Vegan Mofo: Early Fall Avocado Kale Salad

You know those first few days when it first starts to get blustery and the first few leaves begin to shift in color? That time of year is certainly upon us! Soup! Boots! Hot Tea! Everything to get excited for. But I must admit, the end of summer has it's sadness too. The saddest part of summer ending for me is the disappearance or scarcity of some of my favorite summer eats like sweet corn, tomatoes and avocados.

While I'll admit I eat avocados all year round, like its my job, like its going out of style, like your mama gave you...wait that doesn't work....they have a tendency to get, shall we say, poopy after the summer months. So as my last hurrahs of summer come to an end I have been adding in the last of the summer avocados to my salads, sammies and puddings.

This salad is a massaged kale salad. That is, you wont SEE the avocado because it's been used as a massage oil to slap the kale into a more digestible and palatable form.

Massaged Avocado and Kale Salad

1 cup chopped and washed kale, tough end of stems removed
1 cup chopped and washed chard
2 ripe avocados
2 ripe red plums, sliced
juice of half a lemon
1/3 cup golden raisins
2 tbsp chia seeds

1. Place the greens in a large bowl. Scoop both avocados out of their shells and into the bowl. Add the lemon juice. Use your hands to massage the avocado into the kale until the greens are soft and dark green. This takes several minutes.

2. Top the salad with plums, raisins and chia seeds. Sprinkle a touch or salt and pepper if desired.

Carotte Rapée

Few things say France to me like carott rapée. Kids eat it, adults eat it, maybe even the French feral street kittens eat it. It's that popular. The markets of France are always equipped with long bodied, green topped carrots (it's carotte in French) for the eatin'. This week while I was at the Common Market (returning some what I thought would be vegan nutella - which turned out to be crushed hazelnut butter that was all runny and gritty and tasted nothing like chocolate despite the label boasting that it was chocolate hazelnut spread) I saw these beautiful, vibrant red carrots. I didn't NEED them but I felt I NEEDED them. So they came home with me.


And then I was at a loss for what to do with them that would let them shine. And then I thought - if my time in France has taught me anything it's that a single vegetable can be considered a meal because.....well just because i guess. Pumpkin soup, beet salad, avocados eaten with a little balsamic vinegar, leek quiche, you get the idea.

Carotte Rapée can be made lots of different ways but in the end its all pretty similar and pretty darn simple



Carotte Rapée for 4

5 to 6 large carrots, peeled and then grated
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
2-3 tsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
salt and pepper

Whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, and mustard until well combine. Pour over the grated carrots and mix well. Season with salt and pepper. Enjoy.



While the French will heartily chow down on this simple side with nothing but a fistful of bread, I have found that it also works well on sandwiches, on top of salads, and even thrown into a burrito or taco. Any way you choose to eat it, it's pretty great!

Chop Mexican Salad with Cilantro Lime Dressing

I've been a bad blogger. I apologize. Here is me trying to get back on the horse. So recently I subscribed to Vegetarian Times magazine. Great mag with lots of healthy, quick meals. For those of you that got the July/August magazine you might remember this recipe. I changed aspects of it to suit my taste, but the credit certainly goes to VT on this meal.

I've been trying to eat more veggies lately. I came to the sad discovery that multivitamins aren't inherently vegetarian. I don't know why I thought they would be, but then I was in the Common Market looking at vitamins and noticed they had a bunch marked vegetarian and vegan. Huh....so I did some research. No more Centrum for me. And hey, here is an idea...why not get my vitamins and minerals from a good diet. Yes!



Mexican Chopped Salad

Salad:
1 small head of romaine, sliced
1/2 bunch spinach, stems removed, chopped
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
2 avocados, diced
1/2 cucumber, halved lengthwise and then sliced
the corn cut from one fresh cob, raw
1 can black beans
several large pieces of roasted red pepper, sliced
1/4 red onion, minced
1/2 cup broccoli or alfalfa sprouts

Dressing:
1/2 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
juice from one lemon and one lime
1/4 cup chopped green onion
1/4 cup cilantro leaves
pinch cayenne pepper


1. Heat the oil, garlic, cumin, coriander, sugar and salt in a saucepan for until the garlic begins to sizzle.
2. Blend the remaining dressing ingredients with the garlic oil. Blend in a blender if you want it to be smooth (I left it chunky)
3. Toss over the chopped salad




I gave this salad to a few friends without the dressing a few days later and the veggies had marinated to the point where they even liked it with no dressing at all. If you want the salad to last a few days keep the avocado on the side and just top each bowl with it rather than putting it in the whole mixture.

