Chickpea Salad and Dried Beans

We had the family over for Christmas Eve dinner and I prepared chickpea salad, sauteed kale, Brussels sprouts, and made a batch of sugar cookies. I had some picky eaters in the crowd, so I didn't make a whole lot of food knowing that my family was bringing meat they cooked in their oven and salad. My grandfather isn't too adventurous when it comes to food, especially when it comes to "weird vegan" food. When he had seconds of the chickpea salad and raved about how good it was, I knew I was on to something! This was inspired by a recipe I tried by vegan and so forth found here.

Chickpea Salad

2 cups cooked chickpeas (garbanzo beans)

1 large carrot, diced

3 stalks of celery, trimmed and diced

3 scallions/green onions, sliced

Salad Dressing

1/3 cup macadamia nuts

4 T water

1/2 tsp spicy mustard sauce

1 tsp dried dill

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp salt

squirt of Agave (1 tsp or to taste)

You can use canned, cooked chickpeas, but try to make sure the can is BPA free (if it isn't labeled as such, assume it isn't. Food cans have a resin lining, which leeches into the food). I took the time to peel the chickpeas because I originally thought about making hummus, but it's certainly not necessary. Mash them lightly with a fork. You don't want a paste - leave some texture. Chop the green onions, carrot, and celery. I included the celery leaves because I think they add a pleasant flavor.

Put all of the dressing ingredients into a high speed blender or soak the macadamia nuts before attempting this in a food processor to achieve better texture. Taste the dressing and adjust spices and water as needed. You want the dressing to be thick enough to cling to your ingredients, but not so thick it won't come out of your blender. Combine the dressing and salad ingredients and sprinkle some fresh cracked pepper over the top.

Working with Dried Beans

I purchased dried beans because I was tired of spending so much money on the canned beans that are BPA free. It's also a better environmental choice with far less packaging waist and more can be shipped at a time, so less carbon footprint per bean. I just knew that all of my vegan cookbooks had to have sections on working with dried beans. Guess what? The authors assumed I had been doing this all my life apparently and knew how long to soak beans before cooking them.

Why Soak Beans?

We dread when certain family members eat beans because it definitely means gas. Or does it? When I soak dried beans, it helps remove the oligosaccharides that cause gas. Oligosaccharides are very complex carbohydrates that are enzyme inhibitors, preventing the bean from sprouting too early. If the beans are not soaked, those oligosaccharides travel through your stomach and small intestines, feeding the bad bacteria in your colon. The bad bacteria causes fermentation and gas, which is why beans are known as the magical fruit. Jack in the Beanstalk, eat your heart out.

Another important reason to soak beans is to reduce their cook time. The less time something needs to cook, the less nutrition we boil out of them. I do not use the water beans have cooked in because that water also contains oligosaccharides in addition to some of the nutrients cooked out of the beans. I'd rather lose some nutrients than feed bad bacteria.

How Long Do I Soak Beans?

Before I go into how long I soak beans, I want to point out that they need to be rinsed during the soak process. For example, if I start soaking beans in the evening, I rinse them before bed, then again in the morning before work, then very thoroughly before I cook them for dinner. Today I am taking the day off of work, so i will be rinsing them around lunch time as well. Ideally, rinse the beans 3-4 times per day.

For a handy soak chart, click here. I tend to soak my beans for at least 24 hours. Lentils will start to sprout by this time, which certainly only enhances the nutritional content. I don't bother to sprout other bean varieties except adzuki. Adzuki and lentil are the two easiest to digest and sprout (Coincidence? I think not.). Cooking times vary and can also be seen on this chart. When I cooked garbanzo beans it took about 45 minutes. Lentils take around 20 minutes. Adzuki somewhere in between.

Is It Worth All That Work?

Soaking really isn't very hard to do, it just takes a little planning ahead. The beans sit on the counter and shed those enzyme inhibitors for you, so they're doing almost all the work for you! It's not as easy as opening a can and dumping it into a curry, but you also don't have to worry about what else came out of that can.

Caesar Salad and Spicy Mustard Sauce

When traveling on business to San Francisco, I had the good fortune to be able to have time to visit Cafe Gratitude. I sampled appetizers and had a Caesar salad for the main course, and it was delicious. The capers really made the dish and I promised that I would attempt the dish at home. Yesterday, we spent the better part of the day at my Grandparent's house and I brought the salad for my dinner.

Caesar Dressing

1/2 tsp Spicy Mustard Sauce (recipe below)

6 whole Black Peppercorns

1 small clove Garlic

1/2 cup Macadamia Nuts

1/4 cup water

juice from one Lemon

salt to taste

Put all ingredients in a high speed blender and blend until they are very well combined. The peppercorns should be pulverized and blended well.

