The first Sunday of Summer 2025 was HOT. Here in the South Suburbs of Chicago, we had temperatures in the 90s Fahrenheit all weekend.
Claudia had prepared a potato and green bean salad for a Midsummer party that we attended on Saturday Evening, and par cooked enough extra to grill on Sunday. She also made a nice green salad, and I grilled some Tofurkey Vegan Polish Sausages that we served with sauerkraut and mustard.
Claudia described it as “Summer on a Plate.”
This recipe came from Rainbow Plant Life. I cheated a bit with the spices, opting for some pre-ground things instead of toasting them all from scratch. The meal still took a couple hours altogether to prepare, but it was well worth it.
I think I’ll try a double batch of the full fledged version one of these weekends.
For Sunday Dinner the day before St. Patrick’s Day this year, in addition to the traditional corned beef and cabbage I decided to try making a Jackfruit version. It was my very first experience preparing, cooking or eating it, and it exceeded my expectations in every way.
I had intended to pick up some prepared Jackfruit, but when I asked if they had it at our neighborhood Jewel, the produce guy said “sure – right over on that table.” Turns out there were two (humongous) whole Jackfruit at a decent markdown. So I grabbed the smaller of the two and headed to check out.
When I got back home, I checked YouTube for tutorials on how to prepare it, and was a little daunted but decided to give it a try anyway.
The first step was to cut the thing up into pieces, just about like you would when you’re slicing up a watermelon to serve. Except Jackfruit contains this white sticky substance inside that looks and behaves for all the world like latex. So I put some newspapers down on a table on the back patio, sprayed my knife with cooking spray, and went to work. It was messy, but not as bad as I had expected.
I boiled the pieces in a large stock pot for about twenty minutes, and once they had cooled a bit I removed the husks with a paring knife, and picked through the sections for the seed pods. They say that the seeds can be used to make Hummus, but this time around I just discarded them.
Once the sections were all picked clean, I put them back in the stock pot with pickling spices and some beet powder to marinate overnight. On Sunday Morning, I drained them, spread them out on a baking sheet, hit them with a little more seasoning, and baked them for an hour at 375 °F.
Finally, I pan fried enough portions for the three Vegetarians at our table just before serving to warm them up.
Even though it was quite a lengthy and involved process to prepare and cook the Jackfruit, I would definitely do it again. The texture was very much like corned beef, and the taste was marvelous and savory. I think that doing a long cook with it on a smoker and topping with Carolina Barbecue Sauce would be most excellent.
For Sunday Dinner this week, Claudia made a recipe she found on a Vegan Recipes Group on the Book of Faces. It was incredibly delicious and hearty.
She made a double batch, and it fed four of us nicely (we each had seconds). This was a huge hit with everyone at the table, and it was better than any Stroganoff I’ve ever eaten (including the decidedly beefy variety that we used to make).
We served this over wide noodles, and garnished with paprika and parsley.
Ingredients (for the double batch):
2 pounds of mushrooms, sliced (she used button and cremini)
2 onions, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
olive oil for sautéing
2 cups vegetable broth
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 T tomato paste
2 t paprika
2 cups of cashew crème fraîche (see recipe below)
Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
Sauté onions and garlic.
Add the sliced mushrooms and cook until they release their moisture and start to brown.
Whisk together vegetable broth, cashew crème fraîche, soy sauce, tomato paste, paprika, salt, and pepper.
Cashew Crème Fraîche
1 1/2 cups cashews, soaked overnight then drained
1/2 cup water
3 T olive oil
2 T lemon juice
1 T nutritional yeast
1/2 t salt
1/2 t dried thyme
Blend for about a minute in Vitamix or other high speed blender.
The crème fraîche on it’s own would make a fantastic Alfredo style sauce for pasta.
We made a special cake in Claudia’s favorite color for her Birthday this year.
Almost every year since we have been together, Claudia has requested an Angel Food Cake with berries and Cool Whip icing for her birthday. Since it falls just after the holidays, she has said that she’s had enough of rich foods by the time her birthday arrives.
In October of last year, she shared a recipe from the Shaireen’s Delight Facebook Page, tagging me and our child, saying “My next birthday cake?”
I’ve only baked cakes from mixes in the past, and those only rarely, so I was thankful that I had a couple of months to review the recipe and work out my anxiety about before actually baking.
It turned out really good, although quite moist and dense – almost like the texture of brownies. I think this is because I overworked the batter, adding the purple food coloring a little at a time and remixing it each time. If I were to make the recipe again, I would just go for broke when first adding it, and hope for a little airier crumb.
Not bad for a first attempt at a scratch cake, though. Kid did the decorating, and it turned out right pretty.
We used sparkler candles, and they were quite trippy. Would probably opt for something simpler next time.
Happy Birthday, Sweetheart!
