summer « Low Fat Vegan Cooking

June 12, 2010

Curried Cauliflower and Sweet Potato Salad

Filed under: Gluten Free, Higher Calorie Density, Indian Cuisine, Low Calorie Density, Salads, Side Dishes — Tags: cauliflower, curry, low fat, salad, summer, vegan — admin @ 1:03 am

Curried Cauliflower and Sweet Potato with Currants and Red Onion

Curried Cauliflower and Sweet Potato Salad

This is another adaptation in my attempt to learn to present my cooking more attractively.

I really loved this salad, and as i always do, i made enough for the next day too. But overnight in the frig did not improve it. The onion “cooked” in the vinegar, a flavor i love in pressed salad, but it did not go at all with the curry spices. So that’s why i am saying serve it the day you make it. It needs to sit an hour or two for the curry to flavor the cauliflower, but that’s all.

The recipe called for currants. I thought i didn’t like them, and have been substituting raisins for any currants i come across in recipes for years, but i decided to try them again, just to be sure, and i loved them. The organic ones i tried were sweeter than raisins and didn’t have the annoying little seeds i remembered.

I also recommend the optional toasted pine nuts and sunflower seeds. They really add beauty and flavor to the salad. Sunflower seeds are another food i thought i didn’t like, except for in granola. I figured out this is because they are toasted – it makes all the difference.

Makes 4 servings

Preparation about 15 minutes

Serve within a few hours

The veggies:

1 head cauliflower, any color

1 small red onion

2 medium sweet potatoes

The dressing:

½ c. rice vinegar

2 T. vegan sugar

2 t. curry powder, hot or mild

½ t. salt (optional)

1/8 t. ground black pepper

The currants:

½ c. currants

The garnishes (optional):

½ c. toasted pine nuts

¼ c. toasted sunflower seeds

½ c. chopped cilantro

Early in the day, bake or microwave the sweet potatoes until quite soft and tender. Cool. Peel and chop into bite sized pieces.

Cut the cauliflower into florets, or half florets, if they are not bite sized. Steam the cauliflower in or over boiling water about 4 minutes, until just tender. Drain.

Meanwhile, mince the onion, and start the dressing:

Mix the ingredients for the dressing together in a small bowl.

Put the cauliflower, onion, sweet potatoes, and currants into a bowl or storage container. Pour the dressing over this and mix well but carefully so as not to damage the florets.

Refrigerate at least 2 hours.

Sprinkle with the pine nuts, sunflower seeds, and chopped cilantro, if using.

Adapted from Great Chefs Cook Vegan by Linda Long

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June 5, 2010

Gazpacho

Filed under: Gluten Free, Higher Calorie Density, Low Calorie Density, Soups, Spanish Cuisine — Tags: cold soup, gazpacho, low fat, soup, Soups, summer, tomato, vegan, vegetables, zucchini — admin @ 1:04 am

Gazpacho with Tomato, Cucumber, Zucchini, Celery, and Scallions

Gazpacho

Gazpacho is one of the few dishes from my childhood that is vegan, and the way my mother made it, low fat.

I think of it as soon as the days start to lengthen and warm up.

I have heard this called “salad in a soup,” and it certainly is raw veggies like a salad. I prefer them chopped, as i first had it, although many people prefer gazpacho completely pureed. Of course, you get more fiber if you don’t blend the whole thing, and the soup will fill you more for fewer calories.

You can use fresh tomatoes if they are in season, and blend them with herbs before you add the other vegetables, or you can use tomato juice. (Or both!) If you are doing this, it’s nice to put in some chopped celery, which doesn’t seem to fit in the soup with the other chopped vegetables, but adds a nice taste if pureed.

(Note: For the last decade, i have been sensitive to canned tomatoes. I get uncomfortable and sometimes have an itchy throat. Once i was making a large pan of tomato sauce and it splashed on my arms and left little red marks and heat, like chicken pox). I am fine with fresh tomatoes, so i thought it must be something in the canning process. I eventually thought to try organic canned tomatoes and got no reaction. I then learned that most tomatoes are peeled with lye, but not organic tomatoes, and i wondered if that could be it. I’ve had canned tomatoes in a dish made away from home a few times, and had the same reactions. Anyway, i would recommend organic tomato juice if you plan to use juice.)

I have lately decided that dry minced garlic gives a less strong, raw taste, which i don’t mind, but try to avoid if i’m going to be around other people. I use about ¼ t. dry minced garlic per clove of garlic called for in a recipe if it’s not going to be cooked.

