Summer Spinach Salad with Kathy's Poppy seed Dressing!!

Happy Easter to everyone! I hope you all had a lovely weekend! We just wrapped up March break and we were able to spend most of it at Paul's family's cabin in Falcon Lake and it was great- though not as relaxing as I was hoping! Boston got sick and cut a new tooth at the same time (lovely) and so sleeping was just about impossible BUT I realize now that when you have such little sleep all the time it's almost as if you are living through a dream; everything is kind of surreal and hazey and, I'm not sure how to achieve this, but if you get just the right amount of lack of sleep you completely bypass the grouchy stage and kind of just become catatonically complaisant; it was great.
One of the things I most look forward to at the lake is running! Especially in the spring when the water's still frozen so your outdoor activities are limited to land. It is much harder there because of all the hills but that's what makes it fun! The best thing about running a hilly route is the fact that you get immediately rewarded after every up hill with a down hill :) Laugh (or scoff) if you want- but I love it!
Anyway, lots of eating at the lake, as usual, I think I gain ten pounds every time I go! Something about the lake I just have to have a little (or a lot of) junk food :) I did make one of my favorite salads so I have a little recipe and a link to the dressing recipe for you today. I love this salad; it is so fresh and summery and healthy too! The dressing recipe comes from Kathy Patalsky's web site Healthy Happy Life.com and it is soooooo good! The salad is really simple and you could change up the ingredients for what you have on hand really easily. I doubled everything to make a giant salad for everyone at the cabin. So without further ado:

Summer Spinach Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing (Vegan, gluten-free)
Makes a family sized salad

Ingredients:

• Bunch of Baby spinach
• Spring mix lettuce blend- I was lazy and bought a ready made mix by Dole but you could use a half a head of green leaf lettuce and a half a head of red leaf lettuce or whatever mix you prefer!)
• 1 cup white mushrooms, washed and sliced
• 1/4 of a large red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 large ripe avocado, peeled and chopped (best to do this right before serving so it doesn't brown or alternatively toss in  a little lemon juice)
• 1 large ripe mango, peeled and chopped
• 1 recipe maple sugared almonds, my recipe found here
• 1/2 large cucumber, chopped
• 1 cup of Poppy Seed Dressing

Throw everything in a big bowl (it's a salad people ;)) and top with dressing just before you serve!

I'm working on a vegan, gluten-free cupcake recipe right now so watch for the post!!
Have a great day all!!

Creamy Dill Ranch Dressing!

Okay, so most of the time when I try to make a creamy dressing using cashews it just doesn't come out that great, maybe I’m just looking for something with a little more of a punch, but the recipes I've tried just end up tasting bland BUT yesterday I created one that I am super excited about!! It is tangy and zippy and just plain great!! So much flavor without being super thick or overpowering; I call it Creamy Dill Ranch Dressing! Try it out, dinner was a bit of a rush yesterday so I just poured it over top a head of romaine lettuce but you could use it on any kind of salad and it would be great!

I used my Vitamix blender for this dressing so I didn't need to pre-soak my cashews or anything (I love my Vitamix, best Mothers’ Day gift EVER!!) but if you don’t have a high powered blender, no worries my friends, just use what you got and give the cashews a soak for an hour or so before blending. Also because I use a high power blender the dressing comes out slightly warm so I make it about an hour before dinner and let it sit in the fridge to cool down. I think the white pepper in this dressing really makes it pop, it's subtle, a little smokey without being overly spicy but if you don't have it on hand use black. If you’re not into salad this dressing would make a great dip for roast potatoes or fries or a bunch of raw veggies- broccoli would be great!

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Creamy Dill Ranch Dressing (Vegan, Gluten-free, soy-free)

Makes approx. 1 cup of dressing

Ingredients:

• ½ cup raw cashews
• 6 tbsp water
• 2 tsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 large garlic clove, peeled
• 3 green onions, mostly white part with about 3 inchs of green on each, chopped
• 1 tsp agave syrup
• ¼ tsp dried dill
• ¼ tsp sea salt
• 1/8 tsp, scant white pepper

Place all ingredients into a high powered blender. Blend until smooth. Place into a dressing or mason jar and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Running on Ceaser Dressing

Hey all!

