Vegan Recipes and Plant Based Cooking

  Sweet and spicy with a hint of Italian.  Kidney beans and black beans in a zesty dressing. Apple cider vinegar, olive oil and thyme. A little bit of hot sauce. A pinch of cayenne.  Shallots and garlic.  Fresh grilled corn.  Plenty of salt and pepper.  A handful of ingredients. A boatload of flavor.  Chop, stir and enjoy. 

  1/2 package silken tofu 1/3 lb kale 7 garlic cloves 1 tbl caraway seed 2 tsps celery seed 1 jalapeno 1 serrano 2 tbls olive oil 1 tbl salt 1 tsp black pepper Cook the kale in a frying pan with a 1/4 cup water until it softens turns dark green. You'll probably need to do it in 2 or 3 batches.  In a small microwave safe dish or mug cook the garlic in the oil for 45 second. Microwaving garlic in oil is a great trick to quickly and easily produce deeply garlic flavored oil. Add garlic/oil and all other ingredients to food processor and add kale as it's done cooking.  Puree.  Chill several hours. 

My co-worker gave me some cucumbers she and her husband had grown in their garden. I wanted to use them right away as they were so fresh. This is a variation on a classic cucumber and tomato salad. I added charred corn for sweetness and smokiness. I also added poblano and jalapeno for spice.  2 small or 1 medium cucumber, diced 2 ears corn 3 vine tomatoes, diced 1 poblano, diced 1 jalapeno, minced 3 cloves garlic, minced 2 tbls apple cider vinegar 2 tbls olive oil 2 tsps dry dill 1 tsp garam masala 2 tsps salt I wasn't about to turn on the broiler to cook the corn. It's been in the 90's here. Instead, I used the same technique often used to char bell pepper. Put the shucked ears directly over a gas flame on the stovetop. If you don't have a gas stovetop you can broil them or use an outdoor grill.  The corn will pop and make a bit of a mess on your cooktop, but it's worth it.  Char the corn evenly all around. Allow to cool and them cut the kernels off the cob.  Stir