When I was a kid... I would have been about 11 or 12... my family and I vacationed at the Outer Banks in North Carolina. It was also around this time that I fancied myself as being from about 7 different countries/regions of the world. I was a New Yorker, a Puerto Rican, a southerner, a Brit, and my personal favorite, an Australian. (I once convinced a man doing work on our home that I was, indeed, from Melbourne. It's still a source of pride and accomplishment.) So one night on vacation we all go out to dinner to this seafood buffet place. Now, remember when I said I hated mushrooms? Seafood takes this dislike to another level. Just the thought of it activates my gag reflex. That texture.. it's enough to put me in a cold sweat, and I wasn't not alone in my dislike for seafood. My mom and my sister weren't too keen on the googly-eyed entrees either.

This past weekend the hubs and I headed up to Morris Run, PA to visit my lovely older sister and her family. If you're wondering, "Where is Morris Run?" you're not alone. It's about an hour and a half south of Ithaca, NY. y'know, like all those "Ithaca is gorges" bumper stickers? Oh, and I think there's some Ivy League school there.. pish posh! What you should actually be associating Ithaca, NY with is the swoon-worthy establishment loved by Veggies everywhere - Moosewood Restaurant! woo woo!


I felt like I was at some celebrity restaurant! I told people about it before the trip looking to incite jealousy and envy. I fussed about what to wear.... will there be a red carpet? paparazzi? Gaga? Ok, so I didn't really think those things, but I was super stoked, and I love my sissy dearly for taking me there.

Dear Mango,

Let's be together forever. And not just in the spring and summer, but like, all year round. Let's throw macrobiotics to the wind and spend all the seasons in tasty bliss!

Love,
Ann

Oh, mango. I heart you so. I love you even more when I can pair you with rice noodles and dip you in sauce.. wait, did that just get weird?

Summer roll time! I've been holding on to this recipe for a while now, but with all the obnoxious "I'm not even moving but my boobs are sweating" heat, something is telling me summer is in full swing, and it's time to share. This is a super easy recipe, and there's no cooking required, and it tastes best chilled, and it has rice noodles and fruit and cilantro and... are you convinced yet?

Fresh Mango Summer Rolls
from Isa Chandra Moskowitz

1 mango, peeled and sliced into matchsticks
1 cup bean sprouts or seedless cucumber, sliced into matchsticks
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
4 oz very thin rice noodles
1/4 cup roasted peanuts, finely chopped
20 rice paper wrappers

Cook up your noodles: Boil a medium-sized pot of water. Turn off the heat and add the noodles. Let them soak for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain the noodles and run under cold water.

Have a pie pan or large wide bowl filled with hot water (like tap water) and a clean counter space or cutting board. Place the rice paper wrappers, 2 at a time, into the water until they are flexible (about 30 seconds). Carefully remove from the water and lay flat on your clean surface. In the lower two-thirds of the roll, place a tablespoon of noodles and sprinkle on some nuts. On top of that place 5 or 6 mango strips, then add your bean sprouts (6 or 7), and finally 3 or 4 cilantro leaves. Fold the left and right sides of your wrapper over the filling, then take the bottom of the wrapper and begin rolling. Keep these wrapped and chilled until serving.

Thai Dipping Sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup water
1 garlic clove, minced
3 T. roasted peanuts, chopped
1 1/2 tsp. sugar


Enjoy!

Why "kinda" do you ask? Well, technically a succotash is a mixture of lima beans and corn, and I didn't have lima beans, so I used edamame instead. I bought a package of frozen ones, and they come in individually packaged servings, which is awwesome because you don't have to worry about your little beans getting frostbit while they await your next dish!

This recipe is actually a combination of 2 recipes put together. That's right. 2! 2! 2 recipes in 1! You can thank me later. This dish was simple, really tasty, and oh-so-fresh. So perfect for summer, and it's pretty too! I think it'd be perfect for a get together. We ate it warm, but I don't see why you couldn't eat it cold. I think it'd still be tasty.

The bed of orzo is the first recipe. It actually called for Arborio rice, which I thought was in the pantry, but it wasn't, so we improvised. I would have preferred to have the rice for the grain factor, but it's not like orzo is giant rotini or something. I'll post the original below though.

