Clean Food, Recipe 12- Fresh Fruit Tart with Almond Crust

Yet another delicious, but clean dessert from Terry Walters.  I made this dessert last weekend for a family gathering.  It was super easy to put together, yet elegant enough to bring to a dinner party.  To start you make the wonderful crust.  This is done by starting with some almonds in a food processor and processing them until coarsely chopped.  Next goes in some oats, oat bran, and sea salt.  This gets pulsed together until a coarse meal forms and then you add in some maple syrup, canola oil, and almond extract until a dough forms.  This yummy mixture gets patted down in a 9-inch tart pan and baked in a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes.  Once the shell cools you fill it with the most wonderful summer fruits- kiwi, peaches, and fresh seasonal berries.  The assembly was my favorite part- you can go nuts with the design and make it really pretty and elegant.  I used blueberries and strawberries along with the peaches and kiwi.  To finish off the tart you make an interesting glaze concoction on the stove top.  It consists of apple juice, fruit nectar (I used apricot nectar), maple syrup, agar powder (this is found in health food stores and acts like gelatin), arrowroot, and vanilla extract.  Once this mixture is thickened and cooled slightly you brush it over the fruit and then the tart chills for at least an hour before serving.  This whole thing came together in about an hour (not including the chilling time at the end).  It was so easy and actually fun to make- I felt so artistic making such an elegant and beautiful dessert.  I wasn't convinced I would like it though, I've never used agar before and I wasn't sure the tart crust would be up to my standards.  Boy was I ever wrong!  The tart crust was AMAZING- crunchy, nutty, and flavorful and it was a perfect compliment to the fresh fruit.  It gelled perfectly and looked gorgeous.  I absolutely adore this tart- it was love at first bite and with absolutely NO guilt!  Most tart shells are filled with butter and confectioners' sugar, which almost negates the goodness of the fruit, but not so here.  Nothing but wholesome goodness and this is a favorite now in my household- thanks Terry for such a fantastic clean take on an old classic!  LOVE IT!

My rating- 10!

PS- I had to make this gluten free since my brothers' girlfriends' Mom cannot eat gluten.  To do that I just simply used oats that are certified gluten free and I omitted the oat bran- it turned out perfectly!

The Kind Diet, Recipe 26- Peach Crumble

So last week I was given a HUGE bag of fresh peaches from my local farm CSA and I've been doing all sorts of things to use these up this week.  I still had a few left over today and decided to use them up in this recipe.  I've been waiting for peach season just so I could make this recipe, so I was really excited to try it out.  To start you simply combine fresh peach slices and some fresh blueberries in a baking pan.  Then you make a filling mixture on the stove top.  This starts by heating up some apple juice.  While that heats you mix some kuzu starch into a little more apple juice until it dissolves.  (Kuzu is basically used in place of corn starch in this recipe, so you treat it the same way.)  The kuzu mixture along with some lemon juice gets mixed into the hot apple juice and you bring this to a boil.  Let it simmer 2 minutes, then take it off heat and add in a pinch of sea salt and some vanilla.  Pour this over the fresh fruit and you are ready to move on to the best part- the crumble!  I really like the technique in this part.  You actually start off by toasting the oats, spelt/barley/or brown rice flour, sea salt, and cinnamon together in a skillet.  You do this until it's fragrant, about 5 minutes.  Meanwhile, you heat up some safflower oil, maple syrup, and brown rice syrup in another pan.  (The recipe calls for 3/4 cup brown rice syrup and 1/4 cup maple syrup.  I only had maple syrup on hand and didn't feel like going across town to get brown rice syrup, so I used 3/4 cup maple syrup in this recipe today.)  Once the oat mixture is toasted you add in the maple syrup mixture and mix them together.  Add 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts and you are ready to top the crumble and get it in the oven.  It bakes covered (at 350 degrees) for the first 30 minutes, and then uncovered for another 15 or so.  The end result is very pretty and very yummy.  This recipe has a THICK layer of crumble and I love that about it.  I also like the combination of peaches and blueberries- it breaks up the monotony a little.  The topping wasn't quite as crunchy as I hoped for, but it's really, really good (literally HALF the thickness of the dish!) and I know that I'll be making this every summer when peach season rolls around.  I just served this simply with a bit of soy whip on top- so pretty!  Another dessert from Alicia that I really like- this girl knows her desserts, they do not disappoint!

