Yummy Vegan Summer Salads!

This past weekend I tried a couple of new recipes from the Vegan Mainstream Cookbook Club I've been participating with for a few weeks. There is already a new recipe challenge posted for this week but I haven't gotten to it yet!

Last week, Ricki Heller was the featured chef for the Google+ Hangout Live Chat. One of the recipes posted was a Roasted Potato Salad with Avocado Pesto. I didn't have every item the recipe required but I think my substitutions worked well - hubby and I ate the whole batch over a 2.5 day period!

These were my substitutions and revisions (Note: this is not the entire recipe - only my additions/revisions!):

Salad:
2 sweet potatoes (recipe only called for 1)
2 c. cubed celeriac (instead of adding 2 red potatoes - lower carb option )
1/2 medium white onion (I didn't have green onions)

Dressing:
1/2 avocado (instead of a whole avocado - lower fat option)
2 tsp dried basil (I didn't have enough fresh basil)
2 T fresh parsley
1 T cashew 'cheese' (homemade by me - add to increase the creaminess of the dressing since I wasn't using a very soft avocado and only used 1/2 the recommended amount)

This is what the dish looked like in the end:

The next salad I tried really blew my mind from a food pairing perspective: Grilled Peach, Courgette & Walnut Salad.  First I had to look up what a courgette was because, from the picture, it looked like a regular 'ole zucchini. And it was! :-) Easy to find...and even easier to cook!

For color, I added some yellow squash. I didn't measure the parsley and mint exactly. I used closer to 1/4 c of the parsley and 3 T. of fresh mint. I also added 2-3 T of cilantro.  I just loved how the texture of the peaches and zucchini went together and let me tell you how wonderful those grilled peaches tasted. YUM! I think I'll try adding a little more fresh mint to this recipe next time (but I really love mint - this may be plenty for most cooks!).

Our Sunday lunch was now complete!!!:

I'm already looking forward to making both of these salads again!

When Speed, Distance and Cauliflower Collide

You know that week on your training schedule that you look at weeks or months ahead of time and think "how am I going to be able to do that"? That was last week for me. The final week of my peak training cycle before tapering for the Disneyland Half.  In addition to keeping the run streak alive, I had my last true speed work session and a long run planned.  Over the last 2 months, I've been building on my 800's. Starting with 6 x 800 in June, adding 2 additional repeats every couple of weeks until the max 12 x 800 session scheduled for last Thursday.

I realized just how tired my legs were after nearly falling on my face 2 or 3 times on the 9 mile, 2000 ft ascent trail run I brilliantly concluded would be a great addition to my last big training week of the summer. Instead of kicking off the week feeling refreshed and ready to tackle the week, I barely eeked out 1 mile on Monday (the big trail run had been on Sunday). Tuesday was a little better: I managed to hold a 9:30 pace for an hour. I tried to stick to my plan of running 5 miles on Wednesday but cut it short at 3 miles. My hips were still pretty tight and my quads weren't feeling as light and loose as I'd hoped the day before the 800's!

I was super anxious about the speed work. The 10 x 800 workout was very difficult.With a 1:44:30 time goal (7:48 pace) for the Disneyland Half, I have been running my 800's in 3:45 (7:30 pace). My brain tried to convince me to quit after the first 4. "You'll never make it to 10". But I did make it even though I thought I might fly off the back of the treadmill near the end. But that didn't happen. I also didn't puke or die which
were on my list of things to fear about this workout too.  So when I stepped onto that 'mill last Thursday, I was ready for anything. Come on Brain, bring it. I've got an arsenal of mental tricks ready for the counter-attack. As it turns out, I didn't really need those tricks. The first 4 went by pretty quickly. Before I knew it, I only had 4 left. Something new I've found about myself through this challenging speed work, I grunt when I'm pushing really hard for an extended period of time. Loudly. And my internal Coach voice makes herself externally audible as well. "Come on Vera!" "Push!"  It's always a good sign when you can still talk during the workout, right? Anyway, I was happy when the workout was over and proud too. Not only was it the hardest speed work I'd ever done, it also marked the highest mileage I've ever done before work - 10.75 mi!

