California Chipotle Chopped Salad

With the summer weather we've had the past two weeks, I've been in the mood for summer veggies. Of course, by the time I bought the stuff to make this California Chipotle Chopped Salad, the weather turned cooler. Still...this salad is amazing! I'm usually not one to gush over salads, but this one is a winner.

The chipotle-seasoned black beans, cilantro, and avocado complement each other perfectly; the dressing is lime-y, tangy, sweet, and refreshing; the romaine, tomatoes, and red onion round are a good base; and super-nutritious quinoa is always a welcome addition. I predict this will be my go-to summer salad that I'll bring to potlucks and serve to guests on lazy summer evenings on my patio.

California Chipotle Chopped Salad
Recipe from April 2012 Fitness Magazine
Servings: 4

• 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons agave nectar
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon chipotle chile powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 head romaine lettuce, cut or torn into bite-sized pieces
• 1 large tomato chopped or cherry tomatoes cut in half
• 1/4 red onion, finely chopped
• 1 avocado, pitted and diced
• 1/2 cup quinoa
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro

1. To make dressing: Puree 3 tablespoons oil, vinegar, agave nectar, and lime juice in a blender.
2. In a small saucepan, heat remaining oil over medium heat. Saute black beans, garlic, chile powder, and salt for 5 minutes. Let cool.
3. In a large bowl, combine lettuce, tomato, onion, avocado, quinoa, black bean mixture, and cilantro. Toss gently with dressing to coat.

Cashew Cheese & Tomato Pizza & Other Good Stuff

Happy Summer! Oh wait--it's not even Spring yet. These sunny, 70-degree days have me fooled.

I'm finished recipe testing for the third Happy Herbivore cookbook. You know when you try a recipe that's so delicious, healthy, quick and easy to make, and has such simple, wholesome ingredients that you want to exclaim, "Wow!" That's how all these recipes are. Buy this book when it comes out! I know I will.

Here's what I've been cooking in addition to testing recipes:

Tomato and Cashew Cheese Pizza on Homemade Whole Wheat Dough

I've posted a version of this before that used a sweet basil tapenade. This time I was hungry for regular old tomato and cheese pizza. I made the Cashew Cheese from Veganomicon. I love this cheese! It's supposed to be a ricotta, but I like it both in place of regular cheese, as a spread, and on sandwiches. And it's pretty easy to make. For the tomato sauce, I sauteed some garlic and onion then added some canned, diced tomatoes (I'd use fresh in the summer), basil, and oregano, and stirred everything until it was thick. I made a whole wheat pizza dough that had brown sugar in it so it was a bit sweet. I gushed over this pizza for days and savored the leftovers.

Chocolate Raspberry Cookies
My holiday cookie supply in the freezer was getting low. I waited two months after all my holiday baking before I put on my apron again and baked Chewy Chocolate Raspberry Cookies from Veganomicon. Delicious!

Vanilla Vanilla Cupcakes
I made two separate batches of Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World for friends. Tasting my first spoonful of cake batter after months of not making cupcakes was heavenly. The bliss was so overwhelming I almost fainted. I think the buttercream frosting is too sweet (it makes my teeth hurt), so this time I reduced the powdered sugar. Perfect!

I also witnessed two tragedies recently.

First, the second of my 1M decorating tips, which are crucial to creating those swirling, fluffy mounds of frosting, got into a tussle with the garbage disposal. I tried to fix it, but my swirls came out wonky. I feel bad giving cupcakes with wonky swirls of frosting to friends tomorrow; I hope they'll forgive me. I'll need to make a trip to the restaurant supply store in the Strip District soon to get some replacement tips!

Second, while grocery shopping, I saw a little boy go up to the section of blueberries and eagerly reach for a container before his mother yelled at him, "Put those back! We ain't buying no blueberries!" I looked on in horror. How could a mother deny her child something so healthy? She should give him all the blueberries he wants! I debated about saying something or offering to buy him some containers of blueberries but decided against it. I think if I did, she'd have tried to kick my ass.

(Not So Great) Vegan Eating in Palm Springs, CA

Last week I was in Palm Springs, CA for a work conference. Palm Springs is in the desert with palm trees, cacti, cloudless blue skies, golf courses galore, and intense sun and heat that were way too much for me. I'm not a hot weather fan, and I withered in the 88 degrees and blinding sun. Because it's still winter, though, I slathered on four different SPF products for a total of 105 SPF protection every time I left my hotel and tried not to complain.

Unfortunately, the conference organizers either didn't care about my request for vegan food when they asked about dietary restrictions or for some reason weren't able to accommodate me. There wasn't a thing I could eat at the conference except fruit when they had it. Nor was Palm Springs a mecca for vegan eating. It was a struggle, but here's how I made it through the week.

Breakfast at Starbucks
I've gotten bagels and peanut butter before from Starbucks, but the Palm Springs Starbucks had neither peanut butter nor fruit spread. The only options were cream cheese or butter (same at the conference). But I found something better than bagels: Perfect Oatmeal. It's mixed with hot water and comes with little packets of brown sugar, nuts, and dried fruit. It was yummy and kept me full until lunch.

And because I was desperate for soymilk, I didn't feel as guilty spending a ridiculous $4 for a soy latte (expensive, but soooo good).

Lunch at Cafe Jasmin
I survived on their hummus and pita, salads, and lentil soup. They also have a bunch of different wraps and sandwiches that can easily be made vegan.

