Jicama and Radish Salad

This is so, so yummy! So light and refreshing.
I think I found this recipe in Food Network magazine.

Jicama and Radish Salad

1 jicama, peeled and cut into matchsticks

about an equal amount of radishes, cut into matchsticks or shredded

3 or so scallions, sliced into tiny rounds

cilantro and mint, both chopped fine - about 1/4 cup each

Dressing:

2 tablespoons lemon juice

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons agave nectar

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

pinch of cayenne pepper

Method:
Whisk together dressing ingredients and pour over jicama, radish, scallion, mint, cilantro mixture in a big bowl. Mix well. 

Sweet Mustard Broccoli Salad & French Carrot Salad

Both of these are really simple to make, healthy, and delicious. 

I expected the carrot salad to be good, but I didn't expect the broccoli salad to be that good! Yum!

Sweet Mustard Broccoli Salad

1/2 cup black Beluga lentils

1 head broccoli, cut into florets (about 4 cups)

1 small red onion or shallot, sliced in thin strips

1/4 cup chopped almonds

Dressing:

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

2 teaspoons agave nectar

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard 

Method:
Rinse lentils and place in a medium pot with 1 cup water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, simmer for about 20 mins. Add broccoli during the last 4 minutes or so and cover until broccoli is slightly cooked (bright green). Meanwhile, make dressing: Whisk all ingredients together until smooth. (I whirled mine in a mini food processor.) Drain off any liquid remaining in lentils and broccoli and put into a big bowl. Pour dressing over, add onion and almonds. Voila!

French Carrot Salad

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/2 pound carrots (peeled and shredded)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Optional: Add minced parsley or shredded apple

Method:

Make dressing: Whisk all ingredients together until smooth. (I whirled mine in a mini food processor.) Pour over carrots and stir. Delicious! 

Roasted Cauliflower with Pistachio Dressing



Roasted Cauliflower with Pistachio Dressing

(super delicious!)

 

 

 

Ingredients:

1 head cauliflower, cut into florets

1 small red onion, sliced into strips

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

pinch of sea salt

2 teaspoons curry powder

 

For the dressing:

1/2 cup raw pistachios

1 and 1/2 tablespoons sherry vinegar

1/4 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup water

sea salt to taste

 

Method:

Preheat oven to 375F.

 

In a large bowl, toss the cauliflower and red onion with the olive oil, salt, and curry powder. Spread the mixture onto a baking sheet and roast the veggies for about 15-20 mins or until fork-tender and slightly browned.

 

Meanwhile, make the dressing. Toast the pistachios in a dry pan for a few minutes over medium heat. Transfer all the dressing ingredients to a blender and blend until well combined but still a bit chunky. (I had to add a bit more olive oil and water because I thought it was too thick.)

 

You can either serve the sauce on the side and dip the cauliflower into it, or drizzle it over the cauliflower. I mixed the sauce and the cauliflower and it was delicious!

 

RECIPE FROM: Clean Eats by Alejandro Junger, M.D. 

Quick White Bean Salad

Quick White Bean Salad

Ingredients:
2 (14.5oz) cans large white beans (such as butter beans)
1 jar roasted red peppers, drained and diced
a couple handfuls of parsley, chopped fine
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Method:
Stir together the EVOO, red wine vinegar, salt, and pepper. Pour over remaining ingredients in a bowl and toss. Yum.

I also made some muhammara today and raw spaghetti with veggie meatless balls for dinner. yum!

Chewie made his second trip on the subway yesterday. He held up better than last time. He's a shy pooch and the subway is a big scary loud thing.

