Salads Archives - A Vegan Obsession

Day 9 - Vegan MoFo 2013 10 Minute Meal. Spicy Peanut Sesame Noodle Salad (low carb bean pasta)

September 9, 2013 by India Leigh 4 Comments

Vegan MoFo Day 9 - I needed some intense flavours. I was craving peanut butter. Again, leaning towards a mono meal (like just wanting a plate of mash the other day) and not really wanting to eat a just a jar of PB, I stood with my head in the fridge. Thinking. I was due to meet my Mother for a cup of tea in town so I didn’t have much time. I whipped this up in minutes. It took longer to photograph than it did to make & eat! Perhaps a slight exaggeration.

I’ve got a great tip below. It may be a first!

Spicy Peanut Sesame Noodle Salad

Serves 2

3 tbs agave syrup

4 tbs crunchy peanut butter (sugar free)

juice of 1 lime

1/2 tsp chilli flakes

1/2 tsp pink or sea salt

1 tsp rice wine vinegar

1/2 inch ginger root fresh *top tip! use the garlic crusher to mince the ginger. It was a moment of genius. I didn’t have my ginger grater with me. Looking for an alternative I popped it in and, hey presto minced in a nano second!

2 cloves garlic minced

A fistful of black bean pasta I had left over from a recent review(if you can’t find them where you live use rice noodles. But, trust me, find them as you’ll never want to be without them again! low carb AND gluten and grain free!!)

1/4 cup chopped fresh green beans

1/2 yellow bell pepper

1/2 small cucumber

2 spring onions

1 red chilli

Method

Cook the pasta according to instructions. Leave to cool.

Put all of the ingredients for the dressing into a bowl and mix.

Pop the veggies into the pasta. Drizzle over the dressing and toss to incorporate. Serve.

It was delicious! A flavour party.

Xmas Feasting - PART 3 - Starter - Balsamic Pear Salad with Deep Fried Cheese Croutons (DAIRY-FREE)

December 19, 2011 by India Leigh 1 Comment

I wish I had £10 for every time I heard Mariah Carey sing ‘All I Want For Christmas’….I’d be stockpiling a small fortune by now! Hey, ho… ho ho!

Did you check out Xmas Part 1 & 2? Hope so..if not, there is always time.. click here for Part 1 and Part 2, right here

To keep with the ‘healthy but feasty’ theme I thought a light , but flavoursome, salad would be a good choice for the Christmas Day starter. Do you agree? I can’t help feeling a little nostalgic at Christmas. Reminiscing about some retro dish from my childhood (it’s all those bloody old Christmas songs filling the airways and catapulting me back to Christmas past). I’ve been recalling the days when a crouton was ‘posh’ food and me ma would serve everything deep fried and breaded, to showcase her culinary mastery. Us little’ns would see a few cubes of oily breadcrumbs on top of the Maryrose sauce and think we’d skipped up to the Upper Classes. Our pinkies would flick up from our cutlery in reverence, and an attempt to eat like stereotypical posh people. (cough) I think I must have had a case of invented memory syndrome because I cannot possibly be old enough to remember when prawn cocktail was in its heyday! So, with that in mind, and looking to what is seasonal I racked my brain for the perfect Christmas starter……and my inspired dish for Christmas day starter is to be……

Balsamic PEAR Salad With Deep Fried Cheese Croutons With Mustard Dressing and Leaves.

Recipe Serves 4

3 large conference pears
2 tbs balsamic glaze
1 tbs vegan butter & 1 tbs sesame oil for frying
salt & pepper

deep fried cheese
vegan hard cheese recipe here to make your own
4 tbs breadcrumbs
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tbs tapioca flour & water to make paste or use egg replacer
salt & pepper
oil for deep frying

dressing (can be made ahead of time)
3 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tbs lemon juice
2 tbs olive oil (walnut oil would be lovely too I think)
2 tsp brown rice syrup (or agave, maple or similar)

organic salad leaves to serve

Method

1.carefully peel your pears and cut into quarters lengthwise. 2. heat oil and butter in a pan and fry the pears until they are crackling and starting to caramelise. 3. season and spoon over the balsamic glaze, cook for a further 3-4 minutes. 4. whilst they are cooking away nicely grab all your dressing ingredients and mix them in a jar. Set aside 5. to make the cheese crouton like things (sorry, it’s dark and cold here, not feeling very inspirational to come up with a fitting title) take an apple corer and cut out 3 cones for each person. Roll them in the tapioca paste then roll….gently now….in the breadcrumbs. 6. fry in the oil..careful!…until golden. Drain and them put all your elements together. Finally, get all cheffy and drizzle over the Dijon dressing. Let the feasting fun commence!

