Summer Salad You Won't Forget

Have you ever received a phone call where the person on the other end barely let you get out a "hello" before they started talking? Well, that's what happened to me two weeks ago. "All the cousins are getting together," my sister said, "and we're coming to your house. We're having a potluck and the theme is picnic. We'll be there by one in the afternoon. See ya"

Truthfully, the call wasn't quite that terse, but almost.

"We're coming to your house for potluck"

I hadn't seen my two sisters for many months because of health problems in their families and the cousin who is like a brother to me had nearly disappeared off my radar--even though he only lives about two hours away. All told, I was happy we who were related as well as the spouses would all be together again, even if for only half a day.

Picnic spread across the table. Yumm.

While my family supports my being vegan, I've always asked them not to take that into consideration when planning meals. So I set my mind to thinking about what kind of dish I'd prepare that I'd like and they would too. I finally decided on a bean salad unlike any other I've ever eaten. It's a recipe I received decades ago from a neighbor, yet I seldom make it because it makes so much I could just about feed an army. Then again, I figured the small army coming to my home might like it, so I dug my old, beat up recipe box out of the cupboard and began scrounging for the recipe. (I really should get these files in order.)

Family potluck--always a fun time.

The salad was a huge hit. Two of the relatives even asked for the recipe. I fully intended to email it to them when I thought to myself: maybe my vegan blog pals would like it too. So it is that I wish to share with you one of the best summer salads I've ever eaten. It's even safe to take on a picnic. And to leave out of the cooler. It's right up there on the top of the summer safe picnic scale. Even more, it's doggone good. I hope you like it as much as all the others I've ever served it to.

MARINATED BEAN SALAD

1 16 oz. can kidney beans

1 16 oz. can cut green beans

1 16 oz. can garbanzo beans

1 16 oz. can black-eyed peas

Dump all beans into a sieve or colander and rinse well with cold water. Allow them to drain well before putting them into a large bowl.

Add:

2 1/2 cups chopped celery

1 c. finely minced parsley

1 whole bunch of green onions, sliced, both white and green parts

1 small jar of stuffed green olives

1 small can of sliced black olives

Make the marinade:

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

2 Tbs. brown sugar

1 garlic clove, mashed

Mix thoroughly and pour over the beans, vegetables, herbs, and olives.

Refrigerate for at least two days to allow the spices to infuse the bean mixture and everytime you pass the frig, give the beans a good stir to redistribute them from the top to the bottom so everything eventually gets coated with the marinade. This is not a make it and eat it dish.

Serves a small Army (about 12)

All that was left in the bottom of my 2 1/2 quart bowl was
this little bit and I had to diligently scrape it all
together so you could see the ingredients. If I'd been
wise, I'd have taken its photo before we ate.

Yummy Raw Food Tacos

I've been reading about the raw food diet lately and while I don't want everything I eat to be in the raw form, I did come across a recipe that intrigued me. So what the heck? I tweaked it to fit my own palette and gave it a try. Now I do confess that I made the bean and corn part of the recipe the day before and I was really glad I'd done that. The added time with everything sitting together in the refrigerator did a great job at marrying all the ingredients into a happy union.

The day I decided to eat my raw food, all I had to do was fry up my corn tortillas and chop some lettuce and set the taco sauce on the table--along with a few other toppings I thought might fit in with the raw food plan. How easy was that? I had my guests serve themselves and we all agreed, after much lip smacking, that the tacos were a big hit. They were earthy and crunchy and spicy and tangy all at the same time and were the perfect food for a hot summer day.

RAW FOOD TACOS

Into a bowl put:

1 can black beans, drained, rinsed, and mashed up just a bit
1/4 cup salsa of your choice

1/2 cup frozen corn, defrosted but not heated
4 green onions, white and green, diced
1 large ripe tomato, small dice
1/4 cup minced cilantro
1 Tbs. olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

The longer it sets, the better it will be but you can serve it immediately if you wish. Allow to come to room temperature if you make it the day before.

Fry or warm 8 corn tortillas. I like mine fried crispy, so that's how I fixed them.

