a summer lunch.

Prospect Park Potato Salad

Saturday was a designated "clean house" day. After not being able to locate the key for the shed, I gave up on mowing the lawn, which ultimately means I gave up on cleaning anything (thought I did wipe the kitchen counters and have Matt do the dishes!). There's always Sunday, right? Instead of cleaning Matt and I sporadically watched crappy television - SyFy's Spring Break Shark Attack, Lake Placid 2 - and made food. Once we came to our senses, we put on the last few episodes of 30 rock season 4 and chuckled along with the immortal Kenneth and sexy and scrupulous Jack Donaghy (yeah, I said it) while eating a filling and effortless lunch.

Prospect Park Potato Salad

I haven't been to the grocery store in a while. In fact, the last time I went I got very few groceries due to a lack of funds. So when our stomach's began a-rumblin', our eyes began a-searchin' for the right lunch fixin's. Needless to say our prospects looked grim. What we discovered after a little brainstorming and cookbook-index-referencing was a light and satisfactory meal of pantry staples. We improvised Veganomicon's Prospect Park Potato Salad, using lemon juice instead of vinegar and adding half of a diced sweet onion. This recipe is simple enough to throw together at anytime, and requires little effort. Most the time spent on this recipe is idle - boiling potatoes, waiting for them to cool, and chilling the salad. I also usually have all of the ingredients on hand, except for veganaise, which I sporadically buy (but this could easily become a vinaigrette-styled potato salad by omitting the veganaise and using more oil and lemon juice/vinegar).

Cheezy Chick'n and Avocado Wrap Prospect Park Potato Salad

Matt and I paired the salad with a sandwich and wrap, respectively. Both consisted of Cluckphrey-brand chicken patties, avocado, tomato and a sprinkle of Daiya Mozzarella cheese. I try not to include many frozen meat substitutes in my cooking, as they are often fried and relatively expensive. The great thing about these patties is that they are baked and contain no GMO's. I recommend baking rather than microwaving, as they get a little mushy.

Keen on Peaches

I tend to use holidays as an excuse to whip up more extravagant meals and desserts, regardless of whether or not I partake in them. This being the fourth of July, I thought a hearty summery Southern dessert was in order. Peaches have finally started to show up at the Farmer’s Market and I took home 10-12 small/medium sized peaches for $4! Amazing! I’ve eaten a peach everyday for the last week and still have several sitting (and softening) on the counter. My initial response was to freeze them, ensuring their freshness for later in the year. Then I thought to myself, “it’s the beginning of July; I’ll have peaches at my disposal for several more weeks! Let’s make cobbler instead!”

And that is what I did.

Now, I never had peach cobbler before I became vegan, but I could imagine and ended up successfully recreated the warm velveteen peach buried under crisp and flaky cinnamon-scented biscuits. Since I didn't have any granulated sugar at my disposal, I used agave in it's place. I also used hemp milk as my non-dairy milk.

Vegan Peach Cobbler
adapted from vegweb.com
2/3 cup light agave nectar
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon light agave nectar
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
4 cup sliced peaches (about 6 medium peaches)
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon lemon juice
3/4 cup soy or almond milk
4 tablespoons vegan butter

Heat oven to 400. Mix agave, the cornstarch and cinnamon in a saucepan. Stir in the peaches and lemon juice. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir for one minute. Pour into an ungreased 2-quart casserole; keep hot in the oven.

Cut vegan butter into flour, the baking powder and salt until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Stir in milk and agave. Drop dough by the spoonful onto hot peach mixture.

Bake until topping is golden brown - about 25-30 minutes.