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.

Powerhouse salad

I went on a long bike ride over the weekend-- almost twice as far as I've ever ridden before. I knew it would take about three and a half hours and that I'd need something to eat along the way, but it's a real pain to eat while you're riding. You have to stop for a break and then you don't want to sit around chewing a big meal. You want something absolutely packed with nutrients, satisfyingly filling (but not too dense), and most of all, tasty!

Walking through my garden the night before the ride, I noticed that the kale has really taken off. Coincidentally, kale has the highest ANDI (Aggregate Nutrient Density Index) score. I harvested a big bunch and set about gathering other superfoods-- quinoa, soy (less processed tempeh), and flax oil.

The result is a sort of lunch or side dish that can be eaten hot or cold-- take it on your next picnic or 45 mile bike ride! A few people even used it as a pizza topping and enjoyed the full flavor over tomato sauce and crust.

Powerhouse (hot or cold) salad

vegan, gluten-free

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cloves of garlic, run through a press or minced
• 6 sliced of tempeh bacon
• 1 cup uncooked, rinsed quinoa (I used red but white is my favorite)
• 1/2 cup vegetable stock
• 1 cup water
• 4 cups chopped Italian or lacinato kale
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar (try pomegranate syrup instead for an antioxidant punch)
• 2 tbsp tamari
• 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped (I used orange because it was already cut. Yellow would be nice, too)
• juice of 1/2 a lemon, about 1 tbsp
• 1 tbsp minced fresh basil
• 1 tbsp minced fresh parsley
• 1 tbsp flax oil

Directions

• Saute onion in olive oil with salt (it pulls out moisture and makes onions cook faster) on medium heat til it just starts to brown, about 5 minutes.
• Add garlic, stir for 1 minute. Crumble in the tempeh bacon and saute til the edges crisp golden.
• Add the quinoa (make sure to rinse it first), and saute as you would for a pilaf, about 5 minutes. Pour water and stock in, bring to a simmer, and cover for 15 minutes.
• Remove cover and stir in kale til it's moist and coated with the onion-quinoa mixture, about 3 minutes.
• Turn off heat, let cool for 5-10 minutes, and stir in the rest of the ingredients so that their fresh flavor isn't zapped by the heat from cooking.

White pizza with spinach & bacon

I haven't explored pizza dough recipes at all since our household became gluten free. I haven't had to-- Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Pizza Crust mix is awesome! Each bag makes two big pizzas that mostly fill an 18" x 13" jelly roll pan or cookie sheet if you like your crust thin, as I do.

I've made a lot of pizzas recently, and while the classic-- tomato sauce, tempeh bacon, spinach and bell pepper-- is delicious, themed pizzas let my creativity shine. Thai (peanut sauce, faux chicken, spinach and bean sprouts), Mexican (tomato sauce with cumin, coriander, chili powder and oregano, Soyrizo, spinach and roasted corn) and Indian (tomato sauce blended with Tasty Bites channa masala, spinach and thin slices of potato) have been favorites, but then we needed a new idea.

Enter the leftover cashew ricotta I had made for a fancy dinner. To be used as the base sauce! With that one change, our classic pizza became a luscious meal.

White pizza with spinach & bacon

vegan, gluten-free

Ingredients

• 1 batch of vegan, gluten-free pizza dough
  (One bag of Bob'sRed Mill Gluten Free Pizza Crust Mix makes two)
• 1/2 batch of cashew ricotta
  Veganomicon has a great recipe.
• 1 cup spinach
• 1 batch of tempeh bacon
  The recipe in Vegan Brunch is my go-to, but here's another. Make sure to use wheat-free tamari instead of soy sauce, which nearly always has wheat. Tamari is also a lot saltier, so cut back by about 1/3 the amount and replace with water if needed for volume.
• 1/2 cup grated Follow Your Heart Monterrey Jack or Daiya
• red pepper flakes and/or fresh ground black pepper to taste

Directions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Bob's Red Mill dough instructions call for 425, but my super-thin crust gets too dark at that temperature. If you like yours thicker, try 425.
• Prepare pizza dough according to package directions. Usually for GF doughs, this involves pre-baking the crust so that it stays crisp under the toppings. Also make sure your ricotta and tempeh are ready, although you don't have to cook the tempeh separately.
• Spread crust with a thin layer of ricotta. This stuff is rich, so a little goes a long way! Top with a layer of spinach, then temeph bacon. Scatter with cheese if desired, but go easy-- the ricotta is plenty cheesy.
• Bake for 10 minutes, check the crust's color, turn, and bake another 10 minutes-- less if the crust is already getting brown after the first 10.
• Sprinkle with pepper and enjoy!

