14 | A Spring Meal with Hidden Veggies

1 |   Main Dish

Pecan Patties with Onion Jam

I got the idea for this recipe from a friend who is great at improvising with recipes. I followed her lead and added a few things and edited it to what I’m sending you. With pecans and oatmeal making up the hearty part of these patties, carrots and zucchini can be hidden so even picky eaters will enjoy their veggies.

3 |   Side

Hidden Cauliflower Mash

Potatoes are fantastic, and there are so many ways to cook them. This recipe is for a mashed side dish, but can easily be adjusted to cook on the grill. The cauliflower adds flavor and moisture so you won’t need a lot of butter. By adding garlic and green onions the ordinary potato is made into an exquisite side dish.

2 |   Salad

Very Green Salad

When I found local snow peas and tender baby lettuce, I just had to make something fresh. With green beans, snow peas, basil, and avocado it’s almost all green vegetables, but definitely not boring. Lemon juice acts as a light dressing to top it off. This extra simple salad will make your mouth dance the happy dance.

4 |   Dessert

Apricot Raspberry Crumble

I didn’t realize how much I love apricots until recently. I’ve eaten dried apricots for years and enjoyed apricot preserves in egg salad and barbecue sauce, but fresh apricots now have my heart. They have the texture of a plum and sweetness of a peach. With this apricot and raspberry combination, this dessert will win your heart too.

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium carrot, grated

1/2 a medium zucchini, grated

1 1⁄2 cups quick oats

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/8 teaspoon cayenne powder

3/4 cup pecan meal

1 package cream cheese (8 oz.)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup water

2 tablespoons soy sauce or Braggs liquid aminos

1 cup breadcrumbs

Onion Tomato Jam:
2 tablespoons olive oil

2 large red onions, halved, peeled, and cut into thin slices

3 roma tomatoes, coarsely chopped

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

zest form 1/2 a lemon, about 1/2 a teaspoon

juice from 1/2 lemon, about one tablespoon

Want to make this dairy or gluten-free? For a dairy-free option, use GO Veggie!, FOLLOW YOUR HEART, or Tofutti cream cheese alternative instead of the cream cheese. To make this gluten-free the only change is to use gluten-free bread crumbs. Try making your own gluten-free bread crumbs: Break your favorite gluten-free bread into smaller pieces and place onto a baking tray. Bake at 300˚ for about 20 minutes or until the pieces are dried completely. Put the dried bread into a food processor or blender and pulse until you have crumbs. Store the crumbs in a sealed bag in the freezer to use in this or any recipe needing bread crumbs.

Make ahead option– The patties can be made using The Simple Steps 1-5 then frozen in a freezer proof container. Or make the patties using the Simple Steps 1-3, place them on a small baking sheet and freeze them. After about an hour you can place them in a freezer proof container and store them for about a month. When you’re ready to use them, continue with The Simple Steps add 5-10 minutes to the total baking time to ensure they are cooked through.

The Simple Steps...

1. Preheat the oven to 400˚. Place a medium pan over medium heat. Pour the oil into the pan and mix the carrot and zucchini. Sauté for four minutes. Remove the pan from the heat.

2. In a large bowl, add the oats, garlic powder, cayenne, and the pecan meal. Mix well and add the cream cheese. Use a potato masher to help mix in the cream cheese.

3. Pour the water and soy sauce over the oat mixture. Stir until evenly mixed. This will look a bit messy and wet. I used an ice cream scoop, which is about 4 tablespoons of batter per patty, to make 8 patties. Each will be about 3 1/2 to 4 inches in diameter. Cover each patty with bread crumbs, making sure to coat both sides and the edges.

4. Lightly oil a baking sheet. Place the patties on the baking sheet. Then brush the tops of each patties with olive oil. Bake for 10 minutes.

5. Turn the patties over, brush the tops with olive oil again, and bake another 15 minutes.

6. Serve hot with onion jam and enjoy!

For Onion Tomato Jam:
1. While the patties are in the oven, use the large pan you just sautéed the veggies from the patties in. Place the pan on medium heat and allow it to get warm before adding the oil.

2. Add the onions and cook for five minutes. Then add the chopped tomatoes and cook another 4 minutes.

3. Leave this on low heat while you prepare the liquids.

4. Add the honey to a small pan on medium heat. Allow the honey to bubble and froth then cook it for 3 minutes. Add the balsamic vinegar. Turn down the heat to low and cook the liquid for 3 minutes. Watch this video for help measuring sticky liquids.

5. Pour the honey mixture over the onions and continue cooking them over low heat while the patties cook in the oven, which should be about 10-15 minutes.

6. Add the lemon juice and zest. Then take the pan off the heat and allow to cool until ready to serve.

1/4 pound green beans

1/2 cup walnuts

4 oz mix of spring lettuce and spinach

1/2 cup snow peas, coarsely chopped

2 green onions

1 avocado

zest form 1/2 a lemon, about 1/2 a teaspoon

juice from 1/2 lemon, about one tablespoon

5 basil leaves

1/4 teaspoon salt

dash of pepper

4 tablespoons olive oil

Want to make this dairy or gluten-free? This salad is already completely dairy and gluten-free.

