Vegan MOFO: Monday Mash-up–JL's Soy Curls Salad

 I met JL Fields at the first ever Vida Vegan Bloggers Con in Portland in 2011, lounging by the pool (although she had her laptop with her, so I'm not convinced she was doing much lounging).

Since then she has really taken off with veganism not only as her lifestyle, but her life's work. Please visit her blog...she has co-authored a book, writes daily about food and for Vegan MOFO 2013, is video-blogging nearly every day. (JL Goes Vegan: Food and Fitness with a Side of Kale)

Last week I watched her prepare Soy Curls Salad, and was inspired to make it since I had all the ingredients in the fridge and pantry, and I always take that as a I sign I should make the recipe!

Please visit her post to see the recipe and watch her make this very easy and (for some) comfort food salad.

My experience:
JL's Soy Curl salad couldn't be easier to prepare! Simple chopping or pulsing in a food processor gets your main ingredients chopped nicely (rehydrated soy curls, grapes and nuts.)

I substituted walnuts for her pecans since that's what I had on hand.

"Chicken" salad was never big in my family, so I didn't have any kind of family recipe to fall back on, or even a memory. I did remember that in my 20s (when still eating chicken), I had made a chopped chicken dish with curry....so I added about 1/2 tsp curry to this after I added the mayo and I really liked the added zing.

You can serve this on a bed of greens, in a sandwich or wrap as JL demonstrates or just eat plain.

I enjoyed this use of Soy Curls. I was also introduced to them in Portland at the same time as JL. They are a simple product (non-GMO) full of protein that you can put your own touch on in a number of ways.

Visit Butler Foods to discover where you can buy them in your area or online. I still like to order mine from Food Fight Grocery in Portland.

Vegan MOFO: Soupy Sales Saturday–Super Simple Swanky Salad

This is another of my mom's creations from her restaurant back in the late 70's. She called it the "Marseille." (All the dishes were named after cities in Europe.) I've photographed two versions since Vegan Blue Cheese is not always available, but try and find it if you can.

I'm calling this super simple, well, because it is so easy to prepare. You can very easily impress your vegan lovely with this salad. Basically, you are plopping prepared marinated mushrooms and artichoke hearts/pieces on top of a bed of lettuce. Sprinkle on the blue cheese. Done!

Super Simple Swanky Salad (aka The Marseille)

Serves 2-3

1 jar marinated mushrooms

1 jar/can marinated artichoke hearts or pieces

2 Tbs vegan blue cheese crumbles

4 cups lettuce mix of choice

Directions

Drain both jars, saving liquid.

Cut up artichoke hearts or pieces into smaller sections if needed.

Divide lettuce on 2-3 plates, sprinkle on mushrooms and artichokes in a pleasing manner. (That's the swanky part.)

Pour some of the marinade on salads as dressing.

Sprinkle on vegan cheese.

Serve.

Vegan MOFO Psychedelic Sunday Rockin' Mockin' Toona

Psychedelic Sunday is so named because of a new book/cookbook I am reading called "Dropping Acid: The Reflux Diet Cookbook and Cure." It's not vegan, but it does have many vegan or vegetarian recipes or recipes that can easily be made vegan. I've been having an issue with what seems to be known as "Silent Reflux." My doctor thinks its GERD, but I'm not convinced. My first line of defense is usually "what am I eating that could be causing this?" or "what else can I eat that will help me?" Dr. Jamie Koufman believes that a low-fat, low-acid, alkaline diet will help this condition.

Rockin' Mockin' Toona is my version of her "Marc's Tasty Tuna Salad." Well, in fact, it's not even close to her version cause it's MY version of tuna salad!

Be sure to scroll to the bottom to see all the versions of things you can make with this basic vegan "Tuna" salad.

For all you non-vegan folks who might be making this for your loved one (or the one you want to love!), just think what a great picnic lunch this would make! And if he/she is gluten-free, too, definitely make it a salad on a bed of lettuce or stuffed in a tomato or on some nice GF bread.  (Just maybe take an enzyme tablet in case the garbanzo beans decide to create a little uncalled-for music!)

Rockin' Mockin' Toona Salad

1 can organic garbanzo beans
4 stalks celery, chopped finely (about 2/3 cup)
1-2 spring onions, chopped
2 Tbs pickle relish
1 Tbs lemon juice (about 1/2 lemon)
2 tsp kelp granules*
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbs mustard
2-4 Tbs vegan mayo

Alternative options: tomato, bread, corn chips, lettuce, meltable vegan cheese.

