A Surprise Breakfast

I was able to sleep gloriously late this morning, and when I woke up, I was told in no uncertain terms that I was barred from the kitchen. Why? My daughter E. was cooking up a surprise for me, and my husband D. was not allowed to give away the secret.

I could hear lots of activity in there, culminating in the sound of the oven timer. Finally I was led, with my eyes closed, into the kitchen to enjoy what E. had made: Banana-Walnut Muffins! She had gone to my the blog, printed out the recipe, and made them by herself. All D. had done was help her get them into the oven. She even took the photo herself. All this, and it isn't even my birthday!

I guess she couldn't find the dates and didn't want to ask me where they were, so she just left them out. Well, the muffins tasted great. We hadn't had them since I posted the recipe way back in January, so I'd forgotten how good they are.

If you've got kids, get them cooking with you. Once they catch the cooking bug, you never know when they'll make breakfast for you!

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free Eat to Live

Easy Apple Pie Wontons and Peach Chutney

I was finally going to do it. I was going to follow someone else's recipe, this recipe for Pumpkin Pie Wontons, exactly as written and see how it came out. Then I noticed that it called for pumpkin pie spice, but I figured I could use my own seasonings and it would still be the original recipe. Then I looked in the pantry and found that I didn't have any canned pumpkin, and that was the end of that idea.

But I still had the urge to play with gyoza wrappers, and it wouldn't go away. Though I used a few of them in the Peach and Pluot Gyozas last Saturday, I've still got a whole stack because they come in packs of 100, and I'd like to use them up before they go bad. So I took an inventory of all the fruit in my kitchen and decided to devise the easiest apple pie recipe ever.

And the apple pie wontons were great--with one problem. As they cook, the wonton wrappers expand and the apples contract, so when they're done, there's a lot of empty space inside and not enough filling. They tasted good, but not very satisfying. So I started thinking that what these wontons needed was a dipping sauce. But rather than a thin sauce, how about a thick fruit compote? Or how about a chutney? I looked around my kitchen and found a nice ripe peach that would make a perfect simple chutney. And oh, the combination was divine!

Easy Apple Pie Wontons
(serves 2-3 as a snack or dessert)

1 small apple
12 gyoza or wonton wrappers
cinnamon and sugar

Preheat the oven (I used a toaster oven) to 400 F and spray a cookie sheet lightly with canola oil.

Peel and core the apple and cut it into wedges about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. You will want them to be as thick as possible while still allowing you to seal the wonton around them, so cut one or two and try them first.

Place an apple slice on a wrapper with the straighter edge along the center line. (If you're using square wrappers, lay the apple diagonally.) Sprinkle the apple with as much cinnamon and sugar as you like, taking care not to get it on the edges of the wrapper.

Moisten the edges of the wrapper with water.Fold the wrapper over the apple slice, and pinch it to seal. This works best if you hold the wonton with one hand while you pinch it closed with the other. (If you're using square wrappers, you should be left with a triangle.)

Place the filled wontons on the baking sheet, spray them lightly with canola oil, and bake for 10 minutes. Turn them over and bake for another 10 minutes, or until lightly browned on both sides. Remove them to a wire rack to cool.

Serve sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar or serve with Peach Chutney to dip.

Quick Peach Chutney

1 peach, peeled and finely diced
2 tbsp. apple juice or other fruit juice
1 tbsp. raisins
1 tbsp. agave nectar or sugar
scant pinch of ground cloves
1/2 tsp. apple cider vinegar

I did this in the microwave, but you can easily do it on the stove. Just allow a little more cooking time.

Place the peach, juice, raisins, and agave nectar in a small microwavable bowl, and cook on high power for one minute. Stir and cook for another minute, or until the peaches start to break down and the raisins grow plump. (If it starts to seem dry, add a little more juice, but this should be a very thick mixture.) Break the raisins up slightly using the edge of a spoon to release their sweetness into the chutney. Stir in the cloves and vinegar, and cook for one more minute.

