My "CSA" Salad

Several years ago, we purchased a share in a local CSA. I think CSA's are fantastic, and they can be wonderful if they are run well. Unfortunately, our experience was not so wonderful. I won't go into details, but let's just say the farm didn't treat its subscribers very well (lack of communication, small quantities of food, extremely small variety of vegetables, and poor quality were my main gripes). It didn't surprise me when the farm went out of business a couple of years ago.

Nevertheless, I did learn many things during my CSA summer. One of them was how to take a random assortment of veggies (turnip, beets, fennel) and turn it into a kick-booty salad.

I call this a CSA Salad, and I posted the recipe on VegWeb. It has a base of steamed bulgur, which is then tossed with a variety of raw, chopped veggies, toasted walnuts, and vinaigrette. My favorite veggies to use include beets, carrots, celery, cucumber, fennel, turnip, spinach, and scallions, but you can use whatever you have on hand. The vinaigrette takes two minutes to whip up, and in no time, you have a crunchy, tangy, vitamin-loaded plate of goodness.

Sometimes I'll add a can of chickpeas in there, but it doesn't even really need it. I've also had success substituting millet for the bulgur to make it gluten-free, but I prefer it with the bulgur. It tastes great freshly made and even better the next day.

A Symphony of Smoothies

I have been going buck-wild with my smoothies lately. I think I've finally had my fill of Chocolate Cherry and Chocolate Blueberry Smoothies. Plus, there's an exciting new superfood in my fridge:

Spirulina! I know, I know, I got the memo, like, 25 years after everyone else. Dude, spirulina rocks! I have had a blast coming up with new smoothie creations for my favorite blue-green algae.

Yeah, spirulina made me wink.

 Carrot-Berry Spirulina Smoothie

1 medium frozen banana
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
handful frozen raspberries
3/4 cup carrot juice
3/4 cup water
2 shakes cinnamon
1 shake nutmeg
2 big handfuls baby spinach
1 inch chunk of fresh ginger
1 tablespoon hemp seeds
2 tablespoons hemp protein powder
1 teaspoon spirulina
3 ice cubes

Blend with high-speed blender until smooth.

Strawberry-Ginger Swamp Monster Smoothie

1 medium frozen banana
8 large frozen strawberries
3/4 cup carrot juice
3/4 cup water
big chunk of fresh ginger
few shakes cinnamon & nutmeg
2 big handfuls baby spinach
1 teaspoon spirulina
3 ice cubes

Blend with high-speed blender until smooth.

Multi-Berry Protein Smoothie

1 medium frozen banana
4 large frozen strawberries
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
1/2 cup frozen blackberries
2 big handfuls baby spinah
1 teaspoon spirulina
2 tablespoons hemp protein powder
1 tablespoon hemp seeds
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup seltzer water
3 drops liquid stevia
3 ice cubes

Blend with high-speed blender until smooth.

Blueberry-Mango-Ginger Smoothie

1 medium frozen banana

3/4 cup frozen mango chunks

3/4 cup frozen blueberries

big chunk of fresh ginger

few shakes of cinnamon

1 teaspoon spirulina

1 cup water

1/2 cup seltzer water

3 drops liquid stevia

Blend with high-speed blender until smooth.

No spirulina here, but this was crazy delish. I think this one had frozen blueberries, frozen strawberries, goji berries, frozen banana, cacao powder, hemp protein powder, and hemp seeds. I topped it off with some goji berries, mulberries, and golden berries. Yum!

 Spirulina, I think I love you. We're going places, you and me.

Mango Powerhouse Smoothie

Sometimes, I break out of my usual chocolate smoothie rut and experiment with something new. The other day, I wanted an afternoon snack that would give me some energy. I peeked in my fridge and freezer, pulled some stuff out, and came up with this beauty:

Isn't it beautiful?! Nothing makes me happier than a bright green smoothie. I know I am treating my body right by filling it with healthy ingredients, and besides that, it just tastes delicious!

