The Perfect Soup

I don't just give that title away, you know. This soup really is everything I could ever want in a soup. It's light, and so flavorful, and slightly sweet, but full-bodied at the same time. Oh. It's perfect.

Butternut Squash Apple Soup

1/4 cup olive oil
1 2-lb butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 2-inch pieces
2 Gala apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 onion, peeled and coarsely chopped, about 1 cup¾ tsp curry powder
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 cup apple cider
1 quart vegetable stock
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper

In a large stock pot heat your oil over medium heat, then add in the squash, apples, and onion, sauteing for 10-15 minutes until the onions are translucent. Add in your nutmeg, curry powder, and cardamom- saute until your onions start to brown. Then add in the apple cider, bring to a boil and cook for 3 more minutes, add in your vegetable stock, salt and pepper. Once again, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover partially with a lid. Simmer for 35 minutes, then allow to cool before blending it in batches. Return to stove to reheat before serving. Makes 5 large bowls.

Optional croutons: I cut up some slices of multi-grain bread, tossed it in some olive oil, salt, garlic powder, and pepper and stuck it in the oven under the broiler setting until they were crisp.

Recipe adapted from Orangette

Purple Potato Mash with Rosemary and Caramelized Onions

I love mashed potatoes, I am totally a carb and comfort food kind of girl. When I discovered I had gorgeous purple potatoes in my basket this week from the food co-op I knew I wanted to do a mash.

1 1/2 pounds purple potatoes
Kosher salt
1/2 cup almond milk
4 tablespoons non-dairy butter
4 tablespoons rosemary, chopped finely
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 large white onion, sliced into half moons
1 tablespoon garlic, minced

In a large pot filled with cool water add the potatoes and a large pinch of kosher salt, bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer, cooking for 25 minutes or until potatoes are very tender. Meanwhile, In a saucepan over medium-low heat add the milk, garlic, and rosemary to seep. In a separate saute pan add the olive oil and onions, cook for 10-15 minutes, until caramelized, over medium heat. Remove the carmelized onions from the heat and chop them into little pieces. Once potatoes are done, drain them and place them in a bowl along with the butter and mash the potatoes using a potato masher. Then, using an electric beater whip the potatoes as you pour in the milk mixture. Once the potatoes are at the consistency of your liking fold the onions in, add salt to taste, and serve!

Recipe adapted from Daphne Oz

Zach's Favorite Smoothie

Years ago when my brother and I were younger my parents would load us into the car, along with our German Sheppard Daisy, and take us to the dog park where we spent hours running around trying to get Daisy to do fancy tricks, burning up more energy than our German Shepard ever could. ((Side note: where did all my extra energy go?)). Afterwards we'd stop by Jamba Juice and order a Berry Lime Sublime smoothie to cool off. It's been years since I've had one of those smoothies, but everytime I make this smoothie at home my brother always says it tastes just like our childhood.

1 large extra ripe banana, frozen
1 ripe peach, frozen
1/2 cup mixed berries (raspberries, blackberries, blueberries), frozen
1/2 cup vanilla almond milk (I use mine, but you can sub for store bought or replace with water)
1/2 cup water

In a high speed blender (I use my trusty vitamix) blend all ingredients, adding more water if necessary. Makes enough for two servings.

Yes- you can use none frozen fruit, it won't be as frosty, but that's okay. I use frozen fruit because I always have it on hand. Because this is my go-to smoothie I buy bananas in bulk, once they're super ripe I peel them and toss them in the freezer. Because it's peach season I'm able to get really delicious peaches, so I also buy those in bulk, slice them up and freeze them. And I always keep a bag of mixed berries in the freezer, ironically Costco has large bags of organic mixed berries and the price is hard to bargain with. That's basically my freezer in a nutshell.

Sauteed Sugar Snap Peas

This is one of those quick, throw together recipes- very forgiving and very satisfying. There is something about the freshness of a sugar snap that I just love.

1 bag sugar snap peas, washed and trimmed
1 tablespoon olive oil
Heafty punch of salt
Ground pepper, to taste
Favorite herb blend (I used fresh rosemary and fresh thyme)

In a pan over medium heat add the olive oil, once hot throw in the sugar snaps and saute until crisp-tender, about 4-5 minutes. Throw in your salt, pepper, and herbs and saute another minute; remove from heat and serve.

