Category Archives: vegan

Banana “Ice Cream” not really – Vegan and Non-Dairy

Posted on May 29, 2013 | 3 comments

DSCN0173DSCN0181DSCN0175DSCN0182DSCN0184Now you all know how very much I love bananas and I also love nuts. My favorite snack is unsalted roasted almonds. I always eat them after the gym and just love to have a handful as a snack. When I first saw this recipe in Gwyneth Paltrow’s new cookbook, “It’s All Good” I was struck by how wonderful this would be for all the vegan non-dairy eaters out there. So it’s not really ice cream but will satisfy that craving for something smooth , sweet and crunchy. A little salty and a little sweet. I decided to give it a whirl and it’s a keeper for sure. This one’s for you Chloe, hope you enjoy it. There is no refined sugar in this and it tastes delicious, just the right amount of sweet but you gotta love bananas. Of course you can omit the nuts. Sugar free and Dairy Free.

Thanks again Gwyneth for this wonderful cookbook.

Ingredients:

4 ripe bananas, peeled and sliced into thin rounds

1/4 cup finely chopped roasted (unsalted) almonds

2 teaspoons plus 2 tablespoons good-quality real maple syrup, divided (don’t use maple flavored syrup, use the real deal. The difference is remarkable)

a pinch of coarse sea salt

1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

Peel and slice bananas and place in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with a silpat sheet or wax or parchment paper. Once the slices are frozen, use them immediately or keep in a Zip-top plastic baggie or airtight container in the freezer for up to a month.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the almonds with 2 teaspoons of the maple syrup and the pinch of sea salt and set it aside.

Combine the frozen banana slices, the almond milk, the remaining 2 tablespoons of the maple syrup, and the vanilla in a food processor and pulse until the mixture is the texture of soft-serve ice cream, scraping down the sides as necessary. Don’t worry if the mixture is not totally smooth at first – once the bananas start to soften and defrost in the processor it will start to take shape quickly. What I did was added in the nut mixture to my “ice cream” and it was really really good like this. If you don’t want the nuts , you can omit or use them as a topping.

Spoon the banana “ice cream” into bowls immediately and sprinkle each with a bit of the almond mixture.

* I did freeze some of the ‘ice cream” that was left over. I think it’s best right out of the processor or just let it defrost for a while and let it get soft when you take it out of freezer. I must say it was delicious straight out of the processor.

Enjoy!

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Roasted Cauliflower with Chickpeas – Vegan

Posted on May 24, 2013 | 1 comment

DSCN0013DSCN0019 DSCN0024DSCN0025I am still cooking my way through Gwyneth Paltrow’s new cookbook, ” It’s All Good”.  I have made a few recipes and this is the latest one. I love cauliflower, Dijon mustard and chickpeas, so how bad can this possibly be?

So so good, that’s how good.

I couldn’t get Joel to even touch it except to eat one chickpea and he refused to touch the cauliflower. Oh well, once again, he doesn’t know what he’s missing. This is a perfect side dish and very healthy, to boot. Completely vegan, protein packed and very filling. I’m certain it would be delicious with broccoli as well. Give this a try!

Thanks again to Gwyneth Paltrow for an amazing cookbook with lots of new recipes. It is all good!

Ingredients:

1 14 oz. can chickpeas, rinsed and drained and then dried in a kitchen towel.

1 head of cauliflower, outer leaves removed and discarded, cut into bite size florets.

3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, plus 1/4 cup of olive oil

Kosher salt

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard–I love Maille brand Dijon Mustard for just the right bite, but any Dijon mustard will do.

1 tablespoon whole grain mustard ( if you don’t have whole grain , just use all Dijon) it just adds a nice texture and looks good.

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

freshly ground black pepper

*sprinkling of about 1/4 cup of chopped Italian parsley

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and set the rack in the middle.

Toss the chickpeas and cauliflower together in a large roasting pan with the 3 tablespoons of olive oil and a big pinch of kosher salt. Roast, stirring now and then, until everything starts to brown up nicely, and the cauliflower is quite soft (about 45 minutes.)

