Fava Bean and Avocado Crostini

I love picking up my CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) box each week. You never know what you are going to get and sometimes you get something you've never eaten before. Like fava beans. What do you do with fava beans? After some research, I found that fava beans are a lot of work (boo), but well worth the effort (yay!). I settled on making a fava bean, avocado, and spring mix (all items from my CSA box) salad to top crostini. This is an appetizer I'm proud to serve to guests. It's crunchy, creamy, rich, and fresh; it will not disappoint!

Fava beans are a lot of work so I recruited a friend to help me prepare them. You first have to remove the beans from their pod. Then blanch the beans in boiling water for 4 minutes and transfer to an ice bath to stop the cooking. Once cooled, the skin around each bean needs to be removed. Finally, the beans are ready for use. Trust me when I say it is worth the effort!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup fava beans, prepared and ready for use
• 2 ripe avocados, cut into small cubes
• 2 handfuls of spring lettuce
• 1 small handful of mint, roughly chopped
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1 lemon
• olive oil
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 baguette, sliced into small circles

1. Mix in large bowl the fava beans, avocado, lettuce, and mint. 
2. In small bowl, whisk together the shallot, juice of 1/2 lemon, 3 tablespoons olive oil, dash of salt, and dash of pepper. Add more lemon if needed. 
3. Add dressing to fava bean mix and toss well. Taste and add more salt if needed.
4. Place baguette slices on baking sheet and drizzle or spray with olive oil. Place under broiler until toasted and then flip. Apply olive oil to other side and place under broiler until toasted. 
5. Place crostini on serving tray and top with fava bean mix. 

Vegan Ranch Dressing

Ranch dressing was created right here in my hometown of Santa Barbara. Well, okay, it was just outside of Santa Barbara, at a dude ranch named Hidden Valley Ranch. Gayle and Steve Henson opened the ranch in 1954 and visitors came to enjoy horseback riding and whatever else they do at dude ranches. In the restaurant they served their house, or "the ranch", dressing. More and more people began visiting the Hidden Valley Ranch and when people started asking for batches to take home, the Hensons started bottling and selling their ranch dressing. In 1972, the Hensons sold their Hidden Valley Ranch brand to Clorox for $8 million. 

I have to admit that I'm one of those people who like ranch dressing on everything. I usually make a batch of this each week and keep it in the fridge for salads, dipping veggies, french fries, a spread on veggie burgers or whatever else. Even my husband and non-vegan friends like this. 

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup plain soy milk
• 1 cup canola oil
• half of a lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder - OR use a handful of chopped green onion or chives instead if available.
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Place the soy milk in a food processor. Turn on and slowly add in the canola oil. Blend for 15 seconds- it should thicken up pretty well. 
2. Add in a good squeeze or 2 of lemon and the other ingredients. Blend for another 15 seconds. 
3. Thin out with more soy milk and blend again if needed for desired consistency. 

More Salsa!

Fiesta may be over, but I've still got salsa on my mind! As a follow up to my previous post of a black beans salsa, I wanted to share a couple more of my favorite salsa recipes.

This first one was my creation for last year's salsa contest where I won for the best salsa verde (but I had the only green salsa so that really doesn't say much, does it?). It's called "La Bomba Verde" and it's a thin sauce which you can use as a dip or to top food.

Ingredients:

• 1 onion
• 3 jalapenos (you can use less if you want it more mild)
• 1 bulb of garlic
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 2 cans tomatillos
• salt to taste
• sugar to taste
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• 1 cup water
• 1 bunch of cilantro

1. Chop the onion, jalapenos, and garlic. They don't have to be very small as the salsa will eventually be blended. Then sweat them in some olive oil. 
2. Add 2 cans of tomatillos, salt, a dash of sugar, vinegar, and 1 cup of water. 
3. Let simmer, uncovered, for 2 hours. Add more water as the salsa thickens.
4. Roughly chop the cilantro and add to salsa. Puree with an immersion blender. Add more salt if necessary, but go light. 
5. Serve over food or refrigerate and use as a salsa dip.

The other salsa I want to share is one that a coworker made: a black bean and corn salsa. This salsa tastes fresh despite being made up of mostly canned food, and is the perfect combination of sweet and savory. This recipe is from Trader Joe's and uses their delicious Corn and Chili Salsa which you may want to stock up on in case they ever stop making it. If  that tragedy ever happens, I suppose you could substitute regular corn and this salsa would still be great. 

Ingredients:

• 2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 jar Trader Joe's Corn and Chili Salsa
• 1 red onion, finely diced
• 1 garlic clove, finely diced
• 1 jalapeno, finely diced
• 1 bunch cilantro leaves, chopped
• juice of 1 lime
• salt to taste

1. Combine ingredients in a large bowl and season. 
2. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving.

Viva La Fiesta! Salsa

Fiesta week has arrived in Santa Barbara! And that means lots of fun, sun, and delicious food. Fiesta is throw back to the "Old Spanish Days" of Santa Barbara, and is a time our community comes together to celebrate the various cultures in which our city was built upon.

My coworkers are holding a "dip off" in the spirit of Fiesta. I made a colorful black bean salsa. Lime vinaigrette brightens up the flavors and a little bit of chili sauce gives it a nice kick. I used just enough avocado so you get a little in each bite. Adding avocado to a salsa rather than making a guacamole helps stretch the costly avocado and cuts back the fat, but you still get the benefits of its creamy richness.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 red onion
• 1 bell pepper (any color of your liking, but I like red, orange, or yellow for the color)
• 6 cloves garlic
• 2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 small avocados
• 1 bunch of cilantro
• 1-2 limes
• 1/2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1-2 teaspoons salt 
• Sirracha or other chili sauce

1. Dice the onion, bell pepper, and garlic- you want it to be about the size of a black bean- and then saute in olive oil over medium heat.
2. Place onion, bell pepper, and garlic into a large bowl and allow to cool.
3. Meanwhile, chop cilantro leaves and cut avocado into bean size pieces. Add to bowl along with the black beans. You need to work quickly on getting the vinaigrette done for the next step and into the salsa once you get the avocado cut so it doesn't start turning brown.
4. Dress with juice of 1 lime, red wine vinegar, salt, and few dashes of chili sauce. Add more of any of these things to suit your taste. Toss well and chill before serving. 

Rosemary and Cayenne Cashews

Need an appetizer fast? It's no problem with these cashews. These are made in a flash using stuff you already have on hand and are sure to be a hit. Rosemary is the only ingredient I regularly forage for, finding huge bushes of it growing naturally around town. Just be sure to wash it.

•  3 springs of fresh rosemary, removed from twig and finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/2 tablespoon cayenne pepper
• dash garlic powder
• dash of salt
• bag of roasted cashews
• 1 tablespoon Earth Balance, melted

1. Start by mixing rosemary, brown sugar, cayenne, garlic powder, and salt. Adjust to taste.
2. In separate bowl combine cashews with melted Earth Balance. Sprinkle in seasoning mixture and toss/stir to coat evenly.
3. Allow to dry and....Voila!