Strawberry Blueberry Crisp

Our garden is overflowing with strawberries! We planted about a dozen strawberry plants last year and they produced about a dozen small berries, but this year has been amazing! We also visited our favorite organic blueberry farm - Wolfsen Farms* last week and picked three pounds of delicious berries. So to incorporate these two berries I decided to make a crisp and found a recipe on Discuss Cooking by Debbie. I switched up a few ingredients. I prefer crisps to cobblers and this crisp recipe has two layers for extra crunch!

Berry crisp

1 cup uncooked oatmeal (we used muesli which contained oats, raisins, dates, sunflower seeds, hazelnuts, almonds, etc.)
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup brown sugar (didn't have brown sugar so used 1 cup of regular sugar mixed w/ 2 tbsp of molasses)
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup Earth Balance butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/2 cups strawberries. 1 cup blueberries ( could just use all strawberries, or whatever other fruit you would like, probably like blackberries, or maybe just all blueberries)

Mix together oatmeal/muesli, flour, and brown sugar. Add nuts. Cut in butter until crumbly. In another bowl mix the berries and white sugar together. Butter an 8 inch square pan. Spread 1/2 the crumb mixture on bottom. cover with berries, then spread the remaining crumb mixture on top. Bake 350 degree oven for 40 minutes or till bubbly.

*Wolfsen Farms 2103 Baird Road, McKinleyville, CA. Phone: 707-839-2017. A small, family-owned organic Blueberry farm located in Humboldt County, very near the Pacific Ocean in Dows Prairie, McKinleyville.

Hope to see you there!

On Saturday, July 18, the Humboldt Vegetarian Society will host a vegan potluck and free screening of the film, Meat the Truth, at the Humboldt Area Foundation Community Center, 373 Indianola Road in Bayside.

This event is open to the public and is free of charge. Attendees are welcome to attend either the potluck or film screening alone, or enjoy the entire evening. Potluck participants should bring one vegan dish to share and their own plates, cups, and utensils. (Vegan means no animal products, including meat, fish, dairy, eggs, honey, etc.) Dinner will begin at 6:00, followed by the film screening at 7:00.

Meat the Truth is a documentary intended to form an addendum to earlier films on climate change, which have succeeded in drawing public attention to the issue of global warming, but have repeatedly ignored one of the most important causes of climate change - intensive livestock production.

For more information, please visit the Humboldt Vegetarian Society website at
www.HumboldtVeg.blogspot.com.

Free child care will be provided during the movie.

Vegan Grilling!

It's summer in Humboldt! For Father's Day we bought a nice gas grill for dh and have been enjoying the taste of grilled veggies, tofu and pizzas - yes pizzas! It's amazing how easy grilled vegetables are to prepare and grill. The following are a few tips for grilling, along with a quick and easy grilled pizza recipe.

Onions:
Cut into think slices and pierce with a toothpick to hold the rings together.

Bell peppers:
Cut into quarters. Anything smaller runs the risk of falling through the grill holes.

Mushrooms:
Wash and plop these tasty morsels onto skewers. I've read that you're suppose to soak the skewers in water so they don't catch on fire. Ours haven't caught on fire, but if you have the time, it seems like a good idea.

Zucchinis:
Cut into thick, oblong strips

Brush sides of the veggies with olive oil and place on a hot grill. Watch to ensure they're not burning. Always cut more veggies then you think you really need. It's great to have left over grilled veggies to use on sandwiches, on top of pizzas, etc. Though in our family, there haven't been any leftovers yet!

Tofu:
Use extra firm tofu,press tofu, and slice into 1/4" sections. Marinate tofu in your favorite marinade for at least 30 minutes before grilling. I use a combination of tamari, rice wine vinegar and jarred ginger. Grill over a pre-heated grill for 6-7 minutes on each side, brushing occasionally with extra marinade or oil to ensure it doesn't burn.

Grilled pizzas: These grill pretty fast, so make sure you've got the veggies grilling before you start grilling the pizzas.

