Vacation

Eden, Jason, and I have gotten away! We are spending a week in central Oregon hiking, swimming, grilling up some great food,

and spending time with family. I will be back in a week with much more vegan love.

Have a great week!

Sarah

Crate Full of Veggies - week five

Happy Wednesday! I hope you all got a chance to try some new seasonal recipes this week. I enjoyed experimenting with some new foods as well as loving on the old.

My crate full of veggies

Strawberries and Marionberries

Romaine Lettuce

Arugula and Mustard Greens

Chard

Kale

Potatoes

Onions

Summer Squash

Zucchini

Lavender

Broccoli 

Cauliflower

Sugar and Snap Peas

Carrots

Marionberries, Lavender

Lavender Marionberry Pie

In honor of National Pie Week I enjoyed this Marionberry Pie which quickly became a big hit. Who doesn't want an individual pie served up in a mason jar?

Romaine Lettuce

Caesar Salad

I got into these (totally processed) vegan "chicken breasts" when I was pregnant and every once in awhile still get a craving.

Chard, Onions

Mushroom and Swiss Chard "Frittata"

This may have been the best frittata I have ever made. I changed my technique a little and the result: a melt in your mouth, savory, and surprisingly egg-like" frittata. Check out the recipe. 

Potatoes, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Onions

Cauliflower Broccoli Potato Hash

 Carrots, Summer Squash

Eden's first meals

In preparation for Eden turning 6 months (yikes!) I have been boiling, pureeing, and freezing some of the organic vegetables coming to us from the farm.

Kale, Mustard Greens, Arugula

Sauteed Greens and Tofu over Lentils with Mustard Tahini Sauce

Strawberries

Chocolate Strawberry Protein Smoothies

I drank these smoothies a lot when I was pregnant; a great way to begin the day with some chocolate and protein. Although with fresh Oregon Strawberries they are one million times better.

Zucchini

Chocolate Espresso Zucchini Cake

I made this cake again tonight at my parents house for Family Dinner. I added more zucchini, cut the oil in half, and tweaked a few more things. They turned into fudgy, chocolatey, heavenly brownies.

I ended the week with my snap and sugar peas, which I blanched and froze. Here's a tutorial for freezing sweet peas, a similar process to the snap and sugar peas (without the shelling).

There you have it. What seasonal dishes did you try this week?

Individual Chocolate Espresso Cake... with zucchini

The last few weeks my recipes have been heavily influenced by my farm share, as it should be this time of year. Two of my most popular posts, chocolate dipped strawberry creamsicles and lavender marionberry mason jar pie have both been born from farm share goodies. So when I found zucchini in my crate this week, the wheels in my head started turning. I played around with different ideas all week and yesterday I went to work in the kitchen. The result: a moist, rich chocolate espresso cake.

Chocolate Espresso Cake

serves: 2

1/4 cup canola oil

1/2 cup sugar

1 tbsp molasses

1 flax egg (1 tbsp ground flax seed mixed with 3 tbsp water)

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 small zucchini, grated (about 1/2 cup)

1 tbsp + 1 tsp instant coffee

1/2 cup flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup chocolate chips

2 half pint mason jars or similar sized baking dish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil two half pint mason jars.

In a medium sized bowl combine wet ingredients (oil, sugar, molasses, flax egg, instant coffee, vanilla, and zucchini), stirring together until uniformly mixed.

In a separate bowl combine the dries (flour, baking soda and powder, and salt). Add dries to wet and mix together. Do not over mix. Fold in chocolate chip.

Fill 1/2 pint jars between 2/3 and 3/4 full. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until knife comes out clean. Allow cake to cool at least 30 minutes before removing from jar.

Enjoy with a fresh cup of coffee.