RANCH STYLE DRESSING

Using a recipe from the cookbook 'Let Them Eat Vegan', I made a ranch style dressing using cashews. I have been using raw cashews in a number of recipes.  I like to soak them for about an hour before using them.  I will soak nuts for less time than that.  It depends on how far in advance I started to prepare a recipe.  I have read that soaking raw shelled nuts removes toxins, residues and tannins and the nuts are softer and smoother in taste and more digestible.  After soaking the nuts, the water is discarded.

I bought the cookbook 'Let Them Eat Vegan' earlier this year.  It has about 200 recipes and covers the range of recipes from breakfast to salads to sauces to soups to entrees to pastas and to desserts.  In one of my previous posts I described what I liked about this cookbook in terms of how a recipe is presented and alternatives that can be used.

This recipe uses raw cashews instead of tofu or soy milk to make the creamy base.  It takes a few minutes to make as it is made in a blender or food processor.  The dressing can be used on other things besides salad.  It can be used as a dip with veggies or spooned onto roasted baby potatoes.

Dressing mixed up and ready to be added to salad.

Here is the salad I ate using the ranch dressing.

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup raw cashews
2 tbsp lemon juice
1.5 tsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp tahini
1/4 cup chopped parsley
2 tsp fresh chives, chopped (if available)
1/8 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp agave
1/2 cup water or milk or nondairy milk
salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Combine all of the ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.  You can thin it with water if you find it is too thick.   Store in the fridge.  Makes 1 1/4 cups.

QUINOA AND SHREDDED ZUCCHINI SALAD

Quinoa is one of my favourite grains.  I especially like to use quinoa to make a vegetable salad.  With zucchini making regular appearances in the garden, this salad is a great way to use fresh zucchini.  This is a simple salad to make and you can add or substitute other vegetables to the ones listed in the ingredient list.   This salad also tastes good the following day and leftovers are great for lunches.

I usually cook the light coloured quinoa.  I have bought the reddish brown coloured quinoa but haven't cooked it with the same frequency.  To use up the darker coloured quinoa, I mixed what I had with equal parts of the light coloured quinoa.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup uncooked quinoa
1 coloured pepper, chopped
1/2 small shredded zucchini
a handful fresh parley, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp maple syrup
salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Cook the quinoa according to the directions.  Let cool.  In a large bowl, add all of the ingredients and mix well.  Serves 4 to 5.

THE BEST CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI LOAF

One of the blog sites I follow is the chubby vegetarian (chubby vegetarian).  It is a great foodie site.  He had a recipe for chocolate zucchini bread or what I call a loaf.  It looked delicious.  Both he and the site where he got the recipe from say that a mouthful of this is to eat and moan.  I agree.  It is a really good recipe and it is quite chocolately from both the cocoa and chocolate chips.  This loaf won't last long before it is inhaled!!!

I made a few modifications.  For the sugar I used three quarters of a cup of splenda and I used chocolate chunks instead of chips.

Ready to go into the oven.

The first sample.

Chocolate Zucchini Loaf

INGREDIENTS:

1.5 cups Shredded Zucchini

1 cup All Purpose Flour

1/2 cup high quality Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

1 tsp Baking Soda

1/4 tsp Baking Powder

Dash of salt

1/2 tsp Ground Cinnamon

1/2 cup Canola Oil

1/2 cup Sugar

1/2 cup packed Brown Sugar

2 Eggs

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

3/4 cup Dark Chocolate Chips

DIRECTIONS:

In a mixer, combine the oil, sugars and vanilla. Mix in the eggs and shredded zucchini. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, salt, cinnamon, cocoa, baking soda and baking powder. Slowly add this dry mixture into the wet mixture. Beat until combined. Mix in the chocolate chips.

Place the batter into a greased 9x5x3 loaf pan, and bake at 350 degrees for 50-65 minutes, or until done.

Adapted from http://www.sliceoffeist.com/2010/08/very-grateful/ 

QUINOA KALE SALAD

What is not to like about kale?  The combination of kale and quinoa and vegetables makes a great salad.  This salad keeps well in the fridge for a day or two and makes a great lunch to take to work.  Both the DH and I really enjoyed this salad.  The other thing I liked about the salad dressing was that the chia seed acted as a thickener in the dressing.  This salad is can be served any time of the year and is not just a summer salad.

Chopped carrots and pepper.

Baby kale before steaming.

Parsley has been added to the bowl.

Kale draining in the steamer.

