Peach Salsa

So, every post I've done this month is about peaches. Peach season is just about over on Long Island, so this may be the last one. I'm sad to see them go, but you can expect apple posts in the near future as apple season has already arrived! And maybe I'll actually start cooking again, instead of spending all my time in the kitchen making desserts. Maybe.

Normally I'm a fan of spicy food, but I knew Logan would be eating this with me so I kept it mild. Add more jalapeños for an extra kick!

Peach Salsa

Serves 4

• 2 large white peaches, peeled and diced
• 1 cup of cherry tomatoes, diced
• 1/4 cup red onion, diced
• 1/4 cup chopped sweet pepper. Any variety of sweet pepper, like bell, will work.
• 1 small jalapeño, seeded and diced
• Juice from 1/2 a lime
• 1 Tbsp. cilantro

1. Combine all ingredients together in a bowl.
2. Let the salsa chill in the fridge for an hour or so before serving. 

Gazpacho

I'm so lucky to have so many amazing, passionate and supportive people in my life. Just about everyone who is an active part of my life has something positive and motivating to contribute. I don't think too many people can say they are surrounded by such genuine people who have nothing but love and support to offer, so I consider myself very blessed. 

There are dozens of people to which that last paragraph pertains to, but this blog post will be dedicated to a certain one. My best friend Hope's mom, Joann (or Mama Jo, as Logan calls her, and what she will be referred to as from now on), has a passion for life that so many people lose along the way. Her passion for food is inspiring as well. She knows where all the best bakeries are, which restaurants have the most delicious dishes, and I know I can rely on her to know which specialty stores carry the obscure ingredients I may need. Mama Jo has always been supportive and excited about Resolution Kitchen from the beginning. She's been an inspiration for a couple recipes in here, like the roasted yellow pepper soup. She taught me how to make pesto (which I modified to this recipe), and has been fueling my sweet tooth and love for baking since she was the class mother in second grade. 

As a token of support, love and inspiration, Mama Jo recently bought me my first food processor- a Kitchen Aid in buttercup yellow (she knows me so well). I absolutely love every feature of the product, and have been using it every day. Mama Jo had one request- gazpacho. She had a delicious bowl of the cold soup at Michael Anthony's, one of her favorite restaurants in Wading River. I set to work, using fresh tomatoes and herbs from my garden, and turned out a huge batch of gazpacho. Thanks Mama Jo!!

Ready to chop my fresh garden herbs.

My new, oh so fancy food processor

Gazpacho

Serves about 8

• 8 roma/plum tomatoes
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 yellow onion
• 1 green bell pepper
• 1 cucumber
• 2 scallions
• Juice from one lemon
• 2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup fresh basil
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley
• 4 cups tomato juice

1. Remove the skins from the tomatoes: Throw them in a pot of boiling water for one minute. Remove from the boiling water and into a bowl with ice water immediately. After a couple minutes the skin will peel right off.
2. Sautee the garlic.
3. Roughly chop the onion, pepper, cucumber, tomatoes, scallions and garlic. If you want to keep the recipe raw, skip the first two steps and start here. 
4. Add them to a food processor and pulse until just combined.
5. Add the rest of the ingredients and process until combined but still a little chunky.
6. Refrigerate before serving. Serve cold.

I made this batch of gazpacho with my home grown roma tomatoes.
Does it get any fresher?

Raw Vegan "Cheese"cakes

I've been posting (and eating) a lot of sugary desserts lately, so I figure it's time to take a break from those and make a dessert that's actually good for you. The desserts I usually post are healthier than traditional ones, as they have substitutions like coconut oil for butter, and apple purée for eggs, but they're still not exactly health food. These "cheese"cakes actually can be considered healthy and nutritious, and they're delicious! It's a win win!

I've made them in mango and strawberry flavors, but I bet most fruits would be delicious. Blueberry is next on my list. I made these in muffin tins lined with unbleached baking cups (I always walk out of Wild By Nature with something new), but I bet this recipe would work in a traditional cheesecake springform pan. I'll try it for Andrew's birthday next week and fill you in. He was a big fan of the strawberry ones!

I prepared the crust exactly as directed in the original recipe. I've tried other raw vegan crusts, but this one is by far the best. I even got over my intense dislike of stevia for use in the filling and found a brand that doesn't make me gag!

Non-nausea inducing Stevia

The original recipe called for coconut oil and cocoa butter.
I don't have the latter, so I improvised and used coconut butter.

