Sometimes, it’s the simple things

When cooking for my clients, I often end up picking a favorite dish of the week. It could be something complicated, with lots of steps, or something requiring a lot of time. It could be a whole meal I love, or something as simple as a sauce. Every once in a while, it’s a humble side salad. Such was the case this week.

I was making a southern-style meal, with biscuits, a black-eyed pea stew, white asparagus, and cole slaw. Cole slaw is easy, and while I used to think I needed a recipe, I’ve realized that I don’t. It’s mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper, and I generally use a cheat of pre-shredded cole slaw vegetables, because that’s all it is: just the veggies.

Today, as I was reaching into the fridge to grab the mayo, I spotted the tahini. So I grabbed both. And this simple cole slaw was born.

Tahini cole slaw

1/4 cup mayonnaise (veganaise)
1/4 cup tahini
Juice of one lemon
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp smoked paprika
Salt
Pepper
3 cups pre-shredded cole slaw vegetables

Place the mayo and tahini in a large bowl, and whisk to blend. Add the lemon juice, sugar, paprika, salt, and pepper, and whisk until smooth and well blended. Toss in the vegetables, and mix well with a big spoon. Garnish with extra smoked paprika (because it’s awesome).

The END!

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I’m back…with a recipe! PLUS We get requests.

My friends, it’s been too long. And I’ve been busy. But I’ve missed you! I’ve been cooking so much, I’ve not taken the time to attend to my global family.

Today, I made some very delicious food. One of my clients had some special requests, and among them was that my meals and a special dessert all be gluten free. Now, don’t misunderstand me. I LOVE gluten. I mean I really love it. I would marry it. I kind of am married to it. But when my client makes a special request, I most happily oblige. So I made panna cotta. Vegan panna cotta. And it was as easy as everyone said it would be!

I modified a recipe I found on thekitchn.com, and I think it came out great! Let me know what you think!

Also, please, if you’re looking for a vegan version of a favorite food, please let me know, and I’ll see if I can make it deliciously vegan for you! As I said, I take requests!

Please note, I’ve begun cooking and baking in metric. If you need a conversion to imperial measurements, let me know, but do yourself a favor and get yourself a scale!

Coconut panna cotta with blueberries

500g coconut milk
75g sugar
454g coconut milk yogurt
Pinch salt
6g agar agar flakes
2 small baskets of blueberries, divided

Put the coconut milk, sugar, yogurt, salt, and agar agar flakes in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil, whisking regularly. Once boiling, reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool for a couple of minutes.

Divide half of the blueberries equally among 6 6- to 8-oz ramekins. Pour the panna cotta over the blueberries, and put the ramekins in the refrigerator to set for 3 hours or so.

Just before serving, divide the remaining half of the blueberries equally between the ramekins, and enjoy!