Salad ready for serving.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup uncooked quinoa
3 to 4 loosely packed cups of kale leaves, chopped
1 glove of garlic, minced
3 tbsp lemon juice
a bit less than a 1/4 cup of olive oil
1 tsp chia seeds
1/2 tsp agave
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
1 coloured pepper, finely chopped
1 handful of fresh parsley, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Cooked the quinoa according to directions on the package.  Let cool.  While the quinoa is cooking, mix together the dressing of garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, chia seeds, agave and cumin.  The dressing needs to sit for at least 10 minutes in order for the chia seed to soften and thicken the dressing.  Steam the kale for three minutes in order to soften it.

To a large mixing or serving bowl, add the quinoa, kale, parsley and vegetables.  Combine.  Add the dressing and mix.  Serves 4 to 5.

LENTIL LOAF - LET THEM EAT VEGAN COOKBOOK

I recently purchased the cookbook by Dreena Burton titled 'let them eat vegan'.  I had bought this book based on reviews I had read.  I am not disappointed.  It is a wonderful cookbook.  Dreena Burton doesn't used processed vegan products in her recipes, like meat substitutes.  She creates healthy recipes, that are real food, and not difficult to make.  Her recipes stay away from using white flour and many of the recipes are wheat free and gluten free.  The recipes try to cover across section of tastes and nutritional needs.

What I also like about this cookbook are the tips, techniques and comments with each recipe.  There are  pointers called 'if this apron could talk, ingredients 411, kid friendly, savvy subs and adds and serving suggestions' alongside the recipes.  Each recipe does not have all of the pointers, just the ones that are relevant.

I made a lentil loaf recipe from the cookbook.  It tasted good, but I should have added less thyme.  When I told the DH what we were having for lunch, I used an analogy of a meat loaf.  He thought otherwise and was looking at it and said it is really about lentils and I am eating lentils.  He couldn't finish his portion as it is filling so the dog had a mouthful of the loaf and he did not hesitate in vacuuming in the remaining morsels.   I will definitely make the recipe again.

Here is the link for the recipe to make the Lentil loaf.

Putting the final touches on the loaf before baking.

FRESH BASIL PESTO

With the basil plants growing madly in this hot weather, I needed to trim the plants so that they would not start to produce flowers.  I picked a lot of leaves one night after work and ended up with 8 cups of fresh basil leaves.  Using my vitamix blender I went to work and quickly made this pesto.  I did not have enough pine nuts so I used pecans instead.  I never used pecans before to make pesto.  Because I made such a large batch I froze the pesto in ice cube trays and several very small containers.  Besides using the pesto with pasta, I also add it to soups.  A friend of mine told me that she adds pesto to cooked rice.  I am going to try that in the future with cooked rice.

This Eating Well recipe is available on the internet but I actually have an eight year old printed copy from the actual magazine.  The magazine did a whole series of recipes making pesto with different herbs and some vegetables.  Besides the basil pesto, the recipes include a chile pesto, tarragon pesto, goat cheese pesto using oregano, mint pesto, and a sun-dried tomato pesto.

Making pesto in the vitamix.

Freezing pesto in ice cubes.

Extra containers found to freeze presto.

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups packed fresh basil leaves

1/4 cup walnut pieces, pine nuts or pecans toasted

1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

2 tbsp water

1 large clove garlic, quartered

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Place all of the ingredients in a food processor and process for a few minutes until it is fairly smooth.  Makes about one cup.

You can freeze unused pesto in ice cube trays.  Once frozen, transfer the cubes to a freezer bag.

Adapted from Eating Well, Aug/Sept 2005

VITAMIX MACHINE

Over the past few years I needed to replace my blender and juicer.  Two years ago we got a Breville juicer and last year we got a Breville blender.  Both work equally well and of course take up counter space.  I haven't had to replace my food processor as a number of years ago we bought a Bosch system with all of the bells and whistles and a number of attachments.  I can blend, grind, knead, chop, mince, mix, grate, puree and even roll whole oats with this machine.  It is like a tank but has a soft throttle.  I have components of this food processor stored in kitchen cupboards and in the basement on shelves which holds a number of kitchen tools and toys.

About twice a year Vitamix is featured at Costco with a demonstration booth set up and samples to try. I contemplated getting one last year but instead got the blender.  The Vitamix booth was back at Costco recently for its one week stay.  When I first saw the set up I managed to stay away.  Costco sells the product for a price that is less than if you were to order it directly from Vitamix.  Volume sales says it all.  So what tipped me and spoke into my brain to sell out dollars to replace gadgets that are relatively new?  Frustration.  I had a new recipe that I wanted to try from Mark Bittman's new book VB6.  It is falafel and you have to mince the uncooked chick peas which already have been soaking for 24 hours.  I tried to mince the chick peas with the rest of the other ingredients in the Breville blender but it was too dry.  I then had to haul out the monster Bosch system to mince the chick peas and then blend all of the ingredients together.   My subconscious mind was already at work after washing all of the tools and gadgets that I used to make the falafel which by the way turned out great.  I was thinking about the Vitamix.