Grilled bruschetta and Italian tempeh

I went to the farmers' market this morning and was lucky enough to get one of New Cascadia's coveted baguettes. The last few times I've been to the market, the popular all-gluten-free bakery has been completely sold out of everything. The bread and a pint of beautiful, ripe cherry tomatoes from the produce store sealed the deal: bruschetta for dinner!

And what better way to celebrate this wanna-be summer bounty than to break out the grill for the first time this year? To round out the meal I marinated and grilled tempeh, and picked kale from the garden to make greens. The produce store had a special on pineapple halves, so while the grill was hot, I grilled wedges of pineapple for dessert. Yum, bring on the sun!

For timing: marinate the tempeh first, preheat the grill, prep the bruschetta, put the tempeh on the grill, and after you flip it put the bread on, too.

Italian grilled tempeh

vegan, gluten-free

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 garlic cloves, pressed or diced
• 1 tsp fresh oregano, diced or 1/2 tsp dried
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
• 8 oz block of tempeh, cut along the shorter side into 1/4" thick strips

Directions

• Whisk together all of the ingredients except the tempeh in a wide, shallow container.
• Pass each slice of tempeh through the marinade to coat both sides, and let sit for at least half an hour.
• Preheat grill to around 450 F.
• Grill about 10 minutes each side, or until grill marks have formed.

Grilled bruschetta

vegan, gluten-free

Ingredients

• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 1 garlic clove, pressed or diced
• 2 tbsp fresh basil leaves, diced
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp olive oil, plus additional for the bread
• 1/2 tsp salt
• fresh ground black pepper to taste
• a gluten-free baguette

Directions

• Preheat grill to around 450 F.
• Toss everything into a small food processor and pulse for 5 seconds at a time, 3-4 times or until the mixture is to desired consistency. I like mine on the smooth side, with enough chunks of tomato that it sits on top of the bread. Let the mixture sit for flavors to meld while the bread grills.
• Slice a baguette into diagonal slices to get the most surface area. New Cascadia Bakery, here in Portland, sells nice gluten free bread-- that's what I used. You could also make your own French bread.
• Brush or spray olive oil onto one side of each slice of bread. Place oiled side down on the hot grill. Remove in 3-5 minutes once grill marks have formed.
• Serve with tomato mixture spooned onto grilled side of bread.

Tomato fennel orange soup

I first had tomato fennel orange soup from Savor Soup House, a fantastic food cart with great vegan and gluten-free options. Although the flavors of fennel and orange are subtle, what they do to the soup is not. This is not the heavy, comforting rainy day tomato soup we grew up with. This is a bright, sunshiny soup for spring time.

While I wasn't able to completely recreate the soup from Savor Soup House, this recipe makes up for it with few ingredients and speed. You'll have plenty of time to make grilled cheese sandwiches (on homemade bread!) while the ingredients are cooking or during the final simmer.

Tofu or tempeh bacon and a bit of spinach or parsley make a pretty and nutritious garnish.

Tomato fennel orange soup

vegan, gluten-free

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 fennel bulb, trimmed, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, pressed or diced
• 1 (28 oz) can tomatoes
  
  I like the least amount of ingredients-- no added herbs or salt. Diced or whole doesn't matter.
• 1/4 cup orange juice concentrate
• 1 tsp salt, or to taste
• 2 cups vegetable stock

Directions

• Saute onion in olive oil in a stock pot over medium heat, about 5 minutes.
• Add fennel and onion, cover, let swear for 5 minutes.
• Add remaining ingredients, but be spare with the salt and pepper. You can add more at the end.
• Stir and heat through, about 5 minutes.
• Transfer to the blender, in batches if there's too much to fit. I like to blend on low for 1 minute, but if you want smoother you can blend higher and if you want chunkier you can blend only half the mixture.
• Pour back into the stock pot and simmer low for about 15 minutes or until slightly thickened. Salt and pepper to taste.