SouthWest Style Pasta Salad

1/2 lb spiral type pasta

Red veggies:  bell pepper

Yellow veggies:  corn, squash, bell pepper

Orange veggies:  carrots, bell pepper, pumpkin, kabocha

Green veggies:  bell pepper, zucchini, parsley, asparagus, cucumber

Sliced black olives

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

What you see in the picture is green bell peppers, boiled carrots, corn, and olives.  Since the SouthWestern flavor profile has bothersome ingredients, you may want to use ingredients that complement the spices and chiles you would find in a more traditional version of this dish. This will add a familiar taste to the salad without irritating your system.  I listed a few ingredients above that work well with the flavor and the pasta (so that it doesn't get sticky or mushy).

Boil your pasta to a firm al dente, strain, and rinse in cold water.  While the pasta is cooling off, prepare your veggies.

Add your cooled pasta to your mixing bowl, season, coat with oil, and mix well.  Add your chopped veggies and mix well.  Chill and nom.  

In order to keep from going into a carb coma, make sure that at least half of the total volume is veggies.  1/2 lbs of pasta serves 8 at 30g carbs per serving, but this doesn't include the veggies.  If you need to keep an eye on your blood glucose levels, just use a 1/4 lb of pasta and keep the serving to 8 portions.  Adjust the proportions of ingredients to favor low GI veggies (lots of cucumber, peppers, and parsley; less corn, carrots, etc.)

This will keep in your fridge for at about 5 days.

Rocket Salad with Kite Hill Cassucio Cheese

I needed some superfoods after Christmas, so this is what I came up with.  

2 handfuls of wild rocket, or arugula

1 persian cucumber, diced

1/4 C red bell pepper, chopped

2 tb sliced black olives

1-2 oz Kite Hill Cassucio cheese, diced (check the ingredients, if they're bothersome, use garbanzos)

1 tb orange infused olive oil (aranciolio)

Salt and pepper to taste

Lay greens on the plate, then cucumbers and bell peppers.  Sprinkle with olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Top with cheese and olives.  Nom, nom, crunch, crunch.

As it is, this salad is low carb, fiber rich, full of healthy fats, vitamin C, and other stuff that is good for winter stricken bodies.  Also, it is IC Friendly.  But if you like, you could add more veggies, croutons, wonton strips, nuts, seeds, or use limonoilo instead of aranciolio.

Summer Rolls

1 package of rice paper (banh trang)

Lettuce leaves

Watercress leaves

Thai basil leaves

Mint leaves

Tomato slices

Avocado slices

Carrot shreds

Cabbage shreds

Cucumber slices

Bell pepper slices

Tofu (grilled, fried, baked, dried, etc.)

Other protein like wheat gluten, seitan, or tempeh

When I make these, I usually make a huge cake box Tupperware size amount because everybody wants to eat them, but nobody wants to make them. I really don't know why though, they're easy to make and are very refreshing on a hot day. 

This is my set up: a container to hold finished rolls lined with cling wrap and wet paper towels, a big pie plate or salad bowl filled with water to soften the rice paper, a selection of my favorite veggies and fillings, a cutting board to work on, and a towel to dry my hands and wipe up water.  Making these goes easier if you have your fillings precut and set aside to use as you roll. 

Soak a sheet of paper in water until it begins to soften. When you can move it it hour cracking it, but before it gets soggy, place it on a flat surface to roll. Fill with about a small palmfull of veggies.  If you use sauce inside, drizzle between veggies or between protein and veggies so it doesn't soak through the wrapper too much. Put your filling about a third of the way down, fold the bottom edge up over the filling, fold the sides over about one inch, and roll everything over until you have what looks like a tiny burrito. Soak the next sheet while you make the roll and it should be ready when you're done. It's time to change the water when the sheets take longer to soften than the previous sheet. Place in your lined container, sprinkle with water to keep moist, and cover with more wet towels and cling wrap. Refrigerate to chill, but can be served right away.  