Simple, but delicious! The peach chutney brought back memories of my mother's pickled peaches--sweet and sour peaches with a hint of cloves. If you have chutney left over, spread it over some freshly baked whole grain bread for a real treat.

And the next time I play with gyozas, I'm going to fill them with peach chutney!

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free

Southwestern Yellow Split Pea Soup

Southwestern Yellow Split Pea Soup with Red Jalapeno Peppers and Scallions

I made a new soup a couple of nights ago, but I'm afraid I don't have a recipe for you. While the whole family loved it (E. said it was her "favorite spicy food ever" and took the leftovers to school in her thermos) I had trouble with the timing. It may be because my split peas were old, but I had to pressure cook them twice to get them soft enough. I'll be trying it again soon with a longer initial cooking time and perhaps some newer split peas.

So, I'm sorry--no recipe today. But if you want to give this a try at home, take any old split pea soup recipe, use yellow split peas, and substitute your favorite Southwestern ingredients (think chipotles and chili) for the seasonings. Throw in some vegetables such as corn or squash, and you've got a delicious bowl of soup!

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free Eat to Live

Surprise Gyoza

What surprise lurks in the heart of this Japanese gyoza dumpling?

Surprise! It's peaches and pluots. And it's my entry in the Sugar High Friday Surprise Inside event, which Alanna was sweet enough (get it?) to let me enter late.

This one's easy; in fact, taking the photos took much longer than making this simple dessert. Plus, I had the help of my assistant, the lovely Ms. E., in putting them together, so it can truthfully be said that even a child can make these.

Peach and Pluot Gyoza

1 peach, peeled and diced small
1 pluot or plum, diced small
1 tsp. agave nectar or sweetener of choice (see note)
1/2 tsp. corn starch
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tbsp. wine of choice (I used Pinot Grigio)
1/2 tsp. lemon juice
about 20 gyoza wrappers (or potstickers or wonton wrappers)

Note: I added a little stevia to the filling to make it sweeter, so you may want to consider adding a little more sweetening, depending on the sweetness of the fruit.

Put the diced fruit into a microwavable bowl and add all ingredients (except the wrappers). Nuke for 2 minutes, stirring after one minute.

Set a steamer basket over water that comes just below the bottom of the basket. If you're using a metal steamer, spray it lightly with non-stick spray. Remove one wrapper at a time, keeping the rest of the stack covered with a damp cloth. Place about 1-2 teaspoons of fruit filling on the wrapper, brush the edges with water, then fold one edge over the fruit. Press it together to seal, starting from the bottom (close to the fold) in order to keep the juices from running out. Stand it up on the fold, press it down slightly to form a flat base, and crimp the edges a little to form ruffles. (If you're using wonton wrappers, you will form a triangle and may not be able to get the same ruffled effect.) Put it on its bottom in the steamer and repeat with the other wrappers. Bring the water to a boil, and steam for about 7 minutes. Remove from the steamer and keep them in a covered container--they do dry out quickly if you're not careful.

Makes a nice afternoon snack for...um...let's say 3 people. E. said, and I quote, "5-stars, kid-friendly, recipe of the week!"

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free SHF23

Odds and Ends

[Note: Updated remarks about photography are at the end of this post.]

I don't have a recipe to post today, but I did want to share a few things with you.

First, it's apparently already Fall here because yesterday our local farm stand was filled with rows and rows of different types of winter squash and pumpkins. It's the first time I've ever witnessed anything really photo-worth there, and I wished I'd brought my camera. The range of different colors and varieties was impressive. I hadn't been prepared to buy winter squash, but I couldn't leave empty handed, so I picked out two of the smaller ones (and only found out after I'd bought them that the price was by the squash rather than by the pound, so I didn't save money picking the small ones.)

