Summertime Sammies!

We love strange combinations ("I'll have the peanut butter and pickle sandwich, please!"), and what better way to combine unusual ingredients than in a super summer sammie! These sandwiches are inspired by the summertime bounty, using seasonal produce such as strawberries, cucumbers, lettuces, and beets. The first one is for the sweet toothed populace, and the second has a more savory flare. Both are perfect for these hot summer days!

Strawberry and Cucumber Sandwich

Adapted from this recipe .

Changes we made:

-Instead of watercress, we used fresh red leaf lettuce from our CSA box.

-To make this a super vegan delight, we used Follow your Heart Vegan Cream Cheese

Next up, we made these delicious paninis to celebrate the Summer Solstice. They sound a bit strange, but trust us...they are DELICIOUS! They are adapted from the July/August issue of the Vegetarian Times magazine.

Summer Solstice Sammie

Hearty, Seedy bread (We used Dakota from our local Great Harvest)

Olive spread
Hummus (Mixed with a bit of lemon juice and freshly chopped Tarragon)

1 medium red beet, sliced thin

1 apple, sliced thin

Alfalfa sprouts

The recipe was not initially vegan, and called for mixing chickpeas with mayonnaise in a food processor. Using hummus made it easier and entirely vegan!! Not to mention, hummus is one of our major food groups. The red beets came from our CSA box and were delicious, but very messy! When handling them, be careful...unless you want red stains everywhere.

Peace, Love, and Seasonal Eating!

Pam and KT

Strawberry Fields Forever

You didn't think we were going to stop at one frappucino cupcake, did you?! Of course not! Next on the list is the Strawberries and Creme frapp, which lends itself perfectly to a delicious, summery cupcake! This is an easy one, folks!

Strawberries and Creme Cupcakes
(For 12 cupcakes)

2 cups fresh strawberries, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup canola oil
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. strawberry extract (optional)
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line muffin pan with paper liners.
2. Puree in food processor strawberries, canola oil, sugar, vanilla, and strawberry extract.
3. Sift together in large bowl flour, baking powder, and salt.
4. Add puree to dry ingredients. Stir together.
5. Scoop batter into liners. Bake 25 - 27 minutes.

For the "Buttercream" frosting
1/4 cup vegan shortening
1/4 cup vegan margarine
1 and 3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 Tbsp. non-dairy milk

1. Beat shortening and margarine together until well mixed and fluffy.
2. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and non-dairy milk alternately and beat until fluffy.

(To garnish, we drizzled strawberry jam and sprinkled chopped nuts on top of the beautiful, pink cakes)
These creations were enjoyed by Andy (the oldest VegBerger sibling!) and his girlfriend, Kara !

I think they really liked them.

Peace, Love, and Strawberries,

Pam and KT