vegetarian Archives - Page 3 of 11

Vanilla Bean Cheesecakes with Figs and Raspberries

August 25, 2016 By Becky 8 Comments

These vanilla bean cheesecakes with figs and raspberries require no grains, dairy, eggs, or cooking! They’re the ideal cold sweet treat for the end of summer. Thank you to Rodelle for providing products for this recipe!

I’m back, and I brought mini cheesecakes! Vanilla bean mini cheesecakes made with cashews and topped with fresh figs and raspberries, that is. And you don’t even need to cook or bake anything! These little cheesecakes are so satisfying on a summer evening. The no-bake crust is just sweet enough, with a hint of chocolate and an almondy crunch, and the cheesecake layer is super-smooth and studded with vanilla bean seeds. On top are fresh raspberries and figs sitting like frosted jewels. The combination is so addictive that I know these will vanish from your freezer just as fast as they did from mine!

Here’s how these vanilla bean cheesecakes come together. First, you need to soak your cashews in hot water for an hour and soak the pitted dates in hot water for at least fifteen minutes. (Want to soak all your stuff the same amount of time? A little extra won’t hurt the dates!) Then, you’re going to pulse dates, almonds, and a little bit of cocoa in the food processor to make the crust. The chocolate isn’t a dominant flavor, but gives the crust a little extra something. I don’t like it when my desserts taste too much like dates, and the cocoa also helps mask that flavor a bit. You grease a muffin tin, line the cups with a little parchment paper handle like in the photo below, and pat a dollop of crust right into each cup.

Cardamom Coffee Fudgesicles

July 25, 2016 By Becky 19 Comments

These cardamom coffee fudgesicles are like the perfect iced mocha in creamy popsicle form. The cardamom gives them a uniquely enticing flavor.

I finally got a popsicle mold! I’ve been trying to avoid single-use kitchen gadgets, but I just couldn’t help myself. Since getting the mold about a month ago, I think I’ve made these cardamom coffee fudgesicles five times. I had to make sure the recipe made just the right number of popsicles and had just the right amount of cardamom. Also, they kept getting eaten before I could get them photographed!

By the way, photographing popsicles in the summer is not easy! I didn’t plan ahead, so we didn’t have any ice made to set up a cold plate like this. I decided I’d just go for it and be super quick, but the pops were melting even faster than I expected.

I freaked out a little because I didn’t want to lose all five of the ones I was snapping pictures of, so I stuck four of them back in the freezer and left one out to photograph.

Summer Kale Salad with Peaches and Candied Pecans

July 18, 2016 By Becky 14 Comments

This refreshing summer kale salad is packed with seasonal superfoods and topped with creamy goat cheese and crunchy candied pecans.

Kale salads. How do you feel? I was a little suspicious back in the day, but if I give the kale a good massage and add a lot of different toppings, I can now get pretty excited about them. If you’re not into kale salads yet, let me see if I can sell you: we’re adding juicy peaches and blueberries, creamy goat cheese, and perfectly salty-sweet candied pecans.

CANDIED PECANS! Sorry to shout, but they’re so good, and they’re super easy and quick to make on the stovetop in less than ten minutes. No fuss, no oven. And you may want to make a double batch, because it’s hard to stop snacking on them. I ate a lot of mine before the salad even got dressed!

In other news, I have a serious peach problem. Last summer, we got down to Chattanooga at the end of peach session, right after The Peach Truck had left town. I was so mad I had missed out. All year I waited and checked the schedule. And when they came to East Ridge a little over a week ago, I was there. I bought a 25-pound box of peaches and a one-pound bag of pecans.

Since then, it’s been all peaches all the time. In addition to eating an embarrassing number of them out of hand, juice dripping everywhere, I’ve made a peach dutch baby, peach margaritas (I shared the full recipe on Insta–they’re so good!), peach muffins, and peach ice cream.

No-Churn Cherry Ice Cream

July 16, 2016 By Becky 11 Comments

This no-churn cherry ice cream is simple, ridiculously easy, and so good! What more could you ask for from a summer dessert? With a dairy-free option that’s vegan and paleo with no added sugar, everyone can indulge.

