Vegan Cooking with TLC

This is one of the most basic salads you can make. It's easy. The ingredients are readily available in most grocery stores. It's nutritious. I'm not a fan of lettuce as I've said many times before, but this combination of greens is one of my favorites. You can add to this or remove something. It makes a nice foundation for building other salads. It also works with a variety of salad dressings . Basic Three Green Salad 4 leaves chard 4 leaves kale 1 cup spinach 1 cucumber  1 large tomato Chop chard, kale, and spinach into small pieces. Place in bowl . Chop cucumber into small pieces. Add to bowl. Chop tomato into small pieces. Add to bowl. Mix together. Add desired dressing. Note: I use organic ingredients whenever possible.

This week I'm sharing another simple yet tasty salad dressing that will work on a variety of salads. This Orange Miso Dressing is light and works well when seeking a dressing that doesn't overwhelm the salad. Orange Miso Dressing 1 orange 1 tablespoon miso 2 tablespoons rice vinegar 1 tablespoon flax seed 1 tablespoon hemp seed 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast Juice the orange. Add orange juice to a small bowl. Add miso, rice vinegar, flax seed, hemp seed, and nutritional yeast. Using an immersion blender , blend together until smooth. Add to salad.

I'm sharing another simple salad dressing, Orange Avocado Salad Dressing , this week. This salad dressing works well with most salads. A salad dressing perks up greens and offers an opportunity to add a few more nutrients to one's diet. Orange Avocado Salad Dressing 1 clove garlic ¼ inch fresh ginger 1 orange 1 avocado 2 tablespoons golden balsamic vinegar 1 tablespoon flax seed 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast Mince garlic and ginger using a zester . Place in a small bowl. Juice the orange. Add to bowl with garlic and ginger. Cut avocado in half. Remove seed. Scoop insides into bowl. Add golden balsamic vinegar, flax seeds, and nutritional yeast. Use an immersion blender to blend until smooth and thick. Add to salad.

Salad is a staple in my house. It's a great way to get one's daily servings of greens and cruciferous vegetables. Using a different salad dressing can make the same old salad seem like an entirely new dish. Salad dressings are really very easy to make. I used to find them intimidating until I started making them. Orange Hazelnut Balsamic Salad Dressing *   1 orange 1-2 garlic cloves ¼ inch piece of ginger 2 Tablespoons hazelnut pulp** 2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar   Juice the orange. Grate the garlic and ginger using a zester . Place garlic and ginger in a small bowl or measuring cup . Add orange juice. Add hazelnut pulp. Whisk together. Add balsamic vinegar. Whisk together until relatively smooth. Add to salad. * This dressing works well with a wide variety of salads. ** You can substitute hazelnut butter for the hazelnut pulp if you want. I find this a nice way to use the pulp left over when I make hazelnut milk . Note: I use organic ingredient...

I often eat salad with dinner, and I rarely write down my salad recipes because I tend to go with what I have on hand to make them and then change them up with a variety of homemade dressings. In fact, often the only thing that is different in a salad from one night to the next is the dressing. As I thought about it, I decided that I'd start sharing a few of those dressings.  Peanut Lime Salad Dressing is one of my go-to dressings. It works with most salads. I particularly like it with salads that have kale and/or cabbage as the primary greens. I don't love it with salads that are heavy on lettuce, but then again I'm not a huge fan of lettuce. Since other greens have much more nutritional value and, in my opinion, flavor punch, I rarely use lettuce unless it's in our harvest box , and even then only as part of the supporting cast.  Some of you might be thinking this dressing seems similar to the peanut sauce I used in my Vegetable Stir Fry with Peanut Sauce recipe. It...

This week I'm sharing a salsa recipe that we often make instead of a salad. It's one of those things I'd never bothered to write down until recently. While I've made several versions of salsa, this one tends to be the one I return to consistently.I love that it's made with primarily fresh ingredients. Salsa 2-3 medium to large tomatoes 1 green pepper 4-6 spring onions ¼ small red onion 1 clove garlic ¼ cup fresh cilantro ½ fresh jalapeno pepper ¼ teaspoon ground cumin * ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper 1 lime Chop tomatoes and green pepper into bite-size chunks. Dice spring onions and red onion. Mince garlic. Chop cilantro. Dice jalapeno pepper. Juice lime. Place ½ the chopped ingredients in a food processor . Pulse a few times.** Place rest of ingredients in a bowl . Stir in the cumin, black pepper, and processed ingredients. Add lime juice. Stir together. * I was out of cumin today...

