Unwrapping a tin foil beet is a lot like unwrapping a present. Well maybe not really because you know exactly what’s going to be in there, but it’s still somehow such an exciting surprise. Roasting brings out the beet’s sweet flavor so they’re like precious rubies in a candy box when ready to eat. I usually do two pounds at a time on a weeknight or Sunday afternoon, and use some of them that evening as a side dish with whatever I’m eating. Then I refrigerate the rest and use them in salads or just for a quick snack throughout the week.

The cooking method and time really varies depending on the size of the beets you’re using. If using small beets, say golf ball size, and they are very fresh, then don’t both to peel. Just slice in half, wrap and roast. And remember to save the beet greens to saute with some olive oil and garlic. But if using those big honkers of a beet that you’re more likely to find come January and February, then it’s a little different. Peel them and then slice top down into segments (like orange slices) that are about 3/4 of an inch thick at their widest. If a beet is especially big, say softball sized, then I sometimes will slice widthwise, too. Then, keeping all the slices together in a neat package, place on tin foil and wrap so that it can easily be unfolded from the top.

Roasting time will vary, but I do at least an hour at 425 F. They’re ready when easily pierced with a fork. Be careful when handling, because there will be a lot of red beet juice just dying to drizzle out and stain your countertops. Although maybe that could look cool.

My current favorite quick treatment for roasted beets: toss with fresh orange juice, toasted sesame oil and toasted sesame seeds. Salt to taste and add a little Sriracha and you’re as good as gold. Or garnets.

There’s another kind of seasonal eating that’s not so much about being environmentally friendly but about emotional connections. Eating pumpkin in August just doesn’t feel right, ditto for strawberries in December. I like how my senses are tied to the time of year; scent and taste seem to hang onto memory in a very specific way that photographs or recollection can not. Think of the way the first breath of spring air sneaks its way into the crevices of your mind, suddenly awaking all the sleepy springs of years gone by.

And so for 11 months of the year, I am basically building up a lust for gingerbread. One bite and suddenly I’m a little girl just the perfect height for ogling all the beautiful cookies in a Brooklyn bakery case. I’m a teenager cutting out of school with my friends and making snow angels in Central Park instead. I’m in my twenties baking up my first pan of gingerbread, and the kitchen smells so warm and cozy it’s as if I had a fireplace, but in reality my apartment doesn’t even have heat. Our taste buds are as close to a time machine as we’re ever going to get.

All season I sneak gingerbread into pretty much everything; lattes, waffles, cookies of course and these muffins. They are low enough in fat and sugar to be vaguely appropriate as a breakfast, but still sweet enough to feel like a special wintery treat. Note that this is a recipe for only 6 muffins, I do so much baking all month that if I’m baking for myself I do smaller batches. Feel free to double the recipe if you like! If you’re looking for a more healthy tasting muffin, do the whole wheat pastry flour. Flax not only adds a healthy touch, but it also works to bind a leaven the muffins, making them nice and fluffy. If you’re looking for something more traditional tasting, do the all purpose white flour.

Gingerbread Flax Muffins
Makes 6 muffins

1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk (or your preferred non-dairy milk)
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons ground flax seed

1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/3 cup light molasses
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray.

First measure out the milk. Mix the apple cider and ground flax seed directly into the measuring cup and stir vigorously with a fork for about a minute. That helps to bring out the oils of the flax seeds while the vinegar thickens and curdles the milk. Both of those things will help the muffin to rise.

In a mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and salt.

Make a well in the center and add the milk mixture. Add in the oil, applesauce, molasses, sugar and vanilla. Use a wooden spoon to mix ingredients together until everything is just moistened. Don’t overmix, it’s okay if the batter is a little lumpy, muffins like that.

Fill muffin tins most of the way full. Bake for about 22 minutes, until tops are puffed up and firm and a knife or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

When cool enough to handle, transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Did your childhood Thanksgiving come out of cans and boxes? And do you kinda sorta maybe just a little wittle bit miss it? That quivering cylinder of cranberry sauce, those salt spiked cubes of stuffing that came to life with a bit of water (or magic) and, my absolute favorite, I could eat it by the trough - the Greenbean Mushroom Casserole.

