Easy Autumn Salad

It's turned cool in S. California. Again. October weather is typically up and down. Right now it's down. I so love the cold nights and sunny, breezy days. Now you realize that when I say the word "cold" I'm not referring to my part of the world as being like N. Idaho or MN, where I grew up. What I mean is "cold" for us. And with that cold comes the changing of the leaves. Finally. I'll have to head up to the mountains to see a lot of trees changing colors but for right now, those around town suffice.

Oddly enough, when autumn shows up, my nature is to head toward home made soups and hot out of the oven cornbread or rolls or biscuits an inch high slathered with all good things. Today I decided to be different. I made a cold vegetable salad I found in a magazine, so I tweaked it to suit my own palette by adding some heat and it turned out so good I just have to share it with you. Try it and let me know what you think. I served it with my knock-off version of Marie Callendar's portobello hamburger. The recipe for that is at "Ah, Bella, How I Love Thee."

EASY AUTUMN SALAD

Into a small bowl put:

1 tsp. Buttermilk Ranch Dressing Mix

1/2 tsp. dill weed

1 tsp. water

Stir together and let it stand for five minutes.

In another small bowl mix together:

2 Tbs. vegan mayonaisse

2 Tbs. soy buttermilk (I made my own by mixing a dash of vinegar with my regular soy milk and letting it sit till it curdled.)

Mix well. Set aside.

Into a large bowl place:

1 1/2 cups fresh corn (I used frozen, uncooked)

1 cup peas and carrots frozen mix, thawed, then blanched for two minutes and cooled.)

1 tomato, seeded and cut into small pieces

1/2 cup green pepper, small dice

1/2 cup cucumber, small dice

1/2 cup red onion, small dice

Pinch of red pepper flakes
Pinch of cayenne

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

Mix the Ranch Dressing and Buttermilk mixture together, then pour over the vegetables. Stir to blend. Let sit in the refrigerator, covered, at least an hour. Several hours is better. Stir occasionally to keep the ingredients mixed with the dressing. Serve cold.

6 servings.

You like Tomato, I like Tomatoh

The time of year we have all been waiting for is finally here. Cherry, Roma, Beefsteak, Green Zebra, Purple Cherokee how we have missed you so! Time to put those pale supermarket imitations we have had to rely on for so many months in their proper place; the dumpster! Don't even open those plastic wrapped styrofoam packages. Just head to your local farmer's market. We only have a few months of this sweet bliss so let's make the best of it!

Native to South and Central America, the tomato was cultivated by the Incas and Aztecs. The word “tomato” is derived from "tomatl," its name in Nahuatl, the ancient language of the Aztec people.Their was a time of course when tomatoes were shunned by the English speaking world. Thought to be poisonous(their leaves and roots are) they were grown strictly as ornamentals by the Northern Europeans until the 17^th century. The Spanish and Italians embraced the tomato in the sixteenth century and adopted it wholeheartedly into recipes.

What a trip the lowly “love apple” has taken! From the new world to the old world and then back again. Somewhere along the way something went wrong. Most tomatoes you buy in the grocery store nowadays are grown in Florida, California and Mexico. Picked green when they are just starting to change color, they are stacked on pallets, put into a large room for a few days and ethylene gas is piped into the room. Ethylene gas is derived from petroleum. You know, the stuff you heat your house with and run your car on. The tomato turns a lovely pink color but is still firm and ships easily and without bruising. Voila! You go to the store and purchase a lovely pink and crunchy tomato. But really, who the hell wants a crunchy, pink tomato?

So we look forward to this short season for most of the year when we can get tomatoes that taste like tomatoes. And it's just starting. Hurry down to your local Farmer's Market where the tomatoes taste like tomatoes. Grab a slicer, a loaf of bread, the salt shaker and make yourself a sandwich. Can all you can get hold of for those winter months that we know are coming. Cherish the sweet juicy taste while it lasts. Shun those crunchy ones! As for me? I'm making some gazpacho; as often as I can for as long as those lovely local tomatoes are in season. I'm riding this tide!

