Super Sprout Chopped Salad

Thank You: Adina Niemerow and Food&Wine Magazine

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-by-1/3-inch sticks

olive oil

salt

2 tblspns lemon juice (zest lemon first then juice saving zest for garnish)

1 tblspns plum vinegar

1 tblspns raspberry vinegar

*~  You could just swap out balsemic vinegar for these two(2)

1 tblspns tamari

1 teaspn honey

1 cup each lentil, mung and adzuki sprouts

1 romaine heart, coarsely chopped

4 small cucumbers, cut into small dice

2 cups packed mesclun

2 large scallions, chopped small

1 cup oil-cured olives, pitted and chopped

1 firm, ripe avocado, diced

1 tablespoon black sesame seeds

DIRECTIONS:

~  Preheat the oven to 450°. On a large rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper, toss the sweet potato sticks with olive oil; spread in an even layer. Season with salt and bake for about 12-15 minutes, until the sweet potatoes are just tender, more if you like a little crispyness.

~  In a small bowl, combine the lemon juice, vinegars, tamari and honey with 1/4 cup of oil. Season the dressing with salt.

~  In another small bowl, toss the sprouts with 1 tablespoon of the dressing and let stand for 10 minutes, tossing a few times.

~  In a large bowl, combine the romaine, cucumbers, mesclun, scallions, olives and avocado and toss. Add the remaining dressing and toss well. Transfer the salad to a platter and top with the roasted sweet potatoes, followed by the marinated sprouts. Sprinkle with the black sesame seeds and serve.

I had a bad day. I decided that I needed to drink. Having no car, and no fresh anything for the most part in my kitchen, and no real enthusiasm to walk to the store (+/- 1 mile), I made this using frozen fruit. It worked just fine.    This drink is vegan. LOL. 

link to original story: 

Recipe: Strawberry Basil Sangria 

OK. I watched an episode of Guy Fieri's Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, and saw this dish. I looked up the recipe and gave it a try. BIG HIT. 

* NO animals were hurt or involved in making this recipe/dish. Oh yeah, I will make this again. 

Recipe courtesy Guy Fieri for Food Network Magazine

Garlic-Onion Tortilla Cake

Recipe courtesy Guy Fieri

Garlic Onion Tortilla Cake

Here is what I did: 

2 med-lg sweet Spanish onions, rough chopped

1 healthy splash olive oil

* not at all EVOO, but regular, cheapest on the shelf, name-brand, OO. 

1 stick butter

S&P 

2 lg heads garlic (nice lg cloves), roasted 

3/4 bunch cilantro, rough chopped

at least a cup of "sprinkle cheese"  (a grocery-story blend of grated romano/parm)

a real healthy splash of balsamic vinegar

half a bottle (6-8 oz) poppy-seed salad dressing (I don't use mayo)

a dozen med flour tortillas

1 ~  Roast garlic.

2 ~  Caramelize onions in oil/butter low-slow until GBD, being careful not to scorch. Add s&p and sugar, cook +/- 3 more minutes. Remove from heat allowing to cool. * Take your sweet time caramelizing the onions. This aint'e rocket-surgery. 

3 ~  Mix everything up in a bowl, then into food-pro, blitzing until relatively smooth. Refrigerate for a while. 

4 ~  Spread a large mounded tablespoon glob on first tortilla, covering evenly to maybe 1/4 in./1 cm. from edge, cover w/ another tortilla and repeat until all tortillas are included. I had +/- 1/2 cup onion mix left over (that is a good thing). 

5 ~  Wrap up and put in freezer overnight. I put it in the refrigerator. That was a mistake. You want this jobbie solid when you cut it up.

6 ~  Cut up into 16 wedges. * It's important to use the sharpest chef's knife you've got for clean-cuts or a really good bread knife.

7 ~  Let wedges come to room temp then mark cut sides on the grill (you really don't need to do this), then heat in oven for 10-12 minutes at 250*-300*. 

8 ~  Serve w/ remaining cool onion mix.  

Even though this is mostly a winter dish, I made it this past weekend. It's over-the-top good. It can go vegan very easily with one(1) ingredient (garnish) omitted. These were delish. 

Quinoa Cakes

   by SABRINA MODEL

FOR THE QUINOA CAKES

 1 1/2 cup cooked black quinoa

 2 tbsp golden flax seed meal

 1 egg beaten or 1/4 cup vegan egg substitute

 ½ cup grated Parmesan or crumbled very dry/firm tofu

 ½ lemon juiced + zest

 2 tbsp olive oil

 1 tbsp smoked paprika

 smoked sea salt  (about ¼ teaspoon)

 fresh black pepper

 ½ cup steamed broccoli and/or cauliflower finely chopped

FOR GARNISH

 roasted tomatoes 

 hand full of arugula- sliced very thinly into a chiffonade

 parmesan cheese, shaved *

FOR ROASTED TOMATOES

 Slice tomatoes ½ inch thick

 Salt your tomatoes and rest them on a paper towel, flipping once

 Line a sheet pan with parchment paper

 Pre heat your oven to 450º

 Press tomatoes with paper towels to remove moisture

 Roast for 15 minutes

FOR QUINOA CAKES

 While tomatoes are roasting, mix all quinoa cake ingredients

 Refrigerate for 20 minutes

 Heat enough oil generously cover the bottom of a heavy bottom sauce pan (or heavy cast skillet) – on medium high

 Form quinoa mixture into palm sized patties and add to the pan

 Flip as soon as they’ve formed a crust (gently check at 3 minutes)

To assemble these cakes, just add a roasted tomato, some chiffonade of arugula, and shaved Parmesan.  Can also be topped with a fried egg.

