Thursday, July 23, 2009

Summer Lovin'

"...Had me a blaaast, summer lovin', happened so faaast..."

No? FINE THEN.

Anyway, I was going to make an epic post wherein I porned all of the delicious grilling I've been doing this summer, but then my camera died (possibly due to my dropping it on the sidewalk) and many a lovely photo was lost. Nevertheless, summer is the time when my grill pan and I rekindle our eternal love for each other. Grilled corn and asparagus become default side dishes and entire meals consist of a whole mess of veggies thrown on the grill pan - my favorite so far is red peppers, zucchini, portobellos, and broccoli mixed with chickpeas and smothered in pesto. Perfection, I tell you.

Grilled asparagus: one of the best things about life.

I have been thoroughly enjoying the awesomeness that is summer in Colorado. Coming from Florida, I'm not used to this season being a pleasant, enjoyable time of year. Rather, the word "summer" conjures up memories of oppressive, sweltering heat and armies of mosquitoes. Besides the beautiful weather and delicious grub, this summer has been made infinitely wonderful by a visit from my mom and an Old 97's show at the Boulder Theater (one of the best nights of my life, I must tell you. We were dead center in the front row, the set list was a perfect blend of old and new material, and I swear that Murry and I shared a moment.)

Of course, a post about summer would not be complete without a nod to the perfect way to escape the heat: vegan ice cream from Sweet Action:
Peanut butter cookies and cream. Best ever.

Friday, July 10, 2009

The Green Stuff

I've never had a problem eating my greens. Collards, kale, spinach, chard - I love them all and enjoy them often. Thanks to a friend who works for a local CSA, I've been getting lots of local produce for free lately, including an abundance of greens like spinach and kale (the latter of which is one of my favorite things in the whole wide world.) Here is some recent deliciousness:

Spinach lasagna. I kept it pretty simple with tofu ricotta, basil marinara, fresh spinach, and a sprinkle of nooch (nutritional yeast) on top. With it I served more spinach sauteed with olive oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes.

A clean-out-the-pantry hash comprised of sweet potatoes, kale, red bell pepper, onion, and frozen corn, served with herbed grits

As I was whipping up a batch of hummus and wondering what I was going to do with the last few handfuls of baby spinach in the fridge, the idea became so obvious: spinach hummus. I threw the spinach in raw and it could barely be tasted (not that I would have minded the flavor anyway) but lent tons of nutrients and color.

I also recently made gomen using collard greens, but when I make Ethiopian food the results are rarely photogenic, though delicious nonetheless.

Now that we've covered all that healthy stuff, how's about some cookies, eh?
Chocolate peanut butter and chocolate chip, sent to my dad for Father's Day.