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.

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.

Vegetable Pot Pie--On My!

I never met a vegetable I didn't like. Well, okra used to be on my "hate" list but I learned to cook it whole, thus eliminating the slime factor. Both of my sisters love vegetables too and I liken it to the fact that we all grew up in farm country. My parents always had a garden--a small one for the kitchen and a huge one for corn or wheat to feed the farm critters.

Our kitchen garden was personally weeded by yours truly and my middle sister. I always thought it was too bad that my parents had only girls because some boys thrown into that mix would have made the "yard work" their job. At least that was my way of thinking when I was a child.

Even so, weeding the garden got me up close and personal with the fruits and vegetables that grew there. I got to see the spring onions peek up through the soil and the radishes grow into red globes and the carrots push their feathery tops higher and higher above ground. I investigated the strawberry patch with great regularity, always hoping to see a ripe red berry that would be mine alone. I watched in amazement as the sweet corn grew so tall it hid me within its leafy maze and afforded me a great hiding place when I didn't wish to be found.

I so often hear parents complaining that their children refuse to eat vegetables and I wonder how that came about. Growing up during WWII, my sisters and I had no choice in the matter. We ate what mom put on the table or we could go hungry. If most of those dishes consisted of vegetables, then we ate them simply because none of us liked going to bed with growling tummies.

I have a daughter who as a child, disliked vegetables and her dad would make her sit at the table until she ate them. Sometimes I'd have the dishes done and the kitchen all cleaned and she'd still be sitting at the table, eyeing stone cold veggies that no longer looked attractive even to me, a veggie-holic. By the time she was a school-kid, she had come to terms with vegetables and ate them willingly. I guess she was tired of sitting at the table by herself. Today, she loves vegetables. All kinds. I suspect her dad was right in making her eat them. At the time, she didn't know she would like them. It was a learning process.

This week I was busy knitting some socks for one of my sisters (who had begged me for a new pair) and while I kept the needles flying, I watched the Food Channel. I observed Ina Garten make a vegetable pot pit that just looked delicious. So I set about veganizing it, not sure what it would taste like. Now you know by now, if I'm giving you the recipe that it turned out terrific. I hope you give this one a try. Then let me know what you think.

VEGETABLE POT PIE

2 cups sliced onions
1 fennel bulb, cored and sliced thin
1 1/2 cups diced potatoes
1 1/2 cups asparagus spears, sliced small
1 1/2 cups carrots, sliced small
1 1/2 cups sweet potato, peeled and diced

Sprinkle the vegetables with olive oil, salt and pepper, and roast them on a large cookie sheet for 20 minutes at 450 degrees. They don't have to be done, just softened. They will finish cooking in the pot pie.

In a saucepan put:

1/2 cup flour
4 Tbs. vegan margarine

Cook over medium heat until the roux is a light tan. The add:

2 1/2 cups NoChicken Broth or vegetable broth if you can't find the other one
1 pinch of saffron threads
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
3 Tbs. non-dairy milk

Stir until the mixture thickens.

When the vegetables come out of the oven, add 1/2 cup minced parsley and toss  everything in with the gravy mix. Stir all the ingredients together so it is well blended, then spoon everything into 4 oven-proof bowls. Top each bowl with a circle of pastry dough sprinkled with salt and pepper. Bake at 375 degrees for an hour.

I cheated and used ready-made pastry dough. You can do as you wish.

I can't help it. I always eat the crust first.

Faux Chicken And Dumplings

My aunt made the best chicken and dumplings I've ever eaten, although I've learned to make a dish that tastes reasonably like hers. The chicken and vegetable part is easy. It's getting the dumplings to cook up into huge fluffy clouds that are dry in the center, but saucy on the outside that stumped me for a time. After a lot of experimentation, I finally figured out her secret. Read on....

Noodle-like dumplings

Through the years, I've tasted many chicken and dumpling offerings. For the most part, the broth and veggies were fine. The problem has always been the dumplings. Now I know a dumpling war rages, with some people liking those flat, thin things that look like dried pasta and taste just about as good. Others like those tiny balls that resemble gnocchi except that they are firm to the tooth and bear no semblance to anything fluffy or cloud-like.