Shiitake and Pepper Barley Salad

So a while back I stumbled upon the eating down the fridge project on someone's blog (can't remember who) and thought that was a great idea. Now that I am down to my last 4ish weeks in France I have liked that idea more and more but for me, since we have a fridge the size of a breadbox, its going to be "eating down the pantry." I started with the barley. I brought this barley all the way from 'Merica! I couldn't think of anyone to give it to at home before leaving so I just brought it with me.



This salad is super versatile. You can serve it hot or cold (I prefer cold actually), with sauteed veggies or roasted, or just as marinated barley if you so wish it! The firs few times I made it I used roasted tomatoes, peppers, red onion and garlic and it turned out swell. I will give you directions for making the barley salad pictured here and the dressing but really you can put anything veggie wise on this.



Barley Salad
1 cup Barley
package of shiitake, cleaned with a damp rag, chopped
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small yellow pepper, chopped
3 Tbsp olive oil

Note: Barley is a 3 to 1 ratio. For two people 1 cup of barley boiled in 3 cups of water should be more than enough. But should you want to feed a lot of people just remember the ratio and work from there.

1. Place 1 cup of pearled barley in a small pot with 3 cups cold water. Bring the barley to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes. Know this: Usually barley is simmered for an hour and 15 minutes! This makes it...well mushy in my opinion. I like to boil it for 30-40 and that way it still has a chewy texture - but do whatever you prefer here.
2. While the barley is cooking heat 2 Tbsp olive oil over med high heat in a pan. Add the shiitake. Cook the shiitake until they release their juice, then reduce the heat and let them simmer for the next 20 minutes or so.
3. In a separate pan, heat the remaining olive oil. Add the onions and yellow pepper first. After a few minutes add the garlic. Sauté until the veggies are soft and golden.
4. When the barley is done (it will have tripled in size and soaked up and boiled off the water it was originally in) fluff it with a fork. Prepare the dressing(see below). Divide the barley up onto your plates, top with the shiitakes, peppers, and finally the dressing. Mix well.



Barley Salad Dressing
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp balsalmic vinegar
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

1. Mix the ingredients in a bowl with a wisk, or throw it in a cup with a lid and shake.

Carrot Top Dressing

During the trip in Italy Katie and I got to talking about using your greens. Beet greens is what we discussed I think, but then I got back to France, salivating at just the thought of grocery shopping, and fell upon these pretty little carrots, avec greens. Well why not carrot greens? So I did some googling (and photoshooting as you can see) and came across a recipe posted a while back by the New York Times for a carrot top vinaigrette. Parfait.



Yeah they look scary but let me tell you the benefits! For one - carrot greens are packed with vitamin K - something you wont find in carrots themselves. Plus, when you buy carrots with their tops, you are cutting down on the amount of processing they go through (think saved energy plus less people and machines messing with your food) and you also know for sure that they are fresh. If you buy a bag of carrots already peeled, decapitated and washed..well you might get home to find some woody gross carrots in that bag. If you buy a bunch of green attached carrots you can't go wrong. If the greens are mushy or limp you know they aren't fresh. If they are vibrant and pretty - well what do you think?



Carrot Top Vinaigrette

1/3 cup olive oil
2 Tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbsp chopped carrot top
pinch or two of salt

1. Put the olive oil, lemon juice and garlic in a blender or food processor. Blend until the ingredients are emulsified.
2. Add the carrot top and some salt and pulse until you have a creamy green sauce with tiny flecks of green leaf.
3. Taste - salt more if you like. Serve



Do note - carrot tops are a bit bitter, so pair it with things that perhaps are not - sweet red cabbage, avocados, beets, maybe strawberries?

Cheerio Marshmallow Treats

Before I came to france I fell upon vegan marshmallows at the Common Market and bought myself a little bag and brought them with me. While cleaning out my pantry and fridge this week (I'm traveling next week!) I came upon the bag of mallows tucked in the back of the pantry where I had forgotten them and decided to use them.



Vegan Mallow Cheerio Treats
1/3 cup veggie spread (or butter if you prefer)
1 bag mallows
a splash of vanilla (just because I love it)
5-6 cups of Cheerios or whatever cereal you like

1. Melt the veg spread or butter in a heavy bottom pan. Add the mallows and stir until they melt and all the lumps disappear.
2. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the vanilla, then add the cereal a cup or so at a time until you cant get them coated anymore.
3. In a lightly oiled cake pan or casserole, press the mixture into the pan with a piece of wax paper until it is evenly spread.
4. Let cool for a few hours and slice and serve.


I should say that the Marshmallows made by Dandies were excellent. Melted just like mallows and taste amazing!

Also I wanted to address the fact that I haven't been posting many recipes. Aside from the desserts I eat, I have turned into a fruit and veg addict lately. When I eat out I tend to stray a bit but at home I have been really on top of getting a balanced diet and I haven't been posting about it for fear that no one will want to hear about it.