Ingredients:
4 pitas
pasta sauce/pesto sauce
favorite pizza toppings
vegan cheese (optional)

Brush oil on the bottom of the pitas.Pour sauce on tops of pitas, then cover with favorite toppings and cheese. Grill over a pre-heated grill for ~ 5 minutes. Makes 4 personal pizzas.

Some pita pizza ideas:
1) Pesto sauce, with spinach, zucchini, and artichokes
2) Layer of refried beans, topped with olives, tomatoes and salsa. When done grilling put some avacado on top
3) Layer of bbq sauce, some marinated bbq seitan, onions and bell peppers.

Some other vegetarian/vegan grilling articles:
The Vegetarians guide to a grilled 4th of July
VegCooking - includes yummy dessert recipes like grilled pineapple and peaches

Happy Grilling!

Good Times!

Our first community potluck and film screening last Friday was great - thanks so much to everyone who attended - it was great to see some new faces and eat tons of delicious vegan food!




If any of the attendees want to email me their potluck recipes, I'd be happy to post them here on the blog!

Muhammara Bliss

(originally posted on the McFarland Designs blog)
This recipe from Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's just-released new cookbook, The Vegan Table is da bomb. I made some yesterday and have been enjoying the most spectacular sandwiches ever since. Here's tonight's dinner - foccacia with muhammara, sliced avocado, chopped cucumber, and shredded carrots. It would have been good with some chopped olives on top as well.

Muhammara

2 to 3 whole roasted peppers (from jar or roasted yourself)
2/3 cup bread crumbs (see below to make your own)
1 cup walnuts, toasted
4 large garlic cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons clover agave nectar
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (or more for added spice)

In a blender or food processor, combine the peppers and all the remaining ingredients. Taste, and add more spice or salt as necessary. Serving suggestions and variations:

* Garnish with toasted pine nuts

* To toast walnuts, just place them on a toaster oven tray and toast for 5 minutes; watch closely or they will burn.

* Serve with pita triangles, fresh bread, crackers, chips, carrots, mushrooms, cucumber, etc.

To make your own bread crumbs: Place some bread (stale bread works great) in the oven until it’s crispy but not really browned - at 300 degrees). Let it cool, then add it to your food processor until it is reduced to crumbs. Add Italian herbs such as dried oregano, thyme, basil, marjoram, rosemary, black pepper, etc. Enjoy!

To roast your own pepper: Heat the oven to 525 degrees (or use your broiler if you have one). Place peppers on an oiled cookie sheet. Roast on the highest rack for about 30 minutes or until they turn completely black. It’s not necessary to turn them. Remove them from the oven, and put them in a paper bag right away. Let them cool before handling them. The blackened skin will then just peel off after only about 10 minutes in the bag. Roasting peppers over an open flame is also a great way to do it (and you don’t need any oil). Use your gas range or grill. Use tongs and just turn over an open flame for about 10 minutes until charred. Proceed as above.

May Event Details

On Friday, May 22, the Humboldt Vegetarian Society will host a vegan potluck and free screening of the film, The Emotional World of Farm Animals, at the Humboldt Area Foundation, 373 Indianola Road in Bayside.

This event is open to the public and is free of charge. Attendees are welcome to attend either the potluck or film screening alone, or enjoy the entire evening. Potluck participants should bring one vegan dish to share and their own plates, cups, and utensils. (Vegan means no animal products, including meat, fish, dairy, eggs, honey, etc.) Dinner will begin at 6:00, followed by the film screening at 7:00.

The Emotional World of Farm Animals is a heart warming and thought provoking exploration of the emotional lives of animals that has aired nationally on PBS. The documentary is led by Jefferey Masson, author of When Elephants Weep, Dogs Never Lie About Love, and The Pig Who Sang to The Moon. The film is a coproduction of Animal Place and Earth View Productions.

Free child care will be provided.

Mark Your Calendars!

Our May gathering has been scheduled for the evening of Friday, May 22nd at the Humboldt Area Foundation (373 Indianola Road, Bayside). This event will include a free movie screening (movie to be determined soon) and a vegan pot luck. I'll post more details later, but for now, jot it down on your calendars so you don't book anything else! :-)