Road Trip! Plus the Healthy Librarian's Enlightened Spicy, Sweet, & Savory Sicilian Orzo ala Quick-Fix Vegan - Two Ways - Esselstyn-Style or Plant-Strong

 

No-Oil Sicilian-Style Orzo Salad with Toasted Walnuts & Raisins

 

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July has been a crazy whirlwind of activity.

August promises to be more of the same.  Ah, summer!  

Our newbie three-year old grandson just spent his first week ever without his mom & dad,  visiting with his Oma & Poppy (H.L. & the Lab Rat).  Such a treat for all of us.

And then we all got to drive 14+ hours to vacation with our far-flung kids, plus the Florida & Georgia relatives.  A real family reunion.  

Oma, Poppy, & Little Man all valiantly survived the long car ride, thanks to many rounds of singing Little Bunny Foo-Foo, the Black Bean Burger Platter at Chilis, & the Little Man's first hotel do-it-yourself waffle-maker breakfast.  He loved it!

The Sube's air-conditioning mysteriously died two hours before we reached the beach--and it was 90+ degrees. Lucky us.

 

 

Baking Up Healthy-ish Zucchini Chocolate Chip Walnut Bread

 

The Road Trip Lunch at the Rest Stop - Homemade Veggie Burgers, Fruit, Carrots, Hummus & Pita Bread

 

The Only Thing Close to Plant-Based was Dinner at Chili's - The Black Bean Burger Platter - Yes, We Ate the Fries

 

Hotel Breakfast Buffet Heaven for This Three-Year Old - The Waffle Maker!  Please Don't Judge Us

 

Our Subaru was expertly packed to the gills by the Lab Rat--loaded with boogie boards, beach chairs, a Potty Chair, a porta-potty, a Pack-n-Play, a VitaMix, 2 coolers, cars, picture books, & loads of food.  

Whew!  I'm finally back from a fantastic family beach vacation and I can't wait to share the story of how 15 people--from ages 9 months to 62 years old, married & single, no-nesters, empty-nesters, & full-nesters, hipsters & oldsters, meat-eaters & vegans, night-owls & early risers, exercisers & slackers, with lots of different interests--found vacation harmony, enjoyed amazing gourmet meals & beachtime together & still found plenty of time to do their own thing.

My family rocks!

 

 

Yes, I admit, I was a little worried that we could pull this one off & still feel like it was a real vacation. And, it totally worked.  Laid back.  Relaxing.  Good times.  But, that's a whole other post.

Gotta ease back slowly into the blogging groove with a short recipe post, first.  I've grown lazy.

I've been wanting to share one of my favorite new recipes, that I adapted from my Go-To cookbook:  Robin Robertson's Quick Fix Vegan.  

I've already made this four times--so you know it's got to be good!

I planned on making this while on vacation--but, I never had a chance.  Made it on the first night we got back home.   

So here you go!

Hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

 

 

 

When My Sister or Sister-in-Law Recommend Recipes They Always Rock!

 

Dinner on the First Night Home from Vacation

 

When my sister-in-law (who's an excellent cook) told me she loved the Quick-Fix Vegan's Sicilian-Style Orzo Salad I knew it would be a winner.  Couldn't wait to try it.  But, the dressing needed a serious re-do!

This salad is sweet, spicy, savory & satisfying.  No shrinking violet, this one.  It packs a flavor & nutrient punch & is perfect company fare.

I adapted the recipe to eliminate the oil, & I substituted capers for the kalamata olives.  To say the Lab Rat HATES olives, is an understatement. So does my sister-in-law.  Must be a family thing.

Here's my oil-free adaptation of Robin Robertson's recipe. 

I present two versions.  

• One with a dressing made with cashews.   
• One with a dressing made with soymilk & chia seeds.  

The taste & texture of both are very similar!  Both will work.  And ditch the toasted walnuts if you are on a strict Esselstyn Heart Disease Prevention/Reversal Diet.

 

Some of the Salad Ingredients - Ignore the Shallots!

