Rainbow Lasagne with Heirloom Tomatoes, Mushrooms, and Castelvetrano Olives

Heirloom tomatoes are a true wonder of summer. It's hard to imagine now, but when living in Russia, we had no other tomatoes but in-season heirlooms (often from our own garden) and saw that as nothing special. Just an order of life.

Fresh tomatoes were only available in the summer, and canned to be enjoyed in the winter. When cut open, they smelled of the sun, appeared to be sprinkled with sugar around the seeds, and melted in the mouth, like butter.
How things have changed. Nowadays, it takes some luck to get our hands on summer heirloom tomatoes. Especially in Florida, where the harvesting season is in the winter.

When feeding my friends, even those who have never tried raw food before, I like to serve dinners that consist of simple raw dishes without announcing them as such. No one ever suspects anything out of the ordinary, aside from proclaiming the food better than ever. I've done this a few times and was always surprised by the positive and excited reactions of my guests.

This lasagna is a great dish to introduce at such gatherings. It is fresh, light, fragrant, and incredibly colourful. It's always said that the more colours you have on your plate, the healthier is your meal. This lasagna is just that, nourishing.
It calls for some uncomplicated preparations the day before, takes little time to assemble, and is always a success.


(Adapted from Raw Food/Real World)

Tomato Sauce
1 cup sun dried tomatoes - soaked for 2 hours
1/2 medium tomato - roughly chopped
1/8 small onion - chopped
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/8 cup olive oil
1-2 dates - pitted
1 teaspoon sea salt
pinch of chili pepper flakes (optional)

In a high speed blender, combine the thoroughly drained sun-dried tomatoes with the rest of the ingredients until smooth.

Pistachio Pesto
2 cups basil leaves
1/2 cup pistachios
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
freshly ground black pepper - to taste

In a food processor, blend all the ingredients until thoroughly combined, but still chunky.

Pumpkin Seed Ricotta
1 cup raw pumpkin seeds - soaked overnight
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
3 tablespoons purified water

In a food processor, combine all the ingredients, except water, until thoroughly mixed. With the food processor on, gradually add the water, until the mixture becomes somewhat fluffy.

Marinated Shiitake Mushrooms
about 15 shiitake mushrooms
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon chopped basil, oregano, and lemon thyme

Cut the stems off the mushrooms and discard. Briefly wash the mushroom caps, and quickly dry them with paper towels. In a bowl, mix the oil, lemon juice, and herbs. Thoroughly combine the marinade with the mushroom caps. Place them on a Teflex-lined dehydrator tray, and dehydrate for 2-3 hours.

Assembly
3-5 medium zucchini
3-5 medium heirloom tomatoes - try to get various colours
1-2 tomatillos (optional)

Castelvetrano olives - or any other kind you like

The best way to prepare this dish is to make the tomato sauce, ricotta, and pesto the day before serving. You can marinate the mushrooms ahead of time as well. All the prepared components store well separately, refrigerated in airtight glass containers.
Slice the zucchini, tomatoes and olives right before serving.
I like to use a spiral slicer for slicing the zucchini. It allows to arrange the lasagne layers in different shapes and sizes, such as round, or bite size, and helps the presentation. But you can also use a mandolin to thinly slice the zucchini lengthwise.
Either way, put the sliced zucchini in a bowl, sprinkle with some olive oil, add a little chopped oregano, thyme, salt and pepper, and quickly toss.
Start layering the lasagne with a slice of tomato if using spiralized zucchini, or with overlapped zucchini slices if using a mandolin. Arrange your layers in any order you like, alternating the sauces, ingredients, and colours. I usually spread the tomato sauce on top of each zucchini layer, then top it with dollups of ricotta and pesto, and cover it with a tomato slice or a mushroom cap. To finish off, I like to top the lasagne with brilliantly green Castelvetrano olives.
I enjoy making individual lasagne, using up the ingredients as I go. But you can prepare one large lasagna in a baking dish. Again, it's better to store all the leftover components separately, rather than in the form of a prepared lasagna. Although it's still going to taste good the next day, it won't look as great.

Berry Tarts with a Peach & Herb Sorbet, a Tribute to Summer

This post is a kind of tribute to the lovely season that is quickly drawing to a close, summer. Here is our celebration of all the wonderful possibilities of warm season desserts. Combine fresh berries, no-bake technique, and a frozen treat, and get ready to receive summer on a plate.

When making blackberry tarts, we made some extra almond crusts and froze them for future use. Then, when I recently looked at the calendar, really looked, and saw that August is slipping away, I knew that it was time to freeze some blueberries, make some raisins, and pull out those crusts for the season's last berry tarts.

