First Favorite Summer Salad Recipes

I don't like cooking in the summer. The house gets hot in the evening when I've got the oven on. There's only so much our A/C can do when it is 100+ degrees outside and our gas stove is pumping heat in the kitchen! Here are some of my favorite quick and easy cold salad favorites.

Chick Pea Salad (some people call it mock tuna but I like to call it what it is not what it's not)

2 cans chickpeas chopped in food processor
1/2-1 onion chopped
1-2 celery chopped
1-2 carrots chopped
1 cup mayo** or add amount you like according to your taste
Salt and Pepper (fresh cracked black is best)

Chop beans in food processor then add them to the rest of the ingredients.
**I like Veganaise brand vegan mayo. It is by far the best tasting eggless mayo.

Use this salad on sandwiches with fresh tomato and lettuce. Also can be served in a wrap with lettuce, sprouts, etc. Also can be served on crackers.

I'll post another later. Go here for pictures and variations.

From Yard to Table

Picking peas this morning. Eating them fresh all day...

May 6, 2011

If you know me you know that I LOVE kale. I use it all year around in about everything I can think of. It is super healthy, easy to eat raw or cooked, relatively easy to grow, and pretty too! The dark greenish, blue color is beautiful in the garden.

May 6, 2011

We have one whole row of kale this year--about 60 plants. People ask me, "What do you do with all that kale?" Although we give some away to neighbors and friends, the answer is we could eat all of it! (and the row of collards also but I'll save my I love collards post for later.) You can use kale in any dish that calls for spinach. I steam it to replace it for cooked spinach in lasagna, and add it raw to soups, Indian dishes, dips, etc.

My lunch today

One of my favorite ways to eat it is in a raw salad with oil and vinegar dressing. To get the best flavor you have to message (or rub) the leaves with the dressing for a few seconds. I like to chop it up, put it in a bowl and then drizzle a little balsamic vinegar, ume boshi plum vinegar, and canola oil on top. Rub the leaves with your hands--there's no way around it being messy. Recently I've been adding a few slivered almonds for fun. Let it sit for a little while (30 mins to a couple of hours) to absorb even more flavor. You can see the leaves turn dark green and look like they've been steamed. They taste tender and oh so good!

Easy Tasty Veggie Soup

I have to give credit to my friend Lesley for this meal idea. She wrote about this soup on her blog a few months ago and I've been making it about once a week all winter! It is easy to put together and cooks up in about 30 minutes. A lot of times (when I'm making any soup) I make it early in the day and let it sit on the stove for the afternoon. Chopping the veggies ahead of time will make it go even faster. The soup is very versatile, but the main ingredient is the bag of Bob's Red Mill Vegi Soup Mix which contains split yellow, red and green peas, lentils, barley, and alphabet pasta. This meal is a huge hit with my kids and is something I serve to other kids and families who may not be used to eating our style of food.


Ingredients:
2 cups vegi soup mix
1 onion finely chopped
1 carrot finely chopped
2 ribs celery finely chopped
4 cloves garlic finely chopped
2 cubes veggie bouillon plus 8 cups water (equivalent to 8 cups veggie broth plus extra water)
1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke
salt and pepper to taste


Saute onion, garlic, celery, and carrots for about 5 minutes or until they get soft. Add the rest of the ingredients and cook for 20 mins.


Optional:
You can add a handful of chopped greens (kale, collards, spinach) the last few minutes of cooking. Potatoes are also good in this soup but you'll need to add extra water. Canned tomato paste goes well also. Daniel made it into a curried soup by adding Indian spices and you can also make it more Italian flavored by adding basil, oregano, rosemary, etc. The options of what you can do with this little bag of soup are endless.

The bag is on sale at Kroger right now. Usually it is around $4.50 but it was going for around $3 the last time I was in there so I bought all of them!