Tasty medjool dates from Blue Mountain Organics.
I went a little nuts recently in their online store.

It's best to freeze these, then let them sit on the counter for a couple minutes before serving.

Raw Vegan "Cheese"cakes

Makes 12 cupcakes

Crust:

• 1 cup raw almonds
• 1/4 cup packed medjool dates, pitted
• 1 tsp. water
• Pinch of salt

1. Grind the almonds in a blender or food processor. Be careful not to over grind them, stop when you reach a crumb consistency.
2. Roughly chop the dates and grind them in with the almonds until they have turned to crumbs also.
3. Add the water and salt and grind again until a dough forms.
4. Press this dough into the bottom of lined muffin tins.

Almond crumbs

The crust in the muffin tins

Filling:

• 2 cups chopped fruit, such as mangos, strawberries or blueberries
• 1 cup cashews
• 3 Tbsp. agave
• 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 4 drops of liquid stevia
• 1 vanilla bean, scraped (vanilla extract could work, too)
• 4 Tbsp. coconut butter, melted

1. Blend all the ingredients in a blended or food processor until everything is thoroughly mixed.
2. Pour over the crust, and freeze for a few hours until firm.

Basil Pesto

Basil pesto is one of my favorite summer meals. It's a breeze to make, and it's something that Andrew and I can always agree to. It's traditionally made with Parmesan cheese, but in this house that ingredient is out. I was lucky enough to stumble across a vegan recipe, and was even luckier that I had ingredients in the cabinet to make a similar version.

After realizing how delicious and easy this recipe was, I planted even more basil in addition to the dozen or so I already have growing in the garden. I anticipate the need for lots of basil this summer!

Top with toasted pine nuts- 10 minutes at 400º.

Basil Pesto

Serves between 6 and 8

• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 packed cups of basil leaves
• 2 15 oz. cans of chick peas, drained and rinsed
• 4 Tbsp. nutritional yeast
• Juice from one lemon
• 1 Tbsp. safflower oil
• Dash of salt

1. Chop the garlic cloves in a blender or food processor.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until smooth.
3. Serve over whole wheat pasta, use as a spread on sandwiches, as a dip for pita bread.. anything you can think of!

This recipe took so little time an effort that I actually had time and energy to make dessert.. all on a workday, too! I made my vegan banana bread, adding chocolate chips and frozen raspberries. Yum!

Raw Vegan Chocolate Bars

I love food. If I'm not eating it, I'm thinking about it, writing about it, talking about it, or creating it. A couple weeks ago while thinking about it, I had the thought to make my own chocolate bars. As I've probably already mentioned, chocolate is part of my daily life. I don't mean that I eat a whole cake every day, but at least a square with a glass of wine, which I indulge in more than I care to admit. I'm on the hunt for a good organic red wine. Every one that I've tried so far tastes like sludge. I'm led to believe that wine needs added sulfites to be palatable. If anyone has any suggestions though, send them my way!

Anyways, while browsing pinterest one day, I found this recipe for chocolate bars. Already having the ingredients in my cabinet, I got to work.. and was pretty disappointed. It came out more like fudge, and was way too sweet. I prefer a dark chocolate (72% cocoa to be exact!) that's more bitter, so I made it my mission to perfect this recipe. I came up with 3 different recipes of various cocoa contents (the original recipe is about 50% cocoa). These don't have lecithin, which reduces the viscosity of chocolate, so they're a little on the soft side. They're best kept in the freezer, but they taste almost as good as a vegan Endangered Species bar!

Have fun with these. Make them your own! I've made them using dehydrated raspberries and strawberries, the latter of which is almost as good paired with chocolate as wine is! I've crushed up pretzels and made a chocolate pretzel bark, and I have homemade mint extract sitting in the cabinet, waiting to be ready to be added to one of these chocolate confections. My coworker made a delicious bar by adding ginger and curry powder. Anything goes!

Dehydrated Raspberries

Dehydrated Strawberries

Our garden strawberries, ready for picking!

The first bar has a mild cocoa content, so it's still pretty sweet. It's a little on the soft side, but it's good for people who don't like a dark, bitter chocolate.

Chocolate Bar #1

62% cocoa

• 3 Tbsp. coconut oil, melted
• 1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp. cocoa powder
• 2 Tbsp. agave

1. Mix all ingredients and pour into a mold, such as a plastic container. 
2. Freeze until ready to eat.

This next one is probably my favorite. It was delicious mixed with crushed pretzels!