 

For a copy of the recipe on a single page, CLICK HERE

 

Serves 4, generously

Salad Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole wheat orzo (substitute brown rice for gluten-free)
• 1 1/2 cups home-cooked garbanzo beans, or 1 (15 ounce) can, drained & rinsed
• 1 cup of grape tomatoes, cut in half (use your homegrown ones)
• 3 scallions, sliced thinly on the diagonal--green part only
• 1/2 cup of raisins or currants
• 1/2 cup toasted walnuts (optional), coarsely chopped  (yes, toasted!)  bake in a preheated 350 degree oven on parchment paper for 8-10 minutes.  Watch carefully!
• 1/3 cup of drained capers  (can substitute pitted, sliced or chopped Kalamata olives)
• 1/2 to 1 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil leaves
• 2 to 3 cups of coarsely chopped baby spinach leaves

Preparation:

1. Cook the orzo in a saucepan of boiling water until it is just tender, about 10 minutes.  Drain & rinse under cold water, and transfer to a large bowl.
2. Add the garbanzo beans, spinach, tomatoes, scallions, raisins, walnuts, capers or olives, & basil. Mix well.  Set aside.
3. Prepare & mix in the dressing of your choice.

 

Option 1--Cashew Dressing:

• 1/2 cup of raw cashews soaked for about 30 minutes in 1/2 cup water.  You can do this before you prepare the other ingredients.
• 1/4 cup of fresh-squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon of water
• 2 teaspoons of brown rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar
• 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt, optional
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground fennel.  This is a MUST ingredient.  Can substitute whole fennel seed, if using a VitaMix--or grind in a coffee grinder.
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (less if you don't like a lot of spice)  Note: add this after the dressing is made--you don't want it to be ground up or it will be too strong.
• 1/8 teaspoon of freshly ground pepper.  Note: add this after the dressing is made--you don't want it to be ground up, either.

Preparation:

1. Add the cashews with the soaking water, the lemon juice, 1 tablespoon of water, vinegar, sugar, garlic cloves, salt & ground fennel into a VitaMix or other blender.   Mix very well.  If you don't have a VitaMix, it may take longer to get the cashews a creamy consistency
2. After the dressing is mixed well, add the red pepper flakes & black pepper & blend quickly--you want the peppers to remain whole--just mixed in!

 

Option 2--No-Nut Creamy Chia Dressing:

• 3/4 cup of regular soymilk, I pefer Eden Extra.  Don't use a "light brand"
• 2 tablespoons white chia seeds, like the Salba brand
• 1/4 cup of fresh-squeezed lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons of brown rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt, optional
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground fennel.  This is a MUST ingredient.  Can substitute whole fennel seed, if using a VitaMix--or grind in a coffee grinder beforehand.
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (less if you don't like a lot of spice)  Note: add this after the dressing is made--you don't want it to be ground up
• 1/8 teaspoon of freshly ground pepper.  Note: add this after the dressing is made--you don't want it to be ground up

Preparation:

1. Add the soymilk, chia seed, lemon juice, vinegar, garlic cloves, sugar, sea salt, & ground fennel into a VitaMix or other blender.  Mix very well.  If you don't have a VitaMix, it may take longer to get the chia seeds well mixed.
2. After the dressing is mixed well, add the red pepper flakes & black pepper & blend quickly--you want the peppers to remain whole--just mixed in!

 

No-Nut Creamy Chia Dressing for the Sicilian Orzo Salad

Nutrition Facts Healthy Librarian's No-Nut Dressing for Sicilian-Style Orzo Salad Serving Size: 1 serving Amount Per Serving Calories 51 Total Fat 1.8g       Saturated Fat 0.2g       Trans Fat 0g Cholesterol 0mg Sodium 302mg Carbohydrate 6.1g       Dietary Fiber 1.2g       Sugars 2.8g Protein 2.8g Vitamin A 6% Vitamin C 12% Calcium    4% Iron 2%

 

Creamy Cashew Dressing for the Sicilian Orzo Salad

Nutrition Facts Healthy Librarian's Dressing for Sicilian-Style Orzo Salad Serving Size: 1 serving Amount Per Serving Calories 95 Total Fat 6.5g       Saturated Fat 1.5g       Trans Fat 0g Cholesterol 0mg Sodium 285mg Carbohydrate 7g       Dietary Fiber 0.6g       Sugars 2.4g Protein 2.5g Vitamin A 0% Vitamin C 12% Calcium    1% Iron 3%

Comments

[Constance Braid]

Hi, I am going to try this tonight with the cashews. It looks fantastic--just checked the pantry and I have fennel seeds!

Looks like you had a great vacation. So glad you are back because your posts really inspire me to stay on the vegan path. Thanks for all you do!

