Recipe - Zesty Chickpea Salad

You know the old saying, "Opinions are like a**holes; everybody's got one"? Well, chickpea salad recipes are to vegans like opinions: everyone has their favorite way to make it. I decided this week to come up with my own and I've gotta say... I kinda killed it!

In my pre-gan days I loved tuna salad from a certain deli in Tucson. One of my friends who worked there said that the secret to really good tuna salad is fresh dill. Since then I've been using fresh dill in everything I can sneak it into, I adore it! It is one herb that doesn't get enough love, so I knew it would definitely make it into my chickpea salad. I also like a lot of crunch in recipes like this, so I used celery, green onion, and (the dark horse ingredient) diced red pepper. I love the way the peppers burst in your mouth with each bite, they really add an unexpected flavor here. Finish it up with some fresh lemon, vegan mayo, salt and pepper and layer it on toasted multigrain bread with tomato and lettuce. SO GOOD.

I'll let Johnny's words speak for themselves: "Next time you make this, don't change ANYTHING." "You have to blog about this." "This is one of the best sandwiches I've ever had!" Oh, and we ate this for dinner two nights in a row. Unprecedented in our household! I served it the first night with a simple vegetable soup and the second night with roasted sweet potatoes. I had a ton of leftover cilantro in the fridge, so I made a cilantro pesto to go with the potatoes. Stayed tuned for that recipe in my next post! 

Zesty Chickpea Salad

Serves 6-8

2 cans organic chickpeas, drained and rinsed

2 stalks celery, thinly sliced

2 green onions, thinly sliced

1 red pepper, seeded and diced

2 tbsp fresh dill, minced

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

5 tbsp vegan mayo

In a large bowl, mash the chickpeas until they are nearly all broken up, leaving a few whole. Add in all other ingredients and stir to combine. It's as simple as that!

Recipe - Quick and Easy Summer Meals and Snacks

I have a confession to make... I love to cook. That is such a weird thing for me to write! Growing up I had absolutely no desire to try my hand in the kitchen (though my sister and brother both always loved to cook and are both fabulous at it). When I moved out on my own, I existed on Trader Joe's prepared foods and dinners out with friends. Cooking a full-on meal just for myself always seemed like such a hassle: the grocery shopping, the dishes, the leftovers that inevitably grew mold and got thrown away. Not to mention there was no one there to tell me if my meal was great or sucked - like the whole "if a tree falls in the forest" scenario, ya know? But when Johnny and I moved in together, some dormant June Cleaver-ish part of me awakened and I found myself wanting to cook more. WEIRD.

In the beginning, I relied heavily on recipes. I had a cookbook called "How to Boil Water" and I pretty much needed that level of instruction! There were definitely some failed meals in those early days (most involving undercooked meat which I no longer have to worry about!), but over time I became SO much more confident in the kitchen. Through trial and error, I figured out how to cook a great batch of rice on the stovetop and how to substitute spices if I ran out of something seemingly crucial. Our bank account thanked me for easing off of expensive take-out meals and it's always made me feel accomplished to cook a great meal and actually look forward to eating the leftovers the next day!   

That said, there are more nights than I can count where I go into the kitchen thinking I'll have dinner prepared in an hour, and by 9:00pm I'm still not done. This does not make me happy and Johnny wisely asks once if he can help and then scurries away when I bellow "NO." So I'm going to start making more of an effort to plan one or two easy meals each week that can be ready to go in 60 minutes or less. I have come to terms with the fact that this means I may need to rely on prepared foods sometimes. I love cooking everything from scratch, but honestly we all have days where we've pushed ourselves to the limit in the 10+ hours preceding dinner prep. Routinely adding an extra 2-3 hours to that just so you can feed your pie-hole is no fun.

Here are some ideas for quick meals and snacks that I've been loving for the past few weeks:


Beverages


Johnny is in the early stages of giving up diet soda (yay!) so we tried out an alternative last night. We mixed up some chopped mint, some peeled and diced ginger, a sliced up lemon, and a few packets of stevia with sparkling water and ice in a big pitcher. He was so in love! So much healthier than diet soda and super refreshing for a summer day. 