I’m hoping to extend the Christmas Feasting series to Part 4 and share some additional desserts and party food….if time allows.

How to make a delicious MEATFREE meal in 6 minutes. PEANUT NOODLES - TWO WAYS

November 11, 2011 by India Leigh 1 Comment

This is such a simple recipe. It takes minutes to put together. Minutes! You can have it two ways, both with lively flavours, HOT or COLD.

The recipe is inspired by a Nigella Lawson recipe. I’ve made it quicker, adaptable and gluten-free.

Peanut Noodles - salad or sizzling

Serves 2-3

Ingredients

brown rice noodles (these are gluten free, if that is not a concern you may use soba noodles)
2 cups bean sprouts
1 cup baby corn
1 cup mange tout
1 red pepper, julienne
1 tbs sesame seeds
2 tbs fresh mint coriander (ciltrano) chopped
1 tbs fresh mint chopped

for the dressing
1/3 cup peanut butter. I used crunchy sugar free because I love the texture (if you are using sweetened PB then omit the next ingredient)
1 tbs agave or similar
1 tbs sesame oil
2 tbs sweet chili dressing (if you have a sugar free diet then use my simple sriracha sauce recipe)
1 tbs tamari (gluten free) soy sauce
1 tbs fresh lime juice
1 tsp garlic powder

*serve with extra, chopped chili for some fire. Optional

Method
1. bring a kettle to the boil and pour over brown vermicelli rice noodles . Soak for 2-3 minutes. Strain off the liquid.
2. place all the dressing ingredients into a bowl and mix.
3. Mix the vegetables in with the noodles, pour over the peanut dressing and mix gently.
DONE! unless you want them hot. If so then flash fry in 1 tbs sesame oil to heat through. It really is that simple.

*Top Tip - make double and freeze in portions for even easier mid-week meals. Just defrost and serve as salad or re-heat thoroughly to sizzle.

10 minute meal - DINNER COLESLAW SALAD

September 16, 2011 by India Leigh 2 Comments

My current cabbage and crunch obsession continues. The other day I stuffed it, wrapped it and steamed it recipe here. Today (and a few other days) I grated it and smothered it into a colourful slaw. I make a big batch to last 2-3 days and then add something new each day. This is the basic recipe. I add walnuts, toasted sunflower seeds, avocado, drizzle of chili cashew or tahini cream, sprinkle of nutritional yeast, toasted gluten-free croutons…. etc. Ideas abound!

I have served it this week with my Black Bean & Walnut Burgers & Homemade Vegan Bangers on a bed of salad greens; lambs lettuce/rocket/spinach mix

The basic coleslaw recipe

A mandolin works best but you can grate it too, or shred finely with a knife.

Serves 2 for 2-3 days…or 4-6 for dinner.

1/2 white cabbage

1/2 red cabbage

3 carrots

small bunch broccoli

handful of cranberries

handful of walnuts

For the dressing

200g firm silken tofu

2 tbs red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar

1 tbs fruit syrup or agave

2 tsp Dijon mustard

squeeze of half a lemon

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp white pepper

Method

1.into a bowl, grate the cabbage & carrots, chop the broccoli into small bite size pieces and add the cranberries (which are very good for urinary tract) and mix together.

2.make the dressing. Put all ingredients into a blender and blitz until mixed and creamy.

3.pour into the veggie bowl and mix so all veggies are coated.

4.add whatever extras you desire

Tonight I shall be spicing things up and adding a drizzle of curried avocado sauce (from dressing above replace tofu with an avocado and add a tbs of garam masala powder).

What will you add?

Post 101 - a landmark.

August 3, 2011 by India Leigh 2 Comments

Post 101. I allowed the 100th post, since the conception of aveganobsession, to pass by without fanfare. It is momentous…I appreciate that. But I don’t feel it (yet). I’ve hurt my ankle and its making me a grump right now…I can’t run. I LOVE to run.

