Peach Cobbler:

2 large peaches, sliced

0.25 cups sugar

1 tsp lemon juice

1.5 tsp corn starch

2 tsp cinnamon

0.5 cups flour (I used whole wheat pastry flour)

2 tbsp vegetable shortening

1 tbsp sugar

0.25 tsp salt

0.25 cups soymilk

0.5 tbsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Stir the peaches with the 0.25 cups sugar, cinnamon, and corn starch. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the juice thickens and becomes bubbly. Pour into a baking dish and place in the oven.

Mix flour, 1 tbsp sugar, salt, and baking powder in a large bowl. Cut shortening into flour mixture until it looks like a bowl of fairly large crumbs. Add soymilk and stir. Spoon onto peach mixture. Bake at 400 for 25 minutes or so, until the fruit is bubbly and crust is beginning to brown on top.

Hoppin' John!

1 cup brown rice (Hollygrove)

1.5-2 cups black-eyed peas (Hollygrove)

4 cups water

0.5 onion

1 tbsp olive oil

1 medium bell pepper (Hollygrove)

1 jalepeno

4 cloves garlic

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp chili powder

0.5 tsp liquid smoke

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp black pepper

tabasco or crystal hot sauce to taste

Combine water, rice, peas, oregano, thyme, and chili powder in a stockpot. Cover and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 40 minutes.

Saute onion in olive oil for about 5 minutes. Add bell pepper and jalepeno, saute another 5 minutes or so. Add garlic and saute a few more minutes, until everything is soft and the garlic is very fragrant.

Add onion mixture, salt, pepper, liquid smoke, and hot sauce to rice and peas. Stir.

Add more hot sauce (if you're from around here).

Roasted squash and peppers, quinoa, and buttery mushrooms.

For the mushrooms, I just put the mushrooms, 4 cloves of minced garlic, a handful of chopped basil, and about 3 tbsp. earth balance in the oven at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes.

Roasted veggies are similar: place chopped vegetables in a pyrex baking dish, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle salt and pepper. Cook at 400 degrees covered with foil for about 15 minutes. Remove foil and cook until easily pierced with a fork.

Tomato sandwich on homemade whole wheat bread. Yum!

Ice cream!

2 cups coconut milk

1.5 cups soy milk

0.75 cups sugar

2 tbsp. arrowroot powder

0.5 tsp vanilla

Mix 0.25 c. milk (either kind) with the arrowroot powder in a bowl. Set aside.

Mix the rest of the milk and sugar in a saucepan. Heat at high heat just until it begins to boil. Remove from heat and stir the arrowroot mixture into the pan. Add the vanilla. Allow to cool to room temperature. Place in an ice cream maker and let 'er rip. I added chocolate chips right before it was fully frozen.

[This was stolen and slightly adapted from here: http://veganicecream.blogspot.com/2007/02/coconut-squared.html]

Okra concoction:

1 lb okra

1 medium-large tomato

3 cloves garlic

0.25 c. canola or peanut oil (yes, this much oil is necessary to reduce the sliminess of the okra)

1.5 tsp sesame seeds

2 tsp cumin seeds (but I just used powder)

1 tbsp curry

Cut the okra into medallions (this creates maximum surface area and helps reduce sliminess when cooked at high heat). Heat the oil at medium heat. Raise to high and add sesame seeds and cumin. When seeds are slightly brown, add curry, stir, and add okra. Arrange, but do not stir for several minutes, until okra is slightly browned. Add tomato and garlic and stir. Cook for a few more minutes, until the tomato softens. Serve alone or over rice.

Lunch, pictured in To-Go Ware.

On the left: quinoa, cucumber, tomato, and bell pepper salad. The metal thing in the middle contained olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

On the right: Louisiana cooking pears and cacao-acai mousse.

Cooking pears:

Slice cooking pears and place in a large bowl. Squeeze the juice of one lemon or lime or one half orange over the pears. Cover with one cup sugar or Sucanat. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. The next day, pour the contents of the bowl into a stockpot. Bring to a rapid boil and reduce to simmer. Simmer about an hour, until the pears are very soft.

Cacao-Acai Mousse:

This was stolen/adapted from my friend Jason's recipe (and he does it much better... I'll have to practice).

