Tag: vegan

Summer Salad With Vegan Cashew Dressing and Chipotle-spiced Potatoes

chipotle spiced roasted potatoes sit atop vegan cashew dressing on colorful salad greens with red and yellow peppers
Chipotle-spiced potatoes languishing on vegan cashew dressing and crispy salad greens.

It seems everybody and their fucking brother has a salad recipe for the summertime, but I’m just going to come out and say it: this one is better.

How’s that, you say? 

1. It’s accidentally vegan, and by “accidentally” I mean I don’t follow a vegan diet, but we should all eat less meat, because A) high-quality meat is getting more expensive, B) the only meat you should eat is high-quality meat, and C) eating plant-based meals a few times a week is really good for you.

Plus it’s cheaper to eat plant-based whole foods that aren’t processed. So there’s that.

2. The two highlights of this salad — the dressing and the potatoes — can be strewn about any number of variations in terms of greens and accoutrements. I give some suggestions in the Recipe Notes.

3. It’s a really good chance that you have everything you need to make this salad immediately. The only iffy thing is the cashews, but even the cashews can be picked up at a convenience store on the way home, as they don’t need to be fancy and raw (which means no soaking).

Everything else is pantry and fridge staples, and there’s no unusual ingredients. 

There’s also no yeast — a common vegan trick for a “cheesy” flavor — in this recipe. Many people, including this writer, have issues with yeast. Leaving it out is no big deal.

4. It’s just really, really fucking delicious.

Summer Salad With Vegan Cashew Dressing and Chipotle-spiced Potatoes

Ingredients

Vegan cashew salad dressing (makes about a cup)

½ cup roasted, salted cashews

¼ cup neutral oil (I used canola)

1 teaspoon maple syrup or honey (I used shagbark hickory syrup in late winter)

3 tablespoons lime juice (more to taste)

1 clove garlic (about 1 teaspoon chopped if you buy it in a little jar, which I do sometimes and LOVE, so zero shade)

1 teaspoon cumin

Hot water to thin (see Recipe Notes)

Chipotle-spiced Potatoes

Yellow potatoes, cut into ½”-1” cubes 

Chipotle chili powder (see Recipe Notes)

Olive oil

Salt and black pepper

Salad Stuff — go crazy here

Romaine hearts, chopped

Red and yellow peppers

Carrots

Red cabbage

Chopped snap peas

Avocado

Cherry tomatoes

Black beans, grilled chicken, leftover steak, or all in some combination

Pickled red onions (or raw in thin slivers)

Shredded sharp cheddar if you want the dairy experience

Method

Salad dressing: Place all ingredients except water in a food processor or very capable blender, and blend until smooth and creamy. Add hot water to thin as needed, but be prepared to bump up the lime juice and other seasoning (cumin especially) if you add too much. Since I use this on hearty romaine salad greens, I certainly don’t mind a thicker dressing, but you choose your own adventure.

This can be stored in the fridge for three days. Note that it will thicken as it cools, so you may need to add a combo of lime/warm water to thin.

Potatoes: Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Chop up a mess of yellow potatoes, more than you think you need. More than you think you want. Seriously.  Chances are good when you are done eating your salad, you’re going to want to nosh on these with some ketchup. If you have leftovers, they are just fine on salad the next day, or you can use them in a frittata. SO GOOD. Plus, if you’re going to turn your oven on in the summer, you might as well make it count.

Add potatoes to a bowl and splash with a generous glug of olive oil, chipotle chili powder, salt and black pepper. How much?

Frustratingly for you, maybe, it’s hard to say. People’s spice preference is different. The chipotle chili should be visible on the potatoes, and you want them fairly slippery with oil. Use more salt than you think you need, and keep it handy.

Place in the oven and roast for 20 minutes. Give them a stir, taste for salt and add if needed,  turn off the oven, and let them sit in the oven for another ten minutes while you put your salad together.

Assembly: I chop, wash, and spin dry three romaine hearts every week in the summer so there’s no excuse not to eat veggies, and it’s easy all the time (I’ll grate tons of carrot in there, too). You can use any type of hearty salad green, but for the love of all things holy, avoid iceberg lettuce in most applications, including this one.

Add whatever salad-y things you like. I would avoid cucumbers unless they are the English kind that have less water, but I might also avoid those. They just don’t seem delicious here, but if that’s your jam, have at it.

Add dressings and pile on the potatoes. I like to toss everything together in a slightly larger bowl so the dressing touches every corner of the salad and potatoes. 