*I was out of kelp granules, which I think helps to give it a "fishy" tuna taste. Instead, I had some toasted nori snacks on hand and I carefully chopped up 4 of the little sheets. I think you could also chop up a regular sheet of sushi nori and get the same result. I kept a little to garnish with.

1. Strain and rinse garbanzo beans under cold water. Shake dry and pat with a towel to dry a little more. Too much liquid and you will have a runny salad. Chop them in a food processor or by hand with a masher until they are about the consistency of tuna flakes. Put in large bowl.

2. Add celery, onions, pickle relish, lemon juice, kelp granules, garlic powder and salt to the bowl and mix thoroughly. You can leave out the lemon juice and/or the garlic if you know it causes reflux.

3. Add mustard and mix.

4. Add mayo one tablespoon at a time and mix well. This is high in fat, and you really only need just enough to make it a nice spread that holds together. Depending on your own tastes, you may like 1-4 tablespoons. I like it with 2.

Serving suggestions:
Here's where the fun begins...

1. Just eat it right now! Out of the bowl!
2. Chill and eat later.
3. Stuffed Tomato: Slice a tomato in half and scoop out a little from each half. Fill with Toona Salad. Guaranteed to impress your vegan. Serve on a bed of lettuce or a few pretty lettuce/kale leaves. Garnish with sprinkles of kelp or chopped nori. (Note: Tomato is not usually reflux-friendly.)
4. Make a sammy! Any old bread will do, but to make it special, try toasting the bread! Or lightly frying in a pan. My DH loves his Toona Sandwiches with crumbled corn chips, olives and pickle slices inside the sandwich!

5. Toona Melt!! I've never actually had a real Tuna Melt before, but this Rockin' Mockin' Tuna Melt is pretty darn tasty. My version: Toast a nice piece of bread that has been lightly buttered. Spread with Toona Salad and top with your favorite Daiya Cheese. Broil in a toaster oven until cheese is melted. Garnish with a sprinkle of paprika, chili powder (watch out for reflux) or curry.

Miner's Lettuce Salad with Orange-Sesame Vinaigrette

Miner's Lettuce (AKA Indian Lettuce), is a wild lettuce found here in California and in my back yard. It is totally edible and is even showing up on the menus of shi-shi restaurants around town. (See below for info on where you can buy seeds to grow your own. Mine reseeds itself, although we have reduced its habitat in our yard since we have landscaped!)

Isa's Chandra Moskowitz's Orange Sesame Vinaigrette couldn't have been easier to make (I used orange juice instead of fresh squeezed oranges and had some lovely fig vinegar instead of red wine vinegar.) I normally don't like vinaigrettes, but this one doesn't have too much vinegar and the orange juice really sweetens it. The toasted sesame oil really makes the flavor pop.

Of course if you can't get your hands on Miner's Lettuce, you can use any kind of lettuce you like!

The salad is my recipe:

Miner's Lettuce Salad

2 cups Miner's Lettuce
2 cups chopped Romaine
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (pine nuts or sliced almonds would be fab)
1/4 cup dried cranberries (dried cherries would be good)

1/2 Recipe of Orange Vinaigrette

Indian Lettuce/Miner's Lettuce

Claytonia perfoliata

You can buy a packet of Miner's Lettuce Seeds from Larner's Seeds in Bolinas, CA for only $5.50. Be sure to check out all the other native plants and flowers they have seeds for!
http://larnerseeds.com/_pages/wildflower_annual.html

Interesting Native American salad trivia: Native Americans would eat this green like a salad as we do today. Instead of a fancy dressing from a bottle or recipe from a cookbook, they would just let ants crawl all over their greens. From the Almaden Wildflowers website:

"Lettuce? Yes, you can eat it--raw in salads or boiled like spinach. Early settlers and Indians collected and ate it. It is said that California Indians used to place it by red ant hills to pick up formic acid as a dressing. I would be worried that the ants would eat it. I rarely pass the young plants without pulling off a leaf to nibble on. It tastes a lot like raw spinach to me, not as delicate as lettuce. It has none of the peppery kick of the the somewhat similar garden plant (weed?) nasturtium Tropaeolum majus, which is also in the Purslane family."

TTS–Tofu Tossed Salad

Tofu Tossed Salad

Cubed Smoked Tofu
4 cups Romaine or combo of lettuces
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/4 cup yeast flakes

Dressing of choice
(I used a bottled Sesame Ginger)

Toss it!
Pour on a bit of dressing!
Toss again!
Eat!

Chapter 7-The Recipes

Chapter 7a Breakfast

Chapter 7b Appetizers

Chapter 7c Entrees

Chapter 7d Salads

Chapter 7e Soups

Chapter 7f Baking

Chapter 7g Sweets

Chapter 7h Misc