Cinco de Mayo Nachos

These nachos were made up for guests at Cal-a-Vie resort & spa in Escondido, California, where I worked with Rosie Daley. (Oprah's Chef)  I designed and prepared the special diets dishes for vegetarian and vegan celebrities.

The 5th of May is Cinco De Mayo, and celebrations are made up of dishes like nachos (above) and enchiladas (below)  tacos and margaritas are often added to this celebration, as a part of the traditional Mexican festivities.

Nachos
Organic corn chips
Vegan cheese shreds, Daiya pepperjack, or your flavor preference
Diced onion
Black olives, sliced
Red bell pepper, diced
Black beans, seasoned with vegan taco seasoning
Vegan ground beef crumble, seasoned with taco seasoning
Vegan sour cream, see recipe below for cashew sour cream
Guacamole
Salsa

Layer organic corn chips in a lotus flower style design and top the chips with sprinkles of Daiya cheese.  For this recipe I would suggest Pepperjack style shreds. Garnish the nachos with pieces of red pepper and sliced black olives.  Bake in the oven at 350 until the cheese melts and serve hot. Optional toppings also include black beans and/or vegan mock ground beef crumble, seasoned with taco seasoning, salsa, vegan sour cream, etc. 


Add all of the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth and creamy consistency is reached. Chill in refrigerator.

Scoop out avocados in a small bowl and mash. Add in onions, tomato, and lime juice and mix, leaving as lumpy or mixed as you like. Add in red pepper flakes and salt as needed.

Prepping for Cinco de Mayo celebration!

If you would like to view a picture and see the recipe for Fiesta Tostada, go to www.veganbitebybite.com and sign up for the newsletter before May 1, 2013, as it will be included in that month's newsletter.  Also included in the newsletter will be fun facts about Cinco de Mayo, a great article on vegan celebrities, as well as information about Mother's Day and Memorial Day. 

It is my preference to eat a high percentage of raw foods, especially in the warmer weather with the abundance of summer seasonal fruits.  Summer is a great time for cleansing the body by eating lots of organic, raw fruits and vegetables.

For lunch and dinner I will always serve a salad with whatever else I am making.  I enjoy fixing different types of salads besides the variety of lettuces, such as watercress, endive, escarole, cabbages, and dandelion greens.

Here's what I made for dinner for myself and my husband the other day: Purple Slaw with Asian Dressing, Chard, Polenta and Butternut Squash. One word: YUM.

I don't have a recipe written down for the chard or the Polenta-Butternut Squash portions. In a nutshell for the latter, I've plated cooked polenta under a mixture of tender butternut squash chunks, red pepper and onions in a coconut sauce. Season to taste.

Here is the recipe for the Coleslaw (it can be found in my book):



Coleslaw & Dressing

I like making up this salad and putting it in a Ziploc bag and storing it in the refrigerator. Hold off on dressing the coleslaw until serving. This dressing also compliments green steamed vegetables.

Ingredients:
3 cups cabbage, green (1 small head) shredded
1/2 cup green pepper, diced small
3/4 cup green scallions (2-3) sliced thin
1-1/2 cups carrots, peeled and shredded
1/2 cup curly parsley, minced

Directions:
Place the four ingredients into a bowl and toss together.
Whisk together the ingredients for the dressing.
If serving 4 toss the cabbage with all of the dressing or save the rest.

Yield: serves 4


Coleslaw Dressing

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Vegenaise
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Yield: about 3/4 cup

Note: 
Add lemon juice according to your taste, lemon tartness varies.

“Cabbage, both red and green, is one of the least expensive of the vitamin protective foods, and is one of the most healthful vegetables.  It is an excellent source of vitamin C.  Cabbage contains many minerals: it is rich in calcium and potassium, and contains chlorine, iodine, phosphorous, sodium and sulfur.  Red cabbage has more calcium, but less of the other minerals than white or green cabbage.” (Foods That Heal by dr. Bernard Jensen)

For lunch: Mixed Greens Salad with Pimento Dressing, Black Bean Soup and Avocado-Tofu Sandwich.

The Avocado-Tofu Sandwich and the Pimento Dressing recipes are in my book, Vegan Bite By Bite, but I created this Black Bean soup recipe on the fly so I didn't have time to document the amounts of each ingredient. Basically, it's:

1. Soak the black beans overnight, then rinse and drain the beans. 
2. Cook them in enough water or vegetable stock until they are tender (add enough water to leave room for added vegetables).
3. After the beans are tender, add minced garlic, chopped onions, sliced carrots, celery chunks, bite-sized red potatoes, ground cumin and coriander with a couple of bay leaves. Cook until the vegetables are tender.
4. Remove the bay leaves. Blend the soup mixture adding white Miso and raw cashew nuts. *NOTE: Miso contains friendly bacteria for the intestinal tract and it is a very delicate property. It's best to heat Miso at low temperatures, but never boil as it will destroy the friendly bacteria value. Cashew nuts, when heated, will thicken.

Here are two lunch recipes excerpted from my book, Vegan Bite By Bite, for Pimento Dressing and Avocado-Tofu Cream Cheese filling for the sandwich:

Pimento Dressing                                                                                  

This colorful dressing is a hit whenever it is served.  This recipe contains no added oils, other than the natural oils in the cashew nuts.  The best presentation for this dressing is to serve it on top of the salad rather than mixed throughout.

Ingredients:
2 cups red pepper (1 large red pepper) rough chop
1 tablespoon garlic
1 cup cashews
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup water
1-3/4 teaspoons sea salt

Directions:
1. Blend all ingredients in a high powered blender until smooth and creamy.     
2. Drizzle 2 tablespoons on top of the salad or refrigerate in a glass container.

Yield: 2 cups

Note:
The deep colorful red pepper will make the dressing a more brilliant color.  This dressing has a good refrigerated shelf life.