cashew tamari dressing

 have long been a fan of homemade salad dressings, and rarely purchase the commercial variety.  however, there are a few bottled versions that i love, and i recently added another one to the list when i visited austin this past spring and my fabulous aunt took me to wheatsville co-op.  aside from the great selection of groceries and a myriad of vegan options at the deli, they also have a seriously awesome cashew tamari dressing. faced with the idea of funding a trip to austin every couple weeks to pick up a bottle, i hauled some back to kansas city and used it sparingly for several weeks as i tried to make a clone.  the result was... pretty darn close.  and cheaper than flying to austin once a month.

• 1/2 cup raw cashews
• 2¾ tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1¾ tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1¼ tablespoon tamari
• 1/4 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

combine all ingredients in a magic bullet or blender, and let soak for about an hour.  after soaking, puree the heck out of it until the cashews have been effectively pulverized. add a little water along the way if needed or if you like thinner dressings.  makes enough for 2 or 3 salads and will keep in the fridge (sealed) for a couple of days.

served here over a yummy kale salad, courtesy of my awesome csa, greeley gardens.

small bites: artichoke & sun dried tomato bruschetta

this is the last post of my small bites series, and probably the most simple of 'recipes'.  it's actually just two ingredients, but the end result is super yummy.  i love artichoke hearts on... everything.  i want to create twist on the standard tomato bruschetta, and thought artichoke hearts would make a great ingredient to swap in.  and to give it a just another little zing, i used sun dried tomatoes, although i'm sure regular ones would make a nice flavour combo as well. the picture here is half a bowl of simple tomato bruschetta (left) and the artichoke and sun dried tomato on the right.  i didn't want to dirty up all of kim's dishes just for a pic!

• 6 oz. small jar of marinate artichoke hears
• 7-8 sun dried tomatoes, not oil packed

i buy sun dried tomatoes in bulk and just rehydrate them when i need.  in this case, i soaked them in a warm bowl of water for about 25 minutes, and then sliced each one into matchstick size pieces. next, drain the artichoke hearts. if you aren't using the marinated ones in a jar, i would suggest making a marinade of olive oil and some spices and letting them sit for a while.  the pre-marinated ones make this so much easier, though.

and that's it.  combine and let sit for a few hours.  no need to add garlic or other spices, cause the artichoke hearts take care of it for you!   

small bites: zesty olive tapenade

as i recently posted about, my friend kim and i had a delicious feast of italian tapenades and bruschetta for dinner one night.  kim used her new ninja to make this olive tapenade.  i love my magic bullet, but the ninja looked like it could hold a little bit more - i might have to consider getting one.  this tapenade was sooo good - it tasted a little zingy at first, but it was totally balanced out by the flat breads and crackers.

• 3/4 cup black olives
• 1/2 cup green olives (w/ pimentos)
• 2 tablespoons capers
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 fresh lemon, juiced
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

 this is one of those simple throw together recipes - just toss everything in a ninja or food processor, and pulse several times.  you don't want a puree, but rather a finely minced tapenade.  it makes a good cup and  half - quite a bit of tapendade.  it's definitely an easy go to recipe, especially if you keep olives on hand.  thanks for the recipe, kim!

small bites: simple tomato bruschetta

my friend kim and i met for dinner recently and decided to make a fun dinner of small bites - all italian themed.  i love having the variety of dinners like these - it's satisfies so many cravings at once.  this night i made a tomato bruschetta, and an artichoke bruschetta and kim made a super zesty olive tapenade.  we served them on flatbread crackers and wheat crisps, but they would be awesome on some crunchy french bread as well.  i'll post the recipes for each in my upcoming blogs starting with the simple tomato bruschetta. enjoy!

• 3 large tomatoes
• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1-2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil

core and chop your tomatoes and place in a bowl.  add in the minced garlic and dried basil, and then drizzle the olive oil and balsamic vinegar on top.  gently toss and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.  some notes: i rarely eat onions, so i excluded and went for a straight forward tomato flavor.  also, you can sub in fresh basil, but i didn't have any on hand, so i just used dried.  letting it sit overnight really made the difference in flavor.

creamy dill pasta salad

i have never found a store-bought vegan ranch that i like, so i have taken to the habit of making my own. there are plenty of recipes you can google - i just use a pretty typical combo of mayonnaise, red wine vinegar and spices. one day i was mixing up a batch and was feeling a little dilly, and it put me in mind of a creamy dill pasta dish. this is super easy to make, and perfect for potlucks and parties. and because it's so creamy, it doesn't make a big production of being vegan.