Now to the peach sorbet flavoured with herbs from our pots. It's sensational - simple as can be, fluffy, and satisfying. I even ate it for breakfast a couple of times, because I couldn't wait for lunch.


Almond Crust
2 cups whole almonds - finely ground
1/4 cup raw agave nectar
1/2 cup coconut oil

In a bowl, mix all the ingredients thoroughly. 3 inch tart shells with removable bottoms work best for this, as you won't have to line them. If your shells don't have a removable base, line the shells with plastic wrap. Evenly distribute the almond mixture within the shell by pushing it into shape. Chill in the freezer for 30 minutes (the coconut oil will harden and keep the crusts together). After making sure that the crusts have hardened, carefully remove them from the tart shells. Keep frozen on parchment paper until ready for assembly.

Vanilla Cream
1 cup meat of young Thai coconut
1/4 cup water of young Thai coconut
1/2 cup dry coconut or cashew
1 vanilla bean- both seeds and pod
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup raw agave syrup

Combine all the ingredients in a blender (preferably high speed) until smooth. Before serving, chill in the refrigerator until the mixture thickens.

Miniature Tart Assembly
berries - any
Assemble right before serving. Otherwise, keep the shells, cream, and berries separate to avoid a soggy crust. Spoon the vanilla cream into the crust and arrange the fresh berries on top in any way you prefer.

Peach and Fresh Herb Sorbet
6 small or 4 large peaches
2/3 cup water
3-4 tablespoons raw agave nectar
juice of half a lemon
1-2 packed tablespoons fresh basil and lemon thyme leaves

Cut a cross on the top of each peach, and place them into a colander. Pour some boiling water over them, then quickly transfer the peaches into ice water. Peel the skins, which should come off easily after the blanching. Remove the pits and place in blender with the rest of the ingredients. Make a smooth puree. Chill well and put into an ice cream maker for 25 minutes or however long your brand of ice cream machine suggests. Freeze for at least 2 hours before serving.

Travel Notes: Chicago

Here is our Chicago.

This visit was our first, long overdue, and we realized how much we've been missing. The city was all dressed up in summer - hot, clean, and friendly.

Little grows in Florida this time of year (we enjoy local produce when the rest of the country is blanketed in snow), so we made going to farmers' markets our hobby. Rows of multicolored beets, various berries, plump eggplants, and zebra tomatoes inspired us as much as the room full of Calder's mobiles at the Museum of Contemporary Art.







We liked the Sunday market at Wicker Park. It was raining, but the crowd was enthusiastic, equipped with umbrellas, and ready to stock up on the beautiful produce. The Streeterville market on Tuesday was another favourite. The highlight there was a tent with all kinds of spectacular, locally grown flowers. The variety and fair price of the bouquets left us speechless and wanting a proper garden.



P.O.S.H. was one of the first on our list of places-to-go. It's the most charming tableware shoppe that stocks vintage pieces from European and American hotels, flea market finds, and some new gift items. The set up inside is incredible, like a museum, but much more inviting. We spent hours browsing the selection and still had to come back a second time to have another look. They have an incredible childrens' section (where we got Paloma's nesting dolls), with wonderfully illustrated books, finger puppets, drawing supplies, and sippy cups galore. If you are ever in the area, give it a visit, you won't regret it.





Other fond memories include an organic fingerling potato pizza with the thinnest crust on the planet, dipping our toes in Lake Michigan, finally getting to see pieces by Henry Darger, magnificent architecture, Bucktown, uncomplicated subway, Hendrickx Belgian bakery, and snacking on all the lovely produce after a long day of walking around, with blisters.









Thank you, Chicago.

Green Mountain Parfait

Parfait is a wonderful thing. It allows those of us who find boredom in single-flavour desserts to enjoy many tastes and textures elegantly layered in one tall glass. This one was inspired by Japanese parfaits, in which the most peculiar colours and foods are combined to make insane edible creations.

Avocado ice cream is among our favourite culinary discoveries of this summer. It seems as though avocado was created for ice cream making, with its smooth and creamy texture.

We wanted this parfait to tell a visual story and paint a delicious landscape. The layers of green ice cream, buckwheat crunchies, fresh cherries, and blueberry and vanilla creams are meant to resemble topography. Mountains and valleys, trees and flowers, and finally, at the very top - snowy peaks.

Just like all desserts on Golubka, this parfait is nourishing and full of ingredients that do nice things for your body. Go ahead, try it for breakfast.


Light Green Layer - Avocado Ice Cream
3 hass avocados
1 cup meat of fresh young coconut OR cashews
1/4 cup coconut oil
juice and zest of 1 1/2 limes
5 dates - pitted
1/2 vanilla bean
1/3 cup light raw agave nectar
1 cup water

Combine all ingredients, except the lime zest, in a high speed blender until smooth. Reserve 1/3 of the mixture for the forest green layer. Chill well and put into an ice cream maker for 25 minutes or however long your brand of ice cream machine suggests. Add the lime zest directly into the ice cream machine after about 15 minutes of churning. Freeze for 1-2 hours before serving.

If you don't have an ice cream maker, there is an option to make avocado mousse instead of ice-cream. Just exclude the water and coconut meat/cashew, add about two more avocados and adjust the amount of agave to taste. Chill in the refrigerator until the mousse thickens.

Forest Green Layer
In a high speed blender, combine the reserved 1/3 of avocado mixture with some fresh spinach until the desired colour is achieved. Make ice cream according to the instructions above.

White Layer - Vanilla Cream
1 cup meat of young Thai coconut
1/4 cup coconut water
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/2 vanilla bean
1/4 cup light raw agave nectar
1/2 cup dry coconut flakes OR cashews

Combine all the ingredients in a high speed blender until smooth. Reserve about 1/3 of the mixture for the Violet Layer. Chill in the refrigerator until the cream thickens.

Violet Layer - Blueberry Cream
In a high speed blender, add fresh blueberries or blueberry powder to the reserved 1/3 of vanilla cream until the desired colour is reached. Chill in the refrigerator until the cream thickens.

Mango Buckwheat Crunchies
1 cup sprouted buckwheat
flesh of 1/2 ripe mango
2 dates - pitted

In a blender, puree the mango flesh and dates. Transfer to a mixing bowl together with the sprouted buckwheat and mix well to coat the sprouts.
Spread on Teflex sheets and dehydrate overnight or until completely dry and crispy.

Assembly
1-2 cups fresh cherries - pitted
1 cup fresh or freeze dried sour cherries (optional) - pitted

Cut the fresh cherries in half. Optionally, dehydrate the fresh cherries at 115F for 1-2 hours.
Using a piping or Ziploc bag, squeeze some avocado ice cream into a tall glass to make a first layer. Follow by the forest green layer, and then more avocado ice cream mixed with cherries. Sprinkle with mango buckwheat crunchies and top with blueberry and vanilla cream. You can arrange the layers in any way you want. Aesthetically, it's nice to take care to arrange the layers unevenly to create the hilly landscape appearance.

Chocolate Truffles and Mango Sorbet on Paloma's Birthday

Paloma turned two on Friday, and we can hardly believe how fast time flies. Last year, for her first birthday, we had a big party with lots of guests and even more food. I believe we started cooking a whole week before the date in order to get everything prepared!

This time was very different. We just returned from Chicago (will write about that soon) and simply had no time for putting together a party. We wanted to keep it low key and family only, but a few close friends promised to come over and celebrate anyway, even if we had nothing to feed them.

Being food obsessed as we are, we couldn't let them leave hungry, so we came up with a few sweet dishes that take little time in preparing, and threw them together as fast as we could. First, we served our favourite Baby Spinach and Strawberry Salad, which is always a winner. A box of ripe mangos was waiting for us when we returned home from traveling, so the wonderful Mango Chili and Coconut sorbet was created. We mixed a separate serving for Paloma, without chili, but after she reached into my plate and tried the spiced sorbet, it was clear that no kids' version was necessary. She loved the spice! The chocolate truffles are another crowd pleaser. People always enjoy them and can never believe that they contain no cream or butter, as rich as they are.

Paloma was in heaven with all the attention and presents. Perhaps her favourite one was a set of animal nesting dolls that we got at the beautiful P.O.S.H. in Chicago. She played with them all day before the guests arrived.

Lastly, I wanted to share some very exciting news. We were invited by the awesome creative director at G Living to be among their contributing Green Chefs. We've always loved the site and were very happy with the invitation. See our introductory post here, and the Fig and Hazelnut Pizza post here.

Mango Chili and Coconut Sorbet
5 mangos - peeled and pitted
1 cup unsweetened dry coconut flakes
juice of 1 1/2 limes
1 1/2 cups purified water
6-8 tablespoons raw agave nectar
3 or less teaspoons chili powder
dash of cayenne pepper

In a high speed blender, combine all the ingredients. Chill well and put into an ice cream maker for 25 minutes or however long your brand of ice cream machine suggests. Freeze for at least 2 hours before serving.

