We celebrated Labor Day in Connecticut with Paul's brother and sister-in-law with lots of amazing vegetarian food. We left salty breezes behind and arrived back to the hot, humid jungly hills of Pittsburgh last night to a barren fridge yielding a dinner of either hotdogs or green beans. We opted to continue the vegetarian theme of the weekend, and whipped up a batch of these Ginger Sesame Green Beans we have been loving all summer. Spicy, tangy and gingery, these green beans are addictive! Check out our summer bounty round-up for other ideas for summer vegetables.

We’ve been taking our meals outside and the on the road recently, with sunny skies and weekend trips.  This supremely Crunchy Broccoli Stem Slaw with Hoisin Vinaigrette is a portable salad win. We love this slaw for its deeply satisfying crispness, starting  the brilliant use of thinly sliced broccoli stems, slivered red cabbage, bright carrots, crunchy peanuts and baked tortilla strips top off this slaw, with a punchy Asian inspired vinaigrette featuring hoisin and ginger. With a base of sturdy veggies, this slaw only improves as it sits, making it a prime work or school lunch, travel salad, or potluck dish. To cut down on prep time, you can grab a bag of pre-cut broccoli slaw mix at your local grocery.

With holiday parties and family gatherings, snack foods pretty much become their own seasonal food group this time of year. As an avid snacker, this naturally delights me.  Somewhere between a flatbread and a cracker, Lavash is a snacking dream. Originating in the Caucasus, this quick, unleavened dough has both chew and crunch, a fantastic cracker to eat plain, or to use as a vehicle for all other manner of dips and spreads. We particularly love Lavash Crackers with beet horseradish hummus.

The season of bounteous and beautiful salad greens has arrived in force. With our fridge bulging with market lettuces we thought it was time to share one of our favorite dressings: Honey Sesame Vinaigrette. This quick and easy dressing brings warm and zinging ginger flavor, balanced with sweetness from honey and roasted undertones of sesame. Honey Sesame Vinaigrette is also a great base vinaigrette to customize with your favorite fresh herbs: cilantro, mint, Thai basil, green onions, and chives all taste great.  

Baked Tofu and Pickled Vegetable Rice Bowl is a modern version of one of my childhood favorites.  Growing up I was a very picky eater with a limited and perplexing range of favorites.   On the top of my list was fried tofu with ketchup, a crunchy and comforting dish.  I have happy memories of gobbling mounds of golden cubes dunked liberally with organic green tomato ketchup. To my parents great relief, my eating repertoire has evolved a bit since then, but my love for tofu remains. 

Paul on the other hand, has a grown-up aversion to tofu. Whenever I cook with tofu, he expresses a strong concern that I am covertly working to turn him into a vegetarian, his own personal horror! Despite himself, Paul scraped his bowl clean and gives this dish two thumbs up.