MOTHER'S DAY BRUNCH

Mother’s Day is just around the corner. No matter what you’re planning to give her, what better way to show her you care than with a tasty, cruelty-free brunch?

This menu is a roundup of simple dishes that you can pull together in advance, so you can spend Mothers Day hanging with mom instead of working in the kitchen. Prep everything the day before, and your Mother’s Day celebration should be a breeze!

Spinach and Strawberry Salad

Make this simple salad in advance and pass the
dressing on the side.

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 4c fresh, baby spinach
• 1/2c sliced almonds
• 1 Haas avocado, diced
• 1c strawberries, sliced
• 1 lemon
• 1/4c orange juice
• 1T vegan sugar
• 1.5c olive oil
• 1/4c balsamic vinegar
• salt and pepper, to taste
  

Directions

1. In a large glass bowl with a lid, toss the spinach with the almonds, avocados, and juice from 1/2 of your lemon.
2. Top with the sliced strawberries and squeeze on the rest of the lemon juice.
3. In a jar, whisk together the remaining ingredients to make the dressing.

Fennel and Walnut Pesto Potato Salad

Potato salad is a crowd pleaser, and this
fennel walnut pesto version adds a tasty twist!
It tastes even better the next day, so this is a
great make-ahead recipe.

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 1/2c fennel leaves, chopped
• 1/4c walnuts, ground in the food processor
• 1/4c olive oil
• 1/4c Veganaise
• 1/4c nutritional yeast
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• salt and black pepper, to taste
• 3 baked potatoes

Directions

1. In a large glass bo wl with a lid, combine everything except for the potatoes, mixing really well.
2. Fold in the potatoes carefully, tossing them to coat evenly with the sauce.
3. Chill for at least 15 minutes before serving, up to overnight.
   

Hearty Veggie Roast

You can prep and marinate the veggies the night before, them just pop them in the oven an hour or so before mom is due to arrive!

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 3 sweet potatoes, diced
• 1 orange pepper (green or red are fine, but orange is preferable)
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 portobella mushrooms, cut into 1″ cubes
• 1/3c olive oil
• 2T dark sesame oil
• 2T rice wine vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4c sesame seeds
• 1″ piece of ginger, minced
  

Directions

1. Toss the veggies and marinade ingredients together and let them marinate for at least an hour, up to overnight.
2. Preheat the oven to 400F.
3. Pour the veg gies and marinade into a large, glass baking pan.
4. Bake for 1 hour, stirring the veggies every 15 minutes, so they cook evenly.
   

Fresh Peach Bellinis

You can make the peach puree the night before, then serve up these fresh cocktails right at the table.

Ingredients

• 2 large or 4 small peaches, peeled, pitted, and sliced
• 2T lemon juice
• 1 bottle champagne or dry sparkling white wine
  

Directions

1. Puree the peaches and lemon juice in the blender or food processor.

2. To make each bellini, put two heaping tablespoons of puree into a
champagne glass, then top with champagne.

THANK A FARMER THIS EARTH DAY

Lets thank the farmers for the things they are doing for our environment and our health. Read more on Posh Facebook.

ECO-FRIENDLY EASTER BASKET

Here's a little guide for greening your Easter Basket which would contain more long-lasting goodies than candy and keep the kids from too much of a sugar high. There are several items to put in an Easter basket that are fun, good for the kids and good for the planet. Read more . . .
On Posh Facebook

FOUR VEGAN RECIPES FOR EASTER

Eating vegan might seem a bit tricky around the holidays, but with a little bit of menu planning you can whip up a tasty, cruelty-free Easter meal for eight that’s sure to please. Rather than trying to replace the meat, which can be really off-putting for omnivores, this menu focuses on what I think is the best part of a vegan diet: delicious fruits, vegetables, starches, herbs, and grains!

Field Green Salad with Pear and Almonds

This salad is a simple and delicious way to
start your Easter meal.

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

• 8c mixed field greens
• 1 pear, diced
• 1c sliced almonds
  
• 2 Haas avocados, diced
• 3/4c olive oil
• 1/4c lemon juice
• to taste salt and pepper

Cooking Directions

1. Toss the field greens with the pear, almonds, and avocado.
2. Whisk the olive oil, lemon juice, and salt and pepper together and pass the dressing alongside the salad at the table.