Chocolate Truffles
(Makes 28 small truffles)
15 dates - pitted
1 cup almonds
1 cup unsweetened dry coconut flakes
2/3 cup walnuts
2/3 cup rolled oats

2 tablespoons raw cacao powder
2 tablespoons carob powder
1 tablespoon maca powder
1 tablespoon mesquite powder
2 teaspoons coconut oil
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon

For dusting

ground pistachios

ground almonds

small coconut flakes

cacao powder

In a food processor, thoroughly mix all the ingredients until moldable. Form the truffles. Roll into ground pistachios, ground almonds, small coconut flakes, and raw cacao - many possibilities here. Keep refrigerated.

Almond Milk and Cookies

Milk and cookies, cookies and milk - no matter which order you prefer, the pairing remains flawless. In the case of these almond pulp cookies and almond milk, the two are truly inseparable, as they both come from one main ingredient - the almond - and both carry all of the nut's nutritional goodness. What you end up with is a nostalgic, comforting, and tasty snack that is much healthier than the original.

The preparation is quite quick and simple. The recipe is customizable, so you can get creative and come up with a filling to satisfy your personal cravings.

It's also possible to use other nuts - we've tried Brazil nuts with the same ingredient proportions and they turned out beautifully.

Ever since their mandatory pasteurization in California, raw almonds are difficult to find. (I even found a petition against the law). Of course, this treat will be at its best when made of truly raw, in season nuts.

Almond Milk
2 cups almonds - soaked overnight
6 cups water
4 dates - pitted
2 tablespoons agave
1/2 vanilla bean pod without beans OR 1/4 whole vanilla pod

(I like to save the vanilla pods after I've scooped out the beans for other desserts. I usually keep the pods in the same glass jar as the almonds.)

Separate the ingredients in half, otherwise the blender will overflow. In a high speed blender, combine half of each ingredient at a time until thoroughly blended. Strain through a nut bag or double lined cheesecloth, carefully squeezing all the liquid out and reserving the pulp. Drink chilled within two days.

Almond Cookies

pulp from the almond milk
1 tablespoon raw honey

3-4 tablespoons raw agave nectar
2 tablespoons coconut oil
2 tablespoons coconut butter (can be substituted with 2 more tablespoons of coconut oil)
4 tablespoons mesquite powder
2 tablespoons maca powder
6 dates - pitted

Fillings

dried mango

freeze dried sour cherries

pistachios and 2-3 tablespoons raw cacao powder

(The possibilities here are endless)

Cut the filling ingredients into small pieces and set aside. In a bowl, thoroughly mix all the cookie ingredients with your hands to form a smooth cookie dough. Taste for sweetness before forming the cookies, add more agave if necessary. If using different fillings, divide the dough into three even parts. Mix the fillings into the dough accordingly and form cookies of any shape and size of your liking. Keep refrigerated. Best enjoyed within a couple of days.

Lavender Ice Cream with Apricots Poached in Blueberry Sauce

I have a small linen bag of dried lavender hanging on my bedpost. The herb is said to calm the senses and help with sleep. I'm not sure if it does anything for my slumber, but I do enjoy the romantic aspect of keeping this talisman and, most of all, the scent.

Ever since incorporating lavender into our breakfast biscotti, we've fallen for it as a cooking ingredient. If you've been reading this page for a while, you know that we like to keep our ice cream interesting, having tried lemon & basil and cardamom ice cream. Thus, preparing a lavender sundae was the next logical step in our ice cream adventures.
The "poached" apricots in blueberry sauce add a nice freshness to the smooth, aromatic ice cream. As you might have guessed, the pictured flowers are not lavender, but we are hoping to soon get some seeds and grow this wonderful herb.


Lavender Ice Cream
2 cups meat of young Thai coconut
1 cup raw cashews
2 cups coconut water
1 cup pitted dates or raw agave syrup
2-3 tablespoons edible dried lavender flowers
1 vanilla bean - both seeds and pods
1/2 cup coconut oil

In a high speed blender, combine all the ingredients until smooth. Chill well and put into an ice cream maker for 25 minutes or however long your brand of ice cream machine suggests.

Blueberry Sauce Poached Apricots
2 cups blueberries
raw agave syrup or honey to taste
about 4 apricots

In a food processor or high speed blender, puree 1 1/2 cups of the blueberries, adding agave or honey until the desired sweetness is achieved. Transfer to a bowl and mix the remaining 1/2 cup of whole blueberries into the puree. Cut the apricots in half, lay them out on dehydrator trays, and cover with the blueberry sauce, reserving some puree for assembly. Dehydrate at 115F for 1-2 hours. Cut the apricots into wedges and serve with the ice cream and remaining blueberry sauce.