Chocolate Bar #2

67% cocoa content

• 3 Tbsp. coconut oil, melted
• 1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp. cocoa powder
• 1 Tbsp. agave

1. Mix all ingredients and pour into a mold, such as a plastic container. 
2. Freeze until ready to eat.

This last bar has the highest cocoa content and is the most bitter. It's also the most solid, so it most resembles a store bought bar.

Chocolate Bar #3

70% cocoa

• 2 Tbsp. coconut oil, melted
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1 Tbsp. agave

1. Mix all ingredients and pour into a mold, such as a plastic container. 
2. Freeze until ready to eat.

Strawberry Mango Fruit Leather

I know I know, I'm really slacking on the posts. It's not for lack of material. I've been plenty busy in the kitchen, so busy that at the end of the day I crash without giving this blog a second thought. I'm not sure what's more exhausting- being a working mom, or staying home with a toddler all day. You would think it's the former, but the older Logan gets, the more wild he becomes. But on the plus side he gets sweeter and more loving everyday, too!

Everyday I set small, attainable goals for myself. Today's included publishing a post. I'm dead tired, so this'll be quick. My mom bought me a dehydrator for my birthday last month, so I finally gave hers back. Fruit leather is one thing that I've been looking forward to making, so when I found myself with an abundance of fruit after a cinco de mayo fiesta (I didn't make nearly as many batches of sangria and fruit based margaritas as planned, I was too busy fiesta-ing) I got to work. Strawberries and mangos starred in this particular batch, but just about anything goes. Use what you have, get creative, and have fun!

Strawberry Mango Fruit Leather

• 1 lb. of organic strawberries, washed and hulled
• 1 mango, peeled and de-fleshed (that sounds gross, I wish I could think of a better way to say it)

1. Blend everything together until smooth.
2. Pour into teflex sheets or onto plastic wrap set atop the dehydrator trays. The mixture should be about 1/8 of an inch thick.
3. Dehydrate on a low setting for.. a really long time. It usually takes about 10 hours, which feels like forever.
4. The fruit leather is done when it is no longer wet and sticky.

I prefer to use plastic wrap instead of the teflex. I'm not sure at what temperature plastic wrap starts to break down and invade your food, but it's nearly impossible to get the fruit leather off of the teflex. If plastic wrap is used, you just roll the whole thing up when you're done. No mess, no clean up. I'll take it.

It's way past my bedtime. Night night.

Raw Thin Mints

I was sent a recipe for One Green Planet's thin mint recipe from my friend Bri. After hearing her rave about them I had to try it, even though it called for stevia. I just can't stomach the stuff. I figured it couldn't be so bad since a batch only needed 1/2 a teaspoon, so I borrowed the sweetener from my mom and got to work. Bleh! I could taste the stevia in every bite. I ended up tossing the whole thing. I have no idea why I hate that stuff so much. Maybe it's one of those polarizing foods like cilantro, some people love it, other people say it tastes like soap. I was determined to make these work though, so I tried again using a couple substitutions. Since I used up all my protein powder in the first batch, I used homemade almond flour the second time. You can probably buy it in the store, but here's how I make my own: after I make almond milk in the juicer, I dehydrate the pulp, then grind it into a fine powder using the baby bullet. Since there was no way I was using stevia again, I replaced it with agave. I also added a few crushed leaves from an organic chocolate mint plant I picked up over the weekend. It was perfect for these cookies! While the end result wasn't exactly like the girl scout version, these were still delicious and much healthier. Logan and I couldn't get enough of them, and I can't wait until I have more almond flour so I can make them again!

Raw Thin Mints

Makes about 15

The mixture should be about this consistency when you
roll them on the cookie sheet.

• 3/4 cup of almond flour
• 1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp. of cocoa powder
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 tsp. peppermint extra
• 1 tsp. agave
• 6 Tbsp. coconut oil, melted
• A few chocolate mint leaves, crushed very fine (optional)

1. Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl.
2. Let the bowl sit on the counter for a few minutes until the mixture has just started to solidify.
3. Using a melon baller (a spoon would work too, but I have a thing for the melon baller), scoop out small portions of the batter.
4. Place the scoops of batter on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper, and mold them into the desired shape.
5. Chill the cookie sheet in the fridge for about an hour.
6. Store covered in the fridge or freezer.

Ready to be chilled

Done!

