Cool summer salads (vegan and gluten-free)

Napa Cabbage Salad and Shoepeg Corn Salad - both vegan and gluten-free

I met up with friend Andrew for a potluck picnic on the lawn while we watched the Béla Fleck concert at the NC Museum of Art last night. My contributions to the potluck were two cool summer salads: Napa Cabbage Salad and Shoepeg Corn Salad - delicious separately, but somehow they complement each other so well that they are even better when eaten together.

I got the basic recipe for Napa Cabbage Salad online (http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/napa-cabbage-salad) - the Napa cabbage courtesy of the Produce Box - and embellished it with shredded yellow squash, shredded carrots and diced cucumber. I also added the juice of 1 lime to the sauce. Other than that I followed the directions. It was delicious!

The Shoepeg Corn Salad comes courtesy of my friend Brandi - who got it from her mother-in-law. This salad is to die for and I didn't change a thing about the recipe! The only thing I changed in the recipe was that I cut the sugar in half - the canned shoepeg corn already had sugar in it, so I figured it would be fine to cut back on the sugar for the sauce. I also highly suggest nibbling on it to check the taste before the recommended "overnight" period is up, because it is irresistible! I doubled the recipe.

2 cans of shoepeg corn
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1/2 cup chopped onion (I used sweet Vidalia onion)
3 stalks of celery (chopped)
2 oz. of pimento (drained)
Marninate overnight in:
1/4 cup vinegar (apple cider)
1/4 cup oil (I used canola)
1/2 cup sugar (I used half this amount)
1/2 teaspoon of salt (I used freshly ground sea salt)
1/4 teaspoon of pepper (I used freshly ground pepper)

Chipotle-inspired rice salad (vegan, gluten-free)

As I was driving back from my writing class tonight I had the urge to stop by Chipotle to grab a salad for dinner. I could almost taste their honey lime dressing in my mouth, but just as I envisioned my salad before me, my thoughts blurred and I missed the turn I would have had to make to head to the nearest Chipotle. Going back or trying to swing by the other location would have been out of my way and put me home later than I would have liked. Instead I decided to see what I had at home and whip up a quick dinner. As I drove home I could see the basic foundation of my salad coming together: brown rice, corn, black beans and chili powder. When I got home, it took less than 15 minutes to whip up what turned out to be an absolutely delicious meal. Thanks to Trader Joe's frozen brown rice, the rice was cooked in 3 minutes. To the rice I added half a can of corn and half a can of black beans. For fresh veggie crispness I chopped up some of the cabbage I had from my produce box, a spring onion, a third of a cucumber and a handful of grape tomatoes. I added half a chopped avocado and stirred everything together. To recreate the honey lime dressing, I squeezed the juice from one lime, added a spoonful of honey and a slosh of canola oil, whisked everything together and stirred it into the salad. For seasonings I used a couple dashes of organic chili powder, ground sea salt and Penzey's Mural of Flavor spice blend. I stirred everything together and had a delicious, filling meal in under 15 minutes.

The delicious and colorful result! Sooo yummy!

Almond milk latte

I'm admittedly not much of a coffee drinker, particularly because I try to avoid caffeine. However, from time to time I really enjoy a good latté, as long as it's made with almond milk. The problem is that most coffee shops - including the major chains like Starbucks - have failed to accommodate the needs of non-dairy, non-soy consuming customers - i.e. people like me. I would love to order a latté in a café, but until such places "wake up and smell the coffee" and realize that there is untapped potential to sell to this target group, my coffee beverages of choice will be consumed in the comfort of my home café.
I make my decaf almond milk lattés usually using a flavored decaf coffee and unsweetened Almond Breeze almond milk. Powdered stevia is my sweetener of choice (also yet to be offered in most coffee shops). I use the eco-pods in my Senseo machine, which is a nice alternative to an actual espresso machine.

Almond milk froths up thick and foamy - you can't even
tell it's not real milk!

Vegetarian ginger curry

It's been a while since I did a food post, so here's what I had for dinner tonight: homemade ginger curry (vegan and gluten-free).


Heat about 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a wok, add chunks of chopped onion and pressed garlic, then stir fry. Add sliced carrots, pieces of bell pepper (I used red), slices of yellow squash and zucchini, chopped shiitake and brown button mushrooms, about 1 tsp. of grated fresh ginger, baby spinach leaves, and pineapple chunks. These happened to be the vegetables I had on hand, but you can add or leave out whatever you like. Stir fry everything for about 10 minutes, add ginger curry powder or another curry powder of choice (mine is from 1001 Gewürze), coconut milk and some pineapple juice. If you don't have ginger curry powder and still want a ginger flavor, just add ginger powder to taste. Add a sprinkle of freshly ground sea salt. Make sure everything is well blended. Do not overcook, but make sure the carrots are still a little crunchy. Serve over rice (I used Trader Joe's frozen brown rice, which is ready to eat after microwaving for 3 minutes). Enjoy!