Eat. Repeat. Salad for days.

Recipe notes

  • If you use too much hot water to thin your cashew dressing, it could also dilute the flavor. I like to alternate between water and additional lime juice. If you only have one lime, you could also add unseasoned rice vinegar instead. Acid is a good friend here — it keeps things light even though this is a filling salad.

If you don’t stan chipotle chili powder, substitute the same amount of smoked paprika. It changes the flavor profile a bit, but the smoke is what you’re after. If you hate both of those options, season the potatoes with a fancy smoked salt and live your best life.

No Cap: Tortilla Soup

The garnishes seem overwhelming, but this is also delicious without a single addition.

I am going to share a top secret recipe today that is fail-proof, delicious, cheap, and vegan (if you skip some of the garnishes). It’s because I LOVE YOU, and I want you to have good things in your life. That’s why.

Not even going to make you sit through a story — just soup, soup, and more soup. Enjoy.

Tortilla Soup

Ingredients

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 cup yellow onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 jalapeño, finely chopped (keep as many or as few seeds as you like)

 Salt and pepper

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2 tablespoons puréed chipotles in adobo (see Recipe Notes)

1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes (or two smaller cans)

2 cups vegetable or chicken stock (I used veg for the vegetarian)

1 can of corn kernels (or fresh, about 2 cups)

1 can black or dark red kidney beans

GARNISHES, ANY OR ALL

Avocado, chopped

Tortilla chips

Shredded Colby jack (or cheese of your choice)

Sour cream

Chopped fresh cilantro

Red onion, finely chopped

Method

Heat oil over medium heat in a large, heavy-bottomed pot. Add onion, garlic, green chilis/jalapeño, and season with salt and pepper. Cook until onion is soft (5-8 minutes).

Add chili powder and cumin and stir to coat. Cook a minute or two until spices open up, then add chipotle purée and tomatoes. Season again with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes start to caramelize a bit on the bottom of the pot (the time for this varies depending on your pot, the heat, etc. But there will be less liquid and the tomatoes will brown slightly. Mine took about ten minutes).

Add vegetable stock, corn, and beans. Bring to a simmer and reduce heat to low. Simmer uncovered 15-20 minutes and taste for seasoning.

At this point, the soup is done. It can be set aside and reheated, and it’s even better the next day. It freezes perfectly.

Garnish the hell out of your soup, or eat it plain. Delicious either way.

This soup’s spice can be moderated by adding fewer seeds/veins from whatever pepper you choose.

Recipe Notes

  • When you open a can of chipotle chilis in adobo, dump in a blender and purée. Remove the amount you need for the soup, then place the rest in a Ziploc bag and flatten. Freeze. Break off chunks of deliciousness as needed.
  • Add grilled, shredded chicken (or rotisserie chicken from the store – EASY) for carnivores.

Crispy Quinoa Granola

Don’t sleep on this delicious, versatile snack/breakfast/garnish.

Look, I’m not gonna say that this is the best thing you’ll put in your mouth all week. I don’t know how you live your life. But if you want a strong contender for that title, this crispy quinoa granola is it.

Packed with protein, filling, slightly sweet, salty, versatile AF. As at home on top of a curried squash soup as it is in a vat of that extra fatty Scandinavian yogurt. Excellent with plain old (non-dairy) milk or eaten dry out of a coffee mug with a spoon as you lie in bed watching cooking shows. #AskMeHowIKnow

Take 30 minutes (largely hands-off) and make yourself happy. You’ll be glad you did.

Crispy Quinoa Granola

(makes about four cups)

Nuts, seeds, and fruit can be subbed in any combination you like. Just keep amounts the same and you’re all good.

Ingredients

1 cup almonds, chopped

1 1/2 cups uncooked quinoa

1 cup pumpkin seeds (I used salted)

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup honey (see Recipe Notes)

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup dried fruit (I used cranberries)

Method

Preheat oven to 300 and line a large rimmed baking tray with parchment paper.

Combine almonds, quinoa, pumpkin seeds, and salt in a large bowl and stir to combine.

Add honey and oil and mix completely. Pour onto baking tray and spread evenly. Use two baking sheets if the mix is more than 1/4″ thick.

Now the fun part, where you need be mildly diligent. Cook for a total of 25 minutes on 300, stirring every 8 minutes or so, then turn the oven temperature up to 350 and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes.

Be careful here. Your quinoa will go from a lovely brown to a charred cinder very quickly.

