Summer Fruit Salad

Here's a simple summer fruit salad that was inspired by a couple of recipes I saw (one in Southern Living magazine and one in Martha Stewart's Living magazine).  They were both twists on the same idea, so I just took it down to the bare bones.  It's delicious!  This recipe serves 2.

Ingredients:

1 mango, peeled, pitted, and chopped

1 pink grapfruit, halved crosswise (This way each section will be exposed in each half.  It will have the design of a sunburst, if you're not familiar with grapefruit.  Hey, some people aren't!)

1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and chopped

1/2 juicy lime, juiced

Method:

In a medium bowl, mix the mango, avocado, and lime juice.  Using a paring knife, make a circular cut so separate the grapefruit meat away from the peel.

Now, hovering over the salad bowl, use the same paring knife to slice each section away from the membrane.  You'll have to cut on each side of each section's membrane.  Let the grapefruit meat and juices fall into the bowl. 

Mix and enjoy!

Cold Asian Noodle Salad

First, a big thank-you to my neighbor, Kim, who brought this noodle salad to a block party and was kind enough to share her recipe outline with me.  Kim's recipe is very flexible, so I'll give some basic measurements, but you can adjust to your taste.  I made a couple of minor tweaks, but you know how I cook...Really, unless you're baking, everything is flexible!


12 to 16 ounces of pasta (thin spaghetti, vermicelli, angel hair, or soba noodles)
soy sauce, tamari, or shoyu:  about 5 T., but flexible
rice wine vinegar:  about 4 t., but flexible
sesame oil (toasted or not):  about 1 T., but flexible
1 t. sugar
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
crushed red pepper, to taste
1 cucumber, chopped
2 scallions, chopped
a handful of shredded carrots, optional

Break the pasta noodles into thirds, then cook them according to package directions.  Once the noodles are cooked, drain in a colander and briefly blanch them in iced cold water (or rinse them with cold water while still in the colander).

Meanwhile, combine the soy sauce (or tamari or shoyu), rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, sugar, garlic, and both peppers in a small saucepan.  Heat over a low flame until just heated through.  (Kim noted for me that if one has not used sesame oil, it is is worth paying attention to the fact that it has a strong flavor.  She suggested I use sparingly and add a little at a time.  I was glad she did, because I was not very familiar with this ingredient other than knowing it is a volatile oil and should be kept in the fridge to prevent a quick rancidity.  Anyway, it's easy to add more, but you can't remove what's added, so use with care!)  Taste the sauce and adjust to your liking, adding more of whatever you feel is missing.

When the pasta is cooked, toss it with the sauce, cucumbers, scallions, and carrots (if using).  Store in the fridge until time to eat.

Thanks, Kim!

Vegan and Vegetarian Sandwiches

Some folks cannot fathom what could make a sandwich good without meat.  As I said in my post for the hummus recipe, the secret is good bread and a delicious spread.  Then pile on the veggies to your heart's delight.  Here are some ideas for various vegetarian and vegan sandwiches (The ones marked with an asterisk are easily vegan if you check the bread.):


*1.  hummus with cucumber slices and roasted red pepper on baguette
*2.  olive spread (like you'd find on a muffaletta) with tomato, red onion, green romain lettuce, and sliced banana peppers on a hoagie bun
3.  goat cheese smeared on a toasted bagel with white onion, roasted red pepper, and and arugula
4.  pimento cheese (make this homemade by mixing grated cheddar cheese, mayo, and chopped pimento) and ruffley greenleaf lettuce on white bread
*5.  peanut butter mixed with smashed bananas on wholegrain wheat bread
6.  baguette split lengthwise, toasted, then spread with pizza sauce and fresh mozzarella, then run under the broiler


And here are some ideas that don't follow the bread-spread-veggie recipe:
*7.  falafel tucked into a pita pocket with green lettuce, cucumber slices, and tomato chunks, then drizzled with tahini-lemon sauce (I'll get you the recipe for this sauce later.)
*8.  veggie burger (Morningstar Farms makes a very nice garden burger if you don't have a recipe to make your own or don't have time.) on a sesame seeded bun with burger toppings
9.  grilled cheese on rye (with onion, tomato, and/or even jalepeno tucked into the sandwich before grilling?)...And American cheese isn't the only cheese you can use, you know.  You can even combine cheeses for a gourmet grilled cheese experience.


