Have you ever tried to convince somebody that salad can be a meal? Not a side dish, not a garnish, not a appetizer, but a meal. Dinner, served. It’s not always easy: here in the CR universe, salads are the stuff of feasts. But to many people, the word “salad” signifies nothing but greens, a drizzle of oil, and a watery vegetable or two. And given the mediocrity of your typical mesclun salad appetizer in a restaurant, can you really blame them?

I love salad. It’s my favorite meal by far, and for so many reasons: it’s versatile. It’s nutrient dense. It’s fresh. It’s crisp. It’s usually at least semi-raw, if not all raw. It’s a blank canvas, a vehicle for countless flavors and textures. And, if you shop for your produce wisely, it can be a very quick, easy, and economical dinner.

Sharing my passion for greens with the universe means showing friends, family, and readers that there’s nothing puny about a great salad. With a little creativity, it’s easy to build a meal-sized salad. And once you get into the habit of piling your salads high with healthy sources of fat, protein, and complex carbohydrates—not to mention exquisite piles of fresh, raw vegetables—you’ll never relegate salad to an appetizer plate again.

Last night’s dinner salad was a perfect example of just how satisfying a salad can be. It was inspired heavily by the wonderful “Aztec Salad” at Candle Café, my spiritual home on the Upper East Side. That salad is a mix of quinoa, corn, black beans, red onion, cumin dressing, seared tempeh, and greens:

Still enchanted with last week’s quinoa and black bean salad with quick cumin vinaigrette, I decided to make a few modifications, to add some scrumptious (and filling) seared tempeh, and to top it all with a thick heap of fresh avocado. The overall effect was a perfect tribute to the Candle salad I love so much!

Quinoa and Bean Salad with Spicy Seared Tempeh and Cumin Vinaigrette (Vegan, Gluten Free)

Serves 4

For quinoa salad:

1 cup dry quinoa, rinsed
Dash salt
1/2 large cucumber, diced neatly
1 small bell pepper, diced neatly
1/3 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 can BPA free, organic black or kidney beans
10-15 basil leaves, chopped into a chiffonade
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

For the spicy tempeh+marinade:

Juice of 6 small (or 4 large) limes
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp maple syrup or agave
1-2 tbsp tamari (or to taste)
5 shakes (or more) Tobasco sauce (don’t fear some spice in this marinade!)
1/2 tsp chili powder
2 packages (about 16 oz) tempeh

For the vinaigrette:

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp agave or maple syrup
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp cumin
Salt and pepper to taste

To serve:

6 cups mesclun greens or baby spinach
2 large avocados

1) Cook quinoa in salted water till tender and fluffy (use a rice cooker or the package instructions).

2) While the quinoa cooks: in a large, shallow bowl, whisk together all of the tempeh marinade ingredients. Cut the tempeh into 12 square pieces (I like mine thin) and submerge them in the marinade.

3) When the quinoa is ready, add chopped vegetables, black beans, and herbs to the cooked grain, and toss. Whisk together the vinaigrette ingredients, and pour about 1/2 cup over the quinoa, beans, and veggies. (If you don’t feel that you need all the dressing, just add as much as you’d like to.) Toss it all together.

4) Heat a skillet or frying pan with coconut oil spray or about a teaspoon of coconut oil. Over medium heat, sear the tempeh on both sides till nice and crispy. Brush with marinade as you go along.

5) Pile 2 cups mesclun greens on each plate. Pile it high with a heaping cup of the quinoa and bean salad. Stack 3 thick pieces of the seared tempeh on top, and then top each plate with 1/2 a sliced avocado. Drizzle more vinaigrette over each plate if desired, and serve to your (satisfied) guests!

This spectacular summer meal will satisfy all kinds of eaters: vegan, omni, health freaks, and foodies alike. And as you watch your guests like the plate, give yourself a pat on the back for having put salad at the center of everyone’s dinner plate.

