Crockpot Barley Black Bean Salad

This is an easy main dish salad recipe that prepares the main ingredients in the slow cooker and was obtained from a crockpot e-mail list. It has been modified to be vegan.

Prep Time: 35 minutes
Cook Time: 7 hours, 30 minutes

Ingredients:
2 cups dried black beans
1 cup medium pearled barley
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 carrots, sliced
1/2 cup plain soy yogurt
1/2 cup vegan mayonnaise
1/2 cup honey mustard salad dressing (if you don't use honey then you need to use a 1/2 cup of some sort of liquid, perhaps another salad dressing, perhaps water with a little agave. Experiment.)
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/4 cup Vegan Parmesan cheese
2 red or orange bell peppers, chopped
2 cups cherry tomatoes
1 pound extra firm tofu, cut in small cubes

The original recipe called for 1 cup cubed Havarti cheese, I elected to use tofu instead. You could experiment with some of the vegan cheeses out there if you like as well.

Preparation:
Start the night before you want to make the recipe. Pick over beans, rinse, cover with water, and soak overnight.

In the morning, drain well and place in 3-quart slow cooker along with barley, onion, garlic, and carrot. Cover with 6 cups water.

Cover and cook on low for 8-9 hours until beans are tender.

In large bowl, combine yogurt, mayonnaise, honey mustard salad dressing, mustard, and Parmesan cheese. Drain mixture in crockpot and stir into bowl.

Stir in bell peppers, cherry tomatoes. Cover and chill for 4-5 hours before serving. Serves 6

Fruit Crisp

Crumble Topping

2 cups raw walnuts or pecans, unsoaked
1/2 cup unsweetened dried coconut
1.2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon Celtic seas salt
1/2 cup raisins
1 cup pitted dates

Put all above ingredients in food processor and blend until crumbly.

Fruit Filling

4 cup fresh or frozen fruit (thaw and drain, if frozen)
3/4 cup pitted dates, soaked
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Place 1 1/2 cups of fruit along with dates and lemon juice in food processor until smooth. Remove from processor and mix with remaining fruit.

To assemble press half of crumble into 8" square baking dish. Spread fruit filling on to using a rubber spatula. Top with remaining crumble topping and chill. Serve at room temperature or warmed in a dehydrator.

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From an unknown contributor at the Raw Food Support Group potluck on July 21, 2008 at Kinzers Fire Hall.

Not Tuna Pate

Yield: 1/2 cup, 2 servings

1/2 cup soaked raw sunflower seeds
1/4 cup soaked raw almonds
2 tablespoons water
1 1/2 tablespoons minced celery
1 tablespoon minced onion
1 tablespoon minced parsley
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt

Place the sunflower seeds, almonds and water in a food processor fitted with the S blade and process into a paste. Stop occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Transfer to a small mixing bowl and stir in celery, onion, parsley, lemon juice and salt. Mix well. Stored in a sealed contaqiner in the refrigerator, Not Tuna Pate will keep for five days.

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This recipe is from Jennifer Cornbleets book Raw Food Made Easy

Raisin/Craisin Nut Balls

2 cups raw walnuts
1 1/4 cup raisins
1 cup Craisins (dried cranberries)
1/4 cup hemp nuts (shelled)
1/4 to 1/2 cup raw sesame seeds as needed

Combine first 4 ingredients in a food processor and process till well blended and moist. This may take several minutes. You may see the mixture form a ball and it will look like there's "juice" in the food processor bowl.

Form balls with the processed mixture making sure that they are compact and press together tightly. Put a small portion of the sesame seeds in a bowl and coat all sizes of each ball with a single layer of sesame seeds. Continue to make additional balls until all the mixture is used up while adding additional amounts of sesame seeds to the bowl as necessary to coat each ball. Refrigerate at least an hour before serving and keep left overs in the refrigerator.

BRYANNA’S NO-OIL VEGAN POPPY SEED DRESSING

Makes about 2 cups


In a blender, mix until smooth:

8 ounces medium-firm tofu OR (2/3 of a box) firm or extra-firm SILKEN tofu, crumbled
6 tablespoons maple syrup OR half of a 6 ounce can frozen apple juice concentrate, thawed
6 tablespoons non-dairy milk
3 tablespoons cider vinegar (or other preferred vinegar-- not red wine or balsamic vinegar, but light wine vinegars, berry or fruit vinegars are good!)
1- 1 1/2 tablespoons poppy seeds
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped onion
1 1/2 tablespoons wholegrain Dijon mustard
1 scant teaspoon salt

Store in a jar in the refrigerator. This recipe is easily multiplied.

VARIATIONS:
Use the white part of 2 or 3 green onions, or a shallot, instead of the onion.

Use lemon juice instead of vinegar (you could also add a teaspoon of organic lemon zest, if you wish).

Use 3 tablespoons maple syrup and 3 tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate for the sweetener, and add a teaspoon of organic orange zest, if you wish.

Nutrition Facts (using reduced-fat silken tofu, reduced-fat soymilk, apple juice concentrate, and only 1 tablespoon of poppyseed)
Nutrition (per 1/4 cup): 45.2 calories; 18% calories from fat; 1.0g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 268.3mg sodium; 110.7mg potassium; 7.1g carbohydrates; 0.3g fiber; 0.6g sugar; 2.5g protein.

This recipe is from Bryanna Clark Grogan's Kitchen Journal Vegan Feast Kitchen at http://veganfeastkitchen.blogspot.com/search?q=poppyseed+dressing