Gazpacho

1 large cucumber(or a bunch of those small picklers) halved lengthwise, peeled,

seeded, divided

2 large tomatoes, chopped and divided

1 bell pepper, chopped and divided

1 medium onion, chopped and divided

1 roasted red pepper(canned ones are okay)

3 cups tomato juice, divided

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

3 cloves garlic minced or smashed

Tabasco sauce, ground black pepper and salt to taste

Puree half of the cucumber, tomato, bell pepper, onion and the roasted red pepper

in a blender with one cup of the tomato juice. Pour into a bowl, add the remaining

ingredients and chill for at least two hours. Taste for seasoning. Serve cold and

garnish with croutons. Enjoy your summer.

Peppers Fit For The President

 The stuffed peppers tasted so much better than this photo looks. It simply did not want to stand by itself in the bowl, so I propped it up with pita chips--which now that I think of it, would have been a good thing to add to my menu that night. Also, I waited until the next day to take the photo, not realizing the pepper would appear so shriveled. Fresh out of the oven, these delicious bells were a delight to the tastebuds.

First off, I would not pester any of my friends or family to become a vegan. That may be due to the fact that I have become one under doctor's orders and not by choice. Even so, after just a few months of the vegan lifestyle, I can honestly say that I don't remember the last time I felt so normal. No more bouts with the intestinal disease that has put me in the hospital and/or resulted in four surgeries over the last 15 years. Oddly enough, I wonder why none of the other surgeons or gastro-guys ever mentioned eating vegan before this. The fact that I've lost considerable weight (which I could afford to do), look dewey-skinned sans makeup, and feel bright and sassy each morning when I get up has made a monumental difference in my life. And when you're past seventy, each day of feeling fine is a gift. That's my opinion anyway.

So would I want that for you too? Of course. Would I insist you give vegan a try at least once a week? Only if you want. If you stopped by my home for a visit, is there anything I might do to "silently" expose you to how good vegan food can be?  Doggone right.  I'd get out my arsenal of tried and true recipes that look like regular food, smell like regular food,  and taste like regular food. Today's recipe is one of those. It's so good that I'd serve it to anyone who dropped by, even if it were the president. (Yeah, fat chance of that ever happening; I'm just trying to make a point.)

My goal in all this? To intrigue you, the reader, with appetizing food that's been tested on my own palete as well as that of a few friends. Now I admit that I like my food with layers of flavor, mostly derived from assorted spices and herbs. If you aren't one of those "spicy" creatures, either cut down the amount or leave it out altogether. But be warned: mess with the flavor profile of any vegan dish and unless you're a professional in the kitchen, you'll be eating what everyone and their dog seems to think vegan food tastes like. 

BLACK BEAN, MUSHROOM, AND QUINOA STUFFED PEPPERS

2 Tbs. olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

Saute the onion in the oil for about 5 minutes or until the onion is translucent.

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups finely chopped mushrooms

Add to the above mixture and cook until the mushrooms lose their moisture, about 5 minutes.

1 Tbs. chili powder

1 tsp. salt

Stir into the above mixture. Then add to the pan:

1/2 of a 15 oz. can of tomato sauce

1/4 cup of water

1/2 cup quinoa

Lower the heat, cover and let simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring once or twice.

Cut the tops off  4 bell peppers of  any color and remove the seeds and ribs. Boil a pot of water, then add the peppers and cook for 5 minutes. This greatly reduces oven time for cooking the peppers through. Drain the peppers and let rest.

While the peppers are in the water, set your oven to 350 degrees.

When the mushroom, quinoa mixture has finished cooking, add 1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed and 1 tsp. pure maple syrup. Stir the beans, etc. into the quinoa mixture, give everything a stir to blend it together and let it simmer a few more minutes. Place the peppers in a small baking dish so they help each other stand upright and stuff each one to the rim. Pour the rest of the tomato sauce around the peppers and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the peppers from the oven, garnish with cilantro and serve. Not a cilantro lover?  Use parsley.

This recipe is so good I would eat it as is. However, it isn't like me to leave a good thing alone. I had some ideas on how to make this recipe more to my own liking, so the next time I made it, I mashed the black beans, giving them more body before adding them to the quinoa pan. The third time I made it I diced up one cooked vegan bratwurst and added it to the mashed beans mixture before filling the peppers. Ahh, now it's perfect. I suggest you try the original recipe and go from there. I served my bell pepper with corn on the cob, oven roasted in its husk. A fistfull of sweet black grapes served as dessert. I was so full I rolled into the livingroom and promptly dozed off in my recliner. I figured the dishes would still be there in the morning.