Now this was the real fake cooking, it had like three whole steps or something. Can of cream of mushroom soup, bag of frozen greenbeans, and if you could hold off on eating them, a tin of prefried onions.

There are plenty of Thanksgiving menus going around and maybe yours is already planned, but perhaps you can squeeze this baby in? It is a must for my table, all that creamy savory flavor and onion-y crunch. My version has a few real ingredients, but don’t let that fool you, it’s still as embarrassingly good as its predecessor.

Oh, and before I leave you, our Etsy shop is up and running with the comfiest tshirts in the world! New handmade aprons will be up soon, too.

Greenbean Mushroom Casserole 

This recipe is pretty flexible in terms of what kind of dish to use. My favorite is this 10×10 casserole I have, but if you don’t have that size, I’ve done it in an 11×13 pan and it was fine, just a little thinner. You can also double it for deeper casseroles. You’ll see that two of the ingredients are optional. I’ve done this with nutritional yeast and broth powder, and without. Those optional ingredients definitely add flavor, but you don’t miss ‘em too much if they’re not around.

4 cups green beans (1 lb), fresh or frozen (ends chopped if fresh)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cups sliced mushrooms
4 cups creamy mushroom soup (one box)*
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
fresh black pepper
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast (optional)
2 tablespoons vegetable broth powder (optional, Frontier brand is my fave)
6 oz can of fried onions, divided*

Bring a pot of water to boil for the green beans. When ready, boil for about 7 minutes then drain.

Meanwhile, in a large pan over medium-high heat, saute onions in olive oil for about 2 minutes. Add mushrooms and saute for 7 minutes more.

Mix the flour into the mushroom soup until very few lumps are left. Add to the pan along with the salt, peppers, and, if using, the nutritional yeast and vegetable broth powder. Stir often for about 10 minutes, until thickened.

Preheat oven to 375. Add the green beans to the pan and use your spatula chop them up a bit into smaller pieces (roughly in half). Mix in half of the fried onions. Transfer to an oiled casserole and top with the remaining onions. Bake for 22 to 25 minutes, until browned and bubbly. For yummiest results, let cool for at least 1/2 an hour before serving.

*A few words about finding vegan ingredients. The box of creamy mushroom soup is made by Imagine, and I believe they may have more than one vegan version. I remember a non-portobello one, but this year I couldn’t find it. But this is definitely vegan, for reference. Your Whole Foods will have it, but I bet it’s in well stocked groceries as well. As for the fried onions, French’s, the most popular brand, has Propylene Glycol, which seems to be questionably vegan and is, in any case, one of the main ingredients in under arm deodorant. Does that make you hungry? Probably not. Look for organic ones in your friendly neighborhood health food store. Here’s one brand from Holland, for reference. Last year Food Fight was carrying some good ones. But I had no problem finding them at a normalish grocery store in Portland.

Edited to add: Apparently Trader Joes is a source for healthier onions, too!

You may or may not know that I’m working on a low fat cookbook. I was deeply concerned that this meant goodbye to some of my favorite dishes but with a few tricks, a lot of creativity and many hours searching thriftstores for 80s diet cookbooks, I’ve been able to keep myself satisfied and I don’t feel like I’m sacrificing much.

For instance, no one should suffer a life without pesto, but a pesto without pinenuts or walnuts seems lifeless. So what’s a girl to do? Once again, it’s soybeans to the rescue! Edamame has just enough fat and texture to make a lighter healthier pesto work. It also makes the pesto at once bulky and creamy. It’s a miracle, really. Oh, little soybean, what can’t you do?

In this dish I’ve sauteed some mushrooms for meatiness and red onions for a little tinge of sweetness. But you can use edamame pesto as a dip or as a topping for a baked potatoes, or as a filling for lasagna, or anywhere else that pesto would be appropriate. It’s really easy and versatile, too. It may not taste exactly like the super oily pesto we all know and love, but it tastes pretty darn good and it’s got a fraction of the fat so it won’t leave you feeling like you’re about to give birth to a pesto baby. Did I just ruin your appetite forever?

