Vegalicious

White Turnip and Apple Salad with Walnuts

2013-05-21T23:34:17Z

This is a great salad that we enjoyed last night. Turnips are a vegetable we have just discovered and have been enjoying, especially raw in salads. White turnips, also known as May turnips are seasonal both in the springtime, and in fall. We are looking forward to having more and growing our own.

Serving Size: 4

Ingredients:

1 lb. medium white turnips
2 organic apples
1 small bunch spring onions
1/2 cup walnut pieces, toasted
a few lettuce leaves as a bed for the salad

for the dressing:

3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons mild grainy mustard
1-2 tablespoons ginger syrup or agave with ginger powder
6 tablespoons fine olive oil

Directions:

Chop the walnuts and lightly toast in a dry pan.
When done, remove from the pan and set aside for later.
Make the dressing by mixing the ingredients in a small bowl.
Slice the spring onions.
Wash the turnips and peel them.
Thinly slice the turnips (I used a mandolin).
Wash the apples, quarter them and remove the seeds/core. Thinly slice the apples, leaving the skin on for a bit of color in the salad.
Place the lettuce leaves on individual salad plates.
Arrange the turnip and apple slices on the lettuce.
Sprinkle the spring onion pieces over the salad, then the walnut pieces.
Drizzle the salad dressing on top and serve the rest of the dressing in a carafe for people to add as they wish.

Notes:

This dressage is particularly nice on the salad, and would be good on other salads with fruit as well.

Review: Chickpea Walnut Patties

2013-05-19T18:54:01Z

Adriana of Vegan Magic has come up with a really tasty burger that is so simple to make. We really enjoyed these tonight for dinner.

They had a nice spiciness, lots of flavor, and a nice crunch from the walnuts. We enjoyed them as patties, but they’d be great on a bun. or rolled into small balls and used as an appetizer, finger food for a party or even just a snack.

Recipe:
http://vegan-magic.blogspot.de/2013/04/chickpea-walnut-patties.html

Baja Tofu Tacos

2013-05-16T19:59:38Z

These are our vegan version of ‘fish’ tacos, which we enjoyed last night.

Yield: 8 tacos

Ingredients:

1 16 ounce block tofu, sliced in long “finger/strips”
1/4 small red cabbage, thinly sliced or shredded (about 2 & 1/2 cups)
1 small red onion, finely sliced
1 jalapeño, de-seeded and 1/2 minced (more if you want it hot)
1/2 cup cilantro leaves, cleaned and chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 medium limes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground chili
salt and pepper
8 corn taco shells

Directions:

Make the cabbage slaw by slicing the red cabbage and placing it in a bowl.
Slice the red onion and add to the cabbage.
Prepare the jalapeño and add to the cabbage.
Chop the cilantro and add to the cabbage.
Lightly toss the slaw to mix.
Make a light dressing from 1 lime, squeezed, add the oil, salt, pepper, cumin and chili.
Season to taste and pour over the cabbage mixture.
Allow the mixture to season.
Warm the corn taco shells in the oven.
Pat the block of tofu dry with a paper kitchen towel and slice into long finger sized slices.
Lightly fry the tofu slices in a frying pan with a bit of oil, until the slices are golden brown on each side. Alternatively, you cold bread them and either bake or deep fry, but we did not feel this was needed.
To build the tacos, place 1 or 2 of the tofu slices in the center of a corn taco shell.
Add a generous portion of the slaw mixture and fold in half.
Serve the tacos with a 1/4 slice of lime as garnish and as a condiment to squeeze into the taco.

Notes:

We would suggest using soft corn tortillas rather than hard corn taco shells as the corn tortillas are soft and easier to fold and eat.

Rhubarb Spritzer

2013-05-14T19:00:55Z

This is a lovely spring and early summer drink. It’s very much like pink lemonade, except a bit different with rhubarb and the carbonated water.