This simple Tomato Cucumber Salad is one of my all-time favorite salads. I don't make it very often anymore because I usually try to include greens in my salads. When I made this last week, I promised myself I was going to start making it more often! It's simple. It's fast! It has a very crisp, clean flavor! It goes with a variety of dishes.  It's especially good in the summer when tomatoes and cucumbers are in season!  Tomato Cucumber Salad* 1 large cucumber 1 large tomato 1 lemon 2 Tbs apple cider vinegar 2 Tbs walnuts Chop cucumber and tomato. Place in a serving bowl . Juice lemon. Using a hand blender , blend lemon, vinegar, and walnuts until well blended. Pour over cucumbers and tomatoes. Stir to combine. Serve. * This recipe as written will serve 2-4 people depending on what it's served with as well as the size of the tomato and cucumber; however it is easy to size up to feed more people. I generally ad...

I don't make Strawberry Spinach Salad often enough. I don't know why because we really like it and it's very simple to make.  It's best when strawberries are in season! Strawberry Spinach Salad 1 bunch spinach 1 pint strawberries 1 cup pecans 1 small head of broccoli 1 orange ¼ cup balsamic vinegar 2 tablespoons pecans 2 teaspoons nutritional yeast Wash and chop spinach into bite-size piece. Wash strawberries. Pit strawberries. Cut strawberries into quarters Wash broccoli and chop into tiny pieces. If desired, break 1 cup pecans into smaller pieces. Place spinach, strawberries, broccoli, and pecans in a large bowl . Juice the orange. Add orange juice, balsamic vinegar, rest of pecans and nutritional yeast to a small bowl. Use a hand blender to pulverize. Drizzle dressing over other ingredients. Using two large spoons lightly toss to incorporate dressing to over salad. Serve. Note: I use organ...

I developed Sesame Three Cabbage Tomato Salad when I had some green cabbage I wanted to use before it went bad. Green cabbage isn't my favorite, but it came in that week's CSA box. I decided to pair it with some cabbages I like better. I eventually decided to substitute savoy cabbage for the green cabbage because I like savoy cabbage better.  Sesame Three Cabbage Tomato Salad holds up well, so it's good to take to a potluck. It also makes a wonderful accompaniment to my Miso Shiitake Soup as well as many other entrees. You could even eat is as an entree when a light but filling meal, lunch or dinner, is desired Sesame Three Cabbage Tomato Salad 4 leaves red cabbage* 4 leaves savoy cabbage 4 leaves napa cabbage 1 large tomato 1 orange 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 2 tablespoons sesame seeds 2 tablespoon nutritional yeast 1 teaspoon dill weed Chop cabbage and place in large serving bowl . Cut tomato into ½ inch cubes. Place in bowl with cabb...

I often like to have fruit for dessert. In fact, most nights fruit is the dessert of choice at my house. On occasion, I do make other desserts. Sometimes I like to dress the fruit up a bit with some herbs, nuts, or other things I have in the pantry or refrigerator. I put this recipe together because I liked the play of colors and flavors of the myriad melons and it just seemed natural to pair the melons with mint. This salad also makes a great breakfast. Minty Melon Salad 1 small watermelon 1 small canary melon 1 small cantaloupe 1 small snow leopard melon 1 bunch fresh mint Peel melons.*  Remove seeds from canary melon, cantaloupe, and snow leopard melon with a large spoon. Discard seeds.  Cut all four melons into bite size chunks. Remove mint leaves from stems and chop the leaves into tiny pieces. Discard stems. Place the melon and mint in a large bowl .  Stir gently until well distributed. Cover and refrigerate for at l...

I'd eaten many versions of Tabouleh over the years. Some I liked, some I didn't. I started looking for recipes to make my own. There were things about the ones I found that I liked and things I didn't. Eventually, I decided to take my favorite elements from three or four recipes and tweak them to my tastes and ended up with an earlier version of this recipe that used olive oil. When I stopped eating oil, I needed to find a way to make the dressing work, so I came up with the idea of using walnuts to as a substitute for the olive oil. This recipe in both its forms has been one of my most requested recipes when I've taken it to potluck dinners or served it to guests. Tabouleh ¾ cup bulgur wheat 2 cups cold water 3 spring onions 1 large bunch parsley 1 small bunch fresh mint 1 large tomato 1 large cucumber ½ cup lemon juice ½ cup walnuts Dash Middle Eastern spice mix, optional* Place bulgur in large bowl and cover with cold wat...

I developed this recipe one day when I was in the mood for a salad and looked around my kitchen for a way to make a salad I hadn't had before. I pulled together these ingredients for a simple nutritious salad that would be more than adequate to meet my daily greens needs. I'll be honest eating dark leafy greens on a daily basis is still a struggle for me, so I am always looking for ways to incorporate them into my diet that are interesting and delicious. Peanutty Granny and Greens Salad 2 cups spinach 2 cups kale 1 cup purple cabbage 1 large Granny Smith apple 1 medium bell pepper* 1 bunch broccoli sprouts (optional) 1 orange ¼ cup soy sauce, or Bragg's Liquid Amino Acids 4-6 tablespoons peanut butter ** Chop spinach, kale, and purple cabbage into bite size pieces. Core Granny Smith apple and chop into small pieces. Remove seeds and stem from green pepper and chop into small pieces. Mix together in a large serving bowl . Add brocco...