Fresh at the farmer’s market this week are beautiful root veggies, gorgeous greens, and addictive sugar snap peas. They’re all at the height of their yumminess right now and I just want to pile them in a big bowl and gobble them up. Which is basically what this recipe is about.

Turnips, depending on who you ask, range from underappreciated to just plain scorned. But this time of year they are sweet, mellow, and still possess a hearty potato-like quality that should put them firmly in the “adored” category.

This dish is a Summery Cornucopia of Fun - a mix of crunchy, leafy, and starchy vegetables. Don’t leave out the chard - the stems give the salad a nice crunch and a beautiful magenta color. If your turnips have the greens still attached, chop those up too and sauté them with chard. And if you’re not down with hardboiled eggs you could use  tofu strips or garbanzo beans instead.

To give some credit where credit is due, this salad is inspired by a warm potato salad recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks- Peter Berley’s Fresh Foods Fast. The book focuses on full vegetarian menus, not just separate dishes, and the menus are categorized by season. So basically, you flip to the section of the current season and start going “I want to make this, and this, and this…” and it’s all laid out with helpful menu planning tips and mouthwatering photos. Some of the dishes are fancy, some of them homey, but all of them are well within the range of do-ability for an upstart vegetarian enthusiast. I wish the book was three times as thick.

serves: 3 - 4
time: 45 minutes

Warm Roasted Turnip and Sugar Snap Pea Salad

bunch of turnips (8 - 12), cut into wedges
bunch of small red onions (6 small, 3 large), cut into wedges
4 free-range eggs
1 bunch of red or rainbow chard including some stem, chopped
2 pints of sugar snap peas, ends snapped and string removed
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp flavored vinegar (I used tarragon vinegar)
1 Tbsp grainy mustard
salt and pepper

Bring a pot of water to boil and turn on the broiler.

Pile the turnips and onions on a baking sheet, coat with olive oil and broil until the turnips are spotty golden brown -about 15 minutes- turning every few minutes.

When the water is boiling, add the eggs and cook for 11 minutes on a low boil. Put the eggs in cold water to cool. Peel and cut into wedges.

Saute the chard for a few minutes until wilted.

Using the hot water from the eggs, blanch the peas for about 2 minutes. Submerge in cold water to cool to stop the cooking process.

Mix up the olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, mustard and salt and pepper. Add the turnips, onions, chard, snap peas, and egg wedges to a large bowl, pour the dressing over and mix. Serve warm, or chilled is nice too.

Here’s some photos of my latest collaborative food event, this time working with Shan Raoufi, bohemian hottie and founder of $20 Toothpick.

The concept is simple: much like the way Bruce Wayne’s basement is the Batcave, Shan transforms his humble Brooklyn apartment into a restaurant. I think his bed morphed into a dinner table for 6, but I can’t say for sure because my back was turned.
Guests port their own potables,
We serve a four course vegan feast.
There’s no charge for the food but the (mandatory) toothpick brought out at the end costs $20.
Catchy, no?

Shan and I had a drag-out fight about first course. He was set on having beets star in the taquitos filling; I thought he was crazy. We arm-wrestled for Top Chef and I humbly report that these taquitos were beautiful, hell-yeah tasty, and probably the most popular course. It’s the beets.

The Chilled Spicy Melon Soup (recipe here) was the second course. Very colorful and cold, it was a good choice for steamy evening.
To be fair, some folks aren’t that fond savory fruit dishes or even cold soups for that matter, but for more adventurous types it’s a hit.

The main course was inspired by the cookbook The Artful Vegan. Huitlachoche is known as “Mexican Corn Truffle” to some, “Corn Smut” to others. In any case, it’s a mushroomy delicacy that flavors this tamale-like dish. Shan and I agreed that the combination of the rich mole sauce, the kicky carrot sauce, and the risqué sounding corn whatever-it-is made this dish just sexy enough to star as the main course.

I heard afterward from some non-vegan guests how surprised they were about the “meatiness” and heartiness of this dish, attesting that Shan and I accomplished what we set out to do: serve a fantastic, life-affirming meal that just so happened to be vegan.

My favorite discovery this past week is this amazing vegan spice cookie recipe from Kaji’s Mom. I’m not much of a baker, but she sure is! The cookies are soft, fat, and spicy (I probably doubled the cinnamon and ginger.)
We sandwiched some store-bought soy ice cream in between the cookies and French-served a pour of a hot strawberry-rhubarb-acai sauce over the top. Mmmmm!

Thanks to everyone who attended, and for all those on our waiting list (we were overbooked) for next time. I promise there will be one.

Also thanks to my (now official?) photographer Andrew Strasser and my delightful Brooklyn-virgin colleague Poundcake for taking all the pics you see on this post.

more photos on my Flickr page

If you live in or around NYC and would like to be on my mailing list for upcoming veg’n events, please send me an email at vanesscipes@gmail.com

My sister/roommate, known here as the Sistaster, has a deadly snack-weapon she likes to use to lure me into ruining my dinner. It goes by the delightful-in-a-kindergarden-way name of Puppy Chow… because it looks a little like puppy food, I guess. It’s also known as “Muddy Buddies” (the chocolate looks like mud?) or “White Trash” (because it’s inexpensive? because you can use a trash bag to mix it? because of the white powder?)

