A few more apples I could barely reach, the last of the tomatoes. 

Thank you, summer.

Heaven in Your Mouth.

The juicy sweet softness of a fresh peach near the end of summer is deliciously sensual.  What happens when you add some blueberries, and crumbly walnuts and shredded coconut on top with a dash of maple syrup and bake until bubbly?  It's heaven in your mouth.

Here's a simple recipe that is one of the best crisps I've ever eaten- vegan or not. Taken from an awesome blog- 'The Detoxinista'.  You must try. Really.
Link for this recipe is included below.

Not easy to find organic peaches but my On the Move Organics home delivery service knew where to find them. They were so good, I've ordered 4 more boxes this week!

YUM.

And I even had some peaches left over for the freezer. Bonus!

Note: This weekend I happened to see a wild russet apple tree on my bike ride, so I loaded up as many as I could reach and made another crisp!

My hat became my basket!

Russets are a very firm apple so I had to cook them down to soften. Even so, this crisp was firmer than the usual kind.

Making the topping. 

This one didn't make it to the freezer!

Link to the recipe:

http://bit.ly/1sQuEJS

Colourful Beet Salad with Carrot Quinoa and Spinach

I'm always perusing new blogs, and 'COOKIE + kate' is the latest. I found this recipe I had to try!

This recipe looked interesting and it was scrumptious, and full of goodness. I already had the cooked quinoa, so the prep was easy. I also have a spiralizer (mine has one setting- very fine spirals) that I used for the beets. which I liked, since raw beets can have an earthy flavour- so the finer the better. I also used it on the carrots. The dressing was a nice combination of sweet and tangy. The Edamame beans and pumpkin seeds added texture, and the greens softened the salad. We had it in combination with some fresh summer corn and a mediterranean bean burger. Yum!

Here's the link: http://bit.ly/1cYRrRc

Mediterranean Bean Burgers

I got this recipe from Dreena Burton's Let Them Eat Vegan cookbook. She also has a cute video that accompanies the blog post (Plant Powered Kitchen) that I found on the internet.
If I made these again, really try to find some fresh oregano- I used dried, and it didn't add much flavour. I liked the olives in it too. I baked them, but to make this again, I would either fry them, or use less oatmeal as they were a bit dry.

I would make again with a few modifications.

Here's the link to the blog post and recipe:http://bit.ly/1MsETjH

Creamy Bean Pasta with Kale.

I found this on SeriousEats blog. This was simple, but delicious. I used navy beans rather than chickpeas, and since they can be a bit bland, the red pepper flakes helped give it some kick. I would make again.

Sauteing the red pepper flakes and garlic.

We like a lot of kale lol!

My dish wasn't vegan- I added some parmesan cheese. Nutritional yeast might be nice too. 

Here's the link to the recipe:http://bit.ly/1Jkk209

Cashew/Peanut Butter Cookies

Detoxinista is another blog favourite. So much so, that I've ordered her new cookbook: Everyday Detox. Her recipes, especially desserts are easy to make, and reliably good. Here's one I tried recently- Cashew Butter/ Chocolate Chip Cookies. No flour needed, and chia eggs instead of eggs. She recommends keeping them in the freezer once they are baked- I agree. I substituted peanut butter for cashew, but cashew butter would be decadently good! Link is below.

Grinding the chia seeds into powder

Mix with some water and refrigerate for a few minutes until the texture is thick and gooey.

Gotta love the food processor!

Mix some chocolate chips in at the end.

Here's the link to the recipe: http://bit.ly/1KkK0jP

Friday Night Pasta Hit

A new blog discovery- Green Kitchen Stories. When this recipe came into my newsfeed, I knew I had to try it. The only cooking required is the pasta- so it's like a warm pasta salad.
I modified a bit, using some baby swiss chard from my garden instead of the arugula, and didn't use the peaches.
It was fresh, and interesting- loved the taste and crunch of the pine nuts. Use really ripe tomatoes if you can- more flavour and softer.
This would be a perfect Friday night dinner, or an accompaniment to a main dish.
A favourite for sure!

Here's the link to the blog post: http://bit.ly/1Jkdgr1