Spinach Linguine With Edamame Pesto
Serves 4

For the edamame pesto:
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup packed basil leaves
Handful (1/4 cup or so) fresh cilantro
14 oz package shelled edamame, thawed
1/2 cup vegetable broth
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
optional: 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

For the pasta:
10 oz spinach linguine or other pasta

1 teaspoon olive oil
Small red onion, in thinly sliced half moons
1/2 lb cremini mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon salt
Extra basil for garnish

Cooking spray

Put on a pot of salted water to boil. Then prepare the pesto:

Place garlic and basil in food processor and pulse a few times to get it chopped up. Add the remaining ingredients and blend until relatively smooth, scraping down the sides with a spatula to make sure you get everything. Add a little more vegetable broth if it seems too stiff. Set aside until ready to use.

Preheat a large pan over medium heat. At this point your pasta water should be ready, so add the linguine.

Saute onion in oil for about 5 minutes. Use a little cooking spray as needed, or a splash of water if you prefer. Mix in mushrooms, garlic, thyme and salt. Cover pot and cook 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally.

The pasta should be ready now, so drain it.

When the mushrooms have cooked down, add pasta to the pan, along with the pesto. Use a pasta spoon to stir and coat the linguine. Get everything good and mixed and the pesto heated through, about 3 minutes. The pesto should be relatively thick, but if it’s too thick (not spreading out and coating the pasta) add a few tablespoons of water. Taste for salt.

Serve immediately, garnished with a little fresh chopped basil.

OK so I am getting back into the video world with a very appropriate, prim and proper little video about cookies! Mexican Hot Chocolate Snickerdoodles, to be exact. And I blather on about the Aztecs and autumn a bit in the video so I won’t overdo it here. But let me just say that they are one of my absolute favorites in the book, you probably already have all the ingredients, and I hope you make them!

A beautiful crackle topped chocolate cookie with a spicy cayenne kick and a sugary cinnamon coating. Sold?

For the topping:
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

For the cookies:
1/2 cup canola oil
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
3 tablespoons almond milk (Or your preferred non-dairy milk)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon chocolate extract (or more vanilla extract if you have no chocolate)
1 2/3 cups flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cayenne

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.

Mix the topping ingredients together on a flat plate. Set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, use a fork to vigorously mix together oil,  sugar, syrup, and milk. Mix in extracts.

Sift in remaining ingredients, stirring as you add them. Once all ingredients are added mix until you’ve got a pliable dough.

Roll dough into walnut sized balls. Pat into the sugar topping to flatten into roughly 2 inch discs. Transfer to baking sheet, sugar side up, at least 2 inches apart (they do spread). This should be easy as the the bottom of the cookies should just stick to your fingers so you can just flip them over onto the baking sheet.  Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, they should be a bit spread and crackly on top. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

From Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar

The cookie book is off to the printers and we are thoroughly excited about sharing a few more recipes with you. For those who were at the Toronto Veggie Food Fair, did you catch Terry and her cooking/baking demos? Here she is kissing our book cover at the Book Expo this past summer.

It will be out in stores in early November, but you can preorder the book on Amazon or where ever you like! Now on to today’s recipe.

 Pignoli Almond Cookies

Makes 2 dozen

You may simply knows these are “pignoli,” the rice almond buttery cookie with the dense, chewy center and a smattering of pine nuts. I’ve been missing Brooklyn a lot lately, especially around autumn, and these cookies are an Italian (and Jewish) bakery staple. The bakeries in Brooklyn are a little bit different from the kind of hoity toity 4-dollar-cookie bakery we find across the country these days. For one thing, you could buy cookies by the pound. And for another, the cases were overflowing. It wasn’t about buying one cookie to nibble on while you pretended to work on your lap top. It was buying a box, tied up with red string, to bring and share where ever you were going. It wasn’t a birthday party (or a funeral) if it didn’t end with a big cardboard box of colorful, chewy, chunky, crispy, crumbly cookies.