Cocomon Balls

Coconut + lemon = cocomon

I whipped up this raw, vegan dessert yesterday while waiting for my curried split pea soup to cook (check back for that blog post soon!). When I found the recipe this was adapted from I was excited to see that it called for almond flour. For weeks I have been making almond flour, hoping that I would someday find a use for it. Every time I make almond milk in the juicer, I dehydrate the pulp, then grind it into a fine powder using the Baby Bullet. Almond flour!

Popping these in the dehydrator for an hour gave them a crunch on the outside, but left them warm and gooey in the center. Omg yum. They're phenomenal with the lemon, but next time I make them I'll use lime. Lime and coconut? Yes please!

Cocomon Balls

Makes 2 dozen

• 1 1/2 cups of almond flour (homemade or store bought)
• 2 1/2 cups of shredded coconut, unsweetened
• 1/3 cup of coconut flour
• A dash of salt
• 6 Tbsp. of agave
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• Zest and juice from one lemon

1. In a large bowl, stir the almond flour, coconut, coconut flour and salt until combined.
2. In a small bowl, mix the agave, vanilla and lemon.
3. Slowly add the agave mixture to the large bowl, mixing with a hand mixer until combined.
4. Roll the mixture into small, one inch balls.
5. Place in the balls in the dehydrator for one hour.
6. Serve immediately.

Smashed Chickpea Avocado Salad

I've had very little time to cook lately, let alone blog about my kitchen creations. I've gone to back to work, and I'm starting to see the challenges of being a working mom. Logan is having a hard time dealing with me being gone, so when I'm home he's super clingy and doesn't let me get anything done!

Office with a view

My garden is taking a lot of my time also. I'm not sure what kind of gardening people refer to as "relaxing", but vegetable gardening isn't it. At least not when you're starting from the ground up, literally. I already have one existing 5 x 6 raised bed to work with, but I want bigger! With the help of the best dad in the world I built three 6 x 8 planting beds. After filling two of them with three yards of compost (that I filled myself!) and planting some seeds that withstand the cooler temperatures (not that we've been having any on Long Island) I finally have my garden going. It took me so long that it deserves it's own blog post, so maybe it will get one.

What I'm getting at here is that with all my time being expended in other areas, I've been looking for quick, easy recipes. I found just that with a mashed chickpea and avocado sandwich. It took only about 5 minutes to make, and my sandwich was assembled while the carrots for honey mustard carrots were steaming. It made for a light week night meal, and the leftovers were great for lunch the next day.

Smashed Chickpea Avocado Salad

Makes about 4 sandwiches

• 1 15 oz can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 avocado
• Juice from 1 limes
• 1/4 cup of cilantro leaves
• 2 Tbsp. scallions
• Salt and pepper to taste.

1. Using a potato masher, mash the chickpeas and avocado together in a bowl.
2. Mix in the cilantro, scallions, salt and pepper.
3. Serve on your bread of choice with lettuce.

Cheery Cherry Chocolate Ice Cream

Oh. Em. Jee.

I never knew how easy it was to make vegan ice cream! Three ingredients. That's it. Coconut milk, bananas, and fruit of your choosing. The difficult part for me was blending the frozen chunks together. My blender was struggling, and I'm surprised I didn't blow the motor. I need a food processor. My blender did the trick, but a food processor would have made things a lot easier.

This was better than any store bought ice cream I've ever had, so keep it movin Ben & Jerry's! It was smooth, creamy, and packed with flavor. I'm looking forward to summer more than ever now, so I can experiment with different flavors as different fruits come into season.

Cheery Cherry Chocolate Ice Cream

Serves 4

• 1 cup of coconut milk
• 4 bananas
• 2 cups of frozen cherries
• Handful of vegan chocolate chips

1. Pour the coconut milk in a large, shallow dish. This will make it easier to break up once it's frozen.
2. Peel the bananas and place them in the dish with the coconut milk.
3. Cover the dish and put in the freezer.
4. Once the milk and bananas have frozen solid, remove from the freezer and thaw for a couple minutes, or until you can break the bananas and milk into pieces. I did this by stabbing through them with a knife.
5. Blend the milk, bananas and cherries in a blender or food processor until smooth.
6. Throw in chocolate chips and blend for a few more seconds to break them into pieces.
7. Serve immediately.

I'm not sure how well this would freeze. I'm guessing it would solidify into a frozen, solid chunk if refrozen, so enjoy it right away. This ice cream is so good, I doubt there would be leftovers anyways!

Tacos and Kumquats

Sounds dirty.