Here is an example of things I have been eating lately. Grilled cheese with a mix of goat cheese and cheddar (cheddar did you say? Oh yes I found some expensive cheddar but its not quite what I was hoping for but still good) pesto, sprouts (mix of alfalfa, leek, and lentil) and cucumber. Salad with spinach, red cabbage, pom seeds, sunflower seeds, grapes, dried strawberries, and golden raisins, and a banana for dessert.
Boring? I have never felt better honestly. The teachers at work like to tease me because they say that I am ALWAYS eating (which is true, I eat 4 or 5 smalls meals a day now) but then they peek into my tuperware and see only salads and pita chips and cheese and dried apricots and then they aren't so miffed as to why I dont weigh 500 pounds.
Anyhow, I have plans for the future for more exciting meals so look out for: Black Bean and Butternut Squash soup, Nutella Pound Cake, Orange Cranberry Sauce over toasted Quinoa, Homemade Gnocchi, and Veg Enchiladas with Black Bean Salad in the nearish future.

Mashed White Bean Sammy and Bulgar Mixed Veg Salad-Vegan

Sounds like a lot of healthy stuff right? Yeah it is, but trust me it's so good!

White beans seem to find there way onto my plate more frequently here than at home so I decided to just embrace it. This method of mashing the white beans creates a hummus-like but slightly bumpier kind of spread that frankly I now prefer to hummus.



Mashed White Bean Sammy (for 2)

1 can white beans (drained and rinsed)
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
1 avocado
handful of spiniach
handful of sprouts (can't find them here but that's how I wanted to eat it)
4 slices of your favorite bread

1. Put your white beans in a bowl and add the olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Using a fork mash the beans against the side of the bowl until you have a lumpy spread.
2. Spread onto your bread, top with avocado, spinach, and sprouts.
3. Eat!

Also it would be good with cucumber, roasted red pepper, or shriratcha!



The Bulgar Salad is a bit more complicated but it keeps well. I made it yesterday and I made enough to eat cold for the rest of the week as a side.

Bulgar Mixed Veg Salad

1 cup bulgur wheat
1 eggplant, thinly sliced then sliced into 4ths
1 pound mushrooms, sliced in half
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
salt and pepper
1 cup basil leaves, torn

1. Cook the bulgar according to the package (usually 2 cups cold water and 1 cup bulgar, bring the boil, cover and simmer for 12-15 min)
2. Sautee the mushrooms and eggplant in 3 tbsp oil until tender (5 min)
3. Put your bulgar in a large bowl and fluff with a fork. Add remaining oil, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper and mix well.
4. Add your eggplant and mushrooms and mix well. Gently fold in the tomatoes and basil.

This will make enough for 4-6 people or it will last one to two people several days. Serve warm or cold.

Baby's First Day of School

Oh school days. I must say though, I have been very productive today, unlike all the empty days of summer that I whiled away reading the Twilight Series..not that I regret that :)

So the only class I had today was Chemistry in Society - big 50 student lecture hall class, but I think it's going to be pretty cool actually. The professor is a woman that spent most of her life as a researcher for the army making body armor and other fun things like that. She spent the first 15 minutes of class trying to convince us that science is cool - don't worry lady, Bill Nye took care of that one already - by showing us pictures of "real scientists" and telling us about her old jobs. From what I've heard of this class we will be learning what kind of stuff is in everyday household items...good thing I'm already using mostly natural products

After class I went to Ab Attack - a 30 min class that's all core, I just keep telling myself pain is beauty :) No really it should help with so many things to have a strong core, and I've always had kinda a lame one - but no more!

On to dinner! I call this

Don't Ruin Your Work-Out Salad

1 cup 50/50 salad (50 percent salad, 50 percent spring mix)
half an avocado, sliced
1/3 cucumber, sliced
1 carrot, cut
2 medium radishes, sliced
half a hamsteak, sliced
olive oil as salad dressing

Basically I just throw it all together and dig in! Now I know hamsteak is not the most healthy meat to be eating on my salad, BUT whenever I work out I always want to come home and binge on sweet and/or salty food. Hamsteak takes care of my salt craving without me stuffing my face with chips.



Here's what it looks like...yummers right?

Then! I finished a project...well started and finished it in the same day (woop woop)



Not to pat my own head but I did real good :) Katy will be so pleased with this I think. I will take a picture of the full thing tomorrow. I would have tonight but I wanted to attach it to the camera and take a picture in the mirror so you can see how it looks on but Im already in jam jams for the night.

THEN! I made some fresh bread...look for the recipe tomorrow yall!