I had planned on taking Friday as another rest day (ie. "only" 1 mile for the streak) but when hubby asked if I wanted to run with him Friday night after seeing the new Wolverine movie, how could I say no? While I enjoyed the time with him immensely, it was the longest 3 miles of my life. My inner thighs were sooo fatigued. I couldn't believe how little energy my legs had in general. With 15 miles on the schedule for Saturday, I decided after that Friday night run to cut the Saturday long run back to 12 miles. Boy was I glad I did. The final few miles on Saturday were pretty tough. Thank goodness I was running with some of our Galloway program members who carried me through the distance! Now I can focus on some shorter distances, one more day on the trail, one more 11.5 miler with our group on Saturday and then I coast into race day on 9/1. I'm ready (almost)!

On the cooking front, I tried out some new recipes last night. I had planned on making Lentil Walnut burgers out of Dreena Burton's Let Them Eat Vegan cookbook but had to make a few substitutions when I realized I had no lentils.  In lieu of lentils, I added mushrooms and 3/4 of a Gala apple. I also added about 1/4 c. more rolled oats than the recipe called for. Mushrooms are such a great meat alternative. They add just the right amount of texture and density to meatless burgers. I added the apple on a whim because I thought the sweetness would accompany the real star of our meal last night: Hot Cauliflower "Wings". I had been wanting to try a similar recipe that my sister sent to me a few months back but put it off when I saw that the cauliflower had to be deep-fried in oil.

The recipe I used from Evolve Vegan used a 2-step baking process and it was very easy to do!  The one caveat I'll throw in here is the Wing sauce I used. Hubby and I made a trip to Whole Foods earlier than day (if I'd only known I was out of lentils!) and were unable to find a vegan option for wing sauce. The only Wing Time sauces they had included a little Parmesan. As hubby pointed out, there's probably not a big market for vegan wing sauce considering wings are from animals! D'oh! I guess I'm on the hunt for a vegan wing sauce recipe now - or maybe I'll just make one up. In any case, these cauliflower "wings" are THE BOMB. You must make them today. Right now even. Seriously.

The meal turned out fantastic and sooooo delicious. We topped our mushroom/walnut/apple burgers with a piece of Daiya swiss cheese and a couple of slices of an heirloom tomato.  Of course, we couldn't forget the Ranch dressing for our "wings" ! I made this vegan & raw-friendly version. And yes, it tastes exactly like Ranch dressing.

Happy Meatless Monday!

Recipe Challenge: Dreena's Lemony-Cashew Basil Pesto

So last night was the 2nd live online chat/Google Hangout for the Vegan Mainstream Cookbook Club. I was looking forward to this night in particular because Dreena Burton was the featured chef. Dreena is one of the professional chefs whose cookbooks inspired me to become a better and more diverse vegan cook. It was a really fun 40-ish minutes. The main theme was sauces and dips (in addition to herbs which is the overall August theme). She is very passionate about hummus - not just hummus, GOOD hummus. I learned that you can freeze hummus for several months. I don't know why I don't think about making bigger batches of these meals. Maybe it's because I'm enjoying the cooking aspect and the fact that everything is so fresh. There's something about freezing food that is unappealing to me (with the exception of chocolate and almond ice cream of course!). :-)  I'm sure I'll get over it once the "newness" of this cooking-from-scratch thing is over - maybe......

Earlier in the day, the site posted her Lemony-Cashew Basil Pesto recipe for everyone to try. The live hangout starts at 5:30p Pacific time so I wasn't ready to start dinner yet but I did give the recipe a try that night since I had all the ingredients at home already. I regularly keep Cashew "cheese" (I guess some would say it's Cashew butter) in the fridge and that made this fast & easy recipe even easier!  I included the full recipe from the Google+ site below.

I used about 1/2 c. of the cashew cheese I had in the fridge. This already had some lemon and garlic in it (which are also in this pesto recipe) but I did add more lemon juice, about 2 Tbl. I didn't have any dry mustard so I added 1/2 tsp of Dijon into the food processor with the other pesto ingredients. **Note: I excluded the oil completely. You can easily substitute water or even an equivalent amount of fresh lemon juice if more lemon is what you desire!

