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04 Jul Sweet Summer Salad…

I received one of the nicest compliments yesterday. I took this salad to a bbq at my brother-in-law‘s parents’ house. I knew it would look a little different from the other food, the pretty traditional pasta salads, slaws, etc. Frankly, I didn’t really think anyone would try it – kale, quinoa, garbanzo beans, avocado, red onion, plums, barely dressed and on the sweet side for a super hot July day. I was happily surprised to see it gobbled up, but more than anything it was the compliment from his mother (whom I admire greatly) that made my day: she said she really liked the salad, even though there was nothing in it she actually enjoys eating. Well, except the tomatoes, she likes tomatoes.

I have to give credit where it’s due: the plums were a surprise gift from a friend Saturday night and as soon as I saw what was in the bag, I knew they had to go into the salad I had planned for the bbq. Thanks, Meghan! Okay, here you go, a sweet summer salad that will delight anyone brave enough to taste it.

Sweet Kale, Roasted Chickpea and Plum Summer Salad

1/2 C quinoa (dry)
1 T+ coconut oil
1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1 large bunch dino kale
1 small red onion, diced
1 pint grape tomatoes, sliced in half
1-2 avocados, diced
2-3 small plums, diced
1 t cumin (more, to taste)
generous pinches of sea salt
white balsamic vinegar (to taste)
1 1/2 limes (or 1 lime and 1/2 lemon)

1. Cook quinoa according to package instructions. Remember to let rest, covered in pot (heat off) when done. Much fluffier this way. Set aside to cool while you do everything else (or make ahead the day before).

2. Heat a large pan over medium high, add cumin. Toast spice until you can just start to smell it, then add coconut oil. As soon as oil has melted add garbanzo beans (pan should be big enough for them to lay in a single layer). Sprinkle with a generous pinch of salt. I liked to cook them (stirring once in a while) until they start to brown and crisp up a little. When done to your liking. Turn off heat and set aside.

3. Clean kale (removing toughest part of the ribs) and tear into bite-sized pieces – place in a large bowl. Sprinkle with a generous pinch of salt, two or three glugs of white balsamic vinegar (~1 T) and massage with hands for 5 mins until leaves are soft and an even darker green.

4. Add to the kale: cooled quinoa, garbanzo beans, onion, tomatoes, avocado (I used 1 1/2 avocados because that’s what I had on hand – use 1 to 2, to your liking) and plums (I used three smallish and it was super plummy, so use two if you just want a hint of the plum), tossing thoroughly after each new ingredient. Note on the plums, the easiest way I found to add these was to slice each into thin longitudinal sections (still attached to the pit), then slice the other way (latitudinally, I guess), carving around the pit. Like this:

And the plum pieces will look like this:

5. Squeeze juice of one lime and half a lemon (or two limes or one lime and one lemon – whatever you’ve got around). Toss thoroughly, taste and adjust seasoning – more cumin, salt or vinegar, etc.

6. Serve it up!

By the way, leftovers make a great protein-packed post-run breakfast, especially when topped with a froached egg (half fried, half poached – my favorite) and a little sprinkle of salt and nutritional yeast. Sweet and savory delight.

19 Jun Strawberries: The Saga Continues…

This is how hard my life is: I have so many strawberries on hand, I just had to make scones this morning.

Poor me, right? Don’t worry, I shared them – my life may be a burden but I’m not selfish about it. Actually it was the combined inspiration of the bottomless bowl of strawberries in my refrigerator and this post from the Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen that resulted in a batch of delicious, moist scones with a lot of texture. What attracted me most to the original recipe was that it was gluten-free without using a dozen gluten-free flours, starches and gums. (I feel best when I avoid gluten, but it sure is a pain in the butt to bust out simple baked goods when the gluten-free versions call for tiny amounts of a ton of ingredients. It can be expensive too.)

I made a few adjustments to the original recipe (e.g. it was a little too sweet for me – maybe because the flours were on the sweet side already, combined with the ripe strawberries – so I cut back the sugar a wee bit) and the result was both a yummy treat and a fun experiment with two gluten-free flours: sorghum flour (a drought-resistant grass originally grown in Africa and India with a neutral, if slightly sweet, flavor) and brown rice flour (ground from whole brown rice kernels, it has slightly sweet, nutty flavor). You don’t have to have celiacs disease or a gluten sensitivity to play with non-wheat flours. Always using wheat is convenient, but its rather neutral flavor will make the base of all your baked goods taste the same. So, I encourage you to break our of your AP flour box and have fun with some readily available alternatives, such as almond flour, buckwheat, sorghum, coconut flour, rice flour, etc. I’m sure I’ll be posting more about many of them in the future.

