East Meets West Veg

Halloween Blood Red Vegan Salad - Beets, Oranges, Walnuts!

This salad is great for a Halloween Party. It's a very healthy addition to any Halloween lineup. The star ingredient is beets, which are a great antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and detoxifier. Beets have also been shown to decrease tumor growth in some studies. Between the beets, oranges and walnuts, you know you are getting folate, manganese, fiber, vitamin C, Omega 3 fatty acids, potassium, magnesium, iron, etc. The list goes on and on. It's truly scary how healthy this salad is.

Ingredients:
Salad
6 Cups Roasted Beets, diced (about 12 small beets or 4 giant ones)
3 Cups Oranges, each slice cut into thirds
2 Cups Walnut Halves
Seeds from 1 pomegranate, optional
Sliced red onions, optional (directions below)

Dressing
(This dressing will need to be adjusted according to the quality and flavor of your salad ingredients)
1/2 Cup Pear Infused Balsamic Vinegar (or any balsamic vinegar should work)
3 Tbsp Maple Syrup
1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
1 tsp salt
1/2 - 1 tsp pepper

Method:
1. Optional Onions: If you are adding the onions, spread sliced onions in a shallow dish and almost cover with balsamic (or any) vinegar and liberally apply salt over them. If you are using a vinegar that is very sour and not sweet, you may want to add a little maple syrup. Allow to marinade on their own until you are ready to eat the salad.
I like this part, but my husband prefers the salad without so we keep our onions on the side and I add them to my portion only.

2. Roast beets whole in the oven for about 50 minutes at 400 F (205 C). Check them a few times around the end because smaller beets will cook a little faster than larger beets. You could also steam the beets, but roasting will give a richer flavor.

3. Now is a good time to chop your oranges and seed your pomegranate, if using.

4. Whisk together dressing ingredients. The proportions may need to change based on the freshness, quality and flavor of your salad ingredients. I made this salad two days in a row and had VERY different tasting ingredients. If your ingredients are very flavorful, you will probably need less dressing.

5. Once the beets are done and have cooled a bit, remove their skin and dice them.

6. Mix all of the salad ingredients together, except onions.

7. Add dressing little by little and mix. You may need more or less than the recommended amount of dressing. I can not stress this enough. The flavor of the dressing will get stronger the more time you allow everything to marinade together. This salad tastes even better the next day.

8. Add onions just before serving or allow individuals to add onions to their own servings if not everyone is a fan of onions. Keeping them aside as long as possible allows them to develop the maximum amount of flavor.

I was originally going to make a nice, hearty stew today because we've had some chilly nights (and days), but then I checked the weather and saw that it was going to be 97 degrees F (36 C)!! In three short days the high temperature will be 60 F (15.5C) with a low of 46F (8 C). This is Michigan for you, I guess. Anyway, it was WAY too hot for me to cook or eat hot food today so I had to find a no cook dinner.

I decided to make some super easy burritos with salsa verde. I've never made anything with tomatillos before so I didn't even know if I'd like it, but I thought it tasted fresh and delicious. Alone, I thought it could use some more salt, but it was perfect with the chips.


This Salsa Verde recipe is from Food Network. It is very easy and requires only a few ingredients. There were two versions on the show, but I made the raw version. I just put these items in the blender, then mixed it with chopped onion and salt. Click here for the recipe.


To make the meal complete (though I really could have eaten just the salsa verde and tortilla chips), I put together some simple burritos.

I am so excited for the debut post from my sister from another mother (also my husband's cousin), Shriya. I am always thinking about the time she stayed with us for two weeks and we had so much fun sharing laughs and cooking together. She knows a lot of great tips because she studied Hotel Management in India. In India the word hotel means both restaurant and the place you stay when you are on vacation, so she learned a lot about cooking and catering in her classes. Without further ado, here is a little background and a great tutorial from one of my favorite people in the world!!


This is one of my favorite Indian desserts. Shrikhand always takes me to my childhood and I remember the golden time I spent with my family, my uncles, aunts and wonderful cousins! Shrikhand is also special to me because it is the first Indian dessert I made for my husband the first time after we got married (when I was trying to learn to cook.)

