Make It: Canteloupe Two Ways

So Maggie has been begging to cook in the way that only six-year olds can beg. I remember doing the same thing to my mom, so it's kind of a proud moment. The only problem? She wants to make cakes or crepes or bread, and our old house tends to hold kitchen heat in the summer. My solution? Something frozen. And healthy. That doesn't require a ton of ingredients. Here's something that has just three ingredients (four if you want to get fancy) and can be mature or immature, depending on how you feel. (We did a bit of both.)

I give you...Canteloupe Granita & Popsicles.

(makes six popsicles and a few cups of granita)

1 medium canteloupe, cut in chunks

juice of 1 lemon

1/3 cup sugar (more or less, depending on the fruit and your preferences)

red seedless grapes, cut in half (that's the fancy part)

In a blender, puree the canteloupe, lemon juice and sugar until very smooth.

For the popsicles: Place a few grapes in the bottom of each popsicle mold, then carefully fill the molds with the pureed canteloupe, close the molds and freeze until solid. Warm the mold exteriors with your hands or run under warm water for a few seconds to make unmolding easy.

For the granita: Pour the remaining puree and grapes into a shallow dish and freeze. Mix with a fork every 30-45 minutes to keep the mixture relatively smooth (otherwise you end up with a big flat popsicle.)

That's it. So simple a six-year old can do it.

Toward a more perfect vegan burger...

This summer, we're planning to stay close to home. No big road trips, no big visits...lots of time in the backyard and at the pool. If you're not going to have a lot of big adventures, you'd better have some pretty fantastic little ones. This makes perfecting summer food very important. To that end, I'm working on making perfect vegan burgers, so that when we invite non-veg friends over for cookouts, they don't suddenly have something important to do far away. (Also, several friends have recently asked me for vegan recipes, so I'm trying to accommodate them, too.) Let the experimenting begin! (I've included loose approximations of some recipes. Word of warning: I'm really not much for measuring -- I cook by feel, taste, and occasionally good sense.)

I started by making ciabatta -- very easy to do. In fact, I think it's probably the closest yeasted bread to my perennial favorite no-knead in terms of low effort. I've made burger buns before, but I really like the texture and taste of ciabatta much better...

I made tofu mayo, which is ridiculously easy and way better than the stuff in the jar. Ingredients: a box of firm silken tofu, a few teaspoons of mustard powder, a pinch of cayenne, a little agave nectar, a few splashes of apple cider vinegar. Whip that in the blender until it's smooth, then drizzle in good olive oil and continue to whip until it's very smooth and thick. Yum yum yum.

I make caramelized onions for a great pizza (caramelized onion-blue cheese-toasted walnuts), but since going vegan, that has -- sadly -- been off the menu. New use: burger topping. To make them, melt a tablespoon Earth Balance in a heavy skillet. While it's melting, slice an onion very thin (a mandoline gives perfect cuts for this purpose). Brown the onions in the

Earth Balance over medium-low heat for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to get the brown bits off the bottom. It's okay if they get a little brown, but don't burn them. After 30 minutes, add a tablespoon or so of brown sugar and about the same amount of plain yellow mustard. Cook, uncovered, for another 10 minutes. Done. Yum. (You might not want to wash this pan out yet -- I like to cook the burgers in the stuff left in the pan with a little added black pepper.)

Black bean burgers are painfully simple to make, but they do take a little time. Drain and rinse the contents of a can of black beans. Mash the beans in a large bowl (I use my hands to really mash them.) Add A1 sauce and your favorite barbecue sauce, then some breadcrumbs and some wheat gluten (Bob's Mill makes it -- you can find it in the health food section of many grocery stores.) Knead all ingredients together until you get close to the consistency of meat (usually a minute or two.) At this point, I grind in a lot -- and I mean a lot -- of black pepper, then knead for another minute. Form the mixture into a log, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and let it rest for at least 30 minutes. When you're ready to cook, heat a pan (to medium high) and add oil (or use the pan you cooked the caramelized onions in, and add some pepper). Cut the log into 12 equal parts and shape each bit into a flat burger. Cook in batches, about 8 minutes per batch, turning each burger about 4 minutes in (make sure each side is nicely browned.)

To assemble your beautiful burger, slice a ciabatta in half , slather each side with mayo. Spread caramelized onions on one side, one quarter of a sliced avocado on the other side. place two burgers on the onion side, add a little more mayo, then top with some fresh arugula before adding the top half of the ciabatta. Some people like a little extra barbecue sauce on the side. I can't blame them. Some people also like a beer on the side. They are wise.

What to do with the bounty?

We're at that point in summer where the vegetables are so plentiful and so good that there's a little overload. What to do?Why, minestrone, of course! This recipe from the New York Times is a great starting point. You can use pretty much any vegetable you have on hand (I'm making it with zucchini, summer squash, tomatoes, sunchokes, carrots, celery, garlic and onions, plus basil, thyme, oregano...) And you can forgo the Parmesan rind if say, you're a vegan or some sort of freak. (Like me.)

What to do with all those strawberries?

We picked up a pint of strawberries this weekend at the Cheverly Community Market, got another pint in our Clagett Farm share and picked about three pounds at the farm on Saturday. So...what to do with all those strawberries?

Yes, yes. Eat them. Good for you, literal one. Head of the class.

Now, for those of you who want to do something with else with the strawberries...

Vegan Strawberry Shortcake with Soy Cream

(Measurements are approximate, as I made this Maggie, and three-year olds don't subscribe to any laws of measuring. Or physics. Laws in general, really.)

2+ lbs. strawberries, cleaned, hulled and cut into quarters
1/4 c. granulated sugar (more or less, depending on the sweetness of the berries)

1 package silken tofu
1/2 c. confectioner's sugar
1 tbs. vanilla extract
1 tsp. almond extract
1 1/2 tbs. fresh mint, julienned
1 tbs. fresh lavender flowers

Sprinkle the granulated sugar over the strawberries and stir. Set aside and allow the strawberries and sugar to work their magic and make a syrup.

Put the silken tofu in a mixer and mix at high speed, about 2-3 minutes. Clean the sides of the bowl frequently so that all the tofu is mixed and very smooth. When the tofu is about the consistency of a thin pudding, add the confectioner's sugar and beat until Incorporated. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and beat, then the fresh herbs. Chill.

You can use any (vegan) biscuit recipe with this (maybe avoid one with sugar, since there's already a lot here.) I prefer the biscuits from the vegan biscuits & gravy recipe in Vegan with a Vengeance (okay, I had some already made up.) When I made them, I used a shot glass to cut them into small rounds, and that's a perfect size for this recipe. Yes. A shot glass. Many uses, many uses.

For each serving, open three biscuits on a plate and spoon strawberries with some syrup over the top. Spoon some tofu, then finish with a few more strawberries (no syrup!) If you really wanted to be fancy, you could add some lavender or mint leaves to the top. That's pretty fancy, though.