Springtime in S. CA and the azaleas are in full glory. I planted this sun-loving version just outside my library window so I could see it without having to walk all the way around the house.



Copyright 2011 by Sandra L. Keith, all rights reserved
Photos are the property of the author and may not be reproduced without permission.

Lazy Sundays

And frankly, I don't want to cook. I've hauled rocks, dug bulbs, moved soil, sold some wonderful flowers and worked for my friend Pam on a beautiful wedding at the Pratt Place Inn. I'm whooped and I have a hitch in my getalong. But I am hungry.

Tonight, vegan fried rice. Quick, nutritious and delicious. And I am breaking one of the cardinal rules for making fried rice. I am using brown rice.Not that heavy, sticky, gloppy brown rice that gives brown rice a bad name. Light and fluffy brown rice whose kernels separate and resembles not that crap we were served in health food restaurants of years past. The trick is to boil your brown rice for twenty minutes in plenty of salted water like you would for pasta. Drain it and then steam it until tender and fluffy, another twenty minutes or so. Spread it out on a baking sheet to cool in your refrigerator. When it is cold, it is ready to use for fried rice. A revelation!

Quick Vegan Fried Rice

1  red bell pepper, chopped
5 green onions, sliced on a diagonal
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 carrot, grated
1/2 cup, frozen peas
2 tablespoons ginger, minced or grated
1/2 package extra firm tofu, drained and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/3 cup Braggs  Liquid Aminos or tamari soy sauce
1/3 cup dry sherry or rice wine
1 lb more or less of leftover COLD rice
Extra virgin olive oil for sauteeing
a few splashes of toasted  sesame oil

Saute the drained tofu over medium high heat until browned on all sides. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels. Add more oil and saute the garlic and ginger for a minute or two until fragrant but not browned. Add the bell pepper and saute until crisp tender. Add the carrot and sliced green onions, saute for a minute or two and then add the cold rice. Saute for a few minutes then add the soy sauce and sherry or rice wine and tofu. Heat through. Add a splash of toasted sesame oil.

Get out the chopsticks and dive in!. It's Sunday, relax!

Laissez le Bontemps Roulez!

Mardi Gras is just a week away. Time to party hearty! A time of excess and revelry before having to behave for the next forty days!
A google search turns up a surprising number of vegan options in the Big Easy. Whoodathunk? But going vegan is super easy with this meatless dish. Adapted from Cajun Cooking by Marjie Lambert, it is one of my favorite cajun dishes, inexpensive to make, filling, nutritious and easy! The only substitution necessary to make it vegan is to use vegan sour cream instead of the real stuff. No sacrifice at all and oh so good. Leftovers if there are any, are even better the next day!

Meatless Red Beans and Rice
1 1lb dry red kidney beans
3 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion , chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 ribs celery, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 tbsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp dried thyme
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dry mustard
1 bay leaf
6 oz can tomato paste
1/2 cup dry red wine
few drops of Tabasco sauce
1 rib celery, chopped
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
6 green onions, chopped
cooked rice to serve
vegan sour cream

Soak the beans in at least five quarts of water a minimum of four hours or overnight. Drain, rinse and return to the pot with 6 cups of fresh water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, skimming the foam, while you prepare the vegetables.
While the beans are simmering, heat the oil in a skillet and saute the onion, garlic, celery, carrot and green pepper until wilted. Add the spices and saute a minute or so more until they give off their aromas. Add the vegetables to the beans along with the tomato paste and wine and continue simmering, stirring occasionally.
After about 30 minutes, taste the broth, add Tabasco to taste, and adjust the other seasonings. Cook until tender, about 1 1//2 hours.
Just before serving, stir the shopped celery, green pepper and green onions into the bean mixture. Serve over cooked rice with a dollop of the vegan sour cream.
The cornbread in the photo was made with Egg Replacer. I may be doing something wrong but have not had good luck with it. You might have better results.
Have fun at Mardi Gras! C'est Levee.