Enjoy some summer recipes from Sarah Kolker’s mostly Vegan kitchen. Have a great rest of the summer. Enjoy!
Quinoa Salad
Light and refreshing protein full salad
2 cups quinoa cooked as directed with a drop of olive oil and sea salt
1/2 cup chickpeas soaked overnight and cooked — or a can of chickpeas
3 small cucumbers peeled and chopped
1/2 cup chopped thyme
A few leaves of basil chopped
1 large slice of onion chopped or green onion chopped
1 avocado peeled and diced
Toss with olive oil, sesame oil, and sea salt and a capful or two of balsamic vinaigrette
Add some chopped cherry tomatoes and arugula or other desired veggies, to jazz up your salad even more.)
Good to eat on those days, or nights, when it seems too hot to eat anything. Enjoy!
My family loves pesto on pizza and pasta. If it’s too hot to turn on the oven to make pizza, or just for fun, make it outside on a pizza stone on the grill!
PASTA SALAD
1 lb brown rice pasta cooked as directed on the package.
1 red bell pepper sliced and chopped
1/2 lbs carrots cut thin and small
Olives
two bunches bok choy chopped finely (optional)
a few sprigs of green onions chopped well
2 tbs of an array of fresh garden herbs chopped or shredded
toss all ingredients with pesto.
Two different pestos, gluten-free pizza crust
Five-minute Kale Pesto
Ingredients
2 cups torn kale (no stems) and pesto, combined
½ cup olive oil
¼ teaspoon salt (more to taste)
1 clove garlic
juice of one lemon
¼ to ½ cup raw almonds
Instructions
1. Pulse the kale, oilve oil, salt, garlic, and lemon juice in a food processor until smooth.
2. Add the almonds and pulse until the almonds are ground to desired consistency.
3. Serve with pizza, pasta, crackers, eggs, salads, soup, sandwiches, etc.
Sunflower Seed Pesto Recipe
Ingredients
* 2 cups packed basil and or spinach leaves
* 1/3 cup raw sunflower seeds
* 2 garlic cloves
* 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
* salt & pepper, to taste
* 1/3 cup olive oil, or a little more for consistency
Instructions
* Add basil, sunflower seeds, garlic, lemon juice, and salt & pepper to taste to a food processor or blender.
* Start the processor, slowly drizzle the olive oil into the food processor until a sauce forms. It might not be the whole 1/3 cup or it might take more until you get a consistency you like.
* Use immediately or store for up to a week in an airtight container in the fridge.
Pizza Crust
Ingredients
* 3/4 cup warm water (between 110-120 degrees F)
* 1 tablespoon sugar or honey
* 1 packet yeast (1/4 oz.) (2.25 tsp)
* 2 cups (285g.) gluten-free flour blend (for this recipe I used Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free 1-to-1)
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 large egg
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 1 teaspoon cider vinegar
Instructions
1. Set a pizza stone or heavy baking sheet on the lowest rack of the oven, and preheat to 450°F.
2. Mix water, sugar, and yeast and let sit for 5 minutes, or until it looks foamy.
3. In an electric mixer bowl, mix flour blend and salt. Add in egg, olive oil, vinegar, and yeast mixture.
4. Mix on low speed for 1 minute.
5. Using an oiled spatula, transfer the gluten-free pizza dough onto a piece of parchment paper. Using oiled hands, spread dough into a 10-12-inch round.
6. Bake for 8-10 minutes.
7. Add toppings and bake for an additional 8-10 minutes. (Sautéed mushrooms, pesto, red onion, kale, spinach, olives, vegan cheese are my favorites)
8. Enjoy hot.
For those thirsty afternoons after being out in the garden all day…
Blueberry lemonade
Ingredients
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
2 lemons juiced (4 if they are not juicy)
1/3 - 1/2 cup maple syrup
4 cups cold water
ice cubes
Directions
Place the blueberries, lemon juice, and 1 cup of water in a blender and blend until smooth. Strain the blueberries mixture through a fine-mesh strainer. Use a spoon to press the last of the liquid through.
Add the rest of the water and maple syrup and mix until it dissolves. Fill the glasses with ice and pour the lemonade over. Serve immediately.
And last but not least…
Zucchini Bread made from all the wonderful zucchini we’ve grown in our garden this year.
The zucchini have been prolific!
healthy Zucchini Bread with Chocolate Chips
Inspired by Vanilla and Bean
Ingredients
3 Eggs large (or substitute with flax eggs or aquafaban)
1/3 C (70g) Coconut Oil melted, warm to the touch
2 tsp Vanilla Extract
3/4 C (220g) Pure Maple Syrup
1 1/2 C (150g) Gluten-free flour mix or Oat Flour
1/2 C (60g) Almond Flour
1/2 C (65g) Tapioca Flour
1 3/4 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
3/4 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Fine Sea Salt
3/4 C (75g) Chocolate Chips (I use Lilly’s dark chocolate chips with no sugar) optional
2 C (300g) Zucchini loosely packed, skin left on, shredded fine in a food processor with a grater attachment or on a box grater. About 2 smallish zucchini.
Instructions
Start with room temperature ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, coconut oil, vanilla extract, lemon zest, maple syrup together until an emulsion is formed. About 30 seconds.
To the wet ingredients, add the gluten-free or oat flour, almond flour, tapioca flour, cinnamon, baking soda and powder, and salt. Whisk until there are no dry patches left. Set aside while the oven preheats.
Preheat the oven to 350F (176C).
While the oven is preheating shred or grate zucchini using the fine grater in a food processor or use a box grater, retaining the zucchini juice (it will be added to the batter - no need to squeeze the zucchini juice out of the zucchini. Set aside. Grease a 9"x5" (3.5cm X 2cm) loaf pan and line it one way with parchment paper keeping the parchment hanging over the edges for handles. Grease the parchment paper and clip the edges.
Once the oven is preheated, fold in the chocolate chips, if using, and zucchini into the batter until the ingredients are evenly distributed. Turn the batter into the pan and use a sharp knife to run a shallow cut down the center (this helps the beauty crack open up). Bake for one hour and 5-10 minutes, rotating the pan once during baking. When ready, the top will have cracked open and a toothpick inserted in the center will come out clean.
Place pan on a wire cooling rack. After 10 minutes, remove the bread using the parchment as handles. Set on a cooling rack until completely cool. You'll notice the bread shrinks slightly as it cools. Once cooled, the bread can be covered and stored at room temperature for up to three days.
Slices are best toasted and enjoyed with a slathering of choice!
To freeze, slice, and lay on a parchment-lined sheet pan. Freeze, then stack the slices between parchment paper and store in a freezer bag or lidded container.
Freezes for up to two weeks.
Sarah Kolker
Sarah Kolker is a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and Moore College of Art. She has studied health and wellness practices in Jamaica, the San Francisco Bay Area and New York City. Kolker currently teaches with Mural Arts in Philadelphia, also her hometown, which is the nation’s largest public art program that engages the community to ignite change through mural-making. You can find out more about her art and recipes here.