Serving Size: 4

Ingredients:

1 pound rhubarb stalks
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
splash lemon juice
carbonated water, chilled

Directions:

Chill the carbonated water.
Clean the rhubarb and remove the leaves as they are poisonous.
Cut the rhubarb into 1/2 inch pieces.
Place the 1/2 cup water and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
Add the rhubarb and splash of lemon juice.
Cook the rhubarb until it is soft.
Place a cheesecloth in a sieve and set over a bowl
Pour the cooked rhubarb into the sieve and allow to drain through. Gently push the rhubarb so that all of the juice and liquid has been drained, but don’t push too hard as it will “cloud” the liquid.
Allow the rhubarb liquid to cool, or chill in the refrigerator before serving.
We placed the rhubarb syrup in a pitcher, and then added the carbonated water. One can also make individual servings with about 1/4 cup of rhubarb syrup and the rest carbonated water.

Vegan Quinoa Waffles

2013-05-10T20:42:19Z

We enjoyed these for Sunday morning breakfast. They would be lovely for Mother’s Day.

Ingredients:

4 cups cooked quinoa
1 & 1/2 cup AP flour
1/2 cup fine polenta or cornmeal
2 teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt
2 egg replacements
1 & 1/2 tablespoons sugar or sweetener of choice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup water
1 cup non-dairy milk
oil for the waffle iron

Directions:

One cup of dry quinoa, washed well, and cooked in 3 cups of water will give you 4 cups of cooked quinoa.
Mix the cooked quinoa, flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a large bowl.
In a second bowl, mix the water, egg replacements, vanilla extract and non-dairy milk together.
Add the liquid ingredients to the dry and mix with a spoon to a smooth consistency.
Heat the waffle iron and spray with oil.
Ladle 1/2 cup of the quinoa mixture onto the hot waffle iron and cook until lightly browned. They do take longer to cook than regular waffles.
We enjoyed these with a simple strawberry sauce. A pint of strawberries, washed and hulled. Most chopped into a bowl with a few left to use as garnish. 2-3 tablespoons of sugar mixed with the strawberries, and then allowed to macerate for at least 1/2 a hour (longer is better).

Winter Squash, Barley Orzotto with Toasted Walnuts

2013-05-07T20:47:25Z

This is a very nice main meal that we enjoyed. It could also be used as a side dish for a dinner.

Serving Size: 4

Ingredients:

1 cup barley
2 cups vegetable bouillon
1&1/2 lb. winter squash (butternut, Hokkaido etc.), seeded, peeled and shredded
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seed oil
1 white onion, chopped
1/2 cup white wine
1 cup vegetable bouillon
1 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon chili flakes (optional but tasty)
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/3 cup toasted walnut pieces
vegan Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Cook the barley in a saucepan with 2 cups of vegetable bouillon.
Toast the walnut pieces in a dry pan. When done, remove from the heat and set aside.
Cut the squash in chunks, remove the seeds and peel if not organic.
Run the squash through a food processor on grate or shred.
Chop the onion in small pieces.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan.
Add the onion and begin to sauté.
When the onion becomes glassy, add the shredded squash and stir to evenly coat.
Add the cooked barley and mix well.
Add the white wine and continue cooking and stirring.
Add an additional cup of vegetable bouillon as the liquid evaporates.
Stir well to mix.
Add the nutmeg, thyme and chili flakes.
Splash the mixture with the lemon juice and stir to mix well.
The squash will not need long to cook.
Add the walnut pieces and season to taste.
Serve with the vegan Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.

Notes:

We enjoyed this in using the thyme as the main seasoning spice. However it would also be nice using sage instead of thyme.

Review: Roasted Radish, Dried Fruit, and Pistachio Salad

2013-05-05T18:15:26Z

Roasted radishes, what a surprise! They are delicious. Mild and nutty with a bot of a crunch still.

Migle of My Kitchen Affair has posted a really amazing salad. Filled with contrasting, complimenting flavors and textures. This is a really delicious salad, and very easy to make. The dressing is a very important part of the flavor melding. Do follow the recipe, you’ll be very pleased that you did.

Quinoa Tabouli

2013-05-03T18:11:14Z

This is one of our favorite salads. We have it quite often. Traditionally tabouli (tabbouleh) it is being made with bulgur, but as this is the International Year of Quinoa we decided to use white quinoa to make the salad.

