Vegan BLT Lettuce Wraps with Macadamia Mayo

Hey Sweeties,

My apologies for the long hiatus I took in posting!   

I generally eat pretty darn healthy, but I am currently on a twelve week clean, clean, clean eating and fitness program to get my bod into prime bathing suit condition so for those of you in a similar boat, stay tuned for some clean, low-carb, high protein vegan eats!

This recipe caters to my lettuce wrap obsession and a serious craving for tempeh bacon.

BLT Lettuce Wraps with Macadamia Mayo
Ingredients: 
- 1 head of organic romaine lettuce, leaves seperated
- 3 or 4 ripe organic roma tomatoes, sliced
- 1 package of tempeh bacon, prepared according to package directions, cooled and crumbled
- 1 cup raw macadamia nuts
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1/2 cup filtered water
- S&P

To make the mayo, combine the macadamia nuts, garlic, lemon juice and water in a high speed blender (I use my VitaMix but the Magic Bullet works great too) and blend on high until the mixture is perfectly smooth and creamy.  If it is really thick, add a little more water.  It will thicken up a bit if you refrigerate it for an hour or so.  Season the mayo with salt.  You could add a little smoked paprika or other herbs right about now too, if your heart desires :)

To assemble, spread some mayo onto each romaine leaf, top with slices of tomato and sprinkle on some crumbled tempeh bacon.  A little diced avocado wouldn't hurt either!  Season the wraps with a grind of fresh pepper and NOSH!

XOXO

Vivacious Vegan

Endive Salad with Oranges and Olives

T.G.I.F. Honey Buns!!!

(Just saying that made me want a cinnamon bun all of a sudden...)

Eating salad when it's this cold outside seems like a strange thing to do (why eat salad when you could eat a hot steaming bowl of soup?!) but amidst all the warm, saucy, slow-cooked comfort foods of Winter, your body can crave something light, refreshing, and raw.  Belgian endive is a sturdy leafed member of the chicory family that has a nice crunch and a bitter-sweet finish.  Don't let its pale colour fool you, Belgian endive is packed with folate and vitamins A and K.  Paired with sweet cara cara naval oranges and briny green olives, this salad is Wintery and satisfying, without making you feel heavy.  

Endive Salad with Oranges and Olives
Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard 
- S&P
- 3 - 4 Belgian endives
- 3 cara cara oranges (pink fleshed naval oranges), or blood oranges or regular naval oranges, rind and pith cut off with a very sharp paring knife
- 2 pale inner ribs of celery and the leaves, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup green olives (or sun dried black olives), pitted and sliced into slivers
- a handful of Italian parsley, chopped

For the dressing, whisk together the vinegar, Dijon mustard and olive oil vigorously until emulsified.  Season with S&P.

Using a sharp knife, cut the orange segments free from their membranes.  This technique is a little tricky and takes practice, if you would rather not 'supreme' the oranges, just turn them on their sides, slice them into 1/2" thick slices and then quarter each slice.  

Slice each endive in half lengthwise and remove the tough core.  Slice the endive halves into 1/2" thick slices and place in a large bowl with the celery, orange segments, olives and parsley.  

Drizzle a few spoonfuls of the dressing over the salad and toss.  Add just enough dressing to coat the salad, not too much, or it will get soggy and wet!  

Divide onto four serving plates or eat right out of the bowl!

XOXO
 V.V.    

Red Quinoa Salad with Chickpeas, Cherry Tomatoes and Herbs

Hey Babes!

          It's time to admit it.  Summer is coming to an end.  I know this because the Starbucks Pumpkin Spice lattes are back (which are tragically not vegan - order a soy Cinnamon Dolce latte instead, you'll still feel the cinnamony love).  Before things get too chilly, make the most of the last summer tomatoes and try this awesome salad recipe out!  I whipped it up in a hurry to bring to my darling friend Kerri's BBQ and it was a HIT! 

If you love quinoa, you will REALLY love it's scarlet sister, Ms. Red Quinoa.  It still has the bran on it (kinda like the difference between white and brown rice) and is chewier in texture and even nuttier in flavor.  I love it and I know you will too!  

Red Quinoa Salad with Chickpeas, Cherry Tomatoes and Herbs

Ingredients: 

- 2 cups cooked red quinoa, cooled to room temp (white would be just dandy too)

- 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed well

- 1 pint red cherry tomatoes (about 2 cups, if you're getting them from the garden and not the grocery store)

- 1 pint yellow cherry tomatoes

-  10 to 12 handfuls of organic baby greens

- 1/3 cup roughly chopped mint

- 1/3 cup roughly chopped cilantro

- 1/3 cup roughly chopped basil

- 1/3 cup roughly chopped flat leaf parsley

- 6 scallions, thinly sliced

for the vinaigrette:

- 2 cloves garlic, minced

- 1 tbsp dijon mustard 

- 1 tbsp agave syrup

- juice of 1 lemon

- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar

- 1/2 cup olive oil

- S&P

 

Combine all of the vinaigrette ingredients in a mason jar.  Screw on the lid.  SHAKE IT BABY!  Taste and season with S&P.  Wasn't that easy?

