Winter Ruby Salad

I was first introduced to this special dish at last year's Thanksgiving potluck. One of our girlfriend made it and we all asked for the recipe it was so unique and delicate.

It is such an original way to eat winter root vegetables without glazing them in lots of sugar!
Especially around the holidays in the US! I can't handle so much sweet personnally. It features parsnips, a not so well known root vegetable, yet so exquisite in flavoring. It also has sweet potatoes and beets which give the dish, its rich red color. The salad keeps well in the refrigerator and tastes even better the next day. The root vegetables are not boiled but just roasted so they will keep all their nutrients.


Ingredients:
   3-4 parsnips
   2 large sweet potatoes
   2 medium beets
   1 Tbl rosemary
   1 Tbl olive oil
   1/4 cup of pecans or walnuts (optional)
   1/4 cup of dried cranberries
   2 scallions sliced

Salad dressing:
  1 Tbl Dijon mustard
  1/4 cup of white or cidar vinegar
  1 Tbl vegan mayonnaise (optional)
  1 tsp sugar (any othersweetener will do)
  1 tsp cumin
  1/4 cup olive oil
  Salt and pepper

PREPARATION:

1. Preheat oven to 400F
2. Peel and chop the parsnips and sweet potatoes. In a salad bowl, mix a few table spoons of olive oil, a little salt and some crushed rosemary.
3. You can add more herbs if you want, like garlic or thyme etc, it is up to you but don't get too carried away.
4. Mix the parsnip and sweet potatoes in the oil. Trim the beets and individually wrap them into aluminum foil.
5. Pour the parsnip onto a lightly oiled cookie tray and place the beets in the oven. Bake for 45mn.
6. Remove from the oven and let cool off.Be careful not to burn your fingers when opening the foil around the beets. I ran the beets under cold water to remove the skin and cool them off faster.
7. Cut the beets into cubes.
8. Mix all the ingredients of the dressing except for the olive oil. Add the oil slowly and whisk to emulsify the dressing.
9. Pour the root vegetable into a large salad bowl, pour the dressing over it and mix. Add the nuts and dried cranberry at the end.
10. The salad can be eaten warm or cold. Both are delicious. Garnish with a little parsley or some chives for extra flavoring and green contrast.

This is such a great way to enjoy root vegetables this winter! You can try other root vegetables with the same recipe like rutabaga. 

Bon Appétit

Holidays Sweet Treats

True to my motto "Life is short, eat desert first!", here are 2 sweet treats for Christmas.

Soy Nog, the vegan version everyone, young and old can indulge guilt free. For one, you avoid the whole raw egg and salmonella poisoning ordeal!
Who would want that and it would kind of ruin your Christmas holidays!  Soy nog is also much lighter after a big meal. Unlike its original counterpart, young and old can safely drink it, no alcohol, low fat, low cholesterol, what's not to like?

Plus, it is a no brainer. You can make a rich version or a lighter version depending on the meal you are serving or the occasion.

But who said that you can only have it around Christmas?

SOY NOG

Ingredients:

 

  1 quart of vanilla soy milk (if you use plain soy milk, add more sweetener)
  1 cup vanilla vegan ice cream or vegan vanilla yogurt
  1 Tbl maple syrup
  1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  1 Tbl artificial rum flavoring (optional)
  1 Tbl ground nutmeg
  Blend all the ingredients until smooth.

  Pour into nice cups and sprinkle with nutmeg.

NO BAKE CHOCOLATE CAKE 

What is better than a no bake dessert after a rich meal?  This recipe is by no mean an original one, because I have seen many different versions going around. A cross between a cheesecake and a mousse, this is a treat for chocolate lovers. Save on electricity too since you only need to refrigerate it! Every bit counts these days!

Crust:

      4-5 pitted dates     
      1 cup of nuts (almonds, walnut etc.)
      ½ cup rolled oats
      3 Tb vegan butter or coconut oil
      1 Tb sugar 

Preparation:

Pulse the nuts, dates and oats in a food processor a few times until finely chopped.
Then add the vegan butter or coconut oil and sugar, pulse again.
Ligthly oil a 9-inch pie plate and press the mixture evenly on the bottom and sides

 

Filling:

   ¾ cups raw cashews  
   ½ cup water
   1 package (12oz) silken tofu drained
   ¼ cup vegan margarine
   12 ounce vegan semi-sweet chocolate chips
   ¼ cup agave syrup (or brown rice syrup)
   2 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
   1 Tbl orange peel

 

PREPARATION:

Start by melting the chocolate chips in a double boiler. You don’t need a fancy pan. I just use a smaller pan that I insert into a larger one that I filled with some water. That’s it. This way, you save on space and money, what a deal!

