Pin It 'Pacho!!

I made an amazing gazpacho the other day -- something I have been fantasizing about every summer for years but somehow never got around to. HELLO!? So easy!! And really good, refreshing, and versatile. Mr. V popped some defrosted cooked shrimp from Trader Joe's on top and was in heaven! I also provided a little bowl of chopped up veggies to sprinkle on top for extra crunch. Yum! Klassy. I would love to serve this in a fun way, like in a margarita or martini glass with a lemon or lime hangin' over the edge. Spectack.

I didn't get a pic, but I did get one of the chickpea salad I made tonight.


Quick N' Easy Gazpacho

5 vine tomatoes, peeled and chopped coarsely
1 cucumber, peeled and chopped
1/2 yellow, red or green pepper, chopped
1 small red onion, chopped fine
1 clove garlic, minced
2 cups tomato juice
Juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup Spanish Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 tbs tamari
1 tsp, sugar
salt to taste
Old Bay seasoning (oh yes I did!) to taste


Pulse in blender for 10 seconds or until desired consistency is reached. You may have to do this in small batches.


Now on to the...

Chickpea Salad

2 cups dried chickpeas, soaked and cooked
1 large red onion, chopped fairly fine
1 clove garlic, minced
3 large handfuls of grape tomatoes, halved
1 lemon, juiced
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
dried parsley and salt to taste

Combine all ingredients, marinate for at least 4 hours.

Pin It Salad That Never Swam


I've been meaning to make tuno salad with chickpeas for years. I first encountered it in the 1990s at the Sri Chinmoy bakery in Queens, NYC. Interesting sect of people...they sure make some great vegetarian food! Unfortunately, their mock tuna salad was made with real mayo, so I never got to try it. They have a couple of actual restaurants with some real tasty vegetarian food, so if you ever find yourself in Queens, I advise you try them! Oneness Fountain Heart is one...it's painted all blue...and it's yummy.


Here's my vegan version...really easy. Makes me wish I'd tried it much, much earlier. Next time, I'll try fresh chickpeas, though I suspect that "canned food" flavor is part of why it tastes so much like mom's tuna sammys from back in the day!

Mock Tuna Salad
1 can chickpeas
3 tbs vegan mayo
1 tbs sweet relish
2 tsp nutritional yeast
1 tsp dijion mustard
2 tsp lemon juice
2 stalks celery, chopped in small pieces
1 tbs red onion, finely chopped
salt and pepper to taste
fresh dill to taste
tiny pices of nori to (desired fishy) taste


Mash chickpeas a bit with potato masher. Add mayo and mash until a slightly chunky consistency.Stir in remaining ingredients. This recipe is quite personal and can be adjusted any way you want in order to resemble the tuna you remember. Add bits of carrot, scallions, raisins...whatever!

Pin It

You Can't Beet 'Em 

It's been a while, but I had to share a dish I made for dinner tonight. It's probably more of a side dish, but we ate it as our main meal. I could've used a bit more, so doubling the recipe would be a good idea if you want to serve two people a hearty meal. I'll bold the organicstoyou items again just for fun.

Middle Eastern Side Dish with Green Chard

1 bunch of Green Chard 

4 beets (roots only)

1 can chick peas

1 avocado 

4 or 5 cloves of garlic, smashed and then minced

1 small bunch of parsley, chopped

lemon juice 

soy sauce

garlic salt

cayenne pepper

paprika

olive oil

Wash off excess dirt from beets, place in baking pan and bake at 400 for 1 hour or until a fork can go in about half way or more easily.

Meanwhile: Rib the chard and discard the ends only. Chop ribs into small pieces, rinse, and put aside. Do the same for the leaves and keep separate. Chop garlic. Drain and wash out chickpeas. Chop parsley. Halve avocado, pit, carefully remove "meat" and slice lengthwise into about 6 slices per half. 

When beets are done, dunk in a bath of very cold water and then peel the skins (should come off fairly easily with fingers).

Sautee garlic in olive oil. When half done, add beets and chard ribs. Cover and cook until mostly soft. (this took longer than I expected!) Add chard leaves and cook until mostly wilted, then add chickpeas and cook through. Add a touch of paprika and cayenne pepper according to desired spice level, garlic salt to taste, a splash of soy sauce, and then shut off heat and add several generous splashes of lemon juice and the parsley.

Garnish plates with avocado.

The whole mixture will turn nicely pinkish -- this was fabulous!