Black Bean Vinaigrette

I cannot believe I have not posted this salad yet. I had one of my husbands buddies come over for dinner tonight and I had not made this salad in eons. So before going to work this morning, I soaked the beans then came home, and was able to cook them in about 30 minutes. Darn I love soaking beans and moreso in baking soda.

Anyhow, I knew it called for two ingredients I did not have at home so I made sure I picked them up before leaving to come home from work. And those were cilantro and tomato juice or vegetable juice. today I used tomato juice. Plus thee extra can be used in Bloody Mary's.

This is best served warm or at room temperature. I have had it cooled and it is not the same. Not bad, just not the same. Make this and know there is something else to do with beans.

1&1/4 cups dry black beans, soaked over night or all day long
4-5 cups water
1 bay leaf
1/2 t salt
1 T red wine vinegar
1 clove garlic minced (we used our press)
1/4 t cumin
1 t hot sauce
1 T chopped cilantro
2 T olive oil
1/4 cup vegetable juice
1/2 green, yellow and red bell pepper diced
1 red onion, diced
4 scallions, thinly sliced
sprigs of cilantro for garnish
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Drain soaked beans and rinse well. Put in a large saucepan with water and bay leaf. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Lower heat, cover and simmer until soft, about 1-1&1/2 hours. Drain beans, remove bay leaf and return beans to saucepan.

In a small bowl, combine salt, vinegar, garlic, cumin, hot sauce, cilantro and olive oil. Pour over beans. Toss well. Add remaining ingredients except cilantro sprigs and toss gently. Serve warm or at room temperature. Garnish with cilantro.

This is one of those salads that will do well in any season. Make it and enjoy it like we do.

Garlicky Caeser Dressing

I love not having to buy bottled dressings. Now, if I cold only get my husband to stop buying them. That is not to say I have not fallen off the wagon and used bottled dressing when it is in the house, but my preference is to stay clear of those processed things in a bottle. I went to the produce market today and felt inspired to cook, prepare something...anything. I also keep seeing this picture of a cold pasta salad in the grocery stores I work in. And due to the fact it is a chain of stores the picture is the same in every single store. That is not a complaint.

It is a basic elbow noodle salad, and for color there are black olives, red onion, grape tomatoes and possibly some green peppers. But suffice it to say it is your basic colorful pasta salad. Now I have not had the time to devote to cold pasta salads as I would like to, but I am getting rolling now. For both my husband and I do not have access to any way to warm our noon meals if we are working. So, salads it is. But even for us vegetarians, that can get old after a while. So I thought I would take a whack at this cold pasta salad thing tonight.

The salad ingredients were simple enough, but now it was to the dressing part. I had to get it just right or the salad would die if they, meaning the salad and dressing, did not get along. Along comes the Cooking Lady and I saved the day. I found a scrumptious dressing to pair wonderfully with any salad, greens included. So try this salad out for size and see what you think.

This dressing came from the book I snagged at the withdrawn section of a library down in Fort Lauderdale for $.50...who knew!! Vegetarian Times Complete Cook Book.

Approximately 2 cups cooked elbow pasta
1/2 cup grape tomatoes, cut in half
1/4 red onion, sliced to your liking
1 stalk celery, cut to your liking
Black olives would be perfect for this dish, but we had none
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4-5 cloves garlic (I put them through the press)
1 t virgin olive oil
1 t red wine vinegar
2 t balsamic vinegar
Juice of 1 lemon
1 t water
1/2 t dry mustard
1-2 drops hot sauce (I added a bit more)
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With a fork, mash garlic in thee olive oil. Whisk in the remaining ingredients. Let the dressing sit overnight in your frig if you want a stronger garlic flavor. Trust me this is strong enough without having to sit overnight, but it is your call. This was a grand way to use cold pasta that we had no idea what to do with. Thank you cold pasta recipes. **Make sure your pasta has completely cooled before adding the dressing.**

Potato Latkes

I know these are well renowned in the Jewish community, but can I say how much I love these things? I mean, just potatoes alone, you can do like a million things with them. And then add onions. Wow oh wow. I got this from one of my vegetarian books that I snagged at the low price of what...$.50.

But I was hankering for some new recipes. And since my life has been helter skelter during the holidays, it is a joy to get back to trying to new foods and posting again. My first love is food and feel bad when I cannot share things with my readers. So try this. It is simple and oh so easy to make.

