Liquid Gold Salad Dressing & Mmmmm, Chickpea Casserole

For the last two days I've been drinking straight from the jar, er... I mean, enjoying dressing my salads with the Liquid Gold Salad Dressing recipe found in Brenda Davis and Vesanto Melina's Becoming Vegan: The Complete Guide to Adopting a Healthy, Plant-Based Diet. Here, I enjoyed it with just a simple salad of Romaine lettuce and roasted portabellos. Today I devoured it mixed with Romaine again but also baked tofu and fresh tomato. wow!

When I first made the natural progression from vegetarian to vegan this book was invaluable (still is!), full of nutrition info given in clear explanations and tables, making for peace of mind to ensure that I'd be doing it right, eating as healthfully as I could. I still pick it up all of the time to kind of cement in my brain what I need and what nutrients both aid and hinder the absorption of others (confession: I'm a nutrition junkie who never retains what she's 'learned'), what foods to rely on for specific vitamins and minerals, and here and there a spectacular recipe packed with nutrition.

I typically don't share recipes from cookbooks, but this book is such a wealth of information that I think just trying the recipe might turn a few people on to purchase it.

'Just 2 tablespoons of this dressing (I dare ya to only drink, I mean use two!) provides 3.8g of omega-3 fatty acids (your days supply and then some) along with 40% of your B12 for the day (80% if you use the higher amount of yeast...and why wouldn't you?!). This creamy dressing is packed with riboflavin and other B vitamins - plus it's very tasty.'

Liquid Gold Salad Dressing

1/2 c. flax seed oil
1/2 c. water
1/3 c. lemon juice
2 T balsamic or raspberry vinegar
1/4 c. Bragg liquid Aminos or tamari
1/4 to 1/2 c. Red Star Nutritional Yeast Support Formula Nutritional Yeast
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. ground cumin

Blend until smooth. Dressing can be kept in a jar with a lid, refrigerated for up to 2 weeks. Makes 2 cups.

per T: calories - 78, protein - 1g, carb - 2g, fat - 7g, dietary fiber -0 .4g, sodium - 180mg

I tell ya I am loving this stuff!

I also finally tried out VWaV's Broccoli Chickpea Casserole. Heeding Isa's advice I made it just as the recipe called for...no subs, no extras.
This one is right on the money for me. I thought, at first, that the broccoli was a little more done than I like but the overall flavor is soooo good, I forgot about that entirely after just a few bites and look forward to the mounds of leftovers each day still in the 'fridge.

I love how something so simple can taste so amazing and comforting. I served it over a 1/2 c. of brown rice. Another winner from my favorite vegan cookbook to date. Thanks, Isa!

Fell In Love With a Salad

Arugula and Mushroom Salad with Hempseed and Liquid Gold Dressing


I know I've blogged this one before (recipe included in the last post), but it bears repeating (I totally couldn't help myself with that title!).

IIt's so incredibly hot lately, all I want is fruit or salad. My all-time easy, healthy, super delicious go-to salad dressing is non other than the Liquid Gold recipe from Becoming Vegan. Just two tablespoons of this golden goodness supplies one with all of the omega's and B vitamins one needs in a day! and did I mention how delicious it is? It's base is Flax Oil, which personally I find to be pretty unpalatable, but in this dressing it shines. Matched with a half a cup of Nutritional Yeast, Tamari, lemon, and cumin it's just the best thing ever.

I really think it's perfect tossed like you see it above with some baby Arugula, hempseed, and some thinly sliced 'shrooms. I've made it with roasted portabellos before and loved that too but when you just can't be bothered to cook anything, raw is ideal. I actually love this salad so much that I eat it regularly and can't bring myself to change the ingredients or stray from this combination. I think that tossing in some dried cranberries might lend an interesting and contrasting sweetness though.

I will say that, when I first tried it, I was unsure of the cumin. I think I may have even left it out or at least gone super light on it. Since, I've learned that, for me, it's perfection just as intended and now crave the distinct flavor regularly.

Hope you're all enjoying summer's end!

Lil o' this...lil o' that

Those canned rice 'n beans (this one's pinto and brown rice) with a can of black beans added, topped with fresh avocado, a ribbon Tofutti Sour Cream, my Super Salsa (seriously, people, go make this before tomatillos stop making an appearance, I eat some every day!), and a bit of fresh cilantro. My favorite salad of late, arugula, tons of fresh mushrooms, walnuts, and Becoming Vegan's Liquid Gold Dressing.I also tried something new with Vegan Vittles' savory Herbed Whole Wheat Bread. I never seem to have much luck with bread loaf pan breads. I do better with free form breads. This one was no exception, was a bit too dense and uncooked in the middle.No worries, I just sliced it up and baked the slices in the oven a bit longer til they were cooked thru. YUM!

O(mega) Yeah!

Two things I can't seem to get enough of lately:Big salad of arugula, roasted portobellos, walnuts, avocado, and Becoming Vegan's Liquid Gold Dressing (jump to that recipe now, promise you'll thank me for it!). Seriously, this dressing is not only positively drinkable but, with just two tablespoons, gives you all your omega's and b vitamins for the day!

andLifestream's Hemp Plus or Omega Flax waffles with fresh fruit (this morning it was Flax with peaches!), walnuts, and organic maple syrup.

