Mediterranean Kale Salad

Now that it's starting to get dark at 4:00, and there's a chill in the air, the thought of eating a cool, crisp green salad seems less and less appealing. Enter in my favorite hearty, wintry green leaf veggie, KALE. This salad gives you that fresh, raw veggie feel, with a bit more substance. Feel free to mix and match your veggies here, as well. Olives or some grated carrot might be nice. OR, switch out the edamame for roasted chickpeas or some grilled seitan.

Mediterranean Kale Salad

1/2 pound kale, veins removed, chopped

1/2 large yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced

1/2 cup cucumbers, chopped

1/2 cup grape tomatoes, halved

1 apple, chopped

1 cup edamame, shelled

1 avocado, thinly sliced

1/4 cup marinated tofu (in the style of feta cheese)

For the DRESSING

1/4 cup good quality olive oil

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

2  teaspoon agave nectar (or honey)

1 teaspoon yellow mustard

1 teaspoon oregano

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp salt, or to taste

DIRECTIONS

In a small bowl, combine the ingredients for the dressing.  Whisk well until ingredients are completely emulsified. Taste and adjust the flavors to your liking: Sometimes I like to add a bit more sweetener to cut down on the “tangingess”.

Place your chopped kale in a large salad bowl. Add about a third to a half of the dressing, a little salt, and massage the kale leaves with your clean hands until the leaves start to soften and wilt, about 2-3 minutes.  Add remaining vegetables, and part of the remaining dressing, to taste. Toss to combine and serve!

Classic Tabbouleh - An Atypical Salad for the 4th of July

"Because nothing screams 'Fourth of July' like a big bowl of fresh, Middle Eastern parsley and grain salad..." ~My co-worker's reaction when I told her what I was planning to bring to a Fourth of July cookout.

But, I did not let that discourage me. While the rest of America was feasting of burgers, dogs, pulled pork and sausages, I had something else in mind. I was asked to bring something fresh and healthy to L's co-worker's family cook-out, to balance out meat-centric fare that was going to be served.  L mentioned something along the lines of a grain salad, so I thought this would be a great choice.



Several years ago, I attended a Vegetarian Cooking class over at Johnson & Wales University Culinary School.  This Classic Tabbouleh recipe was one of my hands-down favorites of the day.  I have never made Tabbouleh any other way since.  For this batch, I decided to add a 28 oz can of chickpeas, which I roasted for about 25-30 minutes with some olive oil and Greek rub (oregano, garlic, salt, pepper and lemon peel).

Classic Tabbouleh

Total Time: 30 mins

Prep Time: 15 mins

Cook Time: 15 mins

Serves 10 

1 1/2 cups bulgur wheat

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

3 cups vegetable stock, boiling

1/2 cup scallion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

3 cups flat leaf parsley, chopped

3/4 cup mint leaf, chopped

4 tomatoes, diced

1 seedless European cucumber, diced

1/4 cup lemon juice

salt & pepper, to taste

Directions:

1.  Mix bulgar wheat and 1 tbsp olive oil in a bowl.

2.  Pour boiling stock over, cover and let stand for 15-20 minutes, or until tender.

3.  Not all broth will be absorbed, so please drain bulgur well in a strainer.

4.  Toss rehydrated bulgar with remaining ingredients and remaining olive oil.

5.  Add salt and pepper to taste, and refrigerate until ready to serve.

The results:  A big hit, and both the host and her good friend asked to take home leftovers, something that always makes me smile!

And there was even enough for lunch the next day!

Millet Salad with Carrots and Kale

So, I went a little overboard with the free samples from Bob's Red Mill at Vida Vegan Con 2013, and have now found myself overrun with MILLET (which is not necessarily a bad thing)!

As part of the new packaging on their Grains of Discovery series, the lovely representative from Bob's Red Mill was armed and ready with simple size packets of several unique and interesting ancient grains which have nourished many of the world's civilizations since the dawn of time.  Some were quite familiar to me such as quinoa and farro, others like amaranth and kamut, were not.  Millet I had heard of, but had never cooked with it before now.

