I’m Emily.
I blog, write, teach, and cook.

A couple of days ago, I went to Parlee Farms and picked blueberries and raspberries. My mom, David, and I had picked strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries a week or two before at Brookdale Farm, but we’d run out. I picked a lot of blueberries, so I decided to make scones. I found this recipe at Allrecipes.com and made only a couple of minor adjustments.

I like this recipe because it uses lemon yogurt in place of half and half or cream, for a lighter, lower fat version.

>>Preheat oven to 400 degrees F

>> Yields ~15 scones

Ingredients

• 2 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel (my lemon was fairly large, so I used a lot more, maybe 1 1/2 tablespoons)
• 1 cup lemon yogurt (almost two full 6-ounce containers)
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup fresh (or frozen) blueberries

Glaze:

• 3/4 cup confectioners sugar
• ~3 tablespoons of lemon juice (I used the juice of 1 lemon)
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon peel (I used more, maybe 1 teaspoon)

Directions

1) In a large bowl, stir together the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and lemon peel).

2) Add in the yogurt, egg, and melted butter. You can use an egg beater (though be careful–it gets really sticky) or a spoon.

3) Once the ingredients are well combined, stir in the blueberries.

4) Using two spoons, scoop the dough onto a greased cookie sheet approximately 2 inches apart. To make 15 scones, they should be around 2 1/2-3″, but you can really make them however large or small you want.

5) Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until the tops are lightly browned.

6) Combine the glaze ingredients. If it’s too watery, add more confectioners sugar. If it’s not lemony enough, add more juice. While the scones are still warm, drizzle the glaze on top.

These are, quite simply, amazing. Don’t worry, they are also egg & salmonella free!

I made this recipe by combining & adjusting a number of different recipes I found online.

>>Yields ~30 cookie dough balls

Ingredients

• 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 cup and two tablespoons flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup Greek yogurt (this is what replaces the eggs and holds the dough together)
• 1 cup chocolate chips of your choice (I used semisweet)

To coat:

• 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips, melted

Directions

1) Cream together the butter and sugar, using a mixer.

2) Beat in the yogurt and vanilla, followed by the flour.

3) Using a spoon, stir in the chocolate chips.

4) Cover and chill the dough for one hour in the refrigerator.

5) Roll the dough into balls (1-1 1/2″), placing them on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. They can be close together since you aren’t baking them!

6) Put the cookie sheet in the freezer for 30 minutes.

7) Melt 1 1/4- 1 1/2 cups of chocolate chips using a double broiler or the microwave.

8) Jab the balls with a fork and use it as a dipping tool to coat with chocolate. You can coat the whole ball, or just half. (I preferred just half since they are so rich already.) Return the balls to the wax paper lined baking sheet.

9) Freeze until set, or another 20 minutes.

10) Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container. They should be good for at least a week! If you want them to last longer, you could freeze them.

I made this for the first time a couple of days ago. I don’t like it nearly as much as Chickpea Curry, and it takes longer to make, but it’s still pretty tasty. I think that next time I make it I will double the amount of the spices, since it didn’t have enough flavor.

I made minor adjustments to a recipe found in Perfect Vegetarian: a collection of over 100 essential recipes, published by Parragon Publishing.

>>Serves approximately 4

Ingredients

• 1 onion, chopped into a few chunks
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 2 fresh green chili/jalapeno peppers, cut in half with the seeds removed
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tsp ground tumeric*
• 1 tsp ground coriander*
• 1 tsp ground cumin*
• Approximately 2lbs of mixed vegetables cut into chunks (I used carrots, zuchinni, cauliflower, and green beans)
• 1 cup coconut milk
• Cilantro, to serve
• Rice or quinoa, to serve

*I would double this next time, using two teaspoons of each.

Directions

1) Put the onion, garlic, and peppers into a food processor. Blend until the mixture is almost completely smooth.

My beautiful food processor (thanks Bruce & Randy!).

2) Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion/garlic/pepper mixture. Stir for three minutes.

3) Add the vegetables and stir until they are well coated.

4) Add the coconut milk.

5) Cover the pot and let simmer for 30-40 minutes, or until the vegetables are slightly soft.

6) Add chopped cilantro, if desired, and serve with rice or quinoa.

I first made this in April and have made it many times since. It’s one of David’s favorites and it’s so easy to make! I always double the recipe because it’s great reheated.

I only made very minor adjustments to this recipe, which I found in The Essential Vegetarian Cookbook published by Murdoch Books.

*Please note that it’s fairly spicy*

>>Serves approximately four

Ingredients

• 2 onions
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon tumeric
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon ground coriander
• 2 14oz cans chickpeas
• 2 14oz cans diced tomatoes (I get “no salt added”)
• 1 teaspoon garam marsala (can be purchased at any Indian grocery store)

Directions

1) Slice the onions and dice the garlic.

