Mock Tuna Salad

Chickpeas are amazing. Keep them on had to whip up Hummus, for soups and stews, falafel, and delicious salads.   You can keep cans in the cupboard for when you need to whip up something in a hurry, but when you have the time, it is well worth it to cook them yourself.  Keep dried chickpeas on hand. Once you cook dried chickpeas, you will not go back to canned, I promise you.  Just be sure to soak them covered in water with a teaspoon of baking soda added for at least 4 hours and up to 12 hours before cooking, or do a quick soak method.  Cook extra.  They freeze well and you will always have them on hand to use in recipes.

One of my favorite ways to use them is in chickpea salad, also known as Mock Tuna Salad or Tu No Salad. (recipe below)

Mock Tuna Salad


2 cups cooked chickpeas
2 stalks celery finely chopped
2 Tbs onion finely chopped
2 Tbs sweet red pepper finely chopped
2 Tbs pickle relish (sweet or dill, your choice)
1 Tbs nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp kelp powder (optional, but gives it the "fishy" taste)
2-3 Tbs vegan Mayo
1 tsp yellow mustard
Salt and pepper to your liking


Mash chickpeas with a fork or put in food processor and pulse.  Leave some lumps, do not make it smooth like you are making hummus.  Put in a bowl with the remaining ingredients and mix well.  Refrigerate at least a couple hours to let the flavors blend.  Makes a wonderful sandwich or it is great as a tomato stuffing.
Pictured on my homemade bun.  I may share that recipe later.


Enjoy!

The Vita-mix

The Vita-mix arrived a couple weeks ago.  I had put off buying one, and why I don't know.   How I ever got by without it is a mystery.  I have not failed to make up for lost time, however.  I have made soup, smoothies, peanut butter, hummus, ice cream and who knows what else in my Vita-mix. I think I have used it every day since I got it.   My latest endeavor was oat flour.  This was just a trial to see how it would work, but I am sold.  I started with a cup of steel cut oats and in seconds I had soft fresh oat flour (photo above).  This morning I tried it out and made some gluten free pancakes.  Granted I was skeptical, because a lot of the gluten free things I have tried are lacking in flavor.  Not these pancakes.  I started with a quarter cup of oat flour and added in two tablespoons each of sweet potato flour and tapioca flour; 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp baking soda and 1 tsp baking powder, almond milk to make a nice batter, and a Tbs agave nectar for a slight sweetness.  They cooked up very nicely and I served them with fresh blueberries and maple syrup,  They were yummy!

Banana Nut Muffins

There is nothing more comforting than fresh baked muffins, but these muffins are even better the next day. I make them with whatever fruit I need to use up, whether it be banana, blueberries, peaches, etc. The fruit is best for these when it is just past the point of eating fresh, but not to the point that it has to be thrown out. Really over-ripe fruit works best. I have requests for my muffins all the time from my co-workers and fellow train commuters. The recipe is one I have used for years, even before I became vegan. It has been my tried and true recipe, and once I made the switch to vegan, this was probably the first non-vegan recipe that I converted. The vegan version is much better than the original, and through my experience, the vegan versions of any recipe are always superior to the original non vegan version. I have been asked for the recipe many times, but this is one that you will have to wait for. My plan is to publish a cookbook, and this will be one of the entries.