Hey Friends, I’m alive!

Sorry about the unannounced hiatus. Things got busy, yadda yadda, etc.

Anywho, I’m back and I come bearing many yummy new recipes. I got a new cookbook for Christmas, Appetite for Reduction,  and I’ve been quietly pounding away at it over the past few weeks. AFR is from the fabulous Isa Chandra Moskowitz, author of the fantastic PPK blog and many wildly popular vegan cookbooks, including the holy grail: Veganomicon.

As you can probably deduce from the title, AFR focuses on lean, healthy and quick vegan cooking. I’ve made several drool-worthy things from it so far, including this salad. The original recipe calls for 4 cups of bean sprouts. However, I am not a fan of sprouts, as I think they taste of dirt. I replaced them with sliced mushrooms. Mushrooms lend a similarly “earthy” flavor sans hint of funky potting soil. Feel free to do it your own way.

Vegan Pad Thai Salad
Recipe courtesy of Appetite for Reduction

Ingredients

8 cups chopped romaine lettuce
4 cups sliced mushrooms (or bean sprouts, if you insist)
1 small red onion, sliced thinly
1 medium carrot, peeled and grated
1 recipe Peanut-Lime Dragon Dressing (recipe below)
1/4 cup roasted peanuts
1/2 cup lightly packed fresh cilantro
Lime wedges as garnish

Directions

• In a large mixing bowl, toss lettuce, mushrooms, red onion and carrot
• Add dressing and toss to coat
• Distribute salad among four bowls, garnish with roasted peanuts and cilantro and serve with lime wedges

Dressing Ingredients

1/4 cup roasted peanuts*
2 tbs chopped shallot
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1/2 cup water
2 tbs agave nectar
2 tbs shoyu/soy sauce
1 tsp Sriracha

*Note: The next time I make this I will definitely replace half the peanuts with 2 tbs of natural peanut butter (in the first step, below). This dressing is awesome, but it doesn’t have anything in it to make it adhere to the salad. I think peanut butter would accomplish that quite nicely without adding too much extra calories and fat.

Dressing Directions

• Pulse 2 tbs of the peanuts (peanut butter!) and the shallot in a food processor, just to chop everything up well
• Add the lime juice, water, agave, shoyu and sriracha and blend until very smooth
• Add remaining 2 tbs of peanuts and pulse for a bit, just to chop them up small

Yield: Serves 4

Oh, yeah. I went there.

I’ve found a way to make avocados unhealthy, you guys – and it’s good in a very bad way.

Obviously, these are to be deployed as an occasional treat only, but if you’re in the mood for seriously delicious comfort food, these are an excellent choice. The good news is, they’re very filling, so it would be really hard to do any hard-core diet damage here.

Regardless, I think it’s best to just forget about fat and calories if you make these and enjoy them for the perfect balance of rich, crunchy/creamy goodness that they are!

Avocado Fries
Recipe courtesy of Sunset

Ingredients

Canola oil for frying
1/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp kosher salt
2 Ener-G eggs
1 1/4 cups panko
2 firm-ripe medium avocados, pitted, peeled and sliced into 1/2 in. wedges

Directions

• Preheat oven to 200°F. In a medium saucepan, heat 1 1/2 in. oil on medium high
• Meanwhile, mix flour with 1/4 tsp salt in a shallow plate. Put Ener-G eggs and panko in separate shallow plates
• Dip avocado in flour, shaking off excess. Dip in egg substitute, then panko to coat. Set on 2 plates in a single layer
• Fry a quarter of avocado slices at a time until deep golden, 30 to 60 seconds
• Transfer slices to a plate lined with paper towels. Keep warm in oven while cooking remaining avocados
• Sprinkle liberally with kosher salt and serve

Yield: Serves 4

No, that’s not a typo.  This is (another) recipe I picked up a bit ago from one of the blogs I read. Meant as a lower fat/cal stand-in for guacamole, this recipe replaces the avocado with edamame.

I’ve got to say, given the choice between this and guac, I choose guac. At the same time though, I tend to get carried away with guacamole (and even though it’s healthy fat, it’s still a lot!). So, if you want a similar taste and a bigger portion, edamole is a great alternative to throw in the mix now and then.

Edamole
Recipe Courtesy of FitSugar

Ingredients

3/4 cup frozen shelled edamame, thawed
3 tbs water
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 tbs fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp hot pepper sauce (we used Cholula)
1 garlic clove, halved
2-3 tbs mild Pico de Gallo, to taste

Directions

• Combine all ingredients except for the Pico in a food processor until smooth
• Add 1-2 tbs of Pico and stir gently
• Top with another tbs of Pico and serve with chips or veggies