For those of you unfamiliar with millet, it look like quinoa's cousin, tiny pellets without the quinoa "tail". You might also recognize it as the #1 ingredient in most bird seeds...  (I kept that part to myself, as this might be a tough sell for my better-half). I have read that millet is highly nutritious, expands quite a bit when cooking, and has the tendency to become mushy if overcooked.

So what to make with this "rediscovered" ancient grain...

One of my favorite talks at Vida Vegan con was Terry Hope Romero's Recipe Creation and Testing, where Terry discussed, in depth, her recipe development process. One of her tips was to let yourself be inspired by food and food trends, and not just VEGAN food trends.  She takes inspiration from Sauveur, Bon Appetite and the Washington Post, publications not know for vegetarian or even vegan dishes.  So instead of typing my usual:  "MILLET RECIPES VEGAN" into Google, I left the 'vegan' out, and found this:

Warm Millet, Carrot and Kale Salad With Curry-Scented Dressing

  -from the New York Times Website.

With a little tweaking I came up with this adaptation, which I veganized, and added some ingredients I had on hand

Millet, Carrot & Kale Salad

12 kale leaves, stemmed and washed thoroughly

Salt to taste

2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup millet

1 cup vegetable broth

1-2 tsp Tandoori Seasoning (Penzey's)

2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1/2 pound carrots, peeled halved and thinly sliced
1/4 cup pickled red peppers (leftover from Indian take away)

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

1 TBSP nigella seeds sesame seeds, toasted, plus onion powder to taste

For the Dressing:

2 TBSP fresh lemon juice

2 TBSP seasoned rice vinegar

1 tsp sweet curry powder (Penzey's) 

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste 

2-3 TBSP extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup buttermilk sunflower milk, plus 1 T Tofutti Sour cream

Now because I was making this on a weeknight, I decided to skip the kale prep. TWO ways from the original recipe, and just go for blanched (or in my case, steamed) kale. Chop kale leaves into strips and steam for about 5 minutes until bright and vibrant green.  Rinse in a colander under cold water and set aside, drain and squeeze out excess water. Kale can be chopped a bit more, at this point (especially nice if you have a kale hater in your house like I do)!

Heat 2 teaspoons of oil over medium-high heat in a heavy 2- or 3-quart saucepan. Add the millet and Tandoori seasoning and toast, stirring, until it begins to smell fragrant and toasty, 3 to 5 minutes. Add 1 cup of vegetable broth and salt to taste, and bring back to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer 25 to 30 minutes, until the liquid in the saucepan has evaporated and the grains are fluffy. Turn off the heat and let sit for 10 to 15 minutes.  At this point I also added the sliced carrots and my leftover pickled red peppers from Indian takeaway the previous night.

 Whisk the dressing ingredients together in a measuring cup.  At this point, the original recipe had suggested reheating the whole mixture with the dressing in a skillet, but I thought it was just warm enough.  Add the chopped kale to the millet and carrots, add dressing (I only used about 3/4 of the dressing) then stir to combine.  Mix in the sesame seeds and  chopped cilantro, (I like to save a bit of each to top the final salad) and serve!

Trattoria Pasta Salad

New Year, New Resolutions 

"Forget that tired old pasta salad Aunt Gertrude brings to family reunions - this salad is where it's at! NO mayo required" ~from Isa Chandra Moskowitz's cookbook, Appetite for Reduction.  

With the dawn of the New Year, L and I have made a pact to eat more sensibly and healthy. We have both downloaded calorie counter apps for our phones, and are faithfully keeping track of our daily calorie intake and portion sizes.  I'm using MyFitnessPal, which I really like because they have a TON of vegan ingredients already in their database. If your particular brand or ingredient is not there, the app has a handy barcode symbol, which allows you to scan almost any ingredient with a barcode for complete nutritional information. And, as an added bonus, MyFitnessPal has almost ALL of the recipes from Appetite for Reduction already listed, which has made it really easy for us to have quick, easy and healthy, whole food meals at our fingertips.