Oh! and these are both from the lovely Alicia.

Hot Rice with Cold Lemon, Basil, and Tomato
1 cup Arborio rice
2 T. evoo
3 T. lemon juice
3 pinches fine sea salt
2 pinches fresh ground black pepper
1/2 cup (or however much your little heart desires) fresh chopped tomato
2 T. chopped fresh basil

Cook up your rice (or orzo. hey, *I'm* not judging you!) and place it in a mixing bowl. Add the olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Mix well, add the tomatoes, and sprinkle with basil. Toss to combine.

Yeah, it's that simple.

Summertime Succotash
1 T. Earth Balance butter
1 tsp. olive oil
1 cup diced red onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1 (10-oz) package baby lima beans (or edamame) - thawed, if frozen
1 cup fresh or frozen corn
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
2 T. chopped fresh parsley
2 T. chopped fresh basil
1 T. white or red balsamic (I used red.)

Heat the butter and oil together in a large skillet over med-high heat. Add the onion and saute until the onion begins to brown - about 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic, and cook a minute longer.

Stir in the beans, and saute 5 minutes. Add the corn and tomatoes, and saute 1 minute longer or until heated through. Remove from heat and stir in your herbs and balsamic.

Place over the rice and enjoy!

So this is a really upsetting story, but I wanted to share it to raise awareness about how awful some farms can be that are producing mass amounts of product. I'm just so glad I don't lend support to the terrible treatment of cows and chickens and other farm animals. (And, of course, I don't mean the happy, free-range farms, though I am super happy to not be eating them either.) I just find it so disturbing to support the driving consumption that facilitates acts like this.

I'm so glad these people have been arrested, but so disgusted that this is even an issue. Poor little cows. Things like this are all the motivation I need to keep being vegan, and for non-vegans, I hope it's motivation to seek out organic, free-range products.

http://www.wkyc.com/news/state/ohio/news_article.aspx?storyid=136794&catid=23

Pretty much the only actual cooking part required: Bring the beans to a boil over high heat, skimming off the foam. Lower the heat to low, cover, and simmer gently for about an hour. Stir occasionally. The beans should be tender, but not falling apart when you poke at them.

2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and cut into bite-size pieces
1 c. yellow corn kernals
6 stalks celery, cut into bite-size pieces
3 tomatoes cut into cubes


1/4 c. lime juice
2 T. brown rice syrup
1 T. ground coriander
1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 c. evoo
1 c. lightly packed fresh cilantro


Mix everything in a bowl except for the tomatoes and avocados. Add the vinaigrette to coat. Heap some Chop over some romaine lettuce, if desired, and sprinkle with the tomatoes and avocados, and some crispy tort strips (I just crunched up some chips).


and for your entertainment.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fzzu3z21b0s

Let's talk about granola. For years I would declare at each grocery store visit, "I'm going to make my own granola!" I never did. Now, I can't live without it. This granola is Alicia's, and I love it. a lot. a whole lot. a "look, I know it's just granola, but I love it" a lot. Why? It is so simple, and so good for you, and so filling. I eat it as cereal or just as a snack. It's sweet but not too sweet. It's just a great recipe. It also makes the house smell freaking cozy.

This recipe is nice and easy and can be improvised. I pretty much stick to it because I like it, but I always add more raisins or dried cranberries.. sometimes I throw in slivered almonds. You can add what you like or what you have on hand.

Oh, and it makes a bunch. It makes about 2 quarts.

6 cups quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup maple sugar (or raw if that's what you have)
3/4 cup wheat germ (I get wheat germ that has cinnamon and flaxseed, and I get it at Giant Eagle)
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup nuts, sesame or sunflower seeds
1 cup chopped raisins (or dried cranberries)
1/2 cup safflower oil
1/3 cup brown rice syrup (or maple syrup)
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Spread the oats on a rimmed baking pan, and bake for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, add the sugar, wheat germ, coconut, nuts, raisins, and seeds. Stir to mix well. Add the oats and mix some more. Add the oil, syrup, and vanilla extract. Mix until everything is well moistened.

Spread half the mixture on your baking pan, and bake for 10 minutes, stirring after 5. You could just do 2 pans at once, but I always just do 1 at a time. No reason why really.

