triple ginger fig granola

One of my favorite homemade treats to make is granola. I love that the variations are limitless – every spice or flavor combination is feasible. And it’s too easy to ‘healthify’ – using fruit purees in place of oil or butter – or not :) The only problem I have with making my own granola is that it never seems to make it to an actual breakfast bowl of say yogurt, fruit and granola. Why? Well because I start snacking on it… and then it’s so crunchy and sweet and salty and tasty and hey, much better for you than most store-bought granola right? And then before I know it…. an empty jar?! Happens every time, including this batch of triple-ginger fig granola. Luckily my sisters were around to help this time so we can all share the blame ;)

This recipe calls for a triple punch of fresh, dried, and crystallized ginger, plus blackstrap molasses to give a rich, pungent flavor. I added in dried figs, cherries, and pepitas (pumpkin seeds) but feel free to throw in whatever you feel like. That’s the beauty of granola!

So long sweet peach…

I’ll miss your fuzzy, sunset-hued skin. Your cheery presence in my morning bowl of muesli and yogurt. And eating you like candy.

Sweet, juicy candy, made from pure sunshine.

No matter what grocery store tries to fool me mid-January, I know no look-alike can compare to your genuine summer sunshine-ripened perfection. But that only makes you sweeter come July, when I take my first blissful bite. I’ll soon be longing for that day, I’m sure.

Before I say goodbye for now, though, let’s look at some of the tasty moments we shared this summer…..

A typical breakfast.. (homemade muesli recipe coming soon)

Golden peach soup with crab ‘ceviche’ – from Cooking Light

This was delicious, but too sweet to eat as a whole meal in my opinion. It would work better as a cute appetizer / hors d’oeuvre served in mini cups.

A breakfast or dessert-worthy Yogurt Peach Tart – from Anja’s Food 4 Thought

This one’s definitely a keeper. So simple to put together, and every ingredient is 100% nutritious! no shame eating a big slice of this for breakfast :)

Peaches & ginger cheesecake - shared on the blog recently…

And last but perhaps best, my spicy peach lassi – recipe below.

juicy, crisp & super sweet raw corn salad.

Sweet summer corn in its raw state is totally under-appreciated.

Chomping down on a freshly husked ear from the field across the street; your teeth bursting a mouthful of crispy kernels into sweet, milky juice that runs down your chin….

There’s something so rich and pure and earthy that I feel is lost when the ears are cooked.

SO. If you have not experienced the sensation that is sweet summer corn, fresh from the field and raw, try out this easy recipe for corn bhel, a sweet and tangy Indian street snack. Give your traditional boiled/baked/grilled corn-on-the-cob a break, and enjoy all the extra nutrients from the raw stuff!

I first had corn bhel at Chai Pani, an amaazing Indian street food-inspired restaurant in Asheville, NC (highly recommend it if you’re in the area!). It was love at first taste… love that quickly turned into addiction. How could such simple ingredients combine to create something so brightly flavorful and complex?

As expected, I’m pretty sure the flavor owes much to the “corn milk,” as I like to call it, which is plentiful and so rich and pure on an uncooked ear. Be sure to slice the kernels off as close to the cob as it allows, and then scrape again and again til you’ve milked the cob for all it’s worth.

MMM mmmm. Then spoon it onto a green salad, grilled fish or chicken, scoop it like salsa onto corn chips, serve it over a fried egg with salsa and black beans, provide as a healthy side dish, or eat it straight out of the serving bowl when you want to snack on something awesome. Did I mention it’s incredibly addicting……

Corn Bhel (sweet raw corn salad), inspired by Chai Pani’s dish

• 2 ears sweet corn, raw + kernels sliced fresh off the cob
• ‘corn milk’  (the juices from the cob, every last drop scraped off :)
• 1  red or white onion, diced
• 4 small-medium tomatoes, diced (this is just an estimate – I used what we had from the garden)
• 1 handful cilantro, chopped
• juice of 1 lime
• 1/2 t roasted coriander powder
• 1/2 t cumin powder
• salt + pepper to taste

Hold each ear of corn on its end and slice the kernels off with a knife. Then continue scraping the cob ’til you get every last drop of juice. Combine all ingredients together in a pretty bowl and let sit in the fridge for at least 1 hour to let the flavors meld into deliciousness. Eat.

enjoy :) -mich

This post is linked to Wellness Weekends and Healthy Vegan Fridays :)

lemon + zucchini corncakes

Limón y calabacín, or lemon and zucchini as you may know them, were the flavors of my summer. Working at a Montessori school’s garden all season, we had an overflowing crop of zucchini and lots of time to mess around with new recipes and get creative.