Serving Size: 6

Ingredients:

2-3 bunches parsley, washed and finely chopped
3-4 tomatoes, deseeded and chopped
1 large onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup white quinoa
1 – 1 & 1/2 cups water
1/3 cup olive oil
1/8 – 1/4 cup lemon juice
salt and pepper

Directions:

Rinse the quinoa well to remove the bitter oil coating.
Place the quinoa in a saucepan and add 1 – 1 & 1/2 cups of water.
Bring the water to a boil, then turn down the heat.
Cook the quinoa until soft, then remove from the heat, place a lid on top and allow to further swell and cool.
Wash the parsley well.
Cut the parsley very fine, you can use a knife or scissors.
Place the parsley in a large salad bowl.
Finely chop the onion and tomatoes and add to the salad.
Drain off any remaining liquid from the cooled quinoa and add to the salad.
Mix well.
Make the dressing by mixing the olive oil and lemon juice.
Add the salt and pepper.
Pour the dressing over the salad and mix well to evenly blend.
We make the salad ahead of time so that it can season. It is delicious eaten right away, or later.

Vegan Broccoli Quesadillas with Apricot-Carrot Sauce

2013-04-30T20:54:43Z

This as a delicious lunch that we enjoyed today. The recipe could also be used as finger foods at a party or as an appetizer in smaller portions.

Serving Size: 4
Yield: 8 quesadillas

Ingredients:

for the quesadillas:

8 flour tortillas
2 cups broccoli florets cooked and blanched
1/2-3/4 cup grated non-dairy cheese
1 cup tomato/chili sauce (see below)
oil for cooking
chives or slices of spring onion as optional garnish

for the tomato/chili sauce:

3/4 cup ketchup
1/4 Thai chili sauce

for the apricot-carrot sauce:

3 medium large carrots, peeled
16 dried apricots
1/2 lemon, freshly juiced
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 tablespoon sunflower or cooking oil
1 tablespoon ginger, peeled and minced
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon taco seasoning
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
salt ad pepper to taste
dash of cayenne or chili flakes

Directions:

to make the apricot-carrot sauce:

Chop the onion and peel and chop carrots.
Heat the oil in a medium sauce pan.
Add the onions and carrots and sauté lightly.
Peel and mince or grate the ginger and add to the carrots and onions.
Add the water.
Cut the apricots into pieces and add to the carrots and onions.
Bring the heat down to simmer.
Add the seasonings and lemon juice and simmer until the carrots, onions and apricots are all soft.
Puree the mixture to a smooth sauce.
Season to taste.
Keep the sauce warm on a low heat.

to make the tomato/chili sauce and filling:

Mix the ketchup and Thai chili sauce in a medium bowl.
Prepare the broccoli by cooking and blanching (plunging the cooked broccoli into cold water).
Grate the non-dairy cheese.

to make the quesadillas:

Heat a lightly oiled skillet.
Spread some of the tomato-chilli sauce on 1/2 of a flour tortilla.
Add a generous amount of broccoli (about 1/4 cup).
Top with some grated non-dairy cheese and fold the tortilla in half.
Place the tortilla in the skillet and cook until lightly browned.
Flip the tortilla over and cook on the other side until lightly browned.
When done, remove from the skillet and place on a plate.
Continue until all the quesadillas are prepared.
Serve the quesadillas with some of the apricot-carrot sauce and garnished with some chopped chives or spring onion tops.

Review: Quinoa and Kale Patties

2013-04-28T19:55:14Z

The recipe for Quinoa and Kale Patties comes from Heidi Swanson’s cookbook Super Natural Every Day. The price of the book has recently been lowered to $13.00. Although not vegan, Heidi does cook very healthy recipes with natural ingredients.

This recipe was very tasty and simple to make it vegan by substituting the eggs, and using nutritional yeast rather than the cheese. The quinoa is high in protien, and the kale is still available fresh in the stores. There is only 1 teaspoon of oil in the recipe that makes 8 lovely big patties. We baked them rather than frying, so it was a light but filling meal. We enjoyed the patties with homemade cranberry chutney. Any chutney would be nice with these tasty patties.

Vegalicious

White Turnip and Apple Salad with Walnuts

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Review: Chickpea Walnut Patties

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Rhubarb Spritzer

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Review: Roasted Radish, Dried Fruit, and Pistachio Salad

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