Two Minute Peanut Sauce

Chomp.

One of my favorite "oh, duh!" moments was when I found out large leaf veggies like swiss chard, cabbage, and lettuce, can be used to make sandwiched and wraps. Leafy greens are way more nutrient dense than tortillas or pita bread, you can buy them without packaging, and let's not forget that they are way easier to make (wash and cut off stem v. make dough and bake)!

Now that the weather is getting nicer (65 degrees outside yesterday?!), I am moving from my I-want-soup-all-day-everyday phase into one involving oodles of fresh, raw veggies.

Enter: Rainbow Chard Wraps

 Rainbow chard.

Microgreens. 

Sliced red cabbage. 

Soaked and chopped sun-dried tomatoes. 

But here's my mantra: the sauce is always the best part. Averie from Love Veggies and Yoga has become my new sauce guru. I made 3 different sauce recipes of hers last weekend and there have been times this week that I have just stuck a spoon in the sauces and ate it straight up.

Averie’s 2 Minute Peanut Sauce
[Original recipe here]

1/3 c nut butter
1/4 c raw honey (or other liquid sweetener of choice)
1/4 c sesame oil (for that asian flavor)
1/4 c apple cider vinegar
1 t powdered ginger

Just whisk it together!

Life Changing.

Also known as, parmesan "cheese". I am absolutely blown away by how easy this is to make and how versatile it is (meaning how much I want to put this on everything). It is actually eery how much this tastes like cheese. Plus it's mainly sesame seeds which are a good source of Calcium, Iron, Magnesium and Phosphorus, and a very good source of Copper and Manganese.

"Parmesan Cheese"
Ingredients:
1/2 c sesame seeds
2 T nutritional yeast
1/4 t salt

Directions:
Toast sesame seeds in a dry skillet until golden brown and fragrant, about 10 minutes.
Pulse all ingredients in a food processor.
Cover your life in cheeZe.

My Caesar Salad
Adapted from 101 Cookbooks. Spicy, cheeZe-y goodness.

Ingredients:
Dressing
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 t salt
1/4 c "Parmesan Cheese," above
3 T olive oil
juice of 1 lemon (1/4 c or 1/4 c of apple cider vinegar)
a pinch of red pepper flakes
a pinch of salt
Salad
1 bunch kale
1 T olive oil
1/4 c olives, chopped (optional)
1 slice of good bread (optional)
as much dressing as you see fit

Directions:
Toast bread until golden brown and dry throughout.

Tear into small pieces and pulse in a food processor until the it forms coarse crumbs.

De-stem kale and tear into bite size pieces.

Drizzle with 1 T oil and massage for a few minutes to soften.

Smoosh together the garlic and 1/4 t salt.
Whisk in the rest of the dressing ingredients.

Pour enough dressing over the kale to thoroughly coat.

Toss well, the dressing is thiiick.

Garnish with olives and breadcrumbs.

Marinated Kale and Beet Salad

Ingredients:
Salad
1/4 c pumpkin seeds (AKA pepitas) (1)
1 bunch kale (2)
3 T olive oil (1)
1/4 of a red onion, diced
1 carrot, grated (3)
4 roasted beets, cubed (2)

Dressing
2 T balsamic vinegar (1)
1 t dijon mustard (4)
1/4 t freshly ground pepper (1)
1 t dried basil (1)
1 garlic clove, minced (5)

Directions:
Toast pumpkin seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat when seeds begin to pop, set aside to cool.
Wash kale and tear into bite sized pieces.
Combine kale and oil and massage kale (yes, massage) until it softens.
Whisk together salad dressing.
Place kale, onion, carrots, and beets in a bowl and add dressing.*
Toss and sprinkle with toasted pumpkin seeds.

*I prepared this for lunch the night before. I mixed the dressing with the kale, carrots and onions the night before, keeping the beets and pumpkin seeds separate. In the morning I combined all of the ingredients and off I went!

(1) Bulk section of the People's Food Co-op
(2) Goetz Farm
(3) Snowman leftovers
(4) Pre-challenge stash
(5) Labelled as "Local" at the People's Food Co-op

Kale, pear, and hazelnut salad with a lemon, ginger, and vanilla dressing

Vanilla in a salad dressing?? What?? YOU NEED TO TRY THIS! It. Is. The. Best.

