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this warm chopped brussels salad is tossed in a blueberry vinaigrette, great for snacking or before a really heavy dinner. if you don’t like brussels sprouts yet, you might like this one - the dark bitterness you sometimes get with this cabbage-like vegetable is balanced with the light sweetness of the sauce.

1. steam some brussels sprouts until they turn bright green and you can easily bite through one. (about 10-15 minutes.) we used about 4-5 cups of brussels sprouts and it could feed 3-4 people as a side dish, easily.
2. while the veggies are steaming, start your sauce. in your blender or food processor, blend together until consistent: 1 cup oil, 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar, 3 tbsp blueberry preserves, about 2 tsp ground ginger, two pinches sea salt, and some freshly ground pepper. (you could use any fruit preserve you’d like, we just like the color and flavor of the blueberries. try to find a brand that uses whole berries - you get a better flavor and texture.) add more of any ingredient you like to taste - this is a simple sauce you can put your stamp on.
3. once the veggies are steamed, cut off the non-edible stem of each sprout, then coarsely chop up each one. i like slightly larger than a dice.
4. place the chopped sprouts in a big bowl, and drizzle the sauce over top. toss them until coated, and add more sauce as needed. you may not need all the sauce you made - use it on your lunch salad the next day and/or store any excess in the fridge for up to a few days.

and that’s all there is to it. serve immediately with a pasta or seitan meal or with more veggies. hopefully you try this one out and see that brussels sprouts aren’t so terrible after all! :P

chocolate cake with blueberry pomegranate filling

we made this cake for my parents’ 25th wedding anniversary, but it’d be great for any holiday party. a chocolate cake is pretty average in the “baked goods” realm, as well as very rich, but the fruit makes it light and interesting. try it with a glass of red wine, it’s perfect after a big dinner!

the cake:

• mix together 1 cup almond milk, 3/4 cup turbinado sugar, 1/3 cup canola oil, and 3 tsp red wine
• into the liquid bowl, sift in 1 cup flour, 1/3 cup cocoa powder, 3/4 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon salt
• stir until smooth, then split the batter evenly into two greased 9” circular pans and bake at 350F for 10-15 minutes.

the filling:

• take out the seeds of one pomegranate and place them in a plastic bag. smash them with something heavy until the hard seeds and the juice are separated. poke a few small holes into the bag and let the juice pour into a saucepan. (when smashing the seeds, make sure not to rip the bag. i used an extra bag on the outside.)
• do the same with two small cartons (3-4 cups) of blueberries. throw out any bad berries, and put the rest in a plastic bag. smash them up until all of the berries are broken. add them to the saucepan.
• stir in 2 tbsp corn starch, or your favorite thickener.
• heat on medium low while your cake is baking, stirring occasionally. 

put it all together; spread it thick between the two cakes and drizzle on top. garnish with fresh blueberries and a dusting of organic powdered sugar. this feeds about 10 people. serve hot and on the same day as baked. enjoy!

blueberry peach almond smoothie (more like shake!), because for some reason it’s 77F here today.

in your highest-powered blender, blend until consistent and smooth:

• 3/4 cup soaked raw almonds
• 2 cups ice water
• 1 cup frozen blueberries
• 2 tbsp sugar (we use sugar in the raw, aka sucanat)
• 1/8 cup liquid sweetener (we use agave, also try maple syrup or date syrup)
• rice milk as needed (to get the consistency you like)

if you don’t have a very reliable blender, you might want to blend the almonds separately.

pour the smoothie out into cups and rinse out the blender. put in 2 cups thawed frozen peaches, and blend until it’s a nice thin consistency. pour into each drink, swirling it around. this serves 2-4 people.