The one on the left is a Blue Hubbard, which I have never cooked, so I'll be looking for ways to prepare it. The one on the right is a cushaw, a squash that brings back childhood memories for me. It wasn't something we ate in my home, but at every church potluck dinner, some Louisiana cook would prepare cushaw. It's usually baked with loads of brown sugar and butter, so my challenge will be to find some way to make it taste great without those two ingredients.

Next, I wanted to let you know about a great offer I just found out about last night. Nava Atlas, writer of so many wonderful vegetarian cookbooks, is offering her latest--and vegan--version of Vegetarian Soups for All Seasons for only $10 plus $3.50 shipping and handling. You'll actually be getting it before its official publication date for less than the Amazon price. Plus, she's throwing in a slightly “hurt” copy of her classic Vegetariana as a special bonus. So that's two books for only $13.50. You can't beat that! I found out about the offer a little late, so I'm not sure how long it'll go on. If you're interested, click on over to her website right now. I ordered mine last night, and they're already on their way.

Finally, I get a lot of comments and emails asking for tips on taking food photos, and it's very flattering. My photos really aren't as good as I'd like them to be, though they have improved a lot since I started taking photos for my website a couple of years ago. Some of the first ones--like this and this--were truly awful.

I learned a lot through trial and error before doing some research into how to take better photos. I think the most important tips I learned were these:

• Turn off your flash and get some good (preferably natural) light. The flash flattens things out and causes unflattering shadows, so do everything you can to shoot without it. If you have a sunny window, that's terrific, but if you don't, set up some lamps or buy or make a lightbox. Most of my favorite photos are taken during the day, back-lit by indirect light from my kitchen window. When I have to take photos at night, I use either the lightbox mentioned above or a photography light such as this one.
• Use a tripod. I used to hate to get out the tripod and would try to hold the camera steady, but in low light situations or in macro mode, that's almost impossible. Now my tripod is like a piece of the dining room furniture--it's out all the time.
• Use the macro mode. Most point-and-shoot cameras have a macro or even super macro mode that lets you get close to the food. It's really useful for cutting out extraneous detail that might detract from your subject, and some dishes just look better up close than at a distance.
• Use software to process your photos. Even the best photos need some sharpening or contrast adjustment. You don't have to spend a fortune on Photoshop--a less expensive program like PaintShopPro will probably have everything you need. At the very least, use the program that came with your camera. If you have a digital SLR, consider shooting in RAW mode, which allows you to make corrections to a photo before it's actually processed.

I don't think it's essential to have an expensive camera to take good photos of food. Several of my favorite photos were taken with the 4 megapixel Olympus Camedia 4000 I used up until I got a Canon Rebel XT last month. It actually took me a few weeks of practice to get the hang of using my new camera, but now I absolutely love it. Being able to change lenses depending on the shot I'm trying to get is the big advantage. The two lenses I use the most are a 100mm macro and a 50mm lens with a very wide aperture for shooting in low light situations.

Though I highly recommend the Rebel, unless you're seriously interested in pursuing photography as a hobby (and plan to spend big bucks on lenses and equipment), you are probably better off with a good point-and-shoot that has some flexibility. Consult online reviews and find one that allows you to turn off the flash (some don't!), use a macro or close-up mode, and specify the white balance (whether you're shooting in natural or artificial light). You may find that you don't really need a new camera--just a well-lit corner and something to prop the camera on.

For more in-depth information about food photography, check out these blogs:

Still Life With... (Food Styling and Photography): A whole blog dedicated to food photography tips.

Photography on Simply Recipes: Elise says it all so much better than I do.

Food Photography Blog

And for some really gorgeous photos, check out Ilva's on Lucullian Delights.

Happy cooking and shooting!

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food photography

Vidalia Onions Stuffed with Rice-Lentil Pilaf

I bought some Vidalia onions a couple of weeks ago, figuring to stuff them once the time was right. Last night the weather finally cooled off enough that having the oven on for an hour and a half didn't seem like such a hot ordeal.

