Kale and Red Pepper Salad with Garlic-Tahini Dressing

I just made this for lunch and had to share. It was inspired by the Tunisian Kale Salad in Kris Carr’s Crazy Sexy Diet, I created my own variation here.

*note: I do not really measure when making salads, so everything is an approximation and can be adjusted to your preference.

serves approx. 2

Ingredients

For the Salad:

• 1-2 cups kale, de-vined
• 1/2 cup shredded green cabbage
• 1/2 cup pea shoots, chopped (you can get these at Trader Joes or use other spout-like variations)
• cilantro, chopped
• basil, chopped
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• handful of sunflower seeds

For the Dressing:

• 1/3 cup tahini
• 1 heaping tbsp nutritional yeast
• olive oil and water (use as much or as little of each as you like)
• juice of 1 lemon
• agave, to taste
• ginger
• cayenne
• garlic salt

Instructions

Combine all the veggies in a big bowl.

Combine all the dressing ingredients.  Depending on how liquid, oil-based or water-based you prefer your dressing, use as much or as little oil/water combination as you like.

Pour the dressing over the salad and gently coat.

mangia! 

Eat Your Greens!

These are a couple of my go-to salads lately.  They are fairly simple to put together and have quite a bit of flavor, crunch and texture.

Super Green Salad

Ingredients

• 1 stalk romaine
• 1-2 cups kale
• 1/2 cup roasted corn (I like Trader Joes frozen)
• 1/2 cup grape tomatoes
• 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes
• 1 avocado
• olive oil

For the Dressing:

• salt, pepper, cayenne
• 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast (optional)
• 1 lemon
• olive oil

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F.  Drizzle kale with olive oil, salt and pepper and place in oven for 7-10 minutes.

Meanwhile, chop all ingredients in place into a bowl.  When kale is crispy, add to the salad.

For the dressing: Mix olive oil, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, salt, pepper and cayenne until blended.  Pour over salad and give it a shake so the salad is coated with all the dressing.

Sweet Asian Salad with Soy-Lime Dressing

Ingredients

• 1/4 head red cabbage
• 1-2 cups crispy kale (roasted as explained above)
• 1 stalk romaine
• 1 cup strawberries
• 1-2 pears
• 1 avocado
• fresh parsley

For the Dressing:

• 1 lime
• Soy Sauce
• Olive Oil
• Rice Vinegar
• Honey
• Salt, pepper, cayenne

For the salad: Prepare the kale as explained above, and chop the remaining ingredients.  Add the kale to the salad.

For the Dressing: Blend all ingredients together and then pour the dressing over the salad. Shake and coat and enjoy!

mangia!

Minted Blueberry Lemon Sauce

Im making brunch for a friend this morning.  A friend who just got her dream job and so its time to celebrate!  A sweet occasion calls for a sweet summer brunch, so on the menu includes Berry Pancakes, a virgin-attempt at a vegan French Toast (recipe not ready for a post, but stay tuned!), Apple Pie Muffins and a side of fresh, local berries.  I concocted this sauce to serve with the pancakes.  It started as a Lemon-Mint Sauce, but I didn’t like its chalky white color, so to offer a more aestectically-pleasing sauce I add some blueberries, which ended up being a good move because now its pretty and tastes better too.

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp sugar
• 2-3 tbsp cornstarch or gravy-thickener
• 3-4 tbsp lemon juice
• 2-3 sprigs of mint
• 1/4 – 1/2 cup water, as needed
• a handful of frozen blueberries

Instructions

In a small sauce pan over medium heat, combine the sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice and mint.  Slowly add the water until a creamy, semi-thick sauce forms.  Turn heat to low and stir until blended.  Be careful not to have the heat too high, as it will bubble and evaporate.  Add the blueberries and stir until blended.  Remove from heat and serve with pancakes, as an ice cream sauce or over fresh bread with butter.

mangia!

Cucumber and Peanut Salad

Ingredients

• 1 large cucumber, chopped
• 1 small, green serrano chile, chopped
• 1/2 cup raw or dry-roasted peanuts
• 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut, lightly toasted
• 5-10 sprigs of cilantro, chopped
• ghee
• olive oil
• lemon juice
• raw cane sugar
• sea salt, cayenne and cumin, to taste

Instructions

In a small skillet, heat the ghee on medium heat and lightly saute (toast) the peanuts.  Set aside and repeat with the coconut.