Pingolis were a staple in that box. If you know what I’m talking about you’re probably already in the kitchen unwrapping your almond paste. If you don’t, well, try these heavenly bites and join us.

Note: These cookies are super-soft right out of the oven, so be sure to allow them a full five minutes to firm up on the cookie sheet before transferring to racks to complete cooling.

7 ounces almond paste, sliced into 1 inch cubes (not marzipan)

Pinch of salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

2/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup Earth Balance margarine, softened

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2  cup pine nuts

2 to 3 tablespoons almond milk for dipping

Preheat oven to 325°F. Line a medium sized baking sheet with parchment paper.

Pulse almond paste, salt, baking powder and 1/3 cup sugar in a food processor until mixture is crumbly, about 1 minute.

In a large bowl cream together margarine and remaining 1/3 cup sugar with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add almond paste mixture and almond extract and beat until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Sift in flour and beat until a slightly crumbly yet soft dough forms. Dough should form a soft mass when pressed together.

Pour pine nuts into a shallow bowl and pour 2 Tablespoons of almond milk into a small saucer. For each cookie, roll 1 tablespoon of dough in palms to form into a ball, dip one end in almond milk and press moistened end into pine nuts. If necessary press pine nuts into surface of ball. Place dough balls, pine nut side up, on baking sheet at least 2 inches apart. Bake for 14 minutes until cookies have puffed and spread a little, and nuts are are just slightly toasted. Remove from oven and allow to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes to firm up before carefully transferring to cooling rack. Store in a tightly covered container.

From Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar

I have a few guiding principles and one is “You’re never too busy to update your blog.” I mean, spacing out over a game of Facebook Scrabble rather than talking about split pea soup is pretty much the extent of it. So I am not going to start this by saying I’ve been too busy, more like it’s fallen to the wayside and every time I think about it I get this little pang of guilt. Which brings me to another guiding principle which is “No one cares if you update your blog.” I mean, really. With that weight off my shoulders, it was a lot easier to update this god forsaken thing.

Okay, so maybe I’m not busy, but my mom sure as hell was. Three kids, two jobs, no husband to speak of (well, none that was any help)…you know the story. So most of the action that our stove top saw came from a box. Still, it was fun to help her put away groceries, open cartons and put together dinner. And because chopping veggies and throwing a bunch of spices and pasta into a pan would take 15 minutes of time and energy she didn’t have, we’d dump in the box of Hamburger Helper and that was that. So yeah, I was practically raised by that happy little oven mitt with a face.

Is this a good father figure?

Now, of course, I know better. That box is wasteful and full of nasty ingredients and that happy face oven mitt is actually planning on strangling you.  And of course meat is murder. But I still get a taste for the helper; the comforting aroma, the meaty bites, the chewy pasta that maybe gets a little burned on the bottom of the pan. And oh yeah, let me top that off with a velvety processed cheese food product.

My version still comes together in one pot. I use tempeh for a succulent bite and, although I usually cringe at the idea of granulated garlic and onion flakes, that’s what really gives this authenticity. Tiny quinoa shells are quick cooking thanks to their diminutive size, and a nice healthy (and gluten free!) alternative to semolina pasta, but you can use whatever kind you like (even though I just totally looked down on all other pastas.) No chopping or prepping required, just throw a handful of frozen peas in at the end to give a little green. If you’d like to quadruple this mix to have on hand, keep it refrigerated and just scoop out a heaping 1/4 cup full whenever you get the hankering.

The cheezy sauce is super simple, too, and because the whole meal is so very Rachael Ray, I gave it a silly sounding title. What I really love about the sauce is that there is no added fat, because we all love that New Farm recipe, but we don’t necessarily need a stick of margarine for dinner. If tempeh is usually too bitter for you, you can steam the tempeh for 10 minutes before proceeding. Make the sauce while the pasta is is cooking and you should have this on the table in about 30 minutes.

