Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Lemon Cucumber

Lemon Cucumber, Cool as a Cucumber, Cool as a Lemon Cucumber

Here comes lemon cucumber, our latest farmer's market find.  Although lemon cucumber is looks like a sour lemon on the outside, she actually tastes like a mild and less bitter cucumber. 

Prepare lemon cucumber as you would any standard cucumber.  We recommend this Lemon Cucumber Tofu Salad by Heidi Swanson of 101 Cookbooks fame. Enjoy and keep cool!

Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Donut Peach

Donut Peach, Saturn Peach, Vegan Dunkin Donuts, Dunkin Donuts Logo

Donut peaches are a variety of peaches that look like a flat, stumpy version of a standard peach.  Folks on the internet have been inspired by these peaches to create the ultimate meta dish--donut peach donuts.

Some have been fried creations while others, like this recipe for Peach Donuts Glazed with White Chocolate & Pistachios by Veggie Wedgie, utilize a raw preparation.  We respect all methods of devouring these cuties, including au naturale.

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Avocado Squash

Avocado + Avocado Squash:  A perfect avocouple!

Heirloom varieties of our favorite plants are quite pun- and cartoon-worthy.  Be on the lookout for more quirky heirloom veggies as summer continues!

As for today, the Avocado Squash lives up to its name through both its outward appearance and buttery interior.  Who would have guessed that a squash could be buttery? 

Check out this Avocado Squash Basil Farro Risotto recipe by Jenné Claiborne at Sweet Potato Soul and let us know how your thoughts on Avocado Squash!

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Rhubarb II

A&W Rhubarb, Rhubarb Root Beer, A&W Beer Logo, Pink

Now that it is is rhubarb season my blog reader is full of recipes rhubarb-based desserts and drinks.  Little did I know that our friend the rhubarb is also admired by beer aficionados.  Check out this Rhubarb Saison Homebrew recipe by Chip Walton at Chop & Brew.  Enjoy, rhubarb fans!

Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Garlic Scape III

Garlic Scapegoat, Scapegoat, I ain't afraid of no goats, Scape Season

The wonderful thing about spring is that cooking and cartoon inspiration come easily.  A walk through the farmer's market in our new neighborhood this past weekend reminded us that is was the appropriate time for yet another scape cartoon.

P.S. Kale Crusaders Headquarters recently relocated to Queens, NY.  Come visit us!

Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Fiddlehead II

Fit as a Fiddlehead and ready for love; Fit as a Fittle and ready for love

Any Singin' in the Rain fans out there?  Although fiddlehead season is waning, we would not let another spring go by without acknowledging our love for these young, edible ferns.

Since so many folks love to pickle pretty much everything, we decided to share this classic fiddlehead pickle, Kasrod ka Achaar, by Rekha Kakkar at My Tasty Curry.

P.S. We <3 you, fiddleheads, and pickles.

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Sunchoke II

Hello Sunchoke, Hello Sunshine, Jerusalem artichoke, sunroot, earth apple, topinambour

Thanks so Gena Hamshaw from Choosing Raw for inspiring today's cartoon.  Last week she posted her Smoky Sunchoke and Cauliflower Soup to encourage us to take advantage of the fleeting opportunities to enjoy sunchokes while they are still in season.  Dig in while you still can!

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Coconut VII + Almond

Coconut Almond Granola: Drupe It Like It's Hot; Drop It Like It's Hot

Since starting this cartoon blog, we have spent a significant amount of time on Wikipedia piecing together the plant taxonomies--do you remember kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species from high school biology?  The primary reason for doing this goofy activity is to uncover terms that lend themselves to puns.  Something else that we have discovered is that, in practice, it is often difficult to cleanly conform to this system of classification.

Take for example, the lovely drupe.  The drupe is defined as more or less the fruit of the Prunus genus (as in prunes and other stone fruit).  Who would have guessed that foods like coconuts and almonds fall into the same category as nectarines, apricots, cherries, peaches, plums, mangoes, pistachios, coffee and olives?  This reminds us that biology is also evolving as scientists attempt to create order and identify patterns within a system that was thoughtfully created by humans.

Speaking of amazing human creations, how about this amazing Coconut Almond Granola by Giselle at Diary of an ExSloth

P.S. Cadry, thanks for the inspiration for today's cartoon!

Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Capers

Capers: Best Buds

Capers are confusing little buggers.  At first glance and taste, it is difficult to determine whether these salty little bundles originate from land or sea, vegetable or animal. 

Fortunately for us veggie lovers, capers are simply pickled flower buds from the caper bush.  They provide a salty punch of flavor to vegan Caesar dressings and puttanesca pastas!