Mango Powerhouse Smoothie
Makes 1 large serving / 2 small servings

1 cup frozen mango chunks
1 frozen banana
2-3 large Swiss chard leaves
2 large stalks celery, chopped
1 cup almond milk
1 tablespoon chia seeds
1 tablespoon hemp seeds

Blend until smooth!

It was so creamy, so thick, so....mmmm. And seriously, folks, how can you not feel good about drinking something this wholesome? I love it when healthy is yummy! :)

Quinoa Salad, Two Ways

Quinoa, quinoa, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways....

You cook in just 15 minutes.

You are a complete protein.

You can take on any flavor.

You are a superfood.

Quinoa, you're pretty cool stuff.

I especially . love making quinoa salads. They are endlessly customizable, so you can take them in virtually any direction you want. One night, I was craving Greek flavors, so I made this Mediterranean Quinoa Salad from 1,000 Vegan Recipes. 

It's cooked and cooled quinoa tossed with grape tomatoes, scallions, cucumber, olives, basil, and toasted pine nuts. The dressing is made with shallot, garlic, Dijon mustard, white wine vinegar, and EVOO. It was really fresh and light, and I served it over some mixed baby greens.

The night before I left for recent vacation, I had a hodgepodge of veggies in the fridge that I needed to use up, including zucchini, baby carrots, cucumber, scallions, celery, lime, chives, and cilantro. I made some Cumin-Lime Vinaigrette from Vive Le Vegan! (to use up the lime), then tossed it with some cooled quinoa and all those veggies. You know what - it was DELICIOUS!!! Totally rocked my socks, and I was thrilled to use up that completely random assortment of veggies. 

It was so good that I wrote it down!

Colorado Cumin-Lime Quinoa Salad

2 cups cooked and cooled quinoa

1 medium zucchini, cubed

1/2 lb baby carrots, sliced

1/2 large English cucumber, cubed

6 scallions, sliced

4 stalks celery, sliced

fresh chives and cilantro, minced

Cumin-Lime Vinaigrette (I used the recipe in Vive Le Vegan!)

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and eat!

It was so nourishing, so water-rich, and so nutrient-filled...it was the perfect thing to eat the night before a long plane ride!

Breakfast, My Favorite Meal of the Day

I just love breakfast. It is my favorite meal of the day, for sure. I think I know why: to me, there is nothing better than waking up, getting some exercise (running, hiking, weights), stretching, and then sitting down to a delicious smoothie, the morning newspaper, and Sesame Street with my son :) It's a great way to start my day!

Here's some breakfasts I've been enjoying lately:

Quinoa flakes, sliced almonds, pistachios, goji berries, goldenberries, and mulberries. Super yummy!

Quinoa flakes, sliced bananas, sliced almonds, raisins, and blackstrap molasses. Mmmm!

Smoothie with 1 cup frozen mango, 1 frozen banana, 3 stalks chopped celery, 1 cup almond milk, 1 TBS chia seeds, and 1 TBS hemp protein powder.

Mama Pea's Flex on the Beach Smoothie. *Drool*.... A thick, tropical, nutritious, and dee-licous blend of banana, strawberries, pineapple, coconut water, avocado, coconut oil, chia seeds, turmeric, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt. This is so refreshing and it makes a great post-workout recovery drink.

My old standby smoothie: frozen blueberries, frozen banana, raw cacao powder, hemp seeds, hemp protein powder, water, ice, Amazing Grass powder, 2 raw collard leaves, and 3 stalks celery. I have this for breakfast at least 3 times a week!

Any other breakfast lovers out there? I'm always looking for new ideas! :)

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Enchiladas

Okay, this cooking rut I'm in, it's for realz. I just haven't felt like cooking. I haven't been inspired by anything. I really just want to go back to Costa Rica and have someone else cook every meal for me. That was so nice.

But since THAT ain't gonna happen, I do need to get my act together. However, I really dread the idea of sitting down and making a weekly menu again. Somehow, just the thought of spending 1-2 hours pouring over cookbooks and inevitably making the same 15 or so dishes over and over again makes me want to cringe. I need a kitchen intervention!