…zucchini ice cream, anyone? ;)

I’ve never been a huge fan of lemon flavor in desserts, but this summer my taste buds must have changed on me. ‘Cause now it’s all I crave. With the help of the Montessori kids who came to work in the garden, we started experimenting with some lemon-rosemary zucchini bread, then progressed to Martha’s lemon-zucchini cornmeal cookies *veganized* (Mom’s faaavorite), and from there I decided to add the tasty combo to my favorite cornmeal pancakes that I posted here last summer.

Fluffy and buttery cornmeal cakes with shreds of bright green zucchini and tangy lemon zest, spread with maple syrup-greek yogurt….. it’s summer bundled up into a little pancake.

peaches and ginger cheesecake

Today I bit into my first perfect peach of summer.

It’s a little late, I know, and now I’m regretting not stuffing my mouth with them for the past 3 weeks.

I mean come on Michele, you live less than a mile from Peach Tree Road…..

Each year I experience the same moment: biting into a soft, still-warm-from-the-sun peach that twists apart into two perfect halves in my hands, sunset colored flesh that breaks between my teeth with ease, not mushy but not too firm, and tasting of pure summer. And once again I remember why this is my most favorite of fruits. Silly of me to ever forget.

So a couple weeks ago we celebrated my summer birthday with a delicious home-cooked meal on the patio, featuring rosemary-lemon roasted chicken, fried plantains with sweet chili-cilantro sauce, citrusy jicama slaw, lots of sunshine, and great company. And I decided to make my own birthday cake :)

My idea was for a gingery peach cheesecake, to use up some of our not-quite-yet-perfect summer peaches. However I couldn’t find a recipe I was satisfied with, and out of all the cakes, pies, cobblers and whatnot my mom and sister have made over the years, neither had ever made a cheesecake. So I plunged into the unknown, using my imagination and a couple different recipes for estimates. And what do you know, it was one of those lucky days.

I would expect no less on my birthday, of course ;)

From the oven emerged a naturally sweet, nutty, and gingery crust surrounding a light and creamy filling, flavored with vanilla and fresh ginger. The early summer peaches which topped it off were slightly less-than-perfect, but the cake didn’t seem to mind.

I get pretty excited when I luck out like this with a made-up recipe. Because it doesn’t happen often. Soo, I’m sharing it with the world in hopes that you’ll try it, or at least go take FULL advantage of summer’s sweetest fruit.

a well balanced cookie

It’s been a while since I’ve made a good, wholesome, nutritious cookie — one that I can feel good about snacking on for a boost of energy first thing in the morning, or as a perfectly sweet treat after dinner.

As a self-professed cookie monster, I’ve embraced the art of “healthy cookie” making so I’d always have something slightly more nutritious than a box of nutter butters when the monster decided to come out. But lately my cookie baking has been less-than-healthy, and I’m longing for those guilt-free goodies of my past….

Some may laugh at cookies for breakfast, but to that I say simply compare the ingredients & nutrition facts to a your typical banana-nut bakery muffin and thennn we’ll see who’s laughing….

These pack serious protein from the egg, protein powder and nuts, a modest amount of healthy fat from almond butter, coconut oil and hazelnuts, slight sweetness from agave nectar, vanilla protein and cherries, and antioxidants from the cocoa nibs.

And in terms of taste, the sweetness contrasts with a peppery kick and tart cherries, nuts and nibs provide bits of crunch, the whole wheat and oats lend a dense and hearty chew, and the gentle scent of vanilla reminds you that you’re nibbling on a delicate little cookie. (For breakfast).

A cookie as balanced in nutrients as it is in texture and flavor. What more could a cookie monster ask for?

