A Sweet Ending

When I was at the grocery store today, I guess my subconscious was working on what to do with all that strawberries sitting in the refrigerator, because my cart was suddenly drawn to a place I NEVER go--the forbidden zone--the cookie aisle. Seriously, why would I go down there? I don't eat sweets at all very often, and when I do, I make them myself. But I knew I wanted to do something with those strawberries and I didn't want to turn on the oven to bake a pound cake. So...this little creation came from a package of Pepperidge Farm Chessmen Cookies. There's not a recipe--just a block of cream cheese blended with some agave syrup (or sweetener of your choice), the zest of one lemon, and a drizzle of vanilla. Strawberries macerated with a bit of sugar. Put the cookie on a plate, spread on some of the cream cheese (chilled back to its original consistency), and spoon on the strawberries. These quickly became addictive, and I'm afraid that we all ate far too many. They were certainly good, though. If I were serving them to company, I think I'd go for nicely sliced fruit and skip the macerating. Perhaps even just setting some raspberries and blueberries into the cream cheese could be nice. I think I see more of these in our future!


While I haven't had much of a chance to cook the past couple of weeks, I did have this photo lying around of a recipe I haven't posted yet. And that's a shame, because this was truly an exceptional, and exceptionally quick, side dish. You start by using a microwave to bake a few potatoes--just as many as you need. I used four medium Yukon Golds. (And for those who know me well--yes, I did use "microwave" and "potato" in the same sentence. You can shut up about it now. Taunting me will not really make your life better.) When the potatoes come out of the microwave, they take a little bath in ice water to spare your fingerprints from being cauterized off of your body. Slice 'em or dice 'em, it really doesn't matter. But get some olive oil in a skillet, heat it up, and throw those babies in there. When they begin to turn golden, add lots of sliced scallions, as much minced garlic as sounds good to you, and a "generous" sprinkling of paprika. I used smoky Spanish paprika, and loved it. I guess I should mention that this is one of the "no recipe" recipes from Vegan Express. I actually have re-planned the menus that I planned on, and shopped for, two weeks ago from this book, so hopefully, that cooking will actually get done this week.

Stay tuned!