sweet miscellany

Sweet peas, tangy preserved lemon, fresh dill, and creamy cashew butter are blended together for a delicious springtime dip. This vegan and gluten free dip is fresh, green, and a little earthy, sort of like everything outside during the spring season!

“April hath put a spirit of youth in everything.” — William Shakespeare

Lately I’ve really been enjoying taking breaks in the backyard during the day, wandering around and observing. It doesn’t matter that I’ve just looked at the garden mere hours before and most likely nothing has changed, but it gives me the opportunity to stretch my legs, observe, and be present. And maybe, just maybe, I’ll notice things I didn’t notice before. Like the white clover that made its way into the yard by wind or by bird and is opening up a few flowers. Or the tiny beginnings of flower buds on my pepper plant. Or maybe the magenta radishes hidden from view by prickly borage leaves. It’s a lovely sight to behold if you take the time to notice.

Spring observations yielded this lovely dip made of sweet peas, tangy preserved lemon, fresh dill, and creamy cashew butter. It’s fresh and green and a little earthy, sort of like everything outside at the moment. You can serve it up with your favorite crackers but you can also go more veg heavy and use your favorite crudité. Or, smear it on some freshly toasted bread and maybe add a little regular or vegan feta and a drizzle of olive oil. I’ll leave the enjoying part up to you! For more spring-inspired recipes, head here.

Spring Pea Dip with Dill and Preserved Lemon

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Author: Courtney
Total Time: 10 minutes
Yield: 2 cups 1x

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Ingredients

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1 1/2 cups shelled peas
1/8 cup fresh dill fronds, plus extra for garnish
1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for garnish
preserved lemon peel from half of a lemon
1 tsp of the preserving liquid from the lemons (optional)
3 tbsp cashew butter or tahini
juice from 1/2 of a fresh lemon
sea salt if needed

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Instructions

Add everything to a blender and process until mostly smooth. Taste and add salt if needed. Serve topped with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and fresh dill. You can also top it with edible flowers if you like. I used sage flowers in the photos but basil, mint, or nasturtium flowers would also be lovely!

This is best enjoyed at room temperature the day it’s made but you can also keep leftovers in the fridge, covered, for up to 3 or 4 days.

Notes

If you don’t have access to freshly shelled peas, or don’t want to shell them yourself, feel free to use frozen petite peas…just make sure to pop them in boiling water for about 30-60 seconds before using them in the recipe! As for the preserved lemons, if you don’t have any, you’ll make the following adjustments: use the zest of 1 whole lemon, increase the lemon juice to that of one whole lemon, and season to taste with salt.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Vegan Macaroon Lime Curd Bars (vegan/gf recipe) | seasonal plant-based recipes via The Sweet Miscellany Blog

A sweet-tart vegan lime curd tops a toasted coconut macaroon base for a truly delicious, mouth-puckering dessert bar. If you want to go the extra step, top each of these vegan and gluten free bars with a few edible flowers!

Do you ever formulate culinary ideas in your head before attempting to make them? Sometimes I’ll sit with an idea for weeks until everything clicks into place while other times I dive in without much of a plan. I suppose it’s all part of the fascinating process behind creativity. It’s one of those things that my logical brain can’t quite logically explain. And to be honest, the mystery makes the process seem that much more meaningful and, for lack of a better word, magical.

I’ve had the idea of doing a lime dessert with toasted coconut banging around in my head for a while. Initially I thought about doing a no-bake freezer dessert sort of like this one but then the weather shifted and a frozen dessert didn’t sound so appealing in chilly spring weather. Enter an old episode of Martha Bakes. She was making lemon curd and I immediately remembered I used to make a vegan lemon curd that was pretty delicious. So, with a little Martha inspiration and the swift arrival of spring this weekend, my idea was distilled into these lime curd bars with a toasted coconut macaroon base topped with edible rose geranium flowers from the garden.

So how does the vegan curd come together? Pure alchemy. Just kidding, sort of. It’s a combination of soaked and blended cashews, full fat coconut milk, lime juice, sugar, and arrowroot starch. It’s a similar process to making pudding but we’re cooking it just a bit longer in order to get it to thicken and set to a more solid consistency for the bars. If you don’t want to go to the trouble of making the bars, at least make the curd! There are some notes in the recipe below if you’re making the curd to enjoy on its own rather than to top the bars.

Here’s to a lovely spring!

Vegan Macaroon Lime Curd Bars

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Author: Courtney
Total Time: 65 minutes
Yield: 8–16 bars 1x
Diet: Vegan

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Ingredients

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for the base:

3/4 cup almond meal
3/4 cup finely shredded unsweetened desiccated coconut
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
1/3 cup cane sugar
2 tbsp melted coconut oil
1/4 cup room temperature full fat coconut milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

for the lime curd:

1/2 cup cashews — soaked for 2 or more hours
1/2 cup full fat coconut milk
3/4 cup fresh lime juice ( I was able to get this from 4 limes)
1/2 cup cane sugar
1 tbsp agave or maple syrup
1 tbsp full fat coconut milk mixed with 1 tbsp arrowroot starch/flour (this is your slurry)
zest of 2 limes plus more to garnish if you like
edible flowers for garnish, optional

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Instructions

Make the base first. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees and line an 8×8 inch square pan with parchment paper leaving an overhang (this will make it much easier to remove and cut the bars). Mix the almond meal, coconut, sugar, and salt together, making sure to break up any lumps. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the melted coconut oil, coconut milk, and vanilla, then pour it over your dry mixture. Mix until the macaroon dough begins to stick together. Dump the dough into your lined baking pan and press it into an even layer. The dough is sticky so make sure to use damp fingers! Bake the macaroon base in your preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes until it is golden brown around the edges and just beginning to turn golden on top. Let the base cool completely at room temperature before topping it with the curd.

To make the curd, add the soaked cashews, the 1/2 cup of coconut milk, the lime juice, the cane sugar, and the agave (or maple syrup) to a blender. Blend on high until smooth and the cashews have been broken down. Add the curd mixture to a pot and heat it on a level just under medium on the stove. Whisk the curd mixture continuously as it begins to heat up. Once you begin to see bubbles breaking the surface, turn the heat down to low. Add your slurry (1 tbsp coconut milk mixed with 1 tbsp arrowroot flour) and begin to whisk once again. Continue to whisk and cook the curd mixture over low heat until it thickens to a consistency similar to melted white chocolate or pudding. This should only take about 5-7 minutes. Remove the curd from the heat and mix in the lime zest. Allow the curd to cool in the pot for 15-20 minutes before spreading it in an even layer over the macaroon base. Chill the bars in the fridge at least 6-8 hours or overnight to allow them to set.

When you’re ready to serve the bars, feel free to enjoy them as is or add a fresh sprinkle of lime zest and edible flowers. I used rose geranium flowers for the batch photographed.

These bars store best in the fridge so make sure to eat and serve them straight from there! Leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days. Makes 8-16 bars depending on how large or small you slice them.

Notes

These bars need a full 6-8 hours to chill and set in the fridge before enjoying so make sure to factor that in. For the cashews, measure out 1/2 cup before soaking rather than after. If you are making the lime curd on its own rather than using it to top the bars, you’ll need to adjust the recipe just slightly. Once you add the arrowroot slurry towards the end of cooking time, you’ll cook it only a minute more before removing it from the heat so that it doesn’t thicken quite as much. Cool it completely in the fridge before enjoying!

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes