Late-summer fruits can be lush and ripe, but are often past their peak of flavor. I like my midsummer fruit salads plain, but by late summer, fruit salads can use the help of a sauce to enliven the flavors. This Late Summer Fruit Salad recipe adds an Agave-Mint Dressing to make the fruity flavors really pop! Continue Reading…
These fruity popsicles are a delicious mix of kiwi, apple, and fresh mint—a perfect recipe to make ahead for hot summer days!
These Tofu and Mango Vegan Tacos are colorful, delicious, and perfect for summer! Follow this recipe and you’ll wow meat eaters and non-meat eaters alike.
This simple and pretty combination of winter fruits — pears, apples, oranges, and pineapple, spiced with crystallized ginger — is a refreshing finish to any meal. It’s pretty enough to serve as a Christmas dinner dessert, accompanied by your favorite cookies. Recipe adapted from Vegan Holiday Kitchen. Photos by Susan Voisin.
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When summer’s scorching heat reaches its peak, few foods are better at keeping you refreshed and hydrated than watermelon. Make sure to use plenty of this vitamin-packed summer fruit during the height of its season, July and August. Seedless watermelon has become more and more common, sparing you from removing pesky pits one by one. Chill the watermelon for a few hours if you buy it at room temperature, since that’s how it tastes best.
There are few beverages more hydrating for summer’s hottest days than a fresh watermelon slush. This semi-frozen Watermelon-Strawberry Slush, at top, will keep you cool and refreshed. Continue Reading…
A simple, elegant recipe for poached nectarines that is delicious and light. Serve it alone or over nondairy ice cream. You can use the leftovers in the morning with porridge or oatmeal.
Reprinted from Plantpower Way: Italia by arrangement with Avery Books, a member of Penguin Group (USA) LC, A Penguin Random House Company. © 2018, Julie Piatt and Rich Roll. Continue Reading…
Late July into August is when peaches taste as they should — no more buying them hard as rocks and waiting for them to ripen into mush! Look for locally grown (and organic) peaches, if at all possible. They should have a little give when you press them. Aside from eating out of hand, consider some of these fresh peach recipes for your summer pleasure. By the way — any recipe that calls for peaches is just as good with nectarines as long as you remember the ideal trio: local, organic, and ripe.
Summer Tomato and Peach Salad: This late summer salad, shown at top, is perfect for using ripe tomatoes and peaches of the garden or farm market variety— not the kind that come with stickers on them! Fresh local tomatoes and peaches seem to reach their peak of flavor at the same time, and are a surprisingly compatible duo. Walnuts or pecans add a surprising twist to this easy salad. Continue Reading…
Peach season is frustratingly short — that is, that brief period when fresh peaches from your local area are available, not the perfect-looking fruit that’s shipped across the country hard as rocks. These ripen into mush, often not very flavorful mush as well. Look for peaches at your local farm markets that already have some give when pressed lightly. They’re just right for making fresh peach chutney.
Lots of chutneys are cooked down, but why go there? This combination of fresh fruit (nectarines are just as good here as peaches) and chile peppers strikes just the right balance of sweet and spicy, making a fantastic relish to serve alongside grilled vegetables, curries, and samosas (we used frozen samosas for this delicacy — no way we could have made better ones from scratch!). Continue Reading…
This is the best (and healthiest) “pizza†ever! Kids love making this fun recipe, and you may just find that you do too. Although the recipe calls for specific amounts and ingredients that go nicely together, the truth is it’s highly flexible, and you can easily omit, swap, or add your kids’ favorite fruits and ingredients. Or just put all the ingredients on the table to create a “pizza factory,†and let the kids assemble their own pizza—a wonderful way to get children excited about vibrantly healthy food. Reprinted with permission from Superfood Snacks © 2015 by Julie Morris, Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. Photos by Oliver Barth. Continue Reading…
Bowls of nondairy yogurt, dried and fresh fruit, and granola can be a quick light lunch or nutritious snack. It’s great for kids — especially young children who balk at dishes in which ingredients are “touching.†But if they decide for themselves what’s touching what, they don’t seem to mind a mixed dish. When my kids were young and had friends over, they created patterns in their yogurt with the other items, and often asked for seconds. This is great for adults, too. Why let kids have all the fun? Photos by Evan Atlas. Continue Reading…
I think I have had apricots in just about every recipe imaginable. One all time favorite is chevre stuffed apricots as an antipasto. Since this busy-bee does not indulge in animal cheese like this but once or twice a year, I decided to create a cashew chevre to stuff them with. It still has the smooth texture and tanginess that we all crave in an artisan chevre, but is made with raw cashews instead. Continue Reading…
Holiday meals, whether at home or at my grandmother’s, always concluded with a small bowl of stewed dried fruits perfectly sweetened and laced with cinnamon. Homemade chocolate wafers turn this delicious, unpretentious pear and cranberry compote into an elegant, alluring dessert perfect for holidays or company meals. Recipe contributed by Zel Allen, from Vegan for the Holidays.* Photos by Jennifer Strohmeyer of Virtually Vegan Mama.
