June 20, 2011June 20, 2011 by betsy

VegKitchen Adds Another Blooming Platter Recipe to their Collection

I was flattered today when I received a message from the “nava-lous” Nava Atlas of VegKitchen asking if she could print one of my recipes to “beef up” (not!) the grilling section of her website.

The answer was a resounding, “Are you kidding? Of course!” Heck, she doesn’t even need to ask, but it’s always great to hear from her, a fellow artist and foodie.

I loved the recipe she chose and, if you haven’t tried it, I think you will too. You can, of course, find it here on The Blooming Platter, but I encourage you to visit Nava’s site, check out my recipe, and poke around a bit.

Thanks, Nava!

May 10, 2011May 10, 2011 by betsy

Vegan Coconut Cream-Mango Sorbet

If you think the Chocolate Carrot Cupcakes below look scrumptious, you should try them with my Coconut Cream-Mango Sorbet: just a tiny scoop in a Chinese soup spoon!

The dessert display at the party mentioned in the cupcake post was beautiful, clean and modern with a sweep of white ceramic soup spoons filled with golden-orange globes of sorbet playing off the robin’s egg blue cupcake decoration–perfect complementary colors and flavors.

But with its subtle hint of fresh lime and tropical-sweet fruit flavor, this sorbet is luscious on its own or, if you don’t want to go so far as a cupcake, with just a rich chocolate ganache squiggle as in the photograph.

This recipe and over 150 more, plus color photos, fill the pages of my new Blooming Platter Cookbook: A Harvest of Seasonal Vegan Recipes. Your copy awaits at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Prince Books (both online and in their Norfolk, VA, store)!

April 24, 2010July 21, 2010 by betsy

Vegan Red, White and Green Orzo (Quick and Easy!)

Yield: 4 servings

My fellow teacher friend, Betsy Morris, is married to a farmer in the Pungo area of Virginia Beach. At various times throughout the year, she will generously bring a basket full of fresh produce to school to share with our faculty and staff. This week, she gifted us with beautiful thin asparagus, my favorite kind. I whipped up this quick and tasty dinner when I returned home from seeing our school’s wonderful production of “Guys and Dolls.” I was ravenous, but it was late, so this light dinner did the trick. Basil would be delicious in this dish, but it’s not quite fresh basil season in our area.

3 cups generously salted water
1 cup orzo
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 bunch asparagus, trimmed, and cut into1-inch pieces
1 cup grape tomato halves
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
coarse sea or kosher salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup coarsely chopped smoked almonds

In a medium-large pot, bring water to a boil. Stir in orzo, cover loosely, and reduce to a simmer. Cook for approximately 8 minutes or until tender. Drain. Meanwhile, in a large cast iron skillet over medium-high, heat olive oil to shimmering. Add asparagus and saute until lightly browned on some surfaces. Add tomatoes and just heat through. Add drained pasta, nutritional yeast and salt and pepper to taste. Stir well and heat through. Remove from heat and transfer to a serving bowl or individual serving bowls. Top with smoked almonds. (You might want to pass the smoked almonds separately for each person to sprinkle onto his or her serving which, in case there are leftovers, will prevent the almonds from becoming soft.)

April 24, 2010July 21, 2010 by betsy

Vegan Sweet Potato Latkes

Yield: approximately 8 latkes

I can’t believe I haven’t posted any new recipes since last Saturday, but I stayed at school late several days this week, so the light wasn’t good for photographing when I got home and time was short. I made these latkes last Sunday with the sweet potato left over after making pancakes on Saturday. I hope you enjoy this savory take on “sweet potato pancakes” as much as I did (and Minnie too…I let the mini-Dane share one with me).

2 fairly firmly packed cups of grated sweet potato (I used the grater attachment on my food processor)
2 tablespoons grated onion, drained of excess juice
1 tablespoon dried parsley
3 tablespoons cornstarch
pinch garlic powder
pinch onion powder
coarse sea or kosher salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste
canola oil for frying
Garnish: dollops of vegan sour cream and a sprinkling of paprika, coarse sea or kosher salt and optional snipped chives or parsley.

Preheat oven to warm. Place potato shreds in a large bowl. Sprinkle with remaining ingredients, trying to evenly disperse the cornstarch. Mix together all ingredients until well combined using a fork and/or your fingers to keep the potato shreds separated. In a large *well-seasoned cast iron skillet over medium-high, heat a thin layer of canola oil to shimmering. Place approximately 1/4 cup size mounds of the mixture into the skillet and immediately press firmly with a spatula so that latkes hold together. Latkes will be fairly flat. After about a minute or enough time for a crisp surface to begin to develop, gently loosen the bottom of the latkes from the skillet by sliding a spatula under each one. If the latkes appears to want to fall apart, remove the spatula, press again from the top and cook for another 30 seconds or so. In total, cook for approximately 4 minutes on the first side, pressing frequently, to insure crispiness, and checking to make sure latkes are not sticking to the skillet. Carefully flip and cook for another 4 or so minutes on reverse. Place on a paper towel-lined plate and keep warm in the oven while preparing remaining latkes. Serve with a small dollop of vegan sour cream, a sprinkling of paprika and coarse sea or kosher salt and, if you’d like, snipped chives or parsley.

*I have not made these in a non-stick skillet, but it might be even easier provided the latkes brown properly.