APPLE HARVEST QUINOA SALAD + SWEET TAHINI DRESSING

A little sweet, a little tart and a then a little more sweet...this quinoa salad is a wonderful mix of flavors and sensations. 

And then if it couldn't get any better, in comes the sweet tahini dressing...

Without the dressing this salad can stand alone, especially with a nice hint of the cinnamon. But let me tell you, a good drizzle of this dressing adds whole new layer of yum factor. This is my first time having this sweet tahini dressing and I was amazed at how good it tasted. It's a wonderful creamy sweet dressing that so easy to make. The sesame paste isn't bitter here at all and mixes very well with sweetness. It would make for a nice twist on the Waldorf Salad. Yes, more ways to use tahini! I am now officially addicted to this new find. I also found myself using it as a dip for sliced apples. So good...better than caramel with apples I think! It has a unique flavor that I cannot explain, it is something you must experience for yourself if you haven't already. 

As for the salad, you can make it in one pot and uses common ingredients so you can whip this up anytime. You can also add/subtract ingredients to suit what you have on hand or to suit your taste. I love versatility and this salad allows for that. I know you will be fond of this combination and hope you put it on your must try list. It's a nice fruit fall salad...and a keeper! 

Lot's of flavor, texture and simple deliciousness in every bite. And, it's 100% percent good for you!

APPLE HARVEST QUINOA SALAD + SWEET TAHINI DRESSING

Ingredients

• 1 cup quinoa (I used tri-color)
• 1 3/4 cup water
• 1 lemon, juice of
• 2 large apples, cored and diced (1 green + 1 red pref.)
• 1 1/2 cup grapes, sliced in half (I used red & green)
• 1 stalk celery, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup raisins
• handful chopped almonds
• a few large mint leaves, julienned
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, or to taste

Sweet Tahini Dressing

• 1/3 cup tahini
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar, or to taste (optional)

Rinse your quinoa in a fine mesh sieve. In a medium size pot, add water and quinoa, bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove cover and let set 15 minutes, fluff with a fork.

While quinoa is cooking, prepare your dressing by combining ingredients in a small bowl. Mix well and set aside to let the flavors relax into each other. Add more water, 1 teaspoon at a time, to thin as needed. To thicken add more tahini. It should be thin enough to drizzle. Dressing serves four.

Core and dice apples, top with lemon juice and toss gently (I did this right on the cutting board to not dirty up another bowl). Prepare the remaining ingredients. Add the apples, grapes, celery, raisins, almonds, mint leaves and cinnamon to the quinoa, mix well. Taste for flavor adding more cinnamon if you like.

Spoon into serving dishes and serve with a good drizzle of the sweet tahini dressing. Serves 4 - 6

Notes: 

I used 1 granny smith and 1 fuji apple. Feel free to use your favorite apples.

This recipe is just a template...feel free to sub in unsweetened cranberries for the raisins (I use raisins because they contain no added sugars and I can find organic ones easily). Opt to leave the celery or grapes out using just apples (or use any combo you like). Add in a grated carrot for more color. Add more cinnamon if you like. Try using pecans instead of almonds. Try serving with some leafy greens. Have fun playing around with this making it your own.

Store at room temperature if eating within a few hours or store in the refrigerator until ready.

Enjoy!

Did you make any changes or have suggestions that others might find helpful? 

Please share your experience with us. :)

Bircher Muesli with Chia Seeds, Figs & Apples

Muesli is a wonderful raw cereal and can be served with a variety of ingredients. Oats have been traditionally used along with fruits, nuts & seeds. Here is my favorite version of muesli using not only oats but other 'superfoods' like chia seeds and buckwheat grouts making this a nutritional powerhouse meal. 

This recipe originally came about for two reasons. One, I had picked up some figs the other day not quite knowing what to do with them. And the other is due to a question I had posted on The Simple Veganista facebook page asking about vegan breakfasts, cereals in particular, so it all came together and I really love the mixture of grains, fruits, nuts, seeds and spices. So very good! It's almost like a chia pudding. 

If you're in need of a meal that will carry you the distance, muesli is it. The added chia seeds in this version alone are an energy extender as well as the all-important omega's 3 & 6 they contain. They are one of the few plants based sources of omega 3. Chia seeds also contain a good amount of protein, fiber, iron and calcium per serving. The buckwheat can be optional in this version but I highly suggest that you get to know buckwheat, aka Kasha. Despite its name buckwheat isn't in the wheat family at all, it is considered a seed and is a great source of protein and fiber, even more than the oats per serving. In fact, you may decide to do all buckwheat and no oats sometime. It's also gluten free. The oats are a classic muesli staple and help soak up the liquids to make for a nice creamy dish while the other ingredients give texture and flavor. 

