Peace and Love Salad

From Fresh at Home by Ruth Tal Brown and Jennifer Houston

**** We really liked the roasted veggies. Also this salad has an awesome presentation. We found that the tahini sauce was a bit too thin so the lettuce was drowning a bit. To make it thicker, simply add less water.

The only real problem with this salad is that this takes a little while to get all of the sauces made. I would suggest either making the Harissa in advance, replacing it with store-bought stuff or another hot sauce or forgoing it altogether. For the mixed herbs, just throw together a bit of whatever herbs you have on hand (thyme, basil, etc.) if you don't want to bother with making the actual mix. You could probably get away with making the tahini sauce and hummus while the veggies are roasting. I would make the tahini sauce first, then the hummus so that you don't have to wash the blender in between (it's essentially made with the same ingredients). Any leftover tahini or hummus can be used as a delicious spread for sandwiches, dips, or as dressings for another salad!

•¼ cup (60 ml) olive oil
•4 tbsp soy sauce
•6 slices zucchini
•6 slices eggplant
•6 slices sweet potato
•6 button mushrooms, halved
•8 cups mixed lettuce greens
•1 batch Tahini Sauce
•1 batch Hummus
•1 tsp Mixed Herbs
•1 tsp chili powder
•1 batch Harissa
•6 slices cucumber

Tahini Sauce
•2 cloves garlic, minced
•½ cup chopped parsley
•½ tsp sea salt
•2 tbsp lemon juice
•2/3 cup (160 ml) water
•½ cup tahini

1.In a blender, process garlic, parsley, salt and lemon juice until smooth.
2.Add water and tahini. Process until smooth.

Hummus
•2 cups cooked or canned chickpeas
•3 cloves garlic
•2 tbsp tahini
•4 tbsp lemon juice
•½ tsp sea salt
•1 tbsp water

1.In a food processor, puree all ingredients. Add more water if necessary to get the consistency you like.

Mixed Herbs
•1 tbsp dried oregano
•1 tbsp dried basil
•1 tbsp dried marjoram
•1 tbsp dried dill
•1 tbsp dried thyme
•1-½ tsp dried rosemary
•1-½ tsp dried sage

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Mix well.

Harissa
•1 tsp caraway seeds
•1 tsp cumin seeds
•1 tsp coriander seeds
•Pinch sea salt
•3 tbsp paprika
•1 tbsp red chili flakes
•2 cloves garlic, minced
•1 tbsp olive oil

1.Toast the caraway, cumin and coriander seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat, about 3 minutes or until slightly brown and fragrant. Let cool.
2.Grind the seeds in a spice grinder or with a mortar and pestle. Add salt and grind again.
3.Add paprika and chili flakes; grind again.
4.Transfer to a mixing bowl. Add garlic and olive oil; mix well.

Salad
1. Combine olive oil and soy sauce in a small bowl, and brush zucchini, eggplant, sweet potato and button mushrooms with the mixture.
2. Grill, roast or broil vegetables for 15 to 20 minutes or until tender.
3. Toss lettuce greens with Tahini Sauce. Divide between 2 dinner plates.
4. Place a scoop of Hummus at the centre of each salad. Sprinkle with Mixed Herbs and chili powder.
5. Arrange the grilled vegetables around the Hummus.
6. Put a small dab of Harissa on 3 slices of cucumber and arrange around the edge of each salad. Serve.

Pumpkin Enchilladas with Mole Sauce

From The Accidental Vegetarian by Simon Rimmer

**** This is REALLY different! The mole sauce is a combination spicy heat (coriander, chili, cinnamon) and chocolate. Yes, chocolate... Plus, if you're vegan or have a dairy allergy these are perfect as you definitely don't need any melted cheese on them.

During the blending stage of the sauce be aware...Either blend with a hand blender or wait until the sauce is cooled a bit before blending with a normal blender. We had a DISASTER in the kitchen while attempting to blend the sauce. This cookbook author seems completely unaware that those using household kitchen appliances might have an explosion in their kitchen while trying to blend this sauce. The heat combined with the added pressure of blending caused a build up pressure, thus leading to the liquid exploding from the blender. Anthony got burned and the floor got stained.