I can say one good thing that has come out of my malaise, though - it has forced me to get creative and resourceful. Since I haven't been menu planning, I haven't been grocery shopping regularly, and I don't always have a variety of fresh ingredients on hand. I mean, it's hard to shop for produce when you have no idea what you'll be making. This afternoon, I was shuffling around my kitchen and poking in the fridge, freezer, and pantry, looking for something (anything!) to jump out at me. For produce, I had two giant sweet potatoes, one onion, some sad looking baby spinach, a knob of ginger, two limes, two lemons, and the ubiquitous carrot/celery/cucumbers I nearly always have on hand. Hmm...sweet potatoes. I love sweet potatoes. I had 5 brown rice tortillas and about 6 small corn tortillas in the freezer. I had black beans. Enchiladas? Let's see...

A few months ago, I had bookmarked this recipe from Gena's blog. Unbelievably, I had everything I needed to make the enchiladas, but almost nothing to make her tomatillo sauce. No tomatillos, no garlic, no jalapeno pepper. Still, I would not be deterred. I rummaged through my pantry and threw a bunch of stuff into my Vita-Mix to make the easiest, quickest, no-cook enchilada sauce you could imagine. And you know what? It was pretty good! Not at all authentic, mind you, but great in a pinch! :)

Pantry Enchilada Sauce
Makes enough for 1 pan of enchiladas

1 28-oz can organic whole peeled tomatoes
1/8 - 1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 4-oz can diced fire-roasted green chilies
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp agave nectar
1/2 tbs olive oil
2-3 dashes of Cholula original hot sauce
2 big handfuls of fresh baby spinach

Add all ingredients to blender and blitz until smooth.

Gena's enchiladas, by the way, were totally awesome :) Don't let the terrible photography make you think any different!

The filling is cooked and mashed sweet potatoes, onions, black beans, lime juice, and other spices. It's killer. I sprinkled a couple of handfuls of Daiya vegan cheddar cheese on top before I baked the whole enchilada (excuse the pun - I couldn't help myself). It's hard to believe how cheesy these enchiladas taste, considering there was only that handful of Daiya on top. Amazing! Sweet potatoes are the new cheese! LOL

Salad on the Fly

I don't know how it happened, but suddenly, it was 5:30 and I still didn't have a clue what I was making for dinner. I was flipping through cookbooks, but nothing was striking my fancy. All I knew was that I wanted something relatively light and easy to put together.

I don't have a lot of fresh produce on hand right now, but I did have some baby spinach, some English cucumbers, three tomatoes, an orange bell pepper, and some celery. I also had some cannellini beans, kalamata olives, capers, and marinated artichoke hearts in the pantry, and some frozen cauliflower in the freezer. I could steam the cauliflower and toss it with some nooch, I thought. Then I could whisk up a balsamic vinaigrette to pour over the top. Mmmmm. Suddenly, I had dinner!

Salad on the Fly
Makes 4 entree sized salads

1/2 lb baby spinach
2 vine-ripened tomatoes, cut into quarters and thinly sliced
3/4 large English cucumber, chopped
1 orange bell pepper, thinly sliced
4 stalks celery, thinly sliced
1 15-oz can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 6-oz jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained
1/2 cup sliced kalamata olives
4 tablespoons capers, drained
1 lb bag frozen cauliflower, cooked according to package

Balsamic vinaigrette (I used the Basic Balsamic Dressing in 1,000 Vegan Recipes)

Divide the spinach among 4 bowls. Top each bowl with tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, celery, beans, artichoke hearts, olives, capers, and cauliflower. Drizzle each bowl with balsamic vinaigrette, to taste.

The warm cauliflower was awesome on this salad - it absorbed the dressing and got really yummy. Plus, the warm, soft texture was a nice contrast to the crunchy raw veggies and the tangy, salty olives and capers. This is what is so great about improvising with what you have on hand - you just never know what great new dish you'll come up with!

Come On, Irene

When we last spoke eight days ago, Hurricane Irene was bearing down on New England. A lot has happened since then. Here's a recap.

