Veganmofo: Sald Expose!

 Ok Mofo-ers, this is a rare occasion around these parts but I'm going to do an expose on salads. Yes, that is right, greens and raw vegetables in all their vegan supposed glory.

 

Now I'm not the biggest fan of salads as most of you know, but there are few things that for me make salads both palatable and worth eating. So let me break this down for you in how to make sure your salads are extra tasty and more than a side dish.

 First up, is the grain salad. If I don't know it's a salad, I'll eat it. I like grain salads for their portability, tastiness and above all their lack of lettuces. Sorry lettuce. This is AFR mango black bean quinoa goodness. Salads based in grains just sit better with me, they seem like more real food and they hold dressing like a champ.

 The next one is a shocker, but Vegetables. Yup, they go in salads sometimes they can even make the whole thing worthwhile. Fresh peppers are perhaps my favourite their subtle sweetness and crunch make it worth while. Other pickled vegetable offerings can add busts of flavour which help the boring lettuce-y nature of our salad companions.

 

Dressings! This may be my favourite part. Pre-vegan I hated all forms of creamy dressing due to my general icky-feelings towards cream and weird milk/egg mixtures. But vegan creamy dressings rain supreme. Vinaigrette are all well and good, but something about the fattiness or thickness which clings to your selection of ingredients put thicker dressings above the rest for me.

This is where you salad gets the most of it's flavour, so shop around or better yet make your own! Additions like maple syrup for sweetness, Dijon for spice, blended dressings lend their thickness to every bite. Even if you stick with same base day in and day out, swapping your dressing is an easy way to avoid boredom.

 On that flavour note, seasonings. I know, seasoning a salad sounds trite, but I enjoy the difference it makes. Obviously if you have a green thumb or cash to burn, fresh herbs and seasonings are best. But I find even a simple sprinkle of complimentary dried herbs lending their flavours can turn a salad into something I have to eat into something I want to eat.

 Perhaps my favourite part of salads! Toppings! Adding all kinds of stuff to make it more interesting. Flax seeds for texture/omega 3, chickpeas are an all around salad champ! legumes, means, fruits, bacos (vegan bacon bits) or anything else your little heart desires! Make the salad your own, top it with nooch, spicy peppers! Nuts, Seeds, Sprinkles! Anything to make it less boring.

 On the topping note, there is the fruit option. I used to be a firm believer in fruit salads keep their fruit and vegetable salads should never be eaten (I've obviously become lax in my views). Turns out adding fruit or other sweet bits to a savoury salad can make it pretty fantastic. Especially with creamy or spicy dressings, having the natural sugar pops the vinegar. This one has a raspberry vinaigrette with cranberries! Strawberries, raspberries, apples are all classic choices. I've heard good things about grapes and even banana. If adding fruit to your veggies still sounds too scary, make a fruit salad! anything to change up the normal routine.

Finally, protein. This is what takes salads from blah to meal quality for me. Plus it comes together super fast if you keep a selection of things on hand. Some seitan sausage, tvp, bacos, tempeh bacon or croutons, nuts, seeds all add a little something to make salads more than just rabbit food. Another option is the addition of fats, from flax seeds, nuts, avocado, and oils! These also help with balancing out a salad into a meal.

VeganMofo: Another short quirp, the magic of sprouts

Brussels Sprouts get a lot of flak, I find shredding them and frying them to crisp makes these tasty morsels come alive.

Great simple way to eat your greens

1 stock of Brussel sprouts, shredded
1 tbs olive oil
2 cloves garlic
handful of sesame seeds
1 tsp salt
fresh ground pepper
cast iron pan preheated.

Saute garlic, then add sprouts in batches. Season, cook until starting to crisp.

VeganMofo: 3.5 Ways of Kale

Warning: This next post contains Kale, and lots of it. Junk Food Vegans, please avert your eyes.