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Zucchini III

April showers bring May zucchini flowers, April showers bring May zucchini blossoms, April showers bring May courgette flowers, April showers bring May courgette blossoms

OK, maybe we are getting a little ahead of ourselves with zucchini season but spring brings anticipation of trees and plants in bloom.

To celebrate both spring and Cinco de Mayo, enjoy these incredible Zucchini Blossom Tacos (Tacos de Flor de Calabaza) by Caitlin Galer-Unti of The Vegan Word.

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Bean Brine IV

Bean Cuisine; Vegan Lucky Charms; They are magically delicious and vegan!; Vegan Lucky Charms; Chickpea brine egg white substitute; Chickpea brine marshmallow fluff; Bean brine egg white substitute; Bean brine Lucky Charms; egg-free Lucky Charms

Inspired by the recent discovery of bean / chickpea brine as a suitable egg white substitute, our theme this month is "Bean Cuisine." We will devote this month's entire collection of cartoons to the amazing concoctions that come from the humble bean's humble brine.


Growing up, Lucky Charms did not make many appearances in our house but I distinctly remember the 1 or 2 boxes that crossed the threshold into our cupboard when I was about 10 years old. Ever the responsible adult, my mom reminded us that marshmallow cereal was an unacceptable breakfast item and promptly relegated it to the snack category.

Unsurprisingly, my older brother and I ate all of the marshmallows (at snack time, of course) and left most of the cereal in the box. Fortunately, my mom claimed that the marshmallows in Lucky Charms were “too sweet” while the cereal was “just sweet enough” compared to the twig-like Kashi cereal she enjoyed at the time. So began the short-lived but glorious Lucky Charms symbiotic relationship between child and parent.

Thanks to Kelly Peloza at Seitan Beats Your Meat for this amazing Vegan Lucky Charms recipe, inspiring this cartoon, and for bringing back a random, quirky memory of mine.

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Bean Brine III

Bean Cuisine; Vegan Marshmallow Fluff; Where have you "bean" all my life?; Where have you been all my life?; Vegan Marshmallow Fluff; Chickpea brine egg white substitute; Chickpea brine marshmallow fluff; Bean brine egg white substitute; Bean brine marshmallow fluff; egg-free marshmallow fluff

Inspired by the recent discovery of bean / chickpea brine as a suitable egg white substitute, our theme this month is "Bean Cuisine."  We will devote this month's entire collection of cartoons to the amazing concoctions that come from the humble bean's humble brine.

Little known fact: the Kale Crusaders Headquarters is located a mere 15-minute walk from the birthplace of Marshmallow Fluff in Somerville, Massachussets.  Unfortunately we have not attended Somerville's annual Fluff Festival because of the lack of vegan options, up-to-and-including the Marshmallow Fluff.

But now thanks to Mihl of Seitan is My Motor and her innovative Vegan Marshmallow Fluff recipe, we can hold our own Vegan Fluff Festival in our own kitchen whenever we want!

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Bean Brine II

Bean Cuisine; Vegan Macarons; Packed full of "macaron nutrients; Vegan Macarons; Chickpea brine egg white substitute; Chickpea brine macarons; Bean brine egg white substitute; Bean brine macarons; egg-free macarons

Inspired by the recent discovery of bean / chickpea brine as a suitable egg white substitute, our theme this month is "Bean Cuisine."  We will devote this month's entire collection of cartoons to the amazing concoctions that come from the humble bean's humble brine.

Charis Mitchell from Floral Frosting has cracked the vegan macaron code with the assistance of the almighty chickpea brine.   So far Charis has baked up Cookies & Cream Macarons, Peaches & Cream Macarons, and Funfetti Macarons with Rice Crispy Treat Frosting.  We can't wait to see what she dreams up next!

Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Bean Brine

Bean Cuisine; Oh dang, vegan meringue; Vegan Meringue; Chickpea brine egg white substitute; Chickpea brine meringues; Bean brine egg white substitute; Bean brine meringues; egg-free meringues

Inspired by the recent discovery of bean / chickpea brine as a suitable egg white substitute, our theme this month is "Bean Cuisine."  We will devote this month's entire collection of cartoons to the amazing concoctions that come from the humble bean's humble brine.

Becky Striepe, of Glue & Glitter fame, first exposed us to the bean / chickpea brine egg white substitute phenomenon back in March.  Thanks to Becky, Vegan (White Bean) Meringues are now within reach!

Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Avocado V

Acocado Chips; Dehydrated Avocado Chips; Avocado Fries; Dehydrated Avocado Fries; Vegan Fritos Chips

In anticipation of Saint Patrick's Day (and just for fun), we've decided to feature only green food cartoons this month!