When the quinoa is a nice deep brown, remove from oven. I like to take it off the baking sheet (still on parchment) and set it on my cool marble counters to cool completely.

DO NOT SAMPLE WHEN HOT. The quinoa will cling to your fingertips and lips and burn the shit out of you. Be patient.

Store in an airtight container. This might last longer than a week, but I doubt I will try that out.

Recipe Notes

If you are eliminating added sugar, you can use apple cider syrup instead of honey. Reduce any quantity of apple cider (not juice) by half and use that instead of honey. You can also substitute maple syrup here. If you like a slightly clumpy, sticky granola, honey is your best bet.

The picture above is made with almonds and cranberries. I can imagine that cashew/apricot and walnut/cherry would be delicious.

This is unspiced, but I also imagine that cinnamon would do well here.

Riced Cauliflower With Basil Cashew Cream Sauce And Pretty Much Anything Else You Want

This unassuming little dish holds a tiny cloud of heaven: basil cashew cream sauce.

There is something incredibly comforting about a warm bowl of food. Since it seems we are living in season 4 of The Handmaid’s Tale, we need comfort and care now more than ever. Enter basil cashew cream sauce.

This sauce takes advantage of the late summer flush of basil on my back porch; it’s also vegan and packed with protein (hello, cashews!). If you don’t have basil, you can skip it or try some parsley or other mixed herbs.

Feed yourself (and your people) with love. And for fuck’s sake, VOTE.

Riced Cauliflower With Basil Cashew Cream Sauce And Pretty Much Anything Else You Want

You can make every component of this meal on a Sunday and have dinner on the table in 15 minutes any night of the week.

Ingredients

1 cup cashews

Boiling water

7 tablespoons water (ish. Maybe more, maybe less)

3 tablespoons lemon juice (ish. Also, see Recipe Notes)

Fresh basil leaves (a nice bunch – maybe an ounce or so)

1 head of cauliflower

2 tablespoons olive oil or ghee

Other stuff (see Recipe Notes)

Method

Place cashews in a jar with a lid and cover with boiling water. Let stand for at least 30 minutes (an hour or more is ok), then drain and rinse and put in a food processor.

Add water, lemon juice, and basil and process until everything is light and creamy and pourable. You may use more or less water and lemon juice to get the consistency you want.

The amount of basil you add depends on your taste and what you have. I like a bright, fresh, herbaceous sauce, so I added lots more than most people, but this isn’t pesto. You want to allow the subtle cashew flavor to come through, too. So add and taste and be judicious.

Also add salt and pepper to taste, then blend once more before putting in the ‘fridge. This sauce will last a couple of days chilled, more if you don’t add basil and just process with water and lemon. If you are using the sauce right away, no need to refrigerate.

Rice your entire head of cauliflower. This is most easily done in a food processor with a shredding disk, but you can also grate on a box grater or chop the shit out of it until the cauliflower is approximately the size of – wait for it – rice. You can also buy pre-riced cauliflower.

You’ll need two heaping cups for this recipe (one per person, with some leftovers). Pack the rest into two-cup servings in Ziploc bags and toss in the freezer for easy meals later.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet, then add the cauliflower. Season with salt and pepper. You may need to add a little bit of water if the cauliflower absorbs the oil, but that’s ok. Cook the cauliflower on medium heat for about five minutes.

And here is where things get interesting. You can roast veggies separately and then add to the cauliflower and top with sauce. You can steam kale or other fall bitter greens in the pan with the cauliflower, then add cashew sauce and mix together (not pretty but YUM). You can use anything that you love in a bowl of food and bring it all together with the basil cashew cream sauce.

So. Freaking. Delicious.

Recipe Notes

This might seem a little thing, but when I first used this, I tossed a section of preserved lemon in the processor instead of lemon juice, and I also used stock instead of water. I had both of these things lying around. If you do, too, I encourage you to use those substitutions for a richer, more complex experience.

When it comes to “other stuff,” the sky is the limit. This is great with leftover (or freshly roasted) veg, grilled meat, or all on its own. You can really add what you like or what’s left in your ‘fridge (hopefully they are the same thing).

We Could All Use Some Sweetness: Vegan (Sugar-free) Mixed Berry Tart

Glossy, delicious, vegan, and sugar-free (with no artificial sugar, either). Truth.

Friends, if you are even a semi-regular reader of this blog, you know that the above headline for this recipe is an anomaly here.

I am a HUGE FAN of sugar. I like it in all of its forms.

I like it in the form of a big piece of cake, balanced on my chest as I lie in the bed and watch TV.