New Recipes

I got this cookbook Appetite for Reduction

for Christmas. The author, Isa Chandra Moskowitz, has several other great vegan cookbooks but this one focused on dishes with healthier ingredients. She has cut out most oil, processed foods, and sugar. She uses whole fresh foods.

A lot of the recipes are spicy and a little too flavorful for my kids. The girls love bland food--plain sandwiches with no mustard or mayo and salad with no dressing! I might be making some of the recipes for just the grown ups because everything looks yummy to me.

The first thing I tried was this balsamic viniagrette recipe that I'll share. It is EXCELLENT. I love the use of cashews to make it creamy.

1/4 cup cashews (soaked in half cup water for at least an hour preferably overnight)
2 tablespoons chopped shallot
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
1 teaspoon agave nectar
3/4 teaspoons salt
a few pinches of fresh pepper

Put cashews and shallots in food processor and pulse to chop. Then add the rest of the ingredients and blend for 5 minutes scraping down the sides often. Transfer to sealable container and chill. Makes 1 cup dressing.

Sorry no pictures. We ate it too fast...

Friday harvest and recipe

• 3 lbs potatoes
• 2.5 lbs collards
• 3 lbs bok choi
• .75 lb turnips
• 1.5 lbs turnip greens
• .75 lb radish
• 1.25 lb swiss chard
• 1 lb kale
• .75 lb little bok choi
• 14 oz lettuce
• 1.75 lb bunching onions

Here is a recipe for a Greens, Tomatoes, and chick peas dish I pulled and modified from Joy of Cooking (my all time favorite cook book.) Rachel Ray also has a similar recipe. It is quick (30 mins) and easy. Spinach is probably the best--you can even use frozen. I use whatever greens we have available. The spices may be unfamiliar but we use them a lot for Indian dishes. You can get them at an Indian grocery or on Amazon.

1 onion
1 can crushed tomatoes (can used diced also)
3 tsp. coriander
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp.  Garam Masala 7oz
1/4 tsp. turmeric
1 can chickpeas, rinsed
1 tsp of salt (or to taste)
1 bunch of greens rinsed and chopped or 1 pack of frozen spinach

Heat onion in oil or water until soft. Stir in tomatoes, coriander, cumin, garam masala, turmeric and salt. Cook for 3 mins. Stir in Chickpeas and greens and cook 10 minutes or until the greens are as soft as you like!

Serve over any grain like rice, basmati or jasmine is perfect but we just use brown most of the time. I've also served this with quinoa. I usually double the recipe also.

Vegan Tofu Spinach Lasagna

I found a new recipe for veggie lasagna. This one from is from  The Vegan Table (by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau. © Fair Winds Press 2009). This lasagna turns out beautiful and it is very versatile. I change the recipe a little every time depending on what veggies I have in the fridge and in the garden that I want to use. I usually saute onions and mushrooms and add that in one of the layers. I also like to use roasted eggplant in another layer. In addition, I use 1 large bunch of fresh greens from the garden (kale, chard, or collards) instead of frozen. One other thing I do is add a hefty sprinkle of nutritional yeast to the tofu mix. The recipe says to put tofu in blender and process until smooth, but I don't like to dirty extra equipment so I just mash it up with a fork and it turns out fine.

I brought this to a potluck where we were the only non-meat eaters and it was a big hit. Everyone loved it (especially my kids who ask for it often) and a few people asked me, "What makes it taste so cheesy?" They didn't realize that the white stuff in the middle was tofu.  Don't be nervous about making this veggie dish--you are going to love it!