Spicy Mustard Sauce

(to be used very sparingly)

1 tsp Mustard Seeds

2 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar

1 tsp Agave

pinch Salt

Put the mustard seeds in a spice or coffee grinder and grind until fine. Stir in the other ingredients. This is really intended to be added to dressings and sauces, not to be enjoyed straight as it is overpowering. It blew out my palate after I had it with slices of quinoa flatbread, lettuce and sauerkraut. I couldn't taste the sauerkraut after the first helping. I would recommend adding to a little whipped cashews or macadamia nuts if you want a mustard spread for flat breads.

Caesar Salad

1 head Romaine, chopped

1 shredded carrot

sprouts

1/4 c. rough chopped almonds

capers

Caesar Dressing

I put the capers and Caesar dressing in small bowls and let people decide the amounts they want on their salad. Some people dislike capers (I don't understand it, but I'll respect it). The almonds and sprouts add some additional nutrition and texture, but aren't necessary.

I don't understand why people say it's hard to stay vegan over the holidays. Perhaps I'd understand it a bit more if I had any inclination to have dairy. Staying dessert free on the other hand...I made two gluten free vegan lemon pies and didn't follow my own advice so today I had a bit of a sugar hangover. At least it makes it easier to stick to the diet going forward!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday! Annie enjoyed her new toys, and we had some fun family moments. There were some awkward and crazy moments too (like when Annie got in a fight with one of the 7 dogs in the house - twice). Seems like there was a dog or two per family segment for about an hour of our visit. It felt like 12 hours. Don't worry, everyone left full and injury free.

Baby "O" really liked Thomas the Train Engine!

My family's beautiful and sweet Bernese Mountain Dog

(definitely not the dog Annie fought with)

Annie with part of her toy stash. Notice the protective

paw over HER reindeer. 100% attitude.

Vegan Mofo Day 9: Flying Apron and Ginger Maple Dressing

Seattle Vegan Bakery Review

Today was a bit long and I'm more than a little bit tired, so this will be a short post. This morning I stopped by The Flying Apron on the way in to work. Actually, it wasn't so much a stop by on the way as it was me getting bored of sitting in traffic. I'm glad I did. I haven't been in the shop in a while. My favorite cinnamon rolls were just as good as ever and I decided to pick up a kombucha while I was at it. I had never had the kombucha brand before and was sorely disappointed to discover (after drinking 3/4 of the bottle! Arg!) that it was not vegan (raw honey) and it had ingredients like "Natural Coloring" which is made from who knows what. I really hope the bakery starts brewing their own kombucha. I should have read the label because it is a good practice to keep when you have allergies and they do offer dairy for their espresso/coffee. The brand wasn't that great - I'll stick to Chaco Canyon and Synergy I think.

You will have to excuse the photographs - they were taken with my cell phone. Flying Apron does have some mighty tasty gluten free vegan cinnamon rolls. The one I grabbed was still a little warm, and it was easy to eat at my desk. How they get such a yummy glaze on those rolls, I guess I will never know. Actually, I probably already have the recipe in the cookbook I purchased written by the owner of the Bakery, so I will have to check that out. I do enjoy many of their items and the frosting on their cupcakes and cakes is amazing. Some of the recipes are heavy on the garbanzo bean flour, which is a taste I don't particularly care for, so I tend to stick to my favorites there. The staff is always very helpful and friendly. There was a time when my husband and I lived in the neighborhood and were recognized regulars.

On to the recipe...

Sunday I purchased some wonderful looking arugula at the Sunday Farmer's Market in Capitol Hill. I whipped up a quick dressing to go with it, mixed in some romaine and mushrooms, and we both had huge salads with our dinner.

Ginger Maple Dressing
1/2 tsp fresh grated ginger
3 Tb sesame oil
2 Tb maple syrup
3 Tb coconut vinegar
pinch of salt

This is a very simple dressing that just requires some grating (ginger) and a quick whisk before pouring over your salad. It pairs very well with the peppery bite of arugula. I would play with the proportions to suit your taste. This may be a bit too sweet for some, so I would up the ginger and vinegar.


Time for me to go to bed. Crossing my fingers and hoping this post makes sense...

Vegan Mofo Day 6: Quinoa Kale Salad and Sprouting

I had high aspirations for today's culinary creations. I was going to make soy free swimming rama and some cupcakes, but plans change. My family invited us over a day early to celebrate my husband's birthday. They are all omnivores, but they are pretty respectful of my dietary restrictions and choices and give me free reign of their kitchen. I brought beans, quinoa, cilantro, a pomegranate, and a few other ingredients and made Pomegranate Guacamole and a Quinoa Kale Salad. I eat and share my food, and they eat what my family has prepared as well. My brother wasn't sure about the guacamole, but, like everyone else who has doubted the powers of pom-guac, he claimed it addictive and polished off the bowl.


