Healthy Cooking in a Hurry

Tomorrow begins week #3 of the West Hartford Adult Education class, "Healthy Cooking in a Hurry."  In 3 hours we cook a three-course gluten-free vegan menu using seasonal ingredients.

For the first week, the theme was purple, gold, and green in celebration of "Mardi Gras."  This included a lovely salad made with purple cabbage, green cabbage and carrots.

The entree was Tempeh "Fish Cakes" with Remoulade on Field Greens.  Dessert was a twist on the traditional King Cake made as cookies decorated with purple and gold icing and a sprinkle of crushed pistachios.

Week #2 came right before St. Patrick's Day, so the menu included vibrant green recipes.  We started with a Minted Cream of Asparagus Soup which everyone agreed you'd never believe was vegan.

The entree was Cornmeal Crusted Tofu Cutlets with Mushroom Gravy and Colcannon.  Colcannon is a traditional Irish recipe made with mashed potatoes and chopped greens.  It's a great way to sneak in a little healthiness that you'd never noticed once it's chopped finely and mixed all together with creamy potatoes. It was one of my favorite sides on last week's menu.

The main ingredient for dessert was bright green Granny Smith apples which transformed into a delectable gluten-free vegan version of my grandma's Lithuanian Apple Cake (not quite Irish, but warm and comforting, and a perfect ending to this homestyle meal).

Tomorrow night is Week #3, which will include a recipe I tested this weekend for Chocolate Peanutbutter Cupcakes.  I'm really excited to make these again because they came out pretty close to perfect:  rich and chocolatey but not too sweet, perfect light and spongey crumb, and creamy peanut butter frosting.  These could become a regular feature in the Well on Wheels kitchen.