Cherry Hazelnut Power Cookies, adapted from the 17-Day Diet Book. Thanks Janet!!

makes ~18 cookies

• 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 2 T almond butter
• 1 T flaxseed or coconut oil
• ¼ cup agave nectar
• 1 egg or 3 ½ T egg whites
• ½ t vanilla extract
• ½ t almond extract
• ¾ cup whole wheat flour
• ½ t baking soda
• 1 t cinnamon
• ½ t salt
• ¼ t ground white pepper
• ½ cup vanilla protein powder (I use tera’s whey bourbon vanilla)
• 1 ½ cup rolled oats
• 1 cup dried cherries
• ¼ cup chopped hazelnuts
• ¼ cup cocoa nibs (optional)

why I love summer mornings at home, and happy birthday blog!

Summer mornings at our quiet country home are perhaps the most serene and savored moments of my days.

All is still except the yellow sunlight slowly slipping further through the windows.

And silence is broken only by the voices of chirpy birds and occasional snores of a sleepy dog.

It’s a brief calm before the heat storm that is to come…

I take my time with a good long stretch, a homemade latte, and a slow breakfast including wild black raspberries picked from a neighbor’s farm and sweet, fat blueberries from a friend’s backyard. And my newly discovered favorite granola.

treats for tara

So I’m not big on posting recipes that I copy exactly from someone else. Writing up my own creations (the few successful ones) or a recipe that I’ve at least adapted to make my own feels much more like an accomplishment.

But I’ll make exceptions when something turns out just so perfect and everyone’s begging for the recipe.

Like these…..

When my family went to Colorado to celebrate my sister’s graduation, she threw a little party featuring sumo wrestling and tasty food prepared by us. Two pretty great things.

Among many other nibbles, mom made cute shrimp gazpacho shooters…..

…and I contributed the sweets, of course. My favorite chili-chocolate-cherry bean cookies emerged from the oven sadly flat (blaming that on the altitude..), but these almond butter rice crisp treats certainly made up for it.

coconut flour cookies – gluten free & grain free

Not often does one get offered a giant bag of coconut flour because someone has just too much of it. So when my uncle offered me an extra bag he had lying around (my gluten-free aunt orders online in bulk because it’s cheaper), I was glad to take it off their hands :)

I left their home after dinner with arms full of goodies— coconut flour and bunches of collards and lettuces fresh from their garden. It’s been nice living close to them for 4 years of college; I never left without something yummy, usually homemade applesauce or jarred South Carolina peaches. mmmm.

Anyway, with more coconut flour than I ever thought I’d have in my possession (that stuff can be expensive!) I was dreaming up all the recipes I could add it to. And what did I settle on first? The classic chocolate chip cookie, of course. Except this one’s not so classic…

I knew my aunt had been on a search for the best tasting gluten-free cookies, so I thought I’d add a homemade recipe to the competition. And it’s not only gluten-free, but grain-free, vegan, refined sugar-free, and very low in sugar overall. The baked cookie certainly has a different texture than the classic—a bit more dense, soft, and dough-like—but delicious in its own way.

I absolutely love these cookies and could easily just eat balls of the raw dough as well. I know my aunt enjoyed them, and even if you’re not avoiding gluten you should give them a try! A soft, dense, chocolatey, coconutty, just-sweet-enough treat, without any of the guilt ;)

grain-free coconut flour cookies, adapted from girl meets life.

• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• ¼ cup almond meal/flour
• 1/4 t baking powder
• 1/4 t salt
• 1 banana, mashed
• 1 T agave
• 1/2 T coconut oil
• 1/4 t vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup almond or soy milk
• 3-4 T dark chocolate chips (I use grain-sweetened or dark mini chips)
• other options: cocoa nibs, coconut flakes, chopped nuts

spinach frappe

This should really be called a banana mocha frappuccino, but I like to say spinach frapp just cause it sounds gross. Don’t get me wrong, I love my spinach. But who really wants it in their sweet blended coffee drink?

Leafy greens—fresh or frozen—turn out to be a great addition for smoothies and shakes. They add vitamins and fiber and substance to your smoothie without loading in the sugar, fat, or ice that waters down the flavor. Nor does it add any flavor of its own, so don’t worry about you frappucino tasting like a drinkable salad.

This homemade frappe has it all — sweetness from a frozen banana and vanilla soymilk, fiber from the spinach and banana, richness and antioxidants from the cocoa, a jolt of espresso, and extra protein (optional) from protein powder — without too much ice watering it down! To indulge in a mocha frappuccino for breakfast and not feel one bit of guilt? Mornings just got way sweeter.