icy sweet confections for a few pieces of change. Like Fudgesicles.
Craving Creamy? Avocado Ice Cream and Pasta!
Craving Creamy?Avocados Hit the Spot!
If you’ve been eating a low-fat diet, or have just gone plant-based, you may find yourself craving high-fat foods. Research shows that we are hard-wired to seek out fat. The best way to stay in balance is to eat the kinds of healthy fats that are in avocados and extra virgin olive oil. Even if you aren’t eating low-fat, we all find creamy foods pleasurable and comforting to eat. Why fight it?
Meal Prep for Carrot Bars and Moroccan Salad
Meal Prep is The Key!
In today’s blog and video, I’m featuring one easy meal prep item: shredded carrots. I love using my food processor to make my life easier, and this is a prime example. Just shred carrots and you’ll have them ready to go, to toss in salads, or to make these two easy recipes.
Valentine’s Day Chocolate Cakes with Avocado Mousse!
The sexy, stimulating chemistry of chocolate is all well and good, but the truth is, we loooove the taste of chocolate. Valentine’s Day wouldn’t be complete without a luscious treat that delivers the cacao. These pretty little cakes are chocolate-y enough to thrill, but light enough to keep you from passing out on the couch.
Fool-Proof Apple Pie to Die For
Fool-Proof Apple Pie Make a Fool-Proof Apple Pie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qypj3ReRDPM Yes, That's My Cat Pumpkin Behind Me! We've all heard the expression, "As easy as pie." I have made many, many pies, and I have come to the conclusion that the expression is...
Pear Party- Make Two Perfect Pear Dishes for Fall
You can spend a lifetime seeking that perfect pear, and find as many frustrating pear experiences as ecstatic ones. That’s why I made this video, to show you the simplest, most valuable fact I’ve learned about pears.
Make Your Own Chocolates? Yes, You Can
Certain kitchen adventures are shared by pretty much everyone. Even if you don’t cook much, you have made a batch of cookies, or cooked some mac and cheese. But when it comes to the world of candy, most of us leave it to the pros. Packaged candy is all around us, and it’s so easy to buy that the thought of making it is on a level with sewing your own pants, or building your own chairs.
Deep Dark Chocolate Brownies, with a Secret Ingredient
There’s no time of year when chocolate is “out of season.” We don’t eat pumpkin pie in the summer, or cold soup in the winter, but we will eat brownies all year long. That makes these lush, dark chocolate treats appropriate for every month of the year.
Peachy Cornbread Cobbler, with Calhoun County Peaches
I’ve been extolling the under-the-radar Calhoun County peaches, the first peaches that blew my mind. Perhaps I’m being parochial, perhaps my Proustian peach experience has elevated these particular peaches above all others in an indelible way.
So Simple, So Good, Gingery Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble
These individual Strawberry-Rhubarb Crumbles are pots of gingery filling with a crunchy crumble topping, the easiest way to bake a great dessert without breaking a sweat. Chop, stir, bake, it really is that simple.
Stay in and Bake Banana-Tahini Muffins with Crystallized Ginger
People are putting tahini in everything these days, and these muffins are a perfect example of how versatile the sesame seed butter can be.
Wow Your Guests with Purple Sweet Potato Pie
Still looking for a fun dessert for the holidays? Now that you've got Thanksgiving under your belt, so to speak, it's time to plan the coming feasts, parties and get-togethers. Why not shake it up with a technicolor purple pie? Yes, this Purple Sweet Potato Pie is...
Poached Pears Make an Elegant Dessert, For a Break from Pumpkin!
I know we are in pumpkin pie season, but really, how many pies can you eat? Dare we break away for a moment to celebrate the beauty of the pear? I've been playing around with desserts that don't have any added sugar lately, and this recipe for Poached Pears in Cherry...
Bake a Raspberry-Nectarine Slab Pie, Make People Happy!
On a fine Saturday morning, everything seems possible. The day stretches before me, like a bottomless well of time, free to do something adventurous. Rested and ready, I make my way to the Farmer's Market most Saturdays, where tables of colorful produce stretch out...
Meal Prep: Make Chocolatey Zucchini Brownies
Chocolate is always in season, isn't it? Whether we are snuggled inside on a February snow day, or wilting in the heat of a humid August scorcher, chocolate always seems like a good idea. Right now, it's zucchini season, and I can think of no better way to put a...
Try Fresh Currants in this Easy Kanten
Kanten It was a great farmer's market find. Fresh Red Currants were ripe and ready at the market, and it was too hot to bake. So, I made kanten. Kanten is the plant-based world's answer to Jell-o, and it couldn't be more refreshing. Don't tell anyone it's vegan, just...
Strawberry Vegan Cupcakes You Need To Make Now
Some things just happen. Like the confluence of my own birthday with the arrival of petite "honeoye strawberries" at the Farmer's Market. Yes, Happy Birthday to me! I have a vegan baking class coming up, and the vegan cupcakes that I teach in that class are perfect...
Strawberry Season Bundt Cake To Rock Your World
It's Strawberry Season. That means, even here in Minnesota, the best, locally grown strawberries have finally reached their sweet, rosy ripeness. We make do all year with the bounty of California and Mexico, or do without. Until now. It's a short window, and deserving...
Bake Some Purple Carrot and Blueberry Bars for Prince’s Birthday
June 7 is Prince's Birthday I'm a Minneapolitan, and let me tell you, we all felt the loss when Prince left us too soon. He was our home town musical genius, rockstar, and part of our personal soundtracks since the 80's. He was also a quiet philanthropist, sharing his...
Vegan Meal Prep, In Bookstores Now!
Vegan Meal Prep, the Cookbook I was talking about meal prepping to a young person, at some point while testing the recipes for Vegan Meal Prep, and she said, "It's adulting." Vegan meal prepping is, in fact, a very special form of "adulting." Meal prepping is the...
Warm Up with Tasty Scones Made From Freshly Ground Flour
Fresh Flour Makes a Great Scone Nothing makes a snowed-in morning feel cozier than a batch of scones, still warm from the oven. Scones are so simple, simple enough that little shifts in technique and ingredients can make the difference between a decent scone and one...
Make Valentine’s Brownie Hearts to Win Your Sweetie’s
Valentine's Day Brownie Hearts As Valentine's Day approaches, it's all about finding a chocolate treat that will woo your sweet heart. Sure, you can buy a box of chocolates, or take that special friend out to eat. But nothing says I love you like a home baked...