Snacks

Brown Rice Cakes and Nut Butter

I'm the type that gets home from work and has to have a snack before I start dinner prep. Quite often, I'll turn to chips or crackers and get carried away and before I know it I'm not even hungry for dinner anymore. My nutritionist made a great suggestion: brown rice cakes with nut butter. The portion is controlled and just one is super filling and satisfying. It has that salty/sweet taste that I love and is so easy to throw together. I am a big fan of Lundberg's Organic Lightly Salted Brown Rice Cakes and Brad's Organic Crunchy Peanut Butter (I love everything by both of these companies, actually!). You can jazz it up by topping with jam, bananas or other fruits, raisins... you get the idea.

Hummus and Crudites

Hummus is an institution in my family. For realz. We take that shiz seriously! My mom's hummus is widely regarded as the best in the world, so I'm always trying to recreate hers. It is so easy to whip up a big batch of hummus and snack on it all week or use as a spread on sandwiches and wraps. It's way cheaper than buying the not-as-tasty pre-made stuff from the store, too.

Here's the quick recipe: in a food processor, chop 2 cloves of garlic into tiny pieces (use 3 if you really like garlic!). Add two cans of drained and rinsed chickpeas, the juice of 2 lemons, 4 tbsp tahini, 1/4 cup olive oil and 1 tsp salt. Begin blending and pulsing and get things as mixed as you can. Continue blending and start adding water a few tsps at a time. Don't overdo it, but add as much water as necessary until the hummus is creamy and very well blended - about 1/2 cup. Taste and adjust as needed. You can eat it right away, but hummus is best when it's been chilled overnight and the flavors have really had a chance to mingle. Top with a drizzle of olive oil and some dried mint and serve with fresh veggies, crackers, or whole wheat pita bread. Variations on this recipe are endless - add in some kalmata olives, roasted red peppers, roasted garlic, pickled jalapenos, mushrooms, etc. Just decrease the oil and water a bit if you add any of these.

Meals

Crispy Chick'n Salad with Creamy Dijon Dressing

I came up with this super easy and simple salad one night when I really didn't feel like cooking, but I also didn't want to order take-out. I didn't want dinner to be a big production, so I sent Johnny to the store for some veggies and I broke out a pack of Gardein Seven Grain Crispy Tenders from the freezer. 20 minutes later I had an awesome vegan salad that I loved! Pretty sweet. 

To make this, prepare the Gardein tenders according to package instructions. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes, then cut into bite-sized pieces. Chop up some lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers and divide between two bowls. Top with the Gardein strips. In a small bowl, mix together 2 tbsp Vegenaise and 1 tbsp dijon mustard with a small whisk or spoon until combined. Drizzle over your salad and enjoy!

Disclaimer: Johnny was not a fan of the dressing because he's got an aversion to Vegenaise. He's on the fence about mayo to begin with and lots of people are even more suspect of mayo made without animal products. For the record, the ingredients in Vegenaise couldn't be more normal: Non-GMO Expeller-Pressed Canola Oil, Filtered Water, Brown Rice Syrup, Apple Cider Vinegar, Non-GMO Soy Protein, Sea Salt, Mustard Flour, Lemon Juice Concentrate. I can guarantee those ingredients are WAY more appealing than what's in regular mayo! Anyway, if you're cooking this for a non-vegan who isn't into Vegenaise, just sub in some of their favorite dressing.


Soft Tacos

These crazy kids just can't stand still for a picture!

One of my friends is trying to be gluten-free, vegan and sugar-free and I'm also trying to cut down in the gluten in my life. We all got together for dinner and I put my thinkin' cap on. We had a medley of foodstuffs including a watermelon and cucumber salad and some fresh and delicious corn my friends got from a farm that morning (summer!!!). The main course was  soft tacos and they came together in a flash. 