1&1/2 pounds of potatoes, grated
2 small onions, minced (we used one large)
3T cornstarch
1T finely chopped fresh parsley (we were out)
Dash freshly ground pepper
2T soy sauce or tamari
Nonstick cooking spray (we used a thin layer of oil)
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Mix all thee ingredients in a bowl. Coat a skillet with non-stick cooking spray. Form 3-inch patties and cook over medium heat until crisp on both sides.

These were great, bu I would lower the heat a bit and cook them a bit longer, or just puree the onions. Either way I am good to go. Did I mention I love potatoes?

Carrot-Raisin Muffins

I love muffins. Always have...always will. So when I got Vegan With A Vengeance for Christmas, I knew I would be searching for some new muffin recipes. Now keep in mind that I got a jumbo muffin tin at my AVON holiday party as a Chinese gift exchange. Who better to get such a gift. We have used it a few times already.

Before I got so healthy, I loved muffins just the same, except they were laden with sugar, on thee inside and out. But I am now exploring some great recipes with so much less sugar added. And my first reaction still is to say, 'Hey, these are not sweet enough.' But then I realize what I just said and move on. These are definitely a keeper, except I will need to alter the time they are baked. We need to extend our time, for the time given is not long enough for my oven. Try these, eat these and make these again.

1/2 cup raisins
1&1/2 cups flour (we used half spelt and half soft white. Remember we grind our own wheat)
2t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t ground cinnamon
1/4 t ground or freshly grated nutmeg (I was able to use freshly grated. Thank you microplaner)
1/4 cup sugar
1/2t salt
1 cup rice or say milk (we used almond)
1/4 cup canola oil (we used olive)
1t vanilla extract
2 cups grated carrots
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Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a muffin tin with nonstick spray or lightly grease. ( we use coconut oil) Soak the raisins in a bowl of hot water and begin preparing your batter. In a large mixing bowl sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar, and salt. Create a well in the center and add the milk, oil, and vanilla; mix with wooden spoon until just combined. Fold in the grated carrots. Remove the raisins from the water and fold in. Fill the muffin tins 3/4 full. Bake for 18-22 minutes, (we need at least 25 for our oven) until a toothpick or knife inserted in the center of one comes out clean. Let cool on a cooling rack.

They are healthy and taste good, a concept most folks who are not vegetarians or are poor esters cannot understand. Make them and sit down with a cup of java or tea, they deserve that much at least.

Greek Scrambled Tofu

For those of you who may follow me and my food journey. I am slowly but surely on my way to becoming vegan. This will not happen over-night and I am OK with that. I can see that in doing so I will be alienating myself even more in the social world. I will be deemed/judged as some sort of freak. It bothers me and only to the point that I look at those who sit in judgement and trust me when I tell you, they would do good by losing some of the things offered in the meat world.

It bothers me when someone who is visibly out of shape and has thee audacity to criticize me food options. Really? Give me a break. Put as I have grown older and hopefully wiser, I do not sit in judgement, or at least I do not verbalize it, I just let them know the benefits I have experienced in losing meat and now dairy from my diet. My actions speak for themselves.

I also love listening to people say they could not let go of meat. And I gently remind them that there is a difference between not being able to let go of meat and not wanting to let go of meat...BIG difference.

I have been a vegetarian now for a year and a half, save for a set back or two. And my brother-in-law just now says he found out about it. Helloooo, you were at my house on Thanksgiving. No meat on my plate then. DUH to him. With all this said, I have been experimenting with tofu. I want to like it. Aren't all vegetarians supposed to like this stuff. Thee easiest way I saw, was to use it as a scrambled egg replacer. My first attempt at trying a new recipe was a near failure. But when thrown from the horse I just get right back on and keep on going.

So, a new recipe has crossed my path. And I enjoyed this one so much that I taught it at our local health food store and it was a big hit. I will definitely be making this one again and now trying other tofu scrambler recipes in the future. Thank you to How It all Vegan for this lovely ethnic flavored tofu breakfast dish.

1 pkg. firm tofu, crumbled (squeeze as much water out as you possibly can)
1-2 T Braggs or soy sauce/tamari
turmeric (to taste)
pepper (to taste)
dried oregano (to taste)
splash of olive oil
6-8 Greek olives, chopped (remove pits if necessary)
handful of sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup spinach, chopped
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In a large saucepan, add the tofu, Braggs, turmeric, pepper, and oregano to a splash of oil and saute on medium-high heat for 10-12 minutes, until moisture has evaporated. Add the olives, sundried tomatoes, and spinach. Cover and cook for 2-4 minutes, until spinach is tender. Makes 2-4 servings.