Since Vidalias are sweet, I decided on a sweetish filling to complement them. It's adapted from one of my favorite recipes from Laurel's Kitchen, the first vegetarian cookbook I ever bought, back in 1982 (yes, I am old). There's plenty of sweetness here--cinnamon, cloves, and raisins echo the sweetness of the Vidalias but also lend a slightly-spicy warmth. It's true comfort food on an almost-Autumn night.



Vidalia Onions Stuffed with Rice-Lentil Pilaf
(click for printer-friendly version)

You're going to cook the onions in the oven while the pilaf is cooking on the stove (or rice cooker), so don't just stick the onions in the oven and leave the kitchen! This recipe requires a little bit of effort, but it's worth it.

4 large Vidalia onions
olive oil spray
salt and pepper

3/4 cup brown rice
2 tbsp. tomato paste
water (see instructions for amount)
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes--or to taste
1/2 cup brown lentils, rinsed and picked over
1/2 tsp. salt--or to taste
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup pinenuts or slivered almonds (optional)

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil (you'll be glad you did this when it's clean-up time).

Peel the onions and trim the bottoms so that they stand upright. Cut about 1/2 inch off the tops and set the trimmed parts aside. Put the onions on the baking sheet and give them a very quick spray of olive oil. Sprinkle with a little salt (if using) and grind a little black pepper over them.

Bake them until tender and slightly caramelized around the edges, about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly. Leave oven on, reducing the heat to 350 F.

While the onions are baking, prepare the pilaf. Chop whatever is usable of the onion tops into small pieces. Heat a heavy saucepan with a tight-fitting top or a rice cooker sprayed lightly with olive oil. Add the onions and sauté until tender. Add the rice and tomato paste and cook, stirring, for one minute more.

If you are using a rice cooker, add 2 3/4 cup water; if you're cooking on the stove, use 2 1/2 cups water. Add the spices, lentils, and salt and stir to combine well. Cover, turn the heat to low, and cook for 30 minutes. Turn off or remove from heat.

When the onions are cool enough to handle, remove their centers by pushing up from the bottom; be sure to leave a shell at least 2 or 3 layers thick. Cut off a bit of the onion center and return it to the onion to seal the bottom. Place the onions in a large, covered baking dish that has been lightly oiled.

Chop the onion centers and add them, the raisins, and the pinenuts to the rice mixture. Check the rice--it should still have some water in it. If if doesn't, add 1/4 cup water. Spoon the rice mixture into the onions, pressing to pack it in and mounding it slightly over the top. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of water over the top of each onion, and put 2 tablespoons of water into the bottom of the baking dish. Cover tightly, and put in the oven. (If you have any rice mixture left over, put it in another covered baking dish and bake it along with the onions.)

Check after 20 minutes to see if the rice is tender and not too dry; if it isn't completely cooked, return it to the oven for 5-10 minutes, adding a little hot water if it is too dry. Serves 4.

If you'd like to make the pilaf alone, sauté 1/2 cup of chopped onions at the beginning of the recipe and follow the basic directions, putting it into an oiled casserole dish for baking.

Per serving (with pinenuts): 363 Calories (kcal); 6 g Total Fat; (15% calories from fat); 14 g Protein; 67 g Carbohydrate; 0 mg Cholesterol; 341 mg Sodium; 11 g Fiber.

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free Eat to Live McDougall program

Potato Pizzas

I like pizza as much as the next person, though I rarely eat it because of the refined flour that goes into the crust. Then a couple of weeks ago, Saje, a member of the FatFree Vegan Discussion Board, posted a link to a recipe I just had to try: Pizza Potatoes, a terrific idea from the folks at the All-Creatures website. Let me just say, I will never go pizzaless again!

The idea is deceptively simple: You take a large baking potato, slice it lengthwise into three pieces, bake the slices, put toppings on them, and cook them again. You wouldn't think that tomato sauce and vegetable toppings would taste so great on a potato, but just as there is some kind of transformation that goes on when those ingredients sit atop a traditional crust, the combination is magic.

