What I Got at The Farmers' Market

I always like to see what other folks are getting at their markets. It's fun to see what people pick out, to see the seasonality of what they bring home, and also the regionality of it all.

Here in Northern California, this is a glorious time of year for the markets - we've still got asparagus and cherries, but we've also got corn and tomatoes and peaches and zucchini... I think of it as the time when you can pick out pretty much any recipe you want, and find all the produce at the market. So, here's what I got at yesterday's Saturday market:

Button Mushrooms, Basil, Fresh OJ, Spring Onions & Garlic
Potatoes, Italian Arugula, Scallions, Red Bell Pepper
Cherries, 3 varieties of White & Yellow Nectarines
Cherry Tomatoes, Early Girl Tomatoes, Bi-color Corn.

All organic, except for the cherry tomatoes... pretty cool, huh!? I was especially happy to see corn for the 1st time last weekend, and red bell peppers for the first time yesterday. So exciting!

Also, yesterday we ate the first apricot from our tree for this year! Isn't it just beautiful? I love that giant size, and the lovely ruby blush. The flavor was perfect, and I found 4 more on the ground this morning... Here begins the Season of YUM!

Foodie Gifts From Italy

Mr. Vegan Eats & Treats just got back from a trip to Europe, and brought me home a few delicious vegan goodies. He knows the way to my heart! (Of course, I printed out a list of all the products I was wishing for, and a list of all the natural food stores in every city he was planning to visit, and mapped out all the stores for him on google maps... hint hint! No points for subtlety on my part!)

I am totally crazy for these little Crostatine treats from Italy. Why haven't I ever found anything like these in the states?! I think I've tried 3 or 4 brands from Italy and I always love them so much. I had to take this picture today, because I don't think there will be anymore left by tomorrow.

I said "Oh my god, these are so yummy! Why didn't you buy SIX packages of these and bring them all home to me!?!" Then he gets all stunned looking, and says "I DID buy six... but I ate 5 packages of them!" ACK! Well, at least I got one package out of him. They really are a simple little treat, almost like a crispy mild cookie crust with a thin, chewy layer of jam. I'm not sure why I'm so crazy about them, but I really am. I especially love the apricot and berry flavors. Apparently the blueberry ones were "way better," but those ones didn't make it home! ha ha.

He also brought home a jar of Chocoreale - amazing! It's like Nutella, but vegan, and without the hazelnut flavor. So creamy and good. The texture is thick but spreadable, like creamy peanut butter. The flavor has a great chocolate balance - almost more like milk chocolate than dark chocolate. It's not too powerful, but not wimpy either. We tried it straight out of the jar with a spoon, but next up I am planning to make crepes and smother them in Chocoreale. I"m pretty sure that will be great.

Also, some veggie pates (plain, shiitake, and provencal)... I tried the original one and can't say I loved it too much, but I haven't tried these two flavors yet, so maybe I"ll have a change of heart. The plain one didn't have too much flavor at all... just seemed sorta thick and fatty, too mild for my tastes. But I haven't given up on them all yet.

She Shoots, She SCORES!

It was my birthday recently, and my wonderful friend JJTHWH got me a super awesome foodie present! She knows what a food geek I am, so she looked in the back of Madhur Jaffrey's "World Vegetarian" cookbook at the "recommended resources" area... and ordered me up some super cool specialty items:

First to arrive: Fresh Mangosteens and Mini-Coconuts.

Here is a beautiful mangosteen... white pulpy fruit, deep red peel, gorgeous purpley red exterior. I should write a sonnet or something!

Fresh Mangosteens are one of my most favorite fruits of all times. They are so delicious!! The flavor is very sweet, but not in an overbearing way. The larger segments have a nutty seed inside that is also eaten - it actually has a nice nutty flavor of its own, is easy to crunch, and goes well with the fruit. It's a watery fruit, even more so than most fruits, so it's extra refreshing. Also, I happen to think mangosteen is just plain beautiful. I made a special little video of Mangosteen Appreciation, since most of you have probably never seen or eaten one.

(side note: every time I make a video, I am left wondering "Do I really sound like that!?")

Yes, you heard right. MINI COCONUTS. They are called "Coquito Nuts" and they look like tiny coconut babies, and they taste like coconut, but the coolest thing is that you can just pop them in your mouth and eat them like this. They are fun and tasty and wonderful!

Next to arrive, a wonderful shipment of cool Persian and Indian ingredients & spices! I still need to do some serious sleuthing around on the internet for recipes with all these neato things: Charoli Nuts, Anardana Powder (sour pomegranate seed powder!), Amchoor (sour mango powder), Anjain Seeds, Dried Limes, Radhuni, Khak Shir, and Char Magaz. I already made some dahl and added the Anardana powder - lovely! I welcome any and all recipe suggestions!

Thank you JJTWH!! What a wonderful present!!!!