Making more of mornings / Pumpkin Spice and Pecan Oatmeal

I have completed week one of my "making more of mornings" regimen. Those of you who have read some of my earliest posts know that I have had the tendency (or habit) to climb right back into bed after waking up to take care of the dogs around 5 AM each day. No more! My neighbor and I have agreed to be gym buddies and starting this past Monday, we start the day together by meeting outside at 5:15 and walking over to our neighborhood gym. We work out for at least 30 minutes and start the day off right. I find that I now have even more energy to get things done in the morning, rather than climb back into bed. Eventually it does catch up with me and I take a nap later in the day, but at least now I feel like I deserve it. I have also started eating breakfast earlier - or at least having an earlier Primo Colazione (as the Italians call first breakfast), sometimes followed by a Secondo later in the morning (around 11 AM, which was my usual breakfast time). I've come up with a wonder fall oatmeal variety that is absolutely scrumptious: Pumpkin Spice and Pecan Oatmeal. Thank you Trader Joe's for providing most of the ingredients: frozen steel cut oatmeal (already pre-sweetened with maple and brown sugar), pumpkin butter, pecans and a splash of almond milk. Simply heat up the oatmeal per the instructions, then stir in a tablespoon of pumpkin butter, sprinkle some chopped pecans, and add a splash of almond milk. Sooooo yummy and perfect on a fall morning!

This week's Produce Box - and what I've done with it so far!

Homemade apple juice made
with 3 of the many apples
I've been collecting.
Delicious! My food
processor also has a juicer
attachment. Hot homemade
apple cider coming soon!

Contents of this week's Produce Box,
shiitake mushrooms in the brown bag.
Mixed hot peppers behind cabbage.

 This week's Produce Box contained several ingredients perfect for an Ethiopian feast! I chose Box C this week and got shiitake mushrooms, several bulbs of different garlic varieties (Chesnok, Music, Silver White), collard greens, a hot pepper mix, apples and green cabbage. Ethiopian happens to be one of my favorite cuisine and I finally happened to have essentially all the ingredients on hand (except for ginger root carrots and a couple of spices, which I got from the grocery across the street) to make two of my favorite dishes: Ethiopian collards and a cabbage-carrot-potato dish. I found a few recipes online and then used them to create my own dishes.

Here are the links to the collard recipes that I essentially combined:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Gomen-Wat/Detail.aspx
http://girliegirlarmy.com/blog/20100607/ethiopian-collards-on-mini-injeras/

Basically I started out following the directions in the second link.
I cooked down the collards, drained off and saved the liquid, then chopped the collards. Then I cooked the finely chopped red onion in oil. In the food processor I chopped 4 cloves of garlic 1.5 inches of peeled ginger root, 1.5 long green chilis and 1 green bell pepper and then added them to the onion and oil in the pot. Next I added the chopped collards to the pot along with about 1 cup of the collard cooking water. Then I added the spices from both recipes: freshly ground sea salt, freshly ground pepper, turmeric, paprika, allspice along with the juice of one small lemon. I let everything continue to cook and added a bit more of the collard cooking water. It tasted amazing. I was worried that it might be too spicy because I forgot to de-seed the chilis, but it had just the right amount of spiciness. I think combining the recipes made it all the better.

Almost simultaneously I was preparing the second dish. Here I basically followed this recipe:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Ethiopian-Cabbage-Dish/Detail.aspx

The changes I made here were to double the spices (except for the salt) and I used 1 sweet potato and 3 white potatoes instead of only 5 white potatoes. I figured since there are already carrots in the recipe sweet potato would be an added bonus. It was a great choice - absolutely delicious!

I also tried making the injera bread (used the recipe on the 2nd collard recipe link), but since I didn't have teff flour (GF) I substituted sorghum flour (GF) and GF all-purpose mix and the results were ok, but not the way it is supposed to be. If I try it again I will make sure to get teff and hope it turns out right.

Homemade Ethiopian: cabbage-carrot-potato-sweet potato dish
and spicy Ethiopian collards served on my homemade attempt
at injera

The best part is that I now have tons of leftovers!

I've got a whole slew of other recipes I want to make soon, so keep posted - I'm in a cooking mood!