Set bowls on the table so guests can help themselves to:

Lettuce, shredded
Vegan Cheddar cheese, shredded
Vegan sour cream
Mashed avocado drizzled with fresh lime juice
Hot sauce for those who like lip burn

Serves 3-4, allowing 2 tacos per person

Dressed Up Couscous You'll Love

Although I hate to admit it, I've become a plagiarist. Let me explain. I've been busy with school--yes, school for a grandma of seven. I enrolled in a Master Sock Knitters Class and while I've been knitting socks for many years, they were always the plain, vanilla ones. It came to me that since I enjoy a challenge, I'd like to learn to knit those lovely patterned socks I see in so many knitting books. This is the reason I have begun stealing recipes from others. Read on. It will all make sense in a minute.

As I knit the current assignment, I watch the cooking channel on television. And I see all kinds of recipes that could be veganized with little trouble. This past week I saw Ina Garten make a couscous dish that looked like something I'd enjoy eating. So I began changing it.

Now let me tell you that I have NEVER been a couscous fan. I find it tasteless and boring. That's why I've never really cooked it. It is labeled as a "pasta" and although I've always been a pasta-holic, this tiny grain or seed or whatever it is tastes nothing like pasta. At least not to me. The package directions say to put the raw couscous into a pot of boiling water, turn off the heat, cover the pot and in a few minutes, you'll have a great pot of couscous.

BORING!!

Ina cooked her couscous in chicken stock. Now that sounded better already. Then she added sliced shallots, turned off the heat and in a few minutes, had a pot full of fluffy couscous. Then she tossed in a whole bunch of currents,which I love. Then she topped the dish with toasted nuts. Do I have to tell you I was intrigued to the point of making the dish for supper and serving it as a side? Great success all around. Let me tell you how I changed a few things to make the recipe vegan. Try it and let me know what you think. And while the following recipe is not Ina's original, it is altered to make it a vegan treat. The two guests I served it to rolled their eyes and called it delicious.

COUSCOUS WITH CURRENTS AND NUTS

2 Tbs. olive oil

2 Tbs. vegan margarine

3/4 cup diced green onions, both white and green parts

3 cups No-Chicken or Vegetable broth

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 1/2 cups couscous

1/2 cups toasted nuts

1/2 cup dried currents

2 Tbs. minced fresh parsley

Melt the oil and margarine in a saucepan. Add the green onions and cook on medium till they are somewhat translucent. Add the No-Chicken broth or vegetable stock if you can't find the former and bring it to a good boil. Remove the pot from the heat. Stir in the couscous (I use organic couscous, but use what you have). Give the pot a stir. Cover the pan and ignore it for at least 10 minutes.

Fluff the couscous with a fork, gently separating the grains. Using a spoon makes a clumpy mess. Use a fork and be gentle. You want the grains to be separate, like a great pot of rice would be.

Now add the currents and toasted nuts. Fluff again. Top with the chopped parsley. Serve hot.

How To Toast Nuts

I keep all my fresh nuts in the freezer so they won't go rancid before I finish using them. If you've had nuts go bad, you know what I'm talking about. And since nuts are pricey, I do all I can to keep them edible. Toasting them is easy. Put the allotted amount in a dry skillet, turn the heat on medium, give the pan a shake now and then and let your nose be your guide. When you begin to smell them, they are done. Allow to cool enough to handle and then chop them to the desired size. You can also put the nuts on a dry sheet pan and roast them in the oven. It's been my experience that I tend to forget them and they burn. Hence the skillet method for me.

If you've never toasted the nuts before using them, do this taste test. Eat an untoasted nut and then a toasted one. Your palate will immediately note the difference and you'll be a fan of using toasted nuts in everything, from couscous to cakes to cookies and all recipes in between. The taste test is what convinced me.