In a medium bowl, combine the chopped cucumber, chile, cilantro and add toasted coconut and peanuts.  Just before serving, toss with lemon juice, oil, sugar and spices to taste.  Salad is best served cold, so place in fridge for 1-2 hrs if you have the time!

mangia!

Lentils and Tofu Salad with a Honey-Balsamic Dressing

Ingredients

For the salad:

• 1 cup dried green lentils, soaked overnight or for 8-10 hours
• 1/2 cup white, pinto or kidney beans (or a combo)
• 1 package of tofu, patted dry with a paper towel
• a handful of almonds, crushed
• a handful of dried cherries or cranberries

For the Dressing:

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbsp of lemon juice
• 1-2 tbsp honey
• sea salt, fresh black pepper and fresh thyme to taste

Instructions

Place lentils and bean in a pot with about 3 cups of water.  Cover and let simmer over medium heat for 15-20 minutes.  Once beans are cooked, drain water and rinse with cold water.

Meanwhile, slice tofu into 1 inch squares and coat with salt and pepper.  Heat olive oil, ghee or butter and saute tofu until browned (about 10 minutes).

In a medium bowl, combine cooked beans and tofu with the almonds and cherries.

For the dressing:  In a small bowl, combine all ingredients (these measurements are approximations because with dressings I tend to combine due to taste – so use your best judgement).  Pour dressing over the salad and lightly mix to coat.

This salad is really delicious served with hummus or tahini and small pita pockets.

mangia!

Boston Creme Pie a la Vegan and Raw

I’ve wanted to try a vegan mousse for some time, but have been quite reluctant to take the plunge because Ive been weary as to how it would taste.  Like ketchup on pizza, tofu in mousse just does not seem to fit.  However, Matt loves mousse, so for him I thought I would try.  Inspired by the cashew cream at Pure Food and Wine, a raw restaurant I enjoyed while in NY a couple weekends ago, I decided to give my best effort at the whole sha-bam.  A Chocolate  Mousse Pie with cashew cream.  So there I went -food processing away.  First, the mousse, then the cream and finally the crust.  No baking required.  For all you vegan skeptics – Im telling you – this dessert was mind-blowing.  As for the tofu in mousse, you would never know.  Really. Please forgive my attempt at a visual of this dessert – the photo does not do it justice. Just make it and try for yourself.  Its actually that good.

serves 4-6

Ingredients

For the Mousse

• 1 12 oz package of silken tofu
• 1 cup vegan chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup non-dairy milk
• 1 tsp vanilla

For the Cashew Cream Topping

• 1 cup raw cashews
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup non-dairy milk
• agave sweetener, to taste

For the Crust

• 5-6 dates, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups walnuts
• cinnamon, to taste

Instructions

Mousse:  Melt the chocolate chips in a medium bowl in the microwave for about 1-2- minutes.  Stir until melted and blended.  In a food processor, blend the tofu until creamy and then add the chocolate, milk and vanilla.  Process for another 1-2 minutes until blended.  Set aside in bowl and refrigerate for about 10 minutes.

Cashew Cream: In the food processor, process the cashews and water until blended.  Add the oil, agave and vanilla.  Slowly add the milk until the mixture become creamy to your liking.  Set aside in a small bowl.

Crust:  In the food processor, blend dates and nuts and add cinnamon to taste.  Process for about 1-2 minutes, just until the nuts and dates form a crumbly consistency.

Put-it-all-together:  In a pie dish, press the crust onto the bottom.  Once the mousse is chilled and thick, spread over the crust.  Top with cashew cream and fresh berries when serving.

mangia!

Carob Cake with Fudgy Cocoa Frosting

Sometimes a tough day calls for a mid-week cake.  So as a means to release some unneeded stress from school, I decided baking was the answer.  Lately for me, cooking and baking have become a sort of therapy.  When Im in the kitchen, I get into this sense of flow which allows the more serious stuff in my DHES world dissipate.  Today, I had an urge to bake something with carob (the slightly sweet step-sister to cocoa), so I found a couple recipes that had been on my list and ended up merging them to come up with this. And although the stress was not completely gone once the cake was in the oven, at least we had this to enjoy!

Serves 12

Ingredients

For the Cake

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 cup carob powder
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 3/4 cup water

For the Frosting

• 3/4 cup cocoa or carob powder
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 4 1/2 tablespoons arrowroot powder
• splash of soymilk or other nut milk (chocolate is best, but regular or vanilla works as well)
• a handful of chocolate chips (vegan)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and lightly grease and flour the cake pan(I used a bundt, but you can also use 2 9-inch round cake pans).