Bourbon Roasted Figs with Cream Cheese Dollop and Honey Drizzle

Tucked away inside my beautiful box of produce that was delivered by my local co-op was a lovely box of figs. The second I saw them I knew I wanted to make a dessert with them by tossing them in some liquor and roasting them off. A friend of mine, who also gets the same co-op box, texted me when she saw the figs and we immediately started bouncing recipe ideas off eachother. We both ended up with some truly inspirsed, and absolutely beautiful desserts.

5 ripe Brown Turkey figs
2 tablespoon bourbon
2 tablespoons maple syrup (or honey/agave)
1 pinch cinnamon (or preferred spice)
1 teaspoon Diaya chive and onion cream cheese style spread
6 walnuts, roughly chopped
Honey/agave, to drizzle

Wash the figs, then slice them into quarters and toss them with the bourbon, maple syrup, and cinnamon. Layer them in a glass baking dish (pouring any excess sauce over top), and bake at 350°F for 10 minutes, then turn on the broiler and continue to cook for another 5. You want the tops to get slightly browned in some areas. Divide the figs into two small dessert bowls and arrange neatly, spooning over any excess baking liquid over top of the figs. Add a small dollop (roughly half a teaspoon of Diaya cream cheese) to the center of each fig arrangement. Add some chopped walnuts, drizzle with honey and serve warm.

Makes 2 delicious servings

White Wine Sauteed Spinach with Sun-dried Tomatoes

This is ridiculously easy, and it's something I make often. I'm a big fan of sauteed spinach, it's quick and really satisfying.

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 large bags of spinach
6 sun-dried tomatoes, herb and oil packed, diced
1/4 cup white wine of your choice (I used a pinot grigio)

In a hot pan saute your garlic until fragrant. Add in your spinach an saute until it starts to wilt (this happens quickly). Add in your diced sun-dried tomatoes and wine. Saute until the wine cooks out, careful not to overcook the spinach. Serve immediately!

Spinach shrinks down from a huge bag to a tiny portion. I'd say this makes 4 very small sides, or 2 large sides.

Roasted Carrots with Olive-Mint Dressing

 Roasted Carrots pictured in the middle

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 pound carrots, peeled and cut into round discs
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons Kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
1 tablespoon capers
2 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped
2 tablespoons raw unsalted macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped

Roast the carrots in the oven in half the olive oil until al-dente at 350°F. Meanwhile mix the remaining ingredients together in a bowl. Once the carrots are out of the oven, toss the carrots in the mixture and serve.

Recipe adapted from Susie Middleton

Steak Mushrooms

I make this about once a week, I adore these. They're meaty and delicious, absolutely the most perfect little mushrooms.

1 8-ounce package of white button mushrooms
1 tablespoon olive oil
2-3 dashes of Montreal steak seasoning
3-4 sprays of Bragg's liquid aminos or a dash of low sodium soy sauce

Slice your mushrooms if they're not pre-sliced (I like them a little on the thicker side). Saute your mushrooms in the olive oil in a hot pan over medium heat. Once they're almost tender add in the seasoning and braggs, continue to saute until completely tender. I like to leave them in the pan a little past tender and then I'll raise the heat a bit at the end until they get a little color on the bottom, almost to the point where they stick to the pan. If we're going to be real: sometimes I eat a whole bowl of this and call it dinner!

Raw Lemon Lavendar Cheesecake

Those of you who know me know I'm typically not a dessert person, and when there is dessert- please don't let it be chocolate. When I make something chocolate it's never for me, it's usually for my mom. Give me the lemons! Tart and tangy, or something light, fruity or floral please :). With that said, I've been dying to make this cheesecake. To me, I can't think of a better flavor profile than lemons and lavender. This really adorable child once said (and I never could shake the innocence of it) "they go together like two hands holding" and I would have to agree!

Crust:

1/2 cup dates

3/4 cup walnuts (soaked for at least 30 minutes)

3/4 cup almonds (soaked for at least 30 minutes)

Cheesecake:

3 cups cashews (soaked for 3 hours)

3/4 cup lemon juice

2/3 cup dark agave/honey/maple syrup

3/4 cup refined coconut oil, melted (aka South Florida's room temperature)

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 teaspoons dried culinary lavendar (you can order this on amazon if you can't find it at a market or don't grow it yourself)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract or the seeds from 1/2 vanilla bean

In a food processor combine your crust ingredients, process until smooth, or until the mixture balls up in your machine- that's basically as smooth as you're going to get it! If you don't have a spring pan then make sure to line the inside of your cake pan with wax paper or plastic wrap, enough to have some hanging over the edges- you'll need this to successfully remove the cheesecake once it's done. If you do have a spring pan, just ignore that step. Using damp hands pat down the mixture into the bottom of the cake pan then place in the fridge while making your cheesecake mixture.

