vegetarian Archives - Page 11 of 11

Spring Salad with Citrusy Shallot Vinaigrette

April 29, 2013 By Becky Leave a Comment

Guess what? May is National Salad Month. I never realized this before I started a food blog, but almost every day is a special holiday celebrating a particular kind of food. In addition, each month is associated with a few different foods. May is not just about salad–it’s also National Barbecue Month and National Strawberry Month.

Some of these food holidays are great! National Butterscotch Brownie Day on May 9th? Now that’s something I can get behind. Others, like National Escargot Day (which happens to fall on my birthday, May 24th), are less appealing.

Do you want to check out the full list of food holidays? Yeah, I thought so.

Since food holidays are so ubiquitous, I clearly can’t do a post in honor of every single one. But, since I’ve been trying to eat more healthy food, I couldn’t pass up the chance to kick off National Salad Month with this little recipe.

This is just a side salad, but the dressing is super fresh and light and features all my favorite flavors. You could easily turn this into a meal by adding some grilled chicken or shrimp and avocado.

Ingredients for the salad:

Spring mix (like this one from Dole Salads)

Citrusy Shallot Vinaigrette:

1 garlic clove, minced

2 tablespoons minced shallot (about half a shallot)

3 scallions, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil

Juice of half a lemon

Juice of half an orange

Salt and pepper to taste

Whisk all the dressing ingredients together. Toss with the spring mix to taste.

I couldn’t resist taking a few pictures of the beautifully springy dressing ingredients. Were scallions the original inspiration for the whole ombre trend?

What’s your favorite salad this spring?

Make Your Own Chocolate Truffles (plus Vegan Coconut Almond Truffles)

April 8, 2013 By Becky Leave a Comment

Chocolate truffles are so easy to make, it’s amazing that places like Godiva get away with charging so much for them. If you want yours to be even more like the ones at the chocolate shop, you can melt your favorite milk or dark chocolate and dip the chilled truffles in it instead of rolling them in cocoa powder and confectioner’s sugar. Use a fork to remove the truffle once it’s covered in melted chocolate. Let the extra drip off, and place the truffle on wax or parchment paper or in a candy cup. This is a deliciously rich, fancy, no-bake dessert that will impress anyone. Chocolate truffles also make a great gift wrapped up in a cellophane bag or placed in a decorative box or tin. This recipe makes about 20 truffles.

Ingredients (adapted from Barefoot in Paris by Ina Garten):

½ cup heavy cream

3.5 ounces bittersweet chocolate

3.5 ounces semisweet chocolate

1 tablespoon brewed coffee

½ teaspoon vanilla or other flavoring

Pinch of salt

1 tablespoon Grand Marnier or other liqueur of your choosing

5 ounces melted chocolate for dipping (optional)

Cocoa and powdered sugar for rolling (optional)

Break the chocolates into small pieces and place in a bowl (don’t use chocolate chips instead of bars, because they have additives you don’t want in this recipe). Bring the cream to a boil, then quickly pour it through a sieve into the bowl with the chocolate. Use a whisk to stir until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. If your chocolate isn’t quite melted, put the bowl over a pan of simmering water and stir until smooth.

Add the coffee, vanilla or other extract, salt, and liqueur and whisk until smooth. Chill the mixture for at least 45 minutes, until firm enough to scoop.

When the mixture is firm, use a melon baller or small ice cream scoop to form balls, and place them on a sheet of parchment paper. Don’t worry if the balls aren’t totally round and smooth; you will have a chance to perfect them later.

Chill the balls for about 15 minutes, then roll them in cocoa and mold them into spheres. Chill overnight is possible, then roll in powdered sugar before serving. Or, roll yours in a mix of cocoa and powdered sugar like I did. Alternately, place in the freezer for about 15 minutes, then dip into a melted chocolate of your choice.

Vegan Coconut Almond Truffles

Ingredients:

3.5 ounces bittersweet chocolate (check the label to make sure the brand you’re buying doesn’t have any milk products)

3.5 ounces semisweet chocolate

½ cup coconut milk

½ teaspoon vanilla

½ teaspoon almond extract

1 tablespoon brewed coffee

Pinch of salt

4 tablespoons shredded coconut

4 tablespoons sliced almonds

Melt the chocolate as described in the recipe above, using coconut milk instead of cream. Add the extracts, coffee, and salt and whisk to combine.

Grind the coconut and almonds in the food processor until fine. Stir half of the nut mixture into the chocolate and save the rest for rolling.

Proceed as in the above recipe, chilling the chocolate mixture before forming it into balls. Instead of cocoa, roll the chocolates in the coconut and almond mixture.

Chocolate Mousse with a Secret Ingredient

April 5, 2013 By Becky 2 Comments

Here it is…another fabulous vegan dessert! You
have to try this. It’s easier than easy, and super delicious. No
cooking is involved, and it comes together in less than five minutes.

So, I told you it’s vegan. Can you guess what
the secret ingredient is? I will give you one hint: it’s not avocado
(although I have been wanting to try this recipe for chocolate avocado pudding).

Here’s a picture of the process:

Have you figured it out? It’s coconut cream!
Isn’t that crazy? Maybe you already knew about this whipped coconut
cream miracle, but I had no idea until I saw this photo tutorial
the other day. Today after dinner (I tried to make shrimp korma—it was
pretty good but I want to tweak the recipe before I share it with you) I
had an extra can of coconut milk and a hankering to try it. But, I
felt like it would be lame to just make and eat a bowl of whipped
coconut cream. So, I searched for a dessert featuring this amazing
stuff, and found and adapted this recipe from
Baking Chic. If you have a can of coconut milk, go put it in the
refrigerator right now so you can make this tomorrow. If you don’t have
a can of coconut milk, go out and buy one, then put it in the
refrigerator so you can make this tomorrow. If you’re in a big hurry,
put your can in the freezer so you can make this in half an hour.

Ingredients (serves one):

Cream from one can of coconut milk, chilled
1-3 tablespoons cocoa, to taste
1-3 tablespoons sugar, to taste
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Open the can of coconut milk, and spoon the hardened cream off the
top. Save the liquid for something else, like a smoothie. Using an
electric mixer, whip the coconut cream until fluffy. Mix in sugar to
taste and vanilla. The original recipe called for three tablespoons of
sugar, but I thought that would be way too sweet once I saw how little
cream I had (maybe the yield varies by can). Mine was perfect with a
tablespoon and an extra teaspoon of sugar. Set aside a few tablespoons
of the whipped cream to use as a topping. Mix in the cocoa to taste (I
used a tablespoon and a half). Serve the chocolate mousse with the
reserved whipped cream on top.