Moroccan Bread Salad

Today I'm going to share my all-time favorite dinner salad with you.

Yes, favorite.

This meal-size salad has garlicky, toasted, homemade bread croutons in it. And crunchy, toasted almonds. Plus protein-rich chickpeas and some creamy, garlic-seasoned cheese.

To be honest, I'm not sure how it is that I've been blogging about food this long, and still have yet to share the Moroccan Bread Salad recipe. It kind of feels like I've been hiding something from you.

I spotted the Moroccan Bread Salad in a Rachael Ray Magazine when Adam and I first got married. We had just entered the new world of "cooking," and were quickly turning into recipe-hungry cooking machines. Everything was so new and exciting--and I mean everything. Neither one of us had ever purchased or used cumin before. I had never even heard of cumin.

Embarrassing.

So I bought my first bottle of cumin, made this recipe, and instantly knew it was a keeper. We often feature it when we have friends over for dinner; we even made a bowl-ful for Christmas dinner at Adam's parents' house once.

Make it. Eat it. Love it.

And forgive me for holding this one back for so long.

Moroccan Bread Salad

(recipe from Rachael Ray Magazine)

This recipe is quite simple to throw together--you can prep most of the ingredients while the seasoned bread cubes are toasting. And, while purchasing a hearty loaf of peasant bread is perfectly acceptable, isn't it so much more fun to use a loaf of homemade bread?

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup olive oil, divided
• 3 - 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. cumin
• One 1 lb. peasant loaf, torn into 1 inch pieces
• salt and pepper
• 4 ribs of celery, chopped
• 1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 4 oz. Swiss or seasoned Havarti cheese, cut into small cubes
• 1/2 cup chopped almonds, toasted
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees and coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray.

2) In a large bowl, combine 1/4 cup olive oil, the garlic and cumin. Add the bread and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Place in a single layer on the baking sheet and bake until toasted, tossing occasionally (it took about 12 - 14 minutes for mine to toast).

3) Meanwhile, mix the celery, chickpeas, cheese, almonds, vinegar, and remaining 1/4 cup olive oil in the same bowl. Add the bread and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper.

Coconut Curry

I'm a sucker for coconut milk.

It's one of those fabulous ingredients that plays for both sides: the sweet team and the savory team.

Although coconut cupcakes with cream cheese frosting will bring me to my knees in 3 seconds flat, that tiny impulse-control portion of my brain prevents me from baking them weekly. So, I've got to find alternative ways of getting my c-milk fix.

Enter curry powder, the match-made-in-heaven spice that was designed to pair with the milk o' coconuts.

Tonight's recipe is loosely based on one I found in the most recent issue of Vegetarian Times. This vegan stew highlights all the beautiful hallmark spices of a curry dish: cinnamon, turmeric, and curry. With a handful of cilantro and a dash of chili powder, my taste buds were throwing a good ol' vegan party. Bonus: it's super-fast to throw together, making it the perfect after-work meal to prep.

We paired our vegan curry stew with rolls made from Adam's sandwich bun recipe. Yum.

Curry it up, friends. And yes, I officially turned "currying" into a verb.

Coconut Curry Stew
(inspired by a recipe in the February issue of Vegetarian Times)

I made several substitutions in this recipe, so you may want to make your own based on the veggies you have on hand. Although we didn't have extra fresh spinach last night, the original recipe calls for 2 cups worth, which I imagine would be a delicious mix-in!

Ingredients:

• 1 large onion, diced
• a little olive oil
  
• 1 TBSP curry powder
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. turmeric
• 1/2 tsp. chili powder
• 1 large can of diced tomatoes, with juice
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 can (15 oz.) chickpeas, rinsed and drained
  
• 1 can of light coconut milk
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• optional: additional veggie broth
  

Directions:

In a soup pot, heat a little olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook for 2 - 3 minutes. Stir in spices and cook for 1 more minute. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil (if you prefer a thinner stew, you can add additional veggie broth to reach your desired thickness). Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for about 30 minutes.

It's a Bird! It's a Plane! It's Chickpea Critters!

If a non-fried, vegetarian mock-up of "fried chicken" exists, I swear that I've found it.

This recipe is edible proof that there truly is a non-meat counterpart to those Texas Roadhouse fried chicken critters.

And the vege-head version is so much better. Promise.

After spending a few fabulous days with Adam's family in Buffalo, NY, my stomach was ready for some down-home vegan cooking when we returned. I was lucky enough to score Veganomicon (otherwise known as "the greatest cookbook in the universe") as an early birthday present from Adam's parents.