Store in an airtight container, and try not to gobble it all up in one day.

Forkin' A, man! This is like the coolest food thing to hit the Cleve since Melt (who has vegan cheese now, btw!). So Joe went to EarthFest at the zoo on Sunday (I know, mom, you're SO proud), and talked to the folks at Fresh Fork Market. So this is the scoop: 70 farmers, all within 75 miles of Cleveland, supply packages of food (meat, dairy, produce) for 22 weeks. You can either sign up to receive all 22 weeks, or you can just order month-to-month, or just sporadically choose to order. Then, there are 6 pick-up locations for you to conveniently pick up your booty each week.

On the site, they have samples of what they delivered last year, and they look really tasty, and well worth the money. While the traditional packages include meat and dairy, you can request vegetarian or vegan packages, which is cool. A small package looks something like this:

1 lb sweet cherries
½ lb of mixed kale (Black Italian Tuscan and Red Russian Kale)
1 yellow zucchini
1 green zucchini
1 bunch garlic scapes
1 lb fresh spinach pasta (linguini noodle)
4 oz chevre (goat cheese)
1 dozen free range eggs
½ gallon organic milk
1 head winter density lettuce

and, if you sign up for all 22 weeks, it comes out to be about $25 a week. At first I thought this sounded steep, but while I was at the store last night, I realized it's pretty much on target, and probably even more for the money when you consider most of the items in the package are organic and local. Plus, I'd much rather give my money to local farmers than Giant Eagle (sorry, Big Bird).

So Joe and I plan on partaking in this, and I'm really pumped about it. Pretty sure it'll feel like Christmas every week that we pick up our package, and I think it'll be super fun to come up with dinners with what we receive. Plus, I'm just really excited to support this effort and local growers.

I know not everyone is in the Cleveland area, but if you are, check it out, and maybe try out a package or two this year :)

http://www.freshforkmarket.com/

I love a brothy soup. Well, actually, I just love soup in general, but now that the weather is on the up, a brothy soup with crisp veggies is right on the money. I found this recipe in Alicia's Kind Diet book, and at the time, I didn't have all the ingredients so Joe and I improvised a smidge. I have her original recipe below minus the part where instead of broth, she soaks mushrooms in water, and that is the brothy part. Confession time. Mushrooms and me don't mix. Like, at all. I can't even handle the smell of them without wanting to curl up in the fetal position and go to my happy place. I have tried them more than once, but even recalling those memories now gives me a shiver and a belly quake. So needless to say, I skipped the whole mushroom soaking process, and opted for just a nice, vegan-friendly veggie broth. Plus, it's quicker.

So the other improvisation was that I didn't have any fresh ginger on hand, so I used about a quarter tsp. of ground ginger, which seemed to work fine. And then, as always, I just used the veg I had in the fridge. I think we ended up with carrots, snap peas, daikon, and scallions. I love a recipe that lets me use up the produce in the fridge. love it.

Sauce:
2-4 tsp. shoyu
3-4 T. water or broth
5-8 drops ginger juice (grate some ginger and squeeze the juice out of it like you're Macho Man Randy Savage)
1/2 tsp. lemon juice or rice vinegar

Veggies:
1 carrot, cut into bite-size pieces
1 stalk broccoli, bite-sized
1 handful bean sprouts
2-3 napa cabbage leaves or collards, chopped
4-6 dandelion greens, chopped
leaves of some bok choy, chopped

1 (8 oz) package udon noodles
1" piece of kombu

1 can of low-sodium veggie broth

Cook noodles according to package directions. Strain, and rinse under cool water to stop them from cooking anymore. Set aside.

Meanwhile, Bring broth to a boil w/ 2-3 cups of water. Add the kombu and lower to a simmer.

Have all the veggies ready to go on your cutting board or a plate next to the stove. Add the veggies, starting with the carrots, and anything else that would take longer. Most of the veggies shouldn't take longer than a couple of minutes. You want them fresh and light with some crunch, and not mushy.

I added the sauce directly to the broth and veggie mixture, but you could just put it on the side. I figured it was all going to the same place, so I just threw it in.

Serve by placing your noodles in a bowl and ladling your broth and veggie mixture over top. Eat with chopsticks to impress your friends.

Enjoy!