I started with some pintos using the quick method of soaking: boil 4 cups of water, add 1/2 lb of dried pintos, cook for two minutes, then remove from heat and allow to soak for 1 hour. I then drained and rinsed the beans and added enough water to cover, then brought it all back to a boil and simmered for about 1 more hour. (That sounds like a long time, but it's mostly inactive and you can be doing other things while they cook.) I tossed those with some salt, pepper and chopped green chiles. I then cooked up some Yves Meatless Ground with a tbsp of olive oil, 1/2 chopped onion, 2 cloves chopped garlic, 1 tsp chile powder, and 1/2 tsp ground cumin until hot. This all got wrapped up in Ezekiel Sprouted Corn Tortillas, homemade guacamole, salsa and hot sauce. Nom nom nom!


What are your favorite quick and easy summer treats? 

Recipe - Tasty Taco Salad with Fresh Pineapple Salsa!

Oh my goodness! That was quite the hiatus! Johnny and I just got back from an amazing trip to St. John in the Virgin Islands. It was a delayed honeymoon - we've been married for about 1 1/2 years, but never got to take an official honeymoon. It was so worth the wait! Now we're both recharged and ready to take on the giant heap of things that life is about to throw at us. Bring it on!

The only negative about St. John is that their produce was not so good. I'm not sure if the climate or terrain makes it tough to grow produce there, but a lot of fruits and veggies are imported making them expensive and not so fresh. When we got home, the first thing I did was run to the grocery store and buy out the produce department. I've been like a little fruit bat the past few days chowing down nectarines, cherries, bananas, strawberries and loving the fact that summer brings so much yuminess. 

I picked up a pineapple at the store which I would normally just cut into chunks and devour with Johnny in one sitting.  But I had the urge to incorporate pineapple into a meal somehow. I'm still trying to steer clear of turning on the oven if possible, so another salad seemed like the way to go. Homemade pineapple salsa was born!

I also wanted to dress the greens a bit since I wanted to leave the salsa chunky like a pico de gallo. I made a simple Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette. It was such a pretty green color that I had to capture it!

I kept my salad simple with some pinto beans and crunchy tortilla chips, but this is endlessly flexible. Try it with black olives, Spanish rice, Tofutti sour cream, or even some marinated and crispy Tempeh. Whatever you do, MAKE THIS PINEAPPLE SALSA! It's so good and definitely the star of the show!

Johnny was feeling a big too hungry to just eat a salad for dinner, so he melted some cheese on tortilla chips in the oven and ate his salsa with those. He was a huge fan of it - much better than the stuff you get out of a jar! Enjoy!

Tasty Taco Salad with Pineapple Salsa

Serves 4

1 large bag of organic greens (I used romaine)

1 can pinto beans, rinsed well

2 cups crushed tortilla chips/strips, divided

One recipe for Pineapple Salsa (follows)

One recipe for Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette (follows)

Pineapple Salsa

1/2 fresh pineapple, cut into small chunks

1 pint cherry tomatoes, quartered

1 handful cilantro, rinsed well and chopped

1/2 red onion, diced

1 avocado, diced

Juice of 1 lime

1/4 tsp salt

Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette

1 large handful cilantro, rinsed well (about 1 cup loosely packed)

3 green onions, ends removed and cut into large chunks

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp salt

Juice of 1 lime

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

Make your pineapple salsa first so it can chill and the flavors can meld. Once all your ingredients are chopped, combine them in a large bowl and mix thoroughly. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. (Gee, that was hard!)

To make the vinaigrette you will need a food processor or blender. Pulse the cilantro, green onion, cumin, salt and lime together until well combined. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil while blending and then add the red wine vinegar. Continue to blend until a uniform consistency is achieved.

Divide lettuce between four bowls and toss with the vinaigrette. Top with the pinto beans, some pineapple salsa, and some crushed tortilla chips. Serve chilled.

Recipe - Asian Salad with Mochi Croutons and Carrot Ginger Dressing

Well, hello there! How is everyone today? I am so excited to have so many new followers to The Odd Couple Eats! I want to kick things off this week by posting a recipe for a delicious summer salad. Now that temperatures are rising it can be SO tough to find the energy to cook dinner every night. Salads are the way to go because they don't heat up the kitchen and you have endless ingredient options so you won't get bored! While this isn't the most low-cal or low-fat salad, it is high in healthy fats and has TONS of Vitamin A. Sorry, but if I'm having a salad for dinner, it's gotta have some goodies in it!

