Sunday, April 13, 2008

Salads, Soul Burgers & a Tester

I worked really hard on our Sunday night salads. For our main dish I made Texas Quinoa Salad, which is inspired by a recipe from Texas chef Paula Disbrowe.




I think it’s absolutely beautiful and it tastes fresh and fabulous. It was a little time consuming to prepare, but my recipe shortcuts some of the chef’s steps. I hope you will take the time to make this tasty salad.

Texas Quinoa Salad

1 cup quinoa
2 cups vegetable broth
1 can red beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup salsa verde
salt & pepper
half of a medium cucumber, sliced thinly
half of a small red onion, sliced thinly
1 red bell pepper, sliced thinly
1 yellow bell pepper, sliced thinly
3 green onions, sliced thinly
cilantro
half of a lime

Dry roast the quinoa in a sauce pan. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 15 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed. Set aside to cool. When cool, add the salsa and beans.

Spread onto a large platter and garnish with all the veggies. Finish with cilantro and a good squeeze of the lime.


Another fantastic salad I made was Roasted New Potato and Asparagus Salad. This recipe was also quite time consuming, but again, worth the effort.


I didn’t know what one of the dressing ingredients was – runny honey – and I didn’t have the suggested apple concentrate to substitute, so I just used agave nectar. Chase kept asking how I got the potatoes to taste so good. I got lucky, I guess!

I’ve had my eye on Vegan Addict’s Blackeyed Pea Soul Burgers ever since she posted them. How lucky was I to find another burger with broccoli in it?!!


These are super delish, just as I knew they would be. (I had to sub carrots for the mushrooms because Chase is a hater, but VA says you can use any veggies you want. I also used oat flour to keep them gluten free.) If you don’t make the burger, at least make the fabulous spice mix that’s added to the burger. It’s what gives the burgers soul! I made 4 giant patties instead of 6 (cuz we’re pigs) and baked the patties 20 minutes each side. Look at these beauties!




AND, I’ve signed on to test recipes for Happy Herbivore. My first tester was Crispy Chickenless Nuggets. Nuggets are kid friendly and kids of any age will enjoy these. I know Chase was looking forward to eating these all day. He was not disappointed. He absolutely loved them. He didn’t even want any dip for them! I think he ate six and was thrilled to have a bagful to take home.




I had a Soul Burger and salads for my dinner plate. I love meals full of color.



We also had two kinds of cookies for dessert, but I’m saving those for a post later in the week. My sister will be here Tuesday and stay a week, so there probably won’t be a Sunday dinner next week to write about. But please stop back by later for cookies!

33 comments:

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

This is the second time I've seen those nuggets, and I must say, they look so yummy!! I really do miss chicken nuggets. =(

Sheree' said...

Hi Diann, I am so glad you are a tester for Lindsay too! My plan was to make those nuggets today, but DH wanted tacos, so the nuggets are on tomorrows menu. I love the salads!!! I also saw the burgers and marked them to try. So many recipes so little time. :o)

Hugs to you and Chase!

Lauren Turek said...

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In the post, link back to my blog, and tag five others (also linking to their blogs).

Sorry if you've done this one before!

ChocolateCoveredVegan said...

As always, I'm admiring your colorful plate. And I've copied down that Texas salad recipe to hopefully make soon. Thanks for sharing.

I'm also going to go to Vegan Addict's site right after this to check out those burgers!

I'll definitely be back for cookies!

Candi said...

Hi Diann!

Thanks for coming by my blog. :) Yes, Chase would like the pigs in blankets! Maybe you could make GF pancakes! :P

I like the look of those soul burgers! Thanks for the link. Grated carrot sounds like a great ingredient for them.

Your dish in the last photo looks great. I love the colors!

Enjoy your sister's visit! I'll stop by later for those cookies!

Anonymous said...

yay! i am glad you liked the soul burgers! yours look better than mine ever have, maybe i need to try oat flour? mmmmmmm...that spice mix is the kicker isn't it?!

Anonymous said...

these chickenless crispy nuggets are making me thirsty, uhm, hungry!!

VEGAN TICKLES said...

Your TEXAS QUINOA SALAD looks absolutely amazing.
I can't wait to try it.
I LOVE quinoe

Anonymous said...

Salads are so photogenic aren't they? And those burgers and nuggets look awesome too.

Liz Ranger (Bubble Tea for Dinner) said...

your food IS always so colourful, I love it! And I can't believe it, I was intrigued by those nuggets, AND the spice mix (specifically), and you made them both! I'm glad they're both so good, I see a new spice canister in my future. :D

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Diann, I'm LOVING the Texas Quinoa Salad, Roasted New Potato & Asparagus Salad, "Chickenless" Nuggets (Lindsay's recipes are so fun!), and Soul Burgers!! Your Sunday dinners are always the best :0)

Lindsay (Happy Herbivore) said...

AS always your dishes look incredible! I love how bright and vibrant your veggies are! I also cannot believe how beautiful and amazing your nuggets are! wow! you are so talented... mine came out like blobs...

bazu said...

I've come to learn from your blog that any food with the word "texas" in the title has got to be delicious! I love that salad. And from your previous post, rawtatouille sounds marvelous! I just know I'll love the raw version as much as I love the cooked.

Jenni (aka Vegyogini) said...

I made the nuggets, too! I'm so glad you're also an Alton Brown fan. He has so much knowledge to share and I just soak it up! I'm going to look for your post about the cookies w/ lentil puree in them cuz I'm so intrigued. :)

Chef Erik said...

I love quinoa, it can be made in so many ways. Great combos!

Lori- the Pleasantly Plump Vegan said...

i totally gotta make those nuggets.

JENNA said...

those nuggets look great! i wish i had a bag of those to take home to my house.

Vicki's Vegan Vice said...

oooh, I'll be back for cookies!! And you are politely modest about the potatoes, with beautiful food fotos like yours, there is no luck involved here! I recognize skills! I'd love to try your colorful salads.

Anonymous said...

OMG, I'm in love with your Quinoa Salad and your Asparagus Salad !

urban vegan said...

Doh! I was looking all over for an inspiring quinoa recipe for a dinner side. I read your blog too late. The other tuff looks marvy.

MeloMeals said...

That quinoa salad looks and sounds amazing.. right up my alley.. and those burgers look delicious too.

Vegan_Noodle said...

Very impressive! How can I pass up a TEXAS quinoa salad? Salads like that are so worth the effort!

We tested the crispy nuggets as well... yum!

Looking forward to the cookie post...

nipsum said...

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funwithyourfood said...

LOL I love that you called chase a hater. that was just too cute.. it actually made me giggle.
I love how colorful your salad turned out. Thanks for sharing the recipe!

Teddy

Judy said...

That quinoa salad is absolutely stunning, it's so fresh and delicious looking. I will have to try those patties too, I am drooling at the sight.

jd said...

Sorry if you get this twice, but blogger didn't want to let me leave a comment for some reason!

Anyway, I just wanted to tell you how beautiful that Texas Quinoa Salad dish looks. I love the beautiful combination of colors!

Also, I saw those burgers on Vegan Addict's blog, too, & have been dying to try them! I'm glad that you did - they look great! I'm also happy to hear that the mushroom substitution worked out well - I have to admit, I'm a mushroom hater, too :)

Monika K said...

I've been hearing good things about HH's chicken-less nuggets. Looking forward to giving them a try!

The Voracious Vegan said...

Those burgers look heavenly! I'm starving now!

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Jackie said...

What can I say, every item on this post is mouth watering.

The colors of the quinoa salad would make it a wonderful addition to any meal and tasty as well.

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