Vegan Southwest Tempeh Rueben

I love sauerkraut and my uncle makes the best I've ever tasted-it's just fermented cabbage and salt and I eat it right out of the jar, just thinking about it makes my mouth water!  Reuben sandwiches typically aren't vegan friendly, but this one is.  Yum!

On Cooking And Ingredients

Vegan Southwest Tempeh Reuben
Makes 3 sandwiches
1 8 oz package of tempeh
1 t vegetable oil
1 cup sauerkraut
6 slices of sprouted grain bread
6 tomato slices
1/2 of an avocado, sliced thinly
4T vegan mayo
1 chili in adobo sauce, chopped finely
1 T chopped cilantro

Slice the tempeh in half length-wise, then slice them into four pieces.  Heat the oil in a non-stick or cast iron pan to medium heat.  Add the tempeh slices and cook on each side until they are browned-about 5-7 minutes on each side.

While the tempeh is cooking, make the sauce.  In a small bowl, combine the vegan mayo, the chili in adobo, and cilantro.
Toast the bread slices.  Spread a little sauce on each slice (it is pretty spicy).  To 3 of the slices of toast, add 2 tomatoes, 2-3 avocado slices, 2-3 pieces of tempeh, and 1/3 cup of sauerkraut.  Serve right away.

Grilled Very Herby Potatoes

This recipe sort of reminds me of french fries-white potatoes and oil, but baby reds from the farmers market have to be utilized once in a while.  I wouldn't call this recipe healthy, but these potatoes do taste pretty good and are nice to make outside on a hot day.
I looked up grilled potatoes on Food Network to find a method of grilling potatoes since I've never done it before, and this is a combination of methods, so thank you Food Network chefs!
On Cooking and Ingredients

Grilled Very Herby Potatoes
Serves 6 as a side dish

4 cups baby reds, cut into pieces that are no more than 3/4 inch thick at the thickest part
1/3 cup garlic infused olive oil
6 T fresh herbs, I used 2 T parsley, 2 T dill, 2 T chives
1-2 T canola or other high heat organic oil
salt, pepper

In a large pot, add the potatoes and just enough water to cover them.  Cover the pot, turn the heat on high and bring it to a boil.  After one minute of boiling, drain the potatoes and add to a large bowl.  Toss with 1-2 T of canola oil, salt, and pepper.

Place the potatoes on a grill heated to medium and cover.  Grill until the potatoes are browned and then flip.  My little grill took about 10 minutes on each side. 

While the potatoes are grilling, mix the garlic infused olive oil and herbs in a small bowl.

Remove the potatoes from the grill and drizzle them with the herbed oil and toss.  

June Vegetable Fried Brown Rice

Ok, I feel a little silly posting June vegetable fried rice in July, but I bought the ingredients from the farmers market and made it a few days ago when it was still June.  I learned a tip from a co-worker about making fried rice and that is to make it using day-old rice, thanks Pang:)
On Cooking and Ingredients

June Vegetable Fried Brown Rice
Serves 4-6

5 cups cooked brown rice (cook it the day before in no salt added vegetable broth)
1 cup asparagus chopped in 1 inch pieces
1 cup pea pods, stems removed and cut in half or thirds
1 cup onions-I used a mix of green and white onion
4 oz button mushrooms thinly sliced
1 T garlic,diced
1 inch of ginger, peeled and diced
4 T low sodium tamari (wheat free soy sauce)
1 T mirin (rice cooking wine)
1/2 block tofu, drained in a colander for about an hour and then cut into 1/2 inch squares
1 small bunch of swiss chard stems removed and roughly chopped
about 1/4 c canola or other high heat organic oil

Heat a wok or large pan to high.  Add a tablespoon of oil and the tofu and cook, stirring continually until the tofu is slightly browned, about 5 minutes.  Since fried rice typically uses eggs, it's ok if the tofu is cooked lightly in this recipe, because it takes the place of eggs.  You may need to add a little more oil if the tofu starts to stick.  Remove from the wok.  Add 1-2 t of oil and add the ginger and garlic-stir fry for 30 seconds to a minute.  Then add the asparagus and pea pods and cook while stirring for another minute until they turn bright green.  Remove them from the wok.

Add another 1 t of oil to the work and add the onions, stir fry them for a minute, then add the mushrooms and cook for a few minutes, until the mushrooms start to brown.  Remove the onions and mushrooms from the wok.

Add 1 T of oil to the wok and add the rice.  Stir fry the rice for about 5 minutes, adding a little more oil if needed.  Add the tamari and mirin to the rice and mix.  Then add the vegetables and tofu, toss until combined, and serve.