I am in love. This is winning me over to the tofu side and I am not looking back.

The Perfect Pancake

You can all thank How it all Vegan for this recipe. Yes, it is a basic simple recipe, but there are times where we stray away from the simplicity of things and make them grander than they have to be. Well not in this case. We all know we love pancakes. I, in fact, could eat them every day. And trust me when I tell you it doe snot have to be for breakfast. There has been plenty a night that my daughter and I have had breakfast for dinner. And vice versa in this house. But most people cannot fathom left-over spaghetti for breakfast.

I went looking for a tofu scramble recipe and stumbled upon a new pancake recipe. It looked too runny, but I stuck to the recipe and let me tell you, this was one of those pancake recipes that you could make, photograph and send off to a magazine for a front cover spot. This, bar none, was thee most perfect pancake. So sit back, and try this, you will not regret it.

2 cups flour (we used unbleached white, but will use our own fresh ground, next time)
1 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
2 cups soy milk (we used 1 c soy & 1 cup rice milk)
2 T oil (we used olive)
sliced fruit (optional)
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In a large bowl, sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder together. Add the milk and oil and mix together carefully until "just mixed" (if you mix too vigorously, the pancakes won't get fluffy). Portion out about 3/4 to 1 cup of batter onto a hot non-stick pan or lightly oiled frying pan and cover with a lid. Let sit on medium heat until the centre starts to bubble and becomes sturdy. Flip pancake over and cook other side until golden brown. Repeat process until all the batter is gone. Makes 2 or more servings. Garnish with fresh fruit and maple syrup.

This will be in my morning line up for sure. Make it one of yours.

It Still Amazes Me

We had Thanksgiving at our home this year, as always. We have learned to split the holidays. I always take Thanksgiving and my mother-in-law takes Christmas eve. My brother-in-law and his wife have yet to take a holiday. but it would be difficult for us to go there for a few reasons. They have 4 cats and do not keep up on the tidiness of their living area. And the fact that my husband and son are allergic to them is an extra added kicker.

But we had a nice dinner all the same. This was definitely not my best year. It was not my recipes, they were great. It just did not flow smoothly like it usually does. For one I cooked a ham and a turkey...for thee omnivores in our family. I will not do that again. I make enough dishes that no one would walk away hungry. that is, if they decide to fore go their assumptions as to what vegetarians eat and just give our food a try.

I waited to see how long it would take for someone...anyone to make any type of comment about our eating style. It took til the end of the meal this time. Not bad. My brother-in-law, who is thee epitome of the SAD (standard American diet) made a comment on my daughters plate and what she was eating when I tried to coax his son to try a bit of everything on his plate, even the ham. He went about to make mention that my daughters plate lacked the meat portion. Then he moved on quickly to a story about a friend of his who's child recently went vegan and now the cost of their grocery bill has gone up $200. That may be a viable answer for a months worth of groceries. But what I tried to explain to my brother-in-law (who of course knows everything about everything) is that it is this child's choice. He pointed out that he thought it was a fad. And that may very well be the case. But aren't some habits and or lifestyles start out as fads and then catch on. So what knock what this child is attempting to do.

That was when I diplomatically as possible explained to my brother-in-law (who is morbidly obese), that yes it is a bit more expensive to eat healthy, but I will be better off then the rest of you, making a blanket statement in reference to those who did not eat healthy. I referred to my in-laws, who carry around a small suitcase of pills, as well as my parents. they are now paying for an unhealthy lifestyle. Pay now, or pay later is my motto.

I won't be dragging my butt because of some illness that could have been prevented due to the choices I could have made in my eating habits. I have made those choices now and do not regret them. I did ask both my brother-in-law and his wife, what they would do if their son came to them at an early age and wanted to give up meat? And the wife said she would support her son but would let him know he could always come back to the meat eating world. Huh?! What does that even mean? Are we the dark side? Is it so difficult to imagine life outside the meat-eating box? I guess for some it is, but not for us.

And as this holiday passed, I was talking to my daughter about giving up more animal by-products, such as cheese, dairy and eggs, even thought we use them sparingly now. And her response was, "People already think we are freaks, and it is already difficult to go anywhere other than home to eat, what would it be like if we went vegan?"

So, she thinks about it, but is afraid of the backlash and what people will say. Pah I say. It is now my new project to find us ways to lose more dairy and eggs as well. I am bound and determined to show her that becoming vegan is do-able and that we are already considered freaks, what's one more step in that direction?

So watch as I discover how to incorporate veganism into our lives and not come off as weird...yeah right.