Roasted Veggies with Tahini Miso Dressing

Hearty roasted veggies and potatoes are a filling dish,
and this version gets rave reviews from my omnivore pals. The tahini dressing makes this really special and adds a protein boost, too!

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

• 8 red potatoes, cut into bite sized pieces
• 4c Brussels sprouts
• 1 large red onions, chopped
• 1 red pepper, sliced into 2″ strips
• 1/2c olive oil
• 1/4c soy sauce
• 1T herbes de Provence
• 1/2c Tahini
• 1/3c red miso paste
• 1/4c rice wine vinegar
• 1″ piece of fresh ginger, minced
• water

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400F.
2. In a baking pan, toss the veggies with the oil, soy sauce, and herbes de Provence.
3. Bake for one hour, stirring the veggies every 15 minutes, so that they cook evenly.
4. To make the dressing: Whisk the tahini, miso, vinegar, and ginger together. Add water 1T at a time, until the dressing reaches a creamy consistency.
5. Serve the veggies with the sauce along side

Stuffed Mushrooms

Roasted, stuffed mushrooms are a hearty, satisfying
crowd-pleaser. This recipe makes enough for three
mushrooms per person.

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup slices of whole grain bread, toasted and ground in the food processor
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 24 “stuffing” mushrooms, stems removed and reserved
• 1c raw cashews pieces
• to taste salt, pepper, onion powder
• 3c spinach
• 1c fresh basil
• 1c nutritional yeast
  

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. Process each ingredient in the food processor and combine everything in a big bowl. Drizzle with enough olive oil to moisten.
3. To stuff the mushrooms, form a ball with about 2T stuffing and cram it right into the caps! Layer the stuffed mushrooms on a greased glass baking pan.

Bake for 15-20 minutes. You can serve them right out of the oven or at room temperature.

Peach Pie

Nothing rounds out a lovely meal like pie! You can go
the easy route and pick up a vegan pie
crust at the store, or whip up your own vegan pie crust from scratch! For the sake of simplicity, I’m going with a pre-made crust here.

Ingredients

• 8 peaches, peeled, pitted, and sliced
• 1c brown sugar
• 3T flour
• 1t cinnamon
• 1T lemon juice
• 2 vegan pie crusts

Cooking Directions

1. In a large bowl, toss the peaches with the sugar, flour, cinnamon, and lemon juice. Let this sit until the peaches get nice and soft, at least 10 minutes.
2. Pour your peach filling into one of the pie crusts.
3. Use the second crust to top the pie. Either slice into strips to create a lattice top, or just layer it right on. If you go for the latter, make sure you cut a few small holes in the center of the crust to let steam escape.
4. Bake at 350F for 30-40 minutes, or until the peaches are soft

The Perfect Vegan Pie Crust

Ingredients:

• 3 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¾ cup margarine
• 5 to 6 tablespoons cold water

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl with fork, lightly stir together flour and salt.
2. With pastry blender or two knives used scissor fashion, cut in margarine until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
3. Sprinkle in cold water, a tablespoon at a time, mixing lightly with a fork after each addition until pastry just holds together.
4. With hands, shape pastry into ball (if it's a hot day you may have to refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes or so).
5. For a two crust pie, divide pastry into 2 pieces, one slightly larger, and then gently shape each piece into a ball.
6. On lightly floured surface with lightly floured rolling pin, roll larger ball into a 1/8 inch thick circle, 2 inches larger all around than pie plate.
7. Roll half of circle onto rolling pin; transfer pastry to pie plate and unroll, easing into bottom and side of plate. Fill as recipe directs.
8. For top crust, roll smaller ball as for bottom crust; with sharp knife, cut a few slashes or a design in center of circle; center over filling in the bottom crust.
9. With scissors or sharp knife, trim the pastry edges, leaving 1 inch overhang all around the pie plate rim. Fold overhang under; pinch a high edge. Bake pie as recipe directs.
   

