cold soups: Peas blend frozen peas, frozen kale, fresh basil and milk. salt lightly. serve in a tea cup with a small spoon. Strawberry soup blend strawberries with green tops left on, whole milk plain yogurt, raw honey and milk. serve in a tea cup or small glass bowl with a small spoon.

 
This did not look as lovely once baked. The colors bled, but it was delicious. The beets are from two different friends' gardens.

hotta fritata
6 eggs
1 bunch of asparagus
canola spray
olive oil
basil
salt
parmasean

spray pan and add chopped asparagus at low heat. After about 5 minutes add eggs and stir them in until well mixed. cover and cook until no longer jiggly. Turn off heat and sprinkle with cheese. Cover until melted then drizzle with olive oil and serve with toast. excellent dinner. one pan to clean. love that.

Simple bean dip:
1 can white kidney beans
2 tbs olive oil
salt to taste

Rinse beans and mix with oil. Blend until smooth. Add salt to taste.

I used this mix to make a creamy sauce for a pasta and broccoli dish and it was great. Also a good spread on bread or dip for veggies.

mac n cheese upgrade: I mixed about 3/4 cup butternut squash puree in with trader joes mac n cheese and the kids ate it up with seconds. Always looking for ways to make easy changes that improve my meals. Too bad the amount of chocolate we all consume trumps all the healthy choices we try yo make....love that chocolate!

Oatmeal Brule
you need:
oatmeal
water
coconut milk
brown sugar
1. Make oatmeal, replacing about 1/4 cup of the water with coconut milk.
2. Fill ramekins with oatmeal and cover with about 1 tablespoon brown sugar each.
3. Place ramekins under the broiler for 5 minutes
4. drizzle with coconut milk and serve
best served with a side of pineapple and bananas
yummy and vegan...enjoy

I am calling this recipe Caponata, but it is not exactly the traditional Sicilian sauce. In my crack pot I cooked 1 sliced onion, 1 chopped eggplant, 1 clove garlic, a lot of tomatoes-maybe 6 and a handful of basil. I cooked this for about 20 hours then added a dash of salt and tossed it with spiral pasta. Wow. This was some tasty sauce!

black bean stew: yum. this was a huge hit tonight. I put in my crock pot: one sliced onion, a bag of baby carrots, 3 kale leaves, 2 sliced beets, 1.5 cups black lentils, a drizzle of olive oil, a dash of sea salt and a drizzle of say sauce. This all cooked for about 4 and a half hours and we ate it up. Even Amata enjoyed this. She really liked the carrots and beets.