Basically, it’s Chex Cereal coated with melted peanut butter and chocolate and covered, to prevent stickiness, with powdered sugar. Like I said, deadly.

Inspired by a post from fellow NYC blogger Lisa of Homesick Texan, I thought I could class-up the classic Puppy Chow with ancho chili, almond butter, and the piece de resistance - Fritos (!) As Lisa eyeopeningly pointed out: “when you eat Fritos, you can pretend they’re good for you, as the ingredients are just corn, oil and salt—nothing artificial about these babies, they’re practically a whole food.” I love this train of thought, but once you’ve got them coated in chocolate and spicy powdered sugar you won’t be able to fool yourself any more.

This sweet, salty and spicy combination is addicting for some (myself included) but others think it’s downright weird. If you like a snack with a little bit of an edge, please try it out and let me know what you think.

Time: 15 minutes
Serves: 1 - 20

Spicy Choco-Frito Chow

(2) 10oz bags of original Fritos
1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup almond butter
1.5 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
4 tsp ancho chili powder

Melt the chocolate chips and almond butter together in a small saucepan over low heat. In a large bowl or 2 gallon ziplock bag pour the melted chocolate over the Fritos and toss to coat evenly.

Mix the confectioners’ sugar, cinnamon, and ancho chili together in a separate bowl. Coat the chocolately Fritos in the sugar mix. Let dry, and serve in a really big bowl.

I know that you’re thinking:
1) another pink meal?
2) grapefruit and … wasabi?

Since this is my blog, I’ve got the home court advantage and intend nip your skepticism before it even begins to pretend to bud.

So, 1) Yes, pink. Isn’t pink was new black? And even if it isn’t who’s eating black food anyway? Pink is the color of Love and “in the pink” means healthy so it’s the perfect color for a refreshing spring meal in the season of twitterpation and rejuvenation.

And then 2). Why yes, grapefruit and wasabi: tart and juicy and sweet and spicy. Check out this tasty-looking Spicy Grapefruit Coleslaw from SusanV of FatFree Vegan if you don’t believe me but really! - the wasabi and almond butter combine in a complex and unctuous sauce that makes this dish a jaunty country cousin of the traditional Pad Thai. The crisp green beans and succulent pink grapefruit segments counterpoint the rich noodles, creating a dish full of love and health.

Time: 40 minutes
Serves: 4

Wasabi Noodles with Grapefruit

4 servings of thick Asian-style noodles, fettuccini, or linguine. I used whole wheat linguine
4 handfuls of green beans, ends snapped, cut into 2″ pieces
2 grapefruits, supremed*
16oz block of extra firm tofu, cut into 1/4 inch dice

2 tsp wasabi paste, more or less to your taste
2 - 3 Tbsp almond butter
reserved grapefruit juice
salt to taste

sesame oil
black sesame seeds
fresh basil or mint, chiffonaded (is that a word?)

(more…)

I’ve always been a little afraid of blenders. It probably started with that scene from Goonies where the Fratellis threatened to puree Chuck’s hand in a blender. *Shutter.*

I also had a childhood mishap whilst making watermelon sorbet. After I had blended up my watermelon and measured out my sugar, instead of lifting the blender jar fully out of the base I somehow twisted off the bottom of the jar (surely a blender should have enough structural integrity to withstand a 10-year-old?) and pink slush flowed from the bottom of the container in waves and waves all over the countertop and floor. That, as you might imagine, put a stop to my career in sorbet-making and became instead an excellent exercise in floor-mopping.

Anyway, here I am, forever optimistic and instructing you all to drag out your Hamilton Beach and get to blending. This recipe makes TWO colorful, elegant, and understated soups. From there, the serving possibilities are endless. You can swirl them together in a bowl, like I did below, or serve small portions of each in individual shot glasses or martini glasses. This way guests can really appreciate the differences between the two melons. Please be prudent in your blender use; don’t stick your spoon in the moving blades and, as always, don’t threaten to stick anyone’s hand in here.

This soup would make an excellent first course on a hot day, with anything barbequed, or with a substantial salad like this Corn and Cabbage Quinoa Salad.

Serves: 4 - 6
Time: 30 minutes plus 2 hours chilling time

Chilled Spicy Melon Soup

3 teaspoons minced ginger, divided
1 clove garlic, minced
1 to 2 small jalapeno peppers, minced
1/4 watermelon, deseeded and cut into chunks
1 cantaloupe, deseeded and cut into chunks
juice of 3 limes
2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp avocado oil (or olive oil)
Mint sprigs, for garnish

Finely chop the ginger, garlic, and jalapeno and set aside in little piles.

Put watermelon in a blender with the juice of 1 1/2 limes and puree until smooth.

To the blender add 1 tsp of ginger, 1/2 tsp of garlic, 1 1/2 tsp of jalapeno, 1 tsp of salt, and 1 Tbsp of avocado oil. Blend again and adjust the seasonings to your taste. Pour the soup into a pitcher and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

Repeat the process with the cantaloupe and same amount of seasonings.

You can skim off the foam or push through a sieve for a perfectionistly clearer texture. Top with a sprig of mint, if desired.