Green Diva Dip

There are a lot of recipes floating around right now for sweet pea guacamole or green pea hummus - both featuring a mush-prone vegetable to put some spring into a dish. Though I don't typically like following blog trends, I do like coming up with quick snacks when I'm low on exciting groceries. In this instance, we were heading poolside and feeling munchy, but I didn't have legumes for hummus or chips for dipping. What I had were crisp vegetables, leafy greens, and frozen peas.

Another fantastic result of a clean-out-the-fridge hodgepodge. With frozen peas and edamame always on hand, I had a good base. I'm also going through a juicing phase and have a lot of greens (chard, beet greens, kale and spinach). While we typically juice greens or use them in salads, why not puree them raw? They are tender and breakdown easily, and it's such an easy way to sneak in an extra nutrient punch. Then I started looking for anything green and delicious in the fridge. Thus arose a beautiful and bright concoction.

We agreed as taste testers that something is only considered a "concoction" until it has a name. "Green Goddess" is an overused title for a green dressing, green smoothies, or green liquid anything. Yet with my token male out of town this weekend, the last 3 days have been jam packed with lady fun. So we came upon this title to embody our energizing female connections over the past few risings and settings of the moon - 2 of which featured this dip.

Cooking note: if you don't have white miso or reduced fat Veganaise (or any kind of Veganaise), this dip will still be delicious. Just add a little more avocado and salt.

Green Diva Dip
Makes about 1 1/2 cups
Prep time: 5-10 minutes

Ingredients

1 c. frozen peas, thawed
1/2 c. edamame
1/4 avocado
1/4 small lemon, peeled (flesh and all, but no rind)
2 large scallions, white and green parts chopped
1/4 c. parsley
1-2 small garlic cloves, sliced
2 tsp. white miso paste (optional)
1 tsp. dried basil or 1 T. fresh basil
1/4 - 1/3 c. veggie broth
2 c. spinach
1/2 T. Reduced Fat Veganaise (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

Sliced vegetables for dipping

Directions

Combine the first 9 ingredients in a food processor and puree. Slowly pour in broth through the chute until the mixture processes smoothly, without chunking up. Once the mixture is well pureed, add spinach and Veganaise (if using). Process for another 3-4 minutes or until smooth.

Serve with slice zucchini, jicama, carrots, radishes, cucumber, or celery.

Warm and Creamy Sweet Potato Salad

Day 10 of Vegan Mofo. I guess I owe a bit of a eulogy to days 3 through 9. This thing called life got in the way, but those days did not pass in vain. In fact, the whirling of time right now is what generates the most inspiration. Which is what I absolutely love about this recipe. Even though senor time is totally trying to road block me from taking the time to cook and write most of my recipes down, this particular recipe was too resilient, too easy to make and too flavorful to let chaos keep me from giving it to you. If you're finding yourself rushed through this fall as well, just know that there is always time for a sweet potato.

There are about a million more things I love about this recipe other that it being busy-life proof. 1) I'm a sucker for sweet potato in any way shape or form. 2) Avocado for me is the equivalent of most people's butter, in fact I even spread it on toast I love it so much. Plus chunks of avocado taste even better than chunks of butter (cue in gag reflex). 3) Tahini dressing...enough said. 4) I hope I don't have to keep persuading you to make this. It's easy and lovely and tasty and you shouldn't have to think twice about a sweet potato.

Summer picnic potato salads are cold and generally appeal to everyone. But who can resist a warm autumnal  potato salad? Not me and not you. To make this super quick on the fly, feel free to microwave (gasp!) the sweet potato to cut down on cooking time. For serving at a dinner party, I'd probably go a little classier and boil the sweet potato. Everything else just falls into place.

Warm & Creamy Sweet Potato Salad
Makes: 3-4 servings
Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

2 medium sweet potatoes, washed and cubed*
1 medium avocado, cubed
2-3 green onion stalks, green and white parts sliced
1/3 c. parsley, chopped

1 1/2 T. apple cider vinegar
1 T. stone ground or dijon mustard
1 T. tahini
1 tsp. pure maple syrup
Black pepper to taste

Directions

Prepare the potatoes by covering with water in a saucepan by 1 inch. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium. Simmer for 10-15 minutes or until potatoes are tender. When done, set aside in a medium mixing bowl and mix in avocado and green onion.

While the potatoes are boiling, make the dressing. Whisk all ingredients together and adjust seasoning to taste. If the dressing is too thick, add a little more cider vinegar. If too tart, add a touch more tahini or maple syrup.

Coat the potato/avocado mixture with dressing and top with fresh parsley. Serve warm.

*If you are opting for the microwave, poke each potato a bunch of times and microwave whole for 5-7 minutes or until tender.

Garlicky Parsnip Equinox Mash

Ok sorry I missed the equinox by a few days... Ah hem, well a week plus some. What is the equinox you ask? It's the transition from summer to fall. A time when all Phoenicians royally curse the summer, because this transition is much more tangible in other climates while we are stuck with an overly exuberant sun that perseveres through October.  The equinox my personal favorite of the seasonal changes. It sports my color wheels and means a whole lot more pumpkin in the kitchen! It also makes me nostalgic for falling leaves and autumn in New York. There is nothing I don't like about fall. Especially in Arizona, as fall does not symbolize the coming of chew-your-arm-off windchill winter. You win some, you lose some.