In a vitamix, or other super high powdered blender, blend all cheesecake ingredients until smooth and creamy, you want it to be as smooth as possible so you really need a good blender for this one. You will need to push the mixture down with a spatula, and possibly add a tiny bit of water too just to get it down blend down. Give it a taste, trust me, it's like heaven on a spoon. Then- using all your will power- put the spoon down and pour the mixture into the cake pan, smooth the top over as best as you can, place in freezer and allow it to set for a minimum of 3 hours. When you're ready to serve the cheesecake just carefully lift the edges of the wax paper/saran wrap and transfer to a nice platter (or just pop it out of your spring pan- those things are great aren't they??). Slice and enjoy :).

I recommend serving this with a cup of tea- ohhh, talk about perfection.  

Recipe from Rawmazing food blog

Breakfast Toast Two Ways

Avocado Toast
I used to eat this a lot in my undergrad but never jazzed it up the way my friend did when she made it for me one morning. Nowadays I enjoy her version of this perfect toast!

Multi-grain bread

1/2 avocado 

Plant-based butter (I use mine)

Good quality olive oil (like Bragg's unfiltered extra virgin)

Coarse salt

Sesame seeds

Lime wedge

Toast the bread, spread it with a thin layer of butter, and add slices from 1/2 an avocado over top. Drizzle it with a little olive oil, the juice from a lime wedge, a good pinch of coarse salt and a hefty sprinkle of sesame seeds. Enjoy- California style :).

Tomato Toast
I've been eating tomato toast since I was little. My mom would slice up some tomatoes and layer them on a piece of multi-grain bread, drizzle it with some olive oil and spices and toast it until the bread was crunchy. To this day I probably eat tomato toast at least once a week.

Multi-grain bread

Tomatoes

Olive oil

Sea salt

Dried oregano (or whichever spices you prefer)

I usually use the small tomatoes and have four or five slices per toast (the bread also comes out crunchier that way for some reason), but today I had this jumbo (organic!) tomato sitting on the counter begging to be used. Just slice the tomatoes thin, set them on the bread, drizzle with olive oil, salt and spices, and toast until the bread is crispy and the tomatoes are roasted.

Mushroom Hot Pot

Talk about good soul-warming food. I was surprised at how easy this was. I threw some things in a pot, tossed a little something in the oven, they did their thing, and dinner was ready. You can't get better than that. Oh, yeah- about that list of ingredients- don't be intimated, this is a piece of cake.

Hot Pot:
4 cups vegetable broth
1 tablespoon cornstarch (think organic, corn is the 2nd most common genetically modified crop)
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil (if you don't have it, don't worry- you can sub it with veg or olive oil for this recipe!)
1 Chinese eggplant, diced into bit sized cubes (Hot Pot add in, refer to note)
1 red onion, sliced thinly
1 red bell pepper, sliced thinly
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 stalk lemongrass  (just bruise it with the back of your knife, especially towards the root area- that is where there is the most flavor)
1 tablespoon ginger, grated
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 star anise
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 oz dried shiitake mushrooms (cut in half or in quarters, depending on how big they are)
2 tablespoons Bragg's liquid aminos (or soy sauce if you don't have)
1 tomato, diced
Fresh black pepper to taste
15 oz can lite coconut milk
1/2 lime, juiced
1/3 cup raw cashews (Hot Pot add in, refer to note)

Cilantro-Lime Rice: (Hot Pot add in, refer to note)
1 cup jasmine rice
1 1/2 limes, juiced
1/4 cup cilantro, finely copped

Note: For my add ins I chose eggplant, cashews, and rice because that's what I had in the house, but you honestly can't go wrong with a hot pot. Here are add-in suggestions if you aren't crazy about mine:

Cooked rice noodles vs rice
Fresh cilantro
Fresh basil (thai basil if you can find it)
Grilled tofu (seasoned simply with sesame oil, black pepper and salt)
Cooked aduki beans
Thinly sliced sauteed seitan
Steamed broccoli or cauliflower
Finely sliced bok choy
Extra wedges of fresh lime

In a pot over medium heat whisk together the cornstarch and broth. In a saute pan add your oil and saute the onions and peppers until the onions are soft, about five minutes. Add in the garlic, bruised lemongrass, ginger, red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, roughly another minute. Add this mixture into your pot of broth along with the star anise, cinnamon, shiitakes, liquid aminos, tomatoes and black pepper to taste. Stir often for the first 10 minutes or so, then cover the pot and bring it to a boil. Once the pot is boiling lower the heat to a simmer and cook covered for 30 minutes, or until the mushrooms are completely softened.