What’s your favorite meal-as-salad? How do you sell salad to non-salad lovers?

xo

Over three years ago, when I met Melissa in my first ever blogger dinner, we remarked on the fact that, at the time, all of the “big” bloggers seemed to live in Florida. Or someplace south of D.C.. Where, we wondered, were all of the NYC foodies? Weren’t we living in the food capitol of the nation, and possibly the world? Where were our bloggers in arms?

A few months later, Melissa had organized a few awesome NYC food blogger meetups, and we’d gotten to know some of our fellow keyboard addicts here in the Big Apple. We’d soon formed a passionate little community. Today, there seem to be more NYC food bloggers than ever, and we have a lot in common: energy, ambition, a love for the city that never sleeps, and a conviction that, to quote my friend Leslie, we “have it all.” We’re in New York, and we’re surrounded by amazing food, faces, culture, and art: no wonder we feel that way.

Typical New Yorkers that we are, we’re often too busy hunting down dream jobs or waiting on line for theater tickets or scoping out new fitness classes or trying out new restaurants to hang out with each other. So one of my main goals before moving has always been to summon up a group of NYC food bloggers for a dinner. Lucky for me, nine agreed to dine with me on Sunday night. And even luckier, my friends Daphne and Cassie of Verite Catering agreed to prepare a five course vegan meal for us.

They set up a lovely table:

And started our meal off with a raw gazpacho in cucumber cups, garnished with an adorable dehydrated beet chip:

I grinned to see all of the camera’s come out—this is what happens when you dine with food bloggers. I even caught Diana in the act:

The second course was a mushroom and sweet potato soup that blew my mind. Truly. I would never have thought of this combination, but it was hopelessly good. I stole finished Melissa’s bowl for her without shame.

Since the meal had a wine option or could be BYOB, I brought along some “Wonder Drink” Kombucha. First time tasting the stuff, and I didn’t love it: I think it’s being marketed to Kombucha newcomers, and I found that it tasted just like fruit juice:

My disappointment, however, didn’t stop me from raising a glass to Cassie and Melissa. These two women mean the world to me: Cassie, as I told the group, is my ideal of a “vegan ambassador.” She’s passionate to the core, but also compassionate, fair-minded, and she shares enthusiasm, not vitriol. She has also devoted her life to healing people who need help, to cooking for people who want to know how good plant based foods taste, and to being a stellar friend to people like me. She’s amazing.

And I think you guys know the story of how I met Melissa (I sent her an “I love your blog” fan note three years ago!). If you don’t, she recaps it sweetly in her post today. Melissa and I have cried, giggled, gossiped, emailed, exercised, and eaten our way through three wonderful years of friendship. We’re very similar, but there are also crucial differences, and I find that we bring out the very best in each other. I’m lucky to know her, as my verklempt expression in this photo demonstrates:

Of course, I had something special to say to everyone at the table. Since we were too busy talking about food, dating, blogging, media scandals, career decisions, moving, and school for me to say everything I wanted to say, let me say it by introducing you my friends:

That’s Danielle and Ada. Danielle is sweet, precocious, and has just found her dream job. Ada, on the right, is a pre-med at Barnard. Ada is about seven years my junior, and I have come to her desperately in need of advice more times than I can count this year. It’s humbling and inspiring at the same time. Ada, my dear, you’ll make a killer doctor one day:

This photo is very blurry, but the lady in the background is Katie, who grew up in Manhattan, worked at HarperCollins for a year, and is now doing a post-bacc in order to be a physical therapist.

We have some stuff in common.

This is my D-Dove, who is known mostly for her sense of humor and fine writing, but who is also bravely pursuing her dreams. Proud of you, D:

In this photo you can see Dori seated next to me.

Dori is hilarious, uncensored, honest, and kind. I’m really glad I’ve gotten to know her. In the right corner of the photo is my friend Kathleen. Kathleen keeps insisting she’s not a food blogger, but she really is, even if she’s more interesting in writing about life, feminism, and the pursuit of happiness than she is in posting pictures of what she ate for breakfast. Kathleen, you’re on to something, and I adore you.