Grilled Brie Sandwich with Apple and Red Onion Confit

Jerry James Stone    Living / Green Food

1 8 oz. Brie wheel

Apple and onion confit

Sandwich bread

Butter

Apple and Red Onion Confit

1 large red onion, thinly sliced

1 Granny Smith apple, thinly sliced

1/8 cup of honey

3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Extra virgin olive oil

1. Add onions, apples and just enough olive oil to coat to a high-sided skillet. Cook on medium-high heat until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes.

2. Reduce heat and add the remaining ingredients. Slowly cook for about 40 minutes, until the mixture becomes jam-like.

3. Remove the crust from your bread slices and butter each one on one side only.

4. Cut the brie into thick slices. The soft cheese melts fairly easily, so the thicker the slice, the more substantial your sandwich will be.

5. Use the same skillet in which you made the confit. Grill one bread slice, butter-side down, along with some brie.

6. When the brie begins to melt a bit, add the confit and grill for a few minutes.

7. Add another slice of bread, butter-side up, and flip the sandwich. Cook until the brie just begins to melt into the pan.

8. Slice and enjoy!

It's Knock-out.    Just as a little caveat however, if you go w/ this recipe, I have a simple suggestion. Use bigger than you think bread. Don't trim the crusts. And ... most important ... do not over-fill. This gets sloppy, and it's hot and messy. Think about hot drippy cheese and onions/apples squishing out and slapping you in the face/chin (like pizza).    Not a pretty picture.   Let this bad boy rest a little bit before you go chomping into it. I recommend a nice crisp Belgian ale or an off-dry fruity white wine, like a not too sweet Riesling. Baked sweet-potato chips and cole-slaw sides fill the plate well. 

OK. Out of the gate when I saw these recipes I wanted to gag. Really, me, "Mr.Vegetarian Recipe Guy". But then I looked again, with a much more opinion mind, and read deeper into the way they worked. I then tried the two(2) Cheese-Cake jobbies, and they were hits (w/ avocado fans, but still).  Anyway, I'm givin' them up here for you all.      Enjoy.

Deliciously Radical Avocado Recipes, From Soup to Cheesecake

http://www.avocadocentral.com/avocado-recipes/view/32510/Avocado-Cheesecake-Bites-with-Pistachio-Shortbread-Crust

Avocado Cheesecake Bites with Pistachio Shortbread Crust Recipe

Sweetly Raw's Green Cheesecake

Linguine with Smoky Avocado Sauce

http://www.treehugger.com/slideshows/easy-vegetarian-recipes/10-deliciously-radical-avocado-recipes-from-soup-cupcakes/page/3/

Vanilla Citrus Buttercream

   Mocha Almond Fudge Avocado Cake     (vegan)

Cocoa Avocado Brownies

http://www.treehugger.com/slideshows/easy-vegetarian-recipes/10-deliciously-radical-avocado-recipes-from-soup-cupcakes/page/7/

Banana Avocado Smoothie

OK. As it turns out, on the All-Time Classic AMERICAN BBQ Day, I also gotta feed some vegetarians too, LOL. I just ran across this recipe. It looks/seems easy enough, and it should have a big enough flavor.      Here you go ...

Tofu with Chilies   (this is a VEGAN recipe, LOL)

3 chilies, 2 smoky, 1 sweet, rehydrated, water saved

Juice of 1 lime

6 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 tbsp Mediterranean spice rub recipe

2 tbsp thyme

1/4 cup olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

2 lb firm or extra firm tofu, sliced

1.  In a large bowl place the chilies and add enough warm water to cover them. Set aside and allow the chilies to rehydrate. When they are rehydrated, remove them from the bowl and chop them into pieces. Return them to the bowl of water.    

2.  Add the remaining ingredients and allow to marinate for at least half an hour, or up to 2 hours.      

3.  Heat a grill. In the meantime place the marinade in a small pot and cook over a medium heat, until it reduces by about 1/3 to make a sauce.      

Place the tofu slices on the grill and cook until hot through, turning once.      Remove the tofu from the grill to a platter and pour the sauce over top.      Serve immediately.

TY: Kelly Rossiter   Living / Easy Vegetarian Recipes

Tags: Vegan | Weekday Vegetarian

This is a fantastic recipe. Fantastic in that it's a great way to get kids involved. Any kid can do this (read: anyone with any kinda difficulties or situations). This recipe can not be screwed up. It's that good. It's also an elastic recipe. You can change or tweak it in any direction you like. On top of that ... it's tasty. LOL. 