I like it in the form of empty wrappers of Dove dark chocolates, the ones that I used to hand out at the end of my yin classes at Yoga Tree.

I love drippy ice cream cones, cheesecake, caramel apples, scones, muffins, pies.

Watermelon and fresh peaches.

I. Love. Sugar. ALL OF IT.

So imagine my surprise as I find myself in week three of a seasonal Renewal with my good friend Martha at Full Moon Acupuncture with nary a fine grain of sugar anywhere.

THREE WEEKS. I have not had sugar for THREE WEEKS. I haven’t cheated (which I think is stupid language to begin with. “Cheat days” and “cheating” are, in general, ridiculous constructs when it comes to food, and I do not in any way, shape, or form condone the use of them. I use it here to indicate that I have, against all odds, stuck with the program and eliminated all processed foods, including sugars in all forms, for a period that will last four weeks-ish. But I digress.)

Thankfully, and speaking of Weeks, my particular friend KWeeks had a birthday October 1st, and it is traditional for the birthday people in my life to get the dinner and the dessert of their choice on their day. KWeeks has simple taste, so dinner was (for him) French lentils over cornbread and topped with a fried egg.

TRUST ME. This is rustic and delicious. But I couldn’t eat it. See referenced Renewal above. And it’s hard to not share a meal on the birthday of someone you love.

He doesn’t have much of a sweet tooth, but I thought perhaps I could make something sweet that we could both eat.

Enter the vegan, sugar-free mixed berry tart.

Apple syrup made from 100% cold-pressed apple cider provides the sweet, and the gluten-free crust is six simple ingredients: walnuts, almonds, oats, salt, coconut oil, and apple syrup. Technically the oats are not allowed in the Renewal (no grains), but everything else is so damn good for you it doesn’t seem to matter.

It’s pretty, and it’s festive, and it gets real close to satisfying my (still) voracious appetite for sugar.

Vegan (Sugar-free) Mixed Berry Tart

KWeeks and I ate about half of this on his birthday and then shared the rest with his vegan co-workers at The Friends School of Baltimore. They have not been the beneficiaries of my baking, ever, and I am glad to finally be able to have something to share with them.

Ingredients

80 grams almonds (about 2/3 cup)

80 grams walnuts (about 2/3 cup)

70 grams oats (you guessed it: about 2/3 cup)

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons coconut oil

1/4 cup + 3 tablespoons apple syrup (divided)

1/2 cup lemon juice/water combo

1/2 teaspoon agar

3 cups chopped fruit of your choice (see Recipe Notes)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method

Preheat oven to 350. Use cooking spray to grease a 9″ tart pan with removable bottom (you can use butter if you don’t want to keep it vegan) and set aside.

Place almonds, walnuts, oats, and salt in a food processor, and pulse to chop fine.

Add coconut oil and 3 tablespoons of your apple syrup and pulse until the mixture begins to come together. Dump into your tart pan and press into an even layer along the bottom and the sides.

Bake until brown and the bottom is firm (between 15 and 20 minutes). If the edges of the crust begin to burn, pull the tart out of the oven and place aluminum foil strips over the edges, then replace and finish. Remove to a wire rack and cool completely while you make the filling (the ‘fridge is great for a quick chill).

To make the filling, place 1/4 cup apple syrup and the 1/2 cup of lemon juice/water combo in a saucepan with the agar. Whisk to combine, and bring just to a boil.

Add the fruit and stir. Warm the fruit (especially if it’s frozen), then add to the chilled tart crust. Place back in the ‘fridge and allow to chill for at least three hours.

Serve with vegan whipped cream, or ice cream, or plain for breakfast. Just as you like.

Recipe Notes

Apple syrup is a delicious way to add sweetness to desserts (or yogurt or granola or whatever) without adding sugar. Well, ok, technically it’s fruit sugar, which the body does still recognize as sugar, but it’s not processed to within an inch of its life. Essentially, you are taking pure apple cider (NOT juice) and boiling it down until it reduces by half. I make this in two-cup batches, so I start with four cups of apple cider. Bring to a medium boil (not a simmer, but not too rolling either). Boil until the cider is reduced by half. If you want it to be even sweeter, keep going and reduce it even more.

Any fruit works here, fresh or frozen. I have used fresh and frozen blueberries, cherries, and nectarines in my tests, and they have all been delicious. You can also switch up the extracts if you like and use an almond extract, but use just 1/4 teaspoon if you do that.