Red kale! Swanky, I know.

Ingredients

Dressing

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

juice of 1 lemon 1 t dried lemon

1 T apple cider vinegar

+1 T white vinegar

2 teaspoons agave syrup maple syrup

1 teaspoon fresh ginger juice 1 small know of ginger, grated

a quarter of a teaspoon powdered ginger

a quarter of a teaspoon powdered vanilla 1/2 t vanilla extract

whole sea salt, just enough to taste

white pepper, just enough to taste freshly ground pepper, to taste

Salad

1 large bunch of kale, cleaned, stems and tough ribs removed

1/2 large and very firm pear, cleaned, quartered lengthwise, cored and finely sliced (you can use a potato peeler to make really thin slices)

2 handfuls of shelled walnuts roasted hazelnuts, coarsely chopped

Directions:

Whisk together salad dressing.

Put salad ingredients in a bowl.

Pour dressing on salad and toss.

Eat.

Self-explanatory? Probably...

Homemade Nut Butter

This is the easiest and cheapest way to make nut butters. And any nut will do, go traditional with peanuts or get creative by all the variations that you can have!

The only things that are mandatory are nuts and a food processor.

Ingredients:
Nut of choice (almonds, peanuts, walnuts, pistachios...)

Directions:
Put as many nuts as you want (I did 2 cups) in a food processor.
Process for about 15 minutes.

I typically let it go for 2-5 minute intervals because I'm afraid that my food processor will overheat.

It's a pretty cool process, for the first like 10 minutes it is pretty dry and grainy (if you are trying to make nut flour or meal, this is where you stop). The first time that I made almond butter I was convinced I had to add olive oil or something because it was still not butter-y after such a long time. But I promise that added oil is not necessary. Just keep grinding, eventually a ball will form and then it gets super smooth.

Variations:

• Add in sugar or another form of sweetener (maple syrup, honey...) to make it sweet.
• Roast the nuts in the oven before processing them.
• Add in salt for a more traditional (commercial) flavor
• Add in cocoa powder (oh hey you may or may not be able to recreate a certain 'chocolate hazelnut spread' in your own kitchen...)
• Have fun with spices! They're great.

The Handlebar Salad

I spent the Thanksgiving holiday in Chicago which was an absolutely fantastic time between whirlwinds of food, meeting family, and catching up on sleep. Many great stories came out of the long weekend but one eating experience surprisingly stood out among the rest. Perhaps it was because it was the final good eats of the trip.

Sunday afternoon Matt and I ended up at a small bar in downtown Chicago called Handlebar Bar & Grill. Thanks to Android technology and the ability to google 'vegan restaurants' near Chicago we found ourselves surrounded by band posters and fake crows, and being waited on by what I can honestly only describe as a "hipster."

First of all, any restaurant in which about 90% of the menu can be made vegan wins my vote. Second, I experienced the best salad dressing of my life. I love salad with a burning passion. Not only is there overwhelming research on the health benefits of leafy greens, it is also way too much fun to concoct salad dressings (and very remeniscent of chemistry labs...).

The Handlebar Salad is obviously the house salad consisting of arugula, walnuts, parmesan (I opted out of this ingredient), and pear, topped in a champagne honey mustard dressing. I am not sure what made this dressing so amazing but I was floored. Absolutely floored. Here's my attempt to recreate, however due to being a poor college student (and under 21) I had to skip the champagne but you gotta make do with what you got!

The Handlebar Salad

Ingredients:

3 c greens (1)

a small handful of walnuts, toasted and chopped (2)

1/4 of a pear, thinly sliced (3)

Honey Mustard Dressing

2 T vinegar (I used brown rice vinegar)

1 T oil (I used olive oil)

1 T mirin (use Champagne instead, if available!)

1 t dijon mustard

1 t honey

salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

(1) I used Pesticide-Free Spicy Salad Mix from Sunseed Farms

(2) from Earnst Farm

(3) I used a Bosc pear from the farmer's market but I don't remember the name of the vendor, unfortunately

Falafels are too easy.

