My Favourite Flower Salad

I first made this salad from a recipe developed by Angela Liddon of  Oh She Glows fame. Props to our famous Canadian vegan cook! It was her version of a salad that she had purchased at Whole Foods. I made Angela's recipe the first time but then made some minor adaptations of my own. My version uses more sunflower seeds & fewer currants because I found the salad too sweet & I like to have an extra boost of protein. I also halved it & renamed it. It's an adaptable recipe, so try it out & add your own twist.

1 head broccoli
1/2 head cauliflower
1&1/4 cups shredded carrots
 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup currants
1/4 cups raisins
1/4 cup parsley
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
black pepper

I use my 7 cup Cuisinart food processor for this recipe.
Using the grater attachment, shred a large carrot & place in a large bowl.
Remove the flowers from a head of broccoli & place in the food processor, fitted with chopping blade. Chop until fine & place in the bowl with the carrots.
Remove the flowers from 1/4 head of cauliflower. Process until fine. Place them in the bowl with the other veggies. Repeat for the remaining 1/4 head.
Remove the leaves from a small bunch of parsley. Process until fine. Add to bowl.
Add the sunflower seeds, currants, raisins, lemon juice, salt & pepper.
Stir until everything is well mixed. Salad will keep, in the fridge for several days.
I love having this salad on hand. It goes with everything & is delicious on it's own for a quick snack.

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

This recipe is from The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen by Donna Klein, with just a few minor changes.

1-19 oz can chick peas
2-3 cloves of garlic
2 roasted red peppers
3-4 Tbs of lemon juice
3 Tbs tahini
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt / Herbamare
2 Tbs water (more if needed for consistency)

Drain & rinse chickpeas, reserving the aquafaba for another recipe if desired.
Squeeze the juice from 1/2 a large lemon.
Place the chickpeas & lemon juice in a food processor & process for a few minutes.
Cut up the roasted red peppers & add to the mixture. You can roasted the peppers yourself or use the kind for a jar.
Press garlic & add to the mixture along with the tahini, cumin, salt & water.
Process until smooth.
Adjust lemon juice & garlic to your taste buds.

I like my hummus with extra garlic. I used a combination of roasted garlic, because I had some on hand, & fresh pressed garlic. Now that I've made this hummus I may never buy store bought again!

Sweet Potato Beach Stacks

beach stack, assembled

beautiful Prince Edward Island beach

It's the 2Ls fun week for summer 2016 & we spent our first full day on a beach, all to ourselves! Of course we talked about food preparation & planned our first dinner while soaking up the sun. Here's what we came up with.

Sweet Potato Beach Stacks

Sweet Potato Layer
2 medium sweet potatoes
1/2-1 tsp cinnamon

Carmelized Onion Layer
2 onions (any colour)
1 tablespoon, plus 1 teaspoon of olive oil
splash of balsamic vinegar

Black Bean Layer
15-19 ounce can of black beans
2 large cloves garlic
seasoning of choice

Roasted Red Pepper Layer
1 red pepper

Heat oven to 450. Wash & place sweet potatoes & red pepper in hot oven. Cook for 45-60 minutes or until the potatoes are soft & the red peppers are charred.
Peel & chop onion. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook onions until caramelized, lower heat as needed, stirring often. Add a splash of balsamic vinegar near the end of cooking.
While the onions are cooking, drain & rinse the black beans. Peel & mince the cloves of garlic. Place 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a medium saucepan, adding the garlic & then the black beans. Heat on low, stirring often.
Remove the potatoes & peppers from oven. Peel & mash the sweet potatoes with cinnamon.
Seed & remove skins from peppers & slice into strips.
Now for the assembly. Place half the sweet potatoes on a plate & smooth into a flat disc, place half the onions on top of the sweet potatoes, spoon black beans on top of the onions & top with half the roasted red peppers.

We enjoyed this recipe but talked about making some adjustments the next time we make it. One idea is that we thought it would be good to start with a bed of greens & build on top of that. Baby spinach or baby kale would be good or whatever greens you enjoy. Leah thought the greens should be raw; Loriann prefers hers lightly cooked. We also thought making the beans a little mushier by mashing some of them or adding a little vegetable broth. We didn't want to loose the texture of the whole beans completely though. Another idea was to change the order the order of the stack, mashing the beans instead & starting with them, then roasting the sweet potatoes in discs or chunks & placing on top of the onions. 
Send us your suggestions!

chocolate raspberry mousse

This recipe was given to me from the wonderful people at Dr Neal Barnard's Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine. Dr. Barnard has a great vegan clinic in Washington DC. Here's the link. If you live nearby be sure to check it out. Not only do they have a medical practice but there are many classes and workshops you can take. 

makes 4 1/2 cup servings

1 pound soft silken tofu
2 TB unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 cup maple syrup (to taste)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup frozen raspberries
1/2 cup or so of vegan chocolate chips (We like Enjoy Life)

Place all ingredients in the vitamix or blender and process till very smooth. Spoon into bowls and chill before serving. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top before serving.