Lemony Lima Bean Spread and Zucchini Sandwich. Heavenly.

First off, sorry for the long absence!! My camera has been broken, so I have a lot of blogging to make up for!

If you're like most people around this time in the summer, you have zucchini basically coming out of your ears by now. I know I do, and I won't complain one little bit! Especially when there is this sandwich to be made. I dreamt of making this sandwich for a while, and I am so so so glad it finally came to fruition! One, because sandwiches are the best. Two, because zucchini just screams summer to me, and I scream back, I love you!!Lima Bean Spread and Zucchini Sandwich
Lemony Lima Bean Spread (below)
Toasted whole grain bread
Grilled or sauteed zucchini, in half moon slices
Thinly sliced red onion
Greens (arugula or spinach would work nicely)
Garlic-Dill Aioli (below)

This sandwich is best served open-faced, because there are so many goodies on it, they are likely to fall out if eaten all together! So start off by slathering the lima bean spread on one side of each slice of bread. Lay down the greens, then the grilled/sauteed zucchini, and then the red onion slices. Drizzle with the dill aioli and serve.

Lemony Lima Bean Spread (makes about 4 cups)
3 cups baby lima beans, fresh or frozen (if frozen, thaw to room temperature)
Zest and juice of 2 lemons
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup tahini
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp white pepper
2 scallions, sliced
1/2 cup fresh dill, chopped
2 Tbs water, or more as needed

Place all ingredients in a food processor or blender. Pulse to break up large pieces, and then puree until smooth, adding more water as needed 1 Tbs at a time. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Garlic-Dill Aioli (makes about 2 cups)
1 block soft silken tofu
1/2 cup vegan margarine
1/4 cup dijon mustard
2 Tbs olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbs agave nectar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 Tbs dill seeds
1/2 cup fresh dill, chopped

Place all ingredients together in a blender or food processor and puree until smooth, scraping down the sides of the blender as needed. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.


A tasty summertime meal deserves to be ended with a tasty summertime treat: Local Blackberry-Peach Pie!! I didn't really use any recipe, but it turned out great...what a delightful combination!

Local Food Bonanza!!

This week has been a celebration of the last of the summer produce, especially of local summer produce!! The Kansas City Farmers' Market was bursting at the seams this past weekend with all the bounty mid-September has to offer! I was even more excited for the KC Vegan Crawl this past weekend since I got to showcase all the goods...

My Sunday supper club/underground restaurant/get-together meal:

Vegan Krab Cakes, made with local tofu, veggies, and breadcrumbs

Classic Coleslaw made with local cabbage!

Brown Rice and Local Roasted Corn (not pictured)

And for dessert: Local Peach Cobbler!! This was my first time making cobbler, but it certainly won't be my last...it was amazing! Especially warm, topped with some vanilla soy ice cream!Juicy local peaches under a thick pastry crust made with local whole wheat flour, and toasted almonds...what's not to love??My friend, Dane, had his Sustainability Sunday dinner as well. Here's his spread: Wild Rice topped with Creamy Mushroom Sauce and White Beans, Herb-Roasted Potatoes and Butternut Squash, and Radishes & Carrots baked with coconut oil and ginger...with all locally-grown veggies....mmmm...
And last night for dinner, I FINALLY made something I had been craving aaaallllll summer: Fried Green Tomatoes!! The tomatoes came from my momma's garden, of course! They were breaded with a flour-cornmeal-spice mixture and fried until golden brown. These hit the spot! I just had them as a side with dinner, but I am looking forward to making more of these babies and getting creative!

Before I go, a local restaurant review! Last week my friend, Gabi, and I went to the Blue Nile Cafe here in Kansas City. This is an Ethiopian restaurant in the City Market district which has been around for a while, and I can't believe I hadn't made it there before!! About half the menu is vegan...it even says "vegan" on the menu for those items! whaaat?! AMAZING food, great atmosphere, and delightful service--I will definitely be heading back soon. They were out when I went, but they sometimes have vegan cupcakes! I must go for those.

