Tuesday, September 8th

This week was our vegan week, and many of you may know that I fear veganism. I’d like to be vegan, seems like a good thing to do for the body and for the planet, but it just seems so hard, and not altogether tasty. Add to this the fact that we had an attendee that ate no onions or garlic, so we were basically doing Sattvic vegan dishes. In other words, lower your expectations. Here’s what we had:

Orange Carrot Sunflower Salad—I’ve been meaning to use up some sunflower seeds that were given to me, and this was a good salad for doing so. I thought that it was a pretty good salad, though a bit on the sweet side. Very orange with the carrots and oranges, and it worked as a decent side salad. Not great, don’t think that I would make it again, but I give it a score of 5 bucks.

Pistachio and Grape-Studded Quinoa Salad—this was the better of the two salads for me, and I would make it again, with a few adjustments. Quinoa is really a great grain, as it’s not only versatile, but packed full of protein. This “miracle grain” actually has the amino acid structure of milk and is one of the few non-animal products that’s a complete protein by itself. In any case, this salad combined quinoa with grapes, cucumbers, and pistachios and was quite nice. I would have replaced the grapes with currants or another dried fruit, but the grapes were nice, and I give it a score of 6 bucks.

Chickpeas with Spinach—I expected this dish to have an Indian feel to it, but it really didn’t. Not sure what kind of feel it had, as I’ve forgotten the flavor already. The dish was fine but totally forgettable, which is not a compliment for an entrée. I would have liked much more complex spicing, and then it might have been a significantly better dish. As is, I give it a score of 4 bucks.

Sesame Broccoli—this was my least favorite dish, and I’m not sure if it was more about the broccoli being a bit undercooked or about the flavoring being unflavorful. It was one of those dishes where I just had no desire to finish what was on my plate. I do think that others liked it, but I didn’t at all, so the best score that I can give this dish is 2 bucks.


Chocolate Mint Chip Cake—I’m happy to report that for the second month in a row, I’ve been happily surprised with a vegan dessert. This one was chocolaty, minty, and a very satisfying dessert that didn’t seem to suffer from its veganitude. I should say that the group preparing this dish dramatically undercooked the dish, and I’m not sure if it was more a pudding or a lava cake, but it wasn’t as the recipe maker had intended. But it was still good and I give it a score of 5.5 bucks.

Overall—like last month, not a bad meal for being vegan. I think that we had a well-balanced menu and I wasn’t hungry an hour later. In all, the total score was 22.5 bucks, and that’s not bad for being vegan, Sattvic, and all for eight dollars. Now for the recipes…


Orange Carrot Sunflower Salad

Adapted from www.veganchef.com

Ingredients
½ C apple juice
2 T tahini
1 T maple syrup
1 T apple cider vinegar
Pinch of cinnamon
2 C carrots, shredded
1 orange, peeled, cut into segments, and each segment cut into three pieces
1/3 C currants
¼ C sunflower seeds
¼ C freshly chopped parsley

Instructions
1. In a blender or food processor, combine the apple juice, tahini, maple syrup, vinegar, and cinnamon, and process for 1 minute or until smooth and creamy.
2. In a bowl, place the remaining ingredients, pour the dressing over the top, and toss gently to combine.
3. Store in the refrigerator.


Serves 3-4



Pistachio and Grape-Studded Quinoa Salad

Adapted from www.veganchef.com

Ingredients
1 ½ C water
1 C apple juice
1 T ginger, minced
2 C quinoa, well rinsed
1 C English cucumber, cut into quarters lengthwise, and thinly sliced
1 C seedless red grapes, cut in half
1 C seedless white grapes, cut in half
1 C pistachios, shelled, and roughly chopped
½ C green onion, thinly sliced
¼ C parsley, chopped
3 T raspberry vinegar or red wine vinegar
2 T apple juice or water
2 T olive oil
2 T toasted sesame oil
2 t unbleached cane sugar (or white sugar from sugar beets)
½ t sea salt
¼ t cinnamon
Lettuce leaves, for garnishing

Instructions
1. In a medium saucepan, place the water, apple juice, and minced ginger, and bring to a boil. Add the quinoa, cover, reduce the heat, and simmer for 15 minutes or until tender. Drain off any excess liquid, transfer the quinoa to a bowl, fluff with a fork, and set aside to cool completely.
2. Combine the cucumber, red and white grapes, pistachios, green onions, and parsley to the cooled quinoa, and combine, tossing lightly with the cooled quinoa.
3. In a small bowl, place the remaining ingredients (except the lettuce leaves), and whisk well to combine. Pour the dressing over the quinoa mixture and toss gently to combine.
4. Cover and chill until ready to serve.
5. Serve atop lettuce leaves or in a bowl lined with the lettuce.


Serves 4 - 6



Chickpeas with Spinach

Adapted from www.sattvicfoods.com

Ingredients
4 T olive oil
1 t asafetida
1 C tomato puree
3 C cooked chickpeas
1 lb spinach, steamed and chopped
1 t salt
½ t black pepper
1 t brown sugar
1 t Italian herbs
Olive oil, lemon juice, and parsley to garnish

Instructions
1. Heat oil over medium heat. Briefly fry asafetida.
2. Pour in tomato puree and cook 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently.
3. Fold in chickpeas and steamed spinach. Mix in remaining seasonings. Reduce heat and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.
4. Serve hot drizzled with olive oil and lemon juice.


Serves 4



Sesame Broccoli

Adapted from www.sattvicfoods.com

Ingredients
1 t fresh ginger, grated
1 T liquid amino acids (like Braggs)
1 T sesame oil
1 T lemon juice
2 lbs broccoli florets and stalks
1 T sesame seeds, toasted
Black pepper to taste

Instructions
1. Whisk ginger, soy sauce, oil, lemon and set aside.
2. Steam broccoli until crisp and toss in ginger sauce.
3. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and pepper.


Serves 4-6



Chocolate Mint Chip Cake

Adapted from www.veganchef.com

Ingredients
½ C soy milk, rice milk, or other non-dairy milk of choice
½ C Mori-Nu silken style tofu, extra firm
1 C water
1 2/3 C unbleached cane sugar
1 ½ C unbleached flour
¾ C soy flour
¾ C cocoa powder
1 ½ t baking powder
1 ¼ t baking soda
1 t salt
½ C applesauce
2 t vanilla
½ t peppermint extract
1 C vegan chocolate chips

Instructions
1. Lightly oil a 9x13 inch pan and set aside.
2. In a food processor or blender, place the soy milk and tofu, and blend for 1 minute. Add the water and blend an additional 30 seconds.
3. In a medium bowl, sift together the sugar, flour, soy flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the food processor and blend for 1 minute. Add the applesauce, vanilla, and peppermint extract, and blend an additional 30 seconds or more to combine. Add the chocolate chips and pulse 2-3 times to incorporate.
5. Pour into pan and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.


Serves 12