• 12 oz. uncooked macaroni noodles
• 10-12 cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 medium cucumber, diced
• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
• 6 oz. of vegan mayonnaise
• 1 ¼ tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon soy milk
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon dried dill
• 1 ¼ tablespoons pickle juice

boil the macaroni noodles according to package directions. while noodles are cooking, halve your cherry tomatoes and dice your cucumber. once the noodles are done cooking, drain and rinse with cold water. pour into a large bowl, and add the olive oil. this will help keep the noodles from sticking together and prevent them from sucking up all the dressing. toss in the tomatoes and cucumber with the noodles.

to mix the dressing, you can use a magic bullet or blender, or you can whisk by hand in a jar. combine the dressing ingredients (mayonnaise through pickle juice) and blend/whisk together. i prefer to use nasoysa nayonaise, but feel free to substitute you favourite vegan mayo. after it's mixed, test the dill flavour. sometimes i add more pickle juice - remember that the flavour will mellow a bit once combined with the noodles. if the dressing is too thick, add a little more soymilk or lemon juice, but be sure and rest test for the dill quality.

add half of the dressing with the noodles, cover and refrigerate for at least an hour. also chill the remaining dressing. during this time, the noodles will suck up a lot of the dressing so only adding half the dressing at first will yield a creamier result. before serving, add in the rest of the dressing and toss.

curry in a hurry

work has been crazy for me lately, and i've honestly not felt like cooking complicated meals when i get home. i've been eating a lot of easy meals, and i thought this one was one of the more blog worthy. the only catch is that for an quick and easy meal, you'll want to have your curry powder made ahead of time, or buy some. i made my several months ago and keep it in a spice jar.

• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 3 cups sliced cabbage
• 1 carrots, julienned
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
  
• 2 tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons curry powder
• 1 cup cooked brown rice

for the curry powder:

• 2 tablespoons cumin seed
• 2 tablespoons coriander seeds
• 1 tablespoon cardamom seeds
• 1 tablespoon mustard seeds
• 3/4 tablespoon cloves
• 3/4 tablespoon black peppercorns
• 1/2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
• 3/4 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1/2 tablespoon turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne

to make the curry powder, put all seeds (everything through the fenugreek) on a cookie sheet and place in the oven on 300 for about 15-20 minutes. alternately, you can put it in a cast iron skillet and heat on a medium stove top. once seeds begin to pop, wait about another 20 seconds before you remove them. put the toasted seeds along with the rest of the powdered ingredients into a magic bullet or the old fashioned mortar and pestle. grind into a curry powder.

cook brown rice according to directions. meanwhile, slice all the veggies up and place in a non-stick skillet. heat on medium high for one or two minutes, until the garlic starts to brown a little. add in the curry powder and onion/onion powder. the juices from the tomatoes and veggies should provide enough liquid to make a thick sauce. if not, add in 1/4 cup of water or coconut milk. when the green peppers are tender and cabbage is translucent, remove from heat. serve over brown rice.

make 2 dinner servings.

hot mustard asparagus

my mom is a pretty cool chick. she is super supportive of my vegan lifestyle, and that's saying a lot considering we live in the heart of meat and potatoes land. she's always willing to go out for a vegetarian or vegan meal, and even requested veggie sushi for mother's day. this year she went to ireland and managed to bring back some vegan hot irish mustard from avoca pantry - which rocks because i love mustard and i love spicy foods. so hats off to my mom and all her rockin'ness.

• 1 pound asparagus
• 2 tablespoons hot irish mustard*
• 2 tablespoons hot scottish mustard*
  

i saved a few pounds of the asparagus that my brother gave me, so i this made from thawed asparagus (notice they are less stiff). however, i can say that i'm mighty impressed with how well they taste after a month or two of being frozen. cut the woody ends off your asparagus and coat with at least three tablespoons of hot mustard (*work with what you have, but make it spicy)! i also had some hot scottish mustard from arran, and the two worked very well together. if you are using fresh asparagus, you may need to add a little olive oil if necessary or reduce baking time.

if using frozen (and thawed) asparagus, bake for 25 minutes on 375°f, flipping once. kick the broiler on high for about 5 minutes and spread a little additional mustard on top before serving.

banana blueberry green smoothie

i love green smoothies, but i'll admit that i don't make them much over the winter. so three cheers for the warmer weather, so i can make lots of green smoothies without being chilled to the bone.

