Romaine Salad with Fresh Strawberries and Strawberry Tarragon Dressing

This salad is one of our absolute favorites. The recipe comes from the Forks over Knives cookbook, compliments of Chef Del Sroufe. The dressing is the key with flavors of strawberries, balsamic, shallot and tarragon. It is so delicious that you could pour it over ice cream!

Salad

1 large head of romaine lettuce, washed, dried & cut into 1" pieces
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup toasted sunflower seeds
1 large carrot, peeled and grated
1 pint fresh strawberries, washed, hulled and cut in half

Dressing

4 cups strawberries, washed, hulled and sliced
1 medium shallot, minced
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp fresh ground white pepper
1/2 cup agave nectar or brown rice syrup
1 tbsp dried tarragon
1 tsp salt

Mix all salad ingredients together in a large bowl

Puree all dressing ingredients in a blender until smooth & creamy, stopping once or twice to scrape down the sides.

Toss the salad with just enough dressing to taste or serve dressing on the side so each person can enjoy as much or little dressing as they would like.


Variations: Avocado or Goat Cheese could be added as well.

Blueberry Oatmeal Waffles

Isa Chandra should be nominated for a nobel prize with what she's done for the Vegan movement. These waffles are a prime example as to why. The texture is incredible. Crispy from the oatmeal, carmelized from the blueberries that slightly burn during cooking, moist from the applesauce and the nutty flavor of almond milk. This is sure to be a big hit at your brunch or any morning you want a bit of decadence. This recipe makes 6- 8 inch waffles.

1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1 cup quick cooking oats
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 1/2 cups unsweetened almond milk (or your fave non-dairy milk)
3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries






Sift flour, baking powder, salt and allspice into a mixing bowl. Mix in the oats. Make a well in the center and add applesauce, milk, maple syrup, oil and vanilla. Stir with just until combined.


Let batter rest for 5 minutes or so, it will thicken a bit. Fold in the blueberries. Don’t worry too much about the blueberries bleeding into the batter, it’s no biggie.


Cook in waffle iron according to manufacturer directions. In a 8 inch waffle iron, use a heaping 1/2 cup of batter. Remember to spray or brush the iron with oil in between each waffle. (They will stick if you try to cook without oil.)

Vegan Lasagna

A vegan lasagna sounds completely ironic but this recipe is amazing. Don't tell your guests that it is vegan, just call it vegetarian and they will love it! It is adapted  from Rip Esselstyn and the Engine 2 Diet. The recipe serves 10 so make it when you want to impress a crowd. 

The key to making this great is to ensure you have thoughtfully chopped the ingredients into small pieces. They will melt in your mouth and no one will notice there is no cheese. 

1 sweet onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
1 head broccoli, finely chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped
2 red bell peppers, seeded and chopped
14 oz frozen corn or 2-3 ears shucked
1 package Silken Lite tofu
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon fresh oregano
1 tablespoon fresh basil
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary
2 jars Muir Glen pasta sauce
2 boxes whole grain lasagna noodles
16 ounces frozen spinach, thawed and drained
1-2 sweet potatoes, cooked and mashed
4-6 roma tomatoes, sliced thin
1 cup raw cashews, ground (roasted, unsalted are ok too)

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

Drain the silken tofu by wrapping in paper towels. 

Peel and boil the sweet potato for about 10-15 minutes and tender enough to mash with a fork. While it's cooking, get started on the rest.

Sauté the onion and garlic on high heat for 3 minutes in a wok or nonstick pan. You can use olive oil or canola oil but it's not required.

Add the mushrooms and cook until the onions are limp and the mushrooms give up their liquid.  Remove them to a large bowl with a slotted spoon. Reserve the mushroom liquid in the pan.

Sauté the broccoli and carrots for 5 minutes and add to the mushroom bowl.

Sauté the peppers and corn until just beginning to soften. Add them to the vegetable bowl.

Add the tofu to the vegetable boil. You can break it up directly in the towel or break it up in the bowl. Mix into vegetables. Add spices to the vegetable bowl and combine.

To assemble the vegetable lasagna :

• Cover the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch casserole with a layer of sauce.
• Add a layer of noodles.
• Cover the noodles with sauce. This way the noodles cook in the oven, saving time and energy.
• Spread the vegetable mixture over the sauced noodles.
• Cover with a layer of noodles and another dressing of sauce.
• Add the spinach to the second layer of sauced noodles.
• Cover the spinach with the mashed sweet potatoes.
• Add another layer of sauce, the final layer of noodles, and a last topping of sauce. Cover the lasagna with thinly sliced roma tomatoes.

Cover with foil and bake in the oven for 45 minutes.

Remove the foil, sprinkle with the cashews, and return to the oven for 15 minutes. Let lasagna sit for 15 minutes before serving.

Best Hummus Ever

This hummus is the most creamy, velvety, delightful that you will find. A creation of the master Ruth Reichl and definitely one of her finest! 

There may seem like a lot of steps to this recipe but it is absolutely worth it. Serve with crudites, crackers, use in salad dressings, on sandwiches, or wraps. It will keep for a couple of days but is best served immediately.

1½ cups dried chickpeas (the smallest you can find)
1 tablespoon baking soda plus ¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ to ½ cup raw (as opposed to roasted) tahini - the best you can find.
1 lemon, juiced
1-2 garlic cloves 
salt, to taste
olive oil, to taste
parsley, to taste
cumin, to taste

1. Put the chickpeas in a colander and go through them carefully, discarding small stones and broken peas.

2. Wash the chickpeas, and put them in a bowl with enough water to allow them to double in volume. Stir in a tablespoon of baking soda and soak them overnight.

3. Drain and rinse the chickpeas and put them in a large pot. Cover with about 5 cups of water (the water should be about 2 inches above the beans) and add the remaining ¼ teaspoon of baking soda. Bring the water to a boil, turn the heat down, cover, and cook over low heat until the chickpeas are very soft; it should take about two hours. If the water cooks away, add more. Drain, but reserve the cooking liquid.

4. Rub the chickpeas between your fingers under cold running water to remove the skins. Put on some music; it’s a time-consuming process.

5. The chickpeas should be cool now. Make sure they are very cool or the texture will be too starchy. Put them in a food processor with the garlic, and lemon juice, a quarter cup of the cooking liquid and the tahini. (How much you use will depend on your taste; traditionally you’d use about half a cup, but I find that makes the sesame flavor too dominant for my taste.) Process for 4 or 5 minutes, until it is smooth and creamy, with the dreamy texture of just-made frozen custard. It should be very soft and smooth. If it’s too thick add more liquid. Add salt to taste.

Now’s the fun part. You have just created a lovely canvas. Top it with a glug of good olive oil, some chopped parsley, a smattering of ground cumin. Or toast some pinenuts in butter and top the hummus with that. Add cayenne, zatar, chopped onions or some pomegranate seeds. Be creative, or just revel in the best hummus you’ve ever had on its own.