Since I'm alone on this beautiful sunny memorial day (just the dog and me), I decided to treat myself to some zucchini pancakes, but since I didn't have any zucchini, I thought - why not carrots. It worked like a charm! I've learned one thing over the years with cooking so much and that is to keep it simple. If you are out of an ingredient - substitute or leave it out. Make it easy on yourself or you won't cook. Here's the recipe. It's not as sweet as carrot cake. It's slightly different than the Zucchini Pancake recipe here.

Ingredients: (makes 4-5 large pancakes)
1 large carrot, peeled and grated
1/4 - 1/3 cup pancake mix
2 eggs
1/2 tsp Chia seeds (optional)
1/4 cup chopped nuts walnuts
1 banana
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
Milk for thinning
Maple syrup or applesauce

Method:
1. Put the grated carrot into a bowl and add the eggs, pancake mix, 1/2 banana, nuts and seeds, cinnamon and salt. 
2. Mash the banana and mix all together until well blended. Depending on the size of your carrot, the mixture may be too wet or too dry. If the mixture is too wet, add a little more pancake mix. If it's too dry, add a little milk.
3. Heat a pan or griddle and add a little butter. Drop large spoonfuls of the mixture onto the pan and cook until lightly browned on the bottom. Flip and cook on the other side.
4. Serve with maple syrup and / or applesauce and the rest of the banana sliced.

Ingredients:
Serves 6
Step 1
6 cups organic zucchini / yellow squash cut in half, sliced thin
3 cups organic cherry tomatoes, cut him half
2 cups organic carrots, cut in half, sliced thin
1 cups organic green onions, sliced thin
1/2 cup parsley, chopped
1/4 cup organic dill, chopped
Step 2
4 cups organic rainbow chard, cut into strips
2 cups organic red cabbage, shredded thin
Dressing:
1/2 cup organic red onions, minced
1/2 cup organic oil (Chef Matthew used Nutive Hemp Oil)
1/3 cup organic lemon juice
3 T. organic raw apple cider vinegar
1 tsp organic garlic, minced
1/2 tsp organic ginger, minced
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp. organic dried oregano
Garnish:
2 T. organic balsamic vinegar (aged, if you have it)
1 tsp. black pepper
Method: 
1. Mix Step 1 ingredients in a large bowl making sure the herbs coat the vegetables evenly.
2. Mix Step 2 ingredients in a separate bowl. 
3. Whisk the dressing ingredients well in a small bowl and add to the squash mixture. Toss to combine.
4. Place the chard and cabbage mix on each plate and top with some of the squash salad mix.
5. Garnish with balsamic vinegar and black pepper.

I've had an urge to make another yummy cold soup. This soup is brimming with vegetable and fruit goodness and is a great snack, any time of the day. It's rich and soothing with a little kick and the combination of tomato and pineapple juice is awesome. I'm not sure where it came from, but we had this at one of our gourmet group dinners years ago. 

Ingredients: Serves 6, makes 5 cups
1 1/2 cups tomato juice or tomato-veggie juice
1 1/2 cups unsweetened pineapple juice
1 ripe papaya or mango, peeled, seeded and diced
1 green (or any color bell pepper, seeded and diced
1/2 red onion, diced
1 avocado, cut into 1/4" dice
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
6-10 dashed of Tabasco
1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro
Salt and ground pepper to taste

Method:
In a large bowl, gently mix all of the ingredients. Cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours. 

In the course of a week, or even a day, I look at many recipes when I'm thinking about menu planning and I'd seen a yummy recipe for a veggie sandwich which I could not find again. So, here's my version with the unique twist of using raisin bread. It's a great way to use your homemade hummus, too, and it's delish served with Cold Cucumber Soup

Ingredients: Serves 2
1 zucchini, sliced 1/4" lengthwise
Splash of Braggs Liquid Amino Acids or soy sauce
2 roasted red pepper (jarred)
2 slices of raw red onion
6 T. hummus
2 lettuce leaves or sprouts
4 slices of raisin bread (I used Udi's gluten-free)
2 tsp. of your favorite mustard spread (I like cranberry and chipotle)

Method:
1. Place zucchini slices in a pan with a little water and the splash of Braggs or soy. Cover and heat for a few minutes until it is wilted.
2. Lightly toast bread and spread each side with mustard.
3. Spread on the hummus and layer the zucchini, hummus, pepper, hummus, onion.
4. Top with lettuce or sprouts.

It's not quite hot enough for cold soup, but I just couldn't wait to have this again. It's so satisfying, delicious and easy to make. It calls for mint and this really makes the dish. Don't leave it out. I did leave out the 2 tablespoons of olive oil since I'm on the plant-based way of eating. This elegant recipe comes from Viviane Bauquet Farre and foodandstyle.com. I used lactose-free yogurt, by the way. See a picture of it below.

Ingredients: Serves 6 
1 3/4 lbs cucumbers, peeled, seeded and cut into 3" pieces
1/4 of a red onion, roughly chopped
1 garlic clove, skinned
8 large mint leaves
1 tsp. maple syrup
2 T. lemon juice
6 oz. plain yogurt
1/2 - 3/4 cup water
avocado, chopped
salt to taste

Method:
1. Place all the ingredients in a Vitamix or food processor with 1/2 cup of the spring water. Pulse a few times so the ingredients are coarsely chopped, then process until smooth. Thin with more water if needed.
2. Transfer to a bowl an refrigerate 2 hours or overnight, until well chilled.
3. Ladle soup into soup bowls and top with the chopped avocado.