Lo Mein--Vegan Style

I love all manner of Asian food. I'm partial to Philippine dishes, though Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Thai all win my approval. Sometimes I just crave those flavors and when that happens, I break out my big wok and start stirring up just about every vegetable hanging out in my refrigerator. When those vegetables aren't sufficient for my cravings, I dig into my pantry till I uncover bamboo shoots or water chestnuts. With everything assembled, it all goes into the wok and in no time at all, the whole house is filled with a tantalizing Oriental perfume.

Growing up in 1940s rural Minnesota, Asian food was unheard of. We were mostly a land of Swedes, Norwegians, and a scattering of Germans. Our fare consisted of meat and potatoes and heavy desserts at supper, steak and eggs at breakfast, and being in farm country, the mid-day meal consisted of a table loaded with several meats, vegetables, and gravies and bread--spread thick with real butter.

I never heard of Asian food till I moved to California as a teenager. That's when I discovered Chinese food and ate it like it wouldn't be around tomorrow. But it wasn't until my husband's Parkinson's disease progressed to the point of having a live-in nurse, that I ventured into Asian cuisine, and then it was only because our Filipina nurse cooked up a storm, filling our home with scents so enticing both my husband and I couldn't wait until the next meal.

She loved to cook. And we loved to eat. And it wasn't only her own cuisine she fed us, it was that of nearly every country around her own island home. I was hooked. I still am. And while the recipe I'm sharing isn't new by any means, I hope you will try this vegan version and let me know what you think.

VEGGIE LO MEIN

6-8 oz. soba or udon noodles, cooked according to package directions

5 green onions, both the white and light green parts

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 1/2 Tbs. fresh ginger, grated

1 big pinch of red pepper flakes

1 cup sliced mushrooms, any variety

1 handful of snow peas

1 can bamboo shoots, drained and rinsed

2 yellow crookneck squash, sliced into strips

3 carrots, sliced into strips

1/2 cup No Chicken broth (use vegetable broth if desired)

1 1/2 tsp. salt

Pepper to taste

Once the wok is hot, add the No Chicken broth and stir fry the vegetables till they are crunchy tender. If more stock is needed to keep the vegetables from burning, add it a Tbs. at a time. 

Once the vegetables are to your liking, add the cooked soba noodles to the wok. Stir everything together and then pour the Lo Mein sauce over the top and fry a few minutes longer, stirring constantly so everything melds. Just  before serving, sprinkle the dish with the minced dark green parts of the onions.

Serves 4

LO MEIN SAUCE

In a small saucepan put:

4 Tbsp. soy sauce

2 tsp. rice vinegar (I used unseasoned)

1/4 tsp. ground ginger

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. agave nectar

1/2 tsp. Asian hot sauce (I used sirracha)

1/2 tsp. vegetable oil (makes the sauce stick to the ingredients)

Cook over low heat for a few minutes, till everything is blended. Pour over the Lo Mein and stir everything together.

Vegans savor foods from every nation,
always tempting their palettes with
new flavors.

Tiz The Season To Be Busy; So Dinner Must Be Easy

I don't know about you, but at my house it always seems that Christmas falls on the woman in the family. Perhaps I'm wrong. But around here it was me who made the cookies and cakes, shopped for all the gifts, wrapped every package, planned Christmas dinner, shopped for all the food, then cooked all the food, decorated the tree (all but the lights, hubby put those on) and then got out a step stool to get all the good dishes down from the top cupboard where they resided most of the year.

I was the one who hollered for help to put all the leaves in the dining table, then by myself, I set the table with the good dishes I'd drug out and washed and the good silverware I'd dug out and polished and the crystal glasses I'd taken down from a top shelf and scrubbed till they sparkled. Hubby's job consisted of putting up outdoor lights and heading out on December 24th to find me a present. Oh, and putting the star on top the tree, simply because he could reach it and I couldn't.

Now I don't know how you do things, but Christmas at my house was exhausting. Even now that I'm alone, what with kids married and hubby graduated to heaven, this time of year is still busy. And while my daughter has taken over my duties and is having dinner at her house, there is still a lot for an old lady to accomplish. Gifts still need to be conjured up, purchased, and wrapped and, in some instances, mailed off to other places. Considering that I'm not a young chick any longer, the things I have to do are enough for me.