This is Sophia. I had never met Sophia until this dinner, but the nice thing about blogging is that we get to know people through their voices online. I knew I liked Sophia’s voice, and I knew I’d love her in person:

I was right.

And this is Leslie, aka my doppelganger, who I am very sad to be leaving in NYC. I trust she’ll take care of it for me:

What a group.

After my weepy toasting came our third course: a salad of micro greens, sunflower seeds, and a bright, lemony vinaigrette:

And some shaved jicama on top. And finally came a mushroom risotto served with bright yellow red pepper coulis. It was filling, savory, and just the right portion:

I’m not one for desserts, but I know from experience that Cassie and Daphne make amazing dessert food. I was blown away by their offering, which was a coconut cupcake with coconut frosting and a raw mango ice cream. The whole table gasped when they dug in:

I usually go a little berserk when food portions are too small, but even I was worried that a five course dinner would be overwhelming. Cassie and Daphne nailed the portions right along with the flavors and textures. It was totally filling, but not at all heavy. Thank you, chefs!

If you’ve never blogged, and if you don’t read blog, the idea of “blog friendships” must strike you as as a little weird. But as I’ve said before, I often find that the connections forged online—platonic, romantic, or professional—are founded in all sorts of deep similarities and common passions. The food blog world and vegan blogging community have changed my life profoundly, and this dinner was a testament to that.

Ladies, I will be taking the spirit of this little NYC food blogging community straight to D.C. with me. I hope you’ll all visit. And with any luck, I’ll have found a new community of passionate food lovers in the District, and we can make all of our worlds collide.

xo

On Friday night, I made a simple supper for my friend Tom.

Tom and I pretty different eaters. He’s an enthusiastic carnivore, and I’m an outspoken vegan. But we see eye to eye on a few foodie matters. Tom’s father is a farmer and, by Tom’s account, a “hippie.” Each fall, Tom brings back bushels of the most delicious Macoun apples and giant carrots from his dad’s place, and, when I’m lucky, he shares them with me. I’ve never seen Tom put a bit of processed food into his mouth—not a thing. He makes the best saffron risotto on earth, and he’s willing to veganize it for special guests. And most importantly, we have a couple of mutual foodie obsessions: hummus and raw veggies, perfectly cooked brown rice, roast veggies with vinaigrette, and anything that calls for cumin, coriander, saffron, or cinnamon. Tom spent some time in the peace corps working in Madagascar, and perhaps these spices remind him of his time there.

One spice we haven’t discussed yet is ginger. But it’s one of my favorite spices, and so I suspect—I hope—that it might be one of Tom’s favorites, too. I didn’t need to think very hard about what to make for me and Tom on Friday: roast veggies and couscous, hummus and babaganoush, and raw veggies for crunch are our custom. But I did want to throw something new into the rotation. And since Tom and I are equally keen on carrots, I thought I’d make a soup from one of the food world’s most divine pairings: carrot and ginger.

Perhaps some of you have tried my carrot avocado bisque. If you haven’t, do: it’s the delicious, sixty second version of what you’re about to see here. But if you want a cooked version of carrot ginger soup that’s easy as pie to prepare and easier still to devour, try this recipe on for size. It’s fast, flavorful, crowd-pleasing, and easy to modify, too. I always add a bit of coconut milk at the end for richness. But you could lower the fat by using rice, almond, or soy milk, and you could also leave out the milk altogether. It adds a lovely creaminess, but the soup will be wonderful without it, too.

Carrot Ginger and Coconut Soup (makes 7-8 cups)

1 tbsp coconut oil
1/2 cup onion
1/2 cup celery
2 inch piece of ginger, peeled and chopped
4 cups veggie stock
1 small potato, white or sweet, coarsely chopped
1.25 lb carrots, coarsely chopped
1/2-1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp curry powder
1/3 cup coconut milk

1) Sautee the onions, celery, and ginger in 1 tbsp coconut oil in a medium sized pot until the onions are translucent (about ten minutes).

2) Add the veggie stock, carrots, potato, curry powder, and salt to the pot.

