A {Vegan} Love Letter to LA in Two Parts

As a New Yorker it’s become apparent that I’m not supposed to fall in love with, or even really like, Los Angeles. Bestowing any type of warmth on LA beyond a stoic eye-roll is tantamount to declaring a fatwa on the crowded, filthy, noisy city that I call home. I mean, there’s a reason why the East Coast/West Coast Biggie/2Pac feud raged so hard during my youth, right? Even Chloe Sevigny agrees.

Nonetheless, at the risk of sounding like I’m betraying The City of Dreams, I’m gonna go out on a limb here and declare that I love Los Angeles. Like, seriously, LOVE it. Not enough to consider leaving NYC, mind you (even after being hit by a car!), but enough to wax poetic about it for at least two very long blog posts…

Buckle up.

Lemon + Cranberry Kale Salad

I'm feeling a little sheepish about this recipe.

You see, I recently declared my borderline obsession with kale, which means I'm probably crossing the line by revisiting the topic again so soon.  (Also, who am I to force yet another 'effin kale salad upon the internet?)

Furthermore, publishing a "recipe" for something void of any actual measurements makes me feel like I'm copping out somehow.  (I mean, what makes a recipe a recipe?  Are ingredient amounts clearly one of those non-negotiable prerequisites?  Is "to taste" an antiquated term?  Does Ryan Gosling even bother reading recipes this simple?)  

Instead of succumbing to pangs of self-doubt, I'm choosing to share this with you.  It's my favorite kale salad - a stunningly simple combination of sweet and bitter flavors, elegantly disguised as health food.

So, go ahead and roll your eyes about my kale overload/recipe rule infractions.  Just do it while shoving this glorious salad into your mouth.

{VeganMoFo} Raw Taco Salad

This raw taco salad is something of a revelation.

In it, crisp lettuce marries with seasoned taco meat and tangy cashew cheese to form the main components of the most coveted raw recipe in my arsenal.  The trick is to throw in just a few of the usual taco suspects:  tomatoes, scallions, olives, and cilantro, and to top the whole thing off with nothing more than a bit of freshly squeezed lime juice, which allows every flavor to shine through brilliantly.

Yes, there's a little advanced prep work here.  Yes, it's totally worth it.

This is pretty much heaven in a bowl.

VeganMoFo: Orzo Con Confetti (AKA Orzo Salad)

If you're anything like me (and I know I am), you find it almost impossible to watch shows like "The Sopranos" without being overcome by the sudden urge to inhale a huge batch of pasta. 

"If we're outta nooch, someone's gettin' whacked."

VeganMoFo: Creamy Dijon-Dill Pasta Salad

Sometimes, nothing quite beats a rich, creamy, vegan-mayo-covered pasta salad. I mean, I'm all for healthier versions of pasta salad (and I usually prefer them) but like I said, sometimes...

For this dish, I basically just subbed in some alphabet pasta for the potatoes in my Creamy Dijon-Dill Potato Salad recipe.  It seemed kinda crazy at first - turning a potato salad into a pasta salad - but it's not that weird if you really think about it.

Colorado: We Drove, We Hiked, We Ate!

I have to admit, it's pretty intimidating to try and come up with the perfect thing to post after an - ahem! - almost 6 month blogging hiatus.

There's all of this pressure to come back with something utterly amazing. Something worthy of such a long absence. Something so great that my readers (are you still out there?) will nod knowingly when they see my post, immediately understanding that my MIA status was the result of months of hard work and preparation in completion of the very post they are reading right now.

Vegan Eats in Texas, Toronto, & Chicago

Despite all appearances to the contrary, I'm not attempting to capture the title of "most idle vegan food blog known to man." It just seems as though life occasionally (frequently) gets in the way of blogging - I know, I know, shocking stuff...

As a result of my long absence, I've decided to post a ton of food-porn pics from places that I've visited, like San Antonio, Texas (where I just returned from my younger brother's Air Force Basic Training graduation); Toronto (where CH and I spent a lovely vaca last summer); and Chicago (the place I nearly call home).

Hopefully all of these pics will make up for my lack of posting during the past few months. I mean, they do say a picture's worth 1,000 words right? So, this should pretty much cover it...