In a large bowl, layer in your salad greens, quinoa, chickpeas, tomatoes, herbs and scallions.  If you are bringing in to a BBQ, the salad will travel well this way.  When you are ready to serve, drizzle your dressing over the salad and gently toss until everything has a nice gloss.  Turn out onto a serving platter and enjoy with friends or take the bowl and a fork, find a secret hiding place and eat the whole thing yourself. . .

XOXO

V.V. 

Vegan Santa Fe Salad

Hey Lovelies!

Whoa!  Is it really the last full week of July already?

How has your Summer been going?  I hope you have been enjoying the blissfully long, hot days of the season and that you have been wearing sunscreen!  V.V. has been slathering herself in Green Beaver and stuffing her face at Summer festivals across the Prairies: had delish chocolate hemp iced lattes every morning at Winnipeg FolkFest from Jonnie's Sticky Buns (Please check them out!  They have insane vegan cinny buns and gluten free buns too!); also at FolkFest, I wolfed down yummy vegan hot dogs from Mondragon right before the Bahamas concert (Please check him out, too!  Amazing singer/songwriter/guitar player!); and ATM and I checked out the Taste of Edmonton Festival and noshed on outrageously yummy vegan eats from Padmandi last week.

Next on my Summer eating itinerary is Folklorama, but alas, it's not for another few weeks.  Until then, I will be left to my own devices in the kitchen. . .

On a sweltering hot day last week, unable to bring myself to turn on the stove, I made myself a beautiful, colourful, flavorful salad with some gorgeous Summer produce.  Summer is the season when fruits and veggies are in their PRIME so take advantage and enjoy them while their flavour is top notch!  This salad serves one or two hungry, hungry hippos as a main or maybe four or so as a side.  Double the recipe and bring it to the next backyard BBQ you go to!

 

Santa Fe Salad

Ingredients:

-Four or five big hand fulls of organic baby spinach

- Three or four hand fulls of organic romaine, chopped into bite sized pieces OR you can use a few hand fulls of organic 'spring greens' 

- 1 ear of fresh corn, husks and silk removed  

- 1 large, ripe avocado, diced

-1 large, ripe tomato, diced

-1/4 cup medjool dates, diced (you can use dried figs or raisins too)

- 1/2 cup cooked black beans (if they are the canned variety, rinse 'em well!)

-1/2 cup chopped cilantro

-5 scallions, thinly sliced

Dressing:

- 1/4 cup grapeseed oil

-1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

-1 tbsp fresh lime juice

-1 tsp agave syrup

-1 garlic clove, minced

- 2 tsp dijon mustard

- 1/4 tsp smoked paprika

- a few dashes of your fave hot sauce

-a pinch cinnamon (trust me)

If you happen to know how to use a barbeque:  Brush the ear of corn with some olive oil and season with a little S&P and maybe some cayenne pepper if you like a little spice.  Grill the corn on the BBQ on high heat, turning every few minutes until it has lovely grill marks all over it.  

If you are afraid of the BBQ (you're not alone) or do not have access to one:  Rub down the corn in the same manner as above with oil S&P and cayenne, if using, and sear it in a hot cast iron skillet until it has some nice brown colour on it on all sides.

Stand the corn up, flat end down, in a large bowl.  Holding the top of the corn with one hand, use a knife in the other to slice off the kernels, starting at the top and sawing downwards.      

Let's make some dressing, shall we?

Whisk the dressing ingredients together vigorously.  Taste, season with S&P, taste again.  Re season if necessary.  Set aside.

And now for the main attraction. . .

Your corn kernels should be sitting in a large bowl, large enough for some serious salad tossing. . . so let's go!  Add all other salad ingredients to the bowl.  Drizzle with the dressing and gently toss (you don't want to squish the avocados/beans/tomatoes into a big mush pile!) until everything is well covered with dressing.  

If you want the salad to look pretty and plated instead of tossed, mix your greens together in a large bowl with half the dressing, set on a plate, top with remaining salad ingredients to your liking and drizzle with the rest of the dressing.