I recently became the benefactor of a large sum of gloriously grown kale. Look at that beauty!
I really, really love kale. If I had to choose one vegetable, well my first reaction would be to choose potatoes, because who doesn't love potatoes? But if I had considered the question, my real answer would be kale. Because Kale, my friends is a nutritional power house. One could live off kale, but one might not be able to live off potatoes (although I might die trying).

Kale is not only nutritious but it is damn tasty too. I could kale all on its own, as its own meal. Breakfast, lunch and dinner. Or four coursed dinner as the case may be.

**

So what do to do with all that kale? For starters I decided to simply throw a butt load of it into the pan and fry it. I figured in honour of mofo I would share my three favourite ways to eat kale.

Basic steps

Needed:
-Lots of kale, one giant bunch
-Garlic
-Earth balance or olive oil
-pepper
-sesame seeds
-vegetable broth (opt)

The process is simple, wash and cut your kale, be sure to chop the stems extra finely. And heat your pan with some eb or olive oil. Now's the time to add your garlic and cook until fragrant.

Once heated, add your stems and fry until tender and little bits of browning become evident.

Now it's time to add your leaves in batches, it may look like alot but it'll all cook down. They will be releasing a lot of water, so watch for steam and splatter.

As your stirring, I normally add some vegetable broth to keep things from sticking. Remember to keep stirring and feel free to grind some pepper into the dish.

Once the greens are done to your own likeness (I like to get them a little charred and browned in spots), you can toss in some sesame seeds.

Now comes the hard part, it is time to choose your flavour.

There's the Classic:
-Extra glob of Earth Balance, course sea salt, fresh pepper and nooch.


Or the Nooch classic
More nooch!


Lemon

Similar to the classic, with the addition of extra salt and lemon for that salty tangy. So good.

Dressed Kale

Or creamy kale, just involves the addition of goddess dressing for a richer and more complex flavour. Really you could use any dressing you like, just be sure to add a pinch of nooch for good measure.

Because I find it so hard to choose, I had all three. And that was only one bunch of kale! I have 5 more, so let me hear all your favourite uses and you will be seeing me put this stuff to good use so stay tuned!

**Note: The picture of my kale haul was taken AFTER I ate this meal of 3.5 ways of kale.

VeganMoFo: Kick ass greens (as promised)

Despite the blog title, I do love me some greens and when I'm not making Kittee's amazing Collards, I like to make something like this:

Kick Ass Greens

• One Large bunch of Greens (I used Rainbow Chard)
• 3 Large Garlic Gloves
• Earth Balance or other Vegan Margarine
• Raw Sunflower seeds
  
• Liquid smoke (just a few drops)

To start wash greens and get ride of any super tough ends. Mince your garlic and melt a generous wedge of EB in your pan. Add garlic and saute until fragrant and tender. As garlic is cooking, slice greens into thin long strips (I like to keep my stems and just dice them finely, their good for you!!). Once Garlic is starting to brown, add in your Seeds and roast until golden. Shake off most of the water and add your greens in batches, allowing them to cook down before adding another handful. Keep stirring and as they cook add in a few drops of Liquid smoke until that hickory scent begins to fill the kitchen. Serve as a side dish, or add to pasta sauce for a healthy kick.

These are also great is diced finely and mixed with a vegan cream sauce over pasta.

VeganMofo: Cooking for Community

Food is key. People thrive on it, we need it to sustain ourselves, we use it for pleasure, comfort and most importantly food is social. We build our communities around food, celebrations and even nightly dinners. Food brings people together. Which is why I love cooking, and feeding others. It truely is one of the best things out there.

That being said living in a house full of vegans, the kitchen becomes the central focus. People gravitate to it, cooking and chatting surrounded by the heavenly scent of spices and vegetables. Some come to watch the process, others to anticipate its arrival and more still simply to be around the wonderful environment cooking creates.

Here is a meal I made the other night to feed the Vegan House Farm Crew, Joanna's Bechemel sauce and what I like to call kick ass greens (recipe tomorrow).