Our Veggie Kitchen

I frequently experiment with new ideas for vegan sandwiches, especially sandwich spreads.  They make school-time lunches a breeze and they often double as a dip for veggies or chips.  With my oldest daughter, it's often a dip for her spoon.

I've made this Artichoke Dip a few times.  It's got a subtle white bean base and just creamy enough, while avoiding a calorie overload.  And the artichoke flavor shines through.  I've also made this Spinach Dip.  With the stronger spinach flavor, I could use a whole can of white beans without tasting beany.  But my girls turn their nose up at all the spinach.  This iteration, blending the two is the perfect mix.  It's healthy enough to use it in a sandwich, its got great flavor and my girls love it.  In fact, it's my favorite of the three.



Artichoke Spinach Dip
1 bunch spinach, washed, chopped and cooked
8 oz water chestnuts, finely chopped
6 oz jar marinated artichoke hearts, minced
2 tbs pickled jalapeno peppers, minced
Sauce:
1 can white kidney beans
1/2 cup vegan sour cream
1/4 cup vegenaise
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 cloves garlic

Add the sauce ingredients to a blender and blend thoroughly, until very smooth. To the blended sauce, add the cooked spinach, minced water chestnuts, minced artichokes, and jalapenos.  Pulse the blender to combine and refrigerate until the sauce thickens, at least a couple of hours. The dip is better if kept overnight.
Makes about 3 cups

12 servings: 139 cal (5g fat, 19g carbs, 6g protein)

This dressing is crazy good.  It's a creamy cashew dressing with a chipotle kick.  I love it on tacos or a taco salad (with mojo tofu) and it makes tater tots sing.  When I want a dip, I leave out a bit of the soy milk, but the dressing is nice and thick on its own.

I keep a few chili powders in hand at all times.  I keep the basic, everyone has it in their spice rack, chili powder for most purposes.  I love ancho chili powder when I want a more fruity flavor, sweet paprika, and chipotle for a smoky kick.  This dressing has some heat.  If you want to cut back on the heat, replace some of the chipotle with another chili powder.



Chipotle Ranch
2/3 cups cashews
1 cup soy milk
1/4 cup vegenaise
1 lime, juiced
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 clove garlic
2 tbs shallots, chopped
1/2 tbs chipotle chili powder
1 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp salt

Add all the ingredients and blend thoroughly.  The dressing will thicken after it refrigerates.  Makes about 2 cups.

16 servings:  64 cal (5g fat,3g carbs, 2g protein)

I was scanning the internet for some good-luck black eyed pea ideas this new year. I came up with this dish, entitled Texas Caviar. I got the original recipe from a fellow Oregonian (see it here) and it's naturally vegan. Black Eyed Peas, tomatoes, onions, peppers and cilanto in a sweet & tangy sauce make for a delicious salsa. I wasn't sure about avocado and I added some the next day, which was even better.



Texas Caviar
2 15 oz cans Black Eyed Peas, drained & rinsed
1 can Hominy or corn, drained & rinsed
3 Tomatoes, diced
2 Jalapeno peppers, seeded & diced fine
1 Green, red or yellow bell pepper, seeded & diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 sweet onion, diced
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped fine
1 avocado, cubed

Sauce:
1/4 cup lime juice
1/3 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbs olive oil
1/2 tbs salt
1/2 tbs paprika

For the sauce, combine the vinegar and sugar and microwave until the sugar is dissolved. Add the lime juice, olive oil, salt and paprika. Set aside.

Combine the remaining ingredients, except the avocado in a mixing bowl. Pour the sauce over and fold into the salsa. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Before serving, cube the avocado and stir into the salsa. Serve with chips or just east a bowl with a spoon.

8 Servings: 213 cal (8g fat, 32g fat, 7g carbs)

If Thanksgiving is about indulgence, than this was the perfect dip. I made this dip and some nacho sauce to serve with chips and veggies for Thanksgiving Lunch.  I reserved a couple tablespoons for a freezer test and left the rest out.  It's a good thing I took some before I served it, because we polished the rest.  24 servings is a lot of indulgence for 5 people, but as long as I avoid the scale in the bathroom, it was worth it.  My favorite dipping utensils were cauliflower and mushrooms.  A mushroom wedge smothered in Baco Dip is a tiny bit of heaven.



Baco's Bacon Dip
1 cup cashews, ground
2 oz pimentos
2 tbs nutritional yeast
1 lemon, juiced
1 tbs miso
1/2 cup vegenaise
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup imitation bacon bits, divided
1/4 tsp liquid smoke
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tbs vegetable oil

Measure out 1/4 cup of baco-bits. Add the remaining ingredients to a blender and blend several minutes, until smooth. Add about 1-3 tablespoons of water, one tablespoon at a time and blend to achieve the desired consistency. Add the 1/4 cup reserved baco-bits and pulse, just to combine. Scrape into a container and refrigerate, at least for a couple hours. Makes about 3 cups.

24 Servings: 94 cal (8g fat, 3g carbs, 3g protein)