Pink Bean Dip

1 15.5oz can small white beans, rinsed and drained
3 love beets, drained
4 Tbs olive oil
2 Tbs balsamic vinegar
2 cloves garlic
salt to taste

1)  Pulse all ingredients in a food processor until well blended.
2)  Refrigerate for at least four hours.
3)  Serve with quinoa chips, veggie chips, or raw vegetables for dipping.

Review:  I've had this recipe bookmarked for a long time. I wasn't sure what occasion would be the best fit for this recipe. Hosting some friends for a game night with just appetizers? Perfect. This was definitely a good fit. It made plenty of dip, which was savory yet sweet. It's filling, healthy (ish) and light enough to nosh on for awhile. It was a little watery, as I didn't drain the beets. Lesson learned, along with maybe adding oil as needed?

Adapted from:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/recipes/pink-bean-dip/14144/?utm_term=.c839d3d846b1

Lavender Earl Grey Cookies

1 cup vegan butter
3/4 cup powdered sugar
3 Tbs Earl Grey tea (from 8 bags)
1 Tbs lavender
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups gluten free flour
2 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder

1)  Beat butter, sugar, tea, lavender, lemon zest and vanilla on medium speed until creamy, about 4 minutes.
2)  Beat in flour, xanthan gum, salt and baking powder.
3)  Shape into two logs and wrap in plastic. Chill until firm.
4)  Slice 1/4 inch thick and bake at 350F for 12 to 14 minutes, or until golden.

Review:  Mike immediately asked, "why do you always make weird cookies?" Because I have a refined palette! Well, and because food is fun. These were a dry, shortbread type of cookie. The tea was not as crunchy as I would have thought, but i don't like the speckled appearance. I really recommend crushing the tea and lavender (coffee grinder? mortar & pestle?) for more even distribution. Overall, it was just a hint of flavor but still exotic.

Adapted from:
September 2018 issue of Real Simple

Lentil Pasta with Spicy Peanut Sauce

1 pkg yellow lentil & brown rice spaghetti
2 carrots, peeled and cut into medium chunks
2 yellow bell peppers, cut into large chunks
1/2 cup peanuts
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
4 cloves garlic
1/2 inch piece of ginger, peeled
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 Tbs lime juice
2 Tbs rice vinegar
1 Tbs honey
1 Tbs sesame oil
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
salt to taste

1)  Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Drain and place in a large mixing bowl.
2)  In a food processor, add the carrots and bell peppers. Pulse until grated.
3)  Add all remaining ingredients (except the pasta!) and pulse until a smooth sauce texture is achieved.
4)  Toss sauce with pasta. Serve warm or cold.

Review:  I love finding new products at Trader Joe's. However, it often means I have food in my cabinets that I have no plans for, and no clue how to use it. Their yellow lentil and brown rice spaghetti was one of those purchases. I must not have been the only person in this predicament, because shortly after my purchase, Trader Joe's posted a recipe using their Spicy Peanut Vinaigrette. Ugh, that product has wheat in it! So, I turned to google to find a wheat free peanut vinaigrette recipe and couldn't decide between the two listed below. My version is basically a combo of the two, along with adding the vegetables from Trader Joe's recipe. I couldn't envision spaghetti with carrot and bell pepper chunks. Adding them thickened the sauce and made it so much more flavorful. This was incredibly delicious and super easy to make!!

Adapted from:
https://www.traderjoes.com/recipes/appetizers-sides/cool--spicy-noodle-salad
https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/thai-crunch-salad-with-peanut-dressing.html
https://healthynibblesandbits.com/rainbow-salad-peanut-vinaigrette/

Lemony Broccolini with Pecans

2 bunches broccolini, trimmed and chopped
olive oil spray
1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted
2 Tbs lemon juice
2 Tbs honey
salt and pepper to taste

1)  Preheat oven to 400F. Spray a baking sheet with olive oil spray. Spread the broccolini evenly and spray the tops with more olive oil spray. Bake 15 to 20 minutes, or until tender.
2)  In a large bowl, toss the broccolini, pecans, lemon juice, honey and salt/pepper. Serve warm.

Review:  This recipe has been sitting on my counter for several weeks, as I kept forgetting to buy broccolini! I didn't like the idea of using an actual lemon and using the food processor to make a sauce. I think my instincts were good, as this was way easier and quite tasty. The lemon is barely noticeable and I think it's there more to cut the bitterness of the broccolini and balance the sweetness of the honey. It works. This was pretty tasty and I ate a ridiculous amount of it.