As mentioned in passed posts, my mom works at the Golden Gate Cafe, a vegetarian, natural foods restaurant in Detroit. They get bulk falafil vegetable burger mix that make it pretty easy to make large volumes of falafils. After seeing a smaller package (therefore more packaging waste...) version of the mix they serve, my mom realized that the mix is made in Dearborn, MI! Thanks Jerusalem Foods (no website to link to, roughh...)!

The result of said events is a delicious, way too easy meal and me being gifted 2 boxes of falafil mix!

For a full Mediterranean meal, try a falafil pita wrap.

Brother bear with falafil pita.

Falafil Pita
Ingredients:
Falafil
1 c falafil mix
1 c water
Sandwich Extras
1 onion, sliced
2 T oil
1 pickle, chopped
1 T hummus (recipe below)
1 T dill tahini sauce (recipe below)
1 leaf of romaine lettuce, chopped
1/2 tomato, diced
1/2 whole wheat pita bread

Directions:
Falafil
Follow Ingredients on box. Waaaay too easy.
Sandwich
Heat oil over medium-high heat in saute pan.
Add onions and saute until softened.
Add sauteed onions, pickles, hummus, sauce, lettuce and tomatoes to pita bread.
Add falafil patties to pita sandwich and enjoy!


Hummus
Ingredients:
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 c cooked garbanzo beans
1/8 c lemon juice (or apple cider vinegar)
1 T tahini
1/8 t cumin
1/8 t paprika
1 t dried parsley
dash of salt
dash of cayenne powder

Directions:
Mix all ingredients in a food processor.

Dill-Tahini Sauce
Ingredients:
1/2 c tahini
1 lemon, zest and juice
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 T fresh dill
2 T oil
1/2 c water
salt to taste

Directions:
Mix all ingredients by hand or in food processor.

PS Max recently acquired two very cute kittens. Winnnn!

Roasted Red Pepper Vinaigrette

I used this on a salad consisting of kale and diced yellow bell peppers. Yum! It's actually thick enough to be a dip or a sandwich spread as well.

Ingredients:

1 roasted red pepper (below)
3/4 t maple syrup (or equivalent of sweetener of choice)
1 small white onion, diced (I roasted this along with the red pepper. My goodness if you've ever smelled a roasted onion you know why...)
a generous amount of salt and pepper, to taste
1 t Dijon mustard
1/4 c apple cider vinegar
1/3 c olive oil

Direction:
Puree all ingredients in a food processor or blender, until smooth.

How to roast a red pepper:

You really can't go wrong with roasted red peppers. They add a unique sweetness to dishes that is simultaneously savory, unlike the sweetness of sugar. Great on fajitas and sandwiches, or salad dressing (above), and many other recipes (below)!

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425F

Place whole red pepper on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil.

Pop in oven and let 'er char (get excited for the wafting aromas of sweetness to fill your kitchen).

Roast until black and blistery, rotating every 15 minutes.

Remove from oven and place in a brown paper bag to cool (the steam of the pepper juices will loosen the skin!)
Peel off the charred skin.*
Remove the stem* and cut open the pepper to expose the innards.
Remove the seeds and white ribs.*
Use immediately or store completely submerged in olive oil in a glass jar.

*Don't forget to compost!

Other Recipes Containing Roasted Red Peppers:
Romesco Sauce from Happy Valley Locavore
Vegetable Fajitas from Broke 'n' Veggie
Bruschetta with Roasted Sweet Bell Peppers
Red Pepper Soup from Smitten Kitchen
Pizza with Red and Yellow Peppers from Smitten Kitchen
Roasted Red Pepper Hummus from Pinch My Salt
Panini with Artichoke Hearts, Spinach and Red Peppers
Red Pepper Ravioli with Cream Sauce from BBC Food

Miso Tahini Dressing

Ingredients:
2 T tamari
2 T brown rice vinegar
2 T mirin (or any cooking wine)
2 T miso*
2 T tahini
Crushed red pepper to taste


Directions:
Mix ingredients together. Done.
Add some water if you prefer a thinner dressing.


This dressing works great on a salad but would also be good on a cold noodle dish or baked with tofu.


*The People's Food Co-op sells local white miso in bulk!