balsamic green bean salad

i made this a couple months ago almost exclusively using produce from greeley gardens.  i've blogged on a couple other csa-inspired dishes, but i really made a lot more than made it to this blog.  i was able to can a lot of the veggies so i can continue to enjoy them all winter long. what i love most about my weekly bag of produce is that i'm almost immediately inspired to create a new recipe.  you can check out the weekly pics of all my csa goodies here.

• 1 cup mixed yellow and green beans
• 5-6 baby potatoes, diced
• 5-6 cherry tomatoes, halved
• 8 button mushrooms, sliced
• 2 tablespoons veggie broth
• 1 tablespoon vegan butter

for the miso balsamic dressing:

• 1¼ yellow miso
• 3/4 teaspoon garlic
• 3/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
• 3 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 3/4 teaspoons rosemary
• pinch of black pepper

chop beans into 1-inch bite sized pieces. steam the diced potatoes and green beans for approximately 10-12 minutes. meanwhile, lightly sauté the mushroom slices in the butter and veggie broth for about 5 minutes and then set all the veggies aside to cool

mix the dressing ingredients in a magic bullet or blender.  put the cooked veggies in a dish and pour the dressing over top.  add in the cherry tomatoes and toss gently.

this can be served cool or warm.

french lentil potato salad

although the food network show 'diners, drive-ins dives' isn't exactly vegan-friendly, it was the inspiration behind this recipe.  i saw an episode where guy visited a french bistro and the chef made this lentil dressing from dijon mustard, red wine vinegar and soybean oil.  as soon as i saw that dressing, my heart felt all aflutter - i think that flavor combo was put on this earth just for me.  :)  i've made tangy lentil salads before, so i wanted to try something completely new.  it's a perfect early spring recipe - not too heavy, but still warming and savory.  i think it would make a great holiday side dish.

• 4 small yukon gold potatoes
• 10 stalks of asparagus
• 3/4 cup french green lentils
• 2 tablespoons olive olive oil
• 1/2 tablespoon rosemary
• 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons soybean oil

the first step it to start cooking the lentils - 1/3 cup dry will make about 3/4 cup cooked.  bring them to a boil and then let simmer.  as they are cooking, dice up the potatoes into cubes and lay on a cookie sheet covered in foil.  drizzle them with one tablespoon of olive oil and and sprinkle on the rosemary.   toss the potatoes around, making sure they are covered with the oil and rosemary mix.  place in the oven at 375°f for 15 minutes, then flip and bake for another 15 minutes.

cut about 2 inches off the tops of the asparagus stalks, and then halve those again. pull the cookie sheet out and scoot the potatoes to one side.  toss the asparagus cuts in the other tablespoon of olive oil and place on the other end of the cookie sheet.  pop back in the oven for another 15 minutes.  the potatoes will likely still need some browning up, so put them back in the oven as well.  if they are are too crispy or in danger of burning, remove them when you cook the asparagus. 

the lentils should finish up cooking after the asparagus has been in for a bit.  drain them and set aside.  in a jar, or dressing shaker, mix up the soybean oil, red wine vinegar and dijon mustard.  when the asparagus is done, combine them with the potatoes and lentils and gently toss in the dijon dressing. 

makes about 3 side dish servings.