After culturing a batch of cashew cheese with a bit of my homemade rejuvelac for 48 hours, I formed it into small balls of "mozzarella", which I then soaked in a brine until chilled. The resulting texture was like that of a salty, rich burrata that practically melted into the dressing on this salad.
These tiny black lentils only resemble the caviar they're named after when uncooked. I prepared these with carrots, mushrooms, cumin, lemon zest, cilantro, and a drizzle of olive oil. Tossed with greens and served cold they would be a welcome addition to a salad. Below are photos of the dry lentils, shiny and black, and after soaking overnight.
I soaked this quinoa overnight and then cooked it quickly in a small amount of vegetable stock. In the meantime I roasted cauliflower in olive oil and curry powder, and then tossed in black beans and cilantro. This made a fluffy light salad that I served at room temperature.
Since giving up eggs and dairy I have been unable to enjoy one of my favorite salad dressings. That is until now. I have always made this dressing from mayonnaise and sour cream with mixed fresh herbs. But last week I finally bought my first jar of Vegenaise. It comes in many flavors. I chose the reduced fat traditional mayo. It was so good I ate it by the spoonful. It is tangy and rich, and really tastes like regular mayonnaise, while being cruelty free and healthy.
Soba are Japanese noodles made from buckwheat flour. They are gluten free, higher in fiber and protein, and about half the calories of traditional pasta. Soba noodles are usually served cold. I dressed these in a combination of rice vinegar, soy sauce and canola oil, and tossed them with a peeled, seeded and sliced English cucumber and chopped mint.
For the first time I soaked the quinoa overnight to remove its phytic acid. The following morning it cooked in just a few minutes, and was much fluffier than unsoaked quinoa. After it cooled I tossed the grains with red beans, sauteed shiitake mushrooms, chopped tomatoes, toasted eggplant and cilantro. Then I drizzled a bit of olive oil over the salad just before serving.