Busy as I was, I cheated on my cooking this week and will likely be cheating till after the first of the year. I can't seem to find time to create another vegan recipe and accomplish everything else I have to do. Having a few vegan cookbooks on my shelves comes in handy. Tonight I began with an offering from Everyday Happy Herbivore by Lindsay Nixon.  I love black-eyed peas, and once I saw the recipe, I looked no further. I made a couple of changes in the original recipe and next time, I'll make a few more. But just as it is, it has lots of flavor, fills the tummy, and is quick to make. I labeled it just right for those times of the year when dinner has to be fast or none at all.

CARIBBEAN PEAS AND RICE

2 1/2 cups vegetable broth

1 bunch green onions

2 celery stalks, minced

1 Tbs. minced fresh ginger

4 fresh thyme twigs (1/4 tsp. dried)

1 1/2 tsp. green Tabasco sauce

2 tsp. jerk seasoning

1 cup brown rice (I used white rice as it's faster cooking.)

2 Tbs. ketchup

1/2 tsp. turmeric

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 bunch kale, chopped small

1 15 oz. can black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed

In a large saucepan, pour a layer of vegetable broth and saute the onions, celery, garlic, ginger, thyme, hot sauce, and 1 tsp. of the jerk seasoning. Cook over high heat until the celery is soft. About 3 minutes. 

Add the remaining jerk seasoning and stir to coat. Stir in the black-eyed peas. Cover and move the pot to a back burner to simmer and let the spices meld. Do not let the pan go dry. Add more broth or water as needed to retain moisture but not to drown. In all, you'll likely use about 1/2 cup of the broth.

In a small saucepan put:

2 cups of vegetable broth, the ketchup, and turmeric. Stir to combine.

Add the rice. Bring to a boil and cover. Turn heat down to very low and ignore it for 20 minutes. (If you use brown rice, cook for 45 min.)

About 10 minutes before serving, add the kale to the black-eyed pea mixture. Cover and cook till the kale is wilted.

To serve, place big serving of rice on a plate and top with the black-eyed pea/kale mixture. Sprinkle with some green onion tops if desired.

I used Swiss chard instead of kale because the chard looked fresher. Any green would work. Your preference.

The fresh ginger was too strong for my palette. Next time I'll cut it by half.

Jerk seasoning is available in the grocery store's spice aisle. Buy it and make your life easy. Otherwise you'll be mixing this and that and twelve other spices together to get what someone has already bottled up.

Dinner was on the table in about 30 minutes. Can't beat that for a busy day.

This Christmas season, share your table with someone less fortunate than you. I don't remember a holiday as a child growing up when there were not strangers at our table. Sometimes it was a teacher who was alone or a couple from our church who had no one and once we moved to CA, there were always two or three marines who were far from home who ate with us and thanked my parents over and over for allowing them to be part of a family on Christmas Day.

Clean Out The Frig Stir Fry

This stir fry is so good
it can be eaten as is
or with the teriyaki
sauce poured over top.

I love nearly every ethnic cuisine. You've seen me post veganized Mexican and Italian dishes but not many Asian ones. I particularly learned to appreciate Asian food when we had a Filipina nurse who took care of my husband with his advanced Parkinson's Disease. She is likely one of the best nurse/cooks we ever employed. Her recipes were awesome. Little wonder. Her mom is a caterer in the Philippines and whenever Maryann wasn't sure of an ingredient, she'd call her mom for advice.

I learned much just by watching as she stirred things together. So yesterday, when I decided I once again needed to use up leftover things hiding in the frig's deep recesses, I purposely put an Asian twist on them by doing no more than creating a sauce that screamed Chinese, Japanese, or Philippine. At least that's my opinion. Whatever I named it, the resultant product was decidedly delicious--or so the people I served it to said. Let me know what you think.