So, Hurricane Irene became Tropical Storm Irene by the time it hit New England. That was good news. We ended up losing our power at noon on Sunday. It got pretty gusty at times, and there were some scary moments with the big trees blowing about, but all in all, we were really fortunate to escape the storm with basically no damage to our house or cars. Some of our neighbors weren't so lucky - more than one had cars that were either damaged or completely destroyed by falling trees and limbs. We also didn't get as much rain as forecast, so we were spared any flooding. Good thing, since we're still repairing our basement from the Great Flood of 2010 :)

Anyway, my hubby and I weren't terribly disappointed to be without power. We're both crunchy-granola types that enjoy hiking and being unplugged from the world, anyway. I joked that this would be our little cabin-in-the-woods vacation I wanted to take all summer, but never got the chance to :)

With the electricity out for the forseeable future, the race was on to use up our perishable foodstuffs before they went bad. I thought it would be a good excuse to get creative and put new twists on dishes in order to use up as much stuff as possible. And can I get an Amen for having a gas stovetop? Amen!

So, on Sunday night, I grabbed a package of tempeh, a yellow bell pepper, celery, some shredded carrot, the last of my baby spinach, a small can of tomato sauce, two half-used onions (red and white), and some garlic. By the light of my headlamp, I whipped up a souped-up version of Tempeh Sloppy Joes from The Vegan Table. There may have been even more stuff in there, but it was so dark, I could barely see what I was throwing in the pot. Whatever.

Who needs candlelight? Nothing says romance like a battery-powered lantern.

After we put the little bambino to bed, we upped the romance factor even more.

A glass of merlot, a puzzle, and a headlamp? Ooooh, baby.

Monday dawned a beautiful, sunny day, but alas, still no electricity. No matter, we still had fun. Hubby had to go to work, but my son and I spent most of the day cleaning up the yard and playing outside. We also worked on the puzzle together. Even during the day, we still needed the headlamp to see the puzzle well. Apparently, the headlamp didn't help my son see his pants, however.

By Monday afternoon, the food in my two refrigerators was pretty much toast. I can't tell you how difficult it was for me to pour out an ENTIRE, UNOPENED, 64-oz bottle of carrot juice (*sob), 5 unopened tubs of tofu, 4 unopened packages of tempeh, 3 unopened cartons of soymilk, 2 unopened packages of Tofutti cream cheese, and 1 unopened package of meatless meatballs. And a partridge in a pear tree. Oy. It was painful. I even swished the carrot juice in my mouth before I came to my senses and spit it out. Carrot juice!! Oh, it was agony.

For Monday's night dinner, it was pretty slim pickings. It was time to use up the rest of the produce in my fridge before it went bad, so I took it all out, chopped it up, and made a minestrone-esque stew. You know what? It was really good! So good, I even wrote down a recipe :)

Minestrone-esque Stew
Serves 2 hungry adults and 1 hungry toddler

1 large carrot, chopped
1 medium zucchini, chopped
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 large clove garlic, chopped
6 stalks celery, chopped
1 medium tomato, chopped
1 15-oz can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 teaspoon instant veggie broth powder
dried basil, oregano, and Italian seasoning (to taste - approx 1/4 to 1/2 tsp each?)
water (as much as you'd like - I just added to the pot until it seemed right!)

Salt and nutritional yeast ("nooch"), to taste

In a medium pot, saute the onion in a little bit of olive oil until softened. Add the rest of the veggies and continue cooking until softened, approximately 7-10 minutes. Add the broth powder, beans, seasonings, and water and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for approximately 10-15 minutes. At the very end, stir in some salt and nooch to taste.

At around 8:45 Monday night, the power came back on. And you know what? We kept on doing the puzzle. We did turn off the headlamps, however. You wouldn't believe how much easier it was to do a puzzle with the lights on. Who knew? :)

Noodles, Hemp-anola, and a New Smoothie

Greetings from rainy Rhode Island! It's been drizzly and dreary outside today. Yesterday was gorgeous, however, so I can't really complain too much.