Vegan Tofu Spinach Lasagna

INGREDIENTS
1/2 to 1 pound (225 to 455 g) lasagna noodles
2 packages (10 ounces, or 280 g, each) frozen, chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 package (16 ounces, or 455 g) firm tofu (not silken)
1 tablespoon (13 g) granulated sugar (optional)
1/4 cup (60 ml) nondairy milk (such as rice, oat, soy, almond, or hazelnut), or as needed
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder or 2 peeled garlic cloves
Juice from 1/2 lemon (about 2 tablespoons [30 ml])
2 tablespoons (5 g) minced fresh basil (about 20 leaves)
1 teaspoon (6 g) salt (or to taste)
4 to 6 cups (980 to 1470 g) tomato or pasta sauce of your choice
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F; (180 degrees C, or gas mark 4).
Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions or use "no-boil" lasagna noodles. Drain and set aside.
Squeeze as much water from spinach as possible and set aside. (If using fresh spinach, blanch first.)
Place tofu, sugar (if using), milk, garlic powder, lemon juice, basil and salt in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. The tofu "ricotta" should be creamy but still have body.
Transfer to large-size bowl, and stir in spinach. Continue tasting until you get amount of salt just right.
Cover bottom of 9 x 13-inch (23 x 33 cm) baking dish with a thin layer of tomato sauce, then a layer of noodles (use about one-third of noodles). Follow with half the tofu filling. Continue in the same order, using half the remaining tomato sauce and noodles, and all remaining tofu filling. End with remaining noodles, covered by remaining tomato sauce. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until hot and bubbling.
SERVING SUGGESTIONS AND VARIATIONS
Add meatless meat crumbles to your tomato sauce for more texture and body. For more cheesiness, add shredded nondairy mozzarella cheese to each layer.
This recipe is also great for making stuffed shells. To do so, stuff pasta shells with the tofu ricotta from this recipe, place them in a baking dish, pour on tomato sauce and bake in a 350 degrees F (180 degrees C, or gas mark 4) oven for 20 to 30 minutes.

Read more: http://www.thedailygreen.com/healthy-eating/recipes/vegan-tofu-spinach-lasagna#ixzz0WwVIQb0F

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Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies and Egg Substitutes

This chewy chocolate chocolate chip recipe from The Post Punk Kitchen is the best tasting and easiest recipe I've tried in a while. The cookies turn out absolutely delicious and only take 10 minutes to bake and about 10 minutes to mix.

I'm not going to post the entire recipe since it is all at the website I posted above, but I will say that it calls for ground flax seeds as an egg replacer. I have used this substitution before except usually recipes say to add 1 tablespoon of ground flax to 2 tablespoons of water. This one uses 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon of flax combined with 1/2 cup of soy (or other alternative) milk.

I read in another vegan baking book (The Joy of Vegan Baking) that in order to get the best results when using this kind of egg replacement it is important to really mix/whip/whisk whatever you are using. For example, you can use a whisk and stir for 2 minutes or what I like to do is use my handy-dandy stick blender for a minute or so.  Since I started using this technique I have noticed a change in the consistency and texture of my muffins, cookies, and cakes.

I'll leave you with a quote and this link  for a nice article on vegan baking substitutions from Post Punk Kitchen.

However, like a bad boyfriend, they (eggs) can be replaced, and with pleasing results.

some favorite recipes of the summer

I ran across this summer squash soup recipe from the fatfreevegan blog while looking for new things to do with all the yellow summer squash. I tried it the other day and it was delicious and very quick and easy. Basically you just saute onions and garlic add equal parts squash and potato and a few spices and boil till tender. Then puree it all. Click on the link for the full recipe and try it--you will not believe how good it is until you do.

I served it with one of my other favorite recipes for drop biscuits. This is a great recipe because it only has 5 ingredients, there is no kneading or rolling out, and they only cook for 8 minutes. You might be able to find the recipe online but I got it out of my cookbook called The Joy of Vegan Baking. These is by far the best biscuit recipe I've found. My biscuits always turned out hard and small but these drop biscuits are great every time.
1 2/3 c flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 c non dairy milk
1/3 c canola oil or melted nondairy butter
extra melted butter for brushing top of biscuits about 2 minutes before removing from oven.

Heat oven to 475 and grease a baking sheet
mix flour, baking powder, and salt. Add milk and oil and stir until just combined and moistened. It will be very thick and sticky. Use 2 spoons--one to pick up a walnut size ball of batter and another spoon to scrape off and drop on the baking sheet. Bake until bottoms are golden brown about 8 mins. Brush tops with melted butter a few minutes before taking out.