This recipe requires some preparation in advance, but it is simple to make. It is a dessert popular in Marathi and Gujarati cuisine, made of strained yogurt. It can also be eaten as a side dish with Indian breads like poori. This is a lighter, healthier, dairy-free version of the typical Shrikhand. It has no cholesterol and is low fat.

Ingredients:

Based on the popularity of my first Grocery Shopping 101 post, I decided I need to post some 101 type meal ideas. Sometimes it can seem overwhelming transitioning to a more plant-based diet or it might seem like you need to make long, complicated recipes. The truth is that you can eat very simple, healthy foods that take little or no prep time.

Not too long ago, we had a get-together with a mixed group of meat-eaters and non meat-eaters. We made a do-it-yourself wrap bar and everyone loaded up on what they liked. Here's my wrap.

In my last post, I shared that Buddy Jr. is making a lot of progress on the housetraining front. Well, Buddy Jr. is making progress on another front as well. He is getting more used to my Vitamix. (For those of you who don't know, this is like a loud, super powerful, high-speed blender, food processor and so much more) This is really important because the only time he pooped in the house was after I used the Vitamix the first time after his arrival and I wondered if the loud noise literally 'scared the crap out of him.' I kind of think he just had to go, but I was still very cautious the next time I used the Vitamix and he seemed just fine. Now he doesn't even lift his head when I run it. He just keeps on snoozing. This is really good because after a stressful night of squirrels grinding walnut shells in the attic and Buddy Jr. waking me up to go outside (all this adds up to little sleep), I needed a naturally healthy, energizing, and detoxifying breakfast in a hurry. I just used what I had on hand, but it had such a light, refreshing taste that I fell in love with it. I will definitely be making this again.

Ingredients:
1 sprig mint
1 heaping handfull of baby kale
1/2 cucumber (peeled if not organic)
1/2 large avocado or 1 small avocado
1/4 pineapple (with it's juice)
1 orange
1 cup coconut milk (or other nondairy milk)
1/2 cup tart cherry juice (or your favorite juice)

Method:
Blend away! Enjoy! Garnish with fresh mint leaves if so desired.

Throughout my life, there have been many times I eliminated or tried to minimize my processed sugar intake and I've been mostly successful. I find that it makes my body feel better and my mind feel like I am doing something good. However, last fall was a different story.

In late 2012, my dad died unexpectedly and I was deep in grief in a way I never imagined I could be. It seemed to me like an adult shouldn't be so devastated by her dad dying, even if he was young and it was unexpected (though not from unnatural causes). I hardly felt like eating. All I wanted to do was sleep and cry. It's weird that I am willing to admit this because I always try to hide my crying from people and act as if I am fine. I guess admitting it is different than actually breaking down in front of someone. After the initial shock wore off, the whole thing really debilitated me. If I ate something - anything, I considered that a success. And I felt strangely drawn back to my sometimes friend, sometimes foe - sugar. I was craving sugar all the time. I tell people that I was on a vegan ice cream and french fries diet for a while.

So, it's been a few months now. . . They say that grief gets better in time and I honestly did not see how that was possible a few months ago. I wanted to believe it, but I could not see the light at the end of the tunnel. I can tell you that it HAS gotten better. It is still difficult. I still cry almost every day. I still miss my dad. I still think of him all the time. I still think of how things could have been different. But things are getting better. I am awake for more than 8 hours a day! Yay! Little by little, I am starting to enjoy things again. I see a little glimmer of hope on the horizon.

But the nasty sugar addiction I picked up along the way is still hanging on. And I can remember how good it feels to be free from that addiction! I'm not eliminating sugar right now, but I am trying to reduce my dependence on it. As I found myself jonesing for cookies the other day (after indulging myself several days in a row), I decided it was time to try out a healthy alternative. So, working with what I had in the house, I came up with something that combined the sweetness (fruit) I was looking for with a rich taste (from the avocado & coconut milk). Now I know it's not hot out of the oven, but it did help me boost my willpower and I was able to skip the cookies that night!


Ingredients:
1 cup frozen blueberries
1 ripe banana
1/2 large avocado or 1 small avocado
3/4 cup coconut, almond or other non-dairy milk
1/2 cup tart cherry juice - actual juice, not the concentrated kind (or any juice you like)

Method:
Put it all together and blend, adding more juice or non-dairy milk if required for your blender. Enjoy! 