Tempeh Helper
Makes 4 roughly one cup servings (serves 2 if you’re super hungry)

1 tablespoon olive oil
8 oz tempeh
3 cups water
6 oz small shell pasta, or about a cup (I used quinoa pasta)
A handful frozen peas, about 1/4 cup

For the seasoning mix:
2 teaspoons onion flakes
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon mild chili powder
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoon broth powder (I used Frontier chicken-style broth)
2 teaspoons arrowroot or corn starch
1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Preheat a large skillet over medium heat. Have a lid at the ready because you’ll need to cover it at some point.

Drizzle the oil in the pan and tear the tempeh into bite sized pieces, adding them to the pan. Saute for about 5 minutes, until tempeh is lightly browned. In the meantime, mix the seasoning together in a mixing bowl.

Add a few tablespoons of water to the tempeh to deglaze the pan. Add the 3 cups of water and seasoning mix, giving a good stir to get it all mixed in. Add the pasta and cover. Bring the heat up to a boil. Once boiling, you can reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring once. Remove the lid, and cook until the sauce is reduced and thickened to your liking, usually about 3 minutes. Taste for salt.

Serve topped with Eazy Breezy Cheezy Sauce.

Eazy Breezy Cheezy Sauce
Makes 2 cups

3/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 teaspoons granulated garlic
2 teaspoons onion flakes
1/4 teaspoons salt, or to taste
1/8 ground turmeric
2 tablespoons broth powder (I used Frontier chicken-style broth)
2 cups water
1 teaspoon yellow mustard

Add nutritional yeast, flour, garlic, onion flakes, salt, turmeric and broth powder to a bowl and mix together. Add 2 cups water and use a fork to mix and beat out any big lumps. Once relatively smooth, pour into a 2 quart sauce pot. Turn heat up to medium high and stir often for about 5 minutes. Once boiling, bring it down to a slow boil. It should start bubbling and thickening. Cook for another 5 minutes, stirring almost constantly, until it has a thick, smooth melted cheese consistency.

Mix in mustard and taste for salt. Serve hot or warm.

I always say that I’m not a raw person but that isn’t exactly true. When I’m in SF I’m practically tethered to Cafe Gratitude and one of the best meals I had in LA was at Cru. Brooklyn used to have a hole in the wall (almost literally) restaurant where I would enjoy soggy dehydrated pancakes. Yeah, I said soggy and enjoy in the same breath.

I think I just don’t have the patience for the preparation techniques, like dehydrating and spiral slicing. And while raw is all wonderfully healthy, I’m not positive that cooked spinach is going to kill me, despite the wacky emails I get from time to time. Luckily for us vegans, raw food is almost exclusively free of animal products and so that opens up a whole world of experimentation. I love, for example, using soaked cashews to create creaminess. In fact, many of my favorite vegan desserts have been raw. I’m just not into that vegan cheesecake, loaded with telltale, groan-worthy tofutti and confectioner’s sugar. My favorite cheesecake from Cafe Gratitude contains coconut, dates and Irish Moss. So gather your ingredients and…wait. Irish Moss?

Yeah, so I wanted to make a minimum hassle recipe that was easy enough to create from ingredients you could procure from any health food store. I scoured the internet for hints on how to go about it and I decided on my beloved soaked cashews and coconut oil. The oil is solid at room temperature so ensures that everything stays together. No special equipment needed, this cake came together in a snap. The only prep you need to do is to remember to soak the cashews in advance. Also remember that the cake will need at least 4 hours to set.

The end result was a really, really rich and creamy cake. And you’ll believe me when I say I am not rich-dessert phobic, but the cake really does serve 16. It’s got plenty of strawberry flavor and a little tang from the lime. It needed a little extra strawberry blast at the end, so I threw together a quick strawberry sauce. The crust was modified from the Cafe Gratitude desserts cookbook. I Am Pilfering. To melt your coconut oil place it in a small covered container and place that in a bowl of very hot water. Melt it right before using so that it doesn’t solidify.