Though the idea is simple, the original recipe wasn't simple or fast. My version cuts out one of the steps--making a "cheese" sauce. I haven't had cheese on pizza for years, so I figured I wouldn't miss it, and I was right. Those of you who insist on cheesy pizza may want to follow the original recipe or sprinkle a little vegan cheese on top. A light dusting of soy parmesan was all I needed to make my pizzas perfect.

Potato Pizzas
(click for printer-friendly version)

1 large baking potato per person
pizza sauce (recipe below)
your choice of toppings (I used onion, bell pepper, zucchini, calamata olives, green olives, and mushrooms)
fresh basil
soy parmesan

Pizza Sauce (makes enough for 2 servings/potatoes):

1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 can diced tomatoes (I used Italian style)
1/8 tsp. fennel seed
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. basil
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Start with potatoes that are at least 1-1/2 inches thick in the middle. Scrub each potato well. Cut into three slices, making the outer two a little wider than the middle one. Take the two outer slices and trim a little bit off the bottom (rounded side) in order to make them lie flat.

Place them on an oiled baking sheet and bake at 350 F for about 40 minutes, until cooked throughout. (I was just making one serving, so I did this in the toaster oven with excellent results.)

While the potatoes are cooking, make the pizza sauce: Sauté the onion in a non-stick saucepan until it becomes translucent. Add the garlic and sauté one minute more. Pour about 1/3 of the can of tomatoes into the saucepan. Using a blender or hand blender, puree the remaining tomatoes and add them to the pan. (I do this right in the can with a hand blender.) Add the remaining sauce ingredients, and simmer on low until the potatoes are ready.

When the potatoes are done, take them out of the oven, spread each one with sauce, and top with your choice of toppings. (I made one with zucchini-calamata olives-red bell pepper, another with mushrooms-green olives-onions, and another with everything.) Put them back into the oven and bake for 15-20 more minutes, until the toppings are done to your taste.

Remove from the oven and sprinkle with lots of fresh basil and soy parmesan, if desired. Careful, they will be hot! But once they're cooled, you can pick them up like regular pizza:

Get as creative as you like with the toppings. Enjoy!

It's Tuesday, so that means it's time for the weekly round-up of Antioxidant-Rich Recipes at Sweetnicks. Drop by there tonight or tomorrow to see what other healthy recipes are on display.

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free Eat to Live McDougall program

Vegan Eggplant "Parmesan"

I haven't had eggplant parmesan in so many years that I've literally forgotten what it tastes like, so I can't promise that this tastes like the "real thing," but I can promise that it is delicious--rich and creamy inside and a little crunchy outside.

The method I used is taken from a recipe by Bryanna Clark Grogan that I found online. Actually, I messed up the layering a little, but I think I like the results. When putting the dish together, I forgot to add the second layer of bread crumbs and wound up putting them on top, where they browned nicely and got a little crunchy. Try it my mistaken way or put most of the bread crumbs inside and save a few for the top.

If you don't have vegan parmesan, feel free to leave it off. The cheese sauce provides most of the flavor anyway. Or instead of parmesan, try finely ground almonds; just put a quarter cup of almonds in your food processor and pulse to finely chop.



Vegan Eggplant "Parmesan"
(click for printer-friendly version)

1 large eggplant, sliced 1/4 inch thick
2 pieces of whole grain bread, toasted and made into breadcrumbs
2-3 tbsp. soy parmesan (or ground almonds)
fresh basil leaves, chopped or torn
olive oil spray

Tomato Sauce:

1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 16-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. basil
1/2 cup vegetable broth
2 tbsp. tomato paste
salt and pepper to taste

"Cheese" Sauce:

1/2 cup extra-firm silken tofu
1/2 cup unsweetened soy milk
1/2 cup vegetable broth
2 tbsp. cashew butter or tahini
1 tsp. onion powder
1 1/2 tbsp. nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp. salt (optional)
1/8 tsp. white pepper
2 tsp. corn starch

Salt the eggplant slices and put them in a colander to drain.