Quinoa Kale Salad
serves 2-3 people as a main course, or a whole family as a side
2 cups cooked Quinoa
1 bunch curly leafed kale
1/2 cup chopped onion
3 cloves garlic
2 Tb olive oil
1 can Pinto or "Butter" beans
1 cucumber, cubed
1/4 cup cilantro
1/2 a lemon, juiced
salt and pepper to taste

Coat a large pan with olive oil and cook the garlic and onions for about a minute. Add the kale and beans. The kale is done when it turns a brilliant green. When the kale is half cooked, add the cilantro, salt and pepper. Pour the quinoa and cucumber over the top when the kale is done, give it a quick stir, and serve.

I use Eden Organics canned beans because the can liner does not have BPAs. Making your own beans can be time consuming with a lot of soaking and rinsing. Sometimes it's just easier to use canned over dried.

People who get bored with plain quinoa enjoy this dish and it is a hearty side. Quinoa is a fantastic pseudocereal, meaning it is not in the grass family or a grain at all. Quinoa is a seed and a balanced source of all of the essential amino acids humans need. Rice and wheat do not have this attribute. Quinoa is very high in protein - about 15% is protein of its weight - and a 1/4 cup of quinoa has the same protein content as one chicken egg without risking salmonella. I won't go into ethics, but let's just call it the happier protein source.

SproutingSprouting is a great way to get a little extra nutrients out of grains, seeds, and legumes. There are machines that rinse the sprouts throughout the day while you are at work, but I prefer to use mason jars. I just don't like introducing plastic into my food.

Sprouting is always started by soaking the grains or seeds. This helps remove the enzyme inhibitors. Enzyme inhibitors are present on grains, legumes, and seeds to prevent the seed from sprouting and attempting to grow before the conditions are right. Removing these inhibitors makes it easier to break down the food to access nutrients and reduces gas by removing long chain saccharides (carbohydrates) that are on beans and aren't broken down in our system soon enough to prevent feeding bad bacteria in the colon. The saccharides are essentially sugars that feed bad bacteria like candida, and produce gas from fermentation (think of the yeast and air build leading to fermentation or alcohol in wine - the grapes provide the necessary sugar to feed the bacteria to move that process along).

Soaking: Hulled Buckwheat

For a chart on soak time for seeds, grains, and legumes, check out this link.

As a general rule, I soak most legumes and seeds over night. Buckwheat I only soak for 3-5 hours, rinsing and replacing the soak water at least once. Cover your soaking jar with a tea or dish towel to prevent light from getting to the seeds.


After my soak time has passed, I rinse the seeds and jar thoroughly, put the seeds back in the jar, and put cheese cloth or mesh over the top, secured with a rubber band. I've found that the plastic mesh bags that are used in the grocery store for selling bulk garlic or lemons works really well as a mesh jar top.

The jar on the far left is covered with cheesecloth and a rubber band
The rest are covered with reused bulk sale lemon bags cut into smaller squares

Tilt the jars at a 45 degree angle with the mouth of the jar facing towards the ground in a bowl. Remember to cover the jars with a tea or dish towel.

This is how the jars should be set so water can drain out to discourage bad bacteria
growth. Right after this photo, the jars were covered with a clean dish towel.

Rinse sprouting seeds at a minimum of twice a day - three to four times being ideal. I usually rinse my seeds before work, when I get home, and then right before bed. Most seeds only need to sprout to a quarter of the length of the seed before they are done. The exceptions are broccoli, radish, mung bean, clover, and alfalfa. I soak buckwheat during the evening and set it to sprout overnight. I rinse in the morning and usually by the time I get home from work that day they are ready to harvest.

Once your seeds have finished sprouting, rinse them very well. I use some food grade hydrogen peroxide and rinse them again before either dehydrating them or storing them to use fresh. Sprouted buckwheat is delicious dehydrated. I spread the seeds over a teflex sheet and put a mesh dehydrator sheet over the top so the seeds don't go flying around my dehydrator. I set the temperature to 105 and dehydrate the "buckwheaties" overnight.

Buckwheaties with Vanilla Hemp Milk and bananas

You don't need a dehydrator to enjoy sprouts. Peas, lentils, clover, radish, and broccoli are all sprouts I store in the fridge to use fresh. I rinse fresh sprouts at least once a day. Even in the fridge they are still growing and shedding toxins/inhibitors. Broccoli sprouts tend to mold on me easily, so I don't sprout them long and I definitely use hydrogen peroxide.

I do recommend a dehydrator though. I'm not going to claim that mine is on all the time, but even on a mid-high raw vegan diet I use it quite a bit for sprouts, raw vegan crackers, and to dehydrate fruits and veggie chips. I have a 9 tray Excalibur, but would probably get by just fine with a 5 tray model.