Ok another apology owed. I also missed the start of Vegan MOFO. What is vegan mofo you ask? It's the vegan month of food! October is world vegetarian month, with October 1st being the World Vegetarian Day and the day I was supposed to start blogging on my 31 day vegan montage (see the official site for more participating blogs). Hopefully despite my lack of time due to my yoga teacher training program starting and having a busy life in general, I will be able to contribute daily. Hopefully you despite your lack of time or want to analyze vegan ranting, will be able to enjoy the spirit and taste of this ultimate plant based booyakasha.

So this dish came about spur of the moment of course. Parsnips are one of my absolute favorite vegetables and taste like quintessential fall to me. But somehow every time I purchase them, they end up mingled in with the carrots and I never notice them until they are starting to prune. When they are in the beginning stages of sagging, I always revert to a mash. In a mash, it never matters what the veggie looked like before. And you get all the credit for the taste without the mess of presentation. This is a lighter mash because it's actually a blend of winter and summer squash - how perfectly equinox! Enjoy how simply season it is.

Garlicky Parsnip Mash
Makes 3-4 servings
Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

2 c. parsnips, peeled and sliced
1 c. butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1 medium summer squash, sliced
2 garlic cloves
Pinch of salt

Directions

Place all ingredients in a large sauce pan and cover with water by about an 1-2 inches. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat to medium. Simmer until veggies are tender, about 10-15 minutes. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste. Add any fresh herbs you like to spruce it up!

Funkalicious Fat Free Fried Rice

When I went through my little “raw” experimental phase a while back, I came out with some good lessons.

Some of these include:

1. I have a lot to learn about effective sprouting.
2. I should have spent the money on a square food dehydrator. Now I have to cut holes in wax paper around the center tube. I would make kale chips everyday if I didn’t have to do this stupid step.
3. Cauliflower is a beautiful stand in for rice.

So without going too much into the first two lessons, we’ll skip right to the rice. One of my absolute favorite types of recipe in the uncooked world is cauliflower “rice.” When pulsed in a food processor, cauliflower beads up and actually looks like rice. The texture is somewhat similar, but it takes to flavor extremely well. And when it’s all ground up, you don’t feel like you’re eating straight up fiber. You don’t get the side effects of eating straight up fiber either, which is nice for you and your loved ones.

 

Deviating from the raw theme, I cooked the pulsed cauliflower in this recipe. It beats waiting the 20 minutes it takes to cook rice and the hours it takes to cool it before reheating again in a frying pan. This is quicker, healthier and easier. And truth be told, I’m all about volume. I have a weakness for incredibly tasty food and therefore like to eat LARGE amounts of it, like any other person lacking self control. But think of 2 whole cups of cauliflower compared to 2 cups of fried rice. Such an easy way to trick your brain! Not to mention you’ve got boat loads more nutrients in the cruciferous cruncher than in the bland, bleached rice.

 

* Tofu Tip: A super convenient way to add tofu that actually has flavor is to buy pre-baked and seasoned tofu. My favorite kind is from Trader Joe’s and costs a whole 3 bucks. You don’t have to cook it, press it or season it. Just add it on top!

 

Funkalicious Fat Free Fried Rice

Makes: 1 huge serving

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 5 minutes

 

Ingredients

 

2 c. cauliflower flowerets

1 large garlic clove, minced
1 tsp ginger root, minced
1 tsp. jalapeno or Serrano pepper, minced
½ c. mushrooms, sliced
¼ - ½ c. veggie broth (homemade or bouillon)
¼ c. shredded carrots
¼ c. green peas, from fresh or frozen (thawed)
¼ c. yellow corn, from fresh or frozen (thawed)
1 stalk green onions, chopped
1-2 tsp soy sauce
Baked & seasoned tofu such as Wildwood or Trader Joe’s, cubed

 

Directions

In a food processor, pulse the cauliflower until completely crumbled and no large chunks remain, about 20-25 pulses. Be sure to NOT process into a puree. When you pulse the processor in short bursts, you’ll get lovely little rice looking beads. Remove and set aside.

 

Heat a skillet over medium high heat and coat with cooking spray. Add garlic, ginger and jalapeno and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add mushrooms and ¼ cup of veggie broth to deglaze the pan (you don’t want burnt garlic!). Lower the heat slightly and cook until most of the liquid is gone, about 1 minute. Add cauliflower, remaining veggies and 1 teaspoon of soy sauce. If pan is too dry or anything starts sticking to the bottom, deglaze the pan with another ¼ cup of broth. Add baked tofu at the end an any additional soy sauce to taste.

Mustard Coriander Roasted Cauliflower

I have probably professed my love for roasted cauliflower before - I don’t know how I could have not mentioned it somewhere in the past couple of years writing here. There is something about how the edges of those little florets get so crunchy that makes this a very addictive snack, side dish, or salad topper. It hardly even needs to be dressed up to taste incredible, but sometimes a fancy twist is in order just to make things exciting. We all need to shake it up from the routine every now and then, and in this case, an aromatic-earthy combination livened up this Plain Jane veggie just right.