Some history on muesli taken from wikipedia...

'Muesli was introduced around 1900 by the Swiss physician Maximilian Bircher-Benner for patients in his hospital, where a diet rich in fresh fruit and vegetables was an essential part of therapy. It was traditionally eaten with juice and not milks.

The original Bircher-Benner recipe is proportionately the opposite of most muesli available in today's supermarket varieties, calling for far more fruit than grains. One serving based on the original recipe consists approximately of:

• 1 tablespoon rolled oats, soaked in 2–3 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon cream
• 200 grams apple (about one large, preferably a sour variety), finely grated and mixed with the above directly before serving
• optionally top with 1 tablespoon ground hazelnuts or almonds

The original recipe used sweetened condensed milk instead of cream, a compromise due to hygiene concerns regarding fresh milk products in 1900 (bovine tuberculosis etc.), before pasteurisation and refrigeration became commonly available. The original recipe also advised to soak the oats in water overnight as raw oats need a lengthy soaking to soften them before eating. This long soaking time is unnecessary with modern rolled "quick oats", which the manufacturers already soften through a steam treatment. While phytic acid is an antinutrient and strong chelator of important minerals, it is removed during the steam process, making muesli desirable, given its positive antioxidant qualities.'

I highly believe if Bircher-Brenner was alive today, he would agree that non-dairy milk is a much better option to dairy creams...

Let's make some 'superfood' muesli...I think Bircher would approve of this version :)

Ingredients

2 tablespoon rolled oats* ( I use GF)
2 tablespoons buckwheat groats/Kasha
1 tablespoon chia seeds
1/2 teaspoon or so vanilla
3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk, or non-dairy milk of choice
cinnamon, to taste
3 figs
1/2 apple, I use fuji
1-2 tablespoon raisins
a few almonds
a few pepitas
a few walnuts

In small/medium bowl combine oats, buckwheat groats, chia seeds, vanilla, milk, cinnamon, and half of the raisins. Mix well, cover and refrigerate overnight, or eat in one to two hours after it has set. Serve cold, or at room temp, topped with diced figs, apples, raisins and nuts/seeds and a sprinkle of cinnamon...add a little more milk if desired. I like to mix most of the apples in first and then top with the remaining ingredients. Serves one. Stores up to a couple days in airtight container in the refrigerator. Try drinking a glass of lemon water with this, very refreshing!

You may also like to try 100% fruit juice in place of the milk or use any fruits you like. 

*For 100% raw look for raw oats that have not undergone the steam process. These you will want to soak for eight hours plus.

You can also make it to go in the morning. Combine all the ingredients in a mason jar, or other to go container, give it a good stir and take it with you. The non-dairy milk is perfectly fine without refrigeration until ready to eat. At least if it's eaten within the day it should be fine, unlike dairy products that need refrigeration (another reason non-dairy milk is so great).

If you want to use more whole grains try this recipe below. It will fill you up for those extra long periods in between meals or can be munched on for a few hours...

Ingredients

1/4 cup rolled oats (I used GF)

1/4 cup buckwheat groats

2 tablespoons chia seeds

1/2 - 1 teaspoon vanilla 

1 cup unsweetened almond milk or milk of choice

any fruit and nut/seeds of choice

Enjoy these superfoods and eat them often !

CURRY ROASTED CAULIFLOWER & QUINOA SALAD

Get ready for a different flavor sensation! It's a nice balance of sweet, a bit of tang and curry flavor that I just can't get enough of. If you love roasted cauliflower and the combination of ingredients in this salad, I have no doubt you will find this to be a great addition to your meal rotations.

This recipe came about from a recent trip to a small grocery store near me. I picked up a version they had and thought it was good enough to recreate for the recipe collection. The quinoa is my own addition, I wanted to add some protein and extra fullness to the salad. The remaining ingredients are almost the same. I did have to guess at the dressing but it came out perfect, even better than theirs I think...much less oily. This can easily be a side salad or a full meal. Great for to-go lunches as well, can be served at room temp or chilled. 

To all of those who have picked up a copy of THE ARCHIVES VOL 1, thank you so much! :)

Roast your cauliflower and prepare your quinoa...



Mix the dressing and gather the rest of the ingredients...



toss everything together and you're ready for a flavorful and filling salad!