Gnocchi-like dumplings

But I wasn't raised on those versions. I come from the other side of the dumpling tracks and for me, nothing but what I consumed as a child will do. So here's what I'm saying: Begin your soup as I suggest and then try my light as air dumplings and see if they please your taste buds. Made right, their consistency will remind you of those huge bakery muffins we all relish, albeit savory. If the other kind suit you better, you can always make this dish again and use your dumpling of choice.

Since chicken and dumplings has always been a favorite dish, I've been working on a vegan version for nearly a year and with the inspiration of a few vegan cookbooks, I finally came up with a recipe that's heart-warming, filling, and reminds me of those cold winter days in Minnesota when all a body wanted at dinner was something hot to warm you from from the inside out. This recipe does that for me. My hope is that it not only warms you up but makes you smile.

FAUX CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS

Soup part:

1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup pea and carrot mix (I used frozen)
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 Tbs. poultry seasoning
1 tsp. dried parsley (fresh if you have it)
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. curry powder
2 Tbs. nutritional yeast (a must for flavor)
1 cup non-dairy milk
1 cup drained and rinsed garbanzo beans, often called chickpeas
dash of hot sauce
salt and pepper

Brown the vegetables in 2 Tbs. canola oil. Add the spices, milk, and beans, along with 1 1/2-2 cups of No Chicken Broth from the Health Food Market. Use Vegetable stock if the above isn't available. Set the pot on a back burner, cover, and simmer about an hour. Taste for seasoning before adding the dumplings to the broth. If the broth has gotten too low, add more stock. Dumplings need a good bath of liquid to cook right.

Once the pot is bubbling, drop the dumplings by teaspoon-full into the hot broth. Adjust the burner so the liquid simmers and leave the pot uncovered for ten minutes. Then cover and simmer another ten minutes. No cheating on the time or the dumplings will not turn out right.

NO PEEKING ALLOWED! If the built up steam escapes, the  dumplings will not be fluffy. Trust me on this. It's where I made my mistake. When the time has elapsed, uncover the pot. Put one or two of those big fat dumplings in a large bowl and ladle the soup over the top. Sprinkle with minced green onions or fresh parsley. Go back for seconds!

Serves 3-4

DUMPLING DOUGH

1 cup white flour (wheat just doesn't make a good dumpling)

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

2 Tbs. vegan margarine, melted

1/2 cup non-dairy milk

Stir all ingredients together with a fork until the dough just comes together. It will be wet and sloppy. That is how it should be. Drop by rounded teaspoon fulls into the bubbling broth. They will look small now, but will be huge when finished as they expand a lot. Cook as directed above. Serve immediately. 

Bell Ringing Bean Salad

In the wake of September 11, the Liberty Bell was moved to closed and guarded quarters, that it might remain safe from any attack.

The summer I was eleven, my parents decided it was time for the three of us sisters to get in touch with our country's origins. Our family would drive to New York to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Along the way we'd stop in Philadelphia to visit Independence Hall where the Declaration of Independence was signed.

Independence Park itself is comprised of four city blocks and includes outlying areas that include Carpenter's Hall where the First Continental Congress met, Ben Franklin's home, the Gaff House--where Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, and City Tavern, the center of revolutionary war activities.

My favorite landmark was the Liberty Bell. I was entranced. I took out the small Brownie camera I carried and shot photo after photo. For someone who loved history as much as I did, it was the star of the summer. There it sat, right out in the open, almost within a hand's reach. How I would have loved to hear it ring.

It has been said that "it's chime changed the world." Dramatic interpretation perhaps, but when the Liberty Bell rang out from the tower of Independence Hall during the original reading of the Declaration of Independence on July 8, 1776, everyone who heard it knew change was on the wind.

Originally cast in 1751 by the Whitechapel Foundry in England, the bell was intended to be nothing more than a State Bell to commemorate Pennsylvania's Charter of Privileges which set forth the rights and freedoms valued by people the world over.

History did not record why or when the bell cracked, only that once it did it was re-cast in America and then again in England. What we do know is that the bell rang to call the Pennsylvania Assembly together, to summon people for special announcements or events, when King George took the throne in 1761, to summon folks to discuss the Sugar Act of 1764 and the Stamp Act of 1765. By 1772 the people in the nearby vicinity had had it with all the noise and petitioned the Pennsylvania Assembly to "stop ringing that bell." 

When the British occupied Philadelphia in 1777, the bell was spirited away from the city and hidden beneath the floorboards of a church in Allentown, Pennsylvania. No small feat. The bell weighs 2,080 pounds, bears a lip circumference of 12 feet and stands nearly 5 feet high. The yoke is fashioned of Slippery Elm, and in itself weighs 200 pounds.

