Edmond native Kathryne Taylor is the personality behind the hugely popular blog Cookie and Kate (cookieandkate.com). The blog is the No. 1 vegetarian cooking blog in the country. In six years, the vegetarian and all-natural food blog has grown from a hobby to a full-time project, and now garners more than two million visits per month. Kathryne researches, develops, cooks, photographs and writes every recipe on the blog. With the success of the blog, Kate has now published her cookbook  “Love Real Food”.

Offering over 100 approachable and delicious meatless recipes, Kathryne’s cookbook makes fresh, wholesome, and sustainable food easy.

For a limited time, Amazon is offering up to 50% off the Love Real Food cookbook. You can get Kindle ebook version for $12.99 (save $14.51) or the Hardcopy version for $16.32 (save $11.18).

If the discounted price wasn’t enough to convince you to order your own copy, here are a few recipes from the “Love Real Food” cookbook.

Lemony Almond-Blueberry Cake

This almond-blueberry cake is lightly sweet and possesses an almost graham crackery flavor and lemony tang. Plus, it’s studded with gorgeous, jammy blueberries. It would be a great treat to serve as dessert for any occasion, but it’s wholesome enough to pass for breakfast or a mid-afternoon snack. It’s also easy to make and gluten free, which means that I can share it with more of my friends!

Makes 1 loaf cake (about 8 slices)

2 cups (8 ounces) plus
1 tablespoon packed almond meal
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 eggs
2/3 cup maple syrup or honey
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 ½ teaspoons grated lemon zest (from
2 medium lemons, preferably organic)
1 cup blueberries
(6 ounces), fresh or frozen

Lemon-Maple Glaze
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons maple syrup or honey

Time Warning:
This cake is very simple to make but requires about 1 hour 45 minutes combined baking and cooling time.

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Generously grease a 9 × 5-inch loaf pan and dust it with almond meal to prevent sticking.

In a large bowl, combine 2 cups of the almond meal, the baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Whisk to blend.

Crack the eggs into a medium bowl and beat with a whisk until the yolks and egg whites have blended together. Add the maple syrup, olive oil, and lemon zest and whisk to blend. Pour the wet ingredients into the almond meal mixture and stir until there are just a few clumps remaining.

In a small bowl, toss the blueberries with the remaining 1 tablespoon almond meal (this helps prevent the blueberries from sinking to the bottom of the cake). Gently fold the blueberries into the batter.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until the cake is deeply golden brown, the center is firm to the touch, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 1 hour 10 minutes to 1 hour 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, to make the lemon-maple glaze: In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice and maple syrup until blended. (If you’re using honey and having a hard time blending it into the lemon juice, place the bowl on top of your stove to warm it up while the cake bakes, or warm it briefly in the microwave until you can whisk them together.)

Once the cake is out of the oven, place the cake, pan and all, on a cooling rack. While the cake is warm, use a pastry brush to brush the glaze over the top of the cake. It should soak right in. Let the cake cool for at least 30 minutes before carefully inverting it onto a serving plate or cutting board. Carefully flip it back over, then use a bread knife to cut it into 1-inch-thick slices.

Store any remaining cake in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 4 days.

Roasted Strawberry, Basil, and Goat Cheese Crostini

If you haven’t experienced roasted strawberries yet, you’ve been missing out—they’re sweet and jammy, like the inside of a strawberry pie. Roasted strawberries collide with tangy goat cheese and fresh basil to create this simple and sophisticated summertime appetizer. You could also serve these with a big green salad for a light summer meal.

Makes about 2 dozen crostini

4 to 5 ounces goat cheese
1 pound strawberries, hulled and cut into bite-size pieces
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 whole-grain baguette or small loaf of crusty whole-grain bread (about 14 ounces), cut into ½-inch slices
Small handful of fresh basil leaves, torn into little pieces
Freshly ground black pepper
Tip: If you don’t love goat cheese, alternatives include mascarpone, cream cheese or ricotta.

Preheat the oven to 350°F with racks in the middle and upper third of the oven. Line two large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper for easier cleanup. Set the goat cheese on the counter to soften up a bit.

On one baking sheet, toss the strawberries with the honey, then spread the strawberries into a single layer. Bake on the upper rack until the fruit is tender, juicy, and collapsing on itself, 20 to 25 minutes, tossing halfway. Watch the fruit on the edges of the pan, as the honey can burn quickly.

Meanwhile, on the remaining baking sheet, brush the olive oil lightly over both sides of each slice of bread. Bake on the middle rack until the toasts are golden on top, 10 to 12 minutes.

Once the toasts are cool enough to safely handle, top each one with a smear of goat cheese, followed by a spoonful of roasted strawberries and their juices. Finish off the crostini with a sprinkling of torn basil and black pepper. Crostini are best served immediately.