Iron Chef Challenge: Smoky chickpea, feta and quinoa salad

Just what I needed-- a challenge and inspiration! The secret ingredient for the first Vegan MoFo Iron Chef Challenge was chickpeas. We spent the weekend at the coast, so I knew I'd have to make something quick for dinner when we got home Sunday evening. Nothing new there. On the car ride home I developed a craving for feta. A salad seemed in order, and a filling, nutritious base of quinoa seemed perfect. The flavors came together beautifully-- tart feta, smoky seasoning, sweet tomato sauce, and hearty chickpeas make a light but filling meal.

Smoky chickpea, feta and quinoa salad

vegan, gluten-free

serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 C vegan feta (I used this recipe, without the rosemary)
  
• 1 C uncooked quinoa
• 1 C vegetable broth
• 1 C water
• 1 C tomato sauce
• 1 tsp Trader Joe's South African Smoke Seasoning or smoked paprika
• 1 tsp smoked salt
• 1 can chickpeas
• 2 stalks of green onion, thinly sliced
• spinach or salad greens of your choice

Directions

• Make the feta.
• Rinse the quinoa in a fine mesh colander. I like to toast it by dumping it-- still damp-- in a pot over low heat, shaking it every few minutes until it dries and starts to turn golden and release a toasty fragrance. Add the broth and water, raise heat to bring to a boil, cover tightly, and turn heat to low. Let simmer for 15 minutes, remove from heat and let sit for 10 minutes before removing the lid.
• Mix tomato sauce, spice and salt into the quinoa. Add chickpeas and green onions.
• To serve, spoon quinoa mix (about a cup) over a bed of spinach (or other greens) and top with feta to taste (about 1/4 cup). It's delicious warm or cold!

Choosing cheezes: Veg Times almond feta

There are very few things I miss about dairy, especially with the amazing assortment of good vegan parallel products. There's just one little thing... something so seemingly insignificant that it's most often treated as a garnish. Feta! Stinky, salty, tangy goat cheese. This void is why, after dipping my toe in with last week's cashew cheeze, I was very excited to try Vegetarian Time's almond feta. Mostly because I've been dreaming of a roasted baby beet, spinach, hazelnut and feta salad dressed with fancy olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Maldon sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

This cheeze was much easier to make than the previous one. With more water added at the blending stage, I got a beautifully smooth, fluffy whipped cream consistency. It also gave up a lot of water from the cheesecloth stage, and emerged quite cleanly in a cohesive ball. Baking gave it a nice, crusty texture. I skipped the whole herb oil part, but that would add a nice fatty mouthfeel and earthy herb flavor. Despite the amount of salt, my finished product tasted strongly tangy from the lemon juice, not salty at all. I will definitely make this again-- with more salt and less lemon juice.

Oh yeah, I also made these No-Bake Chocolate, Peanut Butter & Oatmeal Cookies. I'd never made a no-bake cookie before, and after a run with Ann during which we discussed peanut butter confections at length, these sounded perfect.

I didn't have quick oats, so I used regular rolled oats. I only made a half batch (but didn't halve the cocoa powder) just in case they didn't turn out. These were ridiculously easy to make, but absolutely must be refrigerated before consumption. I loved the creamy, salty peanut buttery fudge acting as glue to hold the oats together. The oats were a bit chewy and al-dente, which would probably be solved by using the called-for quick oats. I might make this again without the oats, just as fudge. It would be nice if it stayed solid at room temperature though.

Swedish potato salad

Sweden in the summertime is sweet, simple, and fresh. Exactly the opposite of my life recently. Between working 12 hour days, living in a construction zone that has our top floor and basement rendered unusable, and attending a wedding 3,000 miles away, it's been tough to find time (and resources) to cook.

I finally got to go to the farmers' market over the weekend, where fragrant fresh dill and tender new potatoes caught my eye. Ingredients so perfect deserve a simple preparation to showcase their flavor. Lucky for me, because this so-simple-it's-barely-a-recipe recipe takes a grand total of two minutes to prepare (once the potatoes are cooked).

Try it out while fresh dill and new potatoes are readily available-- I promise that the final dish is more than the sum of its parts. The creamy, earthy, bright flavors will transport you to a Scandinavian summer where everything is light and easy. Far away from my house!

Swedish potato salad

vegan, gluten-free

Ingredients

• 2 cups baby potatoes
  
  preferably a buttery yellow variety like Yukon gold
• 2 tbsp Veganaise
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh dill
• 1/2 tsp salt-- time to break out the fancy stuff! I used a lovely lavender sea salt

Directions

• Bring a large pot of water to boil, then turn down heat so that just a few bubbles still rise. Place scrubbed whole potatoes in the not-quite-boiling water for 15 minutes or until cooked through.
• Drain, rinse, and let potatoes sit til they're cool enough to handle. Chop into 1/2" chunks.
• Stir potatoes, dill and Veganaise together. Finish with the salt, to taste.