CURRY ROASTED CAULIFLOWER & QUINOA SALAD

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup dried quinoa
• 1 cup water (or just under)
• 1 large head of cauliflower
• 1 medium apple (I used Fuji), cored and diced
• 1/2 cup golden raisins
• 1/3 cup shredded coconut

Dressing

• 3 tablespoons grapeseed or olive oil
• 2 - 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar 
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon lemon or orange juice
• 1 tablespoon water
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• mineral salt & fresh cracked pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Cut cauliflower into florets. Lay in a single layer on a large rimmed baking sheet. Add a drizzle of oil and toss to coat. Roast in the oven for 40 minutes, mixing the cauliflower around half way through. Remove from oven, let cool. 

Rinse your quinoa using a fine mesh sieve (honestly, I usually skip this part but have it here for good measure. Don't feel you have to do it but you may find that you prefer it that way.) In a medium pot/pan, add quinoa and water, bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Once done, turn heat off, uncover and let rest for 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork and set aside.

In a small bowl, mix together the ingredients for the dressing. Set aside to let the flavors develop. Taste for seasoning adding anything extra you might like. 

In a large mixing bowl, combine quinoa, cauliflower, apple, raisins, shredded coconut and dressing, toss well to coat. 

Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Serves 4

Notes:

If you know and love the Orange Muscat Champagne Vinegar from Trader Joe's, or elsewhere, this is a great place to use it! Use it in place of the apple cider vinegar.

Sub in a tablespoon or so of water for the oil. Try using 1 tablespoon oil and 2 - 3 tablespoons water.

Feel free to use regular raisins or currants. Cranberries may even be a nice change up.

For my quinoa, I buy one bag each of white and tri-color and mix them together creating a nice blend of color and texture.

Enjoy this flavor combination, it's delicious!

Detox Salad + Ginger Lime Cardamom Dressing

It's detox time! After a weekend of trials with the last recipe Pizza Pie + Balsamic Tomato Sauce + Roasted Vegetables, it was time for some fresh, detoxifying foods. This lovely salad is inspired by the energizing detox salad from Mildreds. I was able to put this together rather simply using most of the ingredients listed while adding my own flair with a few ingredients like cardamom. I've had cardamom on hand and have wanted to use it for a while now. It can be an optional ingredient in the dressing if you don't have it but it is a wonderful addition that I think you'll love if you have it on hand. This salad came out truly wonderful and I'm so pleased to share it with you. I can literally make a large batch of this salad and eat it all day long, for a few days on end to boot. It's what's for dinner, and lunch tomorrow! The flavors pair and mingle well for my taste, and I think those of you who love detox salads will definitely find this combination pleasing on many levels. It has a bit of sweetness from the raisins, carrots and apple, a little earthiness from the beets, a slight sour from the lime juice, and some zest from the ginger and cardamom. Add to that how colorful it is, healthy, nutritious, easy to make and so fresh...it's a detox keeper!

I love being able to incorporate beets into my diet. They are one of those foods that I don't eat often enough but this salad is a perfect place to use up this highly beneficial vegetable. Here we can use the beets and the greens...a win all around! If you can't find the beets with their greens, use chopped spinach, dandelion greens, even lacinato kale (aka: dinosaur or Tuscan kale) would be great. As for the beets, feel free to use golden beets instead. Red beets can be a bit messy. For this reason I decided to chop my beets instead of grating them, which tends to really leave a red wet mess. But of course, feel free to grate your beets if you rather. It will give extra moisture to your salad if you do. Even grating the apple will release a lot of moisture adding extra juices as well (at least for Fuji apples). Do what feels best to you!

After I started eating, I remembered that the inspired recipe had an option for tofu and thought I'd give it a try. Let me say that it did not disappoint! Believe it or not the tofu was a great addition. I used an extra firm organic tofu and the texture blended right in and added a good dose of protein. Those who are familiar with tofu know that tofu it is a blank slate in terms of flavor and will take on whatever flavors it comes into contact with. Once mixed in it was great. Am I strange to love this? Oh well...I do! :) Tofu is optional but for those who are looking to make a complete meal I recommend adding a serving.

Detox Salad + Ginger Lime Cardamom Dressing

Ingredients

• 1 large beet with greens, beet julienned or grated and greens julienned
• 1 large apple, cored and diced
• 2 medium carrots, grated
• 1/2 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup organic raisins or golden raisins
• a few tablespoons hemp hearts or sesame seeds, to serve 
• organic tofu, cubed (optional)

Ginger Lime Dressing

• 3 - 4 tablespoons lime juice (lemon is fine too)
• 1 inch knob of ginger, finely grated (i used a microplane)
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom, or to taste
• 1/2 - 1 teaspoon pure maple syrup or coconut nectar, optional

In a small bowl, mix together the dressing ingredients. Set aside to let the flavors mellow and come together. Check dressing for flavor before serving. 