101 posts. What now? I have two recipes to share - faux chicken salad & roasted sweet potato with leek & cashew cheese topping……really nice…but they are not groundbreaking, artistically splendorous or recipes worthy of adulation. I’ll happily give the recipe if you want.

Hmmn, I look back over the posts and see I have progressed. More recipes obviously, my intention to bake and post when once again in the UK has been churned out with a frequency of which I am proud. My pics are improved…somewhat..mostly..in the main. The sense of obligation I feel to the blog and you, has made me be more creative..try more recipes. This can only ever be a good thing.

At this milestone, I feel I should be making decisions. Which direction to point myself in. Devising a plan. To be honest I have no idea. How did other bloggers handle their own milestones? I hunting all over the place for clarity, but I’ve just got steamy windows! IN the meantime, I thought I’d just pass on some tidbits I’ve found recently.

AUGUST EVENTS
Vegan Potlucks in the UK - coming up…London, today at MsCupcake 6-8pm Brighton Vegan Meal meet up is 6:15pm on 12th August
London Vegan Festival - 21st August..visit www.vegancampaigns.org.uk/festival

I bought VEGETARIAN LIVING magazine (it has lots of vegan recipes) for first time today.. It’s got some interesting information I thought to share..

A vegetarian cafe in Yorkshire beat down all the ‘meat’ competition and won BEST CAFE - Ginger Vegetarian Cafe

Is there an APP for that? - you can now buy an app that scans a product bar code and tells you what food or drink you can or can’t have according to your dietary requirements…nice idea.

VOUCHERS

Vegetarian Living magazine are running an offer with Goodness Direct to get £10 off your next order over £35 - place order online and enter code - 322345P8 I love GD, they have a fantastic range of fresh, frozen and wholefoods.

VEGAN COSMETICS

Facemasks for men…? Vegetarian Living brings us this info - www.osmiumformen.com

Can you help guide me?

Where do I go from here….? If you have any suggestions or ideas for the blog please let me know. I would love to make it user FRIENDLY.

p.s thanks to www.environmentalistinaction.com for the jpeg of the celebration cake.

Orange roasted, stuffed fennel with pine nuts

July 28, 2011 by India Leigh Leave a Comment

I have used fennel in salads and soups before but I’ve never roasted it. I came across the recipe whilst flicking through a Good Housekeeping mag I scribbled it down shorthand on the back of a scrunched up receipt fished from the blackened depths of my bag. When I got home I couldn’t actually read my writing but I’d bought some fennel so I made this ad lib.

Orange roasted, stuffed fennel with pine nuts

This recipe is for 1 - if you are not a mean spinster like me..go ahead change it up according to how many you are feeding

1 fennel bulb

1 tbs bread crumbs (I used gluten free by Hale n Hearty who also make my fave cassava chips..if you are in UK Morrisons have produced their own version. They are not as good but HnH are mighty good so have set the bar v.high)

1/2 zest & juice of an orange

1 tbs pine nuts

1 tbs fresh parsley

1 tbs of extra virgin oo

salt & pepper to taste

Method

Preheat oven to 375f

Cut fennel in half length ways and place flat side up in a pan of boiling water for 10 mins (alternatively you could roast in plenty of oil for 30mins and then stuff and finish off in oven)

mix the remaining ingredients and spoon onto the fennel

roast for approx 30 mins. Make sure you don’t let it burn y’all!

I am really loving this simple dish. I served it with quinoa. The flavours and textures were a rave!

Ready for a visual feast?……

Are you going to try it? Which picture did you like best? Any comments welcomed, longed for, craved and gratefully received…it’s a VEGAN/RECIPE/COOKING BLOGGING jungle out here…help me to develop a blog that serves YOU. x

‘Summery Zucchini Lasagna’ Impressive..Easy 10 minute gluten-free recipe

July 25, 2011 by India Leigh 3 Comments

the sun has got his hat on..hip..hip..hip..horay..and I’m craving salad ..so the veg is coming out to play!

In the time it takes you to grill both sides of sliced zucchini you will have all your ingredients assembled to make this all stack up… could be great for an impromptu dinner party. I adapted it from a Martha Stewart recipe (Much less complicated) Go with it. It looks like a lot of doings but it really is very, very simple.