 

Fancy Raw Chia Pudding with Cashew Cream and a Summer Salad

Fancy Chia Pudding with Cashew Cream

Ingredients:
1 cup raw cashews, soaked in filtered water overnight (or at least for 10 hours), drained, and rinsed
2 cups almond mylk
2 tablespoons maple syrup
seeds from one vanilla bean (I just throw the whole bean in my Vitamix)
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract (optional)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of sea salt
1/3 cup chia seeds

Method:
Place all ingredients except the chia seeds in your blender and blend until smooth. Pour the mixture into a large bowl and stir in the chia seeds. Cover the bowl and chill in the refrigerator for 4 - 10 hours. Serve chilled with fresh organic fruit. Makes 6 servings.

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Mango and Spinach Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette

(I think this is my favorite salad - ever!)

Dressing:
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon agave nectar
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Salad:
6 cups fresh spinach
2 cups arugula
2 large mangos, peeled and cubed
2 cucumbers, peeled, deseeded, and sliced
1/2 cup raw pistachios, chopped
Method:
Whisk together the balsamic, agave, thyme, salt, and pepper and add olive oil while whisking. Toss the salad with the dressing and serve topped with pistachios.

**Both of these recipes are from RAW FOOD COOKBOOK & DIET: 75 Easy, Delicious, and Flexible Recipes for a Raw Food Diet (by Rockridge Press) [Available on Amazon to download to your Kindle!]

Baigan Bharta and Steamed Kale and Prepping for the week ...

Today I made smoothies for breakfast and then hit up the gym and went grocery shopping for the next couple of days.

I made a tabouleh salad and a spiced beet salad for lunch and snacks tomorrow and Tuesday.

Click for the Spiced Beet Salad Recipe.

The Tabouleh Salad is just a box of Near East Tabouleh with fresh lemon juice, grape tomatoes, fresh parsley, black olives, cucumbers, and roasted red pepper added. Mmmmm.

Then, for dinner, I made Baigan Bharta - an Indian roasted eggplant dish with some steamed kale. More Mmm ...

After my nice long break, needless to say, I'm not exactly looking forward to the beginning of the work week tomorrow. meh.

Zucchini and Chickpea Curry (Sort of African, Sort of Indian)

Veggies and cilantro leaves getting ready to be cooked up ... and the curry cooking. Mmm

The final product (served with some vegan pierogies)! Chewie approves. ;o)

This was seriously delicious!

Zucchini and Chickpea Curry

2 zucchinis, sliced into 1/4 inch thick rounds
1 large can chickpeas
1 onion, diced
1 jalapeno
1 inch piece ginger root, peeled
2 cloves garlic, peeled
3 fresh tomatoes, roughly chopped
8oz can tomato sauce
1 bunch cilantro leaves
1-2 tablespoons peanut oil
1 tablespoon of vegan butter
1-2 teaspoons cumin powder
1-2 tablespoons Madras-style medium hot curry powder
2 teaspoons hot Hungarian paprika
sea salt and black pepper to taste

In a large skillet, heat the oil and butter and sauté the onion for a bit until translucent. Meanwhile, process the garlic, ginger, and jalapeno in a small food processor until minced. Add garlic, ginger, jalapeno mixture to the skillet and stir to combine with the onion. Stir in the fresh chopped tomatoes and zucchini. Stir in the spices and the tomato sauce. If you need to add a little water so that the zucchini is mostly covered by liquid, do so. Add chickpeas and some cilantro leaves on top. Put on lid to skillet and simmer over low-medium heat until zucchini is tender and flavors have combined. Serve with couscous, rice, or, well, pierogies tasted great with this!

Serves 4 hungry souls.

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African Black-eyed Pea Stew with Spicy Butternut Squash HAPPY NEW YEAR!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Today began with some vegan pancakes for breakfast. Pancakes felt like just the right breakfast this morning. heh. I always make the pancakes from Vegan Brunch. They really are "perfect." Mmm.

