Italian Summer Salad

Serves: 6
Prep time: 30 minutes

Mangia!

I made this summer salad this weekend for an Italian dinner and it was such a hit! It's light, refreshing and chocked full of watery vegetables, which are perfect for hydrating in the middle of summer. Serve it as a side dish to pasta marinara and mangia!

Ingredients:

1 can chickpeas, drained
1 can sliced black olives, drained
1 can artichoke hearts, drained and diced
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 1/2 cucumbers, peeled and chopped
1/2 package mushrooms, diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
Smokin' Texas Gourmet Garlic Salt and Pepper, to taste

Directions:

-Place all of the ingredients in a large bowl. Season with garlic salt and pepper. Add olive oil and toss to coat the salad. Season with more garlic salt and pepper, to taste.

-Chill for an hour or two before serving.

Steamed Vegetable Dumplings

Finished dumplings.

Makes: Approximately 40 dumplings
Time: 1 1/2 hours

I was reading about traditional Tibetan momos (dumplings) recently and decided to give them a try at home. I am definitely glad I did! These dumplings turned out absolutely delicious and would be a great dish for entertaining. They're very easy to make, but a little labor intensive so make sure you have some spare time. Enjoy!

Ingredients

1/2 onion
1 clove garlic
1 inch fresh ginger
1/4 pound fresh napa cabbage
1/4 pound tofu
4 whole mushrooms
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon vegetable broth
3 cups all purpose flour
1 cup of water
Soy sauce (for dipping)
Hoisin sauce (for dipping)

Directions
Slice all of the vegetables into very fine pieces. Place the sliced vegetables into a mixing bowl. Add the soy sauce and vegetable broth, stir and set aside.

Next make the dough either using a stand mixer or by hand. Mix the flour and water very well by hand.   Keep adding the water until you make a pretty smooth ball of dough. Knead until the dough is flexible.
Make sure not to let the dough dry out because it will be hard to work with.

Roll the dough out over a lightly floured surface until the dough is quite thin. It should be thinner than a computer disk, but not so thin that you can see through it when you lift it. Use a glass to cut circular shaped discs out of the dough.

Stuffed dumplings and dough discs.

Form the dumplings by add a small spoonful of the stuffing to the middle of each disk. Fold the disc in half and pinch the dough together until you have crescents. Continue until all dumplings have been stuffed.

Formed dumplings, ready to be cooked.

Next steam the dumplings by boiling water in a large steamer. Spray the steamer basket with non-stick cooking spray so the dumplings don't stick. Steam the dumplings for 10 minutes. Serve warm with soy or hoisin sauce for dipping.

Vegan chili cheese nachos

Serves: 2
Time: 45 minutes

This chili cheese nacho recipe is perfect for a party and noshing. I've served these for friends a few times and they always disappear quickly. Increase the ingredients if you're serving a larger group.

Ingredients
1 can chili beans, sauce saved
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 sweet or yellow onion, rough chopped
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 tablespoon Smokin' Texas Gourmet Chili Seasoning, or more to taste
1 teaspoon Smokin' Texas Gourmet Smoked Salt, or more to taste
1 fresh jalapeno, sliced (optional)
Tortilla chips
1 package Daiya cheddar cheese, or your favorite vegan shredded cheese
Non-stick cooking spray
Smokin' Texas Gourmet Texas Twister hot sauce (optional)

Directions
Add the canola oil to a small frying pan and set to medium heat. Once hot, add the onion and sweat until the onion is translucent, about 6 to 7 minutes.

In a medium sized soup pot, add the drained black beans, can of chili beans, onion and Smokin' Texas Gourmet Chili Seasoning and Smoked Salt. Bring mixture to a boil and then reduce to heat to a low simmer. Simmer the chili for approximately 30 minutes to allow flavors to infuse.

Spray baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray and arrange tortilla chips over the sheet. Sprinkle with Daiya cheese (as much as you would like) and broil tortilla chips until cheese is melted.

