Black Bean and Roasted Corn Salad

Black Bean and Roasted Corn Salad 

This recipe is great for summer.  Chris and I do this every year when tomatoes and corn are in season.

(Adapted by my husband, Chris, from a Robert Irvine Recipe from Food Network)

 

Ingredients:

• ½ cup canola oil
• 1 pound frozen corn kernels or about 4 ears fresh (do not use canned corn – it becomes gummy)
• Garlic Powder to taste
• Onion Powder to taste
• Pinch of Cayenne Pepper
• Salt (preferably fresh ground or kosher) and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 (24 total ounces) cans of black beans, drained
• Fresh Tomato
• And Fresh ¼ cup of Fresh Cilantro

 

Preheat Oven to 350 Degrees F.

 

Cut Corn off Cob.  Sauté Corn in Pan with Canola Oil, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Cayenne Pepper, Salt, and Black Pepper until slightly tender. Place in the oven until roasted (but not dried out) about 10 minutes.

 

Once you pull the corn out of the oven place in a bowl. Toss with Can of Black Beans. Then toss with simple homemade vinaigrette (see below). Garnish with fresh tomato and cilantro. Then serve. (Makes 4 servings)

 

Simple Homemade Vinaigrette:

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup of Balsamic or Red Wine Vinegar
• 1 cup of Canola Oil
• Salt
• Pepper

 

Put vinegar and spices in bowl. Then whisk oil in until it emulsified.

 

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Summery Purple Peruvian Potato Salad

Summery Purple Peruvian Potato Salad

Ingredients:

• Purple Peruvian Potatoes (quartered)
• Salt

 

Dressing:

• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 heaping tsps creole mustard
• 1/2 tsp. Truvia
• Salt
• Pepper
• Garlic Powder
• Dill
• Oregano
• Basil
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

 

Boil potatoes in salted water until fork tender then drain in collander.  While potatoes are cooking whisk together all the ingredients of dressing except the olive oil.  Then slowly pour in olive oil whisking until emulsified.  Drizzle dressing over warm potatoes.  Toss together to coat.  Then serve.

Ranch Dip (or Dressing)

Last Monday, my Aunt Carolyn and Uncle Ray gave me some beautiful large scallions out of their garden.  I am not typically a green onion fan, but this week I found a wonderful use for them.  A while back my husband and I were watching Claire Robinson on Five Ingredient Fix, a cooking show, when she made a ranch dressing with just 5 ingredients.  Well this recipe is inspired from that one.  Simple yet refreshingly lovely.  I serve it with fresh raw veggies like:  broccoli, carrots, celery, cauliflower, tomatoes, yellow summer squash, zucchini, etc.

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces of Vegan Sour Cream* (for dressing use Vegan mayonnaise instead)
• Fresh Scallions (I used 3 or 4 really big ones) coarsely chopped
• 2 or 3 cloves of garlic (peeled)
• Dill Weed
• Salt
• Pepper
• Lemon Juice

In a food processor pulse together the garlic cloves and green onions.  Then fold into the sour cream.  Add other ingredients to taste.  Serve immediately.

*You can either buy Vegan Sour Cream or you can make your own:

Homemade Vegan Sour Cream:

•   1 package of silken tofu
•     1 tablespoon canola or olive oil
•     4 to 5 teaspoons lemon juice
•     2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
•     1 teaspoon stevia
•     1/2 teaspoon salt

Place all ingredients in a food processor or blender.  Blend for several minutes, until very creamy and smooth.  Then refrigerate.  In addition to being a great base for the above ranch dip (or dressing), it is also great in mexican dishes and as a topper for baked potatoes.  It stays fresh for approximately 5 days.  (The homemade vegan sour cream recipe is adapted from Matt Eberhart.)

Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients:

• 12 oz. bag of fresh cranberries
• 1 cup of orange juice (You can also add a bit of pineapple juice and fresh pineapple)
• zest of 1 orange or clementine or tangerine
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1/8 of tsp of ground cinnamon
• 1/8 of tsp of ground cloves
• 1/8 of tsp of ground nutmeg

Dissolve sugar into orange juice.  Then add cranberries and rest of ingredients.  Reduce heat and let simmer for about 10 minutes until the cranberries have popped open.  Place in bowl in fridge over night.  Serve chilled.

Asian Cucumber Salad

I grew up eating a lot of asian food.  My dad taught me to use chopsticks from a very early age.  No, we are not Asian, but we LOVE Asian food.  Whenever I make an Asian inspired meal, I love to have this refreshing and light Asian Cucumber Salad.  My mom always makes it when she makes my favorite meal, Hekka (a Japenese Hawaiann style stir fry).  Will have to post a vegan friendly version of Hekka, soon!

Asian Cucumber Salad

Ingredients:

• 2 Large Cucumbers
• 1/3 cup of white rice vinegar
• 4 tsps. of sugar in the raw
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 slices fresh ginger, finely diced

Take cucumbers and slice them in half lengthwise.  Core out the seeds.  Slice into thin beautiful “c” shapes.  Then marinate in the mixture of vinegar, sugar, salt, and ginger.  Chill in fridge in marinade for at least an hour.

Note:  If you do not have white rice vinegar you can use white vinegar diluted with a little water.

On another note, I went to a Japanese restaurant recently and had a variation on a Cucumber Salad.  The cucumbers were cut the same way but they were marinated in kimchi.  They were amazing and had a wonderful kick.