Kiss Me, I'm Vegan: Salsa Spaghetti

During a grocery excursion to Trader Joe's, a carton of heirloom tomatoes caught my eye. Their bright colors and variations promised a lovely salsa! After making salsa (by chopping the aforementioned tomatoes, adding lime juice, cilantro, and a hot pepper), I realized that although salsa has traditional been relegated to tortilla chips, why not branch out? My mother had made some wheat spaghetti but the oppressive heat and humidity deterred me from turning on the stove. I opened the fridge to grab the half-full can of black beans and saw my salsa. Although the fridge light did not come on, one in my mind did: why not make the salsa into a raw tomato sauce? I tossed in a few beans to give the sauce a bit more substance and added some fresh cilantro to pick it up a bit, and pureed it all together. Poured over hot whole wheat spaghetti and topped with a handful of black beans and a couple tomato halves, it made a lovely summer dinner.

Kiss Me, I'm Vegan: Peach Almond Rolls

After coming home for a weekend, my friend departed today for another week as a camp counselor. After hearing her laments regarding the baseness of camp food and it's general lack of nutrition, especially for vegetarians, the quart box of fresh peaches sitting on my counter called to me. I picked up Hannah Kaminsky's My Sweet Vegan and searched for a recipe that I could pack some peaches into. The "Oatmeal Raisin Rolls" looked strong enough to stand up to shipping, and I figured that peaches would make an exciting filling (although without the lovely color contrast that the raisins provide).
I used the recipe as is for the yeasted but quick oatmeal rolls (if I had a cookbook, I wouldn't want its contents to be posted willy-nilly online, so you'll have to get a copy of My Sweet Vegan from the library or bookstore if you want to use the exact same recipe). I did add cinnamon, but in my house, that's one ingredient which is always taken for granted! Rather than sugar and raisins, however, here is the recipe for the peach center!

Peach Almond Rolls: the Almond Peach Part

3-4 medium sized fresh peaches, cut in half and pit removed (I like the skin, so I left it on)
1/4 cup almonds
1-2 tablespoons oatmeal

Reserving a tablespoon of the almonds, grind the rest to a flour. Chop the reserved almonds finely.
In a food processor, puree 3 peach halves. Chop the remaining halves into small pieces. Lay the diced peaches on a paper towel to remove some of the moisture.
Meanwhile, decide how you want the oats. You could grind them to a flour, or leave them whole. Either way, their purpose is to soak up a bit of the moisture and make the filling less liquid-y.
Transferring the peach puree to a small bowl, add the chopped peaches, the almonds, and the oatmeal. Combine and, if your peaches were juicier than mine, add more oatmeal or ground almonds to combat the liquidity of the filling.
Spread the enhanced peach puree onto the rectangle of dough and continue with recipe as directed! Before baking, top the cut rolls with a few slivered almonds and a dash of cinnamon.
Enjoy!