Tahini Noodles

My cooking this week was all about finding ways to use as much cilantro as possible.   I planted a little too much in my garden all at the same time, but I do love it, so that's ok!  It seems that people either love it or hate it.  If you don't like it, this recipe tastes good without it too.    

On Cooking and Ingredients

Tahini Noodles
Makes a really big batch-maybe 6 main dish servings
1 lb whole wheat spaghetti, cooked following package directions
1/3 c sliced green onions
1 c thinly sliced red pepper
2 c thinly sliced pea pods
1/2 c chopped cilantro

1/4 c low sodium tamari
4 T brown rice vinegar
1 t toasted sesame oil
2 T canola oil
2 T tahini
1 T diced ginger
2 t diced garlic
1 T agave nectar
3 T sesame seeds

While the pasta is cooking, in a large bowl, combine the tamari, rice vinegar, sesame and canola oil, tahini, ginger, garlic, agave, and sesame seeds and whisk together well.  Add the onions, peppers, and pea pods.  Drain the pasta and while it's still hot, add it to the bowl with the sauce and veggies.  Add the cilantro and toss together well.  It can be served right away hot, or chilled and served later cold.

Wilted Kale Salad With Blueberry Balsamic Reduction

Kale is so good for us, but has a stronger flavor than lettuce, so when I talk to people about kale, I get a lot of wrinkle nose faced reactions.  I wilted the kale in this recipe-I don't know if it necessarily mellows out the flavor much, but it does make the texture a little softer.  If you are new to kale, try easing in by baking some kale chips, most people I've talked to about kale chips do say they are good and anything you can do get more kale into your life is a good thing.  You could use salad mix or spinach in this recipe instead of kale, but double the balsamic reduction if you do since there will be a higher volume of greens if you don't use wilted kale.

Blueberries, pea pods, and kale are all in season right now.  Using in-season fruits and vegetables not only makes food taste better, but is also cheaper.  This recipe was inspired by a combination of Whole Foods Market recipe: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/3275 and Vegetarian Times recipe: http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipe/raw-kale-salad-with-root-vegetables/
On Cooking and Ingredients

Wilted Kale Salad With Blueberry Balsamic Reduction
Makes 3 small side dish servings, or 1 single entree serving

1 t finely chopped shallot
1/4 c blueberries
1/4 c balsamic vinegar
4 c kale stems removed and torn into bite sized pieces (about one medium sized bunch)
1/8 t sea salt
1 t cider vinegar
a handful of pea pods
a handful of pecans

Blueberry Balsamic Reduction
In a small pan, combine the shallot, blueberries, and balsamic.  Bring it to a boil over medium heat, and cook for about 12 minutes until the liquid has reduced to half, stirring occasionally.  It should be a gentle boil, so reduce the heat if necessary.  Let it cool completely.
Here's what it looks like when it starts cooking:

Here's what it looks like when it's done:

Wilted Kale:
Add the salt and cider vinegar to the kale in a glass bowl and use your fingers to massage the kale until it is wilted to about half the volume of what you started with.  Set it aside for a half an hour.  Then give it a rinse under cold water to rinse off the excess salt and squeeze it dry.
Here's what the kale looks like before wilting:

And after wilting:

Put the kale into a bowl and top with balsamic reduction, pea pods, and pecans and serve.

First Farmers Market Salad

On Saturday, I went to the farmers market season opener.  Only a few fresh produce items were available, but they were so beautiful! I bought lettuce and peas and pulled a few radishes from the garden to make this spring salad.  The creamy dill dressing tastes better after it's chilled, and takes a little planning ahead, so make the dressing a few hours ahead of time or the night before. 

First Farmers Market Salad
Lettuce or greens of your choice
Pea pods, ends removed, and cut in half 
Radishes, sliced
Raw sunflower seeds

Creamy Dill Dressing
(Makes 1 1/4 cups)

1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked for an hour
1/2 cup water
1/4 c Vegenaise
1 t garlic, very finely chopped
1 T apple cider vinegar
1 T lemon juice
1/4 t salt
1/2 t onion powder
1 T finely chopped dill
1/2 t vegan worcestershire sauce
1/2 t agave nectar

After the cashews have soaked, drain them and add to a blender with the 1/2 cup of water and blend until smooth.  Pour the cashew cream into a pint sized jar.  Add the Vegenaise, garlic, cider vinegar, lemon juice, salt, onion powder, dill, worcestershire sauce, and agave to the jar with the cashew cream and shake well.  Chill for a few hours or overnight.

To assemble the salad: In a large sized single serving bowl add a few handfuls of lettuce.  Drizzle the lettuce with as much dressing as you like.  This dressing isn't really thick, so I like to be a little generous with it.  Top with a handful of pea pods, a small handful of sliced radishes, and a few tablespoons of sunflower seeds.