 

Today also begins with my eating totally vegan for a while. I'm going to try to cut out processed foods and eat lower carb too just to  take off a few holiday season pounds. (Today's pancakes don't count. haha) I'm returning to my straight-edge vegan Krishna-core roots for at least a month as I think it really is the healthiest way to live. ;o) 

 

I like to watch a marathon of all the Planet of the Apes movies on New Year's Day. This year, I only got to the first movie 'cause I had a bit of a disaster. I finally ordered my long-awaited Vitamix (thanks mother-in-law and sister-in-law for the gift cards!!) ... and the damn thing didn't work right outta the box! WTF?! So, I have to send it back and reorder it. *cries* At least Amazon has an awesome return policy. But my smoothies will have to wait until a new one arrives. *sniff*

 

I made some avocado hummus for snacking on while we watched the movie. That's how I knew the Vitamix didn't work. :( Recipe here. Picture below. :)

 

For dinner, I made an African Black-eyed Pea Stew with Spicy Butternut Squash to be all traditional and stuff for New Year's Day. Happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year everyone!

This recipe is adapted from the Black-eyed Pea Stew with Spicy Pumpkin recipe in Linda McCartney's cookbook entitled Linda McCartney On Tour: Over 200 Meat-Free Dishes From Around The World (page 110).



 

 Black-Eyed Pea Stew

1 large onion, chopped

2 large carrots, sliced

1 bell pepper, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves

1 teaspoon paprika

4 tablespoons peanut oil

1 and 1/4 cups vegetable stock

2 x 14oz cans black-eyed peas

sea salt and black pepper to taste

Tabasco to taste

 

Spicy Butternut Squash

2 tablespoons vegan butter
1 medium sized butternut squash, cubed
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons curry powder
pinch of ground nutmeg
1 and 1/4 cups water
sea salt and black pepper to taste

Black-eyed pea stew:
Sauté the onion, carrots, pepper, garlic, thyme, and spices in the peanut oil for 5 mins or so. Add the stock, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, stir in the black-eyed peas, and season to taste with salt, pepper, and Tabasco. Cover and simmer for about 15 mins, adding more stock or water as necessary until the veggies are tender.

Spicy Butternut Squash:
Melt the vegan butter in a large saucepan or pot. Sauté the onion in the butter for a bit until it softens up. Add the squash, garlic, tomatoes, spices, and water. Stir well and simmer, covered, until the squash is tender (about 10-15 mins). Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with the black-eyed peas.

This was quite good. I hope all that about black-eyed peas is true. ;o)

Savory Amaranth Stuffed Peppers

Huzzah! I made amaranth! I'm pretty excited about this; I've been meaning to do this forever. This was pretty damn good. The marinade is from The Vegan Girl's Guide to Life by Melisser Elliott (the Brussels sprouts with crispy tempeh recipe in that book).   

Savory Amaranth Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients:
1 cup dry amaranth
2 cups water
4 red bell peppers (tops cut off and deseeded)
1/4 cup raw pine nuts
5 sun dried tomatoes, rehydrated in hot water for 10 minutes and then cut into thin strips
1 clove garlic, minced
1 onion, cut into thin slices
olive oil to sauté onion
5 ounces raw baby spinach, wilted in about 1/2 inch boiling water in a saucepan

Marinade ingredients:
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Method:
Combine all marinade ingredients and set aside. Next, set oven to 375F. Spray peppers with cooking oil or coat in oil. Roast peppers for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, bring two cups water to a boil in a sauce pan. Once the water is boiling, stir in the cup of dry amaranth, cover, and lower heat to a simmer. Leave amaranth simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. Next, heat oil in a pan and sauté onion until it's caramelized. I threw in the minced garlic at the end of the onion sauté just to heat it and release the flavor. Once amaranth and pepper done, turn off heat and combine amaranth, drained wilted spinach, sundried tomatoes, onions, garlic, and marinade in the saucepan. Spoon mixture into peppers and serve. Serves 3 or 4.