Top 10 Vegan Thanksgiving Recipes, Featuring Pumpkin Cheesecake with Candied Cranberries

Ah, yes, Thanksgiving... perhaps the most anxiety-filled holiday for vegans (and turkeys!) alike. It's one of those days when your vegan/vegetarian values will likely end up on display, in subtle and not-so-subtle ways. However, it's up to you to handle things in a civil, kind-hearted way - especially if you want to save the family arguments for topics like politics or Adam Lambert's recent AMA performance.

Lettuce-Free Salads: A Terrific Trio

Unlike some vegetarians and vegans, I never tire of salads.

What I do occasionally tire of, however, are lettuce-based salads.

Maybe it's just me, but sometimes it seems like the old "greens + veggies" or "greens + fruit" thing can get a little boring. You know the drill: Throw some romaine lettuce into a bowl, add your tomatoes, toss in some broccoli, sprinkle a few sunflower seeds on top, drizzle it all with a bit of dressing... yea, yea, yea.

Predictable.

Summery Strawberry Salad + Peanut Butter Coconut Ice Cream

Alright, so maybe these two recipes don't exactly combine to make the perfect meal, but peanut butter and strawberries do go together, right?!

No matter, I guess, because each of these dishes is delicious in its own right.

First, there's the refreshing Summery Strawberry Salad, which is the ultimate meal after a long, hot day in the summer sun. Then, there's the Peanut Butter Coconut ice cream, whose delectable sweetness makes it the perfect end (or beginning) to almost any day!

Holy Michael Phelps, It's Been a Long Time!

It's official: my nearly 3-month-long hiatus from Veggie Terrain (coupled with a recent 4-day "complete blog shutdown") has finally ended!

But as much as I've truly missed blogging, I'm proud to say that I accomplished a lot during my absence. During the past few months, I graduated from law school, completed an undeniably hellish Bar-prep program, and ultimately sat for the Bar Exam, itself. And although I won't know whether I passed until the 2nd week of October (talk about traumatic), I'm trying to be as positive as possible, and to take comfort in the fact that I've never worked so hard at anything in my life...

So, with that little bit of Bar Exam talk out of the way, let's get to the new - and hopefully improved - Veggie Terrain!

Edamame + Black Bean Summer Salad

As much as I hate to do it, I'm planning to start posting shorter blog entries during the next couple of months. Tomorrow is the official start of my Bar Exam prep classes, which means that things are about to get a little crazy around here.

Brighten Your Day Salad + Vegan Poppy Seed Dressing

You know how sometimes when you're feeling down, just seeing something that's bright and sunny can make you feel a little bit better? Well, as silly as it might sound, that's exactly what creating this salad did for me...

Last night, my mom called to tell me that she had finally decided to put our cat, Natasha, to sleep. We've had Natasha (or "Tashie," as we liked to call her) ever since she was a kitten and I was about 8 or 9 years old. She was a Seal Point Siamese cat, with blue eyes, beautiful white fur, and the typical black legs/ears/face that're associated with Siamese cats.

Tashie was a sweet and affectionate, yet calm and sophisticated pet. She was the kind of cat who could even make sworn "non-cat people" want to pet her, and was the envy of my friends when I was growing up.

Garden Ranch Pita

This pita sandwich is one of my go-to recipes for when I almost feel like having a salad, but not quite. I love it because it's scrumptious, healthy, and completely simple. I also like it because it's a great substrate for my homemade Vegan Ranch Dressing (VRD). Yum!

Creamy Dijon-Dill Potato Salad

Ah, so you have to make something for your next family event, and you're the only one who's vegan, huh? You don't feel like throwing together yet another boring lettuce-based salad, and you're not in the mood for dessert. Moreover, you want to make something that everyone will enjoy, without all of those puzzled "How can that be vegan?" looks.

Well, guess what? You're in luck!

Salsa Pasta Salad

Sometimes I just feel like having some good old-fashioned pasta salad. I mean, there's nothing quite like a chilled bowl of pasta (dressed up with a few accouterments, of course) to help get you through that midday slump. Unfortunately, however, it seems as though most pasta salads are heavy on the mayo and light on the flavor.

