Ruby Rhubarb Ginger Crunch

Got the base for this recipe from my farm CSA's newsletter for last week when they brought Rhubarb.
I changed things around to improve it.

3 cups Rhubarb, chopped
1/2 cup blueberries
1 cup strawberries
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger

Combine rhubarb and other fruit with the sugar.  Mix well, let it stand about 5 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350.
Butter a pie pan.  Add the other ingredients to the fruit mix, and pour all of them into the pie pan and spread evenly.  Bake 20 minutes.

While this is cooking, make the crunch topping.

1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1/2 cup quick oats
4 tbsp earth balance butter

Combine all of these into a bowl and mix well. When the base is done cooking, pull it out of the oven and pour the crunch topping over it, and spread it evenly over the top.  Bake the crunch for another 30 minutes.  Wait a little while for it to cool down, but eat while still warm.

Vegan Cookout with my Sis

Yesterday I went out to the suburbs where I'm from to visit my sister.  She's vegetarian and will someday be vegan, once she leaves home.  We were originally planning to go kayaking and boating in the river by us, but due to all the flooding it was too dangerous.  We were going to grill, but then apparently my parents got rid of their grill.  So, we just cooked inside.  Pictures will be posted later, but here's what we made:
Apple Sage Sausages
Pasta Salad
Grilled Eggplant Slices
Corn on the Cob
Ruby Rhubarb Ginger Crunch
Pan con Tomates

Bacon Cheeseburger

Another vegan cooking night, cooked by me and Steve, and sampled by our friends.  These turned out so delicious that it prevented me from socializing until I was done (which is saying something for me).  We had some roasted red potatoes tossed in olive oil on the side.

Bacon:
Fry two packs of tempeh bacon (we found it at whole foods) with olive oil until slightly crispy (or super crispy if you're me).  Set aside.

Cheese:
We used pre-sliced rice cheese, I forget the brand name.  Its there mainly for a cheese texture, I can't really taste it distinctly anyway.

Burgers:
Gardenburger Vegan Burgers, fried in olive oil in a frying pan on the stove.

Bun:
We used nature ovens buns, toasted in the pan after the bacon was cooked (or you can toast it in a toaster).

Avocado Spread:
3 Avocados, mashed
1/2 large tomato
1/4 cup chopped red onions
Salt, to taste
Button Mushrooms, chopped (maybe 4 or 5)
Mix well

Toppings:
Just like with our vegan pizzas, the toppings were thicker than the rest of the thing.
Slice into thin layers:
Red pepper
Tomato
Avocado
Red Onion

Spinach (or lettuce, or both)

Also, sliced pickles, but we forgot these.

Condiments:
Ketchup, Mustard, and/or A-1, depending on your liking

Stack deliciously, and good luck fitting it into your mouth.

Easy Pasta Salad

This makes a good, summery lunch.

Serves 4-6

1 box pasta, any cool shape

3 medium tomatoes, cut up
1 pack fresh basil, perhaps 8oz, chopped
1/2 large red onion, diced
1 red pepper, chopped
1 head broccoli, chopped

Cook pasta, then put into a large bowl.  Add chopped vegetables.  Add any sort of Italian salad dressing.

For an alternate style, you can use the basil and roasted garlic gnocchi from rising moon organics (not all of their products are vegan, but this one is) instead of the pasta.  They sell it at the whole foods around here.

Crispy French Bread with Avocado Spread

This Sunday we decided to make tasty sandwiches for lunch.  However, we also found that the bread and avocado spread would be good snacks by themselves.

Bread:
We bought 2 baguette style loaves of bread from whole foods, one white and one whole wheat.  You cut them open and separate the top from bottom, cut them in half, and then cut them in half again.  If this is for an appetizer, maybe cut them even smaller, into 4in pieces.

In a container, combine
1tbsp rosemary
1 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic

Mix well, and allow to sit for at least 15 minutes to allow flavors to mix.

Using a spoon (or even better, a little brush), scoop up olive oil and brush it onto the inside part of the bread, as evenly as possible.  Divide it up between the pieces of bread.

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

Lay the prepared pieces of bread on baking trays, olive oil side up.
Cook until the edges are becoming crispy, 8-12 minutes.

Spread:
Mash 2 avocados in a bowl.  Add:
Crushed or finely chopped 2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
2 tsp lime juice
1tbsp Italian salad dressing
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion

Mix well.
For a spicy version, add 1 chopped jalapeño pepper.

Once the bread cools, put the spread on it.

I don't have any pictures yet.  Oh darn, I'll have to make it again. :P

Vegan Baking with Beth on Wednesday.  I'm making blueberry crisps.  Recipe was tested yesterday and was delicious.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

I got some Rhubarb from the food coop, so Priya and I decided to make some Strawberry Rhubarb Pie.  You can make it with actual pie crust, but we didn't have any/were lazy, so we used some pre-made pie crusts that I had (the kind from Aldi doesn't have honey, nabisco does, and I'm not sure about keebler).

Start by chopping up about 4 cups of rhubarb (the celery like stalk parts).  Put these into a colander with a bowl underneath.  Pour 3/4 cup agave nectar over the chopped rhubarb and leave it for an hour or two.

While waiting, you can chop 2 1/2 cups of fresh strawberries.

After the allotted time, preheat the oven to 350.

Take half of the agave nectar that drained through the rhubarb and mix it in a saucepan with 6 tbsp of arrowroot on low heat.  Continue heating until mixture thickens, then add the rest of the agave nectar.

Mix the rhubarb and strawberries in the bowl.  Add the agave nectar mixture from the saucepan.  Mix in 1 tsp cinnamon and 2 tbsp flour.  Stir.

Pour this into the pie crust.

Bake for an hour, then refrigerate for a few hours to set it.

This pie goes great with the coconut milk whipped cream.