How do you feel about the dog days of summer? I may be alone in this, but I like them. I find extreme heat kind of comforting. I like how the air is almost palpable when the temperatures get high, as if it’s a blanket wrapped around you providing a bit of pressure. I made it through two Houston summers with no AC in my car (I still miss that ’89 Buick!) and now I’m relishing my first full hot summer here in the Tennessee Valley.

Of course, that doesn’t mean I don’t also like to indulge in frozen treats when it’s hot out. We’re still living in a very small house, so my beloved ice cream maker is in storage. That means I’ve been turning to my favorite no-churn frozen treats time and time again, and this no-churn cherry ice cream is the one I make the most.

It’s unbelievably simple, and it tastes so good. I actually first made and shared this several years ago, but it was buried in the archives with terrible photos, so I know many of you never got to see it.

I took some time off from this ice cream because I always loved it so much made with coconut milk, and about a year ago I discovered that I’m allergic to coconut. However, recently I’ve been making this ice cream with heavy cream, and while it’s much less paleo it is still delicious. It’s hard to do a true comparison since I can’t taste the two versions side by side, but I think the coconut milk version is even a little better. Go for that unless you’re coconut averse or allergic like me! As a bonus, that means the ice cream is vegan as long as you don’t add any honey.

Heirloom Tomato Galette

July 5, 2016 By Becky 14 Comments

This gluten-free, grain-free, nut-free heirloom tomato galette is the perfect way to celebrate summer’s bounty. With a tangy goat cheese filling and fresh basil on top, it’s irresistible!

A couple of weeks ago I made a tomato galette and shared it on Instagram, and a lot of people asked about the crust. It’s the exact same cassava flour crust used in this gluten-free quiche lorraine with leeks, but the tomato galette was so good that I decided it merited its own post. (I also used the same crust to make a plum and blackberry galette, but I’m still tweaking the frangipane filling. This crust works just as well for sweet galettes as savory ones, though!) This tomato galette has a creamy goat cheese filling and is topped with a rainbow of tiny heirloom tomatoes from Big Sycamore Farm. I’m amazingly into it for someone who never really liked tomatoes that much!

Anyway, Otto’s cassava flour makes the best crust. It’s flaky, buttery, crunchy–everything a classic crust should be. Since cassava flour behaves so much like wheat flour, I was able to take this all butter crust from Simply Recipes and adapt it with only a few changes needed. Adding egg yolk helps the dough hold together, and a tiny bit of extra sugar balances out all the flavors.

Cherry Berry Ice Cream Loaf

July 3, 2016 By Becky 4 Comments

This show-stopping ice cream loaf is easy to put together with fresh strawberries, blueberries, and cherries and store-bought ice cream.

Happy Fourth of July! I realize I’m getting this dessert idea out to you at the very last possible minute, but this is so easy and elegant that I just had to share. Plus, it doesn’t have to be patriotic. You can swap in whatever fruits and whatever flavors your prefer and enjoy this ice cream loaf technique all summer long.

Here I used vanilla bean and lemon ice creams. The lemon ice cream is super refreshing, and plays really well with the fresh summer fruit. The blueberries, strawberries, and cherries were so beautiful that I couldn’t bring myself to cook them as I had originally planned, but using raw fruit makes this ice cream cake taste fresh and almost light, plus it cuts down on the prep time.

Grilled Pound Cake with Lemon Curd + Summertime BBQ recipes

June 16, 2016 By Becky 18 Comments

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Grilled pound cake with lemon curd and berries is the perfect way to finish off any summer BBQs, and since it’s gluten free and grain free, more people can enjoy!

Summer is finally here, almost officially! I’ve already gotten in my first swim and am loving all the summer produce. I am such a summer person that I even enjoy basking in the heat of days that are 90+ degrees and humid–I find it kind of comforting!

Also, it’s BBQ season. To get ready for all the cookouts that are in store this summer, I teamed up with a few of my favorite bloggers to bring you five delicious paleo-friendly recipes that are perfect for summer BBQs. My contribution is this grilled pound cake with lemon curd and berries.

Grilled pound cake is the ideal way to end any grilling sesh. You bake the pound cake and make the lemon curd ahead of time, so all you have to do when the dessert hour rolls around is quickly grill the pound cake, spoon the lemon curd onto plates, and add a handful of fresh berries. I used local blackberries, but if strawberries are still in season near you, those would be fabulous, too! Later in the summer I’m looking forward to enjoying this with blueberries.