Yea - not exactly my bag.

Thus, enter "Salsa Pasta Salad," which is both flavorful and non-mayonnaised (vegan or otherwise). And although this salad isn't quite perfect yet, I appreciate being able to throw it into a plastic container for lunch in about 30 seconds flat.

The recipe can be found here, but please make sure to use olive oil in place of the vegetable oil - it tastes better, and it's so much better for you!

Mexican-Style Chickpea Salad

Honestly, I've found that I'm somewhat addicted to beans (which probably explains why CH and I affectionately call each other "Beans" on occasion...awww).

Anyway, I love their versatility: they can be eaten hot or cold; can be used dried or from a can; and are perfect as part of a side dish or even as the "main event." Although black beans are my all-time favorite, a variety of other kinds are quickly moving up on my list.

Typically, I prefer chickpeas in the form of falafel or hummus. I also like them in soups/stews, because they usually taste kind of funny to me when I eat them cold, as whole beans. Actually, if I eat enough chickpeas, their taste starts to remind me of tuna fish, which makes me a bit unsettled. Interestingly though, after doing a bit of recipe googling, I discovered that chickpeas are often used as a vegetarian substitute for tuna salad. Hmmm...maybe my taste buds are even more well-developed than I previously thought.

So, I found this Mexican-Chickpea Salad on the Food Network website. I actually didn't like it that much, but maybe that's because I left out the chipotle peppers. (While I do love jalapeños, I cannot stand chipotles, which are smoked jalapeños.) Despite that fact, I decided to go ahead and post the pictures and a link to the recipe anyway. Who knows, maybe some of you will find this recipe more to your liking. In the mean time, at least it looks nice! You can find the recipe here.

(Edit 4.24.12) A thoughtful reader pointed out that this recipe is no longer available on The Food Network website. Thus, please find the recipe below:

Mexican-Style Chickpea Salad
(from The Food Network)

Ingredients:
2 canned chipotle chiles in adobo, minced (I omitted these)
3 fresh jalapenos, minced
1 medium onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tomatoes, chopped
4 c. canned chickpeas, rinsed & drained
1/4 c. extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 c. lime juice, freshly squeezed
3 Tbsp. fresh cilantro, chopped
salt + freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
Add all ingredients to a large bowl & refrigerate for at least 2 hours.  Season with salt & additional lime juice, as desired.  Serve salad cool or at room temperature.

Couscous + Black Bean Salad

Sometimes food turns out so darn pretty that you almost don't want to eat it. (Huge emphasis on the word "almost" there.) Clearly, this couscous and beans dish presented one of those difficult situations. Luckily though, hunger typically trumps my love of aesthetics, and this salad presented no exception.

Thus, I'm happy to report that I enjoyed this dish down to the very last bite. It has a somewhat subtle taste: no over-powering flavors; no ingredients screaming "notice me!" Truthfully, it's one of those meals that doesn't instantly strike you as fantastic. However, the more of it you eat, the more amazing it tastes.

Trust me on this...

Recipe: Couscous + Black Bean Salad
(inspired by allrecipes.com)

1 cup whole wheat couscous*
1 1/4 cups vegetable broth*
2 (150z) cans black beans, thoroughly rinsed & drained
1 cup frozen corn
3/4 red bell pepper, seeded & chopped
5 green onions, chopped
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
1 tsp. red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1 pinch salt
10 grinds freshly ground black pepper

1.) Cook couscous according to directions, replacing water with vegetable broth.
2.) In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, vinegar, cumin, salt, & pepper. Set the dressing aside.
3.) After the couscous has finished cooking, fluff it gently with a fork, & transfer it into a large bowl. Stir the beans, corn, red pepper, & green onion into the couscous.
4.) Pour the dressing over the couscous mixture, stirring to coat.
5.) Stir in the fresh cilantro, taste for salt/pepper, & add if necessary.
6.) Serve immediately, or refrigerate & serve later. (This salad is best at room temperature.)

*Variation: You can also use a box of Near East's Near East's "Roasted Garlic & Olive Oil" wheat couscous (instead of using plain, wheat couscous) when making this dish. If you do so, omit the vegetable broth and use water instead.

couscous and black bean salad