In a large bowl, sift together all the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, mix the wet ingredients for 3 to 5 minutes, until they are blended.  Stir the wet mixture into the dry mixture and mix until the dry ingredients have been moistened, just about 3 minutes.

Let the cake batter rest a few minutes and then pour the batter into the pans.

Bake the cake for 35 minutes or until a tester comes out with no batter.  Cool completely before frosting.

For the Frosting:  In a small saucepan on low heat, combine all ingredients and stir slowly until blended.  Let the frosting cool before pouring over cake.

mangia!

Whole Wheat Ravioli Times Two

After a wonderful, but whirlwind of a weekend in NYC with the girls, a hearty Italian meal seemed like the perfect way to finish off the weekend.  With a recent urge to make homemade ravioli (it was my first time!), I decided this was the night to go for it.  I completely winged it (no ravioli cutter or much consultation with books, blogs or family members)  - but sometimes those meals are the best.  The ones you have no real idea of how it will turn out, but you simply surrender to the fact that its cool if it works out or not.  This time, it worked out and I even got a ‘best- raviolis-in-the-world-award’ from Matt (which I actually dont agree with, but Ill take it!).  At the least, his optimism will encourage me to make them again!

serves about 4

Ingredients for Pasta

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup water (or until dough ball forms)
• dash of sea salt

Ingredients for ‘Ricotta Filling’

• 1 package tofu, crumbled
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 /2 package fresh spinach, cooked (or frozen spinach works too)
• lemon juice, to taste
• salt, pepper, garlic salt to taste

Ingredients for Sweet Potato Filling

• 1-2 medium-large sweet potatoes
• sea salt, cinnamon, nutmeg

Ingredients Butter Sage Sauce

• 1/2 cup Earth Balance
• 1 bunch of sage, chopped
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• cinnamon and nutmeg to taste

Instructions

Make the ‘Ricotta’ filling:  In a medium bowl, crumble up the tofu with a fork.  Add noosh, lemon juice and spices all to taste (For me, I tend to not measure, so its actually hard to say how much I use of each.  Thus my measurements above are an approximation, so I leave it to you to experiment as well).  Meanwhile, saute the spinach in a pan on low heat until wilted.  Gently mix in the spinach to the tofu mix and set aside.

Make the Sweet Potato Filling:  On medium heat, boil peeled potatoes in about 2 cups of water.  Once cooked (about 10-15 minutes), strain and mash with fork in a medium bowl.  Add spices and Earth balance to taste.  Set filling aside.

Back to the pasta:  Divide the dough into 4 small balls.  Flour your surface and roll out dough into a square about 1/4 inch thick (or the thickness of a pie crust).  Take whichever filling you choose and scoop about 1-2 tbsp of filling on the bottom pasta layer.  Leave about 1-2 inches between each filling scoop so there is enough room to cut out your ravioli.  See picture below.

Next, place another layer of pasta on top and seam the outer edges together (like you would a pie crust) and also lightly press around each filling to start to shape the individual ravioli.  To cut the ravioli you can opt to simply use a knife or use the top of a glass and cut them into 3-inch circles.  Once you cut them out, continue to seam the edges to ensure that there are no holes (it becomes a ravioli disaster if the filling comes out once boiling).

And here are your homemade ravi prior to boiling!

Make the Sauce/s (simultaneous to cooking pasta): For the Butter Sage Sauce, combine all ingredients into a small saucepan on low heat.  Let it stay warm on low heat until you are ready to pour over the Sweet Potato Ravioli.

For the Marinara: Try this one – Muma’s Homemade Sauce (or if its just too much, you can always use jarred sauce – which I do not prefer, but understand if there is too much going on already.  Just add some fresh basil to the sauce before lathering on Ricotta Ravioli and it will be an acceptable stand in).

Time to cook and bring it all together: Once all the ravioli are prepared, boil about 4 cups of water in a large sauce pan (if you arent sure which size to use opt for the bigger pan).  Once the water is boiled, gently drop in and cover.  They should boil about 5-10 minutes or until they begin to float to the top of the water.  Strain and let them dry off a few minutes before topping with Butter Sage Sauce or marinara.