Mustard and coriander is not an uncommon combination, but they do make a very good flavor team. Mustard has that tangy edge and coriander has a bright, vibrant quality that pairs really well with simple foods. However, though not necessarily title worthy, I actually think the tahini is what makes this dish seriously slammin. After some discussion with my sister, my kitchen confidant and bearer of many tricks of the trade, we decided that tahini just has a “je ne sais quoi” that makes it irresistible. How does it turn chickpeas into “hummus” [said with a middle eastern throaty grimace], how does it transform raw garlic into an incredible dipping sauce for french fries? Magic. Je ne sais quoi. It’s a must have on your shelf, right next to the peanut butter, in between the nutritional yeast and pomegranate molasses (ok it’s not that obscure).

So while this recipe is title “cauliflower” - I actually used summer squash as well, as you probably deduced from the photo, you Sherlock you. I think many simple roasting veggies would be terrific in this dressing - broccoli, carrots, turnips, artichokes. Play around with whats in the fridge and if you don’t have tahini, get your booty to the nearest middle eastern market and buy a jar. It deserves staple status in any pantry.

Mustard Coriander Roasted Cauliflower

Makes 4-6 servings

Cook time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

4 cups cauliflower florets
(or 2 c. cauliflower + 2 c. summer squash)
1 ½ T. olive oil
1 ½ T. stone ground mustard
½ T. ground coriander
2 tsp. tahini
1 tsp salt
¾ tsp. black pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 450F.

Place cauliflower in a medium mixing bowl and spray evenly with cooking spray (this will help the dressing coat evenly). In a smaller bowl, combine remaining ingredients and whisk until well blended. Pour dressing over cauliflower and toss. Roast for 15-20 minutes or until cauliflower is tender and golden brown around the edges.

Aromatic Mashed Celery Root with Kale

As I was checking out the aesthetics of my blog, which I sometimes do to make sure it looks semi-legible but still maintain the rudimentary "I don't really know what I'm doing" feel, I noticed some of the labels popping out far more assertively than others. ENTREES! HEALTHY! QUICK AND EASY! Maybe I need to come up with more sophisticated labels, because most of what I make falls into these categories and if you click on one, it's not really going to help you find a particular recipe. But I'm lazy so they'll stick for now.

In an attempt to not have to revamp my labels, I'll just make more recipes that fall into some of the others. How about a recipe that's not an entree? Lovely! I make a lot of simple sides that don't appear on the blog because they are just that - so easy they don't really warrant a scribe. But perhaps they are just simple enough for a follower to actually make. And perhaps that are just delicious enough to make in large batches that stand in for dinner when you're too lazy to make a real one (not that I feel like that every Wednesday or so).

"Celeriac" or celery root - ah hem - cough, cough - excuse me, what? The knobby, endearingly ugly root of our "favorite" health food is so much more delicious than it's flossy stalks, I'm not entirely sure why it's not more main stream.  It is admittedly strange to look at, sort of like a balding pineapple that never perked up and developed a minor frown. "No body picks me." It's hairy, bumpy, and beige - not something that would stop many of us in our tracks.

Underneath that thick skin however is a flavor mild like celery with a rich potato-like texture which makes it ideal for mashing. With a high water content, it doesn't need any milk, cream or butter to make the mash smooth. In this recipe, I simmered the celery root as you might do with potatoes before mashing but with some whole spices in the cooking water to give it an aromatic flare. Then I topped it off with some "cheesy" components and a little special kick of white pepper. As stated earlier, I made a double batch and ate it for dinner. When I finished and wanted to make another batch, I knew it was time to write this one down.

Aromatic Mashed Celeriac with Kale 

Makes 2 servings

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cooke time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

1 lb Celeriac, peeled and cubed
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp cardamom pods
2 c. kale, chopped with ribs removed
1 T. nutritional yeast
1/4 scant tsp garlic powder
1/4 scant tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp allspice
1/8 tsp white pepper
Salt to taste

Directions

Place celeriac, fennel and cardamom in a medium sauce pan and fill with water under celeriac is just covered. Bring pot to a boil and reduce heat to medium low. Cover and simmer about 5-7 minutes, or until celeriac starts to become tender (insert a piece with a fork - if it goes through somewhat easily but the veg doesn't fall apart, you're good). Add kale and simmer another 4-5 minutes, or until kale is bright green and celeriac is completely tender. Drain and set aside in a medium bowl. Discard the cardamom pods.

Mix in remaining ingredients and mash mixture with a potato masher or fork. Mash until chunky but not completely smooth (kale will not break apart - that's a good thing). Season with salt to taste.

Dominican Beans over Brazilian Greens

I am recovering from a long and persistent canned food addiction. This is not news, I've admitted it before. But admitting the problem it has been a productive emergence from BPA denial. Now it’s no big deal to set up a bowl of soaking beans overnight and cook them in the morning while I get ready for the day. The taste and texture of home-cooked dried beans is beyond superior to their canned counterparts and I wouldn’t dare insult them now by calling them inconvenient. Can or no can though, they are still the magical fruit and there is no gettig around that.


While I have mastered the chickpea, mung bean and lentil, I am working on others to expand my repertoire. While not much skill is involved, sometimes I am insecure about the texture and “doneness” of my boiling beanies. Some are still kind of hard because I’ve become a nervous nancy about the cook time. Other have been mush because of my experience with the previous outcome. Black beans are pretty easy now, though I tend to undercook them slightly for some reason. Having expanded into my “Mexican/Latina fare” beans, I was finally inspired to try pinto beans.


