Green Options

Summer Vegetable Risotto
Use this recipe as a model for many of your favorite seasonal vegetables, so long as those on the sturdy side (bell peppers, artichoke hearts, broccoli, beets) are precooked until not quite tender, either by blanching, steaming, or roasting. As a general rule, for every cup of rice, you will need about 3 cups of simmering broth.

Cooking time: The total cooking time from the first addition of liquid

[...]

Mexican Horchata

Horchata is a traditional rice drink first developed in Spain and modified in Mexico. This is a delicious, sweet drink that has been around for thousands of years and is best served cold. Plan ahead when making it, as it requires some advanced preparation (the rice needs to soak overnight).

Ingredients

1 cup long-grain rice

Hot water

4 cups non-dairy milk

1/4-1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Ice for serving

Roast Carrots with Gremolata: Image credit Chili Und Cibatta, a German food blog. To make this dish, substitute potatoes for carrots in recipe below and adjust cooking time. Thanks to technology cooking is easy. I am not referring to microwave ovens and prepared foods from the

[...]

Like tuna salad? Then you'll love Colleen's Better-than-Tuna salad: all the taste, without the fish.As much as we don't like to admit it, much of what we do on a daily basis is out of habit, including the way we eat and the food choices we make. They may be borne out of familial, cultural, social, personal traditions,

[...]

Image Credit: Joshua Thompson via Wikipedia
This week's Weekend Grub is less a recipe for what to cook than some suggestions about how to cook it. If you're looking for recipes, check out yesterday's post on vegan BBQ.

Summer is here, and for many, that means time to start cooking outdoors. For some, bottled gas (propane, most commonly) is a preferable choice for a number of reasons,

[...]

Assembling the TartSadly, strawberry season is beginning to wane here in northern California; however, the news is not all bad as the raspberries and cherries are ripening in my garden. This delicious recipe for Organic Strawberry Almond Cream Cheese Tart came from my friend Laura. Our town hosts a good old-fashioned pie auction every spring to raise money for our community council. Laura made this tart one year, [...]

I live on the Palouse (a region of eastern Washington and northern Idaho), which is famous for its rolling hills and crops such as wheat and lentils. When I think of eating locally-grown foods, lentils instantly come to mind. In fact, lentils are taken quite seriously here. In nearby Pullman, Washington, there is even an annual Lentil Festival celebrating the lovely legume. No, I'm not kidding.

The Palouse is known as the most

[...]

Garden Fresh Organic StrawberriesStrawberry harvest is in full swing, and as the bounty reaches epic proportions in my garden, I am always looking for new recipes that do not ruin the naturally sweet flavor of the fruit. Mostly, we snack on strawberries straight from the plants, but occasionally I am motivated to make a delectable dessert to savor. Old fashioned, organic strawberry shortcake has become an early summer favorite

[...]

Any in-season eater will tell you that spring has officially sprung when the asparagus show up at the local farmers markets. Here in the Midwest, asparagus is often one of the few veggies ready when farmers markets open in the spring. Not only are they tasty, but they are low in calories and high in nutrients such as folic acid, beta-carotene, vitamin C, and potassium. This is a simple, yet sublime preparation

[...]

This is a really simple recipe with a boring name that I considered jazzing up, but couldn’t think of anything more creative. The ingredients are common garden vegetables and so you may have all the ingredients needed right in your backyard. If not, a quick trip to the farmers’ market will take care of it. This dish is simple, flavorful, and just a really good way to taste the food without a whole lot of

[...]

Eating lower on the food chain is a great way to curb global warming and reduce your footprint on the earth. Even reducing your intake of meat by a little bit is a big step for the environment.

The average American diet is not only unhealthy, but completely unsustainable due to its reliance on meat for almost every meal. Animal products take more resources to produce, the intensive farming methods used today are very polluting,

[...]