After about 1 minute in the food processor, it looks like this:

Just about any kind of pasta will go great with this pesto. I used tri-color veggie pasta. The picture posted with Dreena's recipe is more like spaghetti or linguine. I prefer to use pasta that will hold a little more of the sauce. :-)

Yesterday was also CSA pick up day so I quickly sauteed some delicious fresh yellow wax beans we received. And here's the final dish!:

Ready to give it a go for yourself? Here's the full recipe! If you don't have a high powered blender like a Vita Mix or a Blend Tec, you can either soak the raw cashews overnight (8+ hours) or you can boil them for about an hour. The idea is get to them as soft as possible before they go into your blender or food processor.

Happy Healthy Cooking!

Lemony-Cashew Basil Pesto (recipe and photo from +Dreena Burton's  eat, drink & be vegan http://amzn.to/16yx1rR)

Traditional pesto takes on new life with this recipe. Cashews provide a buttery, creamy contrast to the tangy lemon juice and intense fresh basil. When basil is abundant, make double or triple batches, since this pesto freezes wonderfully.

•3–3½ tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
•1 large clove garlic
•¾ tsp dry mustard
•¾ tsp sea salt
•freshly ground black pepper to taste
•1 tbsp water
•2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil (optional, for oil-free version add 1-2 tbsp extra water)
•1 cup + 1–2 tbsp raw cashews (see note)
•2½–2¾ cups (packed) fresh basil leaves and tender stems
•½–¾ lb (225–340 g) dry pasta of choice (see note)
•olive oil (for finishing, optional)

In a food processor, combine lemon juice, garlic, mustard, salt, pepper, oil, and water, and purée until fairly smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add cashews and basil and purée until fairly smooth (may leave some texture). Cook pasta according to package directions. When almost done, remove about 1/2 cup of pasta water and reserve. Drain pasta (do not rinse) and toss with pesto, using as much pesto as desired (see note).  If pasta seems too dry, add some pasta water, 1 tbsp at a time, until moistened to preference.  Season with additional salt and pepper if desired, and finish with a drizzle of olive oil.

Cooking Notes from Dreena:

1) Use brown rice, quinoa, or other gluten-free pasta for a gf dish; use spelt, kamut, or other wheat-free pasta for a wheat-free dish.

2) Raw almonds may be substituted in part or entirely for cashews, just add extra water or oil to moisten when puréeing.

3) You can make this pesto in advance and refrigerate in a sealed container until you’re ready to cook the pasta.

4) This pesto also makes a dynamite sandwich spread or pizza sauce (or dollop on pesto as a pizza topping).

5) I like a lot of sauce on my pastas, but you may prefer less; use up to1 lb (450 g) pasta and add extra cooking water or oil to help distribute the pesto through the pasta.

Winning!

Last night, while I was cooking dinner, I participated in a FitFluential #BeAmazing Twitter chat that was sponsored by Women's Running Series. Over the course of 1 hour, readers/Tweeters were encouraged to respond to 10 questions. As a result of my participation, I won a free entry to any 2013/2014 Women's Running Series events!! WOO HOO!! :-D  I chose the February Half Marathon in San Diego because it is the closest to me geographically.

What was I cooking? A stir fry with these delicious morsels:  http://www.traderjoes.com/fearless-flyer/article.asp?article_id=381 and a little brown rice, fresh bok choy and a purple bell pepper right out of my weekly CSA box. Tuesday is our weekly pick up day. YUM!

On the subject of our local CSA program..... I was interviewed on camera yesterday by the coordinator when I arrived to pick up our box. Underwood Farms is putting together a little documentary/promotional video for their CSA program and I wanted to show my support! After all, I did switch to this program after a disappointing trial period with Farm Fresh to You. Not only is the produce fresher with Underwood, it is truly supporting a LOCAL farming program. One of the farms I visit is quite literally a 15 minute drive from my house. Yes, Farm Fresh to You delivered to our doorstep but I'm so much happier with the variety and quality from Underwood that I think I can handle driving less than a mile to the home where our local pick up location is! I'm not very comfortable being on camera and I almost bailed out of it completely but I'm so glad I did it. If I have a way of posting the final video here when it's released, I will!

