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Fruity Spinach Salad & Happy News!
It’s been a buuuuuuusy week around the Kramer household. I’ve been putting in some major overtime trying to get this cookbook wrapped up. Sleeping has been replaced with early morning recipe testing and late night writing, my refrigerator is jam-packed with WAY too much food for a family of three and a half to deal with, and there are regularly just enough dirty dishes in my sink to keep me from filling my coffee pot with water so I can function throughout the day. :\
But, despite the busyness, I am loving life right now. The weather outside has been a blissful 90 degrees (yeah, I’m a heat junkie), and my garden is in full bloom even though I haven’t been able to tend to it this year. I guess it wanted to grow so badly that it just took care of itself. Pretty rad! We have kale, scallions, chamomile, rosemary, parsley, cilantro, mint, oregano, sage, berries, roses, and even purslane! So, it’s really a great time to be cooking up a storm. Ah, yes… life is good.
And, you guys… I have good news! Well, great news! I’ve been sitting on this exciting announcement for a while until it became “official”. And now it is. I’m super happy to say that my cookbook is getting published by Fair Winds Press… one of my all time favorite publishers of beautiful reads! So with that, comes an emphatic thank you to all of you. There’s no way in heck I would have ever had this opportunity if it wasn’t for you glorious readers out there, subscribing to my culinary rants, making my recipes, and keeping me motivated. You guys are the best.
The book’ll be hitting shelves Spring of 2012, and the [tentative] title is Great Gluten-Free Vegan Eats. Keep an eye out for it! Unless of course you’re a regular follower of my blog, in which case I’ll be sure to remind you. :)
My testers have been hard at work too! Check out what a few of them have been up to:
Tiffany’s (of Bread Without Butter) flickr photostream Check out her blog too!
And, last but not least, Tofu’s Mobile Me Gallery
They’ve been busy helping me out, and I couldn’t be more appreciative of all their hard work. ♥
With a schedule like I have these days, one thing that’s keeping me fueled up is salads. Yep… I’ve been thriving on simple, colorful, nutritious bowls of yum. They always include some of my garden bounty in ‘em, which makes me especially proud to be noshing them. They’re good for your mind and body, and they are super easy to prepare. Oh, and they require very little cleanup!
This recipe is one of my faves. It’s filling enough to count as a full meal, yet simple enough to whip up last minute before heading out the door for some summertime fun (if you happen to have some cooked brown rice on hand, which is a frequent occurrence in my refrigerator). Feel free to adjust all seasonings and ingredients to your taste! This is, after all, a salad… mix it up!
Baingan Bharta (more or less)
My love for Baingan Bharta has turned into a bit of an obsession lately; especially since I mentioned it in my recent post for blueberry salsa. This recipe is an adaption of the link I posted from Manjula’s Kitchen. But, it’s a tad different with the addition of yellow zucchini squash.
The entire dish comes together quite easily, although the mashing of the ingredients while cooking takes a little elbow grease. It works wonders to curb a desperate craving for Baingan Bharta, say… really late at night when everything is closed and the nearest Indian restaurant is 45 miles away.
Blueberry Avocado Salsa
I never used to like salsa. Not at all.
Not riding atop my favorite tortilla chip, not accompanying my fajitas, not even as a stand in for butter on my baked potato. Nope, I hated it. I also used to loathe cilantro, as I understand many people do. Perhaps it was an acquired taste, because after years of relentless late night salsa snacking by my hubby… I finally caved and started devouring his favorite dip right alongside him.
It used to be that he could savor an entire tub all by himself with no competition trying to sneak their chip into the last bite. Not anymore. I have converted into a full fledged salsa fanatic. Now we buy two containers and polish off both within ten minutes, dueling chips in hand.
I even have developed a particular fondness for that stinky cilantro (but I would rather credit my love affair with Indian cuisine for that one). Mmmm… Baingan Bharta.
Anyways, did you know how wonderful cilantro, avocado and blueberries meld together? They do, and this recipe is simple proof…
…that is, if you don’t hate salsa. :)