Epic Vegan Potluck to End All Potlucks

Yesterday I hosted a PPK potluck and it was super awesome. We had loads of people (24!), 7 dogs, 1 cat, a super cutie baby, and TONS of delicious vegan food. The weather was perfect, the people were awesome, and the doggies were all peaceful. It was a great day!

This was by far the most crazy fantastic potluck I've ever attended, and from now on I will plan on canceling absolutely all plans to attend PPK potlucks. We had table overflow, with loads of phenomenal dishes, and all vegan of course! You will win a gold medal if you make it through this whole post... I'm not kidding when I say there was a LOT OF FOOD!

The table, in all it's glory. There was a constant evolution of things arriving and being eaten... and it was all so good!

Overflow area!

Nebraska & Alex's Potato, Onion, and Sauerkraut Pierogis with unpictured Caramelized Onions. This was my first Pierogi experience, and they were great. I wish I had a picture of those caramelized onions too... they had cooked down into a creamy, golden relish that was so gorgeous and so unbelievably yummy.

ColdandSleepy made this phenomenal assortment of mini bagels!!! They were so delicious. She brought along some tofutti cream cheeze, and some homemade Garden Herb Spread.

Beautiful and delicious Empanadas (ole!) from Marzipan. They were really good... savory and hearty filling with a light dough.

Apple Coffee Cake, from Coldandsleepy! Sooooooo good. I heart coffee cake.

Open-faced Grilled Herb Tofu Sandwiches with caramelized onion and Sun-dried Tomato Pesto. From my kitchen!

Another goodie from Marzipan - really rich and flavorful Walnut Miso Dip. A great addition!

Sophia rocked it with Homemade Focaccia (!!!!) and totally beautiful and delicious Roasted Yellow Pepper Dip. It looks like mustard, it's so yellow!

Rice Krispie treats - using the totally amazing new Dandies marshmallows from Chicago Soy Dairy - I just followed the recipe on the inside of the box. Seriously, so good.

Avocado Key Lime Pie with White Chocolate Mousse in a pistachio-poppyseed crust. A repeat of a successful dish I made recently for family dinner!

Edit: A few folks have asked about the pie recipe & the white chocolate mousse recipe. It's from The Artful Vegan, and you can find it on Google Books. Go to page 179-180. The pie would be great without the mousse, by the way. The mousse is a very finicky recipe, and makes WAY TOO MUCH. It does freeze well however. I ended up taking about 1/4 of the batch, adding agar and kudzu, and got a great consistency. Let me know if you need more specific details.

Huge bowl of raspberries picked from my aunt's garden.

Roger rode into town on his bike (all the way from San Luis Obispo), swung by the grocery store, and busted out two *beautiful* and *delicious* quiches from "Vegan Brunch." He even left one behind, which I happily toted along to our Family Dinner on Sunday night. Wow! What a guy!

Moooooo & Howie brought these super delicious Lemon Pepper, Shiitake, Mandarin & Garlic Scape Spring Rolls, with a delicious sauce. Great flavor combinations! Also, I was super stoked, because it was my first time ever getting to taste a garlic scape. They are great!

Erin's outrageous salad... carrots, sunflower seeds, baco bits, cauliflower, celery, bell pepper... the list goes on and on. Packed full of veggies, with two delicious salad dressing options. Really great! We all agreed the salad was a great addition. Once you have a big helping of salad, you feel very virtuous, even if you have also had a giant plate full of vegan desserts.

Herbstonne's 5-gallon bowl of totally delicious guacamole. I went back for seconds (and thirds)!

Lemon Family's yummy macaroni salad. I love that noodle shape!

ChaSiuBao's Swedish Kanelbullar - Cardamom Buns. Oh wow - these are so lovely. I was super psyched that she left two behind... and it's almost time for breakfast!

Melissa's gorgeous salad: arugula with braised figs and peaches, almonds, and balsamic dressing. I took one bite of a fig, and totally flipped out. One of the most delicious things EVER. I loved this salad, and I want to marry it.

Gunnar Handsome's Brussel Sprouts with caramelized onions and pistachios. Mmmmmm!

Melisser begins torching her merengue cake... before the butane ran out!

After an emergency trip to the drug store for more butane... we present you with: Melisser's crazy butterscotch/chocolate chip cookie dough cake with torched merengue topping!!! Beautiful, dramatic, and totally decadent!

Inside shot, documented simultaneaously by Melisser and me.

Happy vegans!

My first pass at the table...

Dessert Plate: berries, Erin's **amazing** banana pudding, Rice Krispy treat, Swedish Kanelbullar, avocado key lime pie, and apple coffee cake. Mmmmmmmmmmmm....

PPK People shot! Big Smiles because we are all stuffed to the gills with deliciousness! Only Marzipan is missing from this shot... sorry we missed you Marzipan!