Filling
vegetable oil for roasting
1 small pumpkin or 2 butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1¼ in (3cm) cubes.
15 oz (425g) can refried beans (or use mashed black beans)
freshly chopped cilantro leaves
1 red chili, chopped (or hot red pepper flakes)
12 regular tortillas
salt and pepper


Mole Sauce
10 red chilis (or hot red pepper flakes)
2 tsp coriander seeds (or 1½ tsp powder)
1 tsp sesame seeds
2 Tbsp slivered almonds
5 black peppercorns
2-3 cloves
1 onion, sliced
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 Tbsp cocoa powder
vegetable oil for frying
15 oz (425g) can chopped tomatoes
pinch of cinnamon
sugar to taste
2/3 cup stock
3 ½ oz (100g) dark chocolate (not unsweetened)

1. Prehead the oven to 400°F (200°C). Brush oil on pumpkin pieces and put on a roasting pan. Roast for 40 minutes until soft.
2. Meanwhile make the sauce. Put the chiles, coriander seeds, sesame seeds, almonds, peppercorns, and cloves in a mortar and pestle and crush. Tip into a skillet and deep-fry for a minute or so until lightly charred.
3. In separate pan, fry to onion, garlic and cocoa in a little oil for 2 minutes.
4. Add the tomatoes and bring to a boil, then add all the dry-fried spcies, the cinnamon, sugar, and stock and cook for 25 minutes. Transfer to a blender (ONLY if cooled, or use a hand blender). Turn out and fold in chocolate (might need to reheat sauce if not warm as the chocolate needs to melt).
5. Once the pumpkin is roasted, put it into a bowl and mix with the beans, cilantro and red chili and stir well.
6. Divide the mixture between the tortillas, roll up and put into a baking dish. We spread a little mole sauce over the enchilladas, before cooking but you can just do it afterwards. Cook for 12 minutes
7. Serve with mole sauce and sour cream, guacomole, cilantro, lime, etc.

Grilled Vegetarian Pizza

From HeartSmart by Bonnie Stern

Serves 2-3

****Really tasty pizza. Although the basil oil and homemade sauce take a little time, they are well worth it! The crust itself is also really tasty on its own. This pizza was intended to be cooked on the BBQ - the author swears that the dough won't fall through the BBQ grates - but it can also be baked in the oven.


Crust

• 1 cup (250mL) warm water
• 1 Tbsp (15mL) granulated sugar
• 1 envelope dry yeast (1Tbsp/15mL)
• 1 cup (250mL) all-purpose flour
• 1 cup (250mL) whole wheat flour
• 2 Tbsp cornmeal
• 1 tsp (5mL) salt
• 2 Tbsp (25mL) olive oil, divided

1. To prepare crust, in a large bowl, combine warm water and sugar. Sprinkle with yeast and let stand for 10 minutes, or until yeast bubbles up (if nothing's happening try stirring the yeast)
2. Stir in all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, cornmeal, salt and 1 Tbsp (15mL) soil. If necessary, add more all-purpose flour until dough is still very soft but does not stick to your fingers or the counter.
3. Knead dough for 5 to 8 minutes, form into a ball and place in a large bowl with remaining 1 Tbsp (15mL) oil. Roll dough in oil. Cover and let rise for 1 to 1½ hours, or until dough doubles in volume.

Cherry Tomato Sauce

• 1 Tbsp (15mL) olive oil
• 4 cloves chopped garlic
• pinch hot red pepper flakes
• 4 cups (1L) whole cherry tomatoes (regular tomatoes quartered work too)
• 1 tsp (5mL) salt
• ¼ tsp (1mL) pepper
• 2 Tbsp (25mL) shredded fresh basil

1. Heat the oil on medium heat. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook gently for a few minutes.
2. Add tomatoes, salt, pepper and basil. Cook for 5 to 10 minutes, or until tomatoes split and deflate and sauce becomes somewhat thick. If the pan becomes dry add a little water (¼ cup - 50mL). Makes about 3 cups (750mL).

Basil Oil

• 1 cup (250mL) packed fresh basil leaves
• 3 Tbsp (45mL) olive oil
• ½ tsp (2mL) salt

1. Purée basil, oil and salt in a blender/hand blender/food processor.

Oven-baked Method

1. Punch down dough and roll onto an oiled baking sheet.
2. Spread tomato sauce over dough.
3. Layer on any toppings you want (peppers, mushrooms, sundried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, olives, broccoli, eggplant, zucchini, etc.).
4. Cover with grated cheese (about 125g, more if you really like it cheesy, although you might not need it for this pizza).
5. Bake in a preheated 450F/230C oven for 15 to 20 minutes.
6. When it comes out, drizzle basil oil over top (leftover oil can be kept in the freezer so you don't necessary have to use it all).
7. Enjoy!

BBQ Method (makes smaller pizzas as they work better in the BBQ)

1. Punch dough down and cut into 8 pieces. Roll out or stretch each piece of dough until very thin (about 6 inches/15cm in diameter). Don't worry if pieces are oddly shaped. Cover with a little oil.
2. Place dough on a hot grill and grill for 1 to 2 minutes per side. Reduce heat to low.
3. Top pizzas with tomato sauce, veggies and grated mozzarella cheese. Close lid and cook for about 5 minutes or until cheese bubbles and crush is crispy on bottom (check occassionally to make sure bottom is not browning too much). You can also transfer grilled dough to a baking sheet, add toppings and bake in a preheated oven at 400F/200C for 10 minutes.
4. Drilled each pizza with a little basil oil.
5. Enjoy!