To be honest, grilling in the Summer is slightly less fun when you’re a vegetarian. I don’t do it nearly as much anymore. That doesn’t mean vegetarian grilling isn’t delicious; sometimes I just need to be reminded of that.

Just like you can grill any kind of meat, you can grill all different sorts of fruit and vegetables. The heat from the fire makes the fruit taste even sweeter and pairs perfectly with something cool and creamy. Most recipes use a soft cheese or ice cream; this one uses Greek yogurt for a similar taste and texture only a  little bit healthier.

Peaches are a great substitute for when cantaloupe isn’t available; you won’t have to change anything else in the recipe. Make sure to use full fat or 2% yogurt; non-fat yogurt won’t have the same depth of flavor or creaminess to really make this satisfying.

Grilled Cantaloupe with Yogurt and Mint

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 6 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 4 servings):

• 1/2 cantaloupe, cut into quarters
• Olive oil
• 1 16oz container full fat or 2% Greek yogurt
• Small handful of mint leaves
• Honey(optional)

Method:

1. Heat up your grill to roughly 400 degrees.
2. Brush both sides of each cantaloupe wedge with enough olive oil to cover.
3. Once the grill is hot, lay the cantaloupe down and let it cook undisturbed for roughly 3 minutes until grill marks have formed.
4. Flip the wedges once and repeat with the other side.
5. When the cantaloupe is done cooking, plate it with the skin touching the plate. Scoop about half a cup of yogurt over each wedge. Garnish with mint leaves and honey if desired.
6. Serve immediately.

This is one of my favorite recipes. I’ve blogged about it several times before and now I’m blogging about it again. It’s worth it though; I promise.

A friend mentioned how much he likes s’mores made with Reese’s peanut butter cups. In the back of my mind popped up my recipe for peanut butter s’mores bars and I promised to make them for July 4th.

After I made them I took fresh-looking photos and updated the recipe page. A few of the commenters who have made this said that their crusts didn’t stick together the way mine has. I think some of the confusion might come from how many graham crackers to use. I use Kinnikinnick 16 graham crackers(3 are pictured above), which would be the same as 4 sheets of graham crackers. It’s also relevant to mention the peanut butter I use for this recipe is always the kind without added oil so it generally mixes easier.

These have all the goodness of s’mores with added peanut butter and put into a portable form. They really are the ultimate Summer dessert. If gluten-free graham crackers didn’t cost an arm and vegetarian marshmallows a leg, I’d probably make these every month. For now they can just be a once in a long-while treat. 

Happy (almost) 4th of July! I know I’m five days early, but consider this my obligatory patriotic post.

A few weeks ago I went to an American citizenship party for some friends who recently passed the citizenship test. There was grilling and beans and red, white, and blue napkins so of course there had to be flag cake.

A family friend at this party recently had to cut gluten out of her diet; one of her favorite foods is chocolate cake so naturally I knew the cake I made had to be chocolate. I’d never experimented with almond flour and coconut flour in the same recipe but I thought I’d give it a shot. The texture was just like any good ol’ fashioned American sponge cake. You’d never guess it was gluten-free and grain-free.

The frosting also got a lot of praise, too. Then again, how can something with butter, cream cheese, and a pound of sugar not be good?

Make sure to use fresh fruit and to assemble it as close to serving as possible. The more the cake sits out, the more the juices from the strawberries runs into the frosting, and no one wants a runny flag.

Gluten-Free Chocolate Flag Cake

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 35 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 1 9 x 12 cake):

For the cake:

• 3/4 cup chocolate chips
• 1 1/4 cup almond flour
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup oil
• 6 extra large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons hot water

For the frosting:

• 1 4oz stick of butter, room temperature
• 1 8oz block of cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1lb box of powdered sugar

 Fruit topping:

• 1 half pint blueberries
• 1lb fresh strawberries

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave.
3. While the chocolate is melting, mix together the almond flour, coconut flour, sugar, and oil.
4. Mix the melted chocolate into the flour mixture completely.
5. Crack the eggs into the batter and beat each in.
6. Add in the vanilla, baking soda, and salt.
7. Add in the hot water and mix until the batter is smooth and slightly runny.
8. Grease a 9 x 12 baking pan. Pour the batter in in an even layer.
9. Bake for 35-40 minutes until the center of the cake has set. Remove from the oven and let it cool completely before frosting.
10. Combine the butter, cream cheese, vanilla extract, and half of the sugar in a large bowl.
11. With an electric mixer, beat together the ingredients until the sugar is entirely incorporated.
12. Slowly add more sugar into the mix until all of it is mixed into the frosting.
13. Spread a few tablespoons of powdered sugar on top of the cake and brush it all around to prevent the frosting from tearing the top of the cake.
14. Spread the frosting out all over the cake in an even layer and around the sides.
15. Make a square of blueberries in the top left corner of the cake.
16. Remove the stem from each strawberry and cut each in half. Lay them out top to bottom in horizontal lines in a flag pattern.
17. Refrigerate until ready to serve.  

There were practice American citizenship tests at the party. I scored a 12/20. I think that’s good enough not to be deported, right? Too bad how to make a flag cake isn’t part of the test.