Yellow Squash and Mushroom Risotto (vegan and gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free)

So for those of you out there looking for some more risotto ideas, on Friday I made a yellow squash and mushroom risotto. Go back to my post for Butternut Squash Risotto and instead of using butternut squash, add in chopped yellow squash and mushrooms (I used baby bella and shiitake). This time don't use cardamom and cinnamon (good for accentuating the flavor of butternut squash, but not needed here); instead use fresh thyme like I did. Other than that all of the steps were the same. As a side I made some over baked orange and purple sweet potato bites.

Here's a picture of Friday's meal. Enjoy!

Yellow squash and mushroom risotto garnished with Crema di Balsamico and almond cheese, side of oven-baked orange and purple sweet potato bites with Arabic spices. A perfect fall meal!

Butternut Squash Soup (vegan, gluten-free, soy-free)

This recipe is my version of a recipe I found here. My version isn't much different, except that I didn't use fresh ginger because I didn't have any (powdered worked just fine) and I also didn't have fresh cilantro to garnish so I used ground coriander. I also used Crema di Balsamico to drizzle on at the end and served with corn chips.

Here's my picture by picture instructions. Enjoy!

The ingredients: 2 medium butternut squash*, garlic*,
1 extra large onion*, vegetable broth, coconut milk,
ginger, curry powder, turmeric, salt and pepper
*Denotes fresh, local ingredients from either the Produce Box
or the farmers' market

Dice onion

Add a couple tablespoons of vegetable broth to the pot
and heat.

Add chopped onion to the pot with the vegetable broth
and saute over medium heat for about 5 minutes
until translucent.

Add garlic - I used about 6 cloves since I doubled the recipe.

Add 2-3 tsp. of powdered ginger or 1 TBS of
fresh chopped ginger. Saute for another minute.

Add curry powder (I used ginger curry from 1001 Gewürze),
turmeric and mix well.

Add peeled and cut butternut squash.

Add the rest of the broth (for the doubled recipe the whole container).

Mix.

Bring to a boil over high heat.

Once it comes to a boil, reduce heat to medium.
Simmer uncovered until squash is tender
for about 10-15 minutes.

Add coconut milk (for doubled recipe the whole can)

Blend with a puree stick or in a blender in small batches.
If you don't like coconut milk and still want to keep
the recipe vegan and soy-free, you can use MimicCreme

After blending the soup should be smooth like this.

Add freshly ground salt and pepper to taste.

Stir.

Serve in bowls.

Decorate with freshly ground coriander
and Crema di Balsamico if desired.

Garnish with corn chips. You can also serve with
fresh cilantro. Enjoy!

Butternut Squash Risotto (and it's vegan and gluten-free!)

Butternut squash is one of the classic vegetables of fall. Its nutty flavor makes a perfect addition to risotto, an Italian favorite made with arborio rice also known for its slightly nutty flavor. This version is vegan, omitting butter (which is commonly used together with or instead of oil) and using almond cheese instead of dairy-based cheese. The secret ingredients are freshly ground cinnamon and coriander, which really bring out the delicious flavor of the butternut squash. Here's an easy, step-by-step guide for a perfect fall risotto. Buon appetito!

The main ingredients: Olive oil, onion, butternut squash,
risotto rice (Arborio), vegetable broth

 Prep: Dice the onion

Prep: Peel and cut the butternut
squash into small cubes

Add oil to a large pot and heat over medium heat

Add onion to the heated oil

Stir onion in oil while cooking

Cook until the onion becomes glassy as seen here

Add the arborio rice

Stir the rice in with the onion and oil to coat.

Add butternut squash to rice and onion,

Cook until the rice becomes slightly golden, stirring frequently

Add some of the broth, when most has soaked into the rice add more

Add salt and a touch of freshly ground pepper to season.

Continue stirring and adding broth as it absorbs into the rice

Coriander goes great with butternut squash.
Add some freshly ground or powdered coriander.

Continue adding broth and stirring.

The rice will start thickening and becoming more like risotto.

Cinnamon is another spice that goes incredibly well with butternut squash,
even in risotto. Add a dash. You won't be disappointed.

Now it's really looking like risotto!

The best cheese substitute on the market!
I use it for pizza and pasta. It's also incredibly low in fat:
only 1 g of fat per ounce

Grate...

See - looks just like real cheese (and you'll love the taste too!)

Risotto is often finished up with cheese, usually Gran Padano or Parmigiano Reggiano.
For this vegan variation, the grated almond mozzarella cheese works just fine.

Stir in.

Now you have it: nice, thick creamy vegan Risotto! Mmm!

Top with a some shredded almond cheese.

Enjoy in your favorite outdoor location!