“I’ve got brown sandwiches and green sandwiches – it’s either very new cheese or very old meat.” ~ Oscar Madison in ‘The Odd Couple’ by Neil Simon, American playwright (1927 – )

As we are planning our menus for spring parties, we don’t want to forget those among us who try to follow a plant-based diet as closely as possible. Even if a guest hasn’t made it publicly known, there is a strong chance that at least one of the people you invite to a party is avoiding foods that contain cholesterol, dairy, eggs, meat, poultry, or fish.

Accommodating special diets is easier than some of us raised on Granny’s favorites at every party might think. A lot of sandwich ingredients are entirely free from animal products, so while tradition may dictate ham and cheese on rye, putting out some hummus and roasted red peppers (from a jar is fine) is an easy way to elevate the spread to gourmet fare with almost no additional effort.

A nice switch everyone will enjoy is to replace the egg-heavy mayonnaise with a very simple avocado cream. It is lighter, healthier, and offers a delightfully fresh flavor. Besides that, it takes mere minutes to prepare. Double or triple the recipe as needed.

Avocado Cream
Makes ½ cup (serves 4)
Time: 3 minutes

1 ripe avocado, peeled and pitted
3 tablespoons unsweetened, non-dairy milk (we used So Delicious Coconut Milk Beverage)

That’s it. Whirl it up in the food processor or blender, stirring down occasionally, until pureed. Serve chilled or at room temperature as a sandwich spread or dip.

Before company comes, please have a look at “What Your Vegetarian Guests Won’t Tell You” on pages x – xii in the Mosaic Meals cookbook for some helpful hosting hints.

“O cool in the summer is salad,
And warm in the winter is love;
And a poet shall sing you a ballad
Delicious thereon and thereof.” From the poem “Salad” by Mortimer Collins, English writer (1827-1876)

Quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah), the food of the ancient Aztec and Inca people, is a nutritional wonder. Among other fine qualities, quinoa is known for its exceptional protein content – including all 8 essential amino acids, the only food not coming from an animal to be so endowed — as well as iron and dietary fiber.

Treated on the plate as a starch like rice or pasta, quinoa is versatile. It is equally good hot, cold, or at room temperature. And it can be served as a stand-alone grain, but our favorite way to enjoy quinoa is as the base of a salad.

As with rice, it is easy to stir flavorings into quinoa’s cooking water to be fully absorbed as the seed expands. It is this quality we capitalize on in our Mexican Quinoa Salad recipe, eliminating the need to top with an oily seasoned dressing. Instead, the healthy fats in the avocado help to carry the flavor, and the squeeze of lemon juice is the acid needed to create a little sparkle. Orange segments and pieces of tomato add sweetness and color. What more could we ask for?

HINT: We call for canned mandarin orange segments, rinsed and drained, because it is fast and easy. If you wish to use fresh oranges, you will need to remove the inner membranes that surround each segment in order to get pieces that will match the tenderness of the other ingredients.

Use a commercially prepared taco seasoning mix, or look on page 110 in the Mosaic Meals cookbook for a recipe to create your own blend.

Mexican Quinoa Salad
Makes 4 side-dish servings or 2 entrée size servings
Time: 10 minutes active + time to cool to room temperature

¼ cup quinoa (we use Earthly Delights organic quinoa)
1 teaspoon taco seasoning mix
¾ cup water
1 cup chopped fresh tomatoes (we use grape tomatoes)
1 cup cubed fresh avocado
1 (6-ounce) can mandarin orange segments, rinsed and drained
1 lime, quartered, OR ¼ cup lime juice

Rinse the quinoa under cold running water in a strainer to remove the bitter outer coating.

Mix the quinoa with the taco seasoning mix and the water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer. Cover and continue simmering for about 15 minutes, until all the water has been absorbed and the quinoa is tender. Cool to room temperature.

Once the quinoa has cooled to room temperature, gently toss with the tomato pieces, avocado, and orange segments. Serve with a quarter of the lime for individuals to squeeze the juice over their portions.

“Mashed potatoes on the ceiling.
Green beans on the floor.
Stewed tomatoes in the corner.
Squash upon the door…”From the poem “Mashed Potatoes on the Ceiling” by Kenn Nesbitt, children’s poet (1962 – )

How about potatoes in a bowl to slurp up as soup instead of smearing them on the ceiling? Ahhh… I do try to be a poet of the kitchen, if not on the page.

The thing about most potato soups and chowders is that the peel is left out. It tends to produce little brown, chewy particles in the midst of what should be creamy and smooth. There is no rule, however, that says we can’t eat both by putting them in separate parts of the same meal — which is why we have a bowl of creamy potato soup along with some spicy sticks of potato skins.