Prepare the tomato sauce by sautéing the onion in a non-stick saucepan until it becomes translucent (you may use a little water if you like). Add the garlic and sauté for one more minute. Add the remaining tomato sauce ingredients, and cook for 15-20 minutes.

Prepare the cheese sauce: Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until completely smooth. Blend again right before using to make sure that the ingredients haven't separated.

Rinse the eggplant slices and pat them dry with paper towels. Spray a baking sheet lightly with olive oil and place the slices on it (you may have to do this in two batches). Spray the tops lightly and place under the broiler. Watch carefully, and remove when the slices start to brown, about 3 minutes.

Assemble the casserole: Preheat the oven to 350. Spray or wipe an 8x8-inch non-metal baking dish with a small bit of olive oil. Place half of the eggplant slices on the bottom of the dish, edges overlapping. Sprinkle with half the breadcrumbs. Spoon half the tomato sauce and pour half the cheese sauce over the breadcrumbs and sprinkle lightly with soy parmesan. Repeat the process with the remaining ingredients (reserving some bread crumbs for on top, as mentioned above). Bake uncovered for about 20 minutes, until slightly browned on top. Sprinkle with fresh basil just before serving. Serves 4.

Each serving provides approximately: 238 Calories (kcal); 9g Total Fat; (30% calories from fat); 13g Protein; 32g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 477mg Sodium; 8g Fiber. (These figures, especially fat and sodium, vary drastically depending on the exact ingredients you use.)

Thanks to Bryanna for helping me figure out how to put together a dish I haven't eaten in so long!

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free Eat to Live

Spinach

(I haven't taken any photos of spinach, but have an apple instead.)

More information has come in about the contaminated spinach, so I wanted to point you to a couple of web pages. First, this article at CNN has a list of all the affected brand names (see below). And this Time Magazine article explains how the way in which spinach and other fruits and vegetables are processed can contribute to contamination.

For those of you who just want to know what the affected brands are, here is the list from the CNN website:

• Bellissima
• Cheney Brothers
• Coastline
• Compliments
• Cross Valley
• D'Arrigo Brothers
• Dole
• Earthbound Farm
• Emeril
• Fresh Point
• Green Harvest
• Jansal Valley
• Mann
• Mills Family Farm
• Natural Selection Foods
• Nature's Basket
• O Organic
• Premium Fresh
• President's Choice
• Pride of San Juan
• Pro-Mark
• Rave Spinach
• Ready Pac
• River Ranch
• Riverside Farms
• Snoboy
• Superior
• Sysco
• Tanimura & Antle
• The Farmer's Market
• Trader Joe's

The affected packages have Best if Used by Dates of August 17 through October 1. If you have any of these brands of spinach or lettuce mixtures that contain spinach, please do not eat them, even cooked. And some companies that are not on the list, such as Newman's Own, are advising their customers not to eat any bagged spinach, including their own, until the threat has passed.

As you can imagine, this is worrisome to me because for the past 5 days I have been eating bagged spinach, some of which came from two of the brands mentioned above. For the next week I will probably do a lot of navel gazing, literally. I'm going to wonder if every stomach growl or gurgle is the onset of E. coli sickness. But, for the first time ever, I'm actually glad that my daughter doesn't like salads--and that because I've been eating so many salads at lunch, I haven't been serving them to the family at night. In fact, I've been hogging all the spinach in the house, so if anyone in my family gets sick, it will be me. And I'm pretty tough. ;-)

Hummus Salad

Day 5 is finally here! It's been a hectic week for me. Normally I do the bulk of my cooking at night so I can write about it the next morning, when I'm at my most energetic. Having to make a photogenic salad, photograph it, eat it, and then, still stuffed from lunch, write about it has been more draining and time-consuming that I would have thought.