These can be made with anything you like. Cutting your ingredients into sticks and tearing leaves from stems helps keep the filling from poking holes into the wrapper.  They'll keep for a few days as long as they're moist. Use anything you like as a dipping sauce:  soy, sweet chili, sriracha, sambal, teriyaki, peanut sauce, etc.  

IC Friendly Noodle Salad

Salad
1 large head of Napa, sliced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 cucumber, chopped
2 C shredded carrots

Sauce
2 Tb molasses
2 Tb sesame oil
1/4-1/2 C water
Salt
Pepper

3 bundles of soba, cooked, rinsed, salted, and chilled

First, cook the noodles according to the package, season and set them aside.  Next, add the sauce ingredients together in a bowl and microwave for about 5-15 seconds to make the molasses easier to whisk into a dressing.  Put all the chopped veggies into a huge mixing bowl and toss in the sauce.  Add the noodles being careful to separate then as you toss, they will want to clump together.  Chill and serve.  

Some other ingredients that work well in this:  sesame seeds, sliced almonds, cashews, peanuts, celery, broccoli and water chestnuts.  You could also add tangerine zest to the sauce if you know you can tolerate it.  If you don't like the napa ribs, cut them out and save them for stir fry or veggie broth.  

Serves 8, keeps crisp for about 2 days. 

IC Friendly Pasta Salad

1 lb of elbow macaroni

1-2 cans of sliced black olives

1 can of quartered artichoke hearts (or freshly steamed if sodium is bothersome)

2 diced roasted red bell peppers

olive oil

salt

pepper

dressing

Cook the pasta, rinse, salt, and cool while you prep the dressing and veggies.  If you cooked your own peppers and artichoke hearts make sure they're chilled before you add them to the pasta.  

For the dressing, I used olive oil, FYH Soy Free Vegenaise, and Wayfare Foods Sour Cream.  If these creamy ingredients are bothersome, use softened Daiya cream cheese or blend cannellini/garbanzo beans with olive oil until creamy.  It may separate.  You could also try adding coconut cream (the fatty part) and whipping it with beaters, but coconut may be too sweet for this dish.  

Add the veggies to the pasta, add dressing, drizzle with olive oil, and season to taste.  Chill and enjoy.  

IC Friendly Coleslaw

I got everything I needed for this from +Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market and +Whole Foods Market .  I used 1 bag of sliced green cabbage, 1 bag of shredded carrots, and 1 very large fennel bulb shredded on the mandolin for the salad.  

For the dressing, I used Follow Your Heart Soy Free Vegenaise, olive oil, agave syrup (or honey, maple, or simple syrup), salt, and pepper. A note for people with IC:  the Vegenaise has a small amount of lemon juice and vinegar.  If this is bothersome, substitute with softened Daiya cream cheese or Wayfare Foods sour cream.  If these are also bothersome, blend drained/rinsed cannellini or garbanzo beans with olive oil until creamy.  It may separate.  

Microwave 2 TB syrup with 2-4 TB olive oil for 10-20 seconds to make it workable. Whisk together with 1/4 C of Vgenaise or substitute).  Add salt and pepper to taste if tolerable.  Dried parsley also has a nice savory flavor if pepper is bothersome.

Pour over the slaw and toss well.  It will last a few days in the cooler, but it's best served once chilled.  Serves 4-6 as a side dish, more if served in Dixie cups.

Broccoli Salad

Chop one head of broccoli into small pieces.

Chop tomatoes to make 1 cup.

Chop and seed one red (or yellow or orange) bell pepper.

Add one or two cans of sliced black olives.

Add one can of drained and rinsed Garbanzo beans.

Add your favorite vinaigrette, or toss in olive oil and vinegar.

Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serves six.

This salad is very rich in vitamin C and has iron and calcium.  Also, it makes a great side dish to a pasta entree. I like to use this for women's health issues and to prepare or recover from strenuous exercise.  

