Picture Pages: May 2012

Chickpea & Massaged Kale Heat Beatin' Salad

I have literally been eating variations of this salad for both lunch an dinner throughout our entire Iowa heat wave/drought/tire fire. It's fast, nutritious and requires no blasted oven.


Chickpea & Massaged Kale Heat Beatin' Salad

• 2 to 5 leaves of kale, depending on how much you like kale
• 1/2 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 Tablespoon sea salt
• A squeeze of fresh lemon

Add above ingredients to a large bowl and massage kale with your hands until fibers are broken down. You'll be able to feel the softening of the leaves - it only takes about 1 minute of gentle massaging. It's an oily massage. It's fun! 

•  1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

Add one can rinsed chickpeas and combine.

• Assorted vegetables of your choice such as: cucumber, carrot, baby tomatoes, bell pepper, green onion, etc. chopped. Add as many and whatever variety you desire. Customize!
• 2 to 6 cloves minced fresh garlic - amount to your taste
• Sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, or slivered almonds (optional)
• Salt to taste
• Pepper to taste
• Olive oil to taste

Add assorted fresh vegetables to your own tastes and combine. If desired add nuts and/or seeds. Taste and add salt, pepper, olive 
oil to taste.

I make a huge batch and parse out amounts for lunches and/or dinners as desired. I also just add more ingredients as needed throughout the week as the salad dwindles in size. 


Helpful Hint: Brush and floss after eating as the black sesame seeds and kale chunks tend to get wedged in the toofuses, and your breath will be hella garlicky!

Sandwiches Are Magical!

Sandwiches are just about the perfect cooling hot-ass  Summer day lunch, aren't they? They work at the beach, at the pool, at the shooting range, in a cage, in a cave. (I don't know your struggles. No judgement). Vegan sandwiches are fast, easy and require no heating up of the house with the stove. Here are some products (which I personally use and in no way getting compensated for promoting) and foods I like on my sand witches:

• Vegenaise - How much do you l-o-v-e this product? You omnis might want to give this one a try too! We switched to this mayo alternative years ago simply because it was a healthier choice and haven't looked back at Hellmann's (Best Foods to you non-Mid westerners) since! Follow Your Heart brand has also joined the NON-GMO Project which gets big points with this little lady. http://www.followyourheart.com/
• Smart Deli Roast Turkey Style veggie protein slices - Okay, they sound and look gross. I try not to use super-processed convenience food too often, however I do enjoy these deli slices on occasion - mostly for a quick, easy, protein source. No, they don't taste or look like deli meat, but they have a similar texture.  http://www.lightlife.com/
• Udi's Millet-Chia Bread - I recently became obsessed with this bread. It is both delicious and healthful! I like mine toasted, then cooled for a crunchersons sandwich. It is also gluten-free. Could it get any better? Also very good as toast points with a tofu scramble. http://udisglutenfree.com/
• LOTS of vegetables - avocado slices, kale, baby lettuce, spinach, sprouted anything, bell pepper slices, cucumber slices, tomato slices! YUM! I try and add the rainbow to my sandwich - no, not make it gay! Add a vegetable of every color of the rainbow for maximum vitamin (pronounced viiit-ah-min in the English style) power punch!
• Hummus - preferably homemade or if not, Oasis hummus from our local falafel joint here in Iowa City. Since I am trying to eat a low fat diet too, I have been making my own hummus which has less olive oil, for a taste treat I get a container of the Oasis deliciousness. Hummus is also good on a sandwich as it is a little sticky and keeps the veggies from sliding around as much. 
• Pickles - Current favorite = Brooklyn Brine Co. NYC Deli Pickle. This is a pickle spear on a whole other level! Chickie J got a deal (Groupon, maybe?) where we got three jars in the mail and NYC was gone almost upon delivery. I love a good pickle finger spear with my sandwich! http://brooklynbrineco.com/
• Mustard - Check the ingredient list carefully as some mustard's are not vegan Big D's homemade is my very favorite - we even went to the mustard museum where he got some supplies! Annie's has some good choices as does Organicville.

What do you like on your sandwich? Any wack-a-doo combination you enjoy? Any product recommendations? If you were to have a sandwich named after you - what would it be called and what would it consist of?

Vegan On The Road: TC: Hard Times Cafe

Where: Hard Times Cafe


What We Ordered: Sadly, I can't recall the name of what we ordered and Hard Times has no website (champagne problems!) for me to reference. I know I got a burrito, and it was a big fattie that I slapped contentedly. Weird habit: I like to smack my burritos before I eat them to test the ingredients packing level, distribution and fullness. This burrito passed the test. (below)

  

Big D, my vegan mentor, ordered a falafel plate and some monstrosity of a soda called Jolt. Jolt's original slogan from 1985 was "All the sugar and twice the caffeine". In my eyes it is a man-made abomination, but I guess it is something of a legend among cola drinkers. Admittedly, I hate all cola drinks - I am an anti-colite. Fun fact: on an episode of "30 Rock" Tracy Jordan demands a can of Jolt Cola, which he explains "will be hard because it no longer exists". (below)

Tacos, y'all with the softie shells! You really can't go astray with good ole tacos, amiright? Served with a side of chips and salsa. (below)

Notes: Hard Times interior is reminiscent of a punk rock dive bar from the early 80's once the lights go up after a hard drinking night and maybe a small fire and a few fist fights. We were there in late afternoon for lunch and the food was cheap and filling, the music was quiet and there weren't many other patrons present. The diners were varied and all very quiet ranging from a guy in a suit to some punks rock guys bumming cigarettes to a schoolgirl chic middle aged lady in a gyno short plaid skirt. I did think our cook was wearing an oxygen mask but it turned out to be my own fanciful interpretation of a side view of a tribal face tattoo. I have to say, it would be a fun place to eat after a concert (when I was in my twenties and could still handle mosh pits, loud music, and wore my knee high lace-up Docs). Try not to use the restroom - or just go to look at the graffiti and wash your hands. CASH ONLY!

B.A. Baracus pities the fool who doesn't recycle!