Peach and Tomato Salsa

Kelly Rossiter   Living / Easy Vegetarian Recipes

Tags: Vegan / Weekday Vegetarian

     10 No-Cook Recipes for Cool Kitchens

From raw lasagna to spicy cherry gazpacho, keep the kitchen cool and power-usage low with the best of summer non-cooking.

Melissa Breyer . Living / Easy Vegetarian Recipes

Watermelon and Tomato Gazpacho . Watermelon Fennel Gazpacho . Green Grape and Almond Gazpacho . Spicy Cherry Gazpacho with Basil 

   Ina Garten's recipe

   a la Martha

   Summer Peach Caprese Salad

   10 Deliciously Radical Avocado Recipes

   Vegan Twist on the Classic Tuna Fish Sandwich

Vietnamese Summer Rolls with Mango and Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce

Nectarine and Basil Summer Rolls with Almond Sauce

Summer Rolls with Marigolds and Nasturtiums

   Eggplant Shu Mai Dumplings & Chili Sauce

WOW. These are really good. I've made them twice. The first time per-spec to the recipe, The second time I sorta tweaked the cooking. Actually, "tweaking" was that I was too lazy to get out and set up my steamer, so I cooked them in a cast skillet as if I was making pot-stickers, using vegetable stock as my liquid. Both ways were just fine. No leftovers.

It's kinda funny what you find when you are looking for something else.

OK. This is not so much "eats", being that is a drink and all.  It's also not much "vegan" or "vegetarian" so much as it would be kinda difficult, but not impossible, to not be.  I mean it's no big deal in calling this vegan or vegetarian.  NO "coolness" attraction.  Still ... it's a good drink ... for tomato juice.  

Homegrown Tomato Juice Recipe by Gayla Trail 

Got tomatoes? Noted garden author Gayla Trail shares her recipe for homegrown tomato juice exclusively with TreeHugger.

OK. So basically it's just another cool "Virgin Mary".   So what. There's nothing wrong with that. 

Jalapeño and Cilantro Margarita

Jerry James Stone     Living / Easy Vegetarian Recipes

Here is a fun and spicy twist on a classic margarita using fresh cilantro and jalapeño.

Candied Tomatoes

Kelly Rossiter     Living / Easy Vegetarian Recipes

Tired of bruschetta? Here's an alternative way to use up cherry tomatoes.

This Recipe is from Food52

BAKED RICOTTA AND GOAT CHEESE WITH CANDIED TOMATOES

Vegetarian = Cheese is Okey-Doakey, as are milk, eggs, honey and other "animal sourced" products, outside of that animal itself. 

Vegan = NO NO NO. No animal sourced products. Not even "bee-puke" (honey).    PITA sometimes.
 

It is NOT STUPID to ask questions to become better informed.   It IS STUPID to make a mistake and serve the wrong dishes to pre-paid clients, resulting in receiving a frying-pan to the side of your head.

     Raw Tomato Basil Pasta Sauce

     Peach and Tomato Salsa

     Cherry Tomato Pesto

     Moroccan Stuffed Tomatoes

Kelly Rossiter     Living / Easy Vegetarian Recipes

I love eggplants; the aubergine, melongene, brinjal or guinea squash.  It's a beautiful thing.  This recipe I'm giving you is very nice ... and pretty easy.  I do tweak it up a bit, but that's not important.  Here it is.  Enjoy. 

Eggplant and Roasted Red Pepper Stack

Kelly Rossiter     Living / Green Food

<< add-on >>

     Gordon Ramsay - Aubergine caviar

WOW.      NO Problemmo. 

The Perfect Clementine Cake

Five ingredients and gluten-free.

BY MELISSA BREYER IN EASY VEGETARIAN RECIPES

OK. I've made maybe a half-dozen of these bad-boys. Never a crumb left. Nice cake. 

My personal tweaks include the following:

350* not 375*. Really watch the timing. Less is better. 

You can go heavier on the clementines and lighter on the almonds. 

You can swap-out blood oranges for the clementines. 

Top w/ marmalade and dark chocolate. 

Port or icewine as the beverage of choice. 

Spicy chili seasonings work wonders for the bland flavor of tofu. For a more substantial, spicy chili, use the same weight of tempeh in place of the tofu. Since tempeh is not packed in water, there is no need to pat it dry before sautéing, but stir in up to one extra cup of water in Step 4 when adding the beans.

   Chili con Tofu 

CONTRIBUTED BY DIANA STURGIS

NOTES:

MAKE AHEAD  This chili is best if it stands for at least 1 hour or overnight.  

One Serving:  Calories 366 kcal, Protein 19 gm, Soy Protein 9 gm, Carbohydrate 39 gm, Cholesterol 0, Total Fat 17.9 gm, Saturated Fat 1.9 gm.

Winter Vegetable Chili   CONTRIBUTED BY GRACE PARISI

SUGGESTED PAIRING:

A smoky Syrah or dark ale; or something sweet, like sangria, which helps tame the heat from the chile in the dish.