Things I've made this week ... Mmmm

I made the Asian Noodles with Black Vinaigrette from Crazy Sexy Kitchen tonight. It's amazing! I love this cookbook! I made it for my husband and I to take for lunches for the next couple days. I also made it with organic kale and an organic red pepper from our CSA, a sautéed leek, and chickpeas since that's what I had on hand. I topped it with some raw sesame seeds, but I forgot to do that before I took the picture. ;p

We had an abundance of organic kale this week from our CSA (lucky us!), so I also made some tabbouleh with kale instead of parsley(pictured below). Yum!

Our CSA also got us an enormous yellow watermelon. What a difference an organic locally grown watermelon makes when it comes to taste!

Going green ... and a Quick Roasted Red Pepper and Chickpea Salad ... yum!

 
 


So, I've been really sick this year and I credit that, in large part, to my eating a lot of dairy and some processed food again. After my latest bout with illness, I'm trying to be done with dairy again and eat much more clean. Since I was feeling miserable anyway, I managed to quit coffee while I was sick two weeks ago. I start the day with water or a fresh raw juice which makes a lot more sense! I'm sure my immune system is thanking me already.


I also quit dairy. My biggest weakness is a toasted bagel with cream cheese. Hey ... I'm raised in Jersey and I live in Brooklyn. This is, like, essential to life as, say, sunshine. So, I'm trying some alternatives. I don't like the Tofutti cream cheese style spread and so I tried the Daiya version. Sorry to say that the Daiya is not a tasty substitute in my opinion either. :(

So, I smeared some avocado on my bagel and that was better than any vegan cream cheese-like spread I've ever had. Hummus won't do the trick; it's got to be creamy. So, I think I'm going to try the tofu ricotta from Veganomicon next.


I also love provolone subs (a la the Jersey Shore style). This would be my last meal. Seriously. So, I tried the Daiya Provolone slices. I ordered a sub with no meat or cheese and then added the Daiya to it. No deal. Good try my friends at Daiya, but it can't really replace provolone for me. I put a few slices of avocado on the other half of my sub and that tasted pretty good. *sigh* ... but not as good as provolone. *sigh*

While I was at the Jersey shore for the weekend, I cooked up some yummy things ... Here are a few:

Roasted Red Pepper and Chickpea Salad with Parsley and Olives
Ingredients:
1 can chickpeas
1 jar roasted red peppers
1 bunch curly leaf Italian parsley
1 small can sliced black olives
1 shallot, diced
red wine vinegar and olive oil (I do half vinegar and half oil)
salt and pepper to taste
Method: combine all veggies in a bowl and drizzle with vinegar and oil. Add salt and pepper to taste.
I served this with some couscous with toasted pine nuts and steamed kale as well as some roasted fennel, roasted eggplant, and a green salad.

Vegan Thanksgiving: Cranberry Sauce, Stuffing, Gravy

Homemade Cranberry Sauce Two Ways

One way ... Traditional Cranberry Orange Relish (serves 4)
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 bag fresh cranberries
1 medium orange

Zest the orange and juice it. Set aside zest and juice.

Mix sugar and water in medium saucepan; stir to dissolve sugar. Bring to boil. Add cranberries. Return to boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes while stirring occasionally. Stir in orange zest and juice. Cook 2-3 more minutes.

Another way ... Cranberry Horseradish Cream
Add 3/4 cup vegan sour cream and at least 1 tablespoon (or more to taste) into recipe above.

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Vegan Stuffing with Chestnuts, Dried Plums (aka prunes), Sage, Thyme, and Rosemary
(Serves at least 8 hungry people)
(this might be one of my fave dishes I've ever made!)

12 cups bread cubes, toasted
1 large onion, diced
about 4 stalks celery, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced (optional)
about 1 to 1 1/2 cups chestnuts, quartered
about 1 - 1 1/2 cups prunes, quartered
4 cups vegetable stock
about 1 cup mixed chopped herbs (fresh thyme, sage, and rosemary)
olive oil

Preheat oven to 350F. Coat a 9" x 13" baking pan with cooking spray. Heat olive oil in a large, high-sided skillet. Add onions and celery and cook until onion is translucent and celery is softened. Add garlic, chestnuts, prunes, and herbs and cook about 2 more minutes, stirring frequently. Mix onion celery mixture with bread cubes in a large bowl until well-combined and pour into 9" x 13" baking pan. Drizzle vegetable stock over mixture in pan evenly. Cover with foil and bake 30-35 minutes. Remove foil and cook an additional 20 minutes (until top is browned). Let stand 10 - 15 minutes before serving.