2-4 avocados

1 heaping tsp coconut butter

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

lots of cacao powder (to taste)

1 tbsp or so acai powder

2 tbsp agave nectar

2 tbsp maple syrup

Toss everything into a food processor. Turn on the food processor. Taste it. If it's not good, add some more cacao or sweetener until it tastes rich and delicious.

Garlicky lima bean dip:

Lima beans (the original recipe called for dried, but I used the fresh ones from this week's Hollygrove Market buyers' box)

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp cumin

4 cloves garlic

0.5 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tsp fresh minced sage (I used pineapple sage because it grows right outside my back door)

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

1 tsp sea salt + more to taste

Fill a saucepan with lima beans and water 1 inch above beans. Bring to a boil, then lower to medium and simmer 10 minutes, until tender.

In another pan, saute garlic, cumin, and red pepper in the olive oil just until it becomes fragrant. Add the sage and 0.5 tsp sea salt and saute another minute.

Drain beans and combine all ingredients in a food processor. Blend until smooth.

Zucchini fritters/fries.

2 or 3 small to medium zucchinis (zucchini?)

0.5 cups whole wheat pastry flour

0.5 cups nutritional yeast

1 cup cornmeal

sea salt

cayenne

1 cup soy milk

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

olive oil

Combine flour, corn meal, nutritional yeast, salt, and cayenne in a medium bowl and stir with a fork to mix. Combine soy milk and vinegar in a small bowl, whisk with a fork, and allow to sit for a few minutes (this makes a sort of buttermilk).

Cut zucchini into whatever shape you want, keeping in mind your ideal exterior breading/ interior vegetable ratio.

Heat olive oil at medium-high heat. Dredge zucchini in milk and immediately coat with the corn meal mixture. Cook until one side is beginning to brown. Flip and brown the other side. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.

Yesterday's lunch: quinoa pasta with a tomato sauce composed of tomatoes (from Hollygrove Market), basil (from my yard), onion, and garlic.

3 chopped tomatoes

0.5 white or yellow onion, diced

4-5 cloves garlic, minced

handful of fresh basil

2 tbsp olive oil

Combine first three ingredients in a saucepan and heat over medium heat until bubbling. Add olive oil and chopped (or torn apart) basil. Stir and reduce heat to low. Cover and allow to simmer for about 30 minutes.

Saturday breakfast: banana whole wheat pancakes with camu camu and maca powders, topped with maple syrup and walnuts.

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp maca powder

1 tsp camu camu powder

1.25 cups almond milk

1 banana

1 tbsp raw agave nectar

Mash banana with 0.25 cups almond milk and the agave nectar. Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Add banana mixture and remaining almond milk to dry mixture and mix. Cook in a lightly greased skillet on medium heat.

My old faithful: quinoa, black bean, and spinach-stuffed bell peppers (peppers from Hollygrove buyers' club):

Cook 1 cup quinoa. Stir quinoa with sauteed spinach, black beans, cumin, and chili powder in a large bowl. Pack the mixture into some peppers. Pour tomato sauce on top. Bake at 350 until the peppers are easily pierced with a fork.

Basic whole wheat bread (for tomato sandwiches. yum!):

3.5 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup water

0.5 cups rice milk

0.25 cups oil (i use olive)

1 tsp salt

1 package of yeast

Stir and knead all ingredients until it's less sticky. Place in an oiled bowl and cover with a damp, clean kitchen towel. Let rise for an hour. Remove from bowl and shape into a loaf. Place in greased loaf pan and cover with the damp towel. Let rise for another hour. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes uncovered and 20 minutes covered with foil. Remove and allow to cool on a rack.

In non food-related news, my Contracts professor passed away last week, leaving two cats without homes. One recently found a new home, but the other is in desperate need of an adopter. Helen is about 11 years old and has some health issues (but is very very sweet). Another Tulane Law professor graciously volunteered to assist with veterinary bills if monetary assistance will enable someone to adopt Helen.

I'm back in New Orleans, which I suppose is as appropriate an occasion as any to resume blogging. Here goes.

Brown rice with mushroom gravy and okra cooked in lime-thyme sauce. Mushrooms, limes, and okra from the Buyer's Club weekly box at Hollygrove Market & Farm. Mushroom gravy recipe fromVegan Soul Kitchen, my newly acquired cookbook. The okra recipe is also loosely based on a recipe in VSK ("loosely based" because I botched the real recipe because I don't own a kitchen scale).