SERVES 2

For the lasagna

4 large zucchini - sliced 1/4 inch thick

2 large ‘beef stake’ tomatoes sliced 1/4 inch

100g White Cheddar Style Cheezly (or any vegan cheese…this is quite crumbly and ‘mature’ tasting..nice strong flavour)

basil leaves

oil for brushing

freshly ground black pepper and coarse salt (I grind pink salt)

For the pesto

2 cups fresh basil

1/4 cup oil

(garlic clove - optional…I just wanted to change it up a bit and not use garlic, so the basil shines on a little stage of its own)

Marinade

zest of 1 lemon

juice of 1 lemon

1 garlic clove crushed

s&p

1/4 cup good olive oil

1.slice the zucchini, lightly brush with oil and put under a medium grill until slightly charred, flip over and repeat. when both sides are done remove from heat and place onto a dish and drizzle over marinade. set aside

2. whilst zucchini is cooking mix the marinade ingredients together and set aside

3. blend pesto ingredients and set aside

4.arrange the ‘lasagna’ onto dinner plates. Stack. 1 layer of zucchini,crumble over some cheeze, a layer of tomatoes, drizzle of pesto, repeat x 2 or 3 (depending on size of your tomatoes/zucchini). Prettify with a few basil leaves.

5.serve at room temperature so the flavours fully develop. You know tomatoes don’t perform well in the cold, right?!

Delicioza!

Creamy warm detox cabbage salad

April 27, 2011 by India Leigh 1 Comment

Left overs are good. They are like pieces of a puzzle you get to fit together to make a picture..or great meal.

After my experiments in the kitchen the previous day..making tasty tempeh ‘bacon’, I had a quantity of cabbage left and I was still craving that cabbage ‘bite’, so I decided to haul everything from the fridge and see what I could create. I wanted a salad but, with the weather still not quite at ‘bikini’ level, I still felt like some warmth in my belly. The result…..Warm Detox Cabbage Salad. Members of the brassica family; cabbage, kale, broccoli etc are excellent detoxifiers and I thought what better time than the change of the seasons to transition to the lighter diet of springtime (well actually 1st priority was I wanted something super good, super quick).

This recipe makes for an entree salad for two or a side salad for four (or two greedies).

Gather your ingredients

1/2 wash green cabbage
1 bunch kale
handful of mixed baby lettuce leaves or herb salad
2 large carrots
1 punnet of grape/cherry tomatoes (at room temp. for best flavour…tomatoes are like me, not very funky if they’re chilled!)
1/2 large Hass avocado, so ripe and delicous it’ll make you want to weep!
1/2 cup of chopped pineapple (not the kind that’s been strangled with syrup) * optional
1 tbsp capers
1 tbsp unsweetened cranberries
Extra virgin OO - canola oil or a mix of walnut and OO would be good too….I wonder if peanut oil?….another time!
A cheeky squeeze of lemon
Crushed salt & cracked pepper

In a pan steam or boil in shallow, seasoned water the chopped cabbage..I like mine in fine strips…until becoming translucent. Allow to cool a little.
chop kale and remove fibrous stems. Place in a bowl, with julienned carrots, chopped tomatoes, avocado and remaining ingredients. Mix

Creamy mustard dressing…Mustvocado

1/2 gloriously ripe avocado
1 tbsp Tofutti cream cheese
1-2 tbsp Dijon mustard or Trader Joes spicy mustard
1 garlic clove
1 tbsp Extra virgin OO
a dash of slightly cooled cabbage water to thin if needed

*NOTE; PLEASE IGNORE THE PB, IT ISN’T IN THIS RECIPE BUT PICTURE WAS ON FILE FOR A PRODUCT REVIEWS THAT I AM WRITING. Though, if you replaced the mustard (or had the PB as an additional ingredient), the PB would make for a nice alternative I imagine..

For the dressing, mash the avocado in a bowl with the cheese and mustard before adding the raw minced garlic and oil. Whisk/mix. The consistency should be roughly that of heavy cream. Let it sit for a minute or two for it all to get nicely acquainted and then pour into your salad and mix whilst inhaling the aroma. Test the seasoning…serve. Take a bow.