It is funny how we sometimes discover a new crazy use for a veggie once it becomes available as a commercial snack food.  After reading about many of the exciting new foods on display at the Natural Food Expo West, we discovered that avocado chips were possible.

Intrigued, we had to figure out if there was a way to make these at home.  Fortunately the folks over at Weston Products provided a recipe for dehydrated avocado chips.  Honestly, we really have no idea what to expect.

Disclaimer: We have no affiliations with Yumma Superfoods and Weston Products.  We doubt that they are even aware of our little corner of the internet.

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Avocado IV

Avocatta Lasagna Rolls, Vegan Avocado Ricotta Lasagna Rolls

In anticipation of Saint Patrick's Day (and just for fun), we've decided to feature only green food cartoons this month!

Cooking inspiration comes from many places near and far, including the goofy depths of our brains. Thanks to Lee Khatchadourian at The Vegan Version and her middle-of-the-night stroke of genius, we can all enjoy her Avocatta Lasagna Rolls and bask in the glory of identifying yet another way to sneak more avocado into our mouths meals.  

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Peas II

Green Pea Cookies, Yippea! Chinese New Year Coookies

In anticipation of Saint Patrick's Day (and just for fun), we've decided to feature only green food cartoons this month!

We wonder if the folks at Green Pea Cookie will be our friends. We have so much in common--a love of puns, food cartoons, and vegan snacks.  We had never heard of green pea cookies until last month when a few vegan bloggers shared their reviews of this unique snack.

Intrigued and hungry, we looked up some recipes online and found that these green cookies are a popular Chinese New Year treat that are pretty simple to make.  For those of you who want another excuse to add green veggies to your baked goods--this Green Pea Cookie recipe by Swee San at The Sweet Spot is for you!

Disclaimer: We have no affiliation with Green Pea Cookie; although, we do follow each other on Twitter.

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Peas

Cloudy with a chance of Pea Balls, Cloud with a chance of Meat Balls, Vegan Meatballs, Vegan Pea Balls, Vegan Peaballs

In anticipation of Saint Patrick's Day (and just for fun), we've decided to feature only green food cartoons this month!

We discovered these Vegan Italian Peaballs by Daniella at Pepe Azzurro a few weeks ago and we knew that these peaballs must take center stage during our month of green food cartoons.

We hope you enjoy this literary-inspired, movie-popularized, and Super Mario Brothers-styled cartoon!

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Avocado III

avocado mac and cheese, avocado macaroni and cheese, not your average mac, not your avo-rage mac, dairy-free macaroni and cheese, dairy -ree mac and cheese

In anticipation of Saint Patrick's Day (and just for fun), we've decided to feature only green food cartoons this month!

As you may recall, we love vegan macaroni and cheese but Jackie Sobon of Vegan Yack Attack is the queen of vegan macaroni and cheese, devoting two Vegan MoFos to the vegan macaroni and cheese cause.

Avocado might not be the first cheese substitute that comes to mind but trust us (and more importantly, Jackie) with her Avocado Mac (and cheese) recipe.  It is (kind of) green and (very) delicious!

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Chickpea VI + Tahini II

Chickpea <3 Tahini, Chickpea Hearts Tahini, Valentine's Day, Plant Power Couples

The month of February is often associated with Valentine's Day and all things love-related. Regardless of your affection or disdain for this holiday, we can probably all agree that we love food, especially our plant friends.  In honor of plant foods that pair well together, all of our February cartoons will feature plant power couples.

We end our month of plant power couples with the greatest love story of all--chickpea and tahini. As you may recall in our Hummus is a Food Group post:
"Hummus" means "chickpea" in both Arabic and Hebrew, and many folks from the Middle East insist that that hummus is, in its purest form, a smooth spread made from chickpeas and tahini.  Hummus lovers outside of the Middle East, on the other hand, sometimes refer to any smooth bean spread (throw in other ingredients! with or without tahini!) as hummus.
Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi share a strong point of view on tahini's major role in hummus, as illustrated in their Basic Hummus recipe from their cookbook, Jerusalem (via Food52). Personally, we would like to thank them for teaching Westerners how to make a proper batch of hummus.

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Buckwheat II

You and me are like kash & varnishkes; roasted buckwheat, Valentine's Day, plant power couples

The month of February is often associated with Valentine's Day and all things love-related. Regardless of your affection or disdain for this holiday, we can probably all agree that we love food, especially our plant friends.  In honor of plant foods that pair well together, all of our February cartoons will feature plant power couples.

I would venture to say that we cook up kasha varnishkes (toasted buckwheat and bow-tie noodles) nearly once month here at Kale Crusaders Headquarters. The toasted buckwheat, nearly-burnt onions, starchy noodles, and generous splashes of olive oil make this a satisfying and comforting Eastern European-inspired dish. 