So, I just so happened to have two red peppers and some kalamata olives hanging around in my fridge. I also happened to have an open bag of sun dried tomatoes, not packed in oil, as well. And, thanks to my co-worker, Thu, I had just gotten some wonderful Vietnamese rice spiral macaroni from the Vietnamese Market (VMart) here in Providence.

Now if you don't happen to have Appetite for Reduction, Isa has posted the complete recipe for this pasta salad on the PPK website here.  Please check it out, and give the recipe a try.

The only change I made was that I kept the red bell peppers RAW instead of roasting, and added just a tiny touch of agave nectar to the dressing, just to take a bit of the edge out.  Results:  Rave reviews, and it tastes even better the next day.  Perfect for work lunches too.  The tangy bite of the sun dried tomato and balsamic dressing, (made with no oil, but rather a few TBSP of toasted walnuts blended well), goes perfect with the peppers, olives, creamy beans and peppery bite of the fresh baby arugula.  I decided to splurge and added to optional half-cup of toasted walnuts into the mix.  Why not, right? ^_^

Xtra Walnuts and Arugula, please

Not Your Average Chopped Taco Salad

Today we have time for a quickie (and by "quickie" I mean a quick and simple, no-fuss weeknight meal).

"NOT Your Average Chopped Taco Salad"
Aptly named by my better-half 

Sometimes I try and challenge myself to make a meal from only the things I have on hand, or leftovers in the fridge or pantry.

Here we have:

• Shredded Romaine lettuce (from the Farmer's Market at work) 
• 1 can of black beans, seasoned with garlic, chili powder, and a wee bit of chipotle powder, 
• 1/2 cup of quinoa, cooked in 1 cup of vegetable broth, with 2 tsp of taco spice and some seasoned salt
• chopped tomato and red onion, salt and pepper

1 avocado cubed with 3/4 cup of shelled edamame (leftovers) tossed with salt, pepper and lime juice*I had steamed up some edamame, which I would take to work as a snack.  These last few pods were the leftovers so I thought I'd toss them in with the avocado cubes, in the style of "Guacamame" from Appetite for Reduction.

Dressing was the juice of 1/2 a lime, 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar, 1 tbsp olive oil and agave to taste!

Ugly phone pic, sorry

Of course, we had to go and crumble tortilla chips all over our individual bowls, just for added crunch. However, I tried to keep the "food porn" healthy looking.  When will we ever learn... ^_^

The Benefits of Friends with Gardens: Butter Beans and Greens

I feel truly blessed that I have so many friends and colleagues who were kind enough to share the fruits of their gardens with me this Summer.

My dear friend and colleague, Elaine, brought me this gorgeous bounty from her brother's garden.  Elaine's brother's garden is his livelihood, so this is more than just a backyard patch of tilled soil with  His vegetables are featured throughout Farmer's Markets in the East Bay all Summer long, and Elaine has her pick of all vegetables, anytime.  I am so pleased that she though of me!

I have to say, these tomatoes we the most, red, ripe and luscious tomatoes I have had in a while.  Nothing like Summertime!

I made this salad above for an afternoon lunch with my dear friend, Neil.  The WHOLE salad looked spectacular, but alas, I lost the picture of the full platter on Instagram, due to an iPhone glitch.  Here are the leftovers I took to lunch the next day, which, I think, still looked good.

My folks are living in Italy for the next few months, so I was feeling a bit "Mediterranean".

Butter Beans and Greens
Here we have:
1 can of Butter Beans (cleaned out mom's pantry before her trip, thank you)!