Easy foods that never disappoint AND are good for you!

Salad Dressing Showdown

I have a few go-to salad dressing recipes. 

That Ginger Dressing, scroll down. waaaaay down.

Vegan Caesar Dressing, a la Bunnyfoot

Liquid Gold Dressing, from Becoming Vegan

Goddess Dressing, from Blossoming Lotus' cookbook, Vegan World Fusion

Simple Italian Dressing 
Good Olive Oil, Balsamic Vinegar, Salt, Pepper, Oregano, Onion Powder, sugar, fresh garlic.

Agave Mustard. 

In that order.

Typically, I only ever used agave mustard previously as a dip for seitan. It was only recently that I remembered, before going vegan, occasionally enjoying it on salads in it's honey-laden form.

As a dip, I would mix one part Vegenaise with one part Dijon Mustard, then sweeten with Agave until it reached desired flavor. I find agave super sweet so I have never measured, I just add maybe a tsp at a time and whisk until it helps sweeten but isn't overbearing. As a dip this was fine. I never really tinkered with it and loved dipping seitan 'nuggets' in it, got rave reviews.

Today I changed my recipe a bit to balance the ratios to taste more like a traditional 'Honey Mustard' dressing and then also added Rice Wine Vinegar, thanks to Alton Brown who doesn't use a mayo base at all in his recipe for the non-vegan, Honey Mustard variety. In addition, I have switched Dijon mustard for horseradish mustard as I prefer the bite and flavor of horseradish. I'd love to get my hands on some fresh horseradish. I think it's a perfect mate for mustard in this kind of dressing, matching the sweet of agave with it's flavorful kick of heat.

Wondering if maybe I'd prefer my Agave Mustard sans Vegenaise I decided to have a Salad Off. Yep, It's come to this. My refrigerator is so packed with delicious Vegan MoFo leftovers that I've resorted to pitting salad dressing against salad dressing. 

I'm just as surprised as you are*.

As for the salad to showcase the showdown, nothing fancy here. Just a butter lettuce blend base with chopped cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots and some walnuts. An easy, fresh side dish to accompany any meal, using produce we almost always have on-hand, this salad would let the dressing shine to best decide if I favored one preparation over the other. My plan was to drizzle one tablespoon of my Agave Mustard Dressing on one side of the salad and then a tablespoon of 'the opposing dressing' on the other. I'd take a bite or two from one side and note my thoughts. Then I'd repeat on the other side. 

Would my new go-to become the more calorie-laden style including Vegenaise or the lightened up version with fewer ingredients? Would the lighter version lack creaminess and flavor? Who would win this battle of the salad dressings? 

Here are the recipes:

Mmmm, creamy

Mamachandra's Agave Mustard Dressing 
makes just under 1 cup (about 8 2T servings)

1/2 c. Vegenaise Original (or whichever vegan mayo you prefer)
1/4 c. Agave Nectar
2 T Prepared Horseradish Mustard
1 T Rice Wine Vinegar

Whisk together until well blended. Serve over salad or as a dip.

So flavorful, so bold!

Alton Brown Inspired 

Agave Mustard Dressing

makes 5-6 servings

5 T Agave Nectar

3 T Prepared Horseradish Mustard

2 T Rice Wine Vinegar

 Whisk together until well blended. 

Serve over salad or as a dip.

The verdict? In appearance, Mamachandra's Agave Mustard is lighter, and doesn't seem to separate when left in the refrigerator over night, likely thanks to the oil in the Vegenaise emulsifying with the other ingredients when whisked together. The dressing I came up with is creamy, just sweet enough with a mustardy taste, a nice kick from the horseradish and tang from the rice wine vinegar.

Looking at the Alton Brown Inspired Agave Mustard dressing, I could tell this would separate. It already needed a good stir before putting on the salad. This is not a deal-breaker, because most all homemade salad dressings I know of require a little lovin' shake before using. This stuff is also really good. It's sweeter than I'd like, but that could be adjusted by making again with less agave. It's tanginess is a bit more pronounced. There's no subtlety here. I think this would be great dressed with the right greens. Arugula's peppery bite would be nice against the sweet and tang.

The Victor? I have to go with my own creation as my new go-to for a sweet, tangy Agave Mustard salad dressing. I prefer how balanced and creamy the addition of Vegenaise makes it. I still highly recommend the other version, though. Especially for anyone avoiding oil or just wanting to rely less on oil and processed foods in their diet. I could learn a little something from them and am inspired to tinker with the amount of agave in it. I'd also really like to learn to make my own vegan mayo stand-in as Vegenaise isn't cheap and has more ingredients in it than I really like in a staple item.  (I have been eyeing this one over at Magic Jelly for a while).  Wouldn't be a bad thing to break my blue lable addiction. sigh.

But for now, while this giant jar of Vegenaise is residing in my 'fridge, Mamachandra's Agave Mustard Salad Dressing will be making appearances in many salads near me. 


*I started to type up the verdict as one would expect a commentator to describe each dressing as prize fighters after a  boxing match. I scratched it and stuck to what I know. You're welcome. ;)