This pound cake recipe is super simple and comes together in one bowl with just one kind of flour–Otto’s Cassava Flour. It’s a grain-free, gluten-free, nut-free flour that makes paleo baking super easy. The cake is lightly sweetened with maple syrup and flavored with vanilla extract. It’s the perfect foil for tart and creamy lemon curd and juicy summer berries!
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Lemon Olive Oil Cookies

May 23, 2016 By Becky 30 Comments

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These lemon olive oil cookies come together quickly and are free of gluten, grains, and dairy. The olive oil won’t assert its flavor in the finished cookies, but helps produce a tender, delicate crumb.

It’s Monday, but these lemon olive oil cookies can help ease the pain. They’re bright, chewy, and irresistible. They’re delicious right out of the oven or the next morning, when they fit right in at breakfast by masquerading as extra-tasty mini scones. They’re good with or without the glaze; you can make them with Meyer or regular lemons. The only way to go wrong with these cookies would be to not make them at all.

This is one of those cookie recipes where you basically just stir all the ingredients together in a bowl. You can even use a fork. The hardest part by far is zesting and juicing the lemons, and I find that fun. The smell of the lemon oils released from the peel is reward enough for me. (Wait, I take that back. I actually also need there to be cookies. Cookies are the best reward!)

When I make these without the glaze, I roll the balls of dough in a little raw sugar before baking them to give the outsides a little extra texture. If you’re planning to glaze them, you can skip that step.

Spring Farmers Market Salad

May 17, 2016 By Becky 12 Comments

This spring farmers market salad highlights the best of May’s produce, including beets, strawberries, and sugar snap peas, plus local goat cheese and quail eggs.

After suggesting the other day that you roast a bunch of chicken and potatoes, I’m here with something truly seasonal: this spring farmers market salad. All of the produce and the quail eggs are from Big Sycamore Farm in Decatur, TN and the goat cheese is from Rafting Goat Cheese in Old Fort, TN, so everything except the dressing is a local ingredient that I got at the farmers market or at the farm itself.

Getting my produce from nearby makes a huge difference for me in several different ways. First of all, let’s talk taste. The flavor of local fruits and vegetables is so much better. Pretty much every time I try something new from my CSA box, I say to myself, “These are the best _____ I’ve ever eaten,”. It’s happened with carrots, squash, beets, strawberries, and countless other things. When you’re thinking about vegetables that were picked today or yesterday at a farm in your area and produce from the grocery store that’s already traveled across the country or even the world before getting to you, there’s really no comparison. Fresher fruits and vegetables taste so much better.

Also, when you get your goods from nearby, you have the opportunity to go see exactly how everything works at the farm, or at least hear all about it directly from a farmer at the market. You won’t have to wonder just exactly how free-range the chickens are or what the crops have been sprayed with.

If you read my blog often, you’ve probably heard me talk about my Big Sycamore Farm CSA. (Wondering what a CSA is? It stands for community-supported agriculture and is also known as a farm share. Find out more and search for one near you here.) Right after moving down to Chattanooga in September, I met Initia and Bertus at the farmers market and bought a leftover box from their summer CSA. I was hooked by how amazing everything tasted, the wide variety of produce they included, and how convenient it was to get one big box of fruits and vegetables for the week in one fell swoop. I soon after signed up for their winter CSA, which has a short season running from October to December. It’s like a breath of fresh air during the colder months, and the vegetables in my boxes led me to create things like this winter vegetable gratin that I never would have made otherwise.

Mocha Cream Paleo Truffles

May 10, 2016 By Becky 20 Comments

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Mocha cream paleo truffles are an ideal no-bake dessert for the warmer months. And since they’re vegan, too, more of your friends can enjoy them!

I’ve been sick for the past few days and haven’t been able to stomach much other than these paleo truffles. I think it’s because I’ve been eating them frozen and they’re made with such wholesome ingredients–no dairy or anything like that to throw a wrench into things. My appetite has been really low and I haven’t even craved my morning coffee like I usually do, but a couple of these chilled truffles gives me a little bit of the caffeine boost I’d otherwise be missing out on.