Rinse and drain beans, then toss with:
2 chopped scallions
1 minced fresh red chili pepper, seeded (from the Farmer's Market)
2 roasted red peppers, chopped (another score from mom's pantry)
olive oil, oregano, salt and pepper to taste.
Set aside

Salad:
1 organic heart of romaine, chopped
2-3 cups fresh arugula (from the Farmer's Market)
1 large cucumber, seeded and chopped (from my dear friend, Tara's garden)
2 large garden tomatoes (from Elaine's garden)
1/3 cup kalamata olives (clean out the fridge)

Dress the salad greens with some olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper.  Toss with remaining vegetables, and then top with the beans.

We enjoyed this with a fresh baguette, and some pasta with roasted zucchini, eggplant and sweet peppers (pictured above) and tomatoes.  Buon Appetito ^_^

Chilis from the Farmer's Market - the one I used was right in the middle :)

Black Bean & Corn Salad

I'm almost ashamed to say this, but I got the idea for this recipe from Guy Fieri's cooking show on Food Network. Being vegan, I can't say that I take too much inspiration from his show, but sometimes I'll put Foot Network on the television while I do other things, and this recipe really caught my eye. I did make a few changes to suit my style and taste. 

What a wonderful mix of flavors this was. The first time I made this, I left out the jalapeños, because they didn't have ANY at the store, and because one of my guests did not like spicy food. BUT, I will most certainly add them back the next time I make this. I also used agave syrup in place of honey, to keep it vegan. 

Black Bean & Corn Salad
2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed 
1 (15 ounce) can corn, drained 
1 large red bell pepper, diced 
1/4 cup red onion, diced 
1/4 cup green onion, diced 
1/4 cup pineapple, diced 
1 tablespoon cilantro leaf, chopped 
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced 
3 tablespoons sherry wine vinegar 
1/2 lime, juiced 
3 tablespoons agave nectar  
1 tablespoon salt 
1 teaspoon black pepper 
1 pinch ground cumin (or more to taste)

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and refrigerate for 1 hour.



**FYI, Jalapeños do not make this too spicy at all! In fact, the second and third times I've made this the "heat sensitive" people did not even notice they were there! I think they balance the sweet and tanginess of the dressing quite nicely**


I usually make this in the Summer, when corn is fresh and on every corner.  I made it again yesterday to accompany some enchilada casserole, and cilantro-lime rice (Viva Vegan).  My folks are leaving for a four month trip to Italy soon, and I know that Mexican/South West food probably won't be around much over there!  I did not use jalapeño, but rather used a tiny little green bell pepper from Uncle B's garden. ^_^

Recipe Testing: Greek Village Salad with Cashew "Feta"

Who doesn't love the tangy bite of a fresh Greek-style salad?  This recipe uses cashew pieces, marinated in a salty brine, as a stand-in for the feta cheese found in traditional Greek Salads.

I usually do a vegan feta that involves marinated tofu, so It’s nice to have another “feta” recipe that isn’t tofu based, for folks who can’t have soy.

Greek Salad With Avocado

Although far from traditional, creamy avocado adds a really nice touch to all the tanginess found in most Greek salads. I make this using my marinated tofu recipe in place of the feta cheese. Adding avocado the salad was inspired from a recipe I saw on Chuck's Day Off, MINUS the deep fried Kefalotyri cheese  cubes he put on his...

INGREDIENTS:

2 large tomatoes, cubed
2 lebanese cucumbers, cubed
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 cup kalamata olive, pitted and halved
1 avocado, halved, pitted, peeled and cubed
4 cups romaine lettuce
1/2 cup fresh dill, finely chopped (oregano is nice too)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1 lemon, juiced
1 cup tofu feta

DIRECTIONS:

1 Mix the tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, olives, avocado and lettuce in a large bowl with the dill, olive oil, red wine vinegar, and lemon juice.
2 Add salt and pepper to taste, toss.
3 Top with marinated tofu feta

Marinated Tofu - (In the Style of Feta Cheese)

Perfect for topping a Greek-style salad, or a spinach and olive pizza! Leftover marinade makes a great base for a Greek-style salad dressing.  This recipe for tofu feta, crumbled over a gigantic salad, is Greek-girl approved**  We ate two bowls.  Thank you, L, for letting me serve you tofu on your salad ^_^