Zucchini Bread is another thing I make at least once a week. I love this recipe because it has flax seeds as an egg substitute, and I substitute apple sauce for the oil and leave out about a quarter of the sugar. Obviously changing those two things decreases the amount of fat and calories but the sweet bread still turns out scrumptious. I use up about 1 large or 2 medium size zucchini and even add a small yellow squash sometimes. Don't get me wrong though, I don't believe in hiding these veggies and disguising them in our food. Everyone knows exactly what they are eating and although lots of people (especially kids) look at me like I'm crazy when I offer them zucchini bread, most people come back for a second helping! This recipe also came from the Joy of Vegan Baking but I altered it a bit. We eat it for breakfast, lunch and/or dinner.

3 tablespoons of ground flaxseeds or 4 1/2 teaspoons of Ener-G egg replacer
1/2 cup water
1 cup canola oil or half cup oil and 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tablespoon white vinegar
2 cups sugar (I use 1 to 1/2 cups per batch)
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups grated zucchini (I mix yellow and green squash)
3 cups flour (I use 2 white 1 whole wheat)
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup raisins

Heat oven to 325 and grease 2 loaf pans or muffin tins. I like to double the recipe and bake them in two 9x13 inch baking dishes.

Combine flaxseeds and water in medium bowl. Use a mixer or blender or mix with whisk really fast for 2 minutes. Whip until thick and creamy. Add oil, sugar and vinegar and combine. Stir in zucchini and vanilla. In separate bowl sift (I never do but should because we bite into little balls of bitterness every once in while) flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add nuts and raisins if using. Stir dry mix into wet until just combined. Pour into baking dishes. Bake 60-70 mins for standard loaves, 30-45 mins for muffins or 9x13 dish. Check for doneness by inserting toothpicks.

Garden update and pesto recipe

The girls and I went to Navarre Beach, Florida last week and met up with lots of my extended family. There were 18 people in 5 families from 4 different states--Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and South Carolina. Daniel is teaching 2 summer session classes so he couldn't join us. When we got back on Friday I was amazed by the growth of the garden.

We are bringing in lots of squash and zucchini. What's funny about our summer squash plants is we planted 8 of them thinking there would be 4 yellow and 4 zucchini. Now that the plants are producing fruits we have realized that we actually have 6 yellow squash and 2 zucchini. Even funnier is that Daniel and I don't even really like yellow squash! I can eat a few but if you've ever grown squash before you know how much squash you get from one plant--tons! We like zucchini better since I can make zucchini bread with it.

We have brought in about 4 pounds of cucumbers and I am trying to wait for a few more so I can make pickles. Anna, what recipe did you use last year when you made them?

The bush beans are exploding with flowers and small beans and we should have our first harvest of those this weekend or sooner. Daniel also brings in a handful of potatoes every few days. He does most of the harvesting in the mornings on his way to work (before I get up).

The basil has really taken off. I made the first harvest last Saturday bringing in about 12 cups of washed and packed leaves. I made 3 cups/jars of pesto and sent the rest of the basil home with mom. I took the picture below this morning. I should be able to bring in plenty more over the next few weeks.
I am including my favorite pesto recipe. Most people, stores, and restaurants make it with cheese. I have found a great recipe in my Mediterranean Vegan Cookbook that is called poor man's pesto. I have modified it a little by adding nutritional yeast. This is the first year I have added that ingredient and I'm really happy with the rich and full flavor it has. I use walnuts instead of pine nuts since I always have walnuts and pine nuts are expensive. We put pesto on everything. It's great on pasta, toast, veggie sandwiches (especially with portobello), burgers, potatoes, pizza, etc. I make several batches at once and freeze what we can't use in a week.

