This recipe comes from here, with only slight modification.

• 2 large eggs
• 1 avocado
• 1 bunch green onions
• 1-2 tbsp mayonnaise as needed

Hard-boil eggs, and peel. Add avocado and mash until smooth. Dice green onions (coarse or fine depending on preference) and stir in evenly. If consistency is too dry or crumbly, add a bit of mayonnaise and continue stirring until desired consistency is reached.

Makes an excellent sandwich filling, bread dip, or dip for tortilla or pita chips. Best used fresh, although if advanced prep is needed, you could try leaving the avocado pit in the bowl, or adding a little lemon juice to prevent browning.

Note: Not all vegans consider honey vegan, but many do.  If you’re going to serve this as a vegan dish, consult the specific vegans you plan to serve it to.  Also note that some cocoa powder contains milk solids, so you’d have to check that.

• 1 avocado
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder (swiss processed recommended)
• water to texture (I used about 3/4 cup)

Put all ingredients in blender and pulse until smooth.

Chill in the fridge.

I know it sounds weird, but it turned out really well.  It looks, acts and feels like pudding — maybe a little light for pudding but that may be because of the amount of water.  It tastes more like a good dark chocolate than most chocolate pudding (which tends to be milk chocolate).  It was also incredibly simple.

The above makes about two or three generous servings or about four yogurt-cup sized servings (and with its rich dark-chocolate taste, I found the 4-servings size more than sufficient).  You can find nutritional information (and lots of photos) here.

Oksana passed me the link to this recipe in the Toronto Star, and they turned out really well.  Best of all, they were super simple to make.  They take almost two hours, but the majority of that time is just waiting for things to set in the fridge — the actual working time is minimal — so you can easily have them prepping while you’re doing other things.  It made 21 “finger food” size squares.

1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 tbsp plus 1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup crunchy peanut butter
1 cup crispy rice cereal*
1/8 tsp salt
1-1/4 cups icing sugar

* If you want to prepare this gluten-free, ensure that you’re using a gluten-free crispy rice cereal.  I asked Ruth Anne, and Rice Krispies (which I used) are not gluten-free (they contain barley malt).  She did indicate that there are companies making gluten-free cereals of this type, though.

Grease 9-by-6 inch baking dish and line with parchment sling.

Place 1/4 cup chocolate chips and 1/2 tablespoon butter in large, microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on medium power until melted, up to 1-1/2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds. Stir in 1/2 cup peanut butter. Stir in cereal until well-blended.

Scrape into prepared pan.  Press into even layer using back of large, greased spoon. Place in fridge.

Melt 1/2 cup butter with salt in medium pan on low heat. Stir in remaining 1/2 cup peanut butter until smooth. Stir in icing sugar until blended. Pour half over prepared chocolatey base. Return pan to fridge.

In small, microwave-safe bowl, melt 1/4 cup chocolate chips on medium power, about 1 minute. Pour into remaining peanut butter mixture. Stir to blend. Spread over second layer in pan. Smooth top. Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.

Place remaining 1/2 cup chocolate chips in small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on medium power until melted, 1 to 2 minutes, stirring two or three times. Pour over top layers in pan. Refrigerate until set, at least 1 hour.

Use sling to remove block from  pan. Cut into bars. Store in airtight container.

I made a really good, thrown-together dinner on Saturday, and I decided I should write it down so I can make it on purpose in the future.

2 tablespoons fat (I used half olive oil and half butter)
1 red onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 to 1 1/2 cups cooked chicken or turkey, shredded
1 bunch broccoli
3 small bunches spinach
2 cups artichoke hearts in seasoned oil, drained
1 teaspoon herbes de provence
salt and pepper to taste
1/4-1/2 cup water
half a lemon or equivalent lemon juice
cooked pasta or rice

Heat the fat over medium heat in a large skillet and add onion and garlic, salt and pepper, and a half teaspoon of the herbes. Saute until the onion starts to lose color and/or gets nicely brown. Add the broccoli with the other half teaspoon of herbes and cook until tender. Add the artichoke hearts and cook until heated. Add spinach, cooked chicken and water. Cover, and let steam until the spinach is wilted completely and the chicken is heated through. Serve over rice or pasta, and squeeze lemon over the serving.

Makes 4 servings.

This was *really* good. Don’t leave out the lemon; this dish really needs it.

You could probably substitute tofu for the chicken; if you do that, cube the tofu and marinate it for a bit in the oil drained from the  artichokes.

This is from The Curry Book by Nancie McDermott. I think that both parts could be made separately, too  — I might just make the sweet potatoes sometime, since they are so good. They are really good separately and they’re really good together, is what I’m saying. Also this makes a LOT, but I’m not really sure how to cut down on the kale thing.

Ingredients

• 3 large sweet potatoes (maybe 1.5 pounds?)
• 1 bunch of kale (I think any leafy green would work in this recipe)
• 2 cups of water

Sweet Potato Toss

• 2  TBSP minced garlic
• 2  TBSP curry powder
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (or sriracha)
• 1/4 cup soy sauce [NOTE: use gluten-free soy sauce to make this recipe gluten free]
• 2 TBSP olive oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper

Kale Dressing

• 4 TBSP rice vinegar
• 2 TBSP honey (I might use less next time)
• 1TBSP balsamic vinegar (optional)
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper (or sriracha)

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Grease a 9×13 pan or a baking sheet.
• Mix the ingredients for the sweet potato toss in a large bowl.
• Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into 1/2-thick pieces.
• Put the sweet potatoes in the bowl of sweet potato toss and toss them until they’re coated.
• Put the sweet potatoes in the 9×13 pan and put the pan in the oven.
• Bake for 45 minutes or until they’re soft and browned on the edges.
• While the sweet potatoes are baking, wash the kale, cut it into 1/2-inch thick strips, and put it in a large bowl.
• After the sweet potatoes have come out of the oven, boil the two cups of water.
• Pour the boiling water over the kale.
• Toss the kale with tongs or two spoons until it is bright green and wilted.
• Drain the kale in a colander. Put the kale in a bowl large enough to hold the kale AND the sweetpotatoes.
• Make the dressing, pour it over the kale, and toss until the kale is coated.
• Add the sweet potatoes and toss until everything is mixed.
• Serve warm, at room temperature, or cold.

Additional note: this was pretty spicy. If you want it less spicy,use les chilis.

Serves: 4
Prep Time: 10 min
Cooking Time: 15 min

• 560 g can black beans
• 450 ml can coconut milk
• 250 ml can green peas
• 450 ml stock (I used veggie, original recipe called for chicken)
• 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1/2 tbsp cumin
• 1/2 tbsp cayenne pepper
• 1 head fresh garlic, minced
• 1 white onion, chopped
• 1/2 bunch cilantro, finely chopped
• 250 g portobello mushrooms, chopped
• 1-2 tbsp oil

Reserve 1 cup of black beans for later.  Add remaining black beans, coconut milk, peas, stock, cumin, garlic and cayenne to medium-large sauce pan.  Bring to a boil, then simmer for ten minutes.

While simmering, sautee mushrooms and onions until soft, then set aside.

Place heated mixture in blender and puree until smooth.

Pour back into pot and add remaining ingredients (rest of beans, sauteed mushrooms and onions, cilantro, lime juice).  Stir until mixed.

Let stand for a few minutes, then serve.

(Goes well with buttered bread if you’re not trying to keep it gluten-free or vegan.)