3) Bring the liquid to a boil, and then lower it to a simmer. Let the mix simmer for about twenty-five minutes, or until all of the carrots are nice and tender.

4) When the carrots are tender, turn off the flame. It’s time to blend! You can either use an immersion blender, or you can transfer the soup to a blender and blend it all at once, or, if your blender is smaller, in batches. Remember that hot soup will create pressure in your blender as you work, so remove lids carefully.

5) Transfer the blended soup back to your pot, and warm through. Now the magic happens. If you’re not using coconut milk, go ahead and serve. But if you are—as well you should be—you add the milk now. I recommend full fat coconut milk for sure: after all, the fats in coconut have been proven to aid tissue repair and have antibacterial properties. More importantly, it’s divine, and a very little bit goes a long way:

See the beautiful swirl it creates?

6) Stir to combine it all well, and serve hot, with a dash of cinnamon if you like.

True to form, I was too busy focusing on dinner to take photos–sorry! Fortunately for you guys, I had plenty of this soup leftover.

Whenever I make more than 4 cups of soup, I immediately freeze half; I’ll never gobble up the leftovers quickly enough, and I love having frozen soup for dinner in a pinch. I had two full cups of soup left after dinner with Tom, and so I enjoyed a heaping cup for lunch on Sunday. In a moment of true culinary inspiration, I topped it with a dollop of leftover cashew alfredo sauce–another perfect soup swirl!

Co-starring in the meal was a giant spinach salad and two slices of raw carrot raisin bread–an appropriate side!

Delicious.

Now that carrots are in season, it’s the perfect time to add this soup to your recipe queue. Of course, making this soup only has me fantasizing about my other fall favorites: butternut squash and apple, Kristen’s harvest soup, and anything that involves sweet potatoes!

Have a lovely evening, and before you go, tell me, what soups are you guys looking forward to this fall? 

xo

Ah, seasonal food. How sweet it is. How sweet, especially, at this time of year. Tomatoes and peppers still linger from August, while kale, carrots, and broccoli arrive by the bushel, and winter squash are just beginning to appear. There’s nothing quite like autumn.

In spite of the wear and tear that the impending holiday season can make on cooks, this remains my favorite time of the year to entertain. It allows me to showcase my favorite foods (dark greens, winter squash, broccoli, apples, carrots, beets – the list goes on and on) in all of their seasonal splendor, and with temperatures dropping outside, cozy dinners at home seem all the more appealing.

In honor of my favorite season, I’d like to start a new Choosing Raw tradition: the raw seasonal dinner party menu. With the advent of each new season, I’ll spotlight a high-raw, seasonal menu that you can use to entertain for friends, family, or just your roommate/companion. And I’ll do my best to ensure that they’re as accessible and tasty as they are 100% vegan, high-raw, and healthy.

I’ll begin with the dinner below, which I had the honor of serving to my pal Diana a few weeks ago. This meal was a true winner: comforting, cozy, and light at the same time. It began with a new soup creation that’s quickly rising to the very top of my list of favorite soups, and culminated in a half-cooked, half-raw beet “ravioli” that had Diana and I swooning in our stools (yeah, stools. I live in New York; high table dining is par for the course). It would be a perfect dinner to serve to anyone, raw or cooked, since it utilizes familiar flavors (root veggies, cinnamon) and textures (thick soup; crisp salad; tender ravioli). In short? It’s a winner. So much so, that I’m seriously contemplating making it for me and my mother on Christmas Eve (which, in practice, will mean a few bites for my intrepid mother, and the rest for me)—though I do try to concoct a new recipe each year for that occasion.

Without further ado, I present the Raw Autumn Dinner Party.

The Menu

Butternut Squash and Apple Soup
Kale Salad with Red Cabbage and Carrots
Beet “Ravioli” Stuffed with Sweet Root Vegetable Mash

The dinner begins with the soup, which I’ve been making nonstop since I first perfected the recipe. I serve it cold, natch, but you could absolutely warm it on the stovetop if you like!