SO.  Now you know that vegetarians have puh-lenty of options for sandwich makings.  Here's to all the picnics you'll be making and the great brown bag lunches you'll be taking to the office now!

Hummus

There is a secret to making fantastic vegetarian sandwiches:  good bread and one exciting spread.  You need to have an exciting spread,  then just load on veggies to your heart's content.  Hummus is a spread that qualifies, and it can also be used as a dip for chips (corn, potato, pita, etc.) or crudités.

I'm going to share a recipe for hummus here that is based on the one in Mollie Katzen's classic vegetarian cookbook:  The Moosewood Cookbook.  Here's the 411:

2 - 3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans garbanzo beans (also known as chickpeas or ceci beans), drained and rinsed
1/4 c. plus 2 T. tahini (Tahini is ground sesame seeds, like peanut butter is ground peanuts.)
2 juicy lemons, juiced and deseeded
1 t. salt
extra virgin olive oil

In a food processor, combine garlic, garbanzo beans, tahini, lemon juice, and salt.  Process until you have a nice texture (determine if you like it chunkier or smoother, and go to that point).  If the hummus is too thick, drizzle olive oil into the mixture with the motor running until it has thinned to your liking.  Serve the hummus as a dip with more olive oil and paprika on top, or spread it on a sandwich and sprinkle on paprika to taste.  YUM!

Hummus is often served with Middle Eastern mezzas along with things like dolmas, baba ghanoush, and tabouleh.  It's healthy and delicious!

Vegan Southern-Style Biscuits

I love to eat biscuits on weekend mornings. This morning I made an especially good batch. I think their texture may have been different than usual, because it is cool and rainy here today. Weather definitely affects baking!

They are delicious served with fried apples or sliced tomatoes and gravy and/or pan-fried potatoes. This morning I ate them alone with a big glass of chocolate soymilk. YUM! You could also serve them as bread with dinner or take them on a picnic to make tomato sandwiches.

1 c. all-purpose unbleached flour, plus more for kneading
scant 1/2 t. salt (You really could get away with 1/4 t. if you're watching your salt, but they don't rise quite as well.)
1 1/2 t. baking powder (Get the kind with no aluminum in it.)
2 T. vegan butter, cold
1/2 c. plant-based milk

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, mix the flour, salt, and baking powder with a fork. Cut the cold butter into small chunks, then work it into the flour mixture with your fingertips. The butter should be completely incorporated into the flour so that the flour looks crumbly and you cannot identify any chunks of butter. Stir in the plant-based milk and incorporate.

On a clean kitchen counter, sprinkle out some flour. Turn the dough out onto the floured surface. Sometimes the dough might be pretty wet, sometimes (like today for me), it might be quite dry. Either way, knead the dough in the flour briefly. I limit myself to about 8 kneads before patting it out to a 1/2-inch. If you knead biscuits too much, they come out too dense. Use a biscuit cutter (or the rim of a glass or jelly jar) to cut out biscuits, but don't twist the cutter.  This seals the edges and can prevent a good rise during baking.

Put biscuits in an oven-safe pan (I use a nice cast iron griddle.) and bake until the biscuits have risen and the tops are browned. This recipe makes about 5 biscuits of average size and doubles easily.

Pico de Gallo

I got this recipe from "Granny" - my dad's mom.  Of course, I modified it a little. I have no idea where she got it, but this is perfect for picnics or alfresco dining during the summer, because there is no heating up the kitchen to make it!

1 medium onion, diced small
1 jalepeno pepper, deseeded and deveined, diced small
1/2 bell pepper, diced small
2 large tomatoes, chopped - squeeze out the seeds before dicing (Or you can just open a can of diced tomatoes if that is more your style! Granny was no-nonsense!)
1 T. chopped fresh cilantro
1.5 T. lime juice

Mix everything together in a bowl, and allow it to sit in the fridge for a couple of hours to let the flavors "marry." Serve as a condiment or dip.