By Becky Striepe

HOMEMADE EASTER EGG DYE

The year the Easter Bunny brought my kids organic, all-natural, yogurt-covered raisins didn’t go over very well–but at least my daughters are gung-ho for dying Easter eggs with homemade, plant-based dyes. We rummage and smoosh and boil, and they are amazed and delighted by the colors we create with a bunch of oddball ingredients from the kitchen. They love the messy magic, and my simmering neurosis about synthetic food dyes is quelled.

Certified food dyes approved by the FDA include colors synthesized from petroleum derivatives and even coal tar. While some food dyes based on natural ingredients come from things that, although natural, you still may not care to ingest: Have you heard about carminic acid? It is a commonly used red food coloring which comes from the dried, crushed bodies of pregnant female scale insects called cochineal. I have an adventurous palate, but that’s just not for me.

By using plant-based dyes for coloring Easter eggs, not only do you know exactly what you’re getting (no bugs, thanks) but the colors are far lovelier than their synthetic counterparts. They are muted yet vibrant, and knowing their source is gratifying on a deeper aesthetic level. Children seem to find that mashing food is also much more fun that simply dropping a tablet in a cup. As well, it is a great lesson in exploration—kids get to experiment with which plant materials work in which way, and can get creative with items in the refrigerator or pantry.

Some of these materials work best when they are boiled with the eggs (they will be noted below), and some work well made ahead and used by dipping or soaking the eggs. If you are using juice, just use it straight. Bulky materials will be boiled with the eggs or boiled and allowed to cool for dipping. The longer you let the eggs soak, the more intense the color will be (for the boiled versions, you can remove them from the heat and allow to cool in the dye bath).

You can use your favorite egg-dying tricks here as well: Like crayons for a batik effect or rubber bands for a tie-dye effect. If you like a glossy egg, you can rub the dyed eggs with vegetable oil when they are dry.

Red
Red onion skins, use a lot (boil with eggs)
Pomegranate juice

Orange
Yellow onion skins (boil with eggs)

Yellow
Lemon or orange peel (boil with eggs)
Carrot tops (boil with eggs)
Celery seed (boil with eggs)
Ground cumin (boil with eggs)
Ground turmeric (boil with eggs)

Yellow Brown
Dill seeds (boil with eggs)

Brown
Strong coffee
Instant coffee
Black walnut shells (boil with eggs)

Yellow Green
Bright green apple peels (boil with eggs)

Green
Spinach leaves (boil with eggs)

Blue
Canned blueberries and their juice
Red cabbage leaves (boil with eggs)
Purple grape juice

Violet Blue
Violet blossoms
Red onion skins, less amount than you need to make red (boil with eggs)

Lavender
Diluted purple grape juice
Violet blossoms plus squeeze of lemon (boil with eggs)

Pink
Beets, fresh or canned
Cranberries or cranberry juice
Raspberries
Red grape juice

By Melissa Breyer

LUNCH WAS A HIT

Today's luncheon was a hit. Everyone especially enjoyed the Country Ribs. We have a few fussy eaters who even went back for second serving. The strawberry short cake was also a big crowd pleaser.
Thank You,
Sheila, SUC

CUSTOM HEALTHY MENU

Posh designed a Healthy Luncheon
Menu for the staff at CareCredit.


The menu consisted of:

ITALIAN CHICKEN CUTLETS POMODORO
MEXICAN TURKEY AND BEAN BURRITO
THAI COCONUT BEEF CURRY
CHINESE CHICKEN SALAD
THE BIGGEST LOSER STRAWBERRY CUPCAKES

Comment from Client:
Oh my gosh, I can't say enough about how successful the whole luncheon went. From the staff, the presentation, attendees -- everything went really well! Usually you have one nah-sayer in the group but we haven't heard even "one" complaint about anything. We were told there were so many options and healthy on top of all that. Everyone tried everything and everyone walked away with a smile on their face.
Posh really impressed the employees yesterday! I can't thank you enough for all the work you put into making this a success and the staff that came to put things together, polite, helpful and knowledgeable.
I look forward to working with you again and thank you again you all really came through for us to make the day successful.
Julie