Vegan Insalata Caprese

Raw ingredients to finished salad: 10 minutes
Serves: 4-6

What you need:

Vegan Insalata Caprese

• 1 Block Medium Firm Tofu (cut in 1/4 inch slices)
• 2 Medium Tomatoes (also 1/4 inch slices)
• 6 Large Sweet Basil Leaves (ripped into little pieces)
• 2 Cloves Garlic (minced)
• 1/8 Cup Pine Nuts
• Olive Oil

Directions:

soak the tofu

1. This one has to be started the day before, but the rest is very easy. Take the tofu slices and soak in a bowl of very salty water. This, when soaked overnight, gives the tofu a cheesy flavor and the texture is much like fresh mozzarella. The rest of your day before prep is simple. Take a bottle (with a lid) and fill half way with olive oil. Add minced garlic and ripped basil. Leave sit unrefrigerated, overnight. The longer this mix sits, the better it becomes. Try using it as a dip for fresh baked bread, or even a salad dressing!
2. Minutes before you are ready to serve, slice the tomatoes into bite sized wedges. Try getting a good and ripe tomato. If your lucky, get some varity of heirloom tomato, like Brandywine over the summertime. In a nice sized bowl, alternate the tomato and the tofu all around the dish until they form a ring. Put anything that’s left in the center. Salt and pepper, and sprinkle with pine nuts. Take a few whole basil leaves and put them in for presentation. Drizzle with the olive oil mix and serve! Enjoy your tofu salad.

Variation:

Try instead with a balsamic vinegar dressing and Greek olives and without the garlic. Or try dicing all of the above ingredients and serving on top of toasted Italian bread for a Caprese Bread Bite!

Vegan Cucumber Salad

This is a classic German style cucumber salad that I have ‘veganized’ very simply with the use of sour cream substitutes. Try this salad, it’s just the right amount of sour and salty and crunchy and creamy. Not necessarily the healthiest item on the menu, but a small serving on the side of something with a little more of a nutritional bang
won’t hurt.

This is a very simple recipe, that is easy to make, only requiring a few ingredients and a small amount of time to prepare. Try making it ahead of time and chilling it overnight, it’s even better.

Tip on getting it perfect:

Try the cucumber before putting it in the salad. One bitter one will ruin the whole batch. Try using English cucumbers. Or, if using regular ones, never, ever use ones that are soft or yellow. Buy them slender and dark green, as they tend to be less sour. I know, this is meant to be a sour salad! But the dressing is, not the cucumber.

Serves: 4
Raw ingredients to finished product: 15 minutes.

You will need:

• 3 Large Cucumbers (Peeled).
• 1/2 tub of Tofutti Sour Supreme ‘Sour Cream’.
• 1/8 Cup White Vinegar.
• 1/8 Tsp. Dill
• Salt and Pepper to taste.

Instructions:

1. Use a grater to slice the cucumbers very thin. As noted in the tip above, try them before doing the all hard work. If it’s bitter, sour or soft, don’t use it. DON’T TROW IT AWAY. It can still be used in a regular garden salad. But for this, the cucumber is the main flavor and you don’t want it to get over powered. After your cucumbers are sliced, salt and let stand for 5 minutes.
2. There should now be a little pool around your cucumbers, pepper and dill them, and now add the sour cream. Mix until all incorporated.
3. This step is more to taste then to measurement. Adding the vinegar to the salad. If you add to much, your dinner guests faces will pucker permanently. Add to little and all you taste is the sour cream. Best thing you can do is add a little at a time and try it every step of the way until you are left with a delicious salad that you can’t wait to serve.

Vegan Summer Salad

Healthy is what’s on the menu this coming summer. This salad is perfect for serving with Seitan Kabobs fresh off the grill, corn on the cob and don’t forget the watermelon! It’s crunchy, fresh, light, and best of all, so easy to make and will keep for days!

You will need:

• 2 Medium Cucumbers, diced
• 2 Medium Green Bell Peppers, diced
• 2 Medium Tomatoes, diced
• 1 Medium Red Onion, diced
• 2 Large Lemons, juiced (about 1/4 cup)
• 3 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
• Salt and pepper to taste.

Here’s how to put it all together:

1. Dice all of your vegetables and mix them together in a large bowl. If you want to use one red pepper and one green, that will still work and it adds a bite of sweetness to this salad. Another tip is to test your onion- yes I said test. You don’t want to use a particularly strong onion, or it will overpower the whole salad. Salt and grind fresh pepper on the mix and leave to sit for a few minutes to let the juices start flowing.
2. After about 10 minutes, add the lemon juice and oil. Salt to taste and it’s ready to serve. Or you can leave it sit overnight in the fridge. Hint: It’s even better the next day!

Serves 4 (And some for leftovers!)

Vegan Asparagus Salad - makes 4 side dish sized servings

So fresh and tasty, this is a long time family favorite. My father first had this Asparagus Salad at a vegetarian restaurant many years ago and decided to make it at home. This is the perfect side dish to a heavy meal because it’s so light and it’s fast to make, only requiring a few ingredients and 3 steps. Asparagus is so naturally good for you and makes even an unhealthy meal more nutritious. Try this salad as an outdoor, summer-time addition to lunch!

What you’ll need

• 1 Bunch of Asparagus (about a pound).
• 1/3 cup Chopped Walnuts.
• 1 clove Garlic (sliced thin).
• 2 Tbs. Walnut Oil.
• 1/3 cup White Vinegar.
• 3 Tbs. Water.
• Salt and Pepper to taste.

Directions

1. The first thing you want to do is make the salad’s ‘brine’. In a serving bowl, combine the walnut oil, vinegar, water, sliced garlic and salt and pepper and mix well. This was relatively painless, right?
2. Second step is to cut the asparagus, just take off the ends where it starts to get a little woody. Now, steam it! This sounds easy, but it’s very important to get it right. It needs to be cooked, but still slightly crunchy. Please don’t use frozen for this recipe, it simply doesn’t work and all you get is mush… and who wants to eat mush?
3. Last step is to combine the still hot asparagus with the ‘brine’ and mix well. The slightly undercooked asparagus will finish cooking in the brine and become fantastic! Just add the walnuts to the top and serve when cooled.