Our Saturday started out perfectly. We woke up and it was 59 degrees outside! No humidity, no wind, just a gorgeous, fall-like sunny morning. My hubby, son, and I went out for our first run since our half-marathon, and it felt great to get our legs moving again. My son must have enjoyed the fresh air, because he fell asleep in the jogging stroller. Apparently, somebody was tired! And not just the two parents who actually ran 6 miles! :)

My son has not been eating all that well lately - he's going through a phase of rejecting "real" food and only wanting to eat cereal, fruit, and Larabars. He does love pasta and nut butter sandwiches, though, so I thought I'd try to combine both of those elements into a meal he might actually enjoy - Noodles with Spicy Peanut Sauce from 1,000 Vegan Recipes. However, I soon discovered that I had neither peanut butter nor Asian noodles in the house, so I had to make a couple of substitutions - brown rice spaghetti for the Asian noodles, and sunflower seed butter for the peanut butter. I also omitted the Asian chile paste, since I'm not sure my son would have liked the heat. The other ingredients sounded promising, though - green onions, garlic, ginger, sugar, tamari, and rice vinegar, simmered together with the peanut (sunflower seed) butter; sauteed veggies (I used onions, red bell pepper, sliced baby carrots, and broccoli); and a topping of chopped peanuts. I figured, if nothing else, my son might get a few veggies and some healthy fats into him. In less than 30 minutes, I had dinner on the table. Now, come on, doesn't that look good?

My hubby sure thought so. He ate a big plate and then went back for seconds. My son, on the other hand, only ate about two bites. *Sigh* Toddlers!

After my son went to bed last night, I decided to take my frustration out on a batch of homemade granola. I made Dreena Burton's Hemp-anola from Eat, Drink & Be Vegan, and it didn't disappoint. It has a lot of my favorite ingredients - oats, hemp seeds, coconut, almonds, cinnamon, blackstrap molasses, maple syrup, and raisins - and it was a breeze to whip up. So much healthier - and CHEAPER! - than the store-bought stuff:

This morning, I was not craving any particular smoothie. I think I'd had a chocolate-cherry smoothie every day this week, and I felt like having something different this morning. I looked in my freezer and spotted some blueberries and blackberries. Suddenly, I started tossing this 'n that into my Vita-Mix, and behold, a new smoothie was born!

Black, Blue, and Basil Smoothie
Makes 1 large serving / 2 small servings

1 cup frozen blueberries
1 cup frozen blackberries
1 large frozen banana
1/2" knob fresh ginger
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup fresh basil
1/4 cup fresh mint

Toss all ingredients into Vita-Mix or other high-speed blender. Blend on high until smooth.

After I got home from church this morning, I was pretty hungry. My breakfast smoothie was good, but there were no fats or proteins in it to help keep me full. Then I remembered my Hemp-anola and the delicious organic strawberries in my fridge. I knew exactly what I wanted for a snack!

A big, fat bowl of Hemp-anola, some sliced strawberries and bananas, and some almond milk. Yummmm. 

It was sooooo gooood! I haven't had homemade granola in a really long time, but it was definitely worth the wait!

Question of the day: how do you get your finicky toddler to eat his dinner?

Dill-licious Raw Green Soup

There is nothing better than making something out of nothing. Witness last night's dinner...I had some sad-looking baby spinach, a few pieces of lacinato kale, some huge zucchini my mother-in-law gave me, a few scallions, an overripe avocado, and a huge bunch of fresh dill leftover from the prior night's Tofu Dill Salad Sammiches. What I didn't have was a plan for dinner. All I knew is that I didn't feel like making salad, and I wanted something cool.

Then I had my a-ha moment: back in my pregan (that's pre-vegan) days, my hubby and I used to love a zucchini quiche that I made out of Better Homes and Gardens magazine. This quiche is amazing...but definitely not vegan! But I realized that I had virtually everything I would need to turn that quiche into a raw soup!