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Insanely Delicious Vegan Gravy (makes a lot)
(recipe from Vegetarian Times Magazine Dec 2012 issue, p.36)

2 x 8oz russet potatoes
12 button mushrooms
3 carrots, cut into chunks
3 celery stalks, cut into chunks
2 small onions, cut into eighths
3 cloves garlic, smashed
olive oil
1/4 cup dry red wine
1 tablespoon tomato paste
4 sprigs fresh thyme
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 sprigs fresh sage
2 bay leaves
12 peppercorns

Preheat oven to 425F. Quarter 1 russet potato and place in a large Dutch oven with mushrooms, carrots, celery, onions, and garlic. Toss with olive oil. Roast 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes or until vegetables are deep brown on edges.
Transfer Dutch oven to stove top and stir in wine, tomato paste, and 8 cups water. Add fresh herbs and peppercorns and bring to a boil. Simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes.
Strain liquid and discard solids (though I kept mine and ate them, yum!). Peel and chop remaining potato into small cubes. Return broth to pot with potato and season with salt and pepper (to taste). Simmer, uncovered, 30 minutes or until liquid is reduced to about 2 1/2 cups. (Mine never made it to 2 1/2 cups ... mine was more like 4 cups, but it was just fine. I added a bit of cornstarch at the end to thicken it.) Blend liquid and potato in blender or using an immersion blender. Reheat before serving, if necessary.

I made this a day ahead and reheated it on the stove before the meal. It was wonderful! :)

Vegan Summer Rolls

I finally made summer rolls! They were far easier than I thought they'd be! I thought I'd be wrestling with broken rice paper wrappers and unable to actually make a neat roll. Not shabby for my first attempt ...

The lovely filling stuffs ... some avocado, sprouts, basil, julienned orange pepper, sliced cucumber ... I also put some shredded carrots and cellophane noodles in these rolls.


To make cellophane noodles: The package should have the instructions, but all you do is drop them in boiling water, turn off the heat, let them sit for about 10 minutes, and drain.
To make summer rolls: Just dip rice paper wrapper quickly in room temperature water until it becomes pliable. Lay on a cutting board and put in some of the ingredients you've chosen to stuff them with. Roll wrapper over ingredients, tuck ends in (like a burrito), and finish rolling up.
Voila! So healthy ... so delicious! 

I like to dip these in peanut sauce or sweet and sour sauce (both of which you can buy over the counter).

Summer Tomato Salad (thanks to my local CSA)

Summer Tomato Salad

My CSA delivered some delish local organic tomatoes this week, so I made this simple salad that was out of this world. It's just fresh sliced tomatoes, roasted red pepper, pitted kalamata olives (capers would also be nice here), and some homemade pesto dotted on top. Yum!

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Quick Black-Eyed Pea Slaw and Polenta Fries (vegan)

Quick Black-Eyed Pea Slaw

Ingredients:

1 (15oz) can black-eyed peas
1 to 1 1/2 cups fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and grated
3/4 of a 10oz bag thinly sliced red cabbage
1/3 cup prepared salsa verde (I like La Costena brand.)
2 tablespoons vegan sour cream
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon gomasio or 1/2 teaspoon salt
black pepper to taste

Method:

Whisk together the sour cream, salsa verde, vinegar, and olive oil in a large bowl. Throw in the black-eyed peas, cabbage, parsley, and grated carrot and mix well. Season with gomasio (or salt) and pepper. Yum! (My husband really liked this slaw! It's going to become a regular.)