Make ahead option– The green beans can be cooked and stored in a sealed container in the fridge for a week. The walnuts can be toasted and stored in the sealed container for a month in the refrigerator.

The Simple Steps...

1. Rinse the green beans and trim them, but leave the tails on. Cook the beans in a medium pot on medium-high heat for about 5 minutes. Drain them, run ice-cold water over them to stop the cooking process, dry them, and set these aside.

2. Toast the walnuts in the toaster oven or regular oven for 5 minutes on 400˚.

3. Wash the lettuce, snow peas, and green onion. Trim the ends off the green onion and slice them into very thin strips.

4. Watch this video for help on chopping avocados with this mess.

5. In a large bowl, mix the lettuce leaves and chopped avocado with the lemon juice, zest, salt, pepper, and olive oil. It’s ok if the avocado gets a little mashed… that’s part of the creaminess if the dressing.

6. Cut the green beans into 1-2 inch pieces. Top the salad with the green beans, snow peas, walnuts, and chopped basil. Watch this video for help chopping basil.

4 medium potatoes

1 head of cauliflower

3 garlic cloves

3  tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 green onions

Want to make this dairy or gluten-free? This recipe is gluten-free. For a delicious dairy-free option, use Earth Balance Original as a dairy-free substitute for the butter.

Make ahead option– These potatoes keep for 5 days in a sealed contained in the refrigerator. If you’re grilling other food this weekend, try this as a side dish. Simply cut the vegetables into 1-2 inch pieces, toss in a little olive oil, salt and pepper, wrap in aluminum foil, and grill next to your burgers. Check on them after about 10 minutes to see if they are cooked through. Serve them tossed with sliced green onions.

The Simple Steps...

1. Pour four cups of water into a medium to large pot. Bring the water to a boil while you peel and chop the potatoes into inch pieces. Cut the cauliflower into 1-2 inches pieces too. Keep in mind that when roasting, sautéing, steaming, cooking of any sort, vegetables that are the same size will cook more evenly. You won’t have tiny pieces that are burnt and huge pieces that still need more cooking time.

2. Place the potatoes, cauliflower, and garlic into the pot and bring it back to a boil. Cook on medium-high heat for 10 minutes or until they are tender.

3. When the vegetables are cooked, drain the water out. Use a potato ricer to rice all the veggies into a medium sized bowl. A potato ricer is my secret to light and fluffy potatoes. It’s an inexpensive tool that mashes the potatoes evenly so you won’t have lumpy potatoes any more! The only issue with the ricer is that the peelings won’t go through it. So if you love the skins, maybe a masher is a better option for you.

4. Gently stir the butter, salt, pepper, and green onions into the potato mixture.

8 apricots

1/4 cup water

2 tablespoons apricot preserves

1 tablespoon corn starch

1 tablespoon water

6 oz raspberries

1/2 cup brown sugar

7 tablespoons soft butter

1 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup rolled oats

Want to make this dairy or gluten-free? Use your favorite gluten-free flour like King Arthur Gluten-free Multi-Purpose Flour or make your own mix with 12 oz white rice flour, 4 oz brown rice flour, 3.5 oz potato starch, 1.5 oz tapioca starch. Store the left-over flour in a airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 months. For this recipe, use 1 cup of this flour mixture then continue with the recipe as normal. Also, check to make sure your oats are gluten free like Bob's Red Mill. For a dairy-free option, use coconut oil or earth balance vegan shortening instead of the butter.

Make ahead option– Follow The Simple Steps 1-4 then cover them with plastic wrap and leave them in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. When you're ready to have a dessert, simply continue with The Simple Steps.

The Simple Steps...

1. Preheat the oven to 400˚.

2. Wash the apricots and cut them in half to remove the pit. Coarsely chop the apricots. Place them into a medium pan on medium heat. Cook the apricots in water and apricot preserves for 5 minutes. In a small bowl, mix the water and corn starch. Stir this mixture into the apricots. Cook another 1 minute. Add the raspberries and remove from heat. If the apricots are ripe, they will be sweet and soft. If they are not ripe enough, you may need to add another tablespoon of preserves to the sauce for a little more sweetness.

3. In a medium bowl, mix the brown sugar, flour, and salt. Then mash the butter into the mixture until it comes together. Stir in the oats.

4. Pour the apricots sauce into 6-8 individual pans or small Mason jars. Then drop small pieces of the dough on top of the apricot mixture. OR pour the sauce into a 9x9 baking dish. Then drop small pieces of the dough on top of the apricot mixture.

5. For the individual servings, bake them for 15 minutes. If you decided to make the crumble in the 9x9 dish, bake it for 25-30 minutes or until the crumble is golden brown. These can easily bake at the same time as the patties.

6. To make it even more special, serve topped with whipped cream or ice cream.