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3
Jun
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Sunday Funday – First BBQ & A Yummy Vegan Dessert! |
Here in the Northeast, last weekend’s weather loudly heralded in the unofficial start of summer, and I have to admit it came upon me way too fast. Not that I didn’t relish the three days of 80-degree, sunny bliss, but somehow I wasn’t mentally prepared to throw the season’s first party. Without much new in the way of inspiration, I turned to a couple old faves, and asked my friends to help with the rest.
People are always surprised by butternut squash in a summer side dish, but if you can get your hands on some, I guarantee that my Tropical Butternut Squash Salad will be a hit wherever you take it this season. If not, sweet potato will work too. It boasts a light and tangy yogurt-based dressing, but light coconut milk will work just fine for the dairy-free crowd. We also had a green salad packed with fresh farmers market veggies and gluten-free tabbouleh made with quinoa.
I lied. A little. I did have one new idea. It involved shrimp, grapes and avocado. More on that later!
And yes, that would be a blissfully fresh blueberry mojito in the background. I am spoiled.
For a little Recipe Remix, I made Spicy Mango Turkey Burgers by mixing a batch of my Roasted Mango Habanero Salsa with 2 1/2 lbs of ground turkey, a splash of soy sauce and some steak seasoning. I served them up with my new favorite condiment, Roasted Tomatillo-Avocado Sauce. This combo was a huge hit all around!
My plate 🙂
For dessert, I served Leanne’s Nanaimo Bars which happen to be raw and vegan too. I’ve never had a non-raw, non-vegan nanaimo bar so I’m not really sure what they’re supposed to taste like, but these were absolutely heavenly – my friend Vanessa, a longtime lover of the real nanaimo bars wholeheartedly agreed (she claimed that the bottom and top layers were “accurate”, and the middle was “different” but still delightful.) Looking for a super-easy recipe that won’t fail to impress? This is it. I followed Leanne’s recipe pretty closely, only making a few small changes: I used cashew butter in the middle layer, and sweetened the top layer with a mixture of powdered erythritol and stevia. And you can bet I’ll be doing it again.
We all agreed that the nanaimo bars were a “sophisticated chocolate” so it was a good thing my friend Lindsay brought some brownies too. Because someone proved to be a real chocoholic. (I’m sure she would have gobbled up the nanaimo bars too, but we adults didn’t really want to share 😉 ) Why is it that only toddlers can pull off looking so cute with chocolate smeared all over? So not fair 😉
What’s been your favorite BBQ dish so far this year?
I'm Cara, lover of creative, clean food and healthy living. Pumpkin, goat cheese, and eggplant make me swoon. I have an insatiable sweet tooth and desire to lift heavy things. 
Julia — June 3, 2012 @ 7:39 am
This entire feast looks amazing!!!! And, how convenient that I have a butternut squash sitting on my counter… and even a mango! Hmm, salad an salsa, here I come!!!!!
Ricki — June 3, 2012 @ 1:54 pm
Looks like such a great party! That weather was pretty phenomenal, wasn’t it? And I have to agree about toddlers and chocolate–I mean, I never get told I look cute when I smear it all over my face!! 😉
Tera — June 3, 2012 @ 3:23 pm
Looks awesome! Great ideas all the way around!
Kerstin — June 3, 2012 @ 5:45 pm
What an amazing spread! Can’t wait to see that shrimp recipe 🙂
Kate — June 3, 2012 @ 7:01 pm
I don’t understand how it can be warm and summery by you and still so very cold by me!
Dawn — June 3, 2012 @ 8:38 pm
Wow what a party!!!! Awesome!
Frank — June 4, 2012 @ 5:56 pm
Your pictures look awesome. The food even better. I look forward reading your blog posts!