In other cooking news, I also participated in my very first Google Hangout last night. This is a once a week, 30 minute "hangout" for the Vegan Mainstream Cookbook Club community. It was awesome! I'm so excited to learn and share recipes with other home cooks. There are also professionals spotlighted and in attendance each week. Next Tuesday, Dreena Burton, will be the guest chef. I really love her cookbook "Let Them Eat Vegan". This week's Hangout was a Kick Off session. Only the 2 moderators were on camera. The remaining 300+ community members in attendance communicated via live chat by posting comments. The theme for the month is Fresh Herbs and for this week, every one is sharing their favorite smoothie recipe. Some chefs include herbs like rosemary and basil in their smoothies. Sounds delicious! I can't wait to try some new recipes this week!

My legs have been feeling pretty trashed this week and I've been frustrated with the slow recovery from our 20-miler last Saturday. Rather than try to run for a 3rd day in a row today (aside from 1-mile to keep the run streak going of course!), I tried a new online spinning workout from Spark People. One of my Dailymile friends turned me on to the site. I bought a spin bike about 18 months ago and while I like to jump on and do my own thing, I find that with activities other than running, I like to be a Follower! It seems more motivating to me. Does anyone else experience this too? Anyway, I tried the 25 minute "Stationary Biking Intervals" for beginners. The intermediate and advanced programs are similar in structure, but higher in intensity and longer in duration. Let me tell you, sweat was dripping off my face like a running water faucet  after the first 10 minutes. I loved every second. I followed it up with 40 push-ups and was ready to start my work day! I'd really like to fit in 2 of these sessions every week. I think it will be easier to motivate myself to do it now that I have some help with the workout structure from Spark People. Cool!!

Happy Cooking, Happy Training, Happy Life!
Vera :-)

You're Vegan Now?

....What on Earth Do I Eat? Any thing that grows from the Earth! :-) As part of my blog reboot, I'm going to be writing a lot more about food and cooking!

Over the past year, I've been doing A LOT of reading and research about the health and environmental benefits of following a vegan lifestyle. If you've spent any time reading food labels, finding real, natural, whole foods can be a bit of a challenge, Yes it can be time consuming but just like with any new skill, you spend more time in the beginning, learning the basic techniques, before it starts to feel like less work!
Most grocery store food products have a ton of preservatives, chemicals and animal products so I became a smarter consumer and chef - vowing to make the majority of our meals from scratch (even burger buns!).

At Christmas, my sis gave me a copy of Chloe Coscarelli's Chloe's Kitchen book. That really kicked my vegan cooking skills into high gear. Last night, I made her "Best-Ever Mac-n-Cheese".  It's a very simple recipe with mmmmm-mmmmmmm cheesy goodness! I added some smoky tempeh (about 1/2 package) and topped it with broccoli. The "cheese" flavor comes from nutritional yeast. For a gluten-free option, I used brown rice pasta.

Here's the final product (enough for hubby and I for multiple meals!):

These Pumpkin Oat muffins have become a staple for hubby and I. The basic recipe is from Dreena Burton's Let Them Eat Vegan. She calls for equal parts Spelt and Oat flour. Depending on what I have around the house, I have also used Quinoa and Whole-Wheat flour. For gluten-free options, any non-wheat based flour will work but I have noticed the quinoa flour increases the density of the muffins a bit. This recipe has a little too much oil in my opinion - 3 T of neutral oil. I substitute 2 T of delicious pumpkin butter that I pick up at a local farm (it's non-fat!) and only use 1 T of grapeseed oil in the entire recipe. I can make about 48 mini-muffins from one batch!

 These were a great treat following an amazing Sunday morning trail un. One of our Galloway pace group leaders, Elizabeth, (did I mention she's an awesome running partner too?!?) has been joining me about once a week on this local trail. With nearly 1,400 ft of climbing, almost all in the first 2.6 miles, parts of it can be a little brutal but we're making progress with our pace and leg strength! The fog made for some spectacular views yesterday:

Elizabeth in the final steps of our run on the Chumash trail.

Happy Running, Happy Cooking = Happy Life!