Sampling the soup and frozen strawberry dessert/sorbet at the Vitamx booth at a return visit to Costco had me sold on getting a Vitamix.  It was not a hard decision, just some guilt for now having to decide what to do with relatively new tools that I already had in the kitchen.  The Breville gadgets have now found new homes with some of my friends and I will keep the Bosch food processing system for awhile yet.

The following pictures show a vegetable soup I made using my new toy.  The colour of the soup may not look appetizing as it has spinach in it and the soup is green in colour.  It contains a lot of vegetables and it is delicious and very filling.  I followed one of the recipes in the material that was provided with a little bit of alterations.  Mixing the soup on high for six or so minutes actually heats the soup and it is ready to serve.

I can't wait to try other ingredients profiled in the material I got.

NEW KITCHEN TOYS

Getting new kitchen toys is always fun.  I ordered these two kinds of scissors or shears from a garden catalogue.  This past Spring, the DH ordered some gardening supplies from one of the garden companies and of course they also have a number of kitchen tools.  One tool is for cutting herbs and I thought this would be handy as I grow a number of herbs in the garden and this tool would work well for cutting basil, parsley and chives.  I find the tool works well for cutting herbs but they need to be dry in order to a better cut.  When I wash my herbs, I don't always dry them thoroughly before using so they can be damp at times.

The second tool is for cutting lettuce and other greens.  The bottom part of it is like a scooper so that you can scoop up pieces of lettuce and chop them in the scoop.  This tool is useful if you like your salads chopped.   Having these tools make chopping fun but are not a necessity.  A good knife will do the job just as well.

Shears for cutting herbs on the left.  Scissors choppers for salad on the right. 

EVEN BETTER FALAFEL

I have made falafel before and I am always game to try variations of homemade falafel.  In Mark Bittman's new book VB6, he has a falafel recipe that is easy to make, he says it is a lighter recipe and since you brush the falafel patties with oil before baking, they still get the crunchy taste and look that you would have if they were fried.  I made the recipe as he described in his book, (Mark Bittman VB6).  What impressed me about the recipe was that you didn't need to cook the chickpeas beforehand.  I soaked them for about 24 hours so that they were softened.  The batter is suppose to be firm and not overly moist.  When I made falafel in a previous posting, I used canned chickpeas and the batter was more moist.  I also flattened the unbaked balls as per the directions in the recipe and I liked the pattie shape versus a ball shape.  The recipe says it makes 20 falafel patties but I made about 24.  The number of falafels made was more than what the DH and I could reasonable eat over several days so I froze a number of them.  They will be great to take for lunch to work.  Based on the number of falafels I made, three falafel patties are calculated to be three points in the Weight Watcher plan.  The recipe has provides direction to make a tahini sauce and it added a nice flavour to the patties.  I didn't eat the falafel with bread, such as pita bread, but ate them with the tahini sauce.

To accompany the falafel as part of supper, I made a quinoa salad.  I have several quinoa recipes that you can consider in my blog index.  I used vegetables for the salad that I had in the fridge - carrot, celery, cucumber and bell pepper.  A delicious meal that provided leftovers!

Falafel just out of the oven.

Quinoa salad.

ORANGE CASHEW DRESSING

I have come across several recipes that use cashews to create a dressing or dip for salads, vegetables, beans and grains.  Using cashews in a dip reminds me of the times I have used tahini which is ground sesame seeds.  I really liked this orange cashew dressing and I used it on salads, with quinoa and as a dip for vegetables.  I soaked the cashews for an hour beforehand in water.  There are different schools of thought in soaking raw nuts before you blend them or roast them. What makes this recipe also great is that is only requires four ingredients.  In a future post I will provide another salad dressing that is more of a ranch style dressing and includes cashews as one of the ingredients.

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup raw cashews
3 oranges, peeled
2 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar, use orange balsamic vinegar if you have it

DIRECTIONS:

1. Soak cashew nuts for an hour or two in water.  Drain.
2. Add all of the ingredients to a blender and blend until completely smooth.
3. Adjust taste if you want to add more lemon juice and or vinegar.

Serves at least 6 servings.  Store in a jar with a lid.  Keeps for at least a week in the fridge.