Meanwhile, whisk together the mustards, vinegar, and 1/4 cup of olive oil, and a few healthy grinds of black pepper. I didn’t think it needed more salt, the mustard was salty enough as was the cauliflower.  While the chickpeas and cauliflower are still warm, toss them with the mustard dressing and if you like, add a little sprinkling of parsley.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

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Cinco de Mayo Salad and Green Goddess Dressing

Posted on May 1, 2013 | 2 comments

photo (2)photo (5)photo (2) photo May is here and it brings warm weather and beautiful flowers and springtime has finally arrived. This is a perfect way to bring a little Cinco de Mayo into your home in a pretty healthy way.

Any excuse to celebrate a holiday with a new recipe! Happy Cinco de Mayo everyone and here is a new salad and salad dressing to help celebrate with. While I am not a vegan and don’t always cook that way,  I tried this salad dressing which I found in Gwyneth Paltrow’s cookbook, “It’s All Good”, and I have to say it is all good! All good ingredients. I am not talking diet food–just good, healthy food, that when eaten in moderation, yields very good results. I used * Vegenaise in making this and highly recommend it in the place of mayonnaise. You can also use yogurt in its place. This is low salt and low sugar. Delicious, fresh ingredients. I made it with the delicious salad listed below. I love love cilantro, and I have to say that if you don’t love cilantro, this one’s not for you. I used half of a jalapeno and it was not hot at all, next time I will use a little more.  I scraped the seeds out. Be very careful handling jalapenos and their seeds–make sure to wash your hands well afterwards and maybe wear gloves to prevent any problems.

This dressing will keep well in a jar for up to a week.

*a little story about Vegenaise, which is lighter than mayonnaise and contains no eggs, milk or animal products. No GMO’s (Genetically Modified Organisms). Mix it with Dijon for great flavor in the place of real mayo. Extra added bonus is a great jar to store future salad dressings in.

Ingredients:

*this will be vegan if you use Vegenaise

DRESSING INGREDIENTS:

2/3 cup of Vegenaise, yogurt, or mayonnaise

2 scallions, white and light green parts only, chopped

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (about 4 limes)

1/2 green jalapeno, roughly chopped (you can use more or less, whatever level of heat you like)

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon honey

DRESSING DIRECTIONS:

Blend all ingredients in a blender except for olive oil (I open the top and pour oil in after all other ingredients are combined.) It is a beautiful light green color with specks of dark green. Joel was definitely suspicious of the color but he really loved it! Gave it a big thumbs up!

This should serve 4 nicely as a salad but adjust quantities based on how many people you are feeding.

SALAD INGREDIENTS:

About two hearts of romaine Lettuce, shredded

1/2 can of yellow corn (or 2 fresh ears of corn, shucked)

1/2 can black beans (I use organic canned beans and rinse and drain them)

4 scallions, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced

1 ripe avocado, cut into chunks

approx. 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes (I used delicious cherry tomatoes, halved)

1/4 cup roughly chopped cilantro

Green Goddess Dressing (see above)

If you’re using fresh corn, you’ll have to cook it first. I used the canned version this time. Place the lettuce in a large bowl and dress it with about 1/4 cup of the dressing, just so it’s nicely coated. I then added beans, tomatoes, scallions, avocado, cilantro and corn. Add a little more salad dressing, and serve immediately. Joel likes a lot more dressing on his salad so I served with dressing on the side. And no he didn’t eat all that stuff in the salad; he just ate lettuce and tomatoes…he really doesn’t know what he’s missing!