Gabi and I shared the Vegetarian Combination Platter, which gave you a little bit of everything on the vegetarian menu, so we got to try a lot of different items. I can't remember what they all were, but check out their website for details. And they gave us plenty of injera, the Ethiopian flatbread used for dipping/eating; spongy teff bread that is super addictive. Done!! I have only good things to say about the Blue Nile Cafe. If you are in the KC area, check this place out for sure to get great vegan ethnic food!

Yay for Potlucks!

On Tuesday night, my friend Kat had a bunch of people over for a vegetarian (and mostly vegan!!) potluck! I love the idea of potlucks: everyone sharing their great food and talking and spending quality time together and eating that great food. What more could you want?? Plus, Kat works for PETA, so you know she's a cool girl!

I made my FAVORITE tofu salad recipe...I'll share the recipe some other time...and it was all eaten by the time Steve and I left! I'd say that's a good sign! Here was my potluck plate, sans dessert:I had (clockwise from the top) a teriyaki noodle and broccoli dish, an Indian dal with jasmine rice cooked in with it, quinoa tabouli, whole wheat pita wedges with hummus, my tofu salad, and some slices of baguette I brought from our local Uprise Bakery! (There were also some chips and homemade salsa and guacamole, as well as some local melon, but those were just nibbles....) Then there was dessert! Kat made a vanilla cake with chocolate frosting, and another guest made this amazing peach crisp that we ate warm! I cannot remember the last peach crisp I had, and I have never had a vegan one before, so I was supremely pleased needless to say! Plus, she used local peaches! DUH!!

A few nights later, some friends gathered for art night (a weekly artsy fartsy gathering among some friends) where we made paper mache things that will be turned into pinatas next week (I won't say what I made, but it's not PG.) For our gathering, I had to bake something, because that's the kind of weirdo I am. So, I went with my favorite thing pretty much ever: Raspberry Chocolate Chip Blondie Bars from Isa's Vegan With A Vengeance!! You seriously can't go wrong with these. Crowd pleaser and mouth pleaser. Cakey and gooey and fudgy and sweet and fruity and chocolately and vanilla-y. Too many "y's" to mention, really.

Raspberry Chocolate Chip Blondie Bars (makes 12-16)
For Raspberry Layer:

2 cups frozen raspberries

3 Tbs tapicoa starch

1/4 cup cold water

1/3 cup sugar

For Blondie Layer:

3 3/4 cup flour

1 1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

6 oz. vanilla or plain soy yogurt

1/4 cup milk substitute (I used Silk creamer. damn!!!)

1/2 cup plus 2 Tbs canola oil

2 cups sugar

1 Tbs vanilla extract

1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease a 9x13 inch pan. Make the raspberry layer: In a saucepan, combine all of the raspberry layer ingredients and stir until the tapioca starch has dissolved. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to a low boil, stirring often. do this for about 5 minutes or until mixture is thick and gooey. Remove from heat and make the blondie layer.

To make the blondie layer: In a mixing bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine the wet ingredients. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet, in batches, until a dough forms. Set aside 1 cup of this dough. Spread the rest into the greased pan. Spread he raspberry goo layer over the blondie layer, then sprinkle half of the chocolate chips over the raspberry layer. Drop the remaining blondie dough over the raspberry/choc chip layer...spread out so it covers a lot of the top, but there is still some pretty pink goo showing through. Sprinkle the other half of the chocolate chips over the top of everything. Bake for 35 minutes, then let cool and serve. Be careful, though...these are so delish that they pose a hazard to your health. From Isa Chandra Moskowitz's Vegan With A Vengeance

Why don't I just eat these for every meal???

Also, I tried a new food last night: PawPaws! These JUICY fruits have a more tropical origin, but the ones that Steve and I ate were locally grown here in Mid-Missouri of all places! I didn't know what to expect, but I was freakin floored by these things!!! The taste is almost like halfway between a mango and a banana, and the texture is like a really soft papaya or mango, without the stringy bits. They are soooo sweet and have almost a vanilla-like flavor. In the words of Joey Lawrence: whoa!!! :) Here's the inside of the pawpaw....so gooey and yummy.
Here are the pawpaw seeds...they were stuck in the fruit randomly throughout, and were easily removed. They were the size of big kalamata olives, but felt like buckeyes. weird.
And here they are all innocent and ready to be eaten. You know you want one!