whadda ya do when it's hot hot hot?

you eat cold food, that's what! above is something i threw together: pesto potato salad with sauteed garlic scapes, and sun dried tomatoes. it was really easy. clean, quarter, and boil some red potatoes. drain and toss with your favorite pesto recipe, and add some chopped sun dried tomatoes and garlic scapes-(my new favorite ingredient!) sauteed in some olive oil. let the flavors meld overnight in tha fridge.
this is a take on the "mediterranean artichoke salad" from gary null's power foods. i added some shredded carrots and olives to salad and served on a bed of spinach and romaine hearts. when i found out yucca flowers were edible, i couldn't resist the decoration. the flower itself isn't that flavorful, fyi.
spring rolls! this combo is swiss chard, carrots, avocado, and sunflower seeds. i served with a quickie thai peanut dip made from some pb and mae ploi sauce.
spring rolls filled with sauteed garlic scapes, mushrooms, and broccoli in hoisin sauce. this did require cooking. it wasn't hot that day.

reader question: share your fun summer recipe ideas. smoothies don't count! they're delicious, but anyone can make a smoothie.

I found my thrill....

this is probably one of my best food porn shots ever. i've been messing around with a blueberry muffin recipe and i think i've found one i like. feel free to try this using different kinds of flour if you wish and report the findings. i call this gem the "fats domino blueberry muffin".

fats domino blueberry muffins

wet ingredients:
1/2 c. vegan milk-( i used so delicious coconut light)+1 cap full of cider vinegar, mixed together set aside
1/4 c. canola oil
equivalent of 2 eggs-(i used n-r-g egg replacer)
1/2 t vanilla
1 c. blueberries

dry ingredients:
1 1/4 ww flour
1.5 T baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1t gr. ginger
3/4 t cinnamon
1/4 t cardamon
1/2 t salt

crumbly topping:
3T earth balance
1/3 c. sugar
1/3 c. quick cooking oats (melt butter and mix all three ingredients together)

preheat oven 350. mix cider vinegar and milk together, set aside. whisk in rest of wet ingredients-(minus the blueberries) and add to dry. fold in the blueberries. get yer muffin tin out and line with paper-(if that's how you roll) filling each area up to the top-( you want hills baby, hills!) sprinkle and pat the crumbly sugary topping on the top of each muffin.

bake for 24 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

i hope you like the recipe. i've felt just terrible about my lack of blogging. trust me, i've been in the kitchen playing around--just no time to blather about new things i've tried, and new books i've been reading. i'm still dedicated to becoming a self-taught vegan chef. my ultimate dream? to have my own vegan b&b. it'll happen one day, just not today.

so those books--mr. jewbacca has ordered "american vegan kitchen" for me, and i picked up a cook book my aunt-in-law got me for the holidays a couple years ago: "gary null's power foods". at first, i dismissed it thinking it wouldn't be that great because of the title. i'm not into healthism so to speak...it looked kind of boring. one day i was dusting the bookshelf, read the back of the jacket, and read that all recipes were vegan. can you say face palm? i felt so ashamed that i had not given it a try. i guess you can't really judge a book by its cover. needless to say, my nose has been in it for the past week or so and i've been trying some stuff out of that book. BTW--blueberries=power food.

reader questions: what is your favorite blueberry recipe? what cook book has surprised you and become a favorite?

a versatile spread indeed

i have to start posting more than once a month--i can't believe how the time flies between posts. as i previously mentioned, mommahood and work keep me so dang bizzay i hardly have time to think about doing anything on the computer other than a quickie FB status update. i have been in the kitchen whoopin' it up, taking some photos, and trying new things. one of my recent discoveries has been this spread i scored called roland red pepper spread. it has the obvious roasted red peppers, but is also blended with sunflower oil, eggplant, and some hot red peppers. it is surprisingly spicy, but not overwhelmingly so. what have i been doing with this product? well i've avoided using it as a spread, but i've been jazzing just about everything else with it:
color lesson--here are some vegan nachos. to give my vegan nacho sauce an awesome cheezwhizzy color, i threw some of the spread in the blender. quick nacho cheez sauce off the top of my head--handful of smoked almonds, a T of miso, 1/4 cup nooch, 2 big Ts of the pepper spread, water, some tofutti sour cream, and some ms. dash chipotle flavor. puree in blender, cook on low head. rich nacho cheez sauce perfect for (duh) nachos, breadsticks, and anything else you like to smother in queso. the 'meat' in these nachos? a delicious burger blend i made from lentils. i'm trying to avoid processed vegan patties because of this article. i encourage y'all to make your own burger blend. it's cheap and the possibilities are endless.
the red pepper spread also jazzes up my i wanna be your joey ramone pizza sauce. add a couple Ts to your current recipe and try to tell me you don't notice the yummy.
i had a ton of leftover pizza sauce the next day, so i poured the whole shebang over this dish of vegan manicotti and dolloped some vegan pesto here and there. note: it was a yummy failure--i stuffed the manicotti with FYH mozzarella and spinach--not keeping in mind that it would melt and the manicotti would go flat. again, a yummy mistake.

please, tell me about your favorite all purpose product.