Easy and Inexpensive Grilled Polenta Fries



Ingredients:

About 3 cups prepared polenta, cooled so that it's firm. (I used some leftover polenta from the other night's dinner.)
Olive oil
Garlic powder
Old Bay seasoning

Cut cooled polenta into rectangular sticks. Sprinkle with garlic powder and Old Bay Seasoning. Heat some olive oil on a grill pan. Grill polenta on two sides until warmed. Delish!

My recipe how to make polenta is here: http://sundaegirl108.blogspot.com/2010/05/polenta-with-roasted-tomatoes-vegan.html

Saag Tofu (vegan)

Saag Tofu (Spinach Curry with Tofu)

Ingredients:
23 oz fresh baby spinach
olive oil
1 tablespoon ground coriander
3/4 tablespoon turmeric
1/2 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1/2 tablespoon garam masala
1/4 cup water
2/3 cup vegan sour cream
1 (14oz) package firm or extra firm tofu, drained and cut into cubes
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar

Method:

Heat olive oil in a large skillet with sides and fry the powdered spices for a minute. Put as much spinach as will fit into the skillet along with the water and stir to coat with the spices. Cover and let that batch wilt until you can fit more spinach. Add more spinach (and water, if necessary), cover, and let that wilt. Fold in the vegan sour cream and tofu cubes. Add the salt and sugar and stir well. Continue cooking over low heat for about 5 minutes so that the flavor of the spices gets into the tofu. Serve with basmati rice. Mmmm.

My basmati rice recipe is here: http://sundaegirl108.blogspot.com/2010/12/sweet-potato-curry-with-spinach-and.html

The above saag tofu recipe is losely based on the Paneer Sak recipe (p.184) in The Hare Krishna Book of Vegetarian Cooking by Adiraja dasa. You can purchase that book here: http://www.amazon.com/Hare-Krishna-Book-Vegetarian-Cooking/dp/0902677071/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1344987514&sr=8-1&keywords=the+hare+krishna+book+of+vegetarian+cooking

HARE KRISHNA!

Veggie Sides!*

HERBED SOUR CREAM MASHED POTATOES
Ingredients:
2 pounds brown baking potatoes
butter to taste (vegan or regular - as you wish)
1.5 cups sour cream (vegan or regular - as you wish)
at least 2 tablespoons each chopped dill, chives, flat-leaf parsley
carmelized shallots

This is pretty self-explanatory. Boil potatoes for about 20 minutes or until soft. Mash potatoes with butter and sour cream. Stir in chopped herbs. Top with carmelized shallots. Mmm mmm good.



SPICY CREAMED SPINACH
Ingredients:
1 shallot
butter (vegan or regular - as you wish)
2 x 10oz bags spinach
1 tablespoon flour
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce (vegan or regular - as you wish)
1 cup veggie broth
1/2 cup sour cream (vegan or regular - as you wish)
salt and cayenne pepper to taste
a pinch of nutmeg

Cook 1 chopped shallot in a skillet with butter until soft. Add spinach and cook until it's wilted down. Add flour, Worcestershire sauce, veggie broth, sour cream, salt, cayenne pepper, and nutmeg. Cook 5 mins and serve. Mmm mmm good.



GLAZED PEARL ONIONS
Ingredients:
1 pound bag of frozen onions
1 cup veggie broth
2 tablespoons each molasses, cider vinegar, and butter
salt and pepper to taste
chopped flat-leaf parsley

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and simmer, stirring occasionally, until reduced to a glaze, about 20 mins. Sprinkle with chopped parsley. Mmm mmm good.

*These recipes were adapted from recipes found in Food Network magazine - November 2011 issue - pages 132, 133, and 159.

Vegan Terrine

*This recipe is adapted from the Vegetarian Times magazine November 2011, p.65, recipe entitled "Mediterranean Terrine."

This yummy terrine has roasted red peppers, roasted eggplant, and a cashew cream.

