Tag: vegetarian

Pesto Ratatouille

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Ratatouille is a French vegetable dish, and an incredibly popular Disney movie. This is not a traditional Ratatouille, and in that vein we took similar creativity in making a pesto. That said, it was delicious and I can’t wait to make it again.

We have had fun experimenting with pesto in the past (you may recall Tomato Pesto Salad, Chicken Pesto Pasta, and Easy Pesto Egg Bake) and last weekend I was craving vegetables at every turn. I have always wanted us to make a Ratatouille but we have had a lot of tomato-based meals lately; so when Brent suggested we use pesto instead of a tomato sauce, I agreed.

We hope you’ll find this variation on a provincial French classic as fun and tasty as we did!

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Homemade Fig Jam

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There’s something magical about fruit trees. In our experience, which admittedly is very little, they don’t require much work and reap many benefits. Our fig tree produced a great harvest, more than either of us expected between early August and mid-October. In case you missed our other recipes, we had a lot of fun creating Chicken and Fig Tagine, Cider-Braised Boneless Short Ribs with Figs, Arugula and Fresh Fig Salad, and Fig Coconut Yogurt.

Today, even though we’re away on vacation, we bring you another fig recipe: homemade fig jam. It is great on rice crackers; you might also enjoy it with a soft cheese like brie (if you can tolerate high-quality dairy) or Kite Hill almond-based Cream Cheese Style Spread. Brent’s mom used it with almond butter on sprouted bread (a new twist on PB&J!) and plans to use it instead of store-bought fruit spread in her Linzer cookies for Christmas. Whether you have your own fig tree or find them at the store, we hope you’ll enjoy making and eating this fig jam or any of our other fig recipes. Let us know what you decide to do—we would love to hear from you!

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Deli-Style Cucumber Salad

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On more than one occasion, I’ve walked past the deli counter green with envy over the variety and quality of the salad offerings. There’s something magical about the thin slices of cucumber, the finely shredded vegetables, and the perfectly-positioned garnishes.

This particular cucumber salad came to be after seeing a deli-style cucumber salad for sale at Costco. It was a great idea, but had about as much sugar as a candy bar and preservatives. This has neither of those downsides, and has a crunch, spice, and flavor that is a winner. We know you’ll enjoy this salad.

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Arugula and Fresh Fig Salad

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Did you know that figs are a flower, not a fruit? It’s actually the “infructescence” or “false-fruit” in which the flower and seeds are born. Fruit or not, I think figs are delicious! If you pick them a little green, they are plump, firm and almost savory or tart. Pick them once they’ve ripened to a deep purple, they are soft, luscious and incredibly sweet.

This salad plays the sweetness of the figs against the peppery arugula and subtly sharp red onion. The walnuts add a nice earthy flavor and crunch. The creamy, slightly cream-cheesy dressing rounds out the whole thing. I hope you love it as much as I do!

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Fig Coconut Yogurt

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Have I mentioned that we have a fig tree? Two, actually! But one is still a baby. The mature one started bearing beautiful, plump fruit in mid-August and it keeps on giving. On Saturday of this past weekend alone, I picked 31 fresh figs! I gave most of them away to neighbors, but I experimented with some in our kitchen as well. (True story: My second experiment did not fare well but I hope to perfect it soon!)

Thankfully, this super easy treat was a success—it’s almost hard to go wrong with delicious, fresh fruit and coconut milk—you may  to our Meyer Lemon Chia Pudding. The orange zest, married with the slight tang from the skins of the fig fruits, along with a thinner consistency remind me of yogurt. So, that’s why I’m calling it a “yogurt.” Enjoy it as breakfast on-the-go, a refreshing snack, or light dessert. Whatever its name, whenever you eat it, I think it’s really quite good and I know you will, too!

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