Meanwhile, in a little bit of olive oil roast your eggplant on the convection setting of your oven at 350º until browned.

Cook your jasmine rice according to cooking instructions (usually 1 cup rice to 2 cups water, bring to a boil, then cover with lid and reduce to a simmer for 12 minutes). Once cooked, gently mix in the cilantro and juice from 1 1/2 limes, set aside.

In a small (dry) saute pan over medium high heat toss in the cashews to roast, keep a close eye on these as they can go from raw to burnt in a matter of seconds. Flip them in the pan a few times to make sure one side isn't getting too much heat, or use a wooden spoon and move the cashews around.

Once the mushrooms are softened add the roasted eggplant, coconut milk and lime juice; taste for salt. Heat through and serve over the cilantro-lime rice with a bunch of roasted cashews over top. Oh, and don't forget to fish out the lemongrass and star anise- or just be mindful when serving.

Recipe adapted from The PPK

Grilled Caesar Salad

My friend Anna made this salad over the weekend and then sent me an email right after saying I had to make it. This girl never steers me in the wrong direction. Honestly I don't know how I ever lived before this salad!! Ok... I'm being a little dramatic, but it is a really great Caesar recipe!

Caesar Dressing: Makes roughly 1 1/2 cups
4 garlic cloves
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons capers
1 tablespoon caper brine
1 tablespoon powdered mustard
1/3 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/3 cup slivered almonds
3 tablespoons nutrional yeast
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Salad:
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 romaine lettuce hearts, cut lengthwise
1 cup garlic croutons (optional)
1/4 cup parsley, chopped (for garnish)
1 cup Caesar dressing

In a food processor combine all the dressing ingredients except the olive oil in a food processor or blender on high until well mixed. With the machine running slowly drizzle in the olive oil until the dressing is blended and creamy. Spoon into a bowl and refrigerate for 40 minutes to allow flavors to come together. Place back in the food processor and reprocess, adding up to a 1/4 cup of water if necessary until desired consistency.

Preheat the grill or grill pan over medium-high heat. Drizzle the romaine hearts with olive oil (on the cut side) then place the cut side down on the grill/grill pan for about 30 seconds, just long enough to leave grill marks. Then, with cut side up, grill the lettuce for another 45 seconds.

Although it's beautiful arranging the hearts on a platter and drizzling them with dressing, parsley, and croutons- it's not all that practical in my opinion. So I chopped up my grilled romaine hearts and threw them in a salad bowl along with some dressing, parsley and the croutons, I gave it a good toss and served it. You can freeze the extra dressing, I'm sure it would be great on a roasted veggie sandwich, or of course on another salad.

Recipe by Daphne Oz

A little something sweet for the 4th!

It's been a while since I've posted something new on here. My free time has been preoccupied with fundraising projects for one of my friends battling stage 4 cancer. Just last Saturday we managed to raise $1700 from a garage sale!

Anyways, tomorrow is the fourth of July, and that normally means there is going to be tons of garbage to consume and later regret (ie: the cupcake with red, white and blue icing). The good news is- I've got your back. If you're throwing a little get together or soiree then be sure to add this to the mix. This ganache is so rich and delicious, takes 30 seconds to whip up, and you won't have the guilt later.

3/4 cup dark agave syrup
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (or raw cacao powder)
1/3 cup virgin coconut oil, melted (my coconut oil is basically melted at room temperature- welcome to South Florida)
1/8 teaspoon salt
Fruit for dipping

Place all ingredients in a blender until smooth, spoon into a bowl and serve immediately with an arrangement of fruit for dipping! If you're making this for the 4th, get festive! Use strawberries, blueberries and bananas :).

*If you make this ahead, leave at room temperature. If you place it in the fridge the coconut oil will solidify.

Store any leftover ganache in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two weeks. When you want to serve it just boil some water, then turn off the heat. Place the ganache in a small bowl and set in the water (make sure the sides of the bowl are high, you don't want water spilling into it) and let it set for 10 minutes before serving.

Recipe by Jennifer Cornbleet