Creamy Caesar Salad Veganized!

Yesterday I posted about my new found love -Creamy Vegan Ranch Dressing -but I have to share my 'winged it' caesar dressing I made today because I think I love it just as much. Although some of the ingredients are similar to the ranch, it tastes very different and you won't miss the parmesan cheese typically found in caesar after making this! ..plus it's packed with B12 :)

1 cup vegan mayo (garlic flavour works well!)
1/2 cup raw unsalted cashews, rinsed
1/3 cup nutritional yeast (give it the cheesy flavour, add more if you want!)
1/3 cup almond milk
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon of either prepared brown mustard OR mustard powder is fine
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Blend together in a food processor until smooth. Some cashew chunks will remain but gave my salad a good nutty flavour. Adjust the flavours as necessary to taste ..to me a caesar dressing can never be too lemony! If you want it cheesier tasting, load up on the nutritional yeast.

I didn't have any miso or vegetarian worcestershire on hand but have heard adding in a teaspoon of one or the other gives a vegan caesar the kick it needs to make up for the anchovy taste. I've never tried any of the vegan parmesans but it's an option too. Next time I'll give those all a try but for today I was happy to get what came as a result of whipping this together.

Creamy Vegan Ranch Dressing

Following a Vegan diet has been far easier than I thought it might be but there are a few things that I miss! I made an attempt at recreating a ranch dressing/dip vegan style and after a few taste tests and alterations I managed to get one that my son loves to dip his cheeseless pizza into :)

1 cup vegan mayo (grapeseed flavour is good!)
1/4 cup raw unsalted cashews, rinsed
1/4 cup unsweetened almond or soy milk
1 tablespoon dill pickle juice (lovvvve Strubbs)
1 teaspoon onion powder
2 teaspoon parsley
2 teaspoons dill weed
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt

I should write ish after each of these ingredients because I did adjust afterwards with a little more of each of the spices ..but this is a good base then do whatever tastes best to you. To make it more of a dip than a dressing just change out the almond milk for more vegan mayo.

Blend everything together in a food processor until it's smooth but note you'll probably end up with a few chunks of cashews through it ..but does it really matter?! We now have VEGAN RANCH DRESSING!! Adjust as necessary to taste. Too thick? Add some more almond milk. Too thin? A little more mayo will thicken it up. Hooray for being able to eat creamy dressing again!

My Own Made Up In A Panic About A Picnic Creamy Eggless Potato Salad

I'm so excited to see my girlfriends today. The five of us have been besties since childhood and today we're meeting up with all of our children and husbands for a picnic in the park. Among us all we have vegetarians, an egg allergy, a nut allergy and they're all skinny minis who are calorie conscious sooooooo, when I offered to make the salads up for this lunch I had to become a little creative. I've made a green salad with strawberries and blueberries (no walnuts for this occasion) a bean medley salad and I've just tackled a made up on the spot eggless potato salad that actually turned out pretty amazing! I may just scoop a little dish out on the side before I go to keep for myself for tomorrow ;) Hoping they all like it too; I got up at 7am out of potato salad worry to make it!
Vegetables:
Approx 20 fingerling potatoes, washed, peeled and cut into large cubes
1 quarter each of red, yellow, orange and green bell pepper cut small or one whole of any of those colours
3 stalks of celery cut small
2 green onions finely chopped
Dressing:
1/2 cup Veganaise
1 cup Sour Cream
1/2 cup Dill Relish
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp Spicy Brown Mustard (Gulden's) or any prepared mustard will work
1 tbsp Nutritional Yeast
1 tbsp white vinegar
1 tsp coarsely ground pepper
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt

Dressing: Mix all of the dressing ingredients together and let chill in the fridge until the potatoes are cool and ready.
Vegetables: Boil the potatoes in salted water for about 10 minutes or until they soften (but not mushy)
Drain in a colander and while they are still hot, add the chopped peppers on top to let the steam soften them a little while the potatoes cool.
Once cool, transfer the vegetables to a serving dish, toss with celery, green onion and dressing. Let it chill in the fridge approximately 1 hour before serving to let the flavours blend.

Taco Salad

Baby Romaine + Avacado + Monterey Jack Cheese + Salsa + Tortilla Strips + Ranch Dressing equals my pretty Taco Salad

Not Just Any Ordinary Corn On The Cob

When I was a teenager we had students from Mexico stay with us one summer. They knew ahead of time they'd have to adapt to a vegetarian diet and as it turned out they liked most of the dishes we made; corn on the cob was one of their faves for a side veg. The first time we served it to them we put out salt, pepper and butter, ..but they asked for mayonnaise and cayenne pepper! That opened our eyes to just how versatile cob corn can be and because of them I've tried other ways to top it since then. Regardless if you boil, steam or grill it these 'butters' all taste uniquely awesome!

Cheesey Butter
1/4 cup butter, softened; 2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese; 1 clove garlic, minced; and 1 tbsp minced fresh basil.

Curried Olive Oil with Butter:
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil; 2 tbsp butter, softened; 1 tbsp minced fresh coriander; 1 tsp curry paste; and 1/2 tsp lemon juice.

Mustard Butter:
1/4 cup butter, softened; 1 tbsp Dijon mustard; and 3/4 tsp parsley

Smoky Mayonnaise:
1/4 cup light mayonnaise; 2 tsp barbecue sauce; and 1 tsp chopped chipotle pepper

Lemon Pepper Mayonnaise:
1/4 cup mayonnaise; 1 tsp each grated lemon rind and lemon juice; and 1/2 tsp pepper.

Mediterranean Olive Oil: 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil; 4 tsp minced sun-dried tomatoes; 1/2 tsp dried thyme; and pinch each salt and pepper.