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Roasted Asparagus with Simple Lemon Vinaigrette- Springtime is here

Posted on April 8, 2013 | 2 comments

photoI wish it were warmer but I can feel it coming, any day now . If you read my blog you know how very much I love asparagus and I am always looking for new things to do with it. Love the woody fresh flavor they bring with them. Asparagus may be a year round presence these days, but the “real” deal appears each and every spring. It’s only for a few months that we’ll have these beautiful spears. I love them barely cooked with a simple delicious vinaigrette, love them in an omelette, salads, pastas and just plain roasted . Just don’t overcook them, that’s sad , they go limp and stringy and just plain old bad. I love them just cooked and thrown into my Quinoa Salad. Just throw them into a pot of boiling salted water for a minute till they turn bright green, remove and cool down and mix in with the quinoa for a delicious addition.  This recipe below is to roast asparagus in the oven and top it with this simple lemon vinaigrette. It stands on its own as a side dish or you can add it to any salad.

Ingredients:

3/4 – 1 lb. fresh asparagus, remove woody stems and if they’re very thick take a vegetable peeler to them. I usually just break off the bottoms where they will just snap off when you bend them, or use a knife.

olive oil ( a good glug)

kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

Vinaigrette:

1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/2 lemon, juiced

1 tablespoon olive oil

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

*this can easily be doubled

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees

Break off the ends of the asparagus and if they’re very thick, peel them a little bit with a vegetable peeler. Place the asparagus on a baking sheet, drizzle with a good glug of good olive oil, then toss to coat the asparagus completely. Spread the asparagus in a single layer and sprinkle liberally with Salt and Pepper. Roast the asparagus until tender but still firm and moist. About 20 – 25 minutes.

Make the vinaigrette: in a small bowl, vigorously whisk together the mustard and lemon juice. Slowly drizzle the olive oil in, whisking quickly so olive oil will emulsify into the juice mixture. Season with Salt and Pepper. Serve warm, at room temperature or cold. If you refrigerate, take out for about an hour so it’s not super cold when you serve.

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Very Nutty Pasta – Vegetarian (can be Vegan) – Foriana Sauce

Posted on October 7, 2012 | 1 comment

This pasta dish is a sweet, salty, nutty, think out of the box kind of pasta.  I made it alongside chicken for dinner and it is a most delicious side dish which is completely vegetarian and if you leave out the parmesan it can also be completely vegan. It is perfect as a main vegetarian dish, too. Did it all in the food processor, cooked the pasta and tossed the nuts in some olive oil with raisins. The nuts have a lot of substance and add a lot of flavor to the spaghetti. Something a little different  and a rather adventurous pasta for sure. This recipe could probably yield enough for 2 boxes of pasta depending on how much sauce you like. I made 3/4 of a pound of pasta and didn’t use all the Foriana sauce. Original recipe is from Food52 Blog.  It can also be made with anchovies if you’re so inclined. (I would add about 5 and chop them up but I left them out this time.) If you are going to keep nut mixture in fridge without pasta I would put a thin layer of olive oil over it. It would keep like this in refrigerator for at least a week. When you’re ready to use it, bring it to room temperature, and heat it up well. You may need to add a little more olive oil to the pasta later; you’ll have to check the consistency. Think Nut Pesto.

Ingredients:

1 cup walnuts

1 cup pine nuts

10 cloves of garlic (nice size cloves)

3 teaspoons dried oregano

1/3 cup of olive oil

1/2 cup golden raisins

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

3/4 lb. spaghetti (I used linguine fini but anything will do just fine)

Parmesan cheese for sprinkling, if you like

Directions:

Place the walnuts, pine nuts and garlic in a food processor and pulse to a fine chop. Add the oregano and pulse a few more times until combined together.

Heat the olive oil in a medium-sized skillet over medium heat, add the nut mixture, along with the raisins, and salt and pepper to taste (you will need a fair amount). Cook for about 5 minutes, being sure not to burn. Set aside.

I cooked pasta, reserving about a cup of pasta water in the event I needed to add liquid to my sauce. After cooking pasta according to directions on box ( al dente), I put pasta back in pot and started to add nut mixture to pasta; I also added a little pasta water till I got the consistency I wanted, tasted for salt and pepper and plated it up. I added Parmesan at the table as well as red pepper flakes. It was a very comforting, different pasta meal. The anchovies would certainly give it more bite but I  decided to keep it vegetarian.