Other vegetables can certainly be added, or subtracted, depending on your taste, and what you have on hand. You probably don’t want anything too crunchy or stringy unless you are going to puree it in a Vita Max type blender.

You will see that i include Italian herbs in the recipe, although the soup originated in Spain. (Would you know what i meant if i said Spanish herbs? I’d have to look it up.) There it was often made with stale cubes of bread, which you might want to try. (Personally, i don’t like soggy bread.)

Gazpacho

Makes about 4 servings

Preparation about 30 minutes

Can be made ahead

4 large tomatoes, pureed or 2 c. tomato juice

1 large cucumber

2 small zucchini

1 large red pepper

1 avocado (optional)

4 scallions

½ c. fresh minced Italian type herbs, such as basil, thyme, sage, marjoram, and/or oregano

2 T. red wine or balsamic vinegar

2 T. lemon juice

1 clove garlic, minced or pressed (or dry minced garlic)

5 – 25 drops Tabasco

Garnish: fresh herb leaves

Chop all the vegetables into small dice, about ¼ inch x ¼ inch. Mix with the rest of the ingredients and allow to marinate in the refrigerator 2 – 24 hours.

Garnish with a few fresh herb leaves.

Thanks Mom.

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Three Bean Salad

Filed under: American Cuisine, Gluten Free, Low Calorie Density, Salads — Tags: beans, low fat, salad, summer, three bean salad, vegan, vegetables, vinaigrette — admin @ 1:03 am

Three Bean Salad with Green, Garbanzo, and Kidney Beans and Grape Tomato and Cucumber

Three Bean Salad

This is more of a reminder than a recipe for something new to most of you. Three bean salad, which most of us Americans know from our childhood, is usually vegan, and can easily be low fat.

Three Bean Salad is something we can put together quickly, although it improves if it sits and marinates for a few hours or overnight. If you don’t just make it and eat it, be sure to stir it up every time you get a chance. Low fat salad dressings never stick as well as those with oil in them, but this can easily be remedied by a little stirring, and isn’t that worth missing a lot of calories? My old recipe called for ¾ c. olive oil – that’s 1440 more calories, or 2 T. per small serving (which is 120 calories). You can have almost a whole cup more salad for those calories and that will fill you up better and make you healthier.

I am in love with balsamic vinegar, and think it is perfect with Three Bean Salad, although any vinegar will do – red wine, apple cider, champagne, even raspberry, although that last would not be to everyone’s taste.

As the word salad is in the name of this recipe, i think it calls for salad vegetables, although you often see it served with just green beans as any kind of light low calorie vegetable in it, and not a lot of those!

A typical can of beans has about 1 ½ c. of beans in it. If you look at the label, it will tell you there is more, but they seem to be counting the bean juice, which many of us believe causes gas, and in any case is not going to be a part of this recipe. I like to cook my own beans, and not have the extra salt, but i usually use canned beans (which can be washed to get rid of some of the salt), so i can throw together a quick meal, with nuked (microwaved) potatoes or popcorn (spritzed with a little water so the salt or seasoning sticks) and some fruit.

Of course if you are not trying to stand out as a vegan, you can take this to many potlucks and picnics and eat a lot of it and a little bit of whatever else you can find that doesn’t make you ill… French bread? Green salad (you could bring your own fat free dressing)? Baked potatoes? Corn on the Cob?

Many recipes vary the beans with black beans, cannellini, white, and also wax beans mixed with the green beans. All of these are interesting and worth pursuing, but this is the classic recipe which you can’t go wrong with.

Three Bean Salad

Makes about 4 servings

Preparation about 15 minutes

Marinate 5 – 24 hours (refrigerate if time allows)

Freezing changes the texture of the beans in a way i don’t like

The Beans:

1 ½ c. garbanzo beans, drained

1 ½ c. kidney beans, drained

3 c. green beans, cooked and drained, or raw, chopped

½ – 1 onion, preferably red (about ¾ c.)

The Dressing:

½ c. vinegar, red wine, balsamic, or champagne

½ t. ground paprika

1 t. Dijon mustard

1 t. sugar (optional)

½ t. salt (optional and unnecessary if the beans are canned with salt)

2 T. water (optional for those who find full-strength vinegar too much)

The Salad Vegetables:

4 c. lettuces

1 c. tomatoes, chopped

1 c. cucumber, diced

Mix the beans and onion. Mix the dressing well to dissolve the sugar and add to the beans. Marinate 5 – 1440 minutes.

Serve over salad vegetables as above or of your choice.

Nutritional information – not guaranteed to be accurate:

Per Serving – 185 calories/9 g protein (19.4%)/1.5 g fat (7.2%)

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