INGREDIENTS:
1 lb firm tofu, drained and pressed
4 tablespoons lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons white miso
1 teaspoon sea salt
3 garlic cloves, smashed but left whole
dried oregano, to taste
crushed red pepper, to taste



DIRECTIONS:
1. Press the tofu between two plates, weighted down with some heavy cans or a cast iron pan, to drain the excess liquid out.
2. Slice into 1/2 inch slices.
3. Whisk together the ingredients for the marinade in a large container with a lid.
4. Add the tofu to the marinade and refrigerate for at least 24 hours, preferably 2-3 days.
5. Flip the container every few hours to ensure even coverage.
6. Tofu pieces can be patted dry, and crumbled over your favorite Greek-style salad or pizza.

**L is half Greek, so making her a Greek salad with TOFU as the feta was one of my BALLsy-est moves yet. I made up the salads in advance on our plates, and her first reaction was: "OH, you bought cheese!!"  "No... this is marinated tofu, BUT it's gonna be really yummy!!" 

And, it was, yay! We both ate two bowls. Plus, adding avocado makes everything better...

Big Fat Taco Salad!

I'm jumping back to Appetite for Reduction, because I seriously LOVE this book!!



(Please note, I used a tiny sprinkling of Daiya vegan cheddar cheese, which is NOT in Isa's original recipe, but it was still really good)!!

Now, most folks who like to cook, or have a basic knowledge of cooking, don't actually need a recipe to make a taco salad.  The beauty of cooking with the recipes from Appetite for Reduction is that it you to take a closer look at the amounts and types of ingredients one might use on say, a simple dish like a taco salad.

For example, instead of blobs of Tofutti vegan sour cream, this recipe is topped with GUACAMAME, traditional guacamole's lighter cousin ^_^



What an innovative recipe!  Instead of the full fat and calories from two large avocados, Isa uses ONE avocado and replaces the rest with a cup of edamame (soybeans).  You season and spice the mixture the same as any other guacamole recipe: lime juice, salt, cilantro, jalapeno or cayenne, and then puree everything until smooth in a food processor.  I must say, as a DIE HARD guacamole fan, the end results of this lighter, lower fat version are quite fantastic!

Now onto the dressing...

Many taco salads in restaurants contain ground meat, and the ones that don't, are usually smothered in some cream-tastical, salty, taco-spice dressing, or loaded with cheese.  The dressing we have for this salad is more like a pourable version of a spicy salsa, mixing tomato, lime and fresh jalapeno.  When I made up our taco salads, I decided to mix the dressing right in with the black beans, then top the lettuce with that.

It made for a pretty picture, and was then easily mixed with the rest of the salad to get lots of delicious flavor in each bite.



Crumble a small handful of (baked) tortilla chips of the top from some crunch, and you are good to go.  Two bowls later... we were happy and well fed ^_^

Everyday Chickpea-Quinoa Salad

Cookbook Challenge Week 1 - Appetite for Reduction





I cannot tell you how excited I am to own this cookbook.  I've been skimming through the recipes, and I have to say, I can see myself making ALL of them.  They are all quick and simple, which is great for me, especially on busy weeknights when I get home from work after 6.

And... there are TONS of recipe ideas that are great for work lunches. One of my (silent) New Year's resolutions was to start packing more interesting, healthy lunches.  I was quite pleasantly surprised as I flipped through the book and was met with tons of great ideas for lunch, like in Chapter 1, for example: 

FULL ON SALADS 

"THERE WAS A TIME -- A LONELY, LONELY TIME -- WHEN SALADS were a pale and limp affair, relegated to the side of your plate, practically weeping.  I think those dark days were also know as the '80s.  Then all of a sudden, salads came alive... the line between salad and entree was blurred. The walls came down, and arugula came up".

Reading Isa's introduction MAKES me want to make and eat salad! Even in the cold, dead of winter, when the thought of a crisp and cool green salad makes me shiver...