So today, rather than put my salad on a fancy plate that I would rarely use in real life, I thought I'd paint you a more realistic picture and show you the salad I eat most often in the bowl I actually use on a daily basis:

That's Hummus Salad in a lovely, 2-quart Corelle salad bowl. I fill this bowl up every day with salad and eat the entire thing for lunch. The bowl is exactly the right size for my salads, and (here's an embarrassing admission) I'm so attached to it that once I broke it and had to run out the next day and get one exactly like it (which is easy to do since it's mass-produced Corelle).

I first started making hummus salads when I began trying to cut down on bread. I can give up bread, but giving up hummus was out of the question! I've never been a fan of baby carrots or other raw vegetables, so I needed to find another way to convey the hummus to my mouth. I discovered that hummus is just as good on lettuce and tomatoes as it is on pita bread or crackers.

I start with a full bowl of lettuces (this time it's baby romaine) and often toss in a couple of handfuls of broccoli slaw. I put a nice big scoop of hummus (this time it's regular hummus) right in the center of the lettuce and add cucumber and tomatoes. I usually drizzle on a little dressing: My favorite is Pecan Dijon, but I have also used fat-free Italian and Sesame-Ginger. Today I threw in three pitted Kalamata olives (my one attempt to pretty this up, but they tasted great, too).

Some people use a thinned down hummus as a salad dressing, and that's fine. But I like to eat the hummus as a sort of dip; I dip each bite of the salad in a little hummus as I eat it, and I enjoy the hummus more that way than if I used it as a dressing.

So that's the last salad of the week. I'm going to take a little break from posting salads--though not from eating them! I'm going to make it a goal to try to post more salad recipes, however, so keep those ideas coming.

And while we're on the subject of salads, the recent e-coli outbreak that's been traced to spinach has been a reminder to me to always wash those bagged salads well. All too often I've been in a hurry and trusted other people to "triple wash" my lettuces for me. If you haven't been washing bagged salad greens, please start today. And if you live in the U.S. and you have any bagged spinach on-hand, play it safe and throw it away.

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free Eat to Live fat-free salad

Taco Salad

I mentioned before that there are two salads that I have gotten into a rut of eating all the time. Well, this is one of them (and I notice from the comments that many of you are taco salad fans too.) What you see is a bed of spinach and baby lettuces tossed with lime juice, topped by chili-spiced pinto beans and homemade salsa. I've also included a little fresh tomato and avocado on the side.

I have to admit to you that on most days I'm too rushed to make both chili beans and salsa, so often one or the other (or both!) comes from a can. But, if you have time to make them from scratch, it's completely worth it. Besides being able to control what goes into your beans and salsa, you will be amazed at how much better the salad tastes with fresh ingredients.

When I make salsa, I never measure ingredients, so this is just a list of what I usually add:

diced tomatoes
chopped green pepper
chopped red onion
minced garlic
minced jalapeño pepper
lime juice
black pepper
salt

I mix it up and let the flavors mingle for about 15 minutes before using.

For the chili beans, I used a pressure cooker, but you can cook these on the stove top or in a slow cooker. The pressure cooker just makes it so much faster.

Chili Pinto Beans

1 pound dried pinto beans, rinsed, picked over, and soaked
3 cups water
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
2 dried red chilies (whole)

2 tbsp. tomato paste*
2-3 tsp. chili powder (may use all or part chipotle chili powder)
salt, to taste
1 green pepper, minced

Cover the beans with water and presoak them overnight; or do a quick-soak by bringing them to a boil for one minute, removing them from the heat, and allowing them to stand, covered, for one hour.

Drain the soaking liquid from the beans. Place them in the pressure cooker with the water, onion, garlic, oregano, cumin, and chilies. Close the pressure cooker and bring it to high pressure; cook for 5 minutes at high pressure. Remove from heat and allow the pressure to come down naturally.

