radish summer salad

Today at my work there was a bag of radishes in the kitchen with a sign saying "PICKED FRESH THIS MORNING - PLEASE TAKE".

Well how could I resist? Here's a yummy salad I whipped up with them.

In the salad; radishes, red kale, carrot, beetroot, lentils

In the dressing; mustard seed, crushed garlic, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, lemon juice

Was so good - yay for work colleagues with abundant veggie patches!

good advice salad

My friend Jane Willcox, along with her friend Rosemary Cadden, have made this excellent little book, Making a Meal of It. No, it's not a vegetarian cook book, in fact, it's not altogether a cook book at all. It's a handy how-to guide with hints and tips about using up perishables in the kitchen - from fruit and veg to herbs, meat and eggs. 

Even though there are lots of meat/dairy recipes, it's actually really good for vegos. After all, who has more wilting greens and fermenting fruit in their kitchen? Any way, I've been poring over it for the last few days and it inspired a gorgeous salad I made tonight, so I thought I'd share it with you.

To begin with, these were the things I desperately needed to use; a sad looking cucumber, half a bunch of parsley, a half a jar of sundried tomatoes in oil and some just-about-to-sprout garlic.

In the parsley section of the book there's a great little pasta sauce mix. I varied it a little, putting the garlic, sundried tomatoes, parsley and a little oil in a blender. I then added some olives, a tablespoon of the vinegar from the olive jar and a dash of lemon juice. This turned out really lovely, but it made heaps, and I didn't really feel like pasta tonight - also, what about that cucumber? So I split the mix into two, added a bit more oil to one half and put it in the fridge to make pasta with tomorrow.

So, I heeded the book's good advice and used up some other stuff I had lying around the kitchen. I mixed the pasta/pesto whatever-it-is with a tin of canellini beans. I then added the chopped cucumber and a rogue tomato from the bottom of the fridge. I put in some tinned corn for good measure, and finally added some capers - which gave the whole thing that little kick of awesome.

It truly turned out amazing. I now have a refreshing, summery salad in the fridge, ready for me to take to work tomorrow. I'll probably put a few slices of avocado on top, seeing as that's the last thing in my kitchen that needs to be used up before I go to the market on the weekend!

Thanks Jane :)

Check out the book - there's a preview of it here, or you can buy it online through Wakefield Press here.

Classic Potato Salad with Asparagus

I was at a BBQ a few weeks ago and there was a classic creamy potato salad. I never really ate potato salad but I've been thinking about it since so decided to give it a go. Here's a vegan version of the classic potato salad, using asparagus instead of egg and some vegan alternatives for the creamy sauce.

What you need;

potatoes, asparagus, spring onion, pickles (a.k.a. dill cucumbers or gherkins), capers, fresh dill, Praise 97% fat free mayonnaise (vegan!), Tofutti Sour Supreme (Better than Sour Cream), crushed garlic, lemon juice

What you do; 

I'm not using quantities because you can really make as much or as little as you like. It's a matter of how much tang you want = more or less capers, pickles and lemon.

Basically you boil the potatoes til just soft and let them cool (you don't want to overcook them or they'll just fall apart when you mix it up).

While they're cooking cut the spring onions and pickles into small pieces and chop the capers finely. Mix about 1 part Sour Supreme with 2 parts mayo in a bowl with crushed garlic and a bit of lemon juice to taste (don't go crazy on the lemon to start - too much lemon is hard to balance).

Steam the asparagus for about 2 minutes then refresh in cold water.

Once everything's cool, throw it all together and add finely chopped fresh dill. I put it in the fridge for a few hours before serving it so it's cold and refreshing.

Take it to your next BBQ and no-one will know it's vegan!