Always on the lookout for tasty plant-based recipes, I saw this post by The Healthy Librarian. She works and does research in a medical library and has interesting nutrition / health related posts in addition to heathy recipes. So I'm sharing this with you. I added the tofu from my recipe here to pump up the protein a bit and I reduced the chickpeas to 1 can. If you don't like curry, try it without. It's just as good!


Curried Chickpea Rice Salad
Serve 6
Ingredients:
Dressing:
4 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
4 teaspoons lime juice
4 teaspoons curry powder
4 teaspoons maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon salt
Salad:
1/2 cup seedless raisins
2 teaspoons whole cumin seeds, toasted briefly in a dry pan, until fragrant.
1 cans cooked chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
2/3 cup finely chopped red onion
1 cup cilantro or parsley, chopped
2 cups of brown rice 
1 package firm tofu, drained, pressed for 20 minutes, cut into cubes and marinated with you favorite marinade for at least 5 minutes. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 10-15 minutes, turn and bake another 15 minutes - an asian marinade works great with this recipe or try my other recipe here.


Method:
1. In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, lime juice, curry powder, maple syrup and salt.
2. In a large bowl add raisins, cumin, chickpeas, bell pepper, onion and cilantro and toss to combine.
3. Pour on dressing, & mix well.  

We're having a heat wave of sorts here in San Diego. The hurricane near Baja is adding to the humidity. I know, we're spoiled with our mostly mild climate compared to the rest of the country. We're wimps, I admit that :) But on this "hot" night, I just wanted to eat something cold and refreshing. I made low-fat broccoli salad, baked yams (from a few nights ago) and this cold soup. Yes, I did have to use the oven for the roasted cauliflower, but it goes quickly. There's something rich and cozy about the texture of this soup. Very satisfying... I hope you like it.


Ingredients:
Serves 3-4
1 head of cauliflower, cut into chunks
1 onion, slice into thick moons
2 lemons, juiced
1 tsp. curry powder
1 can low-fat coconut milk
1 tsp thai red curry paste (optional)
2 cups water or vegetable juice (pour over ice to chill if you are serving chilled)
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup ground cashews

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly spray a baking sheet with oil. Spread cauliflower and onion over sheet. Drizzle lemon, curry powder and 1/2 tsp. salt over vegetables. Mix with your hand to combine. Bake in oven for 20-15 minutes or until mostly tender. Let cool for a few minutes on the counter.
2. Add the coconut milk, lemon, red curry paste and remaining salt to the container of your high-speed blender and slowly increase speed until the soup is blended to smoothness.
3. Add more water or stock as needed to thin and adjust seasonings to your taste, adding more heat from the Thai curry paste or more salt.
4. Chill in refrigerator or if you really in a hurry, in the freezer for about 10 minutes. If you want to serve it hot, pour soup into a pan and heat through. 
5. Top with a few teaspoons of ground cashews for decoration and crunch. 

If you aren't on board with tofu, yet, try these yummy tofu bites. I think you'll find them very satisying. They are an excellent way to prepare tofu for just about any dish. There is not added oil. I used them, here, in the Asian Noodle Salad I prepared from left-over noodles from another dish. They would also go well mixed into a the chili on the Chili-Topped Potato recipe or served on top of a salad. Thanks to AllRecipes.com for this recipe.

Ingredients:
1 16 oz. container firm tofu, drained, halved crosswise and pressed for 20 minutes to remove some of the water
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 T. maple syrup
2 T. ketchp
1 T. rice vinegar
1 dash hot sauce
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly spray a non-stick baking sheet with oil.
2. Slice tofu into 1" cubes. 
3. In a bowl, stir together the soy sauce, maple syrup, ketchup, vinegar, hot sauce, garlic powder, and black pepper. 
Gently stir tofu cubes into sauce. Cover and marinate for at least 5 minutes.
4. Place tofu on the baking sheet in a single layover. Bake for 15 minutes. Turn tofu, and bake until it turn golden brown, around 15 minutes more.

Since realizing that potatoes are NOT the enemy (see post here), I've been looking for ways to use them and was inspired by this recipe from "The Starch Solution" by Dr. John McDougall. I find most recipes a bit bland for my taste so with this one, I upped the spices and added lime to the salsa. Small organic russet potatoes from the local market were perfect for this meal. Bake extra potatoes for leftovers or to use in other ways.