Gena’s Raw Butternut Squash and Apple Soup (serves 2-4, depending on the appetites in question. If you’re making it for a group of four or more, you may want to double the recipe to be safe!)

4 cups butternut squash, chopped
1 cup fresh apple juice or cider
1/3 cup orange juice
1/3 cup water (a bit less if you like a very thick soup)
2 large stalks celery
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
4 pitted and soaked dates (or 2 tbsps agave)
1 tsp salt
Dash of soy sauce
Dash of onion powder (or some fresh onion, if desired)

Blend all in a high speed blender till smooth and creamy.

If you don’t have a high speed blender, raw squash will really be a pain, so I recommend steaming the squash and celery very gently first. Then, blend away. You can serve it cool, or reheat on the stove post-blending.

Next up is the “ravioli.”

Begin with a simple root vegetable mash. This one was:

Sweet Potato and Turnip Mash

4 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 large turnips, peeled and chopped
1 heaping tbsp Dijon mustard
1 ½ tbsp coconut oil
2 tbsps agave
1 generous tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp salt (adjust to taste)
Pepper to taste

Steam the root vegetables for about twenty or thirty minutes, or until very fork tender. Put them in a food processor with the remaining ingredients and blend till very rich and smooth – you may have to stop often to scrape the sides of the bowl.

To assemble the “ravioli,” slice red or yellow beets very thinly on a mandolin or by hand (it will be hard by hand, but not impossible!). You can also try a really great peeler or box grater.

Top each round of beet with about 1-2 tbsps of the warm veggie mash. Put another beet on top, and voila: a sweet, savory, and sumptuous half-raw pasta creation that will leave your guests smiling.

Finally, the salad:

Massaged Kale Salad with Red Cabbage and Carrots (serves 4 modestly)

1 head kale, washed, de-stemmed, and chopped finely
1 ½ cups thinly sliced red cabbage
3 large carrots, grated
2 tbsp olive oil
1 avocado
¼ cup lemon juice
Bragg’s Liquid Aminos

Begin by massaging the oil into the kale with your hands. Stop when it’s slightly wilted down and tender. Then, chop up half of the avocado and smoosh it into the kale, too. Add the remaining veggies, the other half avocado, lemon juice, and season it all with Braggs to taste (you could of course use salt or nama shoyu here).

Chew and savor!

Dessert could be anything you like. Avocado pudding or banana soft serve are always in season; you could also treat yourself to some fresh medjool dates (nature’s candy!) or dark chocolate. Ms. Diana was lucky enough to bring me a giant chocolate macaroon that fed two happy girls.

As far as procedure goes, I recommend the following:

Up to three days before the party:

Peel, chop, and store the butternut squash in an airtight container.

Day prior to party:

1)    Make the root vegetable mash. Put it in an airtight container and refrigerate.
2)    Slice the beets for the ravioli.
3)    Shred the carrots and cabbage for the salad; wash, spin, and chop the kale

Day of the party:

1)    Pre heat the oven to 125-150 degrees (or so). Put the root veggie mash in an oven-safe container and put it in the oven, covered in foil, to warm gently.
2)    Prepare the soup. If you want to, keep it in the oven in a pot while you make the salad.
3)    Assemble the kale salad.

If you take these steps, you should find that prepping for dinner on the day of the party takes no more than thirty minutes.

And the results, I promise you, are fabulous.

I hope this post shows you that you needn’t go crazy with raw cookbooks and dehydrators to put together a high-raw meal that guests will love. The best raw food—the best food of any kind—is simple, no-nonsense fare that highlights in-season produce without a lot of fuss.

And now, I’m off to contemplate what dinner party menus winter will afford me. Stay tuned!

xo

Edited to add: My friend Katie is hosting a very special, very worthy November mission at her blog. It’s called Operation Chocolate-Covered Kindness, and it’s helping her to raise money for two worthy charities. You can help her simply by going over to the blog and checking out some of her wonderful recipes (including a recent slew of raw desserts and sweets). Please join me in supporting her!