While those who avoid potatoes as they work to limit their intake of carbohydrates have already clicked on to another web site by now, there are those of us who understand the value of the common spud — the vitamins, the minerals, the dietary fiber, and the phytochemicals that are the superheroes of the nutrition world, fighting off free radicals and other bad guys (phyto…fighting…get it?). They are the evidence that in this case, the expression “comfort food” comes from more than intuition.

The real culprits in making potatoes a bad choice nutritionally are the excessive salts and fats we add. Prepared with other strong flavors, however, the potato’s blandness can be overcome without adding ingredients that are bad for us. In this case, we use Mrs. Dash – an all natural seasoning blend without salt – and a little olive oil instead of butter and cheese on the potato skins.

Bake or steam your potatoes a day or two ahead of time and store them tightly wrapped in the refrigerator to make these dishes in just 25 minutes when you are ready. The potatoes should be baked until the insides are very soft.

Baked Potato-Chive Soup and Skins
Makes 3 cups
Time: 25 minutes after baking or steaming the potatoes

2 large baked potatoes (about 10 ounces each)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon Mrs. Dash, divided in halves
1 ½ cups unsweetened non-dairy milk (we use So Delicious Coconut Milk Beverage)
½ teaspoon liquid smoke
¼ cup snipped fresh chives
Ground chipotle pepper or cayenne pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400° F and oil a baking sheet.

After the potatoes are cool enough to handle, scrape out the insides, leaving about ⅛ inch lining the skin. Set aside the insides – there should be about 1 ½ cups.

Cut the skin into quarters and spray or brush with olive oil. Spread out skin side down on the baking sheet. Sprinkle the “meat” side with ½ teaspoon of the Mrs. Dash. Place in the oven for 20 minutes, flipping over halfway through so that the seasoned side will crisp.

Meanwhile, warm the milk in a saucepan over low heat, mashing the reserved potatoes into the milk to thicken it. Do not allow the mixture to boil. When hot, stir in ½ teaspoon of Mrs. Dash, the liquid smoke, and the chives. Add the chipotle pepper or cayenne pepper to taste, or serve it on the side for individuals to add as they wish.

The potato skins can be served in strips alongside the soup, much as bread would be, or can be snipped into bite-size pieces and sprinkled on top of the soup as a garnish.

“… Sprinkle in a rainbow to colour the thing
Season this dish with summer and spring
After you’ve eaten sit down for a rest
A casserole made from Earth takes a lifetime to digest”
~ from “Earth Casserole” by English poet Robert Auton

As the weather gets more outdoor-user friendly, sometimes the opportunity for last minute fun pops up that we don’t want to miss just because dinner plans conflict. Having chubs of ready-made organic polenta on hand can save the day.

Last June we posted a recipe for polenta topped with veggies, and we talked about the convenience of the prepared chubs that are available in the grocery store. Recently, we noticed that these chubs (organic) are $4.99 at Kroger but only $1.99 at Trader Joe’s. So, shopping around appears to be worthwhile in this case, especially if you plan on using it a lot. The chubs are shelf stable and are freshness-dated for at least a year out.

Used as a base for a casserole, as this recipe does, using ready-made polenta means not needing to boil pasta, potatoes, or rice, so it cuts out 20 minutes or more of the preparation time. To make it even faster, we used canned ingredients that allowed us to just dump and spread before popping the dish in the oven.

Southwestern Polenta Casserole
Serves 4
Time: 5 minutes active + 20 in the oven

1 (18-ounce) chub organic polenta
1 cup (½ of a 15-ouce can) refried beans
1 (4-ounce) can diced green chilies
½ cup sliced black olives
1 cup favorite salsa

8 cups torn salad greens or baby spinach (optional) for serving

Preheat oven to 350° F and oil a 9-inch baking pan.

Mash the polenta with a fork, pressing it firming into the bottom of the baking pan, building up the edges slightly. Spread the refried beans on top. Spread the green chilies on top of the beans. Sprinkle the olives evenly over the chilies. Bake for 20 minutes.

Cut the casserole into quarters and serve while hot over a bed of salad greens or baby spinach. Allow individuals to top with their favorite salsa.

“If a man who turnips cries,
Cry not when his father dies,
‘Tis a proof that he had rather
Have a turnip than a father.”
~ Samuel Johnson, English author (1709-1784)

When spring arrives, I always begin to crave pastel colored food: green guacamole, creamy blueberry smoothies, just about anything lemon, and bright pink turnip pickles.

Turnip pickles are pretty rare outside of Lebanese homes or restaurants, and as far as I know aren’t available canned. The name is intriguing, is it not? If you scrunched up your face and said, “Eww. Turnips…,” please stick with us anyway