Today the bell is owned by the city of Philadelphia and is on display in Independence National Historic park--crack and all. Guess they really did ring it one too many times.

BELL RINGING BEAN SALAD

This is a wonderful salad for a backyard BBQ or any other place you  get together with friends to celebrate America's birthday. This recipe makes a lot and gets better the longer it marinates. Even better, no worries over contamination if it sits un-refrigerated. My suggestion is to make it a day or two ahead. I've eaten many a marinated bean salad in my day, but this is the best of them all. It's a real bell ringer.

1 can red kidney beans, drained

1 can cut green beans, drained

1 can garbanzo beans, drained

1 can black-eyed peas, drained.

2 1/2 cups chopped celery

1 cup finely minced parsley (important to the flavor)

1 bunch green onions, chopped

1 3 oz. jar stuffed green olives

1 can chopped black olives

In a separate bowl combine:

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

2 Tbs. brown sugar

1 clove garlic, crushed

Whisk together and pour over the bean mixture, tossing lightly. Cover and refrigerate at least over night. To serve, mix well and arrange in a bowl lined with crisp romaine leaves.

"Cheers for the sailors who fought on the wave for it,
Cheers for the soldiers that always were brave for it.
Tears for the men that went down to the grave for it.
Here comes the Flag!

Author unknown

Copyright 2011 by Sandra L Keith, All rights reserved.




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Quick Taboule

Whole Wheat Couscous Taboule
2 1/2 cups packaged w.w.couscous
1 cup boiling water
1 cup olive oil
2/3 cup lemon juice
1 can diced tomatoes
3 tablespoons roasted salsa
1 cup diced green peppers
1 cup diced onions
1 cup chopped parsley
salt and pepper to taste




Growing up in the 70s, whole wheat bulgar sold by bulk at health food stores somehow transformed into fresh, tangy toboule. It was a mystery how. I recently came across Whole Wheat Couscous sold at Trader Joes. It has a taboule recipe right on the package! So I decided to make the whole box into a salad that I could take to a party. As usual, I am not organized enough to plan ahead and never have the exact ingredients, but this taboule salad pictured impressed my friends and family. I will be making this all the time now, since it is super quick and easy but also very satisfying and flavorful. For those like me who are afraid of making bulgar wheat, this is the taboule recipe for you

1. Prepare all the vegetables by dicing and chopping, shown above. I didn't have nice tomatoes available at the market so I used canned, which worked just fine.

2. Boil water and add 1 cup to the dry couscous, along with the olive oil and lemon juice. Stir and let sit 5 minutes. If it looks too dry add the salsa and tomatoes too, or a tablespoon or two of hot water.

3. Add the other ingredients. Stir and spice to taste. You can eat immediately or store for later. It packs great and keeps nicely for 10-14 days.

Here's to all you Moms:

Happy (up coming) Mothers Day!

Some Thoughts On Cheating

My Hoagie was so big I had to nestle it inside a small bowl to contain it for picture taking. It was delicious--if I do say so myself.

I cheat. A lot. Woe is me, vegan for less than a year, trying to come up with three meals a day and maybe a snack too. In the beginning, the whole process seemed an impossibility. My brain kept spinning at the thought of what I'd make for the next meal when what I really wanted it to do was think about the quilt I needed to finish or the hand knitted socks just short of being done. After all, I've tried for years to make food just a necessity of life rather than something my whole world revolved around. I have to say that I pretty much accomplished that goal. Until the vegan thing entered my life.

All of a sudden I was thinking about food all day long. For someone who hates to cook only slightly less than I'd like running with the bulls in Pamplona, I could forsee a future filled with sallow cheeks, droopy skin and hollow eyes. I'd have to just quit eating. My 70 year old brain had thousands of recipes in its storehouse, but none were what the doctor had told me to eat in order to be rid of the painful abdominal disease that had plagued me for decades. So I decided to make my own rules. I could still be vegan. I'd just cheat. So I took myself to the nearest health food store.