Dinner at Maracas
The veggie fajitas at Maracas featured broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots. How unexpected! The refried beans were veg, and the salsa was amazing.

Lunch and Dinner at Thai House
I think Thai food can rarely be bad, so when I was underwhelmed by the mixed veggies entree I got for a lunch special, I went back for dinner. I ordered the spicy basil noodles, and it was just short of awful. The noodles were swimming in oil (but no fish sauce; I made sure to specify) and there were barely any veggies, tofu, or basil. There were other Thai restaurants, but this was the closest to my hotel. I wouldn't recommend it.

Snacks at the Circle K
At a tiny, run-down Circle K I got a little bag of nuts and dried cranberries and raisins I had throughout the week. They also had other little snack mixes, all of which seemed to be locally made.

That's the food recap. Here are some more pictures, the first of the sunset from the balcony of my hotel.

Last week was also Modernism Week, and a new modern prefab house from Home Depot was set up to tour. I went on the tour...and felt like I was walking through Dwell Magazine. I loved it!

The prefab house was set up in Palm Spring's Design District, which had cute shops and very cool art galleries. I spent forever at the Desert Art Center, where I fawned over some amazing pottery. The art was much better than the vegan eating options!

A (Failed) Taste of Summer Sandwich

Winter finally came to the Burgh last week. Last weekend was the first time all winter I didn't run because it was so cold and snowing. And it was the first time I started craving summer's fresh fruits and veggies.

I've been mostly making Happy Herbivore test recipes, but in between those I've been making mostly soup. I'm a little sick of soup so thought I'd make a Vegan Yum Yum sandwich I made last year a lot and loved: Pan-Seared Tomato and Rosemary Artichoke Sandwich. The recipe warned to use only ripe, in-season tomatoes or else just make another sandwich. But I was craving a summer sandwich so much that I bought an expensive but generally unappetizing looking organic tomato and made it anyway. This mess was the result:

I made it open-faced, so you can't even see the baguette, and dowsed the whole thing in balsamic reduction. What was I thinking?! The baguette (my blessed, beloved baguette bread I bought as a rare treat) got soggy, the tomatoes were mealy, and the balsamic reduction was way too much. Sigh. I guess I'll just have to wait for summer for good tomatoes and summer sandwiches.

But on a quest to make something new (that is, not soup), I decided to buy organic red kale instead of my usual green. I used it in an HH test recipe, and the dish was not only delicious but also gorgeous. I think I'll try to grow some red kale this summer.

One of the recent HH test recipes I made was a baked good. It was so amazing! I'm baking another loaf tonight to take to work tomorrow. It's one of those recipes that's so good, no one would guess it's not only vegan but also fat-free with no added oils.

Weekend Challenge: Hip Raises

It's time for the Women's Health Magazine Weekend Challenge! (Here's why I love these.) This weekend it's doing three sets of eight hip raises on each leg, which works the glutes, hamstrings, and core. I'm in!

Fake Meat: A Bridge, Not a Crutch

While it's good that there are so many meatless options these days (soy dogs, veggie burgers, hot dogs, sausage, etc.), they're highly processed and can't be healthy, right?

Dr. Neal Barnard of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine weighs in on this topic in the January/February 2012 issue of Vegetarian Times:

"Analogues made from soy, wheat, or pea protein are much better than the foods they replace. Meats contribute cholesterol and animal fat, along with traces of carcinogens that form during cooking. Also, hot dogs and other processed meat products are linked to colorectal cancer.

Even so, analogues tend to be heavily processed, which often means removing fiber and some nutrients, concentrating protein, and adding salt, flavorings, and other things we do not need. So, think of veggie dogs and other analogues as a bridge leading us from the meaty diets we grew up with toward beans, vegetables, whole grains, and fruits, which are the most healthful foods of all."

When I first went veg, fake meats were a godsend. Now I make my own fake meats from whole foods...though I occasionally I still buy soy sausage to make Happy Herbivore Breakfast Sausage Patties. Dr. Barnard's note reminded me that I should really cut the cord and make my own sausage. Any good recipe suggestions?

Kale, White Bean & Rice Stew with Sweet Potato Biscuits

I made the Kale, White Bean, and Rice Stew from Appetite for Reduction this weekend. The original version called for quinoa, but my local grocery didn't have any. I had some cooked brown rice in the fridge so just threw it in at the end. This "stew" was just okay. (Its broth was very thin, so I'd call it a soup.) The spice blend--crushed fennel, marjoram, thyme, and rosemary--gave just a hint of flavor. The soup bordered on bland, so I added some balsamic vinegar for a bit more flavor. The kale, parsnips, carrots, and potatoes didn't add much on their own. Even cannellini beans, which I usually think are pretty tasty with just a bit of oil and some salt and pepper, didn't come through and save this soup. This soup just didn't do it for me!

What redeemed the soup, however, are the Sweet Potato Drop Biscuits also from Appetite for Reduction I made to go with the soup. These slightly sweet and savory biscuits are wonderful. And they were so quick and easy to make! You just take a cup of mashed sweet potato, mix it with canola oil, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, and salt, and sift in flour, baking powder, and nutmeg. Then you drop them onto a baking sheet, and in about 15 minutes you have really awesome biscuits. They went great with the soup, but I'd make these again to eat by themselves. Someone posted the recipe on this blog.