Roasted Pumpkin Salad

Another submission, this time adapted from 101 Cookbooks. In this case, only one small change was needed to make it 100% vegan: the honey in the dressing is replaced with agave nectar. This makes a BEAUTIFUL, healthy, and totally delicious salad. Check out the original here.

3 cups of pumpkin (or other winter squash), peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes (I used Trader Joe's pre-cut butternut squash)
extra-virgin olive oil
fine grain sea salt

12 tiny red onions or shallots, peeled (OR 3 medium red onions peeled and quartered)
2 cups cooked wild rice*

1/3 cup sunflower seeds
1/3 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon agave nectar
2 tablespoons warm water
1/2 cup cilantro, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 375.
Toss the pumpkin in a generous splash of olive oil along with a couple pinches of salt, and turn out onto a baking sheet. At the same time, toss the onions with a bit of olive oil, sprinkle with salt, and turn out onto a separate baking sheet. Roast both for about 45 minutes, or until squash is brown and caramelized. The same goes for the onions, they should be deeply colored, caramelized, and soft throughout by the time they are done roasting. You'll need to flip both the squash and onion pieces once or twice along the way - so it's not just one side that is browning.

In the meantime, make the dressing. With a hand blender or food processor puree the sunflower seeds, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and agave nectar until creamy. You may need to add a few tablespoons of warm water to thin the dressing a bit. Stir in the cilantro, saving just a bit to garnish the final plate later. Taste and adjust seasonings (or flavors) to your liking - I usually need to add a touch more salt with this dressing.

In a large bowl, toss the wild rice with a large dollop of the dressing. Add the onions, gently toss just once or twice. Turn the rice and onions out onto a platter and top with the roasted squash (I'll very gently toss with my hands here to disperse the pumpkin a bit). Finish with another drizzle of dressing and any remaining chopped cilantro.

Serves 4.

*To cook wild rice: Rinse 1 1/2 cups wild rice. In a medium sauce pan bring the rice and 4 1/2 cups salted water to a boil. Reduce to a simmer. Cook for 40 minutes or until rice is tender and splitting open, stirring occasionally. You'll have enough for this recipe and some leftover.

First Recipe Contest Submission! Thanks, Grandmom.

Here's a recipe from my own very dear Grandmom, who lives in Portland, Texas. I think it is very appropriate that to start out assembling a collection of popular vegan recipes, we have something in the "Salads and Appetizers" category. I also like this recipe because it involves no fancy substitutions - it's vegan just because it requires no animal products. Also, it is simple to make.

Here's the recipe:

Celery and Olive Salad

Combine:
2 cups chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped pitted green olives
1 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or as long as over night.

So, it's essentially a finely chopped salad, like Israeli salad or tapenade. How to serve it? My grandmother suggested that it might go well with pasta (I thought it sounded good for a cold pasta salad), but it might also do well as an option with crackers or flatbread as an appetizer.

So, I'll include this recipe for Gluten Free Crackers, which was adapted from 101 Cookbooks by Lauren Denneson. You can see the original post here, at "Daring to Thrive", a Gluten-Free recipe blog that is quite wonderful. Don't care for Gluten-Free? Check out the Gluten-full recipe here.

Crispy Gluten-free Crackers:

½ cup sorghum flour
¼ cup tapioca flour
¼ cup almond flour
¼ cup ground flax, soaked in ¼ cup warm water for about 5-10 minutes
1 teaspoon coarsely ground sea salt (I used a mortar and pestle to crush the large granules I have on hand)
2 teaspoons grapeseed or olive oil*
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
Roughly 2 tablespoons warm water

Mix together the flours and the sea salt, blending well. Add the flax mixture, apple cider vinegar, and the oil and begin mixing.

Mix until a course, pebbled mixture forms.

Add the warm water, a small bit at a time, just until the dough comes together.

Knead the dough in your hands until the dough is even textured and shape into a ball. The dough should be moist, but not sticky. If it is too sticky, add more flour.Place half of the dough on a parchment-paper covered cookie sheet. Flatten the dough with your hands a bit and place another sheet of parchment paper on top.

Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough so that it covers the entire sheet. Roll it out paper thin. And I mean paper thin. Carefully peel off top sheet of parchment paper. Either use a knife to cut the crackers into squares or wait until they are cooked to break them into irregular pieces.

Bake at 400F for about 15 minutes, until the crackers turn golden brown and crispy.