It was sooo good, lots of layers of flavour, the dressing creamy but elegant. All that AND it is good for you! Blimey.

Easy & delicious POTLUCK recipes

April 15, 2011 by India Leigh Leave a Comment

I attended a great POTLUCK yesterday in San Francisco…my 1st! Hosted by my friend Veronica. OMG the food was super tasty and simple as…

I had 50mins to make something with quinoa (my hosts request), time just seems to sink into the pavement in San Francisco and there is ALWAYS a farmers market, restaurant or fab cafe that pulls my attention away. So, was back to the kitchen late and had to throw something together.

The result of my frantic grabbing of ingredients… QUINOA & KALE SALAD

Ahem, I admit I never measure anything… All recipes serve four to five friends.

1lb mixed colour quinoa
A hearty bunch of purple (or any type) kale
6 smallish garlic cloves
1 tbsp canola or extra virgin olive oil (it irks me when TV chefs call it E V O O!)
1 generous handful of almond flakes
In the other hand, grab cranberries or raisins (I forgot to buy crans so I steeped the raisins in green tea to take away some of the sweetness)
1 tbsp salad sprinkle mix (mixed herbs, garlic, scallions, celery, carrots and a whole bunch of other stuff all finely chopped and dried) or half a vegan stock cube (pref yeast free)
squeeze of small lemon
s&p to taste….I use pink Himalayan because I’m a salt snob!

I just intuitively added water to the quinoa after rinsing it…I’d say about two pints of cold water to a lb of grain. I did some research and found this website if you need to measure..How to cook quinoa from Low Calorie Cooking
Boil for about 20mins. Until you see the grain split and all the water has been absorbed. Leave to cool.
Put oil in a pan DO NOT preheat.
Slice all but one of the garlic cloves and put the burner on low. Let the garlic slowly cook until it becomes slightly golden. Remove, with the oil to a small dish and put it in the fridge to halt the cooking process. DO NOT let it burn, it will be bitter and nasty.
Wash the kale well and shake dry (water will make the oil spit when sauteing). Chop finely and cut away any tough stalks.
Spray or pour a little oil into a pan and heat.
Add the kale together with remaining garlic clove, finely chopped.
Saute for about 4 mins, until kale is slightly reduced and garlic cooked.
Season well.
Heat pan and drop in the almond flakes..toast until golden and making the kitchen smell like heaven. Take them off heat and put them in small dish in the fridge to cool.

Now, lets assemble it all.
Grab the cooked quinoa and put in serving dish.
Add the garlic and the oil it danced in. Spoon in the kale and the almonds. Sprinkle in the cranberries or raisins (without steeping water). Grab a large salad utensil and mix ingredients. Squeeze over lemon juice. Check for seasoning. Throw on some herb salad or arugula (rocket) leaves.

*Optional

I had some kale chips from Rhythm Superfoods in the cupboard, KOOL RANCH flavour so I crumbled a handful into the mix too.

SERVE!

My friend Veronica made some AWESOME aubergines (eggplant). Simple and FULL of flavour.

Recipe for aubergine (sorry but I prefer the name we Brits use for it…but yes, its eggplant)

1 aubergine
2 cloves of garlic (it was a night of garlic!)
2 tbsp of finely chopped flat leaf parsley
S&P

Slice aubergine
Place on dish and salt…leave it to weep..poor little veggie. This apparently stops it from soaking up too much oil but I think may be one of those things we do without questioning the validity of it, or perhaps not.
Grill or place on skillet and cook until soft and unctuous.
Remove to serving dish and add finely chopped garlic, drizzle heartily with a good olive oil (Veronica used oil from her partner’s grove in Italy..now that’s decedent) and sprinkle over finely chopped parsley…season to taste.

EAT!

Asparagus in oil, lightly cooked on a skillet…I was too busy piling all the food on my plate at this point and chatting so forgot to take a picture. Sorry!

Someone cheated with the final dish. A colourful beet salad…bought from BI-RITE MARKET

Just roasted beets & carrots and vinaigrette. Scrummy.

It was a feast.

We finished the evening with fresh pears and dried fruit poached in Marsala wine. Again, alas too busy eating to photograph…….

and banana and maple VEGAN cupcakes from MISSION MINIS

Went home stuffed and a very contented bunny.