Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Chocolate Raspberry Swirl Ice Creme


Chocolate ice creme with a swirl of raspberry preserves.  This was stuff was delicious and it didn’t last long in our freezer.  This was a dairy, egg, and cane sugar free ice creme.   I had the jar of raspberry preservers in my cupboard and I can’t remember why I bought it, since it’s not something we usually eat so I swirled it into the finished ice creme because the flavor combination of chocolate and raspberries is wonderful and it didn’t disappoint.

Saturday, May 22, 2010

The First Raspberries of the Season


In spite of the rain and unseasonably cold weather we’ve been experiencing, our raspberries are ripening.  I love the fact that I can go out to my yard in the morning and pick fruit that I can eat on my cereal.  I would never be able to afford to buy raspberries right now, which makes it even more of a treat.  I picked a handful of the raspberries and a few blueberries that were ripe.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Pina Colada Oatmeal Cookies



Summer is almost here and it’s still raining.   We’ve just had four days of rain and drizzle which might be normal for where you live but is very unusual for my part of the world.  Frustrated because I can’t get out and work in my garden, I decided to do a little baking.  When I think about summer and warm weather, my mind takes me to a tropical beach, with a book in one hand and a piƱa colada in the other.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Why I Don't Watch the Nature Channel



Just down the street from my house is a very large tree.  Some of the neighborhood crows built a nest in the tree earlier this spring.  I have to admit that I’ve never been very fond of the crows.  They’re noisy, annoying and they’re fond of chasing away all of the other birds.  I used to work on the ground floor of a mirrored building.  The crows there would see their reflexion in the glass and fight with it.  Jamming they’re beaks into the glass so hard I was sure they were going to break the glass and their beaks.  When that goes on for 10 minutes at a time, all day long, it’s really annoying!

Monday, May 17, 2010

Polenta with Caramelized Onions, Mushrooms & Wood Sorrel



Wood sorrel is something that grows wild around my house.  I never realized it was edible until recently. It’s wonderful lemony flavor is perfect for topping a salad.  I was trying to come up with another dish that it would compliment and mushrooms came to mind.  I caramelized an onion and some mushrooms, mixed them with some edamame and put the whole thing over a scoop of polenta.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Yellow Wood Sorrel



I didn’t know that this plant was edible.  I always thought this was some kind of annoying clover that took over my yard every spring.  It grows everywhere and spreads like crazy.  I’ve been pulling it up and composting it.  I usually leave a little as a border in my flower beds because the yellow flowers are pretty.  I was doing a google search for another plant the other day and I discovered that this is yellow wood sorrel, and not only is it edible but really tasty.

Friday, May 14, 2010

Ladybugs



We have lots of ladybugs in our garden this year and this is a very good thing!  Ladybugs, also known as Ladybeetles or Ladybird beetles, are one of an organic gardener’s best friends.  They only live for three to six weeks but in that time they can eat as many as 5,000 aphids!!  Aphids, in case you don’t have them in your part of the world, are nasty little plant lice that suck the life out of your vegetable plants.  Once they start, it’s difficult to get rid of them without using chemicals (which I never use).  Needless to say I’m very happy that so many ladybugs have decided to take up residence in my yard.  Last year I lost my kale to some particularly evil aphids.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Greek Inspired Quinoa Salad



Greek salads are one of my favorites.  I think it has a lot to do with the kalamata olives.  I just love them. But it’s also the combination of flavors, crispy cucumbers, spicy red onions, and juicy ripe tomatoes.   It’s probably better to make Greek salads later in the summer when cucumbers and tomatoes are taking over the garden, but I found some cute little Persian seedless organic cucumbers and I wanted to try them. 

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Chocolate Caramel Mallomars



One of my favorite restaurants is Pure Food and Wine in New York City.  They make a raw food mallomar dessert that is really delicious.  Rather than try to copy their version, I wanted to make something that was a little more accessible, since most people don’t have dehydrators.  This is a vegan treat made with a chocolate wafer base and Ricemellow creme filling.  Ricemellow is a vegan marshmallow creme that is egg, fat, gluten, cholesterol and additive free.  I like that it’s sweetened with brown rice syrup rather than sugar or corn syrup. 

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Planting Tomatoes


I did a little May Day garden work and transplanted my tomatoes in the ground.  This wasn’t the success that I was hoping for.  I started plants from seed 8 weeks ago but they didn’t do well.  I kept the starts in my newly constructed green house.  While the “green house” did a great job of preventing my lettuces from getting frost bite over the winter, the air temperature was too cold to get any real growth out of the tomato starts.  They’re still very tiny plants, so I gave up and bought some.  Next year I’ll go back to starting them in the house.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Mock Egg Salad - A Heart Healthy Alternative


I used to love egg salad sandwiches growing up.  They were my sandwich of choice.   As an adult, I became allergic to eggs and then family health concerns put egg salad off the menu regardless of my allergies.  With Mother’s Day approaching, I’m planning my contribution to the menu, for what is becoming an annual Mother’s Day picnic.  It started me thinking about an egg free alternative that would also be mayonnaise free.