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Tomato Feta Salad

Posted on May 27, 2012 | 3 comments

I call this “summer salad” but it’s really a wonderful salad any time of year. I love the salty taste of feta with tomatoes, and a wonderful combination of Middle Eastern spices called Zahtar .DSCN3272

Try and find this wonderful blend of spices–it will add wonderful flavor to a very simple meal. I like this salad with avocado because I like everything with avocado. It’s optional, as are the olives. This is a beautiful salad served all year but there is something about it that shouts summer, BBQ, and warm nights. The tomatoes are so beautiful right now, especially the heirlooms in all those beautiful colors go and grab some from your local farmers market or road stand. Excuse the picture, it’s fuzzy but you get the picture. It’s a greek salad without the lettuce. A perfect side dish salad to go with any meal. Beautiful with a piece of grilled fish. Enjoy!

4 large tomatoes , try and go for those beautiful heirloom tomatoes or just some beautiful local ones. (about 1 1/4 lb.)

Za'atar Spice

Za’atar Spice

1/2 red onion

4 ounces (give or take) feta cheese (try to get as good a cheese as possible. I just crumble it up over the salad, but if you prefer cubes you can go that way)

Extra virgin olive oil

freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 1/2 lemon should do it)

1 tablespoon Zahtar

slices of cucumber (I love the seedless persian ones but any kind will do)

1 avocado, sliced

fresh basil

black olives, pitted

Slice the tomatoes as thinly as you can and arrange on a large round serving platter in overlapping circles.

Put cheese over the tomatoes (this is why I crumble it or use a grater). I then drizzle olive oil over tomatoes generously but not too generously–probably about 1/2 tablespoon. I then place the avocado and cucumbers around the platter and add the black olives. Just make sure you get a drop of olive oil on all the tomatoes. Now, sprinkle the 1/2 lemon juice all over the salad. Sprinkle with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Dust the tablespoon of Zahtar over the salad. You’re good to go. Have a wonderful weekend.

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Chiffonade of Greens with Avocado and Red Onion in a Lemon Sherry Vinaigrette

Posted on December 21, 2011 | 5 comments

Sherry Lemon Vinaigrette ingredients

This salad is also from my cooking class with Karen Lee. I loved this salad. It was so delicious. Of course you probably have to love avocados and red onion but if you do, this is just an awesome delicious salad. Very easy, very few ingredients, and very few moving parts. Enjoy!

Feel free to add any protein into this salad. Chicken,  shrimp, tofu, or even some chopped eggs. Recently I have been seeing a lot of  poached or fried egg on top of salad. Yum! this one would be perfect with a fried egg atop! Give it a try.

Ingredients:

Salad:

1 bunch arugula (try to use organic if available; if you don’t have arugula, you can use escarole, endive, frisee or chicory)

1 bunch romaine or red leafy lettuce (you can throw in a little radicchio as well)

*use any combo of your favorite greens

1/2 cup diced red onion (optional)

1 ripe (not too ripe) avocado, diced

*any protein you like

Sherry Lemon Vinaigrette:

6 tbsp. olive oil

1 tbsp. aged sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar

2 tbsp. lemon juice (or lime)

pinch cayenne powder

1 tsp. kosher salt

Make the dressing by dissolving the salt in the lemon juice and vinegar. Then add the cayenne and whisk in the olive oil.

Directions:

Clean lettuces and dry. I wrap lettuce in a dry kitchen towel and set aside. However, you can clean and dry lettuce however you want; it is fine. You can even buy pre-washed lettuces .  Peel and dice red onion.* Combine the lettuce, onion and diced avocado in a bowl. Toss with most of the dressing, taste, and then add more dressing, if desired. This is a lovely salad and you can keep it very simple. I ate it with Roast Chicken the other night, and they went together perfectly. I only used arugula but use whatever lettuce you like.

* The only suggestion I have is that if it is the winter and the red onion is particularly strong, you can soak it in a small bowl of water with a little lemon juice and drain and dry, thus removing the very strong oniony flavor. This is usually not an issue in the summer. Or just let it be strong, and just dice it and add it.


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