[Penny]

I am going to try this! Last night I made Chesapeake Chickpea Sandwiches p. 105 in Quick Fix. Really good, hubby had 2 of them. Happy to have you back online. Great to hear about your vacation adventures and see your nice looking family.

[Healthy Librarian]

@Constance: Let me know how you like it. Thanks for the welcome back!

@Penny: I totally never noticed those burgers. Thanks for bringing to my attention. Maybe tomorrow night.... The hubby says he's cooking tomorrow night & I just bought a package of Alvarado Street Sprouted grain buns! Thanks for the sweet words.

[Pam Wilkins, Augusta, Ga]

In April I started the plant based way of life! I am so grateful for people like itself that post encouragement, recipes & on so that we newbies can learn how to be healthy! Thank u & I look forward to many more posts!

[Pam]

And...no judgement...I have a 3 year old grandchild, too :)

Pam

[mistah charley, ph.d.]

Re the fries - I ate fries this weekend myself, at a restaurant that had a veggie menu available on request - five items, and I chose the GardenBurger, which came with fries. I didn't regret the fries so much as going for the dessert - a peach cobbler with vanilla ice cream - now THAT was a mistake, delicious as it was. I'd been to this restaurant four or five years ago, and at that time they did NOT have a veggie menu, so plant-based is spreading (or, alternatively, maybe they did and I just didn't notice it, as I was not on the plant-based plan myself yet).

[The Healthy Librarian]

@Pam W.: Thank you so much!

@Pam: Appreciate that! Hey, we have to give those little kids some treats every once in awhile!

@Mistah Charley, PhD: Thanks--glad to hear you understand, & I enjoyed my fries as much as I know you enjoyed yours. I'm always sorry about those desserts. Rarely worth it, right?

@Penney: Thanks to your suggestion, we dined on the Chesapeake Chickpea Sandwiches tonight. Fabulous! Thanks for clueing me in.

[Judith]

I've been on the Esselstyn diet for 8 months now and have had issues with fatigue on this diet. I'm taking the recommended 1000ug of B-12 but still need to see an improvement in my energy levels. I also found out I'm Gluten intolerant so now the Esselstyn diet gets even more restrictive as I ditch the gluten based whole grains.

[Betty Amer]

I made the orzo salad with cashew dressing last night for dinner and we liked it a lot--had it for lunch today too, and there's still some left for tomorrow because I doubled the recipe (!) for three of us because I wanted to be sure to have leftovers.

[Yrsa Lindholm]

I've really wanted to try these "No-Oil Sicilian-Style Orzo Salad with Toasted Walnuts & Raisins", It's too bad there is no recipe included on your post or did I just missed it. On the other hand, @Judith, based from my readings from http://products.mercola.com/vitamin-b12-spray/, choosing veggies over meats can potentially lead to vitamin b12 deficiency, is there any proof of this being true?

[The Healthy Librarian]

@Judith: Sorry to hear that you're experiencing fatigue. Definitely, see your physician to first make sure that something else isn't causing your fatigue--it has many causes; Get checked for celiac. If you have it--you aren't properly absorbing nutrients, including B-12, D, etc. Get your B-12 level checked. Be sure you're getting enough protein (from beans, which have lysine). I drink soy milk (make my oatmeal with it), eat tofu & tempeh to boost my protein intake. There are wheat-free brown rice or pea protein powders, too--if that's your problem. Be sure you're getting enough iron (check with your dr.)--beans are a great source. Be sure you're eating ENOUGH calories--that's a usual culprit in fatigue. I don't know your age--but my doc routinely checks all women after age 50 for hypothyroidism--a very common problem. Read Ginny Messina's book--Vegan for Life--she's an RD & her book in research based. Look at her co-author's (Jack Norris') website for more info on nutrition. Hope this helps. There are just so many possible reasons for fatigue--the most common medical complaint--but, your doc can check for any medical causes.

[The Healthy Librarian]

@Betty: So glad you like the recipe!

@Yrsa: The recipe was right in the post, plus there was a link to the recipe all on one page for printing.

[Nina]

"Please don't judge us." That gave me my heartiest laugh of the day. Love your blog. :)

[Angela Miller]

It's really wonderful what you are doing. You are using your God-given time and talent to promote health. I've already gleaned so many great ideas from your blog (that are feasible in my life)- and have gotten encouraged as well.

You are truly a wonderful person and a light. You are helping so many!

May God bless you. John 6:47.