Summer Eating (& Entertaining Vegans II)

Me in a surprisingly non-disastrous-looking kitchen

Last night we had the Wonders (the entertaining vegans!) over for dinner again. Bradley, who is better at blogging than I am, has already posted about it here. I was quite pleased with how dinner turned out: lemony hummus with crudités (dragon carrots, cherry tomatoes, and cucumbers from our garden!--and some celery) and Holy Land olives to start, and then herby sweet corn arepas Minnow-style* with a few tiny chioggia beets from our garden. The Wonders brought over an amazing raw cobbler (recipe linked at Bradley's blog) and some nice wine to round it all out. Sadly, the only photographic documentation of the event is a picture David snapped  as I was still cooking!

Here are a few things I did manage to photograph before eating--some of the other garden- and CSA-inspired meals we've been enjoying this summer:

One of my favorite summer sandwiches: whole grain bagel topped with Neufchatel cheese, garden lettuce, cucumbers (not from our garden yet, at that point), and Vegetable Delight seasoning.

Shortcake with CSA strawberries and biscuits from scratch.**

Corn on the cob with pizza buns (toasted English muffins, homemade sauce, and pearl mozzarella, browned under the broiler and then topped with garden basil)

Roasted vegetables inspired by a kohlrabi in our CSA box: kohlrabi, onion, potatoes, dragon carrots, cherry tomatoes, and fresh corn, tossed with olive oil and garlic and topped with Maldon flaked sea salt. Served with salads of CSA greens and CSA garden peas (and a wedge of aged gouda!).

Corn on the cob with spicy kidney bean burgers and a basil/garlic/yogurt dip. I'd link to the burger recipe, but I didn't really follow it. Beans, oats, almonds, a couple of CSA eggs, seasonings... I was working with what I had in the cupboards!

Brunch this morning: a scramble with CSA eggs; Neufchatel cheese; and garden basil, cherry tomatoes, chives, and green onion.

It's been pretty hot and humid around here recently, so I haven't been doing quite as much cooking as I might like to--but it'll be cold again soon enough, so I can't complain too much. And in the meantime, the delicious produce keeps flowing! Our garden is a bit of a jungle recently, though slightly less so since we chopped down the massive, bolted cilantro and the surprise sunflower (I planted a "butterfly mix" in one of our square feet, and it grew some really tall flowers!) that had been shading the smaller plants. The tomatoes, though, are starting to riot!

*I used this arepas recipe, using soy milk, omitting the cheese, and substituting EVOO and some seasonings for the margarine. I topped them with Boca's vegan sausage crumbled, sauteed red bell peppers, and a drizzle of balsamic reduction. The Minnow includes spinach, and I'd hoped to serve ours with garden greens on the side, but they've gotten bitter with the heat (and neglect).

**The "from scratch" recipe on this page is amazing, and almost as easy as Bisquick biscuits (which are surprisingly disappointing after eating these!). I cut the recipe into thirds and bake two large biscuits, using soy milk and grating in frozen butter (my mom's trick!) instead of messing with a pastry cutter (which I don't have). I also don't bother sifting or mixing the milk and vanilla separately.

Crema

A few weeks ago, David and a friend and I biked to a cafe about a mile and a half from our house, called Crema. We had brunch on their uber-charming patio, and then, because it was so irresistible, we had some homemade ice cream from their impressive display. Since then, David and I have been back there twice for frozen treats.

Tonight, we stopped in after dinner at the Minnow. We shared a triple scoop(!): strawberry basil sorbet, topped, at the scooper's recommendation, with banana ice cream and pineapple mango basil sorbet. It was amazing. I'm not a huge banana fan, but the ice cream tasted like banana bread batter smells--buttery and creamy and delicious. The pineapple mango chaser had just the right amount of fruity tang--plus the clean, herby hint of basil.

"This place is as good as the Patisserie!" I gushed.
"It's better," David said.
"Better?" I asked.
"It's not in Walla Walla!"

When I recovered from laughing, I said, "I would blog that--but half the people who read my blog live in Walla Walla!"

David didn't care, and here I've gone and blogged it. Walla Walla people, I love you! I love your patisserie! And when you come visit me here in Mpls, I'll take you to Crema and you can judge its wonders for yourself!

Brrrruno!

Last Saturday our downstairs neighbors brought home a puppy! He is a tiny beagle, just seven weeks old, and his name is Bruno (with a properly Spanish rolled R). He is adorable, and although he has a tendency to try to chew anything he comes in contact with, including my fingers, I'm pretty smitten. Here are two videos David shot on his phone.