Okay, enough with the alternative flour PSA. Let’s get back to business!

Strawberry Lime Scones

1 C sorghum flour
1/2 C brown rice flour
3 T + 1 t turbinado sugar
2 t baking powder
1/2 t sea salt
6 T shortening (I used a vegan version here)
1 lime, zested
1 C strawberries, cleaned and sliced
2 T ground chia (grind in a coffee grinder, then measure 2 T)
2 T hot water
3 T applesauce
1/2 C unsweetened soy milk (cow and almond milk will likely work just as well)

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees and prepare a baking sheet by lining with parchment paper.

2. Combine flours, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl, stir with a fork or a whisk to blend thoroughly. (Remember, I reduced the sugar slightly, so if you want sweeter, add a full 4 T sugar.)

3. Add shortening to dry ingredients. Use hands to incorporate. You want the traditional “pea-sized” bits.

4. Then add the strawberries and zest and set aside.

5. In a blender, combine ground chia seeds and hot water. Give it a spin. If it’s too insubstantial to blend much don’t worry about it. Then add applesauce and soymilk, and blend well until you have a pretty creamy mixture. It will thicken as the chia absorbs moisture.

6. Pour wet ingredients into dry, scraping down sides of blender to get it all. Use a fork to incorporate. Don’t over mix, but don’t under mix. It should hold together pretty well.

7. Turn out onto prepared baking sheet and shape into a flat circle, ~ 1 inch high. Use a knife to cut into eighths. (You can also shape and cut on a cutting board, either dusted with sorghum flour or not, then transfer the pieces with your knife or a spatula.)

8. Bake for 20 mins or until top and edges begin to brown. If your edges brown but the insides look way too undercooked, place a piece of foil on top for the last couple of minutes. Let cool on baking sheet for a minute or two to firm up, then transfer to a wire rack to cool either all the way or until you just can’t stand waiting anymore.

(I did a nutritional analysis through the Spark People Recipe Calculator, which is pretty nifty. Then, because I foolishly didn’t save the recipe in their database, nor did I save the Word document I copied it to, I lost the data. I’m not so much in the mood to re-enter all of the info, but if I recall correctly, it said these were ~250 calories each.)

17 Jun A Vegan Birthday Tale…

About six weeks ago, a friend approached me. She wanted to throw a dinner party. She wanted it all vegan and gluten-free. Would I cook it for her? Because I love both her and an excuse to experiment in the kitchen, I jumped at the chance.

Now this may seem like a tall order – vegan and gluten-free – but it really was quite easy, I just focused on fresh whole foods and weeded out glutenous grains. The cake was interesting to make, with several testers. So, here’s how the evening tasted….

We snacked on dolmas and a spring pea bruschetta (on gluten-free crackers) that I cobbled together out of instinct, but I owe the core of the menu to:

Heidi Swanson‘s citrus dressing for a millet pilaf (sadly, no photo of that below)
the Post Punk Kitchen;s summer vegetable tagine (from “Vegan with a Vengeance”)
Deborah Madison‘s baked herbed heirloom tomatoes)
Gluten-free Goddess‘ mexican chocolate cake, frosted with a dark chocolate “buttercream” and stuffed with stewed strawberries

Oh, and there was a cucumber dill salad in there too, but I have no idea how that lodged itself in my brain. Wait, did I forget to mention Carol’s Knock You Out Punch? You’ll see it below in the beautiful punch bowl. Looks innocuous; causes a hangover.

Most important part? Plates were licked clean and the birthday girl seemed pretty satisfied.

I have no recipes to share, since I took them largely from other people (hit the links above for more info), but here is the dinner, a fabulously fun and sometimes raucous evening, in photos, proving that vegan or not, gluten-free or not, good food and great company = a dinner that no one wanted to end, even though we all had to go to work bright and early the next day. Very bright and early.

Happy birthday, dear Carol!

Summer veg tagine (in the big pot) and baked tomatoes, ready to go!

The punch-you-out punch, dolmas and bruschetta.

Who knew if would be so hot on a June evening in San Francisco that I’d have to stop 3/4 way through frosting the cake because the frosting was melting off? Three nine-inch layers.