Pintos were very easy to cook and I came out with a great batch on my first try. Once you cook the beans though, you have to figure out what to do with them. And for some reason, a typical quesadilla wasn’t going to cut it this time. Pintos are great with a little bit of vegan cheese or refried, but I really wanted to try something different. I went searching for a recipe and found a very intriguing one on Epicurious.com for Dominican Beans. It served as a great foundation, but I obviously changed it to suit my needs for timeliness and available resources. What I came up with was spectacular. I’ve never had a pinto like this and I don’t know if I’ll be satisfied by another pinto again.


The greens here were a great accompaniment but are only Brazilian because in my recipe meandering I discovered that this is apparently how collards are commonly prepared in Brazil. I would have made them this way anyway (with plenty of garlic) had I not found this out. Greens and garlic...duh. 

Dominican Beans over Brazilian Greens
Makes 2 servings
Prep time: 10-15 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes


Ingredients


For the Beans
1 c. Pinto beans, cooked or canned if you must
1 c. Bean liquid (from can or from cooking water)
1/2 c. Onion, chopped
2-3 Garlic cloves, chopped
2 T. Organic ketchup
1 T. Distilled white vinegar
1/2 c. Anaheim pepper, chopped (or other green pepper)
1/2 c. Chopped tomato
1 Bay leaf, ground or whole
1/2 tsp. Oregano, ground or crumbled
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Freshly ground black pepper
8-10 Cilantro stalks


For the Greens
4-6 Large collard leaves
2 tsp. Olive oil
2 Garlic cloves, chopped
Salt to taste


Directions


For the beans: In a medium bowl, lightly mash the beans so that about half are mashed and half remain whole. Reserve liquid on the side. Heat a sauce pan over medium heat and coat with cooking spray. Cook onions and garlic, stirring constantly to make sure the garlic doesn’t burn, until onions are soft, about 6-7 minutes.While the onions are cooking, grind the herbs, salt and pepper together or mash in a mortar and pestle until well blended and set aside. Stir ketchup, vinegar, pepper and tomato into sauce pan. Cook until liquid is reduced slighty and increase heat to medium high. Stir in herb mixture, beans and liquid. Bring to a medium boil and reduce heat to medium-low. Tie cilantro stalks together or just group them together by the stem and lay on top of bean mixture, pressing into pan but with the stems still sticking out. Cover pan leaving a small edge uncovered and simmer until liquid has mostly evaporated and mixture has thickened, about 10-15 minutes. Turn heat off and let beans sit another 5-10 minutes on the burner. Remove cilantro and discard.


For the greens: To cut the collards into ribbons, destem each leaf, cut in quarters and lay each piece on top of each other in a neat pile. Roll the leaves from one end to another in a cigar shape and slice thinly from one end to another. Set aside. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and add garlic being VERY careful not to burn. Cook until garlic becomes fragrant, about 1 minute, and add collards. Toss in garlic oil and season with a touch of salt to taste. Cook until collards are just tender, about 3-4 minutes.


Serve beans over a nice little pile of greens and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Curried Kale Salad with Roasted Cauliflower and Apples

Silly admission # 473 (yes they happen that often): I’ve been craving legumes like normal people crave ice cream. During the month of May in which my token omnivore voluntarily followed a vegan diet, I avoided making too many bean dishes so as not to deter him from the already….windy side effects of eating so much fiber. While I didn’t omit beans entirely, I certainly treaded carefully seeing as though he has a natural aversion to the magical fruit. He’ll eat certain kinds so long as they aren’t cooked to absolute mush, but I didn’t want to overdo it during his vegan trial for fear of exhausting him on the beany buggers. Now that he’s back on the flesh wagon however, I don’t feel bad reintroducing beans as my vegan superstar ingredient. Packed full of iron and healthy fiber, my body was screaming for the little pearly pockets of yum. And part of me wants to overdo it now since his body is probably going through some nutritional withdrawal since his sudden reversion to cholesterol and saturated…I mean meat.

Well that’s a little off track for this recipe, but it leads to my inspiration. I hadn't soaked any beans and for dried beans that cook quickly, mung beans were the only option. I’ve made them time and time again, but as hard as I try to be creative, the dish always ends up tasting the same. This time was no different. Always delicious, but always the same. Mung beans stewed with potatoes, carrots and tomatoes with a generous pinch of cumin seed and crushed red pepper. If I try to get fancier, it complicates the dish which ends up tasting rather blah. Since I knew what the dish was going to taste like, I thought I could at least make a well-paired saladn to get creative. Trying to think of something that would go well with a stewed dish, I recalled working at the Afghan restaurant in Madison. Kabul had a killer curry salad dressing that was the talk of the town. Made with raw eggs, tons of oil and about a pound of sugar per batch, patrons rarely knew what was coating their lettuce. Tasty nonetheless. So I attempted to recreate a healthier, vegan version.

Raw eggs and lots of oil - sound like anything familiar? Perhaps a well-known American condiment? Hello mayonnaise. For the Memorial party, I had made my own vegan sour cream that sort of morphed into mayo after the leftovers spent a few days in the fridge. Since real mayo shares many similarities with the original dressing ingredients, I figure this would be a good stand-in. Instead of adding a ton of oil, I used some leftover broth that didn’t make it into the stew with just a touch of walnut oil. Agave replaced white sugar of course and the tiniest pinch of turmeric gave it that signiature yellow hue that comes from the egg yolks in the old recipe. My version was every bit as tasty. The crunchy roasted cauliflower was perfectly matched by sweet apple slices. The curry tied it all together. The mung beans were fine, but the salad was delish!

Curry Kale Salad with Roasted Cauliflower and Apples
Makes 2 side salads

Prep time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

1 c. Cauliflower flowerets
½ tsp Salt
½ tsp Freshly ground pepper
2 tsp. Nutritional yeast
Cooking spray

¼ c. Vegetable broth, from bouillon
2-3 T. Vegan mayo
1 T. Lemon juice, freshly squeezed
½ T. Mild tasting oil (walnut, avocado, canola)
¾ tsp. Curry powder
¾ tsp. Agave nectar
1/8 tsp. Turmeric
Salt and pepper to taste

3-4 Large kale leaves, ribs cut out and sliced thinly into ribbons
½ Medium apple (gala, pink lady, or other sweet varienty), thinly sliced with slices cut in half

Directions

Preheat oven to 400˚F.

Place the cauliflower in a medium mixing bowl and coat completely with cooking spray. Season with salt, pepper and nutritional yeast. Roast for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown and crispy on the outside. Remove from heat and set aside.

While the cauliflower roasts, prepare the dressing by whisking the next 7 ingredients together. Season with additional agave if too acidic and salt and pepper to taste. In a separate mixing bowl, pour ½ of dressing over kale and apples. Let sit while cauliflower finishes cooking.

To serve, divide salad into 2 portions and top each with half of the roasted cauliflower.

Vegan Entertaining! Southwest Summer Spring Rolls & More

Hooray for another party! Another reason to cook! Another reason to EAT. Memorial Day has previously been an underappreciated holiday for me, but I now understand and value its critical timing (Hello…No days off between MLK Day and now?) and its All-American fervor. As stated in a recent post, I don’t explore American cuisine very much, but this holiday was calling me. So I set out to cook up some grub that could appeal to the average racecar lovin’, trucker hat wearin’, sunburn coated American. While throwing burgers and brats on the grill is the typical way to welcome summer, this vegan can’t pass up the chance to prove that meatless eats go beyond packaged goods and our options are more extensive than beans. Why would I just buy some tofu pups and veggie burgers when I could spend 6 hours cooking something way too elaborate for a simple pool party?

So in searching through Memorial Day menus and recipes, a few ensuing questions came to mind in my search for inspiration. What do my coworkers usually bring to potlucks? What do I normally see at picnics that I can never eat? Layered dip. Check! Rolls or wraps of sorts always laced with cream cheese or ground pork. Coleslaw, duh. And there never fails to be a scrumptious looking dessert that could so easily be made vegan if you replaced the butter with Earth Balance…which led to the following menu.

• - 7 Layer Taco Dip
• - Salsa and Queso
• - Southwest Summer Rolls
• - Purple Coleslaw
• - Apple Crisp

 Holy cow did I binge on some taco dip. I also ate about 3 “practice” summer rolls before the party even started and I am still happily finishing the last of the purple slaw that somehow made it through as leftovers (ok it was a huge batch). I’m still not over that layered dip though. While I made my own vegan sour cream and taco seasoning, you could easily purchase toffuti, some pre-mixed seasoning and packaged seitan to make this super quickly. This queso is a perfected vegan nacho cheese recipe that I make about once a week by request from my token omnivore.

The purple coleslaw was the result of have too many veggies in the crisper in quantities too small to stand alone in any dish. So I combine red cabbage, broccoli stalks, carrots and cucumbers together in one happy purple mess. The dressing was based off a traditional recipe but made healthy by mixing in some leftover homemade vegan sour cream into a standard sweet red wine vinaigrette instead of loading it with a bunch of mayo and sugar.

The apple crisp – not much needs to be said. It’s like a traditional recipe but with Earth Balance instead of butter. Lots of oats on top with some pecans to boot. Crumble it up with some margarine and throw it over sliced apples. Delicious.

And the All-Star Summer Rolls…. Inspired by the famous Chile’s southwest egg roll appetizer, these were by far the favorite. I’ll admit I stumbled on the recipe for the Chile’s version and used it as a starting point. I added more veggies of course and replace the chicken with marinated tofu. I then baked them instead of deep-frying and served them without a dip – because they don’t need anything to cover up their deliciousness! These are super easy even if you make your own tofu. The assembly of course is the most time consuming, but this is worth it for special occasions. To save time, buy the pre-baked and pre-seasoned tofu whose texture is just right for these. I’d also recommend Daiya cheese for the filling: it’s my favorite.

Southwest Summer Rolls
Makes: 14-16 rolls
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 35 minutes

Ingredients

1 pkg. Extra Firm Tofu, pre-marinated and baked or homemade (recipe below)

1 T. Olive or canola oil

2 Green onions, sliced - white and green parts divided

2 Garlic cloves, minced

¾ c. Mixed bell peppers, diced

½ c. Corn, fresh or frozen (thawed)

½ c. Spinach, cooked or frozen (thawed)

½ tsp. Chili powder

½ tsp. Ground cumin

½ tsp. Salt

¼ tsp. Cayenne pepper

½ c. Vegan cheese, grated (i.e. Daiya - Italian)

1 pkg. Spring roll wrappers

Directions

If you are using pre-baked and marinated tofu, cut the block into ¼ inch thick slices, about 12-14 per block. Cut each individual slice into 3 or 4 matchsticks and set aside. For homemade baked tofu, do not cut into matchsticks until you have baked the tofu. To make your own marinated baked tofu, see below.

To make the filling, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat and sauté onions, garlic and peppers until vegetables are just tender, 4-5 minutes. Add corn, spinach and spices and cook until corn and spinach are heated through (the peppers should not be al dente but not mushy). Remove from heat and transfer to a medium bowl. While mixture is still hot, fold in vegan cheese until well blended and melted. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 375ºF.

To assemble, place one spring roll wrapper on a plate or cutting board. Have a small bowl of water and a brush set aside to help seal the rolls. Fill each wrapper with 2 T. of filling and 3-4 pieces of tofu. Brush the top edge with water, about ½ inch down. Starting at the bottom, fold the bottom edge over the filling and secure the filling tightly. Fold each side of the wrapper over the outside edges of the filling and finish by rolling upwards. Press the edge firmly and set aside. Repeat with remaining wrappers. Brush each with canola oil or coat all sides with cooking spray. Bake for 10-13 minutes or until starting to brown. Turn the rolls over and bake an additional 10-13 minutes, or until rolls are golden and crispy.


Marinated Baked Tofu
Makes: 12-16 slices
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

1 pkg. Extra-firm tofu, sliced into ¼ inch thick rectangles

¼ c. White wine or sherry
3 T. Red wine vinegar
3 T. Olive or canola oil
2 T. Soy sauce
2 T. c. Lemon or lime juice, Freshly squeezed
1 tsp. Chili powder*
1 tsp. Ground cumin*
½ tsp. Garlic powder
½ tsp. Onion powder
½ tsp. Paprika*
½ tsp Salt
½ tsp. Black or cayenne pepper

* Note: This is a southwest marinade. The recipe can be used for any dish by toning down the southwest spices. For a basic marinade, only add onion and garlic powders, salt and pepper.

Directions

Preheat oven to 450ºF.

Place tofu on paper towels and cover with additional paper towels. Pat dry to ensure most of moisture is removed. Place slices in a glass baking dish and set aside.

Whisk all marinade ingredients together and adjust seasoning to taste. Pour over tofu and flip tofu over to coat all sides. Bake for 15 minutes and flip tofu pieces. Bake an additional 15 minutes or until all the marinade is absorbed.

Slivered Kale Salad with Baby Beets

I might be a salad diva – I mean that in the most humble way. What I mean is I proudly make salads just about every day and not your typical lame side dish. Sure salads typically generate a big ole eye roll. But face it – when made creatively and thoughtfully they are nothing short of delicious and perfect for messing around with savory and sweet combinations. Fruit and veggies can coincide so happily atop a fluffy bed of greens, am I right? It’s important to avoid the makings of a boring salad: romaine or iceberg lettuce, grainy tomato, flavorless stale cucumber, maybe a canned black olive or two, boxed croutons, and gloppy ranch. Blah.
Shredded iceberg does not a salad make. There is a world of greenery out there, most of it edible. Think beyond romaine and spinach (not knocking spinach, but you’ve had your turn…let some other greens share the limelight). I also use the word salad for pretty much anything cold: chickpea quinoa salad, kale salad, Edamame rice salad, etc… it doesn’t even have to have greens. A salad can be an accompaniment to a fantastic meal – a brief, crisp repose from the main attraction – or it can be the featured fare, the underdog of entrees. It can be the avenue to use up the last bit of something before it spoils or to try out new pairings like avocado and apple.

A little chop-chop here and peel-and-shred there, you’re on your way to a dish of pure crunchy bliss. The kicker of course is the dressing. The salad doesn’t have to be all about the dressing, like those sad, tasteless salads you get chain restaurants completely smothered in dressing because what’s under it has no pizzazz. I like to let all components in a salad contribute, and the dressing is just a little something to make the fruit or veggies more vibrant. I don’t buy bottled dressings out of sheer principle. All you need is oil, vinegar, and something to fuse the two…mustard, Tahini, peanut butter, or yogurt. Spruce it up with some herbs or spices and you’re set. Dressing seems intimidating, but you probably have everything you need in your cupboard already. If you don’t have Tahini, try mustard in this dressing.

We ate this as a small side, but with a little baked tempeh, tofu, or some edamame or chickpeas, this could easily be a whole lunch. You could even add some quinoa to get more grains and protein in there. Enjoy!

Slivered Kale Salad with Baby Beets
Makes 2 side servings

Prep time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

4-6 Baby beets, assorted colors

4 oz Kale (about 5 leaves), slivered or cut in a chiffonade
¼ c. Zucchini, grated
¼ c. Carrot, grated
¼ c. Cucumber, grated

1 ½ T. White balsamic vinegar or other light tasting vinegar
2 tsp. Tahini
1 tsp. Lemon juice
½ tsp. Thyme, fresh or ¼ tsp. dried
¼ tsp. Salt
Pepper to taste

5-6 Walnuts, chopped

Directions

Place beets in a medium sauce pan and fill with just enough water to cover beets. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium. Cover pan and simmer for 6-7 minutes or until just tender. Remove from heat, drain, and set aside. When beets are cool enough to handle, slice them thinly.

To cut the kale in a chiffonade, cut out the stems and tough ribs and place leaves on top of each other. Role into a cigar shaped stack and thinly slice from one end to the other. You should have long strings of kale. Combine kale and other vegetables including beets in a medium mixing bowl.

In a separate small bowl, combine vinegar, Tahini and lemon juice. Whisk with a fork until Tahini completely breaks down and becomes creamy. Add thyme, salt and pepper to taste. Pour dressing over salad and stir to combine completely. Top with chopped walnuts and serve.

Spaghetti Squash Sprout Sauté with Tomato Coulis

How much fun is spaghetti squash? Between scooping out its stringy flesh and eating it like faux pasta, I don’t know which part I like more! It’s a great source of complex carbs with fewer calories than pasta and more vitamins than a bleached noodle to boot. I’ve been hanging onto this squash for a month now waiting for some inspiration to strike, but it’s mostly been sitting there dormant among the potatoes and garlic. Once again in preparation to travel and looking to use what I have instead of making a grocery run (does anyone really know how hard it is for me not to go to the food store?), I finally spotted my bumpy yellow friend and decided it was time.

Taking stock through my kitchen, I eyed a few crinkly orbs in the produce drawer. There was absolutely no way I was going to take even a slight risk of those brussel sprouts going bad while I was gone. Too much love for my cruciferous friends… I wanted to include them somehow. A recipe search led me to a very simple yet tantalizing dish. Though I tend to overcomplicate recipes at times because I can’t stop ideas from bouncing around in my head while I’m in the kitchen, the sound of a simple sauté involving garlic and crushed red pepper sounded superb. Sometimes I skip over those recipes because they sound too rudimentary. But who am I to sneeze at the loveliest of spice-herb combinations?

Ok so this might be a shot at my own creative ego - this recipe is not only based but essentially the same as a wonderful recipe by Anne Burrell listed on the Food Network site. While I deviated some from her recipe, it pains me to think I actually have to cite it for fear of copyright infringement. Oh well. While she adds cilantro, I have my own twist by adding a fresh and light coulis as a drizzle over this fabulous side dish. It is absolutely delish without the coulis as I discovered today while making this again to use of the rest of my spaghetti squash, but the sauce could also be tweaked as you like by adding any herb of your choice. This is definitely omnivore tested and approved.

Spaghetti Squash Sprout Sauté with Tomato Coulis

Serves: 2

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

For the Squash Sauté
1 Medium spaghetti squash, cut in half and seeds removed
½ T. Olive oil
3-4 Large garlic cloves, minced
¼ - ½ tsp Crushed red pepper
8-10 Brussel sprouts, sliced 1/8” inch thick
½ tsp Salt
Pepper to taste

For the Coulis
2 Roma tomatoes, chopped
2 tsp Red wine vinegar
½ tsp Oregano or another dried herb of personal preference
Salt to taste

Directions

For the Squash Sauté
Preheat oven to 400ºF. Fill a roasting pan or glass baking dish with about 1” water. Place the squash in flesh side down and cover. Bake 40 minutes or until squash is tender and pulls easily away from skin. Alternately, microwave squash for 6 minutes on high or until tender. Scoop out squash and divide in half. Set one half aside for use now and refrigerate the other half for tomorrow when you decide to make this again because it’s so fast and delicious.

Heat olive oil over medium low heat in a skillet. Sauté garlic and red pepper until garlic becomes golden, being careful not to burn. Add brussel sprouts and salt and toss well in pan making sure they are coated well in garlic. Increase heat to medium high and cook sprouts until brown, about 3-4 minutes. Add spaghetti squash, another little pinch of salt and pepper to taste. Cook until mixture is warm and brussel sprouts are cooked to your liking. Remove from pan and set aside in serving bowl. Turn heat off, but keep pan warm for the coulis.

For the Coulis
Combine all ingredients in a food processor and process until completely smooth. Taste the sauce to be sure it is salted to your preference. Pour the sauce in the warm pan, scraping off any remaining squash and/or garlic bits. Remove from heat and set aside in a small bowl.

To Serve
Divide squash into two bowls and drizzle with coulis. Add a few shakes of nutritional yeast if you’re feeling ambition or a couple crushed walnuts. Enjoy!

Comfort Food: Sweet Potato Parsnip Gratin

A classic French dish: layered potatoes oven-simmered in cream with a golden crust browning to a crunchy perfection…gratin. Whether you are familiar with the French, Southern or Midwest version, you most likely find the same console in a creamy potato casserole. Growing up, we often had scalloped potatoes thinly sliced with onions and ham, then baked in cream. Sounds like a real artery-clogger, because it is. It seems most dishes basking in cream with a sprinkling of cheese and breading on top cloud the naughtiness of their compositions by fogging our conscience with salty fat-laced goodness. It’s like a temporary anesthesia, but more importantly it’s like a time warp that brings me back to my Midwest innocence. My mother would argue with the innocence claim, but she could attest to my potato scarfing.

I had never made potatoes au gratin myself, even as an omnivore. Once I started paying attention to my health, I pretty much ruled out all things of such nature. Not realizing that a few simple adaptations could be made to restore the health and appeal many comfort foods, I long avoided recipes listing butter, cream and cheese as the key ingredients. After all, the only other ingredient in a gratin is potatoes! With what I know now, butter can be replaced with healthy alternatives like Earth Balance, there are a variety of other milks out there in this world, and bread crumbs or a bread crumb-nut combo are a good match for cheese to top off any baked dish. Most vegan parmesans consist of a finely ground blend of merely three (vegan) staples: nutritional yeast, walnuts and salt.

If it seems this dish would be lacking because it contains no cream or cheese, then the depth and creaminess of these root vegetables is highly underestimated. Sweet potatoes add a nice color and that omnipresent starchiness we love, while parsnips proved a nutty, earthy taste with a soft buttery texture. Maybe milk alternatives can suffice as the base, but I added a little sage and garlic to bring out the sweet flavors in the vegetables. You can try this with any herb combo like Herbes de Provence, thyme or marjoram. I found almond milk to be a good replacement, because it has more fat than soy milk but fewer calories overall. A little blend of Smart Balance and your oil of choice give it that slight fatty edge that mocks that happy quasi-coma aftweard.

Sweet Potato Parsnip Gratin

Serves 4

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 45-55 minutes

Ingredients

2 Medium parsnip

2 Small sweet potato

1 Leek, leaves removed (white part and some green ok)

2 Large garlic clove, sliced

2 ½ T. Smart or Earth Balance, divided

1 tsp Coconut oil (or olive)

2 tsp Sage, dried

¼ tsp Nutmeg, ground

1 ¾ c. Almond milk

Salt and pepper
½ c. Bread crumbs, homemade or store bought

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 F.

Rinse, peel and slice vegetables into 1/8" think slices. Combine in a medium mixing bowl and set aside.

In a small bowl, whip the garlic and 1 T plus 1 tsp margarine together. Add the coconut oil, sage, nutmeg and ¼ c. of almond milk. Heat marinade over low in a small sauce pan or microwave until just melted, 10-20 seconds. Slowly add another cup of almond milk to the marinade and a pinch of salt and pepper. Whisk together and pour over vegetables.

In a small casserole dish coated with cooking spray, alternate parsnip and sweet potato slices until bottom is covered. Top with half of leeks. Place another layer on top, alternating between parsnips and sweet potatoes. Top with remaining leeks and pour marinade over vegetables using any leftover milk if needed (milk mixture should come up to within a ½ “ from the top of the dish).

Cover and bake 35 minutes. While the vegetables bake, heat remaining margarine in a small pan and sauté bread crumbs over medium heat until brown, about 5 minutes.

Remove cover from casserole and bake another 10 minutes uncovered until the top starts to brown and vegetables caramelize. Top with prepared bread crumbs and bake an additional 5 minutes to let bread crumbs absorb into some of the liquid.

Simple Salads: Cucumber, Avocado, Fennel Salad

Embrace the chiffonade of basil, hail the geometric jicama cube, enjoy the julienne of carrot, cherish those zucchini shavings – all the ways we cut and prepare vegetables can be so….edible! Salads, as commonly referred by most eaters of the Standard American Diet (SAD), are boring. Tasteless. Hippie food. All vegetarians ever eat, right? Excuse me while I throw my slimy avocado peels into your bag of Doritos, but no. While vegetarians eat more than salads, this underestimated dish is not to be ignored! Oh the possibilities when you have too many ripe vegetables and an entrée in mind that doesn’t require them. Why not a side salad? Sure, they’re not the main act, but sometimes they offer a good intermission from your meal without requiring you to stop participating.

So maybe I went to the Farmers Market and maybe I blew $40 on vegetables alone. This is not uncommon for me; I just have to be very diligent about consuming everything. I can’t throw out produce and I am not in a position to compost just yet. When I arrived home and started planning out my lunch, I had a main course salad in mind that ended up being more of a macrobiotic plate of steamed greens, sweet potatoes, squash, purple cauliflower, snow peas, and black beans.


But I had so many fresh, glowing, washed and ready-to-slice veggies that I couldn’t bypass just because my main dish struck a different note. I had already pulled out the cucumber and fennel. Then the avocado that I sliced open last night begged me to scoop it out already before falling victim to a new shade of brown.

The texture of paper thin vegetables is highly appealing to me, so I generally love slicing vegetables that way, particularly fennel and cucumber. To me they have a much more radiant flavor when finely sliced rather than left to their laboriously thick layers, as in the case with fennel. But I also love salsas consisting of fresh chunky cubes of jicama, watermelon, mango, tomatoes, etc... Slices and cubes don’t always mesh well in one dish; conflicting geometry can be highly mysterious and challenging to a fork. But the glorious, buttery avocado has more influence in this salad as a cube with its forgiving texture than as a slice that might mush too much amongst other sturdier sliced veggies. It pairs beautifully with slices without perplexing your utensils.

I did not make a vinaigrette with the first batch of salad. On the second attempt, I added a touch of lemon juice that did not add much to the dish. If this doesn’t have enough kick for you, an orange juice vinaigrette may take it to a new level.



Cucumber, Avocado and Fennel Salad
Serves 4
Prep time: 10 minutes
Total cook time: 15 minutes.

Ingredients

1 ripe avocado*, cubed
1 small cucumber, finely sliced
1 small fennel bulb, finely sliced
8-10 large basil leaves
Sea salt to taste
Freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions

Combine the avocado, cucumber and fennel in a large mixing bowl. Set aside.

Lay each of the basil leaves flat on top of each other. Starting from the pointed end, roll the pile into a little cigar shaped roll. With a sharp knife, slice the basil very, very thinly starting from the right end, making your way left, a chiffonade. Sprinkle the basil “sprigs” over the vegetables.

Let salad sit and marinate in its own juices for at least 15 minutes.