Avocado Chocolate-Coffee Mousse
The trials and tribulations of ripening a perfect avocado in the desert. The struggle is real. One minute it’s almost ready and an hour later it’s overripe. The trick is to be so hyper aware that you look like you’re waiting for an egg to hatch. I love avocados and I eat them a couple of times a week. In my world they go with everything. For 26 years, I was able to get them from local farmers in California or pick them from a neighbors tree. On occasion a friend would call and beg me to take them off their hands. A mature avocado tree can produce up to…
Sweet Potato “Bacon” Fritters
Back in the 80’s Marie and I would go downtown every Saturday for brunch at Elephant and Castle in SoHo, NYC. Whether we were roomies or we lived on opposite ends of Manhattan, this was our go to brunch spot. On the menu they had sweet potato bacon fritters that were served with warm maple syrup. They were so good that no matter what else we chose to eat, we had to get at least one serving to share. In this recipe I chose one Garnet and one Purple sweet potato. I love the flavors and color, the flesh is bright, moist and sweet. More importantly, they tend to be…
Rosemary Olive Oil Crackers
If you’ve been reading the blurbs that accompany our recipes you know by now how much we dislike flax seed in everything. It drives us crazy that a lot of raw/vegan crackers and bread bases rely on something that leaves such a weird aftertaste. Starting innocently enough, I was dehydrating thin slices of plantains for chips when it became apparent, they were way too dry to be enjoyable. Instead of throwing out two trays full of plantains, I pulverized them into flour. I had never used plantain flour before but it’s very popular in Caribbean cooking, so that was going to be my plan. At this point I had already…
Not Your Mothers Pop Tarts
I was hardly ever allowed to have pop tarts as a girl. That was the one food arena where, all of a sudden, my mother drew the line. And it’s not because of all the icing and sprinkles on what was supposed to be a breakfast treat. Because she was all about coffee cake and strudel and cinnamon buns – as long as she made them. And she was. literally, baking round the clock. Homemade was healthiest as far as she was concerned. Even if it was filled with sugar, you couldn’t convince her otherwise. I was a ‘growing girl’ in desperate need of ‘sustenance’ and it was her mission…
Lime Corn Chips
With all the corn being harvested all over the place around now, it seemed like the perfect time to make corn chips. Frankly, it’s hard to make enough of them. Raw corn chips, done right, taste so much more ‘corny’ than the kind you might have once bought at the grocery store that, no matter how natural they may have been, always seemed to have a bunch of other ingredients filling in where corn is supposed to be. Frito-lay just isn’t even in the same arena as these. And just think of all the decadent snacks that can evolve out of just a handful of chips. Soak and sprout some…
Tempura Battered “BLT”
There is a restaurant down the road apiece that makes a delicious fried green tomato BLT. But since we aren’t cooking, eating anything fried and maintaining a vegan diet, the original is out. Well let me introduce you to our version. As a kid I would have a BLT all the time. My mom considered them a healthy lunch. It’s funny to think that now, but back then if something had a vegetable in it, it was good for you. Even if those vegetables consisted of iceberg lettuce and a tomato (I know, I know). I love tomatoes. I think it’s my favorite vegetable (fruit) and I put them in…
Blueberry Lavender Ice Cream
We had our fair share of ice pops this summer but somehow never ventured into ice cream territory. We certainly talked about it enough. Countless nights were spent with the four kids discussing what kind of ice cream everyone thought would be good to make. But there was never any kind of consensus so I figured, rather than encourage more argument – because we had something verging on Ice Cream Wars here -I’d put the whole thing to rest by making nothing. Serves them right. Only problem is, I wanted ice cream, too. And I was just as specific as everyone else. I wanted lavender ice cream. All this dispute…
Portobello Corn Tamales with Cacao Mole Sauce
Years ago when I ran a real Bed and Breakfast – and not a bunch of Airbnbs where nary a breakfast has been served by yours truly – I used to make a lot of tamales. Making tamales in bulk was like a party at my house with my daughter, my best friend and Alma – who was the woman who kept everything tidy around here for many years – in attendance. Maybe not enough people to constitute a party. But add some refreshments and some music and things could get pretty lively around the masa! Especially with Alma. She was not the person to ask, “How’s it going?” Because…
Two Tomato Tartare with Green Relish
Tomatoes may be one of the most commonly used fruits in the world. I certainly have no problem listing the multitude of meals that include them… If this were a game, I could go on indefinitely. And, on top of it, there’s ketchup – pretty high on the list of favorite condiments (although I think it’s been surpassed by salsa in recent years). However there’s not a much more elegantly uncommon yet satisfying dish than this beautiful tomato tartare sitting in its private pool of basil pesto. It’s almost too pretty to eat. But seriously, you’ve just got to break down and dig in. It’s like sand art; impermanence and…
Decadent Creamy Fruit Tarts
Back when I (and the rest of the world) went to a lot of parties, I always brought desserts. Some of the most popular were my decadent and creamy fruit tarts. Another throw back to my NYC Italian roots, the custard cream with bright fresh fruit tarts were always a favorite. I don’t think there is an Italian bakery in NYC that doesn’t proudly display their fruit tarts. A favorite of my family’s was Venerios Bakery on East 11th Street. On holidays, the line would be wrapped around the block with patrons and cars packing the tiny street. And for 3 generations, every family member has stood in rain, sleet,…