These are also fabulous when you’re feeling great. In fact, the mocha cream filling is so good on its own that I didn’t even dip the first batch into chocolate. I dreamed up this filling a couple of weeks ago and it tasted even better than I’d hoped. Basically it’s cashews whirred to creamy perfection with some coffee (both brewed coffee and finely ground espresso powder), cocoa (I absolutely love this fair-trade, Dutch-processed cocoa and use it in all my recipes), maple syrup for sweetness, and a little bit of salt and vanilla because all desserts need those two flavor-boosters. Sometimes cashew-based desserts taste too much like cashews to me but these don’t at all–the flavor is pure mocha.

Maple syrup pairs especially well with mocha. The dark undertones of its sweetness blend in with the coffee and chocolate so you don’t detect the maple flavor; you just wonder what other mysterious taste is in there that deepens and complements the mocha taste so well (see also this no-churn mocha ice cream made with homemade maple-sweetened condensed milk).

Anyway, after I made the first batch of this filling and scooped it into balls, I stuck it into the freezer to firm up so I could dip the truffles into melted chocolate later. That was on a Sunday afternoon and things got so busy with preparing for the work week that I didn’t get to it, so I thought I’d do it some evening that week after work. I told Ben he could try one or two of the naked truffles to see how he liked the filling, but not to eat them all because I was going to coat them in chocolate later.

Grapefruit Jalapeño Margaritas

April 26, 2016 By Becky 10 Comments

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Grapefruit jalapeño margaritas sweetened with honey are perfect for Cinco de Mayo! Tequila quickly infused with jalapeños gives these just the right amount of kick.

How do you feel about spicy cocktails? I’m pretty much obsessed, and these grapefruit jalapeño margaritas are my current drink of choice. I hope this doesn’t make me sound insufferably picky, but I’m starting to feel the same way about non-spicy cocktails that I feel about non-salted desserts. If my sweets are not salted or my cocktail doesn’t pack a punch, I’d almost rather go without. The depth of flavor that the jalapeños give these margaritas really makes them for me.

That being said, I aim to please, and you can definitely skip the chiles and just make a delicious grapefruit margarita if spicy drinks are not your thing. It’s easy to make some margaritas spicy and some not according to each person’s tastes. Ben took a sip of my spicy margarita and declared it “interesting”, but preferred the plain grapefruit ones I made per his request.

The inspiration for these grapefruit jalapeño margaritas comes from my friend Lauren, who shares amazing gluten-free recipes over at Wicked Spatula and has quite an impressive array of creative margaritas. If you read my site often, you may remember that we swapped guest posts back in the fall. Last weekend, we met in real life for the first time! Lauren lives about a three-hour drive from me, and we decided to meet up at her place and road trip together all the way up to Pittsburgh to go to a workshop led by Jessica Merchant of How Sweet Eats.

Spring Green Soup with Sugar Snap Peas

April 11, 2016 By Becky 8 Comments

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This spring green soup with sugar snap peas is an easy, tasty way to use up greens. With paleo, vegan, and Whole30 versions, everyone can enjoy this soup!

I’m pretty much the worst when it comes to using up salad greens. I’m not a salad person but I’m trying to become one, so I optimistically buy heads of lettuce and spring mixes with big plans to make showstopper salads like this one, simple side salads to add green to meals that otherwise lack verdant hues, and everything in between. As you may have guessed, it doesn’t always happen in time.

That’s where this spring green soup with sugar snap peas comes in. As I read through the April issue of Bon Appetit, I was excited to find a recipe in which salad greens that are a bit past their prime are blended into a fresh soup with peas and a little potato and topped with a dollop of creme fraiche. It sounded delicious, and like the perfect way to redeem myself by using up lots of healthy greens without having to eat a sad salad.

I decided to add a bit of an Asian twist to my soup, throwing some ginger and garlic into the base and deepening the flavors with a splash of fish sauce for umami and a squeeze of lime for acidity. The result is a soup that’s surprisingly light and refreshing, but with an intriguing taste that keeps you coming back for spoonful after spoonful.

Since this soup is all about not wasting food (and I also wanted to make it easy to create a Whole30-compliant version), I used whole sugar snap peas. Those pods are good for you, and including them means there’s no shelling required. If all you have is frozen peas, though, you can use those instead–that’s actually what’s called for in Bon Appetit’s recipe.