Herbed Cucumber Salad

We love this summery, cooling cucumber salad. It is herbaceous, bright, and fresh. It is great to put in wraps, stir into hummus, or eat as a side. Quick to make, it adds a real punch of flavor to our summer meals.

Makes: enough to top 6 sandwiches

Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup diced cucumber

1 small tomato, optional

1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice

salt

1/4 cup minced parsley

1 tbsp minced green part of green onion

1/4 cup minced mint

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Wash and finely dice the cucumber. If using tomato, first cut it in half. If it is meaty, finely dice and add to cucumber. If it has a good bit of water, scoop out the water and seeds before dicing to decrease the liquid in salad. Finely mince the herbs. Toss the herbs, tomato (if using), cucumber, salt and lemon juice in a bowl. Refrigerate before enjoying!

Ginger Lime Tofu

Serves: 4-6

Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

2 blocks firm tofu

1/2-1 cup cornstarch

salt

high heat oil for cooking tofu (e.g. avocado)

1 package rice noodles

1 tsp tamari

1/2 tsp sriracha

1 tsp sesame oil

1 bunch of chard or kale

For the sauce:

3 tbsp lime juice

1 tbsp agave

1 tbsp tamari

3 tbsp sesame oil

1 1/2 tbsp minced ginger

loosely packed 1/2 cup mint leaves

1/2 tsp salt

pinch cayenne

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Cut your blocks of tofu in half so that you have four, one inch thick rectangles. Press the tofu between two kitchen towels, placing a cast iron pan, or something heavy on them to remove some of the liquid. This process can be done with a tofu press.

While the tofu is being pressed, thinly slice the mint and chard into ribbons. Cook the rice pasta according to the instructions (remember to add enough salt to the pasta water that it tastes like the ocean). Once the pasta is cooked drain and rinse with cool water to keep it from getting gluey. Add the teaspoon of sesame oil, the sriracha and the teaspoon of tamari to the noodles and toss to coat.

Combine the cornstarch and a generous pinch of salt in a shallow bowl. Cut the pressed tofu into sticks about 3 inches by one inch by one inch. Toss the tofu a couple of pieces at a time in the cornstarch mixture until coated on all sides. Start with 1/2 cup cornstarch, if you run out mix up some more cornstarch and salt. If you forget to add salt to the cornstarch you can optionally sprinkle salt on the tofu while it is frying or right when it is removed from the heat and still glistening with oil. Heat 2 tbsp of high heat oil in a frying pan. Once hot, fry the tofu in batches on med-high making sure it gets golden brown on all sides. If you are unable to get color on your tofu, turn up the heat a little at a time until it browns after a few minutes. Be careful not to crowd the tofu as that will make it all stick together. We use tongs to turn each piece separately.

To make the sauce heat the 3 tbsp sesame oil in a small pan with ginger just until the ginger starts to become fragrant. Add the ginger and oil into a bowl with the rest of the ‘for the sauce’ ingredients except for the mint leaves. Once the tofu is cooked, put them back into the pan and pour the sauce into the pan and stir until it starts to bubble. Sprinkle mint leaves over this and fold them in, cook for a short time longer (less than 1 minute). Remove the tofu and place over the noodles. Next, wilt the chard with any remaining tofu sauce and add this to the noodle dish as well. Stir and enjoy!

Watermelon Slushie

This August we are soaking in the heat and all the delicious watermelon. If you have a Vitamix and a tamper (an attachment for the blender that allows you to push the things you are blending into the blades while it is running), here is another delicious way to consume your watermelon! We prefer different levels of sweetness, so the agave is optional. Make sure to taste and add sweetener to the level you prefer.

Makes: 16 oz

Time: 15 minutes (but the watermelon needs at least a night to freeze)

Ingredients

2 heaping cups cubed frozen watermelon

3/4 coconut water (or sub tap water)

1 tsp agave (optional)

1 pinch salt

Heavy squeeze lime

1/4 cup loosely packed mint leaves

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Add all the ingredients in blender and blend until smooth. Serve and enjoy!

Fingerling Potatoes with Ginger and Mint

A new year and a new blog! This year Camille (formerly Gluten-free Soy-free Vegan) and Anne (formerly Hungry Griffin) have teamed up to co-create a blog featuring delicious recipes. We will be cooking food, eating food, and sharing our recipes with all of you to cook and enjoy as well. This time of year can be hard for us because starting January 1st so many people start to try to “eat healthy” or diet. We aren’t interested in encouraging people to make their bodies smaller, take up less space, or try to change because someone said they “should”. What interests us is joy, pleasure, and honoring our own bodies. In celebration of joy, pleasure, and honoring our bodies we’ll start the new year and our new blog with one of our favorite foods: potatoes!

This delicious side dish is an interpretation on a recipe that was found in an issue of Gourmet magazine about ten years ago. Time has not diminished our enthusiasm for these spicy and tangy potatoes. They are a delicious treat on their own or make a nice compliment to roasted cauliflower and garlicky greens.

Serves 4 (as a side dish)

Time: 40min (10min active)

Ingredients

3 tbsp sesame oil (divided)

2 tbsp sunflower oil

1.5 lbs fingerling potatoes, halved

3 tbsp minced ginger (divided)

2 cups water

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp turmeric

1/2 cup mint leaves, chopped

3/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

Zest and juice of one lime

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Heat 2 tbsp sesame oil and the sunflower oil in a frying pan over medium high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the potatoes and 1.5 tbsp ginger. Cook the potatoes turning regularly for ten minutes. Some of the edges should be slightly browned. Remove from the heat and slowly add the water, chili, turmeric, salt, and pepper. Return the pan to the heat and cook the potatoes uncovered until almost all the water has evaporated, stirring occasionally.

This should take about half an hour, but watch to make sure the bottom isn’t sticking and stop before then. At this point, the potatoes should be tender, if they are not, add a little more water and continue to cook until they are. If you need to add water, remember, the potatoes will not be drained, so be careful not to add too much. Once tender, add the remaining one tablespoon of sesame oil, the remaining 1.5 tbsp ginger, the lime zest, and mint. Stir until this sticks to the potatoes, about 1 minute. Stir in the lime juice and enjoy!