VEGGIE, SEITAN, AND TOFU STIR FRY

Boil 2 cups of water or vegetable stock in a saucepan. Add 1 cup of jasmine rice. I used white because I was out of brown. Bring everything back to a boil, cover, turn the burner to its lowest point and  let the rice steam for 15 minutes. DO NOT PEEK. Lifting the cover will destroy the steam build up that will cook the rice. Follow these instructions and you will end up with fluffy rice that's soft and tender. This recipe works every time. You do not need the expense of a rice cooker.

Prepare the rest of the ingredients for stir frying.

1 cup carrots, cut into bite sized pieces

1 cup broccoli florets, in bite sized pieces

1 cup of sugar snap peas, left whole

3 green onions, chopped, both green and white parts

1/2 cup seitan, cut into bite size pieces

1/2 cup extra firm tofu, cut into bite size pieces

1/2 of a small jalapeno, diced, seeds and ribs removed

1/2 of a small red bell pepper, cut into bite sized pieces

Stir fry the above ingredients in 4 Tbs. neutral oil in a large wok or skillet, adding the vegetables in order of their cook time. I began with the carrots and added the rest in increments, ending with the seitan and tofu. Cook the mixture till everything is lightly brown. To serve, put a large amount of rice in a bowl, top with the stir-fry ingredients. Drizzle the sauce over the top, as much or as little as you like.

TERIYAKI SAUCE

Into a small bowl, put:

1 Tbs. corn starch

1/2 cup water

Mix together and set aside.

Mix together in a small saucepan:

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup vegetable stock

1/2 cup mirin

1 tsp. fresh ginger, grated

1 garlic clove, grated 

1/4 cup agave nectar as a replacement for honey

Place the saucepan on a burner and bring to a low boil. Add the corn starch slurry, beating as you add it in. Continue stirring until the sauce thickens. Don't leave it unattended or you'll have a lumpy teriyaki sauce. Place the sauce in a gravy bowl so those who want it can pour on the desired amount. 

Serves 2

You can use any vegetables hanging out in the refrigerator. I added the seitan and tofu because it was there and needed to be used. It was a good choice because the stir fry had the mouth feel of meat in it.

Chilly Enough For Chili

Okay, okay, okay, so maybe it didn't snow,
maybe it just felt like it was going to. Do
you buy that?

Even Southern California gets cold. Stop laughing. Believe me, when your blood gets as thin as ours does, what with living in a temperate clime, when that thermometer hits sixty something, it's time to turn on the furnace and put on another sweater. Now add pouring rain into the mix, skies as dark as dusk, and clouds hovering low, and you have perfect chili weather. Just like today.

Wouldn't you know, my favorite recipe for this thick, watch a spoon stand up in the middle of the bowl, concoction isn't vegan. Yet I wondered if I could change things around a bit, delete a  little of that and add some of this. So I gave it a try. Doggone, it's every bit as good as my non-vegan recipe. I kid you not. I served the heady mixture in big, steamy bowls and sprinkled the top with vegan sour cream, minced green onions and Daiya cheese shreds. Corn muffins hot from the oven were my only side. I ate two. Since I was now too full  to move, I rolled myself into the living room, covered up with a favorite afghan, and laid on the floor to watch the Movie Channel.

Life doesn't get any better than that.

Vegan Chili for Chilly Weather

No vegan sour cream left for this photo-op.
We used it all during the actual eating.

Into a soup pot put:

2 Tbs. oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 small jalapeno, minced, seeds and ribs removed

Cook until the onions are translucent, about five minutes.

Add to the pot:

1 14 oz. can red beans, drained and rinsed

1 14 oz. can pinto beans, drained and rinsed

1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes, with juice

1/4 cup vegetable stock

1 tsp. cumin seeds

1 tsp. paprika

2 Tbs. chili powder

1 tsp. dried oregano

2 bay leaves

1/2 tsp. allspice

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. garlic powder

pinch of cloves

salt and pepper to taste

Cook everything together over medium heat. When the mixture comes to a boil, turn it to low, cover, and let simmer for at least 30 minutes for the flavors to blend. I let mine simmer an hour. If the chili is too soupy, remove the lid and continue cooking till the mixture thickens to your liking.

