Archives for July 2015

Cold n’ Creamy Cauliflower Soup

July 22, 2015 By Alana 1 Comment

I love cold soups in the summer! I especially love the voluptuousness of silky, creamy, cold soups. Surprisingly, however, I’m not a huge fan of actually using heavy cream to make those soups creamy. While I’m far from lactose intolerant, my stomach is not super happy with me when I drink milk or eat foods with a lot of heavy cream in them. But aside from the lactose consideration, I also actually prefer the taste of a vegan creamy soup to a dairy-laden creamy soup. I’ve found that without the heaviness of the cream, the flavors really have a chance to shine through.

This creamy cauliflower soup is no exception. When I first made this, I was genuinely shocked by how flavorful it was. I’ve always thought of cauliflower as enjoyable to a point, if a tad bland. It’s never been one of my favorite vegetables. However, after roasting and creamifying it, I began to see it in a whole new light. Cauliflower was born to star in soups like this.

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Crispy Beet Fritters with Leek Cream (Dairy-Free Option)

July 14, 2015 By Alana 2 Comments

Every once in a while, I’m in the mood to cook fancy food. I’m talking stuffed foods, rolled foods, and fritters! While my cooking style is generally ethnic, simple, and hearty, occasionally I like to pretend my house is a pricey farm to table establishment. I have a blast whipping up fancy sauces, experimenting with unusual garnishes, and plating the finished product. It was during one of these fancy food cooking sprees that these crispy beet fritters with leek cream were born, and while they may look and sound hoity-toity, they are actually quite delicious and pretty simple to prepare!

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Roasted Tomatillo Salsa (And a Salute to “The Taco”)

July 7, 2015 By Alana Leave a Comment

Is it just me or is this summer going by ridiculously quickly? I feel like I’m constantly struggling to keep up with all the wonderfully delicious fresh produce in season right now! And I’m fortunate enough to work RIGHT by the Union Square Greenmarket, a huge NY farmer’s market that constantly reminds me I better get to the kitchen, stat.

In my opinion, one of the best summer meals (and I may be influenced here by my Mexican-food obsessed fiancé) is THE TACO. Yes, the article there is deliberate – in our household, tacos deserve the same amount of reverence and respect as The Macaron or The Rack of Lamb. (Although lamb doesn’t actually get any respect since we don’t eat meat.) But anyway, why is The Taco a perfect summer meal? For starters, you can pretty much make anything into a taco, so it’s a fantastic vessel for keeping up with all the delicious produce that keeps appearing in the summertime. Secondly, there’s not that much cooking involved – you may have to quickly sauté some veggies and heat up your tortillas, but you won’t have the stove/oven on for too long – a definite blessing in the summertime. Thirdly, you get to make your own salsa, which in my opinion is what makes a taco into The Taco.

While homemade salsa in all forms is absolutely delicious, I have always been partial to tomatillo salsa. I love the tangy, pungent, citrusy flavor of The Tomatillo. Okay, sorry – I’m overusing the article trick now :p But seriously, if you haven’t tried tomatillos, you must! They are related to tomatoes, and are used quite often in Mexican cooking. You may have heard them referred to as “husk tomatoes,” since they grow inside a husk – this must be removed before you use them. After removing the husk (and any stems that you see), you’ll also need to quickly rinse the tomatillos, since they will feel slightly sticky. But once husked and rinsed, they are ready to go! You can roast, sauté, eat ’em raw, whatever strikes your fancy! While some recipes call for seeding tomatoes, you will NEVER have to seed a tomatillo – just another of their many benefits.

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