I tried my first kumquat the other day. Tiny, orange citrus fruits that taste as exotic as they sound. To eat, roll one between your fingers to release the oils, and pop the whole thing in your mouth. Before I googled this helpful bit of info, I thought you had to peel them. Big mistake. The pulp inside is so tart! After peeling a little bit off of the end, I squeezed the juice onto my tongue and was not prepared for that. I had to pass it around the table to Andrew and our two friends, who all made hysterical faces after trying the juice. Too bad I didn't have a camera ready! As tart as the inside is, it's balanced by the sweetness of the peel.


It's not my favorite fruit, but I had a whole package that I had to do something with. I googled recipes, none which sounded appetizing. The only one seeming palatable was a salsa, but even then I couldn't imagine it being appealing with chips. Tacos came to mind, so I got to work making kumquat salsa. Since I wanted a thicker, more simple version than the recipe online called for, I made some changes and had dinner made in about 10 minutes.

The salsa still had somewhat of a tart taste, but it was masked pretty well by the earthy flavors of cilantro and the sweetness of the pepper and red onion. The juice of the kumquats marinated everything together to create a delicious, unique blend. It tasted even better wrapped in a tortilla with refried beans. The original recipe had the kumquats sliced, but I had to dice them even further since they were kind of tough to chew. I've been known to put unconventional topping on tacos, but this salsa takes the cake.

Kumquat Salsa

Makes about 2 cups

• 2 cups of kumquats, sliced and diced
• 1/2 cup of red onion, diced
• 1/4 cup sweet red pepper, seeded and diced
• Loose handful of cilantro, chopped.

1. Mix everything together and let sit for at least an hour to blend the flavors. 
2. Serve over tacos with refried beans. 

Vegan Chocolate Pudding

Even though I promised myself to blog a new recipe on a semi regular basis, I've let myself slip this week. I got caught up reading the Hunger Games trilogy. The books were so excellent I couldn't put them down! A lot of things got neglected while I was reading away, including my kitchen. Now that I've finished the series and am resting up since throwing my back out last night (thanks Logan), I hope to get up to speed with the posts.

I've had this one in my arsenal for a couple months now. I got the recipe from Kelli over at animal-friendly eating. It's a great place to find vegan recipes. This is the only one that I've tried so far, but I can't wait to try her recipe for vegan sugar cookies next week for St. Patrick's Day. I wasn't sure what to expect with this recipe. Blending avocados with cocoa powder didn't sound very appetizing, but I'm glad I tried it anyways! The result came out just like a traditional chocolate pudding, and it was delicious. I've made it a couple times since then, and it's always a hit. It the most tasty when topped with bananas and cinnamon, but feel free to get creative with other toppings!

Vegan Chocolate Pudding

Serves 4

• 2 avocados
• 1/2 cup of agave
• 4 Tbsp. water
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 Tbsp. melted coconut oil
• 5 heaping Tbsp. of cocoa powder
• Dash of salt

1. Blend everything together in a blender or food processor until smooth.
2. Divide the pudding into 4 dishes, cover, and put in the fridge to chill for a few hours.
3. Add any desired toppings, and enjoy!

Irish Morning Juice

As delicious as they are, I'm getting a little tired of Bloody Nikkis. It's time to find a new juice. I started today by using an assortment of stuff in the fridge. Carrots were definitely getting juiced since I have way too many of them. I also have a lot of celery, since I'm trying to grow new stalks from the base of an old one. I heard you can propagate celery that way. I'll let you know how it goes.

Soak in a shallow dish of water.
This is as far as I got, since I forgot to plant it today.
I'll keep you posted on its growth.

To propagate from an existing stalk,
cut the stalks off just above the base.

Apples seemed like a good addition, and on a whim I threw the liquid part of the coconut milk I had leftover from making coconut whipped cream. this may have made the juice too sweet, so I won't be doing that again. Other than being sweet, it wasn't too bad. Leave the coconut milk out if you want to skip the sweetness.

I have a question for you juicers. When you juice an apple, do you core it first, or do you throw in the whole apple, seeds and all? I know some people include the seeds, but don't they naturally contain arsenic? That doesn't seem appetizing.

I'll be trying different juices until I find the perfect one, so juicers stay tuned!

Irish Morning Juice

Makes 2 servings

Before stirring, the green and orange reminded
me of the Irish flag, thus inspiring the name of this juice.

• 1 apple, cored
• 2 carrots
• 2 celery stalks
• A couple Tbsp coconut milk liquid

1. Juice.
2. Sip.
3. Enjoy.