• 2 ripe bananas
• 1/2 cup blueberries
• 1½ cups spinach (or any green)
• 10-15 raw untoasted almonds
• 1/2 cup water
• 4 ice cubes

like all my green smoothie recipes, i just toss everything in a blender. pulse a few times to help break up the ice, and then blend for approximately 30-45 seconds until everything is smooth and creamy. you may have to add a little more water to get things mixing.

raw veggie wraps w/ almond cheese

one of the reasons i didn't transition to veganism earlier in life is that i really loved cheese. plus, as an ovo-lacto veg, cheese was one of the bigger staples in my diet. however, in my research of a raw-foods diet, i came across several different nut cheese recipes and gave them a shot. to my delight, most of them were delicious. and i mean delicious in a gourmet-cheese type of way. the almond cheese recipe below is one i came up with from experimenting with several different recipes.

• 1/2 zucchini
• 1/2 cucumber
• 2 carrots, peeled
• 2 tablespoons bragg's aminos
  
• 1 ½ teaspoons dulse flakes
• 1 small garlic clove, minced
  
• 1/2 avocado
• several large lettuce leaves

for the almond cheese:

• 1/4 cup untoasted almonds
• 1 tablespoon tahini
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 tablespoon cold press olive oil

slice zucchini, cucumber and carrots into thin spears. lay on a plate or shallow dish, and marinate them in the braggs, garlic and dulse flakes for several hours. if you don't have bragg's, you could substitute low sodium soy or nama shoyu cut with a little water. flip occasionally.

meanwhile, soak the almonds in water at room temperature. after about 5 or 6 hours, drain and blend in a magic bullet or food processor with tahini, lemon juice and olive oil. this will be a thick spreadable cheese, but if you need to thin, just add a teaspoon of water and re-blend. spread cheese on a lettuce leaf and fill with the marinated veggies. add a slice or two of avocado and wrap up.

this recipe makes enough for about 3-4 lettuce wraps.

untraditional gazpacho

traditionally, gazpacho is served cold, but i like mine at room temperature. traditionally, it's a refreshing summer dish, but i like it in the winter too as a counter to all the heavy meals. traditionally, bread crumbs are almost always in the recipe, but i omitted them because really, they just seemed unnecessary. no offense to other gazpacho chefs - i'm sure there are plenty of great recipes with breadcrumbs, but this is untraditional gazpacho, after all.

• 2 14oz. cans fire roasted tomatoes (drained)
• 1 jar of roasted red peppers (drained)
• 1/2 can whole kernel corn
• 1/2 cucumber, peeled
• 1/2 green bell pepper
• 1/4 cup cilantro
• 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 tablespoons onion powder
• 1 ½ tablespoons ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• hot sauce to liking

just throw everything in a food processor and pulse until you have a well blended chunky gazpacho. you may need more vinegar or hot sauce to help liquefy everything.

makes several bowls.

simple spicy stir fry

i'm a spice maniac. seriously. my stomach must be made of steel because i love superhuman hot-ness in my foods. this dish will definitely clear the sinuses. i'd suggest modifying the chili paste based upon what you prefer. best of all, it's really low fat and low calorie if you stick to the oil measurements below.

• 7 oz. frozen broccoli
• 1 cup shredded cabbage and carrots
• 2 tablespoons chili paste
• 1 tablespoon chili oil
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 3 tablespoons nama shoyu (or soy)
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon ginger, minced
• 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons ground sichuan peppercorns

heat oils and chili paste in a wok on high (about 400°). add in the broccoli, shoyu, galic and ginger and stir fry until well heated (about 7 minutes with frozen broccoli). add the rice vinegar and cabbage mix (i used bag coleslaw mix) and cook for about 5 minutes. toss in the ground sichuan peppercorns about 30 seconds before you finish stir frying.

this recipe only makes one bowl- perfect for the solo spice lover.

simply cinnamon apples

we went to an apple festival earlier this month, and got all these wonderful organic and locally grown apples. it reminded of how simple 'recipes' can be so awesome.

we had so many....

• 2 golden delicious, cored and chopped
  
• 1 tablespoon agave nectar
• 1-2 tablespoons cinnamon

stir, eat.

if you are feeling on the non-raw side, pop the bowl in the microwave for about 30-45 seconds. it tastes just like the yummy insides of an apple pie.