Semi-successful PPK Doggie Shot! L to R: Strummer, Molly, Dottie Bonkers (in the back), Snoopy's rear end, Stevie Wonder, Andre, and Fiona. They were all SUCH good doggies, I was very proud of them all - sharing people, toys, snacks, and one yard so peacefully!

Fiona was a superstar! She went right to work finding dog toys that have been lying around our backyard for YEARS (literally!) and started enjoying them. Maybe our dogs will learn from her!

Baby Lemon rides the Pelican! Awesome cutieness!

Miss Molly demands her own water bowl! :)

Tiny Strummer sits half on me, half on Melisser... thus doubling chances of getting some pets!

ChaSiuBao! gives out doggie treats and becomes Most Popular Lady At PPK Potluck.

Graveyard of Food That Once Was... There were some leftovers, but by and large, us PPK'ers really "stepped up to the plate" and did what needed to be done!

In preparation for this festive day of vegan gluttony, I ate no breakfast. Amazingly, I also ate almost no dinner... I was SO stuffed with goodness. This was such a great day of people, friends, dogs, flavors, and fun! Big smile!

Bunches of Brunches

I have been seriously loving Isa's new book "Vegan Brunch." I can't stop cooking from it. Here's what I've made in the last week:

I made the Puttanesca Scramble, with some lightly braised turnips with turnip greens for dinner last week. I loved the strong, pungent flavors of the scramble, but Mr. Vegan Eats & Treast thought it was a little too strong. He said "This would be good with some pasta." That's probably true, but pasta is also his answer to most of life's problems. Personally, I thought it was great. Incidentally, this was my first time eating turnip greens and I really liked them a lot. This was a fun way to cook them that I learned from the farmer at the market:

1 bunch baby turnips with greens
2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
2 tsp olive oil
dash of cooking sherry
salt & pepper to taste

Pick off any icky leaves from the turnips, and wash the turnips. Cut a deep "X" in the turnip, from the tip of the root back toward the point where the leaves meet the turnip, but don't cut all the way through. In a medium saucepan, warm the oil and saute the garlic for a minute or so. Add in the turnips, stir a few times, throw in the sherry, cover, and cook over medium heat until the greens are nicely wilted. Add S&P to taste. Yummy!

I also made the Mushroom Leek Pie, which was a huge hit with Mr. VE&T. I was feeling too lazy to bother with the pie crust, so I just made it without one, and served it with toast instead. It was delicious, and I'll definitely make it again. Rich flavors, creamy texture... and great with toast. Here you see Yummers the cat interrupting my photo shoot!

And here's a slice with the toast and steamed chard.

Next up, the Chesapeake Tempeh Cakes. WE HAVE A WINNER! Now, Mr. VE&T is a happy eater, but he truly flipped out over these babies. He could not stop talking about them, even the next day. This is especially notable because he doesn't even like tempeh. They have great texture, and wonderful explosions of strong flavors. I was especially glad he loved this meal, because it was our last meal together before he headed off for a few weeks travelling with his brother. I don't even want to know what he's eating over there, but I'm glad he left with a happy belly full of yummy vegan food.

On his first night gone, I cooked up the "Kale and Yam Tofu Scramble," and LOVED it. I loved the sesame-gingery flavors with the greens and the sweet yams. This is especially wonderful, because kale and yams are two of Mr. VE&T's least favorite foods ever, so I rarely cook with them. Rest assured my friends, I have two more batches of kale in the fridge, and pre-cooked yam all ready to eat. Mmmmmmm.

The "Vegan Brunch" extraveganza continued into the weekend, when I hosted this week's Family Brreakfast (instead of the usual family dinner). How exciting to have an actual breakfast party! First up I made a big batch of English Muffins. Truth be told, I didn't use Isa's recipe. I have a recipe from a few years ago that I already trust and love, so I stuck with that one. I served them with a trio of homemade jams: Raspberry, Apricot, and Concord Grape. There wasn't even a single one left at the end of the meal!

Then I made two of Isa's amazing "Shiitake Dill Frittatas." I had no problems getting them to form up, unlike some other bloggers have mentioned. I did really press it all down into the pan quite firmly before baking. This is a great recipe - really easy and really flavorful.

When it comes to special breakfasts, I am a 100% believer in the Sweet AND Savory approach. So I made up a batch of the "East Coast Coffee Cake," and used the fresh blueberry variation. I also cut back half the oil with applesauce. Coffee Cake is one of those things where I usually end up watching someone else eat it while wishing that it was vegan. Well, guess what? Coffee cake is totally freaking delicious and I loved this recipe. Mmm!

Here's my breakfast plate, at least the first pass! Included are some strawberries and a big mound of raspberries from the never-ending raspberry patch at my aunt's house.

So, really, I've gotta say, I love this book. I haven't made a dud yet - and so far all the recipes I've tried have been easy to follow and accurate about how simple or complicated they are. The flavors are great, there are classics and innovative ideas, and best of all - there are still SO many recipes I want to try!