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!

Peas And Paneer Cashew Curry

When I'm short on time I'll make curry ..in a hurry. I cheat by using a pre-made block of paneer and I pick up samosas or naan from my favourite local vegetarian Indian cuisine restaurant. You could veganize it by using firm Tofu in place of the paneer, drained and pressed. The dinner I made tonight (in the photo) takes all of fifteen minutes to put together start to finish.. which is exactly how much time I had to make something before getting my son off to baseball this evening!

Half block of paneer, cubed
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 can of coconut milk
1/4 cup of vegetable stock
2 tbsp yellow curry paste
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 cups of frozen peas
Pinch each of curry powder, cumin and white pepper
1/2 cup cashews

Pan fry the paneer in the vegetable oil until all sides are golden (about 5 minutes) Meanwhile, in a saucepan combine the coconut milk, vegetable stock, curry paste and spices and bring to a boil. Add in peas and brown sugar, let simmer for five minutes. Add in cashews and let simmer for another five minutes before throwing the paneer in. Stir and serve ..then you're done!

I dish it out over basmati rice and in tonights case it was the microwave ready in two minutes kind! Not recommended as the real stuff is best but for the time I had it was ideal. The store bought naan and/or samosas enables me to fake a hearty homemade meal in minutes flat.

All Heated Up For Cinco de Mayo!

I've posted about Che's Burrito Lounge in Hamilton's Hess Village before but in the spirit of Cinco de Mayo I'm adding some new pics. If you still haven't been I'm telling you you're missing out on some super fresh, made from scratch, full of flavour eats. And if you'd like to heat it up habanero style be sure to ask for the Super Hot Sauce; it's made with love!

  

Love.. The secret ingredient in the Super Hot Sauce Saney made for me :)

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.

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....

Cashew Cream

Cashew cream is an indulgently rich cream used as a base in many dairy-free vegan substitutes. It's much richer and more flavorful than soy milk. Here's how to make a homemade vegan cashew cream. As long as you use raw cashews, this is also a raw foods recipe.
Cashew cream recipe courtesy of Gardein.

Ingredients:

2 cups whole raw cashews
cold water

Preparation:

Put 2 cups whole, raw cashews (not pieces which are often dry) and rinse very well under cold water. Put in a bowl and add cold water to cover them. Cover the bowl and refrigerate overnight.
Drain the cashews and rinse under cold water.

Place the cashews in a blender with enough fresh cold water to cover them by 1 inch. Blend on high for several minutes until very smooth. Strain the cashew cream through a fine-mesh sieve if it's not smooth.

Makes about 3 1/2 cups regular cashew cream.

The Best Alfredo Sauce

The key here is to use 35% whipping cream, good white wine, good parmesan cheese and stir the sides CONSTANTLY. This recipe is SO SO SO easy and simple. When using it for pasta, I add steamed broccoli and diced roma tomatoes in it. AWESOME!

1 clove of garlic

1/2 cup of white wine

500 ml of 35% whipping cream

1/2 cup parmesan cheese
A pinch of nutmeg
Salt and Pepper to taste

Put the garlic and wine into a warm frying pan (med) and let the wine reduce. The garlic should be softened by then but not brown. Slowly add the whipping cream and nutmeg, stirring constantly. It will thinken around the edges of the pan so use a spatula to scrape it. Keep it on a slow boil until you notice it thicken to the consistency you would want to eat the sauce at and add the parmesan cheese.

Hint: I usually I put the pasta in the boiling water at the same time as add the cream and they tend to finish around the same time.

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!

Vinaigrette Dressing

Use a jar with a lid or a salad dressing shaker to make this.

Use 2 parts olive oil to 1 part red wine vinegar

Add in 1 clove of crushed garlic, a pinch or two of dried parsley, salt & pepper, a squirt of mustard and just a small pinch of sugar.

Shake until all the ingredients are blended together and you've got a vinaigrette!

Creamy Basil Dressing

Use either a jar with a lid or a salad shaker to make this dressing.

Start with either mayonnaise or miracle whip style mayo. Use approximately 4-6 tbsp.

Add in just enough milk to cover the mayo. Add in a 2-3 tsp of dried basil, salt & pepper, a pinch or two of sugar and 2 tbsp of pickle juice. Shake to mix all the ingredients.

If the dressing is too thin, add more mayo or if it's too thick add more milk and shake again. Continue adding more milk or mayo until you have your desired creaminess. Adjust the other ingredients according to your taste.

Homemade Cheese Sauce

Start by making a roux.... on low heat melt 4 tbl spoons of butter or margarine and add 4 tbsp of flour. Mix well then start adding milk. Whisk together to avoid lumps. Continue adding milk and whisking, turning the heat up to medium. If it thins too much just add more flour and continue adding flour & milk to desired thickness and quantity. Keep whisking! Careful not to burn.

When it has reached your desired thickness (saucy and not too thick) add 1 vegetable cube crumbled, 1 tsp dry mustard, dried parsley, salt & pepper to taste.

Now for the cheesy part.... add grated old cheddar cheese until it begins to look like cheese sauce. Depending on how much white sauce you have made will depend on how much grated cheese to use. As a variation, add in other cheeses you like. Even plain or herbed cream cheese works great if you need to use some up!

Make it Gluten Free by using corn starch instead of flour!