Prepare your salad ingredients and use 3 to 4 large beet leaves (about 1 cup lightly packed) and place all ingredients in a large bowl. Pour dressing over the salad ingredients, toss to coat. (You can also make this ahead of time and keep refrigerated until ready to serve.)

Serve topped with a good sprinkle of hemp hearts or sesame seeds, and some extra raisins if you like as they add a nice sweetness.  

Serves 2 large portions or 4 -6 small portions. 

Notes:

If you don't find beets with the greens, use spinach, dandelion greens or lacinato kale instead. Use golden beets in place of red beets to keep the color mess to a minimum. 

The cardamom can be optional. If you don't use it often, there is no need to buy this just for the salad dressing although it is delicious and you may find other uses for it either here soon, or elsewhere. If you don't have it, you will still have a great dressing.

This salad tastes better the longer your able to let it set and let the flavors mingle. This is a great salad to make in advance and store in the fridge until ready to serve.

Detox away! 

Enjoy...

CURRIED CHICKPEA SALAD

I love, Love, LOVE creamy chickpea salads! They are so addicting that I can literally sit and eat the whole bowl within a day. If you're familiar with my blog you already know about the Mashed Chickpea Salad and Cranberry Walnut Chickpea Salad. Now we are delightfully adding this curried chickpea salad to the collection. I honestly can't say that I love one more than the other. They each have a different flavor and are equally delicious in my book. But if you're a curry lover, you will be smitten over this salad! Inspired by a recent trip to Trader Joe's and saw their Curry Chicken Salad and knew it was time to make a vegan version. The ingredients are inspired by their ingredient list and it did not disappoint. I love the combination of curry with the sweetness of the raisins, along with the crunch from the carrots and cashews. It's a perfect blend of flavor and textures. The ingredients are simple so you can pull this together easily. It can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator for up to a week making it easy to pull together to-go lunches or simply to have on hand for snacking. I can almost guarantee this will not be in your fridge for that long...it will be gone almost as soon as you make it! This salad can be served alone, with sliced red bell peppers as scoopers, on a bed of leafy greens or made into a sandwich. I encourage you to gather your ingredients and give this salad a try. I think you will find it to be as good as the others. In fact, it may just become your new favorite!

Curried Chickpea Salad

Ingredients

• 3 cups cooked or 2 cans (15 oz.) chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
• 2 - 3 carrots (about 1 cup), diced
• 4 - 5 scallions/green onions (about 1 cup), sliced
• 1/2 cup raisins, dried currants or chopped dates
• 1/2 cup raw or toasted cashews
• 1/2 - 2/3 cup thinned hummus or tahini, vegan mayo would work too (see notes)
• juice of one lemon
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• mineral salt & cracked pepper to taste

In a small bowl, combine hummus with lemon juice, curry & garlic powder and a generous pinch of salt. Blend until combined. Set aside. (If adding vinegar or maple syrup as per the notes below, add to the hummus at this time.)

In a medium mixing bowl, add chickpeas and roughly mash about 1/2 of the beans with the back of a sturdy fork or potato masher. Add in the carrots, scallions, raisins, cashews and hummus, mix well to combine. Taste for flavor adding mineral salt and cracked pepper to taste.

Serve as is, with sliced red bell peppers as scoopers, on a bed of leafy greens, with crackers or made into a sandwich with bread of choice.

Serves 4-6.

Notes:

I love the sweetness that the dried fruit gives and could use up to 3/4 cup so each bite has a little sweetness to it. Feel free to add extra raisins, currants or dates.

If your hummus is on the thick side, thin it out with water until desired thinness. Using a small bowl add a couple rounded tablespoons of hummus with 1 tablespoon of water. Adding more of each as you go until you have a thinner hummus. Do the same if using tahini. Feel free to use more for a super creamy salad. If your measuring by tablespoons...8 tablespoons = 1/2 cup and about 11 tablespoons = 2/3 cups (technically 10 T + 2t).

You can try tweaking this recipe by adding a tablespoon or so of apple cider or white wine vinegar to the wet mixture. It will give it a slight tang. You may also like to try adding a tablespoon of pure maple syrup or other liquid sweetener of choice to add a little sweetness all around. Adjust curry, adding more or less, to suit your taste.

Try replacing the carrots with diced red bell peppers for color variation.

Enjoy!