Tahini Dressing

The Tahini Dressing (page 321) took only a minute to make and tasted superb. I often enjoy making a simple supper of fresh steamed veggies and pasta. This combo lends itself very nicely to try any sauce, dressing or chutney for added flavor and variety. The tahini dressing was great on top of veggies with mung bean pasta.

Cucumber-Beet Soup

The Cucumber-Beet Soup (page 231) is a cool or room temperature soup. With the unusual pink color and buttermilk base; I didn't think I was going to like it but I was wrong. It tastes wonderful. It's filled with many different flavors which reveal themselves one by one as you slowly enjoy. The mint garnish adds to the subtlety and complexity of this delicious soup.

Rice Horchata (Horchata de Arroz)

The Rice Horchata (page 493) took some time to make but it was worth it. You have to remember to let the rice soak overnight. The best thing I liked about the horchata was how cooling and refreshing it was. I imagine it can be served hot but we enjoyed it as a summer drink. Excellent!

Ginger-Coconut Chayotes

Making the Ginger-Coconut Chayotes (page 86) was a learning experience. I didn't know what a Chayote looked like but I found a picture in order to tract one down in the grocery store. Miriam says they are often called "vegetable pear" and Google says they are available in late summer to early fall. This recipe mixes Chayotes with fresh ginger and coconut milk and it tastes fantastic. Since I was completely unfamiliar with the chayotes I had to monitor the cooking time carefully. It turned out to be about 20 minutes on med-low heat. I will definitely try chayotes again.

Thai Corn Fritters (Tod Man Khao Pohd)

The Thai Corn Fritters (page 89) were really very good and not difficult to make. I'm not sure what makes them Thai other than the cilanto. Basically, you make a thick batter and then add the corn and cilantro. Then fry them in about 1/2 inch of oil until brown. They are yummy and rather impressive looking for as simple as they are to make. Miriam suggests serving them with Sweet and Sour sauce. I bet the Pineapple Sweet and Sour Sauce would be good too.

Sour Cream Spice Cake with Gingered Molasses Frosting

I decided to make the Sour Cream Spice Cake with Gingered Molasses Frosting (page 391) for John's birthday cake. So this time I didn't make cupcakes but I did not make a double layer cake either. Miriam is very good about anticipating any problems from baking without eggs. I followed her directions carefully and the cake came out beautifully, no sticking at all. I found the taste very pleasing and John seemed to enjoy his birthday cake too.

Bread Pudding

The Bread Pudding recipe (page 442) is another sweet dessert. I used multi grain bread and 1% milk in the recipe. It is full of apples, cinnamon, dates and raisins. This is the easiest dessert recipe in the book. Just cube some bread, add the milk and fruit then bake for 45 minutes. No wonder restaurants have a bread pudding on the dessert menu. It's a great way to use up old bread.

New World Chopped Salad

The New World Chopped Salad (page 301) calls for 1 cup of cubed jicama. But I could not find jicama in my local organic store. I went on line to find a good substitution and found that white turnip is sometimes used instead of jicama. This salad has many delicious ingredients in it including cucumber, avocado, corn and pepitas. It is a wonderful cooling summer salad with lots of complex flavors. The tomato is not part of the recipe, I just added one sliced cherry tomato for color.

Nut Butter & Nut Butter Cookies

The two recipes for today are the Nut Butter (page 546) and Nut Butter Cookies (page 435). The nut butter was made in a blender. I used toasted cashews and pistachios and left out the salt. The cookies were straight forward enough to make but I did have some difficulty getting them off the cookie sheet without breaking them. The second batch I cooked just a few minutes less and they came off the cookie sheet without any trouble. These are really rich cookies.

Celeri Remoulade with Ginger-Mustard Seed Dressing

The Celeri Remoulade with Ginger-Mustard Seed Dressing (page 308) uses the root of the celery plant. Although it looks rather ghastly in it's raw state, I really like the mild flavor and texture. I would have never tried this root if I had not been cooking from Heaven's Banquet. This recipe has a creamy dressing made from about 10 different ingredients and it is wonderful. I made a little extra to pour on steamed veggies.

Ajiaco

The Ajiaco recipe (page 229) is a vegetarian version of a traditional Colombian soup. The soup is full of fresh cilantro which turns the stock completely green. Miriam suggests serving it with sour cream and avocado which are not shown in the photograph. This was an extremely quick soup to make, about 30 minutes total time and very tasty.

Dried Tomato and Walnut Pesto

The Dried Tomato and Walnut Pesto (page 510) is a very delicious sauce that is great for pasta and pizza. I served it over quinoa pasta and added a little more Parmesan. It has a heavier texture than most pestos because of the walnuts. This is a very good and hearty pesto sauce with lots of flavor.

Mango, Kiwi and Raspberry Salad with Ginger-Honey Dressing

Wow is this a beautiful salad or what? It's the Mango, Kiwi and Raspberry Salad with Ginger-Honey Dressing (page 316) and I really felt great about serving this because it looks as good as it tastes. I enjoy fresh fruit salads but the Ginger-Honey Dressing really takes the flavor up a notch.

Avocado Soup

The Avocado Soup (page 231) is under the Cold Soup Section of Heaven's Banquet. I'm a really big fan of hot soups so I was a little hesitant to try this section of the book. What a delightful surprise this recipe turned out to be. First of all, it is so easy, you just put everything in the blender, turn it on and walla... soup. Second, it tastes fabulous. I highly recommend giving this one a try during these dog days of summer.

Fennel Cole Slaw with Pecan Dressing

The Fennel Cole Slaw with Pecan Dressing (page 309) is the salad I decided to make today. There is no cooking involved, just assembling. If you have a food processor the entire dish can be ready in about 15 minutes. This dish has an interesting mix of both cooling food and spice and warming food and spice. Cooling fresh fennel and cilantro and warming pecans and ginger. I added the seedless grapes to the salad as the variation suggested. It's a really delicious slaw that has an delightful and unexpected flavor.