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!

New Age Mac ‘n Cheese

I’ve made this one a few times now and its always a hit when you’re in need of a little comfort food.  Feel free to experiment with using different veggies, but go for the macaroni shells as your pasta selection.

serves 6-8

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups of whole wheat macaroni shells
• 1 head of broccoli, broken apart into small trees
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• panko bread crumbs (optional)

For the ‘Cheese’

•  1 cup unsweetened nondairy milk
• 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
• 1 cup canola or vegetable oil or melted Earth Balance
• 1/4  block firm tofu, pureed
• 1 tbsp garlic pepper (or garlic salt + pepper)
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 dollop mustard

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Boil water in a big pot and cook pasta according to package directions.  Once the pasta is cooked, strain it and set aside.

Meanwhile, prepare (chop) vegetables and boil water in another pot to par-boil.  Place the veggies in pot for about 5 minutes and then strain.  Pat dry and set aside.

Combine 1/4 cup of the milk with the tofu and puree until smooth.  Transfer into a medium bowl and add the remaining ‘cheese’ ingredients.  Mix well until blended.

In a medium-large casserole dish, layer the pasta then top with veggies and cheese sauce.  Finally, sprinkle the bread crumbs.  Bake until the top of the pasta looks slightly browned and crispy, about 15 minutes.

Serve warm!

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!