Sprinkle toasted chips with chili. Serve with sliced jalapeno and Smokin' Texas Gourmet Texas Twister hot sauce.

Sicilian Collard Greens with Pine Nuts and Raisins

Serves: 2 or 3
Time: 20 minutes

I've always been fond of collard greens, but this recipe takes my love to a new level. Its one of my favorite dishes from Alicia Silverstone's The Kind Diet and is a great way to introduce people to this extremely healthy green.

Ingredients
1 bunch collard greens
2 tablespoons pine nuts
3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 tablespoons raisins
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Directions
Use a sharp knife to cut out the central rib and stem from each collard leaf. Rinse the leaves in a sink of cool water, lifting them into a colander to drain a bit (you want some water to remain on the leaves).

Toast the pine nuts over medium heat in a dry skillet for about 5 minutes or until golden. Shake the pan often to keep the pine nuts from burning. Transfer to a plate and set aside.

Place the garlic and oil in a large skillet, and sauté over medium heat for 1 minute or until the garlic is fragrant. Add the damp collards and stir, then cover the pan and cook for 2 minutes longer. Add the raisins and pine nuts, and stir. Cook and cover for 2 minutes. Stir in the balsamic vinegar, cover, and continue to cook for 1 to 2 minutes longer.

Note: The stems of the collard greens are full of minerals, so if you want to use them, chop them into 1-inch pieces and cook for a couple of minutes before adding the collard greens.

Dynomite daikon rolls

Makes 4 rolls
Time: 1 hour

What's not to love about daikon? It's a great natural diuretic and decongestant and even helps clear up acne-prone skin. I decided to kick up my veggie sushi rolls this weekend with a little bit of daikon. They were delicious!

Recipe note: Dip your knife in warm water when cutting the sushi. It will make slicing easier.

Ingredients
1/2 daikon, peeled and sliced thin
1 carrot, peeled and sliced thin
1/2 cucumber, peeled and sliced thin
1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced thin
1 cup brown rice or sushi rice
2 tablespoons Mirin
Nori sheets (I use Eden Foods brand)
Soy sauce for dipping
Wasbi (optional)
Pickled ginger (optional)

Directions
Cook rice according to directions. Once cooked, put the rice in a bowl and sprinkle with Mirin. Stir to mix in the Mirin. Let rice cool to just above room temperature.

Use a pair of tongs to toast nori sheets over an open flame for about 30 seconds per side. The nori  should turn from black to deep green.

Place a nori sheet on a cutting board. Layer the sheet with rice and then vegetables. Roll up like a burrito and slice into pieces. Serve with soy sauce, wasabi and pickled ginger.

Vegetable Tempura with Soy Wasabi Dipping Sauce

Serves 4 to 6
Time: About one hour

I had a random craving for tempura this week, so I made an Asian inspired dinner of vegetable tempura and vegetable fried rice. This tempura recipe is perfect for when you need a little salty fix!

Ingredients

Vegetable tempura:
1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups cold water
1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs
1 teaspoon Smokin' Texas Gourmet Garlic Salt and Pepper
1 1/2 pounds assorted vegetables such as zucchini, squash, sweet potato, onions
Oil for frying (vegetable or canola)

Soy wasabi dipping sauce:
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon wasabi paste (or more to taste)
1 tablespoon teriyaki sauce (optional)

Directions

Trim and slice the vegetables.

Spread 1/2 cup of the all purpose flour onto a plate or cookie sheet. Spread the panko bread crumbs onto a separate plate or cookie sheet.

Whisk together 1 cup of all purpose flour and water in a bowl to create a tempura batter.

Put two inches of oil into a large frying pan and heat the oil over medium heat.

Dredge the vegetables first in the plain flour, then the tempura batter. Roll the vegetables in the panko bread crumbs.

Fry the vegetables until crisp, about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels.

Make the soy wasabi dipping sauce by whisking together the soy sauce and wasabi. Add the teriyaki sauce, if using.

Allow the vegetables to cool for a few minutes before serving.