I suggest taking a heavy dose of Beano with this as well as letting it marinate for a while.  Broccoli takes a lot of chewing. :)

Fennel Slaw

I don't really use root vegetables and bulbs in my cooking because I'm scared of starch, which is not quite true, but potatoes make me gain weight within a week.  I did use turnips and rutabagas one year for Thanksgiving instead of mashed potatoes and they worked well.  So my irrational phobia aside, I had the walnut croquettes with fennel slaw at Fatty's in Eagle Rock and I was delighted.  That and the fudgey cake (OMG).  My imitation was nowhere near as good as the original, but I like that vegetable, I discovered how yummy blood oranges are, and I'm gonna get it right someday.

 2 fennel bulbs, trimmed and washed

2 blood oranges, peeled and cut into small cubes

1-2 small carrots, shredded

Your favorite vinaigrette, or oil, vinegar, and seasonings

Almond slices

I borrowed my mom's As Seen on TV style mandolin to cut the fennel into slaw sized shreds.  I gave up cursing the contraption and used the knuckle buster to shred the carrots.  I mistakenly warmed the vinaigrette I made in a wok and tossed the slaw mixture in with the orange pieces.  I mixed in the almond slices after letting the slaw cool a bit.

What I learned from this experience:

I love fennel enough to eat it even though it was made improperly.  It needed absolutely no cooking.  Also, I need to get a really good mandoline or have my knives sharpened because that death trap I used was so frustrating and really bruised the fennel.  It's hard.  Really hard.  Be careful.  OH AND nutmeg is very potent, use it sparingly.  Next time, no heat, more fruit, and bottled citrus vinaigrette, until I learn how to make a good one. 

As you can see, I make a whole meal out of this.  That's the slaw with rosemary rolls from +Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market toasted in the toaster oven and Nate's Meatless Savory Mushroom Meatballs in mushroom gravy.  Gravy I can make.  Call me on Turkey day, I got that covered. :)

Gravy:

YOU NEED A GOOD ROUX!!!!!  And some bouillon cubes, sweet vermouth, herbs, spices, and mushrooms.  This was a two pan process, and totally worth it.  

First make the broth a little on the strong side.  I dissolved two cubes in a large measuring cup with dried marjoram and parsley and poured boiling water over it. Use the ratio of water to bouillon cubes on the packages.  It can sit as long as it needs to.

Sweat the mushrooms in one saucepan until they lose some of their water and get darker, then add about 3/4 C sweet vermouth and reduce to warm.  

In the other saucepan melt a big chunk (maybe 1/2 a stick or more) of Earth Balance with a little bit of olive oil on a medium flame.  When it is runny, add at least a 1/2 C of +Bob's Red Mill  whole wheat pastry flour. It has a nice flavor and it's fine enough not to clump.  Stir stir stir.   You can add more melted butter if it's too dry.  You don't want it to burn.  It should bubble and turn into a nice thick roux.  Play with your recipe and see where you like it.  When it's ready, turn down the flame and add the broth, then the mushrooms and wine.  Stir stir stir, and bring to a boil.  Taste, season or thin appropriately.  Add more wine if it needs it.  

I microwaved the meatballs in a covered bowl, but prepare them however you like.  Smother them in gravy and use the roll to sop up any extra.  

This keeps for a couple of days in the refrigerator in a storage container.  It gets very gelatinous, but loosens up with heat.

Zesty Pasta Salad

More fun with summer salads made with pantry goodies purchased at +Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market.  With the Friends Card, Made for Me coupons and mailer coupons I usually save between $5-$10 a visit.  I know I sound like they're paying me, but they kinda are.  Have you seen my bonus points?  They cash it out for me and I get to use it to help pay for my purchases.  Plus, they help fill a large budget gap for me when I can't afford to shop exclusively at Whole Foods.

On to the ingredients:

One pound of tri-color rotini, cooked al dente (really al dente, it needs to absorb the dressing), drained.
1/2 to 1 box cherry tomatoes, halved.
1/2 to 1 jar of artichoke hearts, drained.
1-2 small cans of sliced olives, drained.
2-3 oz. sliced sun-dried tomatoes in oil, about 2-3 good forkfuls.
Bottled Italian salad dressing, to taste.
+Follow your Heart Vegenaise, about a 1/4 C.
Olive oil, about 2 tb.
Salt, red pepper and black pepper, season after chilling, before serving.