3 cups loosely packed fresh basil leaves
6 tablespoons pine nuts or walnuts
2 to 4 cloves garlic
3/4 tsp cours sea salt or to taste
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 to 4 tablespoons nutritional yeast or to taste (optional)

Combine everything in food processor except oil. Blend until ingredients are finely chopped. Add oil and blend until smooth and creamy.

Flowers and other stuff

Columbia is so beautiful in the spring. The dogwoods, azaleas, and wisteria are blooming all over the place. We have all those trees in our yard and it is such a pleasure to walk outside. I especially love this wisteria that is growing up a teepee bamboo structure that Daniel built. It smells so amazing. We talk about how we find ourselves walking around it all weekend just to be near its scent. This is not a great picture of what we see everyday since it is close up but here it is anyway.
We planted dianthus flowers and gerber daisies in this bed in the front yard. I love having instant color. Although it is in the front of the house the flowers are a little small to see from the road but they are a pleasure to walk by throughout the day. We (the girls and I) spend a lot of time with front and back doors open. We go in and out all day while we sit out for lunch, take breaks for playing with the dogs, or just wander around in the sun. I am so thankful for the beauty that surrounds our house, and even more thankful that I'm home most of the time to enjoy it.
We have been eating from this patch of collards all winter. As the weather has warmed and the days have gotten longer the plants have grown huge. I took this picture after we harvested a large grocery bag stuffed with collard leaves. I noticed at Earthfare that a bunch of organic collards were about $2.50. We have been eating a bunch every day for free! In case you are wondering how we eat them, I usually chop them and then saute them with a little oil, vinegar, lemon juice, and soy or tamari sauce. Then I add them to everything--beans and rice, burritos, grits, pizza (actually I add them raw to top of pizza before cooking) or we just have them as a side dish.
Daniel planted loquat trees in the front yard. He pulled these up from around a large loquat tree at Midlands Tech where he teaches. He got them last fall and put them in pots and mulched them over the winter. He dug out this new bed a few weekends ago and planted these 4 trees in the front yard and they have some new growth! Loquats get to be about 25 feet and produce an edible (pear-like) fruit in the late summer.

Here's some watercolor paintings the girls did over the weekend. The design came from one of our drawing books. I put them on this mat board and we have it hanging in the playroom. I like to change the art in the playroom every few months.

These last three pictures were taken by my friend at a party this weekend. She loves taking pictures. It's a hobby for now but she's building a portfolio in case it ever turns into something more. Jennifer King Photography 2009

Making dog treats

Since we got Blue we have been using treats to help train him. He has a lot of energy and likes to jump. He is very smart and is learning fast. Daniel spends the most time with him teaching him to sit, stay, and lie down. We bought a box of treats, but thought it would be fun to make some of our own. It is certainly a lot cheaper and the girls loved the idea. They were able to do everything since making dog treats doesn't have to be very precise. It was a great activity for many reasons. First, the girls practiced their reading, measuring, mixing, and baking skills. Second, they got the satisfaction of being able to make something for the animals and then enjoyed giving it to them. Also, it was just a fun thing to do as a family.

In addition, I have the satisfaction of knowing what's in the treats and that they don't contain diseased remains of other animals. This is another whole subject that I'm not going to get into on the blog. I'll just say that after Daniel and I read a few articles this weekend we were shocked to find out what goes into commercial dog food and treats and what we have been feeding our pets. We have made a few changes to the dogs' diets that should be better for their overall health and appearance.

If you are interested in making pet treats there are tons of recipes online. I picked a whole grain recipe that was easy to do and only used a few ingredients. Happy Baking!

