Rice and Summer Bean Salad

Serves 2-4.

This is another recipe from the Rebar cookbook. I've been on a two week candida cleanse. It has been so hard! The diet required is very restrictive, no sugar, milk, cheese, sour cream, alcohol, caffeine, fruit (other than berries), tofu, walnuts, peanuts...this list actually goes on:( I cried on the first day, The good news is it has become much easier to follow and has led me to make some new dishes that I would never have made otherwise. This recipe actually calls for kasha rather than rice but I did not have success with kasha (it ended up a consistency of mush) so I used rice instead.

Vinaigrette

juice of 1/2 lemon
zest of 1/2 lemon, minced
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp minced fresh dill
1/4 tsp cracked fresh pepper
1/2 sunflower oil

Salad
1 cup buckwheat groats/kasha  (or 1/2 cup rice)
2 bay leaves
1 tsp salt
2 cups water/1 cup water
2 medium beets roasted in olive oil
1/2 lb green or yellow beans, blanched
2 tbsp sunflower seeds, toasted
2-3 hard-cooked eggs for garnish


1) To make the vinaigrette, combine lemon zest, juice, vinegar, garlic, and Dijon mustard and whisk to blend. While whisking slowly drizzle in the oil. Add 1 tbsp dill and season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.

2) Next, spread kasha in a single layer on the pan and roast in 350 degree oven for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. Bring water to boil in a small pot and stir in kasha, bay leaves and slat.  Simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let fluff for at least 5 minutes. (Or cook rice according to package instructions).

3) Peel and dice the roasted beets into 1-inch cubes. Toss with small amount of vinaigrette and set aside to marinate. Trim the ends of the blanched beans and slice each bean into three pieces on the bias.

4) To assemble the salad, toss kasha and beans with enough vinaigrette to coat. Gently mix in the marinated beets, the remaining dill and toasted sunflower seeds. Turn onto a serving dish and garnish with an arrangement of slice eggs and dill sprigs.

Easy Six Minute Chocolate Cake

I made this cake for Kaley's going-away BBQ a few nights ago. It is so quick and easy, almost like a cake mix! My sister gave me the recipe for it, she used to make it all the time. If I am ever going to an event with any of my vegan friends I bring this since there is no dairy in it.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups sifted white flour
1 cup white sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup cocoa
1/4 chopped roasted nuts (optional)
1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp cup safflower oil
1 cup lukewarm water
1 tbsp vinegar

Mix dry ingredients together then add the oil, water and vinegar. Stir just enough to combine wet and dry ingredients. Don't stir too much.

Pour into a greased 8 inch square or round baking pan.

Bake for 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Enjoy!:)

PIzza Dough

I made two pizzas last weekend when a group of us went to Saturna. We had them as an appetizer and everyone liked the dough. It didn't turn out as crunchy as real Italian pizza. Every time I have made home-made pizza dough this has been the case. I actually prefer it soft so I don't mind. I've been told that it is very difficult to make the dough crunchy without a brick oven. Baking the pizza at a high temperature ( 425 degrees) will make it a bit less soft.

The toppings I used for these two pizzas were varied. One half I kept simple and just had mozzarella (*if you can find it, soft buffalo mozzarella is amazing! They sell it Bosa in Vancouver), parmesan, and thin slices of tomato, the other pizza halves were a mixture of capers, prosciutto from Angelo's, carmelized onion, and different types of cheeses.

For the pizza dough I followed 'Jay's Signature Pizza Crust Recipe' from allrecipes.com:

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

Directions

1. In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast and brown sugar in the water, and let sit for 10 minutes.
2. Stir the salt and oil into the yeast solution. Mix in 2 1/2 cups of the flour.
3. Turn dough out onto a clean, well floured surface, and knead in more flour until the dough is no longer sticky. Place the dough into a well oiled bowl, and cover with a cloth. Let the dough rise until double; this should take about 1 hour. Punch down the dough, and form a tight ball. Allow the dough to relax for a minute before rolling out. Use for your favorite pizza recipe.
4. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). If you are baking the dough on a pizza stone, you may place your toppings on the dough, and bake immediately. If you are baking your pizza in a pan, lightly oil the pan, and let the dough rise for 15 or 20 minutes before topping and baking it.
5. Bake pizza in preheated oven, until the cheese and crust are golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes.