Bubble Bubble
Mistress McCutchan
Cooking – veggie goth style!
As the air
grows balmy and warm, the desire to cook decreases (although for some, that desire may never exist). One tends to become quite lethargic. For all you veggie goths, or those who may be curious, here are two fruity vegan recipes that barely involve cooking. Yes, I’ve actually made up a batch of each and tried them out. Unusual, and yet very tasty!
Minted Fruit Rice Salad
1 11 oz. can of sliced mandarin oranges, drained
1 8 oz. can of pineapple chunks
2/3 cup of pineapple or mandarin orange juice (from the cans of the fruit is fine!)
1/3 cup of water
1 cup uncooked instant rice
1 chopped up cucumber
1/3 cup of finely chopped red onion
3 tablespoons of fresh mint, well chopped
Combine juice and water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir in the rice and remove from the heat. Cover and let it sit. When the rice absorbs the liquid, stir the rice, mandarin oranges, pineapple, cucumber, onion and mint and a large bowl. You can serve this at room temperature or chilled. If you're feeling fancy, you can garnish the salad with fresh mint leaves.
The big “secret” in vegetarian cooking is in the chopping. “Finely chopped” means itty-bitty pieces. As small as you can. The cucumber in this recipe should be sliced width-wise (as opposed to length-wise, into little circles) and then each slice cut into four pieces. Plenty for two, or make a big batch and bring it with you for lunch so you don’t have to buy!
Mango Black Bean Salad
3 ripe mangos
1 ripe avocado
3 tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
3 tbs. lime juice
1 1/2 tbs. soy sauce
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. sugar
1 cup of canned black beans, rinsed well
4 medium plum tomatoes, finely diced
1 minced jalapeno pepper
2 tbs. finely chopped red onion
3 tbs. of basil
Peel and chop the mangoes and avocado into bite-size chunks. (Be warned, the mangoes take a bit of time since they are so fibrous!)
In a large bowl, whisk together the lime juice, soy sauce, cumin and sugar until well combined. Stir in mango chunks, avocado, black beans, tomatoes, jalapeno pepper, onion and basil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Makes about 3-4 servings.
These recipes were adapted from Favorite Brand Vegetarian Cooking and The Vegetarian Times. I tend to never really follow recipes closely, but use recipes as suggestions and experiment! Another great resource for vegetarian cooking is Veggies Unite.
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