Caesar Salad Vegan Style

INGREDIENTS

• • 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 2 Tbs. blanched and ground almonds
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 Tbs. Dijon mustard
  • 3 Tbs. nutritional yeast flakes
  • 2 Tbs. soy sauce
  • 3 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil (optional)
  • 1 large head romaine lettuce, torn into large pieces

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INSTRUCTIONS

Combine almonds, garlic, mustard, yeast flakes, soy sauce, lemon juice, water and oil if desired using a blender or food processor and process until smooth and well blended. To serve, toss together lettuce (croutons if desired) and dressing, and toss to coat. Serve right away. Keep it Gluten Free by not using croutons.

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Vegan Aioli

3 tbsp Organic Veganaise
1 tbsp Garlic Powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Mix together, blend well. It's that simple....

Cheddar & Onion Muffins

My good old and dear friend Cheri served these at her place with dinner one night. Amazing.
1 cup(250ml)shredded old Cheddar Cheese 

3 cups (750ml) all-purpose flour
2 tbsp(25ml) granulated sugar
4 tsp(20ml) bakingpowder

1 tsp(10ml) pepper
2 tsp(10ml) salt
1cup(250ml) milk
112cup(125ml) vegetable oil
112cup(125ml) sliced green onions
112cup(125ml) sour cream 

Preparation:

ln a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, pepper and salt. Stir in cheese.

Whisk together milk, oil, onions sour cream and eggs; pour over dry ingredients. Stir.

Spoon into greased or paper-lined muffin cups. Add cheddar on top.

Bake in centre of 375'F(190'C) oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until tops are firm to the touch and muffins are golden. (Make-ahead. Store in an airtight container in refrigerator for up to 1 day or wrap individually and freeze for up to 3 weeks.) Add in pureed broccoli, cauliflower & carrots and send them in the kids lunches as Meal Muffins!

Veggie-Chicken Salad

1 pkg Yves Ground Veggie Chicken

1 green onion

1/2 each green, red & yellow pepper

1 stalk of celery

1 tbsp dill relish

1/4 cup of Vegenaise

Salt & Pepper to taste

Mix together and stuff into pitas or wraps with leaf lettuce or baby spinach on Foccacia. Add more Vegenaise if it's needed.

Cucumber & Feta Dip

• 1 cup grated cucumber (seeded if seeds are large), skin and all
• 1 cup low-fat sour cream
• 1 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Fresh herbs, chopped, optional (fresh dill, basil, or chives)

• Fresh vegetables in bite-size pieces such as carrot sticks, celery sticks, red pepper strips, cucumber spears and zucchini slices, mushrooms, broccoli etc

Stir together the dip ingredients. To blend the flavors, cover and refrigerate for at least a couple of hours, or even a day. Serve with fresh vegetables.

Veggie Kabobs

Choose all your favourite veggies. I use mushrooms, green zuchini, yellow zuchini squash, red, yellow, orange & green sweet peppers, grape or cherry tomatoes, sweet onion etc etc. Cut them, with the exception of the mushrooms which you want to leave whole, into bite size pieces. (but not too small-you want them the be big enough that they won't break off the skewer. Also, if you like tofu, cut a block up into large cubes and mix in with the veggies.

I marinate the veggies in a peanut satay sauce (I use a store bought marinade) a few tablespoons of vegetable oil and salt & pepper to taste. Toss with the veggies and tofu let them sit in a covered bowl in the fridge for about an hour. I soak the bamboo skewers in water prior to arranging the veggies on them in whichever order is most appealing to the eye. Lay them on a cookie sheet and brush with the marinade before putting on the BBQ. They don't take long on the grill. Watch for the edges getting charred.... there is nothing worse then blackened veggies! Serve with rice.

Mixed Bean salad

Use a can of mixed canned beans, add chopped green onion and feta cheese.

Mix with my vinaigrette dressing and call it a side dish! It's delicious!

Fruit Kabobs

Get creative with your choices here. For Valentine's Day or Canada Day you could use all red coloured fruits.... strawberries, raspberries, red grapes, watermelon.

There is no need for a lot of instruction for this one... Basically, decide what fruits you want to use, interchange them on the skewers to look colourful and pretty and put them on a long platter to serve. You can serve them with a fruit dip or fruit yogurt as well.

Veggie Wraps

The most delicious cold wrap....

Start with a flavoured wrap.... basil & garlic are my faves.

Put a mound of grated monterey jack cheese on the wrap, add shredded lettuce or salad mix greens, top with a few tbsp of bruschetta, add some mixed red, green & yellow peppers and drizzle my favourite creamy basil dressing over it. Wrap it up and you've got lunch!

Soy (chicken breast style)

Cook soy (chicken-style) "chickenless breasts" in a frying pan with 1 tbsp of vegetable oil and 1/2 cup of chicken-style vegetable stock per breast until most of stock is absorbed.

Serve with grilled peppers, corn on the cob, baked potatoes and salad for a summery meal or serve with mashed potatoes, green beans and broccoli & cauliflower with homemade cheese sauce for more of a wintery meal.

Pizza Bites Bar

This idea came from watching Regis & Kelly when they had someone on from Real Simple Magazine. I'm just posting a veggie version of it here....

Order a large cheese pizza from your local pizza parlor and ask them not to slice it. Then, using a cookie cutter (a cirlce shape is easiest to use, but you can use a maple leaf for Canada Day etc etc) cut out pieces of the pizza. Place on a platter that can go from oven to table when you're ready serve. Next, make a "Toppings Platter" with olives, grated cheeses, herbs, colourful peppers chopped very small... whatever you think your guests will enjoy. When it's time to serve, just heat the pizza in a 400 degrees oven for about 5 minutes or until they are warm to the touch and serve!