My rating- 9

The Kind Diet, Recipe 25- My Favorite Cupcakes

These little beauties were my splurge recipe last week.  I don't make cupcakes often because I simply find them hard to resist, and these were no different from any non-vegan cupcake I've made.  They are as easy as any cupcake recipe to whip up and they are SO worth it- you must give them a try!  To start you curdle some hemp milk with a little bit of apple cider vinegar.  Once it curdles and bubbles a bit you add in agave nectar, safflower oil, and vanilla.  In another bowl you mix the dry ingredients- whole wheat pastry flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt.  Mix the wet into the dry and you're ready to make cupcakes!  (This recipe makes 12.)  My favorite part again is licking the bowl once I get the cupcakes in the oven- no eggs, no worries!  Once the cupcakes are done you cool them on a baking rack to room temperature (the cupcakes only need about 20 minutes in a 325 degree oven).  When they are cool you can make the frosting (the best part, in my opinion!).  This frosting is rich and fudgy- it is intensely chocolatey and I love it!  It's so simple too- just cream together some earth balance butter and some agave nectar with an electric mixture to begin.  Then goes in some vanilla and cocoa powder (I used dark chocolate cocoa powder- it added SO much chocolate flavor!).  Once these are all mixed well and the frosting is smooth you add in some soy milk powder. This gets whipped until fluffy and then you are ready to frost some yummy cupcakes!  These are simply delicious- my kids and my hubby gobbled them up and would never know they are vegan.  This recipe would be great for a party where you have vegans and non-vegans alike (they would be great for a kid party too!)- everyone will love these, they are a crowd-pleaser.  For an even MORE decadent dessert, serve these with some non-dairy ice cream!  WOWZA!  Alicia did it again with another wonderful dessert- thanks Alicia, I LOVE these!!!

My rating- 9.5

Clean Food, Recipe 11- Green Beans and Sweet Corn with Summer Vinaigrette

This summer has been my first summer that I have been a member of a CSA (community supported agriculture- see below to find a CSA near you!) and I am just absolutely loving it.  Every week I get unbelievably fresh ingredients that inspire me to find ways to use them up.  All my cooking lately is 100% seasonal ingredients and I just love cooking and living this way.  Last week I was inspired by the green beans, cherry tomatoes, and sweet corn from my local CSA.  I found this recipe and I knew that this was what I HAD to make!  It's incredibly easy and really yummy.  To start you steam the corn for about 5 minutes until tender.  While the corn cools you drop about 2 pounds of green beans into the steamer and steam those for 3 minutes.  When the corn is cool you scrape the kernels off the cob.  Then you toss the green beans, corn, and halved cherry tomatoes together in a big bowl.  Make a speedy vinaigrette that consists of olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, lemon thyme, lemon juice, sea salt, and black pepper.  Pour this over the veggies, toss and serve.  How simple is that?  This is a great usage of fresh, seasonal ingredients and it's a really refreshing salad.  A departure from plain old greens, that's for sure.  My favorite part of this recipe is the contrast between the sweet bursts of corn and the acidity from the vinegar and lemon- it's so good!  My advice though would be to make this salad a day ahead- the leftovers taste even better!  The veggies really marinate and soak up that vinaigrette, making them so flavorful, but they still stay nice and crispy.  It's the perfect balance!

My rating- 8 (it's not higher solely because I am not a huge fan of green beans, but an 8 for a recipe with green beans is really good for me!)

Link to find great farms and CSA's near you-    www.localharvest.org

Clean Food, Recipe 10- Grilled Cipollini Onions

I've got some catching up to do!  I've been cooking away these last couple of weeks, but just haven't had the time to sit down and write my reviews!  I made these grilled onions last week as a side dish to some stuffed zucchini.  These are so incredibly easy to make and they are sweet and salty and delicious.  All you do is throw the whole cipollini onions on the grill- skins and all.  (I skewered them first- this ensured they wouldn't fall through the grill grates and it was much easier to flip them etc...)  Grill until charred on both sides, about 3-4 minutes per side.  Set them aside until cool enough to handle and then you simply squeeze off the charred outer skin and the inside will just pop out.  It will be sweet, tender, and succulent.  These get tossed very simply with some olive oil, sea salt, lemon zest, and lemon juice.  What a simple side dish- it's elegant and delicious too!  I love simple food and this is the epitome of that.  So simple and easy and yet SO yummy.  Loved it!

My rating- 9