2) Heat the oil in a medium/large pot. Add the onion and garlic, cooking until the onions become soft.

3) Add the chili powder, tumeric, paprika, cumin, and coriander. There will be a lot of spices–more than will cover the onions. Stir the spices in until the onions are coated.

4) Add the chickpeas and the tomatoes (undrained). Stir until everything is mixed together.

5) Cover the pot and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes.

6) Stir in garam marsala, then simmer (covered), for another 10 minutes.

Adapted from Cookies: Over 300 Step-by-Step Recipes for Home Baking.

THESE ARE SOOOOOO GOOD! Very, very rich! These were a huge hit on Easter, at my parents’ house.

Ingredients

The Base

• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1/2 cups superfine sugar
• 3/4 unsalted butter, softened

The Filling

• 7 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• Two 14-ounce cans sweetened condensed milk

The Topping

• 3 1/2 ounces semisweet chocolate (I used a bit more)
• 3 1/2 ounces milk chocolate (I used a bit more)
• 2 ounces white chocolate (I used a bit more)

Directions

>>Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F

1) Put the flour and superfine sugar in a bowl and rub in the butter until the mixture is crumbly, like breadcrumbs. Continue to squeeze the dough with your hands until it forms a dough.

2) Put the dough into the bottom of a lightly greased 13×9″ pan. Press it out evenly with your hand so it covers the bottom. Use the bottom of a spoon to smooth it out.

3) Prick the dough all over with a fork.

4) Bake for about 20 minutes or until firm and a very light brown color. Leave it aside until it’s completely cool.

5) For the filling, place the butter, brown sugar, and condensed milk in a pan, stirring over medium heat until the sugar and butter have dissolved.

6) Stir the mixture constantly, bring to a boil.

7) Reduce the heat and simmer, while constantly stirring, for 5-10 minutes, or until the mixture has thickened. Don’t let it burn!

8) Pour the hot filling over the now cool base. Spread it out evenly. Allow to cool, then refrigerate until it’s cold.

9) For the topping, melt each type of chocolate separately. You will make alternating 1 1/2 - 2″ wide stripes of milk and semisweet chocolate, and will then add spoonfuls of white chocolate on top. Using a skewer, you will swirl the white chocolate, forming a marbled effect.*

10) After the chocolate completely hardens, cut into thin bars. I prefer to refrigerate these (I like the way they taste when cool), but you don’t have to.

*This was challenging because the base and middle layers are so cold that the chocolate hardens very quickly. I’d recommend making part of a strip, then adding the white chocolate and creating the marbled effect, then finishing the strip, adding more white chocolate, etc. This will enable you to create the marbled effect as you go (and the chocolate is still melted), rather than after the stripes are hardened.

Adapted from Cookies: Over 300 Step-by-Step Recipes for Home Baking.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup crunchy or smooth peanut butter (up to you!)
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Directions

>>Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

>>Yields ~24 cookies

1) Beat together the butter and sugar with mixer.

2) Beat in the egg and vanilla.

3) Add the peanut butter, continue to beat batter with electric mixer.

4) Add the flour and baking soda, continue to beat.

5) Roll 1″ balls of dough. Place on two lightly greased cookies sheets.

6) Press the balls flat with a fork into round shapes, making a cross cross pattern (first press the fork in one direction, flattening the ball, then place the fork in the opposite direction to make the pattern).

7) Bake the cookies for around 12 minutes, or until lightly colored.

The lighting in this photo doesn't do this dessert justice. It was really good--a nice mixture of tart and sweet!

Adapted from Vegetarian: Over 300 healthy and wholesome recipes chosen from around the world.

Ingredients

• 1 pound cooking apples (I used Cortland)
• 1 cup frozen or fresh mixed berries (I used a frozen bag of strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries)
• grated zest and juice of one orange
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• vanilla ice cream, to serve

For the topping

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 5 tablespoons butter, room temperature
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup hazelnuts, chopped finely
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamon

Directions

>>Preheat oven to 400 degrees F

1) Grease a 9×9″ pan.

2) Peel and slice the apples, placing them evenly in the pan.

3) Scatter the berries evenly over the top of the apples.

4) Sprinkle the orange zest and brown sugar evenly over the top of the fruit.

5) Pour the orange juice over the top.

6) Begin making the topping. Put the flour in a bowl and rub the butter in until the mixture is crumbly and there aren’t large chunks of butter.

7) Stir in the sugar, hazelnuts, and cardamon.

8) Sprinkle the topping evenly over the top of the fruit. Press the topping down, especially at the edges to trap in the juices.

9) Bake for 30 minutes, or until the top is golden.

