Grilled and Spiced Pineapple Trifle, Sunshine Soup, ChocPB Quesadillas, and Testing Galore: So. Much. Food!

Ok, so I didn't quite get to my mustard green exploration, but I hope some of my faves from the past two weeks will delight you.  (Please know that the hub has duly chided me for my lack of posting; as always, I offer you penance in post form, since a hair shirt just doesn't work with the vegan lifestyle.)


After receiving my copy of VBS, I seem to be on a "memory lane" spree (continuing now with the Apple Tea Loaf in the oven!):

VBS Aspragus and Roasted Garlic Quiche with Red Cabbage and Carrot Salad

VBS Two Bite Brownies

Now THIS is a breakfast burrito:
 VBS Quiche wrapped in Spinach from the farm and a Whole Wheat Tortilla

With last week's sunny splendor, there has also been a celebration of grill season, but here's what happened:

We began with...
Pink Lemonade (no scary powder needed!) -- check out Jae Steele's tutorial (click link) for this recipe:
Also fantastic as a Ginger Lemon Tini
(the higher recommendation of ginger +vodka , chilled, shaken, and served --
the hub loved these (despite the Carrie Bradshaw-esque aesthetic!))

I had prepared everything else for the grill and knew it was a dessert kind of day.  I had some pineapple, so I thought...ooooh!  Grilled pineapple and pound cake.  I found this great recipe for vegan  Pound Cake -- it was quick and easy, and it enabled me to use up some tofu.  In my impatience for a taste, I broke my pound cake,
but necessity, as it has been said, IS the mother of invention -- so I invented!  

 Grilled and Spiced Pineapple Trifle:

(inspired by the grill, testing recipe flavors, my love of Mom's trifle, Hub's love of pistachios, and making something out of what's about)

1 pineapple, peeled, cored, and chunked into skewer-sized bites
1/3 c. cinnamon sugar* + 2 pinches of chipotle powder
1/4-1/3 of the pound cake (recipe above)
1/4 c. roughly chopped pistachios

* I had it leftover from a previous recipe, but you can just make your own mix by starting with a scant c. of sugar and adding cinnamon by the half teaspooon until mix looks tan and relatively even between cinnamon and sugar.

1. Make pound cake earlier in the day or the day before.

2. Prep skewers.  After cutting pineapple, thread it on prepared skewers and place in a shallow dish (whatever will accommodate skewers; I used my glass rectangular roasting dish).  Sprinkle with half cinnamon, sugar, chipotle mix; then flip to other side, and repeat with remainder.  After putting skewers on the grill, add a bit of water to make a basting mix with sugar remains in the bottom of the dish (1/8-1/4 c. water). Grill until each side is caramelized, brushing with basting mix as you rotate skewers (about 7-10 min. depending on grill heat).

3.  While the pineapple is grilling, chop pistachios and reserve.  Choose serving dish; I used a smaller salad pyrex bowl. Whatever you choose, make sure it is deep enough to accommodate your layers.

4. Break 1/4 of the pound cake into bite-sized chunks (you may need some more depending on preference and bowl size), and set aside.  Once the pineapple is done, reserve one skewer (you'll probably have about 6 in total) to chop up chunks from that skewer into slightly smaller decorative pieces; put the rest into a bowl and blend with the immersion blender into a thick, slightly chunky sauce.  Layer bottom of bowl with pound cake chunks; then top with half of pineapple sauce. Repeat layering and sauce. (Note: the cake layer should not be too thick; use just enough chunks to cover the space completely.) Then, scatter top with reserved pineapple, some (perhaps even smaller) cake chunks, and pistachios.

5.  You could top this with a little vegan whip or ice cream, but I promise you...its spicy decadence is more than enough goodness as is.  Serves about 6-8.

Yum, and yes...I sure did put the dessert picture first, though we did actually eat dinner....

First!  Grilled...from start to finish:
Chipotle Lentil Sausages (testing),  Maple-Rubbed Red Cabbage, and Sweet Potato Chips

The hub has also been trying his hand at some additional vegan cooking; after the success of his Italian dinner (as pictured a few posts ago), he took the opportunity to repurpose his tomato sauce into a...

Broccoli and Mushroom pizza .  It's tradition, as I've mentioned, in both of our families to rock a homemade pizza; the hub certainly does this!  He used the crust recipe from Vegan with a Vengeance and topped it with his tomato sauce, broccoli, and mushrooms.  The recipe actually made two pizzas...happiness.

After the week and weekend of warmth and sun, the rain returned; so by the end of last week, I needed to make a little sunshine of my own.  Here is another end of the week invention -- I'm starting to think that I should always have a depleted stock to stoke the creativity.  What does that mean about me?  Hm....

Sunshine Soup:

1 fennel bulb, de-fronded, bottom cut away, roughly chopped

1 onion, roughly chopped

2-3 celery stalks, cleaned, ends trimmed, roughly diced

2-3 carrots, cleaned, ends trimmed, peeled (if not organic/farm fresh), roughly diced

1/2 green pepper (a leftover), cleaned, de-cored, roughly diced

olive oil, salt, and pepper

1/2 c. brown rice and 1/2 c. yellow split peas (or some relatively close variation; I think I had a scant 2/3 c. rice and added split peas to just over 1 c.) -- rinse and drain.

3-4 c. veg. stock

1. Add 1 T.+ olive oil to bottom of soup pan to just cover it and heat to med..  Add fennel through pepper; flash with salt and pepper.  Saute for approximately 8-10 min. until the onions are becoming translucent.

2. Add stock, rice, and split peas.  Cover and cook on medium for about 35-45 min. until peas and rice are tender.  Check at least midway through cooking time and add water/stock if mix is low/sticking (should only need 1 c. or so more, if any).

3. When peas and rice are tender, remove pot from heat and quickly run immersion through it to desired consistency.  I like the bit of rice and veg. that lingered in my slightly chunky variation, because it reminded me of having Campbell's Chicken and Star soup when I was a kid...which I only liked for the stars, which of course were usually only parts of stars.  This version is healthier and more delicious, but I enjoyed the slightly revised nostalgia it evoked.

In case you thought the revision ended with the soup, I offer you three final revisions -- those of a Chipotle Lentil Pate (basis for the Chipotle Lentil Sausages (testing recipe)), the sandwich (the hub's fave), and the quesadilla.

Rolled the remaining pate into patties, coated them with panko, and pan-fried them; served with sauteed peppers, onions, and mushrooms in a tamari-agave marinade and roasted sweet potatoes.

 Sun-dried Tomato and Herb Bread with Spinach-Artichoke Spread (with spinach from the farm I work at!) and Homemade "Tofurkey" Slices

 Dessert Quesadilla: 2-3 T. peanut butter topped with chopped dark chocolate (1/2 a bar); grill it up. Why?  Because one always needs another delicious way to enjoy chocolate and peanut butter together. Think of this as a vegan version of a KitKat.

Well, that was quite the pictorial catch up.  Hungry yet?  I sure am.  Off to check of the Roasted Asparagus Soup (testing) and make some Drop Biscuits to go with this entirely FARM FRESH salad!

Thinly sliced Parris and Buttercrunch lettuce (that I grew at the farm!)

 and Pea Greens, Carrots, and Radishes from the Farmers Market -- Spring by the bite!