Sorry it has been a while since my last post but a few weeks ago I started my training schedule for running the Manitoba Marathon in June and it’s been hard going! I got this training program off a website called State of the Art Marathon Training about three years ago and I've used it ever since. I highly recommend it though it does kick you’re a$$ at times! It has you running 5 times a week with two rest days or sometimes three and a long run on Sundays.  You gradually up your mileage so you get really comfortable with the long runs. I did 14 miles this past Sunday and I do 16 next Sunday so it also helps to train your mind- I try to mentally prepare for the long run all week! Thank goodness the weather has been so nice- running outside is so much more enjoyable than on a treadmill! I am getting excited about the running season this year- the last couple years I've been pregnant and couldn't really pour myself into it but this season is going to rock! I start out with the Winnipeg Police Service Half Marathon on May 3, than the Manitoba Marathon in June (fathers day) and I got the Fort Gary Rotary Club Half in September. I love the rotary run, it’s in my part of town, an easy out and back on the streets I usually train on and, with the exception of this past year, I've run in all of them! I just need to get my speed back up. My personal best for a half marathon is 1:47 but right now my 14 mile run last Sunday took me 2:12- yikes!! I really need to pull my socks up but I’m not going to be crazy about it because I don’t want to risk an injury since I’m still getting up once or twice a night with 7 month old Boston (sigh) and I find I’m a bit pooped! Anyway, I will keep my progress posted- my goal is to eventually qualify for the Boston Marathon (which is 3 hours and 35 minutes) but I’m thinking I might have to wait till next Manitoba Marathon unless I feel good about doing a qualifier in the fall. Just have to wait and see!!

Anyway I have an awesome recipe for you today- Vegan Ceaser Salad Dressing. This is NOT a creamy dressing but a savory vinaigrette with so much depth of flavor you just have to taste it! I make this probably once a week- and that’s saying a lot because I can’t stand repetition in cooking! I know that’s weird because people who know me know that I love, love, love routine and schedules’ but when it comes to dinners and cooking I just have to have variety- I remember the first year after I decided to become vegan I was so excited about experimenting with new recipes, methods and different ingredients I don’t think my family ate the same meal twice!

Anyway, it took me a while to come up with this dressing; Paul’s family has a staple ceaser dressing they have used for years made with the traditional anchovies, egg and Parmesan and that he grew up with so the dressing had to have that traditional ceaser vinaigrette feel without any animal products!  I tried a lot of different recipes; creamy ones made with nuts or tofu, vinaigrette's using nuts as cheese but I finally figured out a combination that satisfied.  In this recipe I use my home made vegan Worcestershire sauce that I came up with a few years ago- I like it much better than the ones you can buy because it isn't so thick and the consistency and flavor more closely resembles the original Lea & Perrins. My recipe is gluten-free too, so it's good to keep around in case Paul feels like a ceaser (the drink!). It is also so easy to whip up a batch and it keeps forever in the fridge, though I usually use mine up in a month. I also use capers, which are one of my favorite little ingredients to use because they add such a punch with a little hint of the sea!

Since Paul was diagnosed with celiac disease I do not make the traditional ceaser salad with croutons but instead I like to call it “build your own salad bowl!” I make the romaine and dressing and then I have a few different toppings to add to it; usually I do cubed avocado and roasted chickpeas (I have an awesome way to roast chickpeas that is so good I will share too!). The kids love to make their own salad and it allows them to make healthy choices. So give it a try, you will not be disappointed!!

Natalie’s Vegan W Sauce (Vegan, Gluten-free)

Makes approx. 1 cup

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp blackstrap molasses
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 3 tbsp Bragg’s soy seasoning
• 1/8 tsp ground cloves
• 1/8 tsp chili powder
• 2 tsp ketchup
• Tabasco sauce to taste, I use a couple drops
• 2 tbsp water

I put all ingredients into a mason jar (like the ones you use to can jam), put the lid on and shake well!

Store in Refrigerator.

Vegan Ceaser Vinaigrette Dressing (Vegan, Gluten-free)

Makes enough for one large head of romaine lettuce.

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup good quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 3 large garlic cloves, minced
• ½ tsp dry mustard (powder)
• 1 tbsp Nutritional yeast
• 2 tbsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tsp capers, minced
• 1 tsp caper brine
• 3 tbsp lemon juice- or the juice of one large lemon
• 1 ½ tsp agave syrup, (you could use maple syrup instead)
• 10 grinds of black pepper
• 1 tsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar

Place all ingredients in a dressing or mason jar and shake to combine. Toss on romaine lettuce immediately before serving.

Easy Peasy Roasted Chickpeas (Vegan, gluten-free, soy-free) - inspired by Cool Ranch RoastedChickpeas by Veganyackattack.com

Makes about 1 1/2 cups of roasted chickpeas.

Ingredients:

• 1 19 oz can chickpeas, rinsed well and drained
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp onion powder
• ¼ tsp sea salt
• ½ tsp dried dill

Place all ingredients in a bowl and stir to coat all chickpeas in seasoning. Place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 30-35 min in 350° oven. Can be served warm or cooled.

I will be adding some pictures soon so stay tuned!

Have a great week everyone!!!!