Over the summer we always get a share from a local CSA and the produce is absolutely divine! In fact, the vegetables are usually so good that I don't want to cook them. I feel like they are absolute perfection on their own and that if I change the flavor at all, I will be missing out on the veggies' natural goodness. In addition to eating the veggies raw, I usually come up with some interesting salads as well. This is often just a way for me to incorporate beans or lentils into my summer diet when all I want to do is eat fresh fruit & veggies.

Many of the fabulous salads we devour all summer long are just not the same in winter because the vegetables (even organic) from the grocery stores here in Michigan are . . . shall I say, lacking that special something you get when they're vine-ripened and fresh picked by your local farmer. I do still enjoy a nice salad in the winter, even when the pickings are slim. This salad is a great one for winter because you only need a few ingredients which are easily accessible all year round.

They just put in a Trader Joe's by my house and I actually found tasty cucumbers and tomatoes there last week. In fact, they were so good that when I made this, I wanted to just keep eating it all day. I thought I should mix it up a little so I came up with two other versions. This would be a great way to pack three different light and healthy lunches for work. You could certainly add more veggies or herbs, but this is one of those things that I throw together when I'm really hungry and don't have a lot of time for washing & chopping. It's SO EASY! You can whip it up in a jiffy and the results are delicious and nutritious!

To find a CSA or Farmer's Market in the United States, go to: http://www.localharvest.org/

Here's the simplest version, your base recipe.
VERSION 1:

INGREDIENTS:
1 can chickpeas/garbanzo beans
1 beefsteak tomato (or 2 roma or 1 pack cherry or grape tomatoes)
1 cucumber
your favorite salad dressing (middle eastern or italian are great choices)
salt & pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS:
1. Drain and rinse the chickpeas
2. Chop the tomato and cucumber
3. Put it all in a bowl, sprinkle on your favorite dressing, and mix!
4. Add salt & pepper to taste (optional)



VERSION 2:

Put some of the version 1 Chickpea Salad over your favorite greens. (It tastes great on romaine)
You may need to add more dressing.


VERSION 3:

Boil some quinoa and/or rice (or your favorite grain). You could also use a pre-cooked packet. My quinoa-loving, meat-eating cousin just told me that he eats quinoa and brown rice packets from Costco for his lunch at work.

After it cools, mix with some of the version 1 Chickpea Salad. You may need to add more dressing and/or salt & pepper.

A few years ago, my husband's cousin was left to spend her college's winter break all alone in Denver because her boyfriend went to India to see his family. Being the caring guy that he is, he decided to buy her a plane ticket to Detroit to spend the holidays with us! Hooray! Since we had a guest from out of town, my days of sitting at home watching the ball drop with Dick Clark were over (well, not so over, I did it again the next year)!

We didn't want to go to the annual New Year's Eve party with my relatives because they lived too far away and we wanted to enjoy food we actually liked and could eat instead of their usual ring bologna, stinky fish, and crackers and cheese. So we found that a local Vegetarian group was having a New Year's potluck and decided to take a risk - not knowing anyone who would be there! We had a fabulous time! Everyone was so welcoming and interesting - and the food! The food was out of this world - especially the chocolate pie. We thought we died and went to heaven as the chocolatey goodness melted in our mouths! We went back for seconds but there was none left. Word spreads fast!

After some investigation, we finally found the piemaker and told her how much we loved her creation. She laughed and told us that she is not a cook and that she'd have to tell her sister that people were complimenting something she made. She told us that the recipe was so easy that someone who doesn't cook can make it and we committed the recipe to memory on the spot. I have since made my ever so slight variation to the recipe. Don't worry, it's still simple and delicious!

I often make this when there is a potluck or party where I have to bring something and it's been a big hit. I have made the addition of the fresh fruit on top. It's certainly not necessary, but I find that strawberries or raspberries taste great with chocolate. People often ask for the recipe and I've searched for this recipe online so that I could send them a link, but I never found it exactly. The woman I met at the party did not know where it came from. It had been just passed around to her. So, I decided to put it up so that others could enjoy it and I can stop sending individual emails of the recipe! Enjoy!