Thursday, May 26, 2011

Where have all the farmers gone?

The farmer's market started here in town last week, and I showed up with reusable bags in hand just itching to get my hands on some fresh produce, but found only plants and freshly baked breads. I had high hopes for this week, perhaps all of the fresh fruits and veggies were just days away from being ready to harvest. Unfortunately, the farmer's market in town was rained out yesterday, or should I say "sirened" out, gotta love spring in Ohio. So today, I made the trek up north to the neighboring town's market, driving straight into black rain clouds against my better judgement! And it paid off, I beat the rain and picked up some asparagus from a lovely gentleman with very few teeth who promised me that his plants were never graced with the presence of pesticides or chemical additives, what can I say, I trust these country folk. The asparagus and some bunches of lettuce were about all that was to be had, so I picked up a baguette and some hummus from the Mediterranean place downtown (which specializes in healthy organic food!) and headed off to Kroger to round out the meal with some tomatoes and avocado, yum! Unfortunately, the rain was coming down in sheets and by this point the grocery parking lot was flooding so I watched my avocado, tomato, and asparagus dreams float by as I headed straight home. Fortunately, my currently impoverished state has taught me how to be resourceful, so I plucked some fresh basil from the garden (got a little drenched but so worth it!) and grabbed a few other ingredients from the fridge, and voila, a delicious summer meal for just $2.25 a serving, am I winning or what?!?! Sorry about that, got a bit carried away, moral of the story, the sandwich was delish so here is the recipe:

"Vegan Recession Panini"
Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:
1 bunch asparagus
Olive oil and salt for grilling
1 french baguette
1/2+ cup hummus
16 fresh basil leaves
8 sun-dried tomato halves (not in oil), thinly sliced
16 kalamata olives, halved
2 thin slices red onion

Directions:
Heat up grill pan to medium-high, brush with oil. Trim asparagus ends and place on grill, brush with a little oil and sprinkle with salt. Cook, turning until tender and has grill marks. Heat up oven to 400 degrees F and bake baguette for 5 minutes. Cut into four sections and cut these open lengthwise. Spread each side of the sections with a generous Tablespoon of hummus, add
4 basil leaves, 2 sliced tomato halves, 4 halved olives and a few slivers of red onion, as well as 1/4 of the asparagus spears. There you have it, delicious local fare on a budget!

Friday, May 13, 2011

Vegan Drumsticks!

No, I don't mean the chicken kind, though I sometimes miss those too. I'm taking about my childhood obsession, those crunchy cones filled with chocolate, then ice cream,then dipped in chocolate, could there be anything more worthy of chasing the ice cream man down the street for? I have been craving one of these ever since I found out that dairy and I are not friends. SO Delicious brand makes pretty much the best ice cream treats imaginable, but no drumstick knockoffs yet! I chose their Turtle Trails ice cream pint to go into this cone, but you can pick any flavor or brand you like!

Ingredients:

One pint SO Delicious Coconut Milk Ice Cream

4 organic sugar cones

1 cup dairy free chocolate chips (I used Sunspire's Semi-sweet variety)

3-4 teaspoons coconut oil

Directions: First melt about 1/4 cup of the chocolate chips with a teaspoon of coconut oil, I microwaved the two in a bowl at 3o second increments, stirring regularly until mostly melted, then stirred the rest of the way. Scoop a tablespoon or so of mixture into each cone and using the back of spoon spread the chocolate up the sides of the cone. (This is the messy part!) Thaw ice cream for 10 minutes or so then fill each cone with about 1/2 cup, refreeze until solid. Then melt the remaining chocolate chips and coconut oil the same way. Use a spoon to quickly spread chocolate onto each cone, it will harden quickly! Lay on parchment or wax paper and freeze until solid. Enjoy!

Here is what the finished product looks like: (Yes I am using my leg as a backdrop for this photo)

Here is what it looks like when I rotate the finished product, I just couldn't wait to dig in!!!