As always, make it how you like it.  Use different fresh ingredients, different preserved ingredients, make it Southwestern style or Asian style. 3/4 to 1 C is one  portion, about two starches and lots of fat.  You can cut the fat by rehydrating bagged sun-dried tomatoes, using water packed artichoke hearts, and using fat free Italian dressing.  You could also cut the carbs by halving the pasta and adding significantly more fresh veggies like bell peppers and cucumbers, or using a higher fiber content pasta.

Going to the Beach? Raid the Pantry. (Beet Salad)

The other day the girls and I went to the beach.  We like the water, the relaxation, and the picnic basket, so we packed our coolers full of snacks and water and went off for a day in the sun.  I made panzanella and beet salad because it's easy to prepare, travels well, and is full of vitamins and minerals you need when you will be out of doors exerting yourself in the heat.

A note about canned food--I make my food the way I feel comfortable eating it.  If you prefer to make my recipes in a different, fresher, or healthier way please do, and please share.  I would really love to hear about improvements and interpretations of my food. :D

In a large mixing bowl add:

1 to 2 cans of beets slices, drained and quartered
1 can of carrot slices, drained
1 can of butter beans, drained and rinsed

Mix and toss in:

Olive oil, salt and pepper

Pour in Follow Your Heart Vegan Ranch Dressing and stir

Sprinkle Almond Accents over the top to mix in later at your picnic, hike, or beach location

Panzanella--A Fresh Summery Salad

You may have noticed that  I like salads, especially those you can take to a pot-luck or a picnic.  Panzanella is great because you can use leftover bread and extra veggies from your garden to stretch your budget or you could go out and buy the ingredients because it's a very refreshing lunch on a hot day. I have used leftover sourdough or rosemary bread; I don't usually have a lot of bread around the house so sometimes I buy something good just to make the salad.  When I'm sharing with others, I like to buy a bag of garlic croutons and let the salad sit overnight to soak up all the juices from the veggies.

You can add anything you think will work together.  I've used sweet peppers, tomatoes, vegan cheese cubes, basil, or whatever is lying around in the fridge.  My usual recipe includes tomatoes, cucumbers, olive oil, salt and pepper, vinegar and white wine.  For a party sized bowl of panzanella, peel and cube 4 large cucumbers.  Cube 4 roma tomatoes.  Dress the chopped veggies, then add a cup of hand shredded or cubed bread that has dried out and mix with the vegetables.  Using the bread dry allows the vegetables to release some of their water and soften the bread overnight.  If you are serving the salad right away, soak and squeeze the bread so that it's soft as you serve it.   

If you haven't seen the rest of my blog, I have recipes for garbanzo bean salad and tofu salad here too.  Sometime this summer I will make potato salad and post with pictures.

**Note:  To make this IC Friendly, omit tomatoes, wine, and vinegar.

Tofu Salad Now with an IC Diet Option)

1 box of medium or firm tofu

2 cans of sliced olives

1/2 to 1 cup chopped pickles or relish, dill or sweet

Olive oil

Follow Your Heart Vegenaise

Salt 

Pepper

Use your hands or a fork to smash the tofu.

Mix well, serve on crackers or toast.

Makes 6-8 servings.

Variations:  add mustard, paprika, parsley, or hot sauce.  Substitute relish with mixed olives and capers, or jalapenos and tomatoes, or red pimentos, cucumbers and smoked paprika.

For an IC Diet option, use Living Harvest Tempt Hemp Tofu. It's soy free and full of protein. Use chopped red bell peppers, chopped cucumbers, black olives (if you can tolerate them), dill, parsley, any of your favorite fresh veggies. :)

I started blogging about food in the middle of a diet.

So here is one of my favorite detoxifying recipes:

Garbanzo Bean Salad

4 cans of garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

1-2 cups of diced tomatoes

1-2 cups of diced cucumber

1 bunch of parsley, chopped

1 large can of sliced olives

Balsamic vinegar 

Olive oil

Salt

Black pepper

Combine all and chill.  Check the nutritional content of your cans of garbanzo beans for an appropriate portion.