rainbow chard lemon-garlic fettuccine

back with a new recipe. i have been cooking during my blog absence, but mostly just recipes i've already shared. so many people contributed to me getting up the creative energy to make this happen: my dad, a big meat and potatoes kind of guy, actually cooked a vegan meal for my birthday. thanks dad! my mom, who made him cook that meal :), and also once again went out her way to get me some rocking pappardelle pasta for my birthday. my brother, who got me a kick-ass ceramic knife which made this meal possible. (plus, he brought me over 20 pounds of asparagus this year). my csa, greely gardens, which started this weekend (yay!). and of course, my husband, who always graciously tries my recipes and smiles through it all. plus, he drove to store and got the mushrooms. whew, sounds like i a won an academy award or something... moving on to the food!

• 4-5 rainbow chard leaves
• 2 inch garlic scape, sliced
• 10-12 button mushrooms, sliced
• 6 oz. roasted garlic Pappardelle fettuccine
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 - 3/4 cup Drew's Lemon Goddess dressing

in a large pot, bring 4 cups of water to a boil and cook pasta for 8 minutes. drain then rinse with warm water. set aside.

trim stems from the chard and tear the leaves into fourths.  in a small pot, boil 2 cups of water and add stems for 3-4 minutes to tenderize. remove from heat and drain.
slice garlic scape into thin medallions, almost like scallions. in a large skillet on medium heat, sauté the garlic and chard stems in olive oil. after 2-3 minutes, add in chard leaves and about an 1/8 cup of water. cover with lid to wilt stems. when the leaves have reduced, remove lid and add the sliced mushrooms. continue sautéing on medium heat for 3-4 minutes.

in a pasta bowl, toss the fettuccine noodles with 1/2 cup of the lemon goddess dressing. the noodles should be well-coated and will separate. add in the chard and mushroom saute, as well as up to another 1/4 cup of dressing as needed. serve warm.

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.

creamy avocado dressing (raw)

i'm always looking for healthy homemade salad dressing recipes - i'm sort of over the bottle stuff. a lot of the recipes that are non-oil based call for fruit juices like orange, but i'm just not a fruit-dressing kind of girl. i don't mind fresh squeezed lemon juice though. here is a raw creamy avocado dressing that i ad-libbed and really liked!

• 1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
• 1/2 haas avocado
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon of bragg liquid aminos
• 1/2 teaspoon of dried kelp
• pinch of cayenne pepper

soak sunflower seeds in water for at least 4 hours. then just toss everything in a magic bullet and whir. seriously, i couldn't live without my bullet. thin with water if so desired. serve over your favourite bed of greens - here with kale, tomatoes and zucchini.

to keep it raw, make sure your kelp is sun-dried, not roasted or toasted!

sprouts & kale salad (w/ creamy dressing)

i've only recently tried kale, and i wasn't sure i was going to like it. i don't know why, i just had a food prejudice. but lucky for me, i forged ahead and found out that it is a pretty tasty little green.

• 1 cup of sprouts (i used lentil, red & green pea)
• 2 cups kale
  
• salad fixins: tomatoes, cucumber, etc.

for the creamy tahini dressing:

• 1 tablespoon white miso
  
• 1 ½ tablespoons tahini
  
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  
• 1 ½ tablespoons sesame oil
  
• 1/2 tablespoon stoneground mustard
  
• water to thin
  

you can buy sprouts in most produce sections, or just sprout them yourself. i don't have a fancy method of doing this. i soak my uncooked beans in a quart mason jars for about 8 hours. then i lay a damp tea towel in a colander, and dump in the beans, seeds, etc. i use the edges of the towel to fold over the top, and rinse the sprouts every couple of hours. then they just sit on my kitchen counter and i re-rinse about every 3 hours or so, keeping them moist. i usually sprout for a couple days before eating, making sure to rinse regularly.

when you prepare your salad, you will want to massage the kale for about 5 minutes with olive oil and/or lemon juice. the first time i ate kale i didn't know to do this, and it was like trying to chew a porcupine made out of cardboard. (thanks for the tip, lauren!) the kale should retain its crunchiness, but lose some of the extra-stiffness. toss in the sprouts, and whatever veggies you want for your salad. whisk the dressing ingredients in a jar or bowl, using as much water as needed to thin.

enjoy!

falafel salad w/ vegan tzatziki dressing

falafel has been one my favourite foods since i went vegetarian at 16. there is a great restaurant in town that makes the best yogurt tzatziki for their falafel pita wraps, and is what inspired me to make a vegan version. so the other day when i was craving falafel, but was out of pita, i just threw everything on top of a salad and made this vegan tzatziki dressing. i'll post my personal falafel recipe later, but this post is actually about the tzatziki dressing which i thought was the highlight of my meal.

• 1 bed of salad (lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers)
• 4 falafel balls

for the tzatziki dressing:

• 1 medium cucumber, peeled and chopped
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons tahini
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons fat-free nayonaise
• pinch of dill

make a bed of salad, and place 3 or 4 falafel balls on top. you can find a pre-made falafel mix at most grocery stores (i think fantastic foods brand is pretty good), or you can find many recipes online. personally, i bake mine (i'll post my recipe later).

in a magic bullet or food processor, blend up dressing ingredients. you can add more olive oil or lemon juice if it's too thick. top salad with vegan tzatziki dressing and enjoy your falafel bowl!