Spicy Soba Salad and a Favorite Taco Salad

Love soba noodles so I knew I wanted to try this recipe from One-Dish Vegan. 

 Edamame, cucumbers, and green onions.

 This has a spicy, sweet dressing made with tamari (Bragg's), rice vinegar, sweet Asian chili sauce, sriracha, and agave. I left out the sesame oil and sesame seeds because of my allergies. I replaced the sesame oil with a little flax oil (it's only used to toss the soba noodles in after cooking.) 

I wanted to serve this for supper so I cooked up some Gardein Chik'n Scallopini and sliced it over the top of the salad. Yum! This tastes even better the next day after it has chilled. 

~ Spicy Soba Salad with Edamame and Cucumber ~

I was craving this old stand-by taco salad we always used to eat which had hamburger and cheese in it so I just made a vegan version. 

I sauteed a bag of veggie crumbles with a little oil and some taco seasoning. That gets tossed with a head of chopped iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, green onions, sliced black olives, a can of kidney beans, and some Daiya cheddar shreds. 

Then, you crumble about a half a big bag of original Doritos corn tortilla chips and mix it in and top that with some good old Catalina dressing. Toss everything together and dig in. I even like it the next day after everything gets a little bit soggy. 

~ Catalina Taco Salad ~ 

Cooking In the Cabin

Our cozy little cabin in Sedona. It's been in our family for over 40 years! My hubby and I have been working hard as she's been neglected the last few years. We've spent many hours giving this old girl lots of TLC! 

Cooking in the cabin is an adventure. Lots of vintage cookware and utensils; I had to update a few of them. The stove is half functioning as the gas stovetop works but the oven doesn't. So any meals I cook right now are one-pot meals. 

Here is the extent of counter space I have for cooking. Just enough room for my cutting board and ingredients. My hubby installed the undercounter light this time. It was a black hole before and you took your life in your hands trying to chop veggies in the semi-dark! 

I brought a couple of cookbooks; Sarah Kramer's Vegan A Go-Go and an extra copy of How It All Vegan. I ordered another copy of La Dolce Vegan (my favorite cookbook) to keep at the cabin. And my three ring notebook with copies of some of my favorite recipes. I didn't want to try any new recipes from the Veg Cookbook Club cookbook this month. I'll save that for more familiar and larger surroundings. 

From Vegan A Go-Go I made Creamy Curried Veggies. 

A mixture of cauliflower, carrots, onions, cremini mushrooms,coconut milk and lots of curry powder and spices. The recipe called for peas but I used edamame instead. I served this over soba noodles and garnished it with chopped cilantro. Mmm, mmm! This made plenty for leftovers. There is an awesome natural foods store in Sedona- "New Frontiers". I'm in heaven as soon as I walk in the door! All the organic veggies you could ever want and anything else you can think of. I even got to finally try some Daiya Havarti Wedge cheese. Yum! The only Daiya I can get where I live is the shredded. 

The other recipe I made was Smoky Tomato & Kale Soup from VegNews-Nov/Dec 2012 magazine.

This makes a big old pot o' soup! 

Onions, garlic, chili powder, cumin, coriander, oregano, yellow potatoes, canned tomatoes, quinoa and kale makes a hearty, filling soup. We ate leftovers a couple of times and then I froze the rest and brought it home for a future quick meal.

I served the soup with some sourdough garlic bread toasted in my new toaster oven.

Can't wait for more adventures in "Cooking in the Cabin!"

Edamame Hummus~pg. 62

La Dolce Vegan! Challenge:

Love this hummus! I've made it before at Christmas along with the Roasted Red Pepper Hummus and traditional chickpea hummus. The red, green and white make a pretty display. I only used 1/4 C. tahini and added 1/4 C. Vegenaise and reduced the oil to 3 Tbsp. instead of 4. I also decreased the salt. All of these recipes seem to have way too much salt for me. This hummus always reminds me of guacamole. Good with tortilla chips.

Open-faced Edamame Hummus Sandwich!

Sassy Sandwich Bread (pg. 271), Edamame Hummus, cucumber, red onion, mushrooms, tomato, and alfalfa sprouts. Messy but delicious!



Curry Fennel Cauliflower Bake~pg. 147

La Dolce Vegan! Challenge:

Yum! I've made this several times and both my husband and I like it. I used edamame instead of the frozen peas and I like to add some golden raisins to mine. I got to use the organic broccoli and cauliflower I had in my Bountiful Baskets box. First time I've gotten a box and I love it. Lots of great organic produce I can use to make delicious meals!

Edamame & Asparagus Couscous Salad~pg 83

Vegan Culinary Institute La Dolce Vegan! Challenge:

Cumin Spiced Quick Bread~pg 267

Love this salad-it includes two of my favorites- edamame and asparagus!  The Cumin Spiced Quick Bread smells wonderful as it is cooking; it would really be good paired with some chili. I ate it spread with Earth Balance margarine and my couscous salad. When I make bread I usually slice it all up, lay it on a cookie sheet and stick it in the freezer. After the slices are frozen I put them in a plastic bag and then I can just pull out a few pieces at a time to go along with whatever we are having for dinner.