Celebrate the last days of summer with a D R E A M Y + D E L I C I O U S Labor Day Picnic!
I asked a couple of my friends + fellow bloggers to share their favorite recipes for a fabulous end of summer meal:
Kathy Patalsky of Healthy Happy Life has an oh-so-refreshing Watermelon Frosty Drink (which you can also spike for some added fun!) + incredible Sweet Potato Veggie Burgers decked out with everyone’s favorite green buttery fruit! Coconut connoisseur Meredith Baird is also sharing a couple of absolutely beautiful, magical dishes from her new book, Coconut Kitchen: Cooking with Nature's Most Beautifying Superfood (a must-read by the way!), including a divine coconut ceviche + an out-of-this world coconut caesar salad.
Mix + match these recipes for your Labor Day feast or make all four for a heavenly way to bid farewell to summer!
WATERMELON FROSTY
By Kathy Patalsky, Healthy Happy Life
Frosty frozen watermelon, banana and lime blend up into this refreshing blended beverage.
Gather This:
- 2 1/4 cups frozen watermelon, cubes
- 1/2 cup coconut water or water (add more as needed)
- 1-2 tablespoons maple syrup, grade B
- 1 large lemon or 2 limes, squeezed
- 1 fresh banana
- Optional: Add a few pinches of cayenne for a spicy kick!
- Party co*cktail Version: Add 1-2 shots of your fave alcohol!
Do This:
Add all ingredients to a high speed blender like a Vitamix and blend until frosty. Note: Start off with just 1/4 cup of the water liquid and add more in splashes as needed to blend. Pour into two frosted glasses to keep cool, garnish with lime or fresh watermelon sliced.
COCONUT CEVICHE with Tomatillo, Lime, and Cilantro
By Meredith Baird, Coconut Kitchen: Cooking with Nature's Most Beautifying Superfood
This is one of the easiest and most impressive dishes in the book. Including the avocado is optional. Try serving this with sprouted corn tortillas and a side of guacamole to make ceviche tacos. Finish with your favorite organic hot sauce and a glass of rosé.
Gather This:
- 2 cups young coconut meat, or 1 bag Exotic Superfoods young coconut meat, thinly sliced into 2 inch–long strips
- 1/2 cucumber, deseeded and diced
- 1 cup quartered tomatillos or 1 cup quartered cherry tomatoes
- 1/2 cup torn cilantro leaves
- 1/2 jalapeño, deseeded and diced (use more or less depending on your
- heat tolerance)
- juice of 2 limes
- 1/4 cup coconut water
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- sea salt, to taste
- 1 avocado, diced (optional)
Do This:
Stir together all ingredients. Allow mixture to marinate for at least 30 minutes. Makes 2–4 servings (This dish makes great leftovers and is actually better the next day!)
COCONUT CAESAR with Romaine, Dulse, and Cured Olives
By Meredith Baird, Coconut Kitchen: Cooking with Nature's Most Beautifying Superfood
This salad can be served as a romaine “wedge” inspired by restaurant platings. You can also use romaine hearts or any other crisp lettuce. Oil-cured or sun- dried olives are best, but you can dehydrate pitted olives to get this same effect. The concentrated salty flavor of dulse seaweed makes an excellent substitution for the anchovies that are traditionally found in Caesar salad. Dulse is rich in minerals and is an excellent source of protein. The dressing is great on its own and also makes a delicious dip for crudités.
Coconut Caesar Dressing
Gather This:
- 1/2 cup young coconut meat
- 1/3 cup lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 tablespoons white miso
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dulse flakes or finely chopped dulse 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1–2 tablespoons water, or more as needed 1/2 tablespoon nutritional yeast (optional) 1–2 tablespoons olive oil (optional)
- 1/4 cup pine nuts, or 1/4 avocado (optional)*
*The addition of either pine nuts or avocado will make a thicker, creamier dressing.
Do This:
Blend all dressing ingredients together until smooth.
Salad
Gather This:
- 2–3 small heads or 1 large head of romaine lettuce
- 1/2 cup chopped dulse or dulse flakes
- 1/4 cup sun-dried or oil-cured kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
Do This:
Slice romaine hearts on the bias. In a large bowl, gently toss lettuce with the coconut dressing, making sure to fully coat leaves for a wedge-style salad. Garnish with chopped olives and dulse. Try tearing leaves and tossing all ingredients together for a more traditional Caesar salad presentation. Makes 2–4 servings.
EASY SWEET POTATO TAHINI BEAN BURGERS with Avocado
By Kathy Patalsky, Healthy Happy Life
These Sweet Potato Tahini Bean Burgers are super easy to make. Satisfy your burger craving in a flash. And while you are stacking toppings, humming happy burger-eating music, sipping lemonade, ginger ale or iced tea, crunching baked french fries, tater tots or chips - basically feasting however you like - you can laugh at anyone who thinks a "real" burger can't be vegan.
Gather This:
- 1 medium sweet potato, baked and peeled
- 16 ounces cooked white beans (canned, drained and rinsed)
- 1/2 cup white onion, chopped
- 2-3 tablespoon tahini
- 3/4 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 - 1 teaspoon chipotle powder (or cajun spice) (use more for spicier burgers)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper (add more for more bite!)
- 1/3 cup nutritional yeast OR any flour (try oat flour)
- 1/2 - 1 cup finely chopped greens (kale, spinach, parsley)
- Toppings: avocado, tomato, vegenaise, burger buns, greens
- Skillet: 1 tablespoon virgin coconut oil
- Optional: panko bread crumbs for crispy coating
Do This:
- Bake your sweet potato in a 400 degree oven for 40-60 minutes or until tender. If in a hurry, you could use the microwave, but oven-baked yields a bit more flavor.
- Add the potato and beans to a large mixing bowl. Using a large fork, mash well. Fold in the onion and keep mashing. Add all the remaining burger ingredients and mash, mash, mash well until thickened and mashed well. Tip! Rinse your beans in hot water before adding to bowl, this heats them, making them easier to mash.
- Heat oven to 400 degrees.
- Heat a skillet over high heat and add the coconut oil.
- Form burger mixture into large patties and place on the hot skillet. If using Panko bread crumbs, roll patties in Panko to coat well. Cook 1-3 minutes on each side, just to brown them. Repeat with all the mixture, you should yield 6 large patties or 8 small. Tip: Place mixture in the fridge for a half hour if you want it to be super easy to form into patties, this will increase cooking time by a few minutes though.
- Place the 6-8 skillet-cooked patties on a baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes, until cooked through. Note: YES you could skip the skillet part and just bake the veggie burgers, but the flavor is better with those crispy coconut-oil seared edges.
- Slice up all your burger toppings and toast the buns. Sprouted grain were used! Add vegan mayo or spicy mustard and the patty and toppings. Serve warm!
- Store leftover burgers, sealed, in the fridge for up to a day, or freeze and consume within a few weeks for best flavor and texture. To reheat: warm in a 400 degree oven until warmed through, about 12 minutes, depending on burger thickness.
Which are your must-have dishes for a Labor Day Picnic? Share them with us on Facebook with #myphilosophie!
