Summer in Maine has ended but the market produce is still bountiful. And with it Toni makes a simple and delicious Cabbage side dish.
Watch Stewed Cabbage with Tomatoes

Why not check out your own local farmers market this weekend.

Serves 4-6

Inspired by the $5 “grab bags” of vegetables sold by one of the vendors at our local farmer’s market, this variety of late season vegetables combined with woodsy Cremini mushrooms is equally scrumptious for lunch or dinner served alongside tofu “steaks” or a veggie burger, or simply spooned over whole wheat pasta or brown rice.

Ingredients:
2 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 large red onion, chopped into 1/2” dice
3 large cloves fresh garlic, chopped
1 1/2 t. coarse Kosher salt
3 carrots, chopped into 1/2” dice
1 medium yellow summer squash, sliced down the middle, then cut into 1/4” half-rounds
2-3 small to medium-sized potatoes, chopped into 1/2” dice
1 pint cherry tomatoes, any variety, rinsed, whole
1 cube Organic Gourmet bouillion dissolved in 1/4 cup hot water
8 oz. Cremini mushrooms, wiped clean, sliced into halves
Handful of fresh sage, basil, and parsley, coarsely chopped
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Hot pepper flakes, to taste

To prepare:
Heat a wide skillet over medium heat and add olive oil, followed by chopped onion and garlic and a half teaspoon of salt. Stir and cook for about 5 minutes, being careful not to scorch garlic, until onion is just beginning to be translucent. Add chopped carrots and squash to the pan and continue to toss and cook for an additional 5-7 minutes, until vegetables are beginning to soften. Now put potatoes and whole tomatoes into the pan and stir to combine the vegetables – add the dissolved bouillion.

When the mixture begins to simmer, add the mushrooms and chopped fresh herbs, lower the heat, and cover the pan tightly. Allow the mixture to cook for 10-15 minutes more, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes and other vegetables are tender, but not mushy. When everything is cooked through, season the mixture with the remaining salt, the black pepper, and the pepper flakes. Taste and correct seasonings as needed.

Oh so many years ago when we first became vegetarians, in order to get a decent, tasty vegan pizza, you had to make it yourself. While it’s still a wonderful thing to DIY – check out Toni’s amazing Potato Sage Pizza – it’s also nice to know that from Boston to Seattle and in a growing number of cities in between, you can find pizza parlors who have mastered the fine art of vegan pizza making.

T.J. Scallywaggles – Boston, MA
Pizza Plaza – Oakland, CA
Pizza Pi – Seattle, WA
The Rudyard Kipling – Louisville, KY
Viva Herbal Pizzeria – NYC
Gianna’s Grille – Philadelphia, PA (check out their veg specialties too!)
Este Pizzeria – Salt Lake City, UT
Tomato Joe’s – Valencia, CA
Bobby G’s Pizzeria – Berkeley, CA (vegan pizza by the slice!)

This recipe is both easy and elegant and if you’ve never tried grilling these tasty spears, now’s the time! Gorgeous stalks of fresh asparagus are blanched, then grilled and dressed with lime juice. Heavenly!

Serves 4

Ingredients:
Good-sized bunch of fresh asparagus stalks, preferably the thicker type suitable for grilling
Coarse kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Fresh lime juice
Extra virgin olive oil

To prepare:
Blanch asparagus stalks by placing in salted, boiling water for a minute or two, until bright green. Remove quickly and rinse in cold water to stop cooking.

Lightly brush with olive oil and carefully place on hot grill so that the spears don’t fall through the holes. If you prefer, you can use a grill basket especially designed to hold smaller vegetables.

Using long-handled tongs, roll the asparagus around until all sides are just beginning to turn golden and spears are slightly tender. This should take only a few minutes.

When done, arrange stalks on serving platter, sprinkle with coarse kosher salt and freshly ground pepper and give them a good squeeze of fresh lime.

Note: Eat seasonally and eat well. Asparagus is the true culinary harbinger of spring and when it’s plentiful, I buy tons of it. Prepared with simplicity, asparagus is the ultimate vegetable. Look for fresh, tender asparagus with tight tips. Instead of cutting, snap off lower end of each spear where the woodier part meets the tender stalk.

I love the variety and flexibility of bruschetta. Served with a salad, fresh fruit, and a robust wine, this appetizer becomes a wonderfully light and satisfying main meal. As a variation, consider topping the beans with grilled radicchio, sauteed zucchini, or seared baby spinach and capers.

Ingredients:
2 c. cooked cannellini beans (or 2 15 oz. cans)
5 T. extra virgin olive oil
5 T. good quality balsamic vinegar
1 t. crushed red pepper flakes
3 T. basil leaves (chiffonade)
1-2 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
salt and pepper
2-4 slices of day old rustic bread, grilled or toasted
Serves 2.

To prepare:
Mix olive oil, vinegar, and pepper flakes in a bowl. With a small whisk mix rapidly to emulsify into a creamy dressing. This should take about 15 seconds and insures that the emulsified dressing will coat the beans.

Add the garlic, then fold in the beans and basil, reserving a little of the basil for garnishing. Add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside for a few minutes while you grill or toast the bread.

To assemble, spoon the beans onto toasted bread, drizzle with remaining dressing and sprinkle with fresh basil.

Note: When I can, I use fresh cannellini beans. They hold their shape and texture better than canned. If using canned beans, be sure to rinse them well, and handle them very gently. Canned beans have a softer texture and can quickly turn into a mash if mishandled.

Sweet potatoes are a wonderful root vegetable, sweet and flavorful, and loaded with dietary fiber (an important element in controlling cholesterol and some types of cancer). Sweet potatoes contain naturally occurring sugars, complex carbohydrates, protein, vitamins A and C, iron, and calcium. They have almost twice the recommended daily allowance of vitamin A, 42 percent of the recommendation for vitamin C, four times the RDA for beta carotene, and, when prepared and eaten with the skin on, sweet potatoes have more fiber than oatmeal. To top that off, an average-sized sweet potato contains only about 130-160 calories.

Among root vegetables, sweet potatoes offer the lowest glycemic index rating, because it digests slowly. This gradual rise in blood sugar makes you feel satisfied longer, which is also an advantage for maintaining weight or to shed excess pounds. With what seems like the entire population fearing “carbs,” sweet potatoes goes on the “good for you” list.

Try them mashed, baked, fried, in desserts, or prepared as I do in the recipe that follows. I picked up this simple recipe on a recent trip to the Caribbean where sweet potatoes overfill the bins in local groceries.

Ingredients:
5-6 sweet potatoes, peeled or not, and cubed
1/2 cup maple syrup or agave nectar
3 T. freshly grated ginger
2-3 T. olive oil
1 t. ground cardamom
1/2 t. kosher salt
1/2 t. ground black pepper
1/2 t. ground chipolte pepper powder (optional)
1/2 c. chopped roasted peanuts (optional)

To prepare:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the cubed sweet potatoes, salt, pepper, maple syrup or agave nectar, ginger, oil, cardamom, and chipotle, if using. Transfer to a large terra cotta baking dish or a large, deep cast iron frying pan. Cast iron pans make wonderful baking dishes.

Bake for about 20 minutes, then turn the mixture in the pan to get the pieces from the bottom of the pan to the top. Continue baking for an additional 20 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are fork tender and caramelized.

Top with the chopped peanuts, if you like, or serve as is over rice, black beans, tucked into my chickpea crepes or with my spicy Jamacan Jerk Tempeh or Tofu. I have used these leftover in roll up sandwiches with avocado, scallions, lettuce, and tomato. These make substitute for homefries with breakfast as well.

I was reading a few prominent internet articles this week about nutrition and promoting healthy foods for kids. Over ninety percent of the recipes suggested in the articles contain dairy and cheese, swap out chicken for beef, and promote substituting turkey for just about everything except shampoo. America’s ongoing romantic relationship with meat and dairy is both disturbing and dangerous. The idea that one might consider eating meat or dairy free at least three times a week is a concept that pushes people into panic mode. However, amidst all of this chaotic and conflicting information, I was heartened to learn that there has been a remarkable increase in college student demand and desire to eat vegan and vegetarian.

Nearly one quarter of college students are vegetarian and sales of vegetarian meals at Universities doubled between 1998 and 2003 and continue to grow. This is good news and very telling. Conversely, while these future consumers are busy helping create a multibillion dollar mock meat industry there is little response and advice from mainstream nutritional “experts” to assist parents in preparing and creating meatless meals at home that address this current trend. Despite the fact that we still find it a challenge to sell the concept of an all vegetarian cooking show, it appears, when we look at the facts, vegetarians might just turn out to be a powerful economic force to be reckoned with.