10) Serve warm, with ice cream.

Adapted from Vegetarian: Over 300 healthy and wholesome recipes chosen from around the world.

Ingredients

• 1 large eggplant
• 3 tablespoons of oil
• 6 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese
• 2 plum tomatoes
• Basil leaves (10-12 leaves)
• balsamic vinegar (optional)

Directions

>>Preheat the broiler

1) Cut the eggplant lengthwise into thin slices, discarding the two outermost slices. (This is pretty tricky… to make things easier, partway though I cut the eggplant in half width wise, then cut the slices. They’ll make smaller rolls, but that’s fine!)

2) Brush the eggplant slices with oil. Place on the grill rack, or on a cookie sheet. Broil for 8-10 minutes, turning once. The eggplant should be tender and golden.

3) If using longer slices of eggplant… Place a slice of mozzarella, a slice of tomato, and a basil leaf in the center of the eggplant. Fold the left and right sides over the eggplant.

If using shorter slices of eggplant… Place a slice of mozzarella, a slice of tomato, and a basil leaf on one side of the eggplant. Fold the other side over top. Press down so it stays.

4) Place back into the broiler and cook until it is heated through and the mozzarella begins to melt.

5) Serve with drizzled balsamic vinegar.

Adapted from Vegetarian: Over 300 healthy and wholesome recipes chosen from around the world.

Ingredients

• Two 1-pound eggplants
• 3 tablespoons of oil
• 1/2 teaspoon black mustard seeds (can be found at Indian grocery store, or in a pinch you could use yellow mustard seeds, which you can get at most grocery stores)
• 1 bunch scallions, chopped
• 4 ounces button mushrooms, cut into thirds
• 2 garlic cloves, diced
• 1 poblano pepper, chopped into very small pieces (if you want it spicier, you could use a chili pepper)
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground tumeric
• One 14-ounce can of chopped tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped, plus some to garnish

Directions

>>Preheat oven to 400 degrees

1) Brush the skin of the eggplants with 1 tablespoon of oil. Prick both eggplants all over with a fork. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the eggplant is very soft. (I baked mine for 35 minutes and it appeared soft on the outside, but the inside wasn’t gooey enough.)*

2) While the eggplants are baking, heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large pot. Saute the mustard seeds for two minutes, or until they begin sputtering/”popping.”

3) Add the scallions, mushrooms, garlic, and chili pepper. Cook for five minutes.

4) Add all of the spices: the chili powder, cumin, coriander, and tumeric. Cook for three minutes.

5) Add the tomatoes and simmer for five minutes.

6) When the eggplants are ready, cut each eggplant in half lengthwise. Let them cool a little bit–they will be HOT! Scoop out the softened insides into a bowl and mash them with a fork. If there are any large pieces that can’t be mashed with your fork, cut up with a knife.

7) Add the mashed eggplant and chopped cilantro into the pot.

8) Bring to a boil and simmer for five minutes. The curry should thicken.

9) Serve with fresh cilantro on top.

*Another option is to wrap the eggplants in tinfoil and bake for an hour.

David has a cold (which I had last week), so I made this for him tonight. It’s really, really good, but it was pretty time consuming. I adapted the recipe from Vegetarian: Over 300 healthy and wholesome recipes chosen from around the world, edited by Nicola Graimes.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped into small pieces
• 2 carrots, chopped into small pieces
• 1 celery rib, chopped into small pieces
• 2 cloves of garlic, diced
• 2 potatoes, pealed and chopped into small pieces
• 4 cups hot vegetable broth + 2 1/4 cups hot water
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme or 1 sprig fresh thyme
• 3/4 cups peas, fresh or frozen
• 2 zucchini, chopped into small pieces
• 2 large tomatoes, chopped into small pieces
• 2 cups cannellini beans (one 15.5 ounce can)
• 3 tablespoons pesto sauce (can be found at grocery store in tomato sauce aisle, or you can make your own)
• black pepper
• Parmesan cheese, to serve

Directions

1) Heat the oil in a large pot. Stir in the onion and cook for 3 minutes.

2) Add the carrots, celery, and garlic. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes.

3) Add the potatoes and cook for another 3 minutes.

4) Pour in the hot vegetable broth and water — 6 1/4 cups total. Add the thyme and ground black pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.

5) If you are using fresh peas, stir them in, along with the zucchini. Simmer for 5 minutes.

6) If you are using frozen peas, add them, along with the tomatoes. Cover the pan and simmer for 8 minutes.

7) 15 minutes before serving, uncover the pan and stir in the beans. Simmer for 10 minutes.

8) Stir in the pesto sauce. Simmer for another 5 minutes.

9) Remove from heat and let stand for a few minutes. Serve with Parmesan cheese.