Pictured below is the Sweet Potato-filled Ravioli with Butter Sage Sauce

mangia!

Crispy Kale and BBQ Tempeh

Im back in the kitchen, after a short hiatus.  The many visitors in town over the last couple weeks kept me busy entertaining, however not busy cooking. (Lucky for me though, we enjoyed some fav DC restaurant spots including Founding Farmers, 2Amys and Sawatadee).

Tonight, I started with kale and tempeh and ended up with two delicious recipes to share.  Prior to this, Ive primarily used a simple olive oil and sea salt marinade for the kale – which is good, but basic.  I have to say the noosh + lemon juice + cayenne add something special.  Crispy and light, salty and spicy.  You never knew kale this good.

Crispy Kale

Ingredients

• 1 large bunch of kale, rinsed and chopped
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• juice from 1 lemon
• 1/8 cup nutritional yeast + 1/3 cup water
• sea salt, fresh ground pepper, paprika, cayenne (all to taste)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.  Place kale in a large bowl and set aside.  Combine marinade ingredients in a small bowl and mix until blended.  Pour marinade over kale and coat it completely.
Lay out kale on cookies sheets and place in oven for about 1 hour or until kale is crispy.*

*Note: cooking on low heat for an extended period of time is an alternative to dehydrating.  To get the kale very crispy, it is important to use this method.  However, if you are short for time or prefer the kale in a more soggy, marinated form, cook at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes.

Tempeh soaked in Homemade BBQ Sauce
serves about 2

Ingredients

• 1 package of tempeh

For the BBQ Sauce

• 1 cup crushed tomatoes
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 3 tablespoons lime juice
• 1/8 cup soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 agave nectar
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp cayenne
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Combine all ingredients for sauce in a small sauce pan over medium and simmer for about 15 minutes.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Slice tempeh into strips and combine with 2/3 of the BBQ sauce and let sit for a couple minutes.  Set aside the other 1/3 of the sauce to serve with later.  Place BBQ sauce soaked tempeh on a cookie sheet and bake for about 15-20 minutes.

Serve with extra BBQ sauce on small buns or solo with kale.

mangia!

Homemade Spinach Linguine with Basil Pesto, Spinach and Roasted Tomatoes

Cooking up a storm seemed appropriate given the weather.  Matt and I decided a rustic, hearty Italian-style dinner was just what we needed.  Homemade bread + pasta + pesto (all vegan!) left the kitchen covered in flour, but the effort was worth it.  Nonna would have been proud.

Homemade Spinach Linguine with Basil Pesto and Roasted Tomatoes

Spinach Linguine  (pasta maker required)

serves about 6

Ingredients

• 1 cup white flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 2/3 cup water
• dash of salt
• 1/2 cup frozen spinach, thawed and pureed

Instructions

Combine the flours, spinach and salt and add water gradually until a nice dough ball forms.  Knead the dough for 1-2 minutes, using your palms and then separate the dough into small tennis-ball size balls.

Follow instructions for pasta machine as instructed.  I found it helpful to flour the dough very well prior to rolling through the machine, as the spinach made the dough very sticky.  Let pasta air-dry for about 15 minutes on a cooling rach (or if your lucky enough to have your own handmade pasta dryer from your father, use that :) ).

To cook pasta: Boil about 5 cups of water on medium heat.  Add a dash of salt.  Place pasta in water and cover and simmer until pasta floats to the top (about 5-8 minutes).  Strain pasta in colander and topwith Basil Pesto, Spinach and Roasted Tomato topping.

Basil Pesto 

makes about 1 cup of pesto

Ingredients

• 1 cup walnuts (or pine or almonds)
• hefty handful of basil leaves
• 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast (optional, but preferred)

Instructions

Combine nuts, basil and garlic in food processor and process until blended.  Slowly add oil, salt, pepper and yeast to taste and texture.

Pesto, Spinach and Roasted Tomato Topping

Ingredients

• 1 cup of Basil Pesto
• 1 cup of frozen spinach, thawed
• 1 cup of grape tomatoes, halved and roasted
• olive oil

Instructions

To roast the tomatoes, place them on a baking sheet and cook on 350 for about 5-10 minutes, until lightly browned and skin is soft.

In a large saute pan, heat olive oil on medium heat.  Add pesto, spinach and roasted tomatoes and cook for about 5-7 minutes (just until flavors are blended).  Top pasta with mixture and serve with a Rustic Loaf.

mangia!