Raw Strawberry Cheesecake

Serves 16

Crust
1 cup pecans
1 cup almonds
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 medjool dates, pitted and chopped

Filling
3 cups raw cashew pieces, soaked overnight (or at least 3 hours)
1/2 cup agave syrup
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (alcohol free is preferred for raw desserts)
32 oz strawberries (reserve 9 for decorating), hulled and halved - about 4 cups
3/4 cup coconut oil, melted

Raw Fluffy White Frosting Recipe
1/2 cup raw cashew pieces, soaked overnight
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons agave syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla (alcohol free is preferred for raw desserts)
1/4 cup raw coconut oil, melted

Strawberry Coulis (Coulis is a fancy word for pureed sauce)
2 cups chopped strawberries
3 tablespoons agave syrup

Lightly grease a 9 inch spring form pan with coconut oil and set aside.

To prepare the crust, pulse nuts and salt in a food processor fit with a metal blade. When nuts are fine crumbs, add the dates and pulse until the dough holds together when squeezed between your fingers. Firmly press crust into the bottom of prepared cake pan. Set aside.

To prepare the filling, pulse cashews in food processor until crumbly. Add agave, water, lime juice and vanilla and puree until very smooth, scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula to make sure you get everything. Feed the strawberries through the top of the food processor and puree until incorporated. The filling should turn a pretty pink. With the processor running, add the melted coconut oil in a steady stream.

Pour the filling into the cake pan. It will look like a smoothie and you’ll think no way it will set, but it will! Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to set. Make sure it’s level so that your cake doesn’t come out wonky. Let set for at least 4 hours.

Prepare the frosting in basically the same way as the cake. Pulse the cashews in the food processor until crumbly. Add the water, agave and vanilla and blend until smooth. With the food processor running, stream the coconut oil in through the top until combined. Pour into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Chill until set, about 2 hours.

Prepare the sauce when you’re close to serving. Just mash the strawberries up with the agave until it’s all red and syrupy.

To assemble
Release the cake from its springform prison. Use a mini scoop to place 8 mounds of icing around the perimeter of the cake and one in the center. Slice the tops off the reserved strawberries and gently smush them upside down into the frosting mounds. If you don’t have a mini scoop, just use a spoon and make them as pretty as you can, they’re gonna get smushed anyway.

To serve, place some Strawberry Coulis on the plate and serve the cake over it. Dig in!

Summer is fast approaching and that means fresh local fruit and simple baking that gets me out of the hot kitchen fast. Which reminded me, I had some peaches left over from the end of last summer still in the freezer. I know, you shouldn’t use frozen fruit that is 6 months old. But, whatever, I took a chance and they were just fine!

Muffins are my favorite way to bake something quickly using whatever I’ve got on hand. While I love those softball sized sunny-hued white flour and sugar numbers, I have a definite preference for the wholesome, healthy variety, especially for showcasing fresh fruit. These babies are made with spelt flour, providing a rustic, get-it-all-over-your-shirt crumb and a great wheaty flavor. And since we all hate overmixed, rubbery muffins, spelt flour is a great choice. It has such a low gluten content that the dangers of overmixing are diminished, making it perfect for the trepidatious baker. I also use applesauce for moisture, a lower fat content, and to keep the sugar to a minimum.

Got my mind on my muffins and my muffins on my mind

Does anyone else cool their muffins this way? Once they’re cool enough to handle, I gently give them a twist and flip them sideways to cool the rest of the way. I love that whiff of spice you get when you first lift the muffin up.

Brown Sugar Peach Muffins
Makes 12 muffins

Muffin perfection with a hint of spice, lots of juicy peaches and a sprinkle of brown sugar on top. This recipe is plenty versatile, I can see using strawberries or mango and switching the spices up to suit your fruit.

2 1/2 cups spelt flour
3/4 cup brown sugar, plus a little extra for sprinkling
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup applesauce
1 cup almond milk (or soy milk)
1 teapoon apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups chopped peaches (leave skins on or not, whichever you prefer)

Preheat oven to 375 F. Lightly grease a muffin tin.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and spices. Make a well in the center and add the applesauce, almond milk, vinegar, canola oil and vanilla. Stir with a wooden spoon until mostly combined. Add the peaches and combine until the dry ingredients are just incorporated.