What an amazing array of tofu products I discovered. Sausages, hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken nuggets, corn dogs, pizza, and row upon row of pretend cheese--more food than I'd ever dreamed possible. And while it was on the pricey side, I decided that now that I live alone, it would be cost effective because I would no longer be buying meat or dairy. Besides, it would give me reason to experiment. I LOVE experimenting in the kitchen. I always have. For while I despise cooking, I thoroughly enjoy taking a product and changing it into something of my own. So I filled my cart with all manner of bland, tasteless tofu products formed to resemble something they are not and brought them home. I would work my magic on them and pass on the best of the best results to my vegan friends so they could cheat too.

Sausage, Cheese, Pepper & Onion Hoagie

Makes 1 serving

One tofu sausage, any kind you want

1/2  cup beer of choice

1/2 of a medium onion, sliced

1 tsp. herbs de provance

1 sprig fresh rosemary, bruised to release its essence.

With a toothpick, prick small holes in the sausage, then place all of the above ingredients into a plastic bag and let marinate for at least an hour to overnight. Retain the marinade in case you really like the finished product. It can be used again and again. If you do not enjoy highly spiced food, you may wish to change the spice amounts. I grew up eating food with lots of flavor from spices, so anything else is boring to my palette.

Peppers, according to choice. I used 1/2 of a red bell and 1/2 of a yellow bell, and 1 small jalapeno, seeds and ribs removed.

The other half of the medium onion, minced

Saute the above in 1 Tbs. olive oil and a splash of vegetable broth. Cook till the liquid is evaporated and the peppers and onions are barely tender. Remove to a plate to keep warm.

Add the sausage to the pan along with 1/4 cup of beer or vegetable broth and cook on low until the liquid is evaporated. Add the vegetable mix back into the pan and saute everything together for a few minutes. Do not overcook.

Take a warm hoagie roll, line the sides with soy cheese of your choice. Add the hot sausage and then scoop the pepper, onion mix all across the top. I chopped a few cold sun dried tomatoes and some parsley and dotted the top of the hoagie with them.

While the hoagie was a meal unto itself, I served mine with a small salad of shredded carrots and raisins, dressed with a mixture of mayonaise, sugar, soy milk, and a hint of freshly grated ginger.  

Since I was now too full to move, I took my latest mystery book and went outside to laze in the warm winter sun while I read. I probably would have dozed off had I not let the dog accompany me. It was in Bonnie's mind to play. Now where did she hide her favorite tennis ball? She looked at me as though she expected me to beat the bushes for it. I told it to go find it herself. I was too tired from all that cooking and eating.

Bonnie was my husband's dog. We adopted her from the Humane Society when she was two years old. She fit into our home perfectly because she was what Jim wanted and she liked cats--which is what I wanted. Bonnie is half Golden Lab and half German Shepherd and while it took her many months after my hubby's passing to be my friend, she is now my faithful guardian and I have not one doubt she would protect me with her life.

Dr Oz and the Incas

Out my front door, avocados hang green and hidden behind long elegant leaves, the tree branches reaching over the fence in a neighborly gesture of generosity.

In my backyard, 18 parsley plants thrive in the rain.

Green. Parsley and Avocados. Hmmmm. Green. Dr. Oz comes to mind. Green apples, parsley, spinach, lime, lemon, celery, ginger...... will inspire today's dinner - a variation on a theme. Not exactly Dr. Oz's green drink. Not exactly tabbouleh. Bring on the Quinoa from the Incas for a complete protein.

Quinoa and Parsley with Avocado

Garnished with grape tomatoes, sliced sweet onion and baby salad greens.

1 1/2 Cup water

3/4 cup quinoa

This is where you can be very generous. More of any of these ingredients will disappear in the salad quite nicely.

2/3 cup chopped parsley

1 green apple, chopped about 1 cup

1/3 cup chopped celery with leaves

Dressing:

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

1/2 extra virgin olive oil

2 tsp sugar

1 tsp dry mustard

1/4 tsp salt

pepper

Bring water to a boil. Add quinoa. Bring back to a boil, then lower heat and cook about 12 minutes.

Take off burner and let it absorb any water in pan. Cool.

Chop vegetables and apple.

When quinoa is cool, add vegetables and apple. Pour 1/2 of the dressing over the quinoa and stir gently to mix everything together. Cool covered in the refrigerator 2-4 hours or overnight to let the flavors blend.

To serve, plate individually (or on a big platter for a crowd) - for each person:

Put a small bed of lettuce and fresh whole leaf parsley on the plate.

Then half an avocado, sliced sweet onion and grape tomatoes.

Pile on the quiona.

Pass the dressing.