veganmofo - seasonal + spinach salad + giveaway

#vgnmf15 Day 22 is all about seasonal produce and making such seasonal offerings into a dish.

I offer up my Spinach Salad Bowl with Fennel, Quinoa and Warm Pecan Dressing.

The seasonal produce for this dish is spinach, fennel and oranges (and pecans. Pecans count, right?). It also happens to be another recipe from my new cookbook, Vegan Bowls (Amazon, B&N), and I got permission to share the recipe with you!

Speaking of which, Vegan Bowls is celebrating its FIRST WEEK ANNIVERSARY! I think that means party time - don't you?! Yup, that means a blog tour and giveaways!


Vegan Street  and Here September 25
It's Got Vegan In It  September 22
Veg Kitchen  September 23
Healthy Slow Cooking  September 24
Dianne's Vegan Kitchen  September 25
Chic Vegan  September 28
Global Vegan Kitchen  September 29  (giveaway - ends October 5)
Good Good Things  October 1
Kelli's Vegan Kitchen  October 2  (giveaway - ends October 11)
The Taste Space October 6  (giveaway - ends October 20)
Glue and Glitter  October 6
The Food Duo  October 7  (giveaway - ends October 29)
Vegan Eats and Treats  October 8 (giveaway - ends October 15)
Vegan Crunk October 8
Julie Hasson  October 9  (giveaway - ends October 15) 
Heather Nicholds  October 9 (giveaway - ends October 14)

Since I am sharing a salad bowl recipe with you, why not look at the Salad Chapter of Vegan Bowls? 

You can see the entire recipe list for Vegan Bowls HERE.

Let's start with a giveaway on this blog, since I am probably the most excited! The winner will be chosen next Monday night at midnight, September 28.  Enter below for your chance to win a copy! To be eligible to win you must be following this blog via email or RSS feed (link). Contest is open to US residents only. Good luck!

Spinach Salad Bowl with Warm Pecan Dressing
SERVES 4 
This is a spin on spinach salad with warm bacon dressing. This salad is filled with shaved fennel, perfectly cooked quinoa, and candied pecans. The warm orange-pecan dressing ties all the flavors together and delivers a delicious, filling salad. (Recipe from Vegan Bowls, copyright © 2015 by Zsu Dever. Used by permission from Vegan Heritage Press, LLC.)


QUINOA
1 cup quinoa, rinsed well
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

DRESSING
1 cup raw pecan pieces
5 tablespoons fresh orange juice, divided
2 teaspoons pure maple syrup, divided
3 tablespoons grapeseed oil
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon vegetable broth

SALAD
8 cups coarsely chopped fresh spinach (about 2 bunches, tough stems removed)
1 cup shaved fennel (about 1 small bulb) 

QUINOA: Combine the quinoa, broth, garlic, and salt in a small saucepan. Cover, bring to boil over high heat, reduce to medium- low heat, and cook for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork before serving.

DRESSING: Toast the nuts in a small skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, until golden, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer half of the nuts to a small blender. Add 2 tablespoons juice and 1 teaspoon maple syrup to the nuts in the skillet. Cook until the liquid evaporates, about 3 minutes. Transfer the glazed nuts to a parchment paper and set aside to cool. Add the remaining 3 tablespoons of juice, 1 teaspoon maple syrup, oil, vinegar, and broth to the blender. Blend until smooth. Season with salt and black pepper. When ready to serve, warm the dressing in the small skillet and add about half of the warm dressing to a large bowl.

SALAD: Add the spinach and fennel and toss. To serve, divide the salad and quinoa among wide bowls and serve with the remaining dressing. Alternatively, toss the salad with the quinoa and serve with the remaining dressing.



a Rafflecopter giveaway

veganmofo - island trip

Here is a twist - vegans are putting vegans on a deserted island! #vgnmf15 has stranded us on this proverbial island most vegans have already been relegated to at one time or another in their veganism. Have I mentioned how much vegans love irony?

The prompt indicates that while we are indeed abandoned on this island (mine is a paradise, thank you very much, with hardly any bugs, a nice mosquito net and other sundry luxuries), all of our nutritional needs are met and therefore we won't need to bring such items as legumes, fruits, grains or veggies.

Now they beg the question, what three food supplies would you bring? I am ubber pleased that we will be well fed, however, the prompt does not say that the food will be tasty.

As a cook, I can immediately see the need for flavorings. Therefore, my three unlimited supply of ingredients are:

Salt
Vinegar
Spice

I hate to be so basic about it, but let's be real. If I bring chocolate or soda or something luxurious like that, then I'll have yummy snacks but bland food.

I'll risk trying to find a cocoa tree and harvesting my own chocolate or searching for sugar cane or a maple tree; yes, on my island, there will be all these plants just growing naturally - haven't you read Swiss Family Robinson - they had everything on that island!

That would, of course, mean that I can also harvest salt from the ocean, grow hot peppers and distill my own vinegar, but let's just say I'm a lazy vegan and will be stuck without chocolate or sugar! Wah! My scenario is falling apart at the logical seams!

In any case, given that my optimal island scenario won't pan out, all three of my ingredients will help make bland food taste great and unique.

Salt enhances the flavor of the food, spice complements flavors (even if it just a little bit) and vinegar brings a brightness to dishes or balances rich tasting dishes. All three provide a variety of uses and therefore, they are my Island Choices.

I did have a pleasant photo bomb courtesy of Jiji. She wouldn't sit still log enough for a better pic, but she managed to inch just a bit into the shot.