Open the cooker and remove the dried chilies (squeeze them gently to get out all the flavor, but don't add the seeds to the beans if you don't want them to be spicy). Add the remaining ingredients and cook, uncovered, for 20-30 minutes. Adjust seasonings to your own taste. Serve hot with fresh salsa.

This makes about 6 servings. Try it as a filling for burritos, or mash it and "fry" it in a non-stick skillet for refried beans.

*I am crazy about Amore Tomato Paste in a tube. It's great when you don't need an entire can of tomato paste, and I think it tastes better than the store brand, too. I will not lie to you: compared to the cost of grocery store tomato paste, it's expensive. If you don't want the added expense, open a can of tomato paste, use what you need, and freeze the rest in a freezer bag for a later use. Flatten the bag so that it's easy to break off a chunk of tomato paste whenever you need it.

Okay, that's 4 out of 5 salads. Tune in tomorrow to see another of my old favorites!

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free Eat to Live salad

Puy Lentil Salad with Roasted Beets

If you've just joined us, here's a quick recap:

In an effort to find my lost salad mojo, I'm making a different salad every day for a week. The reason for the salad: A recent weight gain that I blamed on blogging but which was really caused by my lack of salad eating (and exercise).

You see, I've been bad, really bad. I'm supposedly following the Eat to Live program which, in a nutshell, says to eat lots and lots of veggies, lots of fruit, some beans and nuts, but no refined grains or other processed foods. So bread is a no-no and salads for lunch are highly recommended. I was doing fine until recently, when I started getting cravings for sandwiches, and my lunchtime salads were all but forgotten. I may not follow Eat to Live perfectly (low sodium is hard for me), but when I stick to salads for lunch, I feel better, have much more energy, and--if I eat right the rest of the day--I lose, rather than gain, weight.

On Monday, I asked for salad ideas, and boy did people respond! Thanks for all of your suggestions, both in comments and in private emails. Feel free to add as many as you like.

Today I'm using two suggestions. First, I liked Cristy's recipe for her Mum's puy lentil salad as soon as I saw it. Since she didn't suggest amounts, I made it how I thought I'd like it, and wow is it good! In fact, just the lentils cooked with onions and herbs tasted so good that I almost ate them alone, but in combination with the other ingredients they make a true dinner salad.



I put Cristy's salad on top of some spinach and red leaf lettuce that I drizzled with a little red wine vinegar. Then I incorporated another reader's, SCS, suggestion to use roasted beets. They were also tasty (though I had trouble finding decent beets in my town). Thanks to both of you for these great ideas!

Cristy's Mum's Puy Lentil Salad

1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup puy (French) lentils, rinsed and picked over
3 cups water
1/2 tsp. dried thyme leaves
1/4 tsp. sage
1 cup green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 cup chopped carrots
salt
1/2 red onion, diced
3 tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 tomato, chopped
1 clove garlic, pressed
fresh herbs to taste (I used oregano and basil)
freshly ground black pepper

In a medium-sized saucepan, sauté the onions until they're translucent. Add the garlic and cook for a couple minutes more. Then add the lentils, water, thyme, and sage. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cover. Cook for about 30-40 minutes, until lentils are tender.

Add the green beans and salt, if you want, and cook for 5 more minutes. (You may also add the carrots at this time if you want them slightly cooked rather than raw. ) Remove from heat, drain (and save) the cooking liquid, and place the lentils in a large bowl.

Add the remaining ingredients and combine well. If it's a little dry, add some of the cooking liquid to the salad. Add more vinegar as needed. Refrigerate and chill well before serving. Makes about 4 servings.

Cristy, I apologize in advance for any misrepresentation of your mother's salad. Thanks again for the idea!

Easy Roasted Beets

Wash and scrub beets well. Wrap each beet in aluminum foil and bake at 350 F for about an hour. (I did this in the toaster oven with 2 beets, and it worked well.) Allow the beets to cool, and then peel them and slice or dice them.

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free Eat to Live salad