Adapted from:
https://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/crunchy-broccolini-with-lemon-pecans

Maple Brown Derby Popsicles

2 1/2 cups ruby red grapefruit juice
1/2 cup bourbon barrel aged maple syrup
1 oz bourbon

1)  Combine all ingredients in a bowl.
2)  Pour into popsicle molds.
3)  Freeze overnight.

Review:  I love making boozy popsicles in the summer. Or, using my ice cream machine to make frozen drinks! This recipe was shared by the NH Maple Producers Association on Facebook and I knew I had to make it! I've bought the bourbon barrel aged maple syrup at Trader Joe's and loooooooove it. It's such a popular trend right now that one of my coworkers tried to make her own, using maple syrup gathered from her own backyard! She kindly gave me a bottle to try and it was super tasty. I figured it was the best syrup to use for these popsicles. Oddly, the maple isn't a strong flavor, but it does seem to balance the bitterness of bourbon and grapefruit. Sadly, I used 2 oz of bourbon to ensure good flavor but it made for a less solid popsicle. I wore most of this one, as it began falling apart as I ate it. Stick with just 1 oz so it will freeze better!

Adapted from:
http://www.hungrygirlporvida.com/blog/2013/03/22/maple-brown-derby-cocktail-pops/

Chickpea Coconut Pesto Salad

Salad:

2 Tbs olive oil
3 cups canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2 tsp ground cumin

Pesto:

1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
2 cups fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup olive oil
1 Tbs lime juice
1 clove garlic
1 small jalapeño
1 tsp ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste

1)  In a saute pan, heat the olive oil and cumin, roasting the cumin until fragrant. Add the chickpeas. Sauté for two minutes, until the chickpeas are heated throughout.
2)  Meanwhile, add all the pesto ingredients to a food processor and pulse until fully combined.
3)  Toss chickpeas with pesto. Allow the salad to marinate for fifteen to twenty minutes. Salad can be served warm, cold or at room temperature.

Review:  I love, and miss, pesto. It's hard to find a suitable substitute for cheese. I've largely depended on substituting nuts, but it's not the same. When I found this recipe that used coconut instead, I was so intrigued. It seemed like a small side dish recipe, but very flavorful. I doubled the recipe and found I didn't need to do so as this dish is incredibly filling. It's also a really great flavor. It's savory, without being sweet (due to the coconut) or spicy (due to the jalapeño). It's also chewy due to the coconut, so it has a more rewarding mouth feel than one would expect. I'm very happy with this dish.

Adapted from:
http://www.costcoconnection.com/connection/201806/?pg=71&pm=2&u1=friend

Fettuccine with Asparagus, Leeks & Mint

1 9oz pkg gluten free egg fettuccine
1 lb asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 large leek, white and light green parts chopped
1/2 cup mint, chopped
1/2 cup vegan Parmesan cheese
2 Tbs olive oil, divided
2 Tbs lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1)  Whisk lemon juice, 1 Tbs olive oil, mint, salt, pepper and cayenne in a small bowl. Set aside.
2)  Cook pasta according to package directions, adding the asparagus for the last two minutes of cooking. Drain and keep warm.
3)  Heat 1 Tbs of olive oil in a large saute pan. Cook leeks, stirring occasionally, until tender - about 4 minutes. Add mint mixture, pasta and asparagus, tossing to combine.
4)  Serve topped with Parmesan.

Review: This recipe was such a mess to make, all due to my own errors. I couldn't find good asparagus at the grocery store and my husband convinced me to use a frozen SteamFresh bag of asparagus. That cooked for 4 minutes, the pasta cooked for 4 minutes and the leeks needed to cook for 4 minutes. I thought this was going to be EASY. Nope. The asparagus was SPEARS, and I didn't notice. They also steamed up to be a mushy mess. The pasta did not cook in 4 minutes. I used a wimpy burner on my stove and the water completely stopped boiling after I added the pasta. It took about ten minutes to cook, and it clumped terribly. So, by the time I tossed everything together, I already hated the dish. Except it was tasty. So freaking tasty. Despite the mint, it had an overwhelmingly savory, buttery taste (the egg noodles?). The cayenne really helped hone the savoriness and pulled it all together. I ate half of what I made for dinner and wanted to go back for more!

Adapted from:
https://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/fettuccine-with-asparagus-leeks-mint