This salad was inspired by one that I had at Spring Street Natural, one of my favorite restaurants in SoHo. I loved the idea of an Asian salad with pineapple and crunchy cashews, but wanted to add a bit of protein and something more healthy than fried won ton strips. I came up with this version that uses garbanzo beans and mochi croutons. What is mochi? Glad you asked! Mochi is kind of like a dough that is made from whole grain brown rice. It's wheat, gluten and dairy-free. You can either bake or pan-fry it and it's lots of fun because it puffs up when you cook it! You can add different things to it to make it either sweet or savory and you can also find flavored versions of it. I use the Grainaissance brand of plain mochi and either bake or fry small pieces of it to use in salads or soups. It's way more nutritious than bread croutons and is very versatile! I buy it at Whole Foods and it's just a few bucks per package. You can also find a coupon on the Grainaissance web site here.

You can add or omit ingredients to the salad as you see fit. I was really hoping to find some jicama to shred and add to the salad like the one at Spring Street Natural, but I couldn't find it anywhere! I added some water chestnuts instead, but if you can get your hands on jicama, go for it! Because the dressing is homemade, it is a bit high in (healthy) fat, but the trade off is that it has no preservatives and much less sodium than bottled dressing. If you're watching your fat intake, feel free to use a bottled low-fat or fat-free Asian dressing (just try to find a natural one) or take out the cashews and avocado... though to do so would thoroughly depress me. C'mon, live a little!

Johnny slept through dinner last night, but I will try to recreate this salad and have him give it a taste later in the week. He is a fan of mochi and pineapple, so my guess is that he'd be pretty into this salad. :-)

Asian Salad with Mochi Croutons and Carrot Ginger Dressing

Makes 3 big salads (the kind Elaine loves!)



Carrot Ginger Dressing

Adapted from this recipe from Goop

1 large or 2 small carrots, rinsed, peeled and cut into large pieces

1 large shallot, peeled and roughly chopped

2" of ginger root, peeled and roughly chopped

1 tbsp white miso

1 tbsp rice wine vinegar

1 tbsp toasted sesame seed oil

1 tbsp shoyu or soy sauce

1/4 tsp Sriracha or other hot sauce (optional)

2 tbsp canola oil

A few tbsp of filtered water

Mochi Croutons

1/2 package plain mochi

2 tbsp olive oil

Shoyu or soy sauce

Half head of Romaine lettuce, rinsed and torn into bite-sized pieces

Several sprigs of cilantro, chopped

1 avocado, peeled and diced

1 cup fresh pineapple chunks

1/2 cup garbanzo beans, rinsed

1/4 dry roasted cashews (unsalted)

2 carrots, shredded with a peeler

Make your dressing first. In a food processor or blender, combine the carrots, shallot, and ginger and process until finely chopped. Add the miso, vinegar, sesame oil, soy sauce and hot sauce (optional) and blend again. While blending, drizzle in the canola oil and enough water to achieve the consistency you want. Transfer to a container and chill until ready to use.

To make the croutons, cut 1/2 package of mochi into small squares. Heat a skillet over medium heat and add 1/2 tbsp olive oil. Once warm, add 1/2 of your mochi squares leaving enough room around each so that they don't touch. Cover the pan and cook for 4 minutes. Flip the mochi (I do this using two spoons) and add 1 more tbsp of olive oil and a few drops of shoyu or soy sauce to the top of each square. Cover and cook for 1-2 minutes more, being careful not to burn. Transfer to a plate and repeat with the second batch of mochi. (If you have a large covered pan, you can probably cook in one batch.)

To assemble the salad, divide the remaining salad ingredients between three bowls and toss with the Carrot Ginger dressing. Top with the mochi croutons and a sprinkle of Gomasio or sesame seeds. Enjoy!

Nutrition information per serving: Calories 663; Total Fat 40g; Saturated Fat 4.9g; Trans Fat 0g; Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 545mg; Carbohydrate 72.5g; Dietary Fiber 11.2g; Sugars 11.3g; Protein 11.2g; Vitamin A 467%; Vitamin C 85%; Calcium 7%; Iron 17%