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.

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.

And now for something completely different; a totally unseasonal dessert that is not particularity quick or easy to make.

Don’t worry – this is a vegan Pina Colada Ice “Cream” and I’ll provide a hint on how to make the recipe quite a bit easier.

Sort of like Christmas-in-July, the sisters and I experienced some summer-in-February during a visit to our dad’s in Florida this weekend. Whilst lolling about in the 72 degree sunshine, The Li’l Sis and I got to reminiscing about tropical drinks, speaking in great detail about a particular Pina Colada she had on Roatan, an island off of Honduras.

She said that “there was a rickety stand on the beach where an old lady made amazing Pina Coladas with only a regular kitchen blender, coconuts, pineapples, and some rum.” I was a bit skeptical, thinking that there had to be more to it than that. The only thing The Li’l Sis couldn’t figure out was how the Pina Colada lady got the extension cord for the blender to run the whole way out to the beach.

Following our estimation of the beach lady’s technique, we created a Pina Colada mix that was too textured for a smooth summer drink but upon freezing made an excellent and satisfying vegan ice “cream.”

Here’s what you do:

Gathering the following:

a whole, shell-on coconut.* you’ll use 2/3 of it
1 fresh pineapple
some of your favorite rum (you can sub pineapple or orange juice)
1/2 lime
a little salt
honey, optional

Take your cute little coconut and, with a hammer and nail, pound a couple of holes in its indentations. Drain and reserve the liquid that comes out.
Now smash the heck out the coconut. This is much more fun when done outside in one’s bathing suit with sunglasses as protective eyewear.
Pry the coconut meat out of the shell with a flathead screwdriver or similar. Keep doing this until you’ve hurt yourself and have to stop OR until you’ve gotten 2/3 of the meat out of the shell.
Now for the REALLY tedious part: using a paring knife, remove the last of the brown skin from the outside of the coconut meat. You want your coconut to blend up the color of a white sand Caribbean beach, not look all brown and junky like Rockaway.
Put your coconut meat in a blender and whip it up as much as possible, using the reserved coconut juice as liquid to facilitate the blending.
*you can totally skip this whole step and use a can of coconut cream instead

Now, take your pineapple and whack off the frilly top. Same to the bottom, minus the frilly. Sheering down the sides with your knife, slice off all the skin. Cut the naked pineapple in half lengthwise and then in half again so you have 4 long thin pieces. Core the pineapple by cutting away the “V” portion of each of the 4 pieces. Then dice up the pineapple.

Add the diced pineapple and a good cup of rum or juice to the blender, along with the lime and salt. You can add some honey if your pineapple isn’t particularly ripe or if you like things sweet.
Blend it all up.

Pour into a container and let freeze. It will be easier to scoop out if you stir the slush a few times during the freezing process but just letting it freeze and then unthaw for 10 minutes before you eat it works too.

Serve with blackberries and sunblock.

Hello everyone… I need a new camera and I’d love some advice. I’ve talked with pretty much anyone associated with photography, anyone I’ve seen with a camera, and gosh, anyone with eyes to wheedle advice on what kind of camera to get. This blogging thing has made me realize how much I LOVE taking pictures of small edible objects and I need to ameliorate feeding my hunger with a new set of dentures, or something metaphorical like that… I need a new camera!

Digital
$200 - $300
Good macro setting
Good action shots a plus (like Muybridge’s horses, I’m still trying to document that I run with both feet off the ground at some moments)

So here’s your small edible object of the day: roasted tomatoes. Simple. Yum. Yeah, I do like this photo, but it could be a lot nicer with a snappy new camera.

Thanks to Dad, a relatively new vegan and old vanesscipes fan, purchaser of my first digital camera, and partial financier of my second!

Serves: 3-4 as a side dish. They’re easy so double the recipe and toss them in whatever.
Time: 25 minutes – 2 hours

Roasted Tomatoes

12 medium-sized nice ripe tomatoes
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
dried herbs of your choice (thyme, basil, etc.)
salt and pepper

Oil a baking sheet lightly and preheat broiler. Half the tomatoes, lay them on the baking sheet cut side up, brush with olive oil and vinegar. Sprinkle with fresh herbs, salt and pepper.

Pop in the broiler for 20 minutes or until brown on top. Transfer to a 400 degree oven and keep baking until they reach your desired state of dryness.