It goes without saying that I spent the better part of our 6 hour drive home drooling over the 256 cookbook pages and feverishly stuffing the volume with toilet paper "bookmarks" for all the recipes I want to try ASAP.

Among my must-try recipes were "Chickpea Cutlets" (which I now refer to as "Chickpea Critter Patties," given their semblance to those baskets of Texas Roadhouse fried meatiness). We had all of the ingredients on hand (yay for simplicity!), and they were super-fast to make (prep to fork-in-mouth time was under 30 minutes).

We topped our Chickpea Critters with a basic caramelized onion "gravy," and served cucumber salad on the side. With six years and counting of vegetarianism under my belt, I say with great confidence that this dish easily made its way onto my Top 10 Vege-Head Dinners...of all-time.

And for those of you who inquired about our trip, I must say that not only was the fellowship and family-time sensational, but the food was mighty good as well. I found plenty of vegetarian eats, and there was no shortage of of sweet endings either...I have no shame in admitting that I ate exactly 2 - 1/2 pieces of wedding cake. You only live once, right?

Now go make yourself some Chickpea Critter Patties. You can thank me later :)

Chickpea Critter Patties

(recipe adapted from Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook)

This recipe must have been designed to convert swear-by-meat carnivores into vegans. The use of savory and thyme really brings out those traditional flavors historically associate with meat. Only this time, it's chickpeas, baby!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1 - 2 TBSP olive oil
• 1/2 cup vital wheat gluten
• 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 TBSP soy sauce
• 3 large cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp. paprika
• 1/4 tsp. savory seasoning
• sprinkling of freshly ground black pepper
• Olive oil
• Caramelized onion topping (recipe below)

Directions:

1) In a large bowl, thoroughly mash the chickpeas with the olive oil until no whole chickpeas remain. Add the remaining ingredients and mix with your hands for a few minutes, until the strings of gluten start to appear (sounds yummy, doesn't it?!)

2) Divide the dough into four pieces. Flatten each piece and shape into rectangles.

3) Heat a little olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Place your Chickpea Critters on the skillet and cook for approximately 4 - 5 minutes until lightly browned on the bottom; flip and cook for 4 - 5 minutes on the opposite side, until lightly browned. Served with caramelized onion topping. And swear that you'll never go back to eating meat again.

Caramelized Onion Topping Ingredients:

• 2 large onions, sliced
• a dash of olive oil
• a dash of red wine vinegar (about 1 TBSP)
• a drizzle of Dijon mustard (about 1 tsp.)
• a quick drizzle of pure maple syrup

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion slices and cook slowly until lightly browned and softened, about 9 - 10 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and stir until combined. Serve on top of Chickpea Critter Patties.

Dishwashing and Dinner Salads

Tonight I got to be dishwashing royalty.

Okay, maybe I over-glorified my role just a tad.

Regardless, I had an awesome time suds-ing up the dishes at the Taste of Home Cooking School event that premiered in Morgantown tonight.

Where did I get such a sweet gig, you ask? My mom is undoubtedly the #1 Fan of Taste of Home’s Simple and Delicious Magazine. So, when the local food panel I sit on was asked to volunteer backstage at Taste of Home’s event, I jumped at the chance to bring mom along for some behind-the-scenes fun.

And fun we had.

They cooked up a storm at the event, and raffled off every dish they created for audience members to take home (backstage volunteers excluded unfortunately!). This event was not for the faint-of-heart: For instance, "Upside Down Banana Pecan French Toast" was first on the menu, complete with 2 cups of half and half (even my eyes widened at this one!).

Prior to all the dish-washing mania though, I chowed down on a dinner salad that I knew would power me through the next three hours on my feet, elbow-deep in Palmolive.

This baby was loaded with plenty of stick-to-your ribs fixins.' Let’s be honest: there’s really no other way to eat a dinner salad.

This dish-washing chick is exhausted. Fortunately it's dress-down Friday at work tomorrow.... If only dress-down day meant sweatpants and a hoodie :)

Stick-To-Your-Ribs Dinner Salad

(a very simple Hungry Spoon original)

This salad was quick and easy to throw together, and filled me up with all kinds of happiness. I don't have amounts for anything, because I just threw it all into the mix!

Ingredients:

• Fresh spinach, stemmed and chopped
• chopped avocado
• Chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• chopped broccoli
• chopped fresh tomato
• toasted pumpkin seeds
• Gorgonzola cheese
• Roasted garlic hummus
• Black bean salsa
• A little drizzle of balsamic vinaigrette

Directions:

1) Combine all ingredients in a big bowl, mix together, and enjoy your crunchy, satisfying dinner.

2) Enjoy your Friday!