Summer Dinner

Just thought I'd share some photos of the delicious dinner I made tonight.  It consisted of steamed artichoke with spicy dipping sauce (recipe below), grilled golden beets with a balsamic reduction, kale with tahini sauce, maple marinaded tempeh, and a few slices of fresh baguette from the farmers' market (I swear I'll start making my own soon).  Fresh, delicious, seasonal.  A few things:

• The zesty dipping sauce I used for the artichoke leaves/petals** was:
• 2 T vegan mayo
• 1 T Sriracha
• 1/2 T dijon mustard
• 1 t curry powder
• I used golden beets in my grilled beets recipe.  These were even sweeter than the candy stripe variety.  I also reduced the balsamic marinade quickly on the stove while the beets were grilling on the cast iron.  Ended up with a sticky, sweet balsamic reduction that was to die for
• Based on a suggestion from Jeff, I cut out the water from the tahini sauce for kale.  Ended up with a thicker, more strongly flavored sauce, but I think I like thinner better.  The more delicate flower allows the kale to shine through.

I think the only thing that would have made this meal better would have been some grilled tomatoes.  Otherwise, this was just about perfect.  With some local blueberries for dessert.  Heaven indeed.  Enjoy the photos below (I also just got a new, tabletop tripod so I'm having a lot of fun taking photos).  Click to enlarge.

my plate.  From top left: baguette, tempeh, kale, beets

artichoke and dipping sauces, our plates, bowl for artichoke leaves

perfect

**Are the green parts you eat from an artichoke more technically leaves or petals?

Coming soon: I've asked Jeff to contribute his sushi expertise as a guest contributor.  He is hesitant to do so though I think he is doing a lovely job of making himself sushi for lunch (and dinners when I'm not home).  I took photos the other day when he made it, so we will see if we get anything posted about that.