Serve with vegan sour cream, minced green onions, and vegan cheese shreds.

Yummy.

Perhaps I ought to warn you that this is a spicy chili. It won't make your mouth burn to eat it, but it you don't like any heat at all, leave out the jalapeno and the cayenne pepper. But be warned! You'll be turning a GREAT chili into a mediocre one.

These Black-Eyed Peas Don't Sing

My family loved picnics. Ever since I can remember, eating outdoors was my parent's favorite past time. Once I was married and in charge of cooking, packing, and hauling the food, picnics fell greatly out of favor--at least with me. Even today, I find no fun in sitting on the ground, swishing away flies, and packing up leftovers and dirty dishes to take home. My theory? Eat first, then go have fun with the family and friends.

Considering what I know now, I'm surprised I've lived so long. I grew up in an era where family picnics, church picnics, group picnics, scout picnics, and all the other summer picnics consisted of potluck food. The fried chicken sat out in the sun, waiting for someone to take the last piece; the mayo based potato salad did the same, as did the deviled eggs. Then there was the mayo based coleslaw and the smoked fish--all washed down with unpasteurized milk straight from the cow. All disasters waiting to happen. So how is it I've lived more than 70 years?

Maybe I'm a living miracle. More likely, God had mercy on a whole generation of us who knew no better. In today's world, I no longer take potato salad into the wild; fried chicken is a no, no. It isn't because I've been informed but because everyone else has too. What a waste it would be, since nobody would eat it and I'd just end up tossing it out.

After years of searching for picnic-safe foods, I've had some misses and near misses and a couple of tasty choices. And while each was tolerable, non tickled my palette like the one I'm blogging today. The center of this sunny day picnic salad is black-eyed peas--the original kind that just sort of hang around looking dull and tasteless. But combine them with anything else from the garden or market and your tongue is in for a tangy surprise that's sun-safe, heat-safe, and time-safe. And all because of a tiny legume that's known as a pea but is really a bean.

Black-eyed peas are popular in the South, but they offer such a mild, almost nutty flavor that they should become a favorite in every part of our nation.

BLACK-EYED PEAS SUMMER SALAD

1 can black-eyed peas, rinsed
1 cup mushrooms, any kind, chopped small
1/2 cup Italian salad dressing, your favorite

Put the peas, mushrooms, and salad dressing into a medium-sized bowl. Set in the refrigerator for at least an hour. Longer if possible in order to allow the dressing to permeate the peas and mushrooms.

In the meanwhile, cut into small pieces:

1 small red bell pepper
1 small green bell pepper
1 cucumber, seeded
1 tomato, seeded
2 green onions, sliced thin
2 stalks celery, sliced thin
4 oz. smoked tofu, cut into small cubes
8 Kalamata olives, chopped small
Pepperoncini pickles, as many as you wish, chopped small

Add all of the chopped ingredients into the bowl of peas and mushrooms. Mix well so the salad dressing is well distributed with all the vegetables.

These ingredients made a far larger salad than I had imagined. The first night, I stuffed a good portion inside a wheat pita pocket and added lettuce as a finishing touch. It was tasty and filling. I barely had room for the roasted corn I'd made.

The next day, I put some of the salad in a bowl (above) and ate it plain, accompanied by a few wheat crackers. The salad was much better than the day it was made. A pleasant surprise.

By the third day, I was nearing the end of my stash so I added some cilantro and a splash of hot sauce, mashed everything together and rolled it into a warm flour tortilla. By now, the salad was singing on my palette, forcing me to determine that maybe even this kind of black-eyed peas also had talent.

Conclusion: This summer salad keeps well and grows better each day that it stands, leading me to believe that I should make it about 3 days in advance of serving it. Every vegetable stayed fresh and flavorful and nothing tasted mushy. A real winner for those who attend picnics and want to take a dish that can take the sun without growing any nasty bacterias.


Copyright 2011 by Sandra L. Keith, All rights reserved
Top photo courtesy of MS Word Clip Art
Middle photo belongs to the author and may not be reproduced without permission