We encourage you to cozy up with a bowl of homemade kasha varnishkes and this Kasha Varnishkes recipe (with the olive oil option) by Olga Massov at Sassy Radish is similar to the informal recipe that we follow.

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Rice + Beans

We belong together like rice and beans, Valentine's Day, plant power couples

The month of February is often associated with Valentine's Day and all things love-related. Regardless of your affection or disdain for this holiday, we can probably all agree that we love food, especially our plant friends.  In honor of plant foods that pair well together, all of our February cartoons will feature plant power couples.

The bond between rice and beans suspends borders, cultures, and kitchens. Across the globe, rice and bean dishes come together with an incredible amount of variety in preparations and spices. We will barely scratch the surface here but, to whet your appetite, here are a few samples of delicious rice and bean dishes from countries around the world:
Happy (almost) Valentine's Day!

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Collard Green III + Black-Eyed Pea II

Collard Greens & Black-Eyed Peas: Two peas in a pod; plant power couples; Valentine's Day; plant power couples

The month of February is often associated with Valentine's Day and all things love-related. Regardless of your affection or disdain for this holiday, we can probably all agree that we love food, especially our plant friends.  In honor of plant foods that pair well together, all of our February cartoons will feature plant power couples.

For good luck, we would like to introduce collard greens and black-eyed peas as our first plant power couple. A customary combination enjoyed on New Year's Day in the Southern United States, collard greens and black-eyed peas represent money and eating them can ensure wealth in the new year.  It is never too late to whip up some collard greens and black-eyed peas, so check out this Lucky Stew by Amy Stefani at No Whey No Cow.

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Millet II

It's Millet Time; It's Miller Time

For lack of a food-related festivity to look forward to in January, we are psyching ourselves up for Super Bowl XLIX on Sunday, February 1. With less than one month to plan and prepare a snack spread, we intend to devote our next month to "snack-y" cartoons.

Our "Millet: Business in the front, party in your mouth" cartoon was the fifth cartoon on the site and one of our goofiest cartoons to date. We kind of cringe looking back at our older, more crude cartoons but it is also fun to witness the incremental, organic changes (and, perhaps, maturity?) of this quirky corner of the internet.

Nonetheless, there are so many uses for Millet that we have not yet discussed.  Substitute millet in your favorite rice, quinoa, or grain dish for a nutty surprise. Richa Hingle at Vegan Richa brings millet into savory granola territory with her Sour Cream & Onion Hemp Millet Crunch Snack / Granola recipe.  Perhaps you can whip up this quirky new snack for your Super Bowl spread this weekend!

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Cauliflower VII

Cauliflower Buffalo Wings; Vegetarian Buffalo Wings; Vegan Buffalo Wings; Chicken-free Buffalo Wings

For lack of a food-related festivity to look forward to in January, we are psyching ourselves up for Super Bowl XLIX on Sunday, February 1. With less than one month to plan and prepare a snack spread, we intend to devote our next month to "snack-y" cartoons.

It is time to spice up our snack spread! How about these Cauliflower Buffalo Wings by Lauren Toyota and John Diemer at hot for food? Yes, please, and thank you!

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Carrot II

Carrot in a Blanket, Vegetarian Pigs in a Blanket, Vegan Pigs in a Blanket, a 24-carat snack

For lack of a food-related festivity to look forward to in January, we are psyching ourselves up for Super Bowl XLIX on Sunday, February 1. With less than one month to plan and prepare a snack spread, we intend to devote our next month to "snack-y" cartoons.

Carrots and hummus are the go-to party snack for the veg-heads.  Sure, we love a good veggie platter but we will happily take a break from the rabbit food and indulge in a warm, decadent, savory treat.  Fortunately Sandra of Vegan Sandra always remembers to bring her Carrots in a Blanket to the party.  The vegan (and non-vegan) crowd goes wild!

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Fig II

Figs in a Blanket, Fig in a Blanket, Vegetarian Pigs in a Blanket, Vegan Pigs in a Blanket, Sleeping Fig, Dreams of Pig

Happy January, folks! For lack of a food-related festivity to look forward to in January, we are psyching ourselves up for Super Bowl XLIX on Sunday, February 1. With less than one month to plan and prepare a snack spread, we intend to devote our next month to "snack-y" cartoons.

For our first installment, we would like to introduce you to Figs in a Blanket by Justin Fox Burks and Amy Lawrence of The Chubby Vegetarian.  Fortunately, no little piggies went into these sweet and savory snacks. Please note that you can easily omit or substitute your favorite vegan cheese to make these figgies vegan.  Also note that many commercial crescent rolls are "accidentally vegan."

Happy snacking!