I quickly got to work....some chopped zucchini, the spinach and kale, some scallions, an avocado, some dill, some nooch, some water, and some spices were tossed into my Vita-Mix. I blended it up, drizzled in some EVOO, and took a taste. It was incredible...and the flavors were very much like I'd remembered! I decided to put it to the ultimate taste-test: I didn't mention what I had made to my hubby. I poured him a bowl of soup, topped it with some diced tomatoes, dill, and a pinch of garlic salt, and asked him to take a bite. He took a bite, paused, and then said something that was music to my ears:

"It tastes like that zucchini quiche you used to make!!"

SCORE!!

Course, genius that I am, I did NOT write down my measurements as I was going along. I tried my best to remember what I'd done, and so here it is!

Dill-licious Raw Green Soup
Serves 4 with a side dish

Soup:
2 extra-large zucchini, chopped
2 cups raw greens (I used baby spinach and lacinato kale)
3 stalks scallions, chopped
1 avocado
1 cup fresh dill
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 cup (or more) water
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt

Topping:
1 large Roma tomato, diced
few sprigs fresh dill, for garnish

Blend soup ingredients on high until fairly smooth, then go to low and drizzle in 1 tablespoon EVOO. Return to high and blend 1 minute until smooth.

Pour into bowls and top with Roma tomato, fresh dill, and sprinkle of garlic salt.

I served the soup with some roasted cauliflower that I tossed with some dried herbs and nooch.

I love how GREEN this soup is! Zucchini, scallions, spinach, kale, avocado, dill. That's some serious green power!

Tofu Dill Salad Sammiches and a Smoothie Recipe

When I'm in a cooking rut, or an I-just-don't-feel-like-cooking kind of funk, I look for quick and easy recipes. I mean, you gotta eat, right? But even when I'm not feeling inspired in the kitchen, I'm still too stubborn (and cheap) to call for take-out. Besides, being vegan in a small town, it's not like there are a ton of take-out options for me. I don't exactly get psyched about spending $20 on a take-out pizza that has no cheese on it. It also seems like when I ask for no cheese, they also take it to mean no toppings, too. I mean, throw a vegan girl a bone, would ya? I'm saving you the cost of the cheese, so could ya pleaaase put some more veggies on there so I don't starve? Thank you.

Okay, enough about that. So, yesterday, I didn't feel like cooking. Enter the most perfect, quick, no-cooking-and-very-minimal-chopping-type-recipe I could think of: Tofu Dill Salad Sammiches from Vegan with a Vengeance.

VWAV is Isa Chandra Moskowitz's first cookbook, and I'd be willing to bet it's in almost every vegan's kitchen. VWAV is legendary! And this sandwich is one of my faves from the book. It's so easy to make, and it's rescued me on many a nights when I just didn't feel like cooking. It's simply tofu, fresh dill, red onion, apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, vegan mayo, and salt & pepper, all mashed together. I served it on some oatmeal bread with some sliced Roma tomatoes and baby spinach.

We had some tater tots, baby carrots, and cucumber sticks on the side, along with our favorite dips: organic ketchup for the tots, and Grey Poupon for the veggies. I'm positively addicted to veggies dipped in GP!

Earlier in the day, I decided to make a spin on my Pumpkin Pie Smoothie, using actual pumpkin this time. I had a bunch of leftover canned pumpkin in my fridge, and I didn't want it to go to waste! I made a simplified version of my usual smoothie, and it came out quite delicious! There are no measurements (other than the coconut milk) because I just dumped stuff into the blender, so feel free to go with your instincts here!

Pumpkin Pie a la Mode Smoothie 
Makes 1 large serving / 2 small servings

1 1/2 cups coconut milk (I used So Delicious Unsweetened Coconut Milk)
1 large frozen banana
canned pumpkin (I probably used about 1 1/4 cups?)
few shakes of cinnamon
quick shake of nutmeg
Sweetener, to taste (I used about 1 teaspoon of maple-flavored agave syrup and a about 1/2 teaspoon of blackstrap molasses)
5-6 ice cubes

Blend on high until smooth and creamy!

I found this version to be a bit thicker and creamier than my usual version. I might even like this version better!