Cashew Cream Ingredients
3/4 cup raw cashews
1/4 cup nutritonal yeast
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons agar powder or flakes (a sea vegetable available in health food stores which thickens sauces - often used as a vegan substitute for gelatin)
1 teaspoon garlic powder

Terrine
2 jars roasted red peppers (I like to buy them already roasted and save myself the trouble)
1 teaspoon salt
1 large eggplant
olive oil
flat-leaf Italian parsley

First, make the cashew cream. Soak cashews in a large bowl of water for 3 hours or even overnight. Drain and return to bowl. Add nutritional yeast, lemon juice, mustard, and salt. Set aside.
Whisk agar and garlic powder into 1.5 cups water in a saucepan over medium heat. Simmer for 5 mins or until agar dissolves; stir constantly.
Add agar mixture to cashew mixture in a food processor and process until smooth.
Pour into a rectangular-shaped loaf pan and chill for 1 hour.
Slice eggplant lengthwise, brush with olive oil, and roast eggplant slices.
Once, agar/cashew mixture has solidified, unmold it onto a plate and slice it lengthwise into two layers.
Line loaf pan with plastic wrap so that the plastic wrap hangs over the sides.
Put parsley leaves into the bottom of the loaf pan, layer with eggplant, slices of roasted red pepper, and a layer of the cashew cream. Repeat. End with a layer of eggplant. Wrap loaf pan in plastic wrap and chill mixture. You can place something heavy on top so that the terrine takes the shape of the loaf pan.
When you're ready to eat it, unmold it by flipping the terrine over onto a flat plate. Ta da!

Beet Greens with Black-Eyed Peas and Couscous with Dried Plums

Beet Greens with Black-Eyed Peas
beet greens from two bunches of beets
1 medium-sized red onion, sliced in thin strips
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (28oz) can whole peeled tomatoes
1 (15oz) can black-eyed peas
oregano
fresh ground black pepper
red pepper flakes
olive oil

Heat olive oil in a pot with high sides. Throw in onion and saute until it's translucent. Throw in garlic and saute for a few seconds. Toss in beet greens, tomatoes, spices, and black-eyed peas. Break tomatoes up with a spooon and turn heat to medium, cover with lid, and let simmer until the greens are tender and the flavors have combined.

Whole-Wheat Couscous with Dried Plums (aka prunes!)
plain whole-wheat couscous
prunes chopped in quarters
your favorite spice blend for couscous (I use Moroccan couscous spice)

Make couscous according to package instructions. )My instant couscous was one part water to one part couscous.) First, I boiled the water and then turned off the heat. I threw in the couscous, spices, and prunes and then covered the pot. Let sit at least 5 minutes and then fluff with fork.

I served this with the insanely delicious chickpea cutlet from Veganomicon. Mmm mmm, good.

Roasted Carrots with Za'atar Spice and Chipotle Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Roasted Carrots with Za'atar Spice
*I think I cut this out of Vegetarian Times magazine, but I don't remember.
Preheat oven to 450F. Quarter two pounds of carrots. Toss carrots with olive oil, salt, and pepper and spread them out on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast until browned, about 20 mins. Remove from oven and toss in a bowl with 4 teaspoons za'atar spice, juice of two lemons, chopped parsley, and roasted (or raw) seasame seeds. Enjoy!
(Za'atar spice is a Middle Eastern spice blend. I purchased mine at my favorite Indian spice store.)



Chipotle Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Peel and cut 4 sweet potatoes into small chunks. Boil potatoes until very tender, about 20 mins. Drain and return potatoes to pot. Toss in 2-4 tablespoons of vegan butter, salt (to taste), and 2 finely chopped chipotle peppers in adobo plus 1 tablespoon of the sauce from the pepper can.


I served the carrots and potatoes with the Moroccan style chickpeas.
Recipe here:
http://sundaegirl108.blogspot.com/2010/01/moroccan-chickpeas-couscous-and-roasted.html