Ingredients:
6 large russet potatoes
2 cans (15 oz each) pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup salsa fresca
1 can (4 oz) chopped green chilies
1 small onion, chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, crused or minced
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground red pepper
Salt & pepper to taste
Salsa:
1 ear fresh corn on the cop, corn removed and boiled in scant water for 2 minutes then cooled in the frig
1 tomato, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, divided
4 scallions, (green and white parts), chopped
1 lime, juiced

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place the potatoes on the rack in the oven and bake for about 45 minutes or until tender.
2. In a saucepan, stir together the beans, salsa, chilies, onions, garlic, chili powder, cumin, red paper and half of the cilantro. Salt and pepper to taste. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes.
3. In a separate bowl, stir together the tomato, corn, scallions, remaining cilantro and lime juice.
4. To serve, split potato down the center with a knife and fill with chili. Top with corn salsa.

I seem to be on a roll with salad and greens. My friend, Cathy, brought us some swiss chard from her garden and I thought it would make a great addition to this lentil salad. Compared to other beans, lentils are easy to cook, similar to quinoa, and they provide a nice protein kick. They're also high in fiber, good for your heart, contain folate and magnesium and help to stabilize your blood sugar. They're a great addition to your plant-based diet.

Ingredients:
1 cup green lentils
1/2 medium red onion, diced
1/2 cup raisins
1 bunch (about 10 leaves) swiss chard, stemmed and chopped
Dressing:
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 Tbl. maple syrup
1 Tbl. mustard
1/4 tsp. ground coriander
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
Fresh herbs: lemon thyme, cilantro, basil

Method:
1. Rinse lentils well, drain. Place in a pot and cover with 4 cups of water. Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer. Check lentils for doneness after 15 minutes. They should take about 20 minutes in total. You will know they are cooked if they still retain a slight tooth – al dente!
2. Cook the chard in a frying pan with about ¼ cup water until wilted and cooked through.
3. While the lentils are simmering, make the dressing by placing all ingredients in a jar with a tight fitting lid and shake vigorously to combine.
4. When the lentils are cooked, remove from heat, drain and place in a bowl. Allow to cool by placing in the refrigerator for a bit. Once cooled slightly, but still a little warm, add chopped chard and toss with dressing. 

Quinoa is so easy to cook that I created two dishes out of one cooking. One was a warm mushroom pilaf for dinner guests and the other was this salad with cooked spinach. I used the left over mushroom pilaf as the base for the salad and added more plain quinoa and the other ingredients below. I happen to be sensitive to raw spinach - that is my stomach is sensitive - so cooked is better for me. Spinach is an excellent source of folic acid, magnesium, potassium, as well as carotenes, vitamin K, vitamin C and lutein, however, spinach also has oxalic acid (as do other members of the family - chard and beet greens and several other vegetables). Spinach has the most, but some of it is lessened by cooking. Oxalic acid is so high in rhubarb leaves that it's a poison to us so we only eat the stalks, but don't let that stop you from eating this nutritious plant. No oil is added to the dressing since the marinated artichoke hearts and the sun-dried tomatoes are soaked in oil.

Ingredients:
1 cup of quinoa
1 1/2 cups of water or 1/2 vegetable stock, 1/2 Water
1 bunch of spinach, washed, stemmed and chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 cup marinated artichoke hearts, chopped
1/3 cup walnuts, chopped
1/4 cup raisins
6-8 marinated sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
6 leaves basil, chopped
salt & pepper to taste
1/3 tsp red pepper flakes
1/3 cup lemon
1 T. white wine vinegar

Method:
1. Heat water and/or stock in a pan along with the quinoa to boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook for 15 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed. Add cooked quinoa to a large bowl and let cool for a few minutes.
2. While the quinoa cools, cook the spinach in a fry pan, not oil, but with the water that clings to it when washed. Cook until wilted and tender.
3. Add the chopped onion, artichoke hearts, walnuts, raisins, sun-dried tomatoes, basil to the quinoa and the spinach. Combine well.
4. Dress with the lemon juice, vinegar, salt and pepper and red pepper flakes.