Scoop batter into muffin tins, they will hold their shape a little bit if you use an ice cream scoop. The batter should almost fill the entire tin. Sprinkle one or two teaspoons of brown sugar on top of each. Bake for 28 to 32 minutes, or until a toothpick or butter knife inserted through the center comes out clean. Let cool for a few minutes in the tin then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely, or just flip them up in the tin to cool, as shown above.

I’ve had my share of assed out portobello sandwiches. Over-seasoned, soaked through with too much vinegar and soy sauce, a few jaundiced pieces of lettuce, black gunk mucking up the bread, and oh! let us charge you 12 bucks for the privilege. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Portobellos should be juicy and succulent. What we want to do is coax that luscious flavor out, not hide it with condiments.

BBQ season is here so it’s a great time to learn to grill a portobello just perfectly. You  bite through the focaccia and have that juice spill out all over your face; a little char, slightly salty, complex and earthy.

And this burger works for the “plants have feelings” set, too. Even if you hate animals and hate vegans, it’s time to give up the burgers if you want to leave a little bit of earth to your children (OK, maybe you hate children, too.) There’s just too much evidence mounting against your free-will arguments. The truth is, your burger is ruining everyone else’s day. And with something as yummy as a portobello, well, there really is no excuse! Plus, look at the nutritional differences (nutritional info from my olive oil bottle and the internet.)
Hamburger plus a teaspoon of olive oil
Calories: 250
Fat: 18.5 grams (most of it the bad kind!)
Fiber: 0
Protein: 20

Portobello plus a teaspoon olive oil (the other ingredients are negligible, but adjust as you like)
Calories: 66
Fat: 4.5 (most of it the good kind!)
Fiber: 1.5
Protein: 2.5

So the only place where the burger is winning here is the protein content which you can easily compensate for with a side of quinoa salad. Not to mention that you don’t need 20 grams of protein at every meal. Do your own research, work it out. Don’t be part of the problem, be a part of the delicious, delicious solution.

Grilled Portobello Sandwiches
Makes 4

Grilling really brings out the juicy best in these portobellos, so I use the bare minimum of ingredients to let them really flaunt their flavor. A little (cheap!) chardonnay for depth of flavor, tamari for a bit of saltiness, baslamic for a touch of zest, and garlic for, well, it’s garlic! Choose firm, light colored mushrooms with fresh, healthy looking gills that spring back when you gently rub your finger across them. Don’t remove the gills, they are loaded with flavor and texture, not to mention they soak up garlic and marinade beautifully. Gently wash your caps before marinading and you are A-ok. Skip that anemic hamburger bun and go for a bready focaccia that can stand up to the portobello juices that are bound to make you lick your fingers.

Tip: Save your portobello stems for gravy or broth.

4 portobello mushrooms, stems removed

For the marinade:
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced

For the sandwich:
4 nice sized pieces foccacia bread
A few handfuls baby arugula
Slices of sweet onion (like walla walla or vidalia)
Slices of tomato
A little vegan mayo

Place the portobellos gills up in a rimmed baking sheet.

Mix all the marinade ingredients together and spoon over the portobellos. Let marinate for at least half an hour, spooning marinade back onto the mushrooms every ten minutes or so.

Grease up your grill with olive oil and preheat over medium/high. It’s important to keep some oil nearby for brushing the grill through out the cooking process. You can use a grill brush for it, or a paper towel wadded up and grasped in your tongs. You can also use a spray bottle of oil.

Place the mushrooms gill side up on the grill. Close lid and let mushrooms cook for about 5 minutes, lifting the lid to baste shrooms with marinade every few minutes. Use tongs to turn the mushrooms 90 degrees to make cross hatched grill marks; cook for about 3 more minutes. Flip mushrooms over and cook for about 3 more minutes. Your cooking time may vary depending on the size of your portobellos and the temperature of your grill. You know the mushrooms are done when you press on the center with tongs (where the stem used to be) and it’s very soft and juicy.

Remove from heat and let rest for about 5 minutes. This lets the flavors develop a bit and the juices taste even yummier when they are just a little bit cooled down. You can use this time to slice your bread and prep the veggies.

Assemble sandwiches and sink your teeth in.