So why not start at recipe numero uno?  (I had all the stuff on hand too)  

I give you: Everyday Chickpea-Quinoa Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette:

Delicious! This is going to be my go-to salad for work for a while.  I decided to keep the quinoa and chickpeas in a separate container in my fridge, and then mixed them in with the greens and dressing each morning.  The quinoa and chickpea combo really adds nice bulk to the greens, which made me feel full the rest of the day.

Appetite for Reduction really has some wonderful homemade salad dressing too, great to keep mixed up in the fridge for salad variety anytime.  The Balsamic Vinaigrette that follows this recipe in the book uses soaked cashews instead of oil, to give a creamy body to the dressing. L O V E! Cannot wait to make more...

Better-Than-Tuna, Tempeh Salad

My vegan version of a classic lunchtime treat! 

For those of you who have never tried it, tempeh is a made from fermented soybeans that have been pressed into firm cakes. It has a "nutty" and meaty texture, and, like tofu, it absorbs flavors of surrounding ingredients really well. Tempeh is a very popular "meat" alternative for vegetarian and vegan cooks. The first step in this recipe has you poach the tempeh in boiling water, which mellows out the flavor, and makes it a bit more digestible.

Better-Than-Tuna, Tempeh Salad

Ingredients

8 ounces tempeh, crumbled into tiny pieces

1/2 cup celery, finely chopped

1/2 cup scallion, finely chopped

1/2 cup vegan mayonnaise (I prefer Vegenaise)

1/2 teaspoon dried dill

1/2 teaspoon celery salt (or to taste)

fresh black pepper, to taste

Steam the tempeh in a saucepan filled with just enough water to cover the tempeh.  

• I usually add a few splashes of soy sauce to the water for some extra flavor. Drain, and cool in fridge.
• Mix remaining ingredients into a bowl, add cooled tempeh and mix well
• Refrigerate until ready to serve.
• This salad is amazing between two slices of toasted (or grilled) whole wheat bread. Feel free to substitute minced red onion for the scallion too.

Creamy Cucumber Salad Dressing

For my first VeganMoFo post, I'd like to share a funny story from my childhood, and a quick and simple salad dressing...  I am a HUGE fan of making my own salad dressing from scratch.  Have you ever read the lables on some of those bottled dressing in supermarkets!?!? Half of them are utter garbage. It literally takes two-minutes to wisk up a vinaigrette in your own kitchen, and it tastes a WHOLE-lot better that the mass produced mixtures of cheap oil, water, MSG and other wretchedly unnatural chemicals sitting on our super market's shelves.

And now for my embarrasing childhood story.  In my pre-veggie loving days, as a young child, my favorite salad dressing was none other than CREAMY BACON... (yes, my arteries harden just thinking about it).  I don't even think Wishbone makes this stuff anymore...

Anyhoo, in honor of the "Creamy Bacon" salad days of my past, I give you this: 

Creamy Cucumber Dressing- Vegan style!

**Some notes: I like to use 2 small (pickling) cucumbers, rather than 1 large because of the seeds. IF using a large or non-organic cucumber, make sure there is no wax on the peel, and scrap some of the seeds out! For a thicker, creamier dressing add more cashews and less water; for a thinner, lighter dressing add more water and fewer nuts.

Ingredients

2 small cucumbers, chopped (peel and all if organic)

1/2 cup cashews, soaked

1/4 cup water (more or less depending on how thick you like)

1 lemon, juice of

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (to taste)

1 tablespoon agave nectar (to taste)

2 tablespoons dried dill (or 1/2 bunch fresh)

1 tablespoon sea salt (to taste)

1 tablespoon black pepper (to taste) 


Directions
1.  Blend all ingredients in a high speed blender, adding water as needed.

2.  If using fresh dill, blend 1/2 of it at first, them add the rest after the cucumbers and cashews are smooth!

3.  Dressing will thicken in fridge.