If you're feeling a little naughty, or craving a little crunch, top the salad with crushed corn tortilla chips.  I love La Cocina tortilla chips.  They are paper thin, salty, addictive, and made right here in Manitoba <3

I have lots more yummy recipes to share before the Summer is up. . . until then, stay cool babes!

 XOXOXOXO,

V.V.

 

Vegan Potato Salad

Hey Baaaaaaabes,

Today I am posting my recipe for potato salad! It's definitely not your traditional mayonnaise covered, hard boiled egg and chopped pickle laden pile of mush.  I use baby red and yellow potatoes, boil them until tender and then toss them in a tangy vinegrette of wine vinegar, Dijon mustard and fresh dill.  SOOO tasty and such a nice change from the goop you are used to seeing at back yard BBQ's (my apologies to those who like the tradish variety, you can always add 1/2 cup vegenaise to the dressing instead of the olive oil and maybe a chopped pickle or two if you mussssst).

Potato Salad a la Vinegrette
Ingredients:
-1 bag baby yellow fleshed potatoes
-1 bag baby red skinned creamer potatoes
-1/4 cup red wine vinegar
-1/2 cup olive oil
-3 heaping tbsp grainy Dijon mustard
-2 cloves garlic, minced
-1/2 red onion, finely diced
-6 scallions, chopped
-1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
-S&P

Put the taters in a large pot and fill it with water up to 1 inch above the taters.  Bring to a boil and cook until you can eaaaaasily poke a tater with a butter knife and it comes out eaaaaaaasily too.  Drain the taters.  At this point, I like to halve most of the potatoes and keep some whole for variety in texture.

In a large serving bowl, whisk the wine vinegar, olive oil, Dijon mustard, minced garlic and a bit of S&P together until it had an even consistency.  Add the hot taters and combine weeeelllll.  The potaties will soak up the vinegrette and be soooo happy :)

Chill the potato salad for about an hour in the refrigerator and then add the red onion, scallion and dill.  Season with S&P and serrrrrrve it up!!

XOXO

Vivacious Vegan <3

Vegan Ceasar Salad

Good Day To All You Sweeties,

Every time I go to a restaurant and ceasar salad on the menu, I cry a little inside.  Ceasar salad is one of my faaaaaaavorite salads EVER and I know I am not alone since ceasar salad seems to be on every gosh darn menu ANYWHERE!  Even Rotten Ronnie's (McD's) has friggin ceasar salad!  Even a large portion of Chinese restaurants in Winnipeg have ceasar salad on the menu!!!  So why do I weep over such a readily available salad?  Why, you ask?  Because while the majority of the classic Ceasar Cardini (creator of the ceasar salad if you didn't already guess that) dressing ingredients are vegan (olive oil, lemon juice, wine vinegar, garlic, S&P, and of course romaine lettuce) the EGG YOLKS that give the dressing its body, the WORCESTERSHIRE SAUCE that gives the dressing its delicate ANCHOVY flavour and the PARMESEAN CHEESE are not not not not vegan at all.  And don't get me started on bottled salad dressings and store-bought croutons, TOO easy to make from scratch and soooo much better homemade!

There is hope for vegans who love this salad!  While you may not be able to order it at resto's, you can easily make a deeeeeeeeeelish vegan version of the salad at home that will impress all your friends who are vegans and friends who are devotees to the bottled variety (shudder!) alike! 

Vegan Ceasar Salad
Ingredients:
croutons:
-1 loaf of French bread, cubed
-1/4 cup veg oil
-1 tsp garlic powder
-1 tsp thyme
salad:
-2 heads of romaine lettuce, washed and dried THOROUGHLY, quartered lengthwise and chopped crosswise into bite sized pieces
-2 cloves garlic, chopped
-juice of 1 lemon
-2 tbsp grainy djon mustard
-2 tbsp nutritional yeast
-1 tbsp soy sauce
-1/4 cup tahini (sesame seed paste)
-1/4 cup red wine vinegar
-1/2 cup olive oil
-a few tbsp water depending  on how thick/thin you like it
-S&P

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees celcius.  Toss the bread cubes with the veg oil, garlic powder, thyme and season with S&P.  Spread the cubes onto a baking sheet and bake until golden, about 10-15 min, tossing them or twice.  Let them cooooool, man.

Put your romaine into a large salad bowl.  Put all other ingredients other than olive oil into your trusty blender and blend until smooth.  Slowly add olive oil in a continuous stream while the blender is running.  Add a few tsp of water if it's too thick.  Season with S&P.

Add the croutons to the lettuce and a few tbsp at a time, drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss, adding more dressing until you have the desired amount of creamy, garlicky goodness coatin the greens. 

YUM YUM YUM YUM YUM!!!!!!!!!!

XOXO

V.V.