Vegan Caprese Salad

Salads are boring.
I'm sure you've heard that said about a million times, but it's not true. It's simply a lie. Who over told you that does not really know anything about salad.
I'm on a bit of a giant salad kick at the moment, due to a little thing called a diet (check out my other blog below) and I'm actually really enjoying it!

Exhibit A, because the bag technique is very hard to explain without visuals

I'm not allowed much dairy on this diet, so I save it for the important things, like Greek yogurt and have been using my usual substitute Almond milk quite a bit. When I was craving the classic tomato, basil and cheese salad, though, I ran into a little bit of a problem. That's where tofu and vinegar come in, though.

Brown Baggin' it!

The tofu absorbs the flavor of the marinade and really tastes similar to cheese. The texture's not too far off, either. So, whether you're vegan, on a diet, or just out of cheese, you can always enjoy a Caprese.
I used my favorite lunch time salad making technique-make it in a big zip top bag, put that in a tupperware, and you know all the dressing is sealed securely inside. So, if you want to make this salad in a bowl, just follow the directions but put the ingredients in a bowl, not bag, and toss, don't shake.

Vegan Caprese Salad
(serves 1)

1 medium roma tomato, sliced
8-10 basil leaves, ripped
2 oz firm tofu, thoroughly drained
1 small shallot, finely chopped
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

Put tomato, basil, shallot, oil, vinegar, salt and pepper ina large zip top bag, and shake gently to combine.
Cut the tofu into 1/4 inch squares and squeeze the liquid out, by wrapping it in paper towels and squeezing until dry.
Crumple the tofu into the salad and skake it up again again.
Allow the salad to marinate for 2 hours or overnight. This step is really important because it allows the tofu to absorb the other flavors, and make a more convincing cheese substitute.
Put the bag in a tall sealable container so you can eat it bowl style without any clean up or possible spillage.
Enjoy!
And remember to check out my Other Blog

Lemony Quinoa Cakes

Where there's quinoa, there are creative thoughts. If the quinoa's in my kitchen, anyway. This stuff brings out the best in me, and I have no idea why. It's found it's way into many muffins, porridges, curries, stews, pancakes, and patties like these lemony quinoa cakes.

While I's like to say that these are an act of creative genius, I'll admit that I had something a little more impressive in mind, but was met with a very empty fridge, and not one leaf of the arugula I so desperately wish made it's way into this recipe. They were amazing when I finished, don't get me wrong, just not what I was planning on making when I woke up this morning.

The secret ingredient...

Ok, now I'm making it seem like these guys aren't absolutely great. They are absolutely great, and creative, just not what I had initially planned. They're especially amazing topped with a thin slice of pepper jack cheese. Yum.

Lemony Quinoa Cakes
Makes 6 4" round cakes

1 cup uncooked quinoa
2 cups of water
salt

Zest of 1/2 lemon
1 Tbs raisins, minced
1 1/2 Tbs chopped chives
1 large clove of garlic, minced
1/2 orange (or yellow, or red) bell pepper, chopped
1/4 cup ricotta (I used part-skim)
2 eggs
1/4 c fresh bread crumbs (2 pieces of normal bread, torn or processed into small crumbs)
1/

Combine rinsed quinoa, water and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring quinoa to a boil, then simmer, covered for about 10-15 minutes, or until the quinoa has fully absorbed the water. Remove the quinoa from the heat and cool while preparing the rest of the dish.

In a bowl, combine the eggs, ricotta, lemon zest and raisins (the raisins should be so fine that they almost form a paste) Whisk thoroughly so that the raisin is even spread through the mixture. Add the rest of your ingredients, and mix well. Fold in the quinoa and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cove the mixture and chill for 10 minutes, or until cold all the way through.

Heat  olive oil in a medium skillet and form 6 cakes with your chilled mixture. Cook 2 or 3 cakes at a time, flipping when golden and crispy (about 2-4 minutes per side over reasonably high heat). Top each cake with a slice of pepper jack, fresh chopped tomatoes, or your favorite topping. Enjoy!

Buddy's favorite food: Orange bell peppers

For Breakfast, Brunch, Lunch, and Dinner

People have a lot of grain prejudices. They only eat whole grains, they only eat grains they're not sure how to pronounce, they don't eat grains at all. They also have strong feelings about the times when each grain is appropriate. Rice is only good at night, oats are only safe to eat in the morning, barley is only eaten in the winter and fall, but quinoa can be eaten whenever you want. Let's all take a cue from quinoa and eat these other grains whenever we darn well please.
I love oatmeal. Oatmeal with berries, nuts, agave, honey, brown sugar, cinnamon, molasses, ginger, peaches, cream, or all by itself. I also like it with tomatoes and hummus. Yep, savory oatmeal is absolutely amazing. I'm eating this one for breakfast, but the timing rant is still relevant because I have made this for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and if you make a really large batch, I'm sure this would be a huge hit at a brunch.

Sorry for the quality. All the pretty portions were snatched up first.

Grains are the best because you can add anything you like to them, and they almost always come out the other end tasting great. It's also super fun to play around with ingredients that can be sweet, savory, salty, sour, or spicy (explains my love for fruits and veggies too) So feel free to experiment with other savory ingredients and even different grains. I promise, you'll have a lot more successful batches than failures!

Mediterranean Oatmeal
Serves 4

2 cups rolled oats (Not instant)
2 Tbs Hummus
1 clove of garlic, minced
6-ish basil leaves, chopped
1 Tbs olive oil
3 cups of water
1 large heirloom tomato (2 cups chopped tomato)
Salt, Pepper, Parmesan to taste

Preheat oven to 350ºF, and grease 4 ramekins with some of the oil. In a skillet, heat the remaining oil and add the garlic and oats. Toast, stirring often, until the garlic is fragrant and the oats are just golden, remove from the heat. Grease add the salt, pepper, hummus, and basil to the oats when they're still warm and stir to combine. Add the water and stir. Portion the oats into the ramekins, top with the tomatoes and bake for 3 minutes. Add parmesan, if you want, and bake for 3 minutes more. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a minute or two before serving, because he ramekins will be hot.