If it’s not quite the time for summery fruits, this medley makes the most of winter and early spring fruits for a luscious and refreshing finale to a meal. It makes a nice breakfast or brunch offering as well. Photos by Evan Atlas. Continue Reading…
Peaches are at their best from mid- to late summer. Make sure to get them already almost or perfectly ripe. Rock-hard peach that have traveled a great distance never seem to develop much flavor as they ripen, and often go to mush. This quick dessert can be enjoyed shortly after you make it — no baking or chilling required! Out of season, frozen organic peaches are a good alternative to fresh. Photo by Hannah Kaminsky of Bittersweet. Continue Reading…
Fresh fruit platters are the best kind of dessert for summer evenings, with berries, melons, and other fruits at their peak. They can also be the main feature of a light brunch served with muffins or other baked goods. Here, quantities are given just as a guideline — they aren’t as  important as arrangement—and of course, the fruit should be ripe and luscious. Vary the kind of fruit used according to what’s available. Photos by Hannah Kaminsky. Continue Reading…
Summer desserts need not be fancy; in fact, when the short season of summer fruit is upon us, that’s the best dessert of all. These past few summers I’ve enjoyed teaming two or three fruits whose colors and flavors contrast and complement well. Honestly, you don’t need a formal recipe or even quantities, but I give some only as a guideline in the ideas that follow. Once fruit is washed and/or cut up, it should be eaten as soon as possible. You can serve any of these combinations on their own, or over nondairy ice cream or coconut yogurt. Photos by Hannah Kaminsky.
This dessert of amaretto-soaked strawberries is almost embarrassingly simple, yet luscious and low in fat. Amaretto is a liqueur made from almonds. It’s a good way to serve this fruit during strawberry season. Photos by Evan Atlas. Continue Reading…
The preparation of this banana pizza is almost ridiculously easy, consider how impressive the results are. The first time I actually had this for dessert was in an Italian restaurant in Paris, presented as “Banana Pizza Chocolatino.” Combining a good-quality pizza crust and chocolate chips with bananas and another fresh fruit is a combination of pure genius and absolute simplicity.
Use a neutral-flavored crust for this (no herbs, dried tomatoes, or other savory flavors). I like sourdough, as its slight bite contrasts nicely with the sweet dark chocolate. Photos by Hannah Kaminsky. Continue Reading…
The refreshing duo of pineapple and oranges will perk up your taste buds during winter’s long fruit drought. It’s easy enough to make as a snack, and elegant enough to serve as dessert. If you want to end a holiday dinner with a lighter dessert, this is a nice choice. It also makes a fabulous fruity finish for a casual brunch. Photos by Hannah Kaminsky. Continue Reading…
The combination of cucumber, honeydew, and green grapes makes for a simple and refreshing summer salad that’s good as an appetizer as well as a dessert. Or it can be served with a meal, as a counterpoint to something spicy, like a curry. Recipe reprinted with permission from Ripe: A Fresh, Colorful Approach to Fruits and Vegetables* © 2012 by Cheryl Sternman Rule, photography by Paulette Phlipot; Running Press, a member of the Perseus Book Group. Continue Reading…