NOTE: Don’t use a microwave, if you knew what it did to the food, you would remove it altogether from your kitchen (that’s what I did).You don’t have to take my word for it, there is plenty of information online, people just don’t know (http://www.relfe.com/microwave.html).

1. In a food processor, first grind the cashews until you have powder,
2. Add the water to get a smooth cream, then add the agave tofu, vanilla, orange peel and blend.
3. Add the melted chocolate in batches until well mixed.
4. Pour the filling into the crust, smoothing the top.
5. Refrigerate overnight or at least 3 hours.

This pie is great with herbal tea or chai tea.
Stay warm and dry, depending where you live!

Enjoy your holidays and do stay in touch.
Many blessings to all 

Special Nutloaf

What to make for Christmas dinner this year? I thought we could buy some already made mock meat but they can be a little intense texture wise, a little expensive and not always practical if you are serving a big table. So this time I decided to try a nutloaf.  Sure, it isn’t exactly fancy food but there is something hearty about it that sounds just about right for this holiday. Everyone’s budget is a little tighter, so making things from scratch can save money. It can also be a creative project for the entire family.  So why not make this good old American classic a special dish? 

What I love about it is that you make the loaf (make extra ones to freeze) then you can dress it in all kinds of ways. Start with a rich gravy (see recipe below) with garlic mash potatoes but why stop there? Break out some tomatoe sauce, green onions, garlic, capers, and any herbs you like, pour it over the slices of nutloaf and either heat up in a pan or bake for 10-15mn at 370F and voila, you have a rich Italian dish (see second photo).  You can make it Mexican with salsa, cilantro, chiles, vegan cheese. You can also prepare a coconut curry sauce and serve it with vegetables for a touch of India or Indonesia but obviously not for Christmas dinner! Don't forget that you can always use leftover slices for sandwiches, melts etc. Get creative!
This recipe makes between 8-10 slices of nutloaf.

The ingredients below are to make the basic recipe, but you can add other vegies you have on hand, as long as they are diced for added flavor and texture.

Ingredients:1 12oz firm tofu package
¼ cup nutritional yeast
3 Tbl ketchup
2 Tb Dijon mustard
1 cup of chopped onions
3 cloves of garlic
½ cup walnuts
¼ cup of rolled oats
1/4 cup gluten flour
1 cup mushrooms sliced
Salt, pepper, cayenne to taste
2 tsp paprika

Preparation:

1. Ligthly oil a loaf pan. Turn oven to 380F.
2. In a food processor, blend the tofu, ketchup, nutritional yeast, salt, pepper, mustard (depending on the size of your processor, you may have to do this in 2 batches, I had to).
3. Slowly add the rolled oats, then the gluten flour, pulsing in batches.
4. Pan fry the garlic, then chopped onions, then add the sliced mushrooms, salt and pepper for a few minutes.
5. Mix the tofu mixture with the sauteed mushrooms. Add a little water if needed.
6. Pour the mixture into the greased loaf pan, flatten to make sure it is level.  Drizzle a little olive oil on top making sure it is spread evenly.
7. Bake for 1 hour. Let it cool off before slicing.

Note:

The loaf will be moist and a little dry at the same time, so make sure to have some gravy or sauce with it.

If you want it moistier, add more vegies and reduce the amount of gluten flour.

If you are gluten intolerant, substitute the gluten flour with a mix of oat and tapioca flour.

You can also add some ground flaxseed to bind everything together.

You can't mess this one up!

 

VEGAN MUSHROOM GRAVY

 

Ingredients:

 

  3 Tbl onion powder
  2 Tbl oil (or vegan butter)
  1 tsp minced garlic
  1 tsp salt, 1 tsp black pepper
  5 cups diced mushrooms
  1/4 cup soy sauce (or tamari)
  2 cups plain soy milk
  2 cup water with vegetable broth
  1/2 cup wheat flour
 

Instructions:

1. In a medium pot, heat up the oil, add the garlic, mushrooms, pepper and soy sauce for 5 minutes over medium heat.  Slowly add the soy sauce and Soy milk, continue to simmer.
2. Mix the flour and into the water with broth with a whisk making sure that there are no lumps.
3. Slowly stir this into the pot, constantly whisking until thickened, about 3 to 4 minutes.
4. Reduce heat to low and let gravy simmer for another 5 minutes.
5. Remove from heat and serve immediately.