Kale salad

The same friend who first shared the Adai recipe with me told me this trick to making raw kale taste really good. I promise, it really does. Just try it and I think you'll agree. Just a few years ago I despised dark leafy greens. I can remember specifically because when I was pregnant my midwife would ask me every time we met if I was eating them. They are so good for you and she was serious about me getting enough. I was not eating nearly as much then as I do now. I wish I would have had this recipe:)

My favorite kind of kale is lacinato or dinasour but any kind will work. You simply rinse the leaves and put them in a bowl. Then you pour a dash of salad oil (I use canola but I'm sure olive would work), balsamic vinegar, and the key ingredient is the umboshi plum vinegar. (You might have to find it at a health food store or international grocery. I can get it at Earth Fare.) I don't have exact measurements because it will depend on your taste for how vinegary or oily you like your salads. We like them really vinegary so I add more. You just need enough to massage the leaves with. I know it sounds crazy but that's how it was described to me. You rub the leaves with this dressing. The green leaves will get darker and you can let them sit for a few minutes but they will be ready to eat once they are covered with dressing, dark in color and completely massaged:) They have a rich nutty flavor and I am addicted to them!

Adai Indian Recipe (lentil crepes)

We have served this dish for a few friends and passed the recipe out as well. It is such a tasty change to have every once in a while. You should be able to find all of these ingredients at your local Indian grocery.

Adai

5 cups Idly Rice

2 cups yellow split peas
1/2 cup toor dal (split pigeon pea)
3/4 cup urud dal (split black grams)

1 tsp asafoetic powder
8 green chilis
8 red chilis (1 tsp red chili powder) or as hot as you like
1/2 tsp tumeric powder
5 twigs curry fresh leaves (can substitute with cilantro)
2 onions

In separate bowls, wash and soak rice and beans for at least 3 hours (overnight is fine)

First blend beans and rice slowly adding water to make paste. We were told to blend beans so that they are more course than the rice. So we blend the beans and rice separately then stir them together in a big bowl. Next add the rest of the ingredients except for curry (or cilantro) and onion. This will store in the refrigerator and it will begin to ferment which is good. Depending on your tastes you can save it for a long time.

Before cooking add onion and curry leaves. To cook just ladle a small amount of the mix into a hot skillet and spread it thin like a pancake. Salt it. Then flip it when it's brown. Showmethecurry.com
has a great how-to video with detailed instructions on how to make this dish. I haven't watched it lately so hopefully it's not different from what I described:) That is a great website for indian recipes so you could spend a lot of time browsing.

The Battle Continues

I have already written about our problem with the squash vine borer and the destruction of our zucchini plants. Even after we pulled out all but 2 zucchini plants we are still finding little eggs and evidence that the pest is still lurking around the garden. A few days we have even seen the moth and have been able to swat at and kill 2 of them. Here is a picture of one that Daniel injured and we were able to get a closer look.
We have been finding the eggs on other plants, mostly the acorn and spaghetti squash. Daniel has been on a hunt throughout the days these past few weeks searching for these tiny brown eggs. One morning he even got the girls to search with him and paid them a quarter for every egg they found!
See if you can find one on this plant.:)
We have had pretty good success with keeping the acorn squash plants alive, but it has taken a lot of work. A few days ago I ordered some beneficial nematodes from Planet Natural that we can apply to the garden. They will attack and hopefully get rid of this pesky problem and we can have healthy squash beds without all the worry. A few friends of mine have had really good results for a long time after introducing the tiny beneficial worms.

We have had several zucchinis and I've been making the wonderful sweet bread with them. I've shared this with lots of people already and everyone loves it so I thought I'd post it here. It is a little healthier than the traditional recipe (still has a lot of sugar) and is very tasty! I made up the recipe by combing ingredients from this recipe from Cooking Light and one from my all-time favorite cookbook, Joy of Cooking. Then I substitute Ener-G Egg Replacer for the eggs.

Healthy Zucchini Bread
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 egg substitutes Ener-G Egg Replacer
1/3 cup canola oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 cups shredded zucchini (12 ounces)
1/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.

Mix wet then dry ingredients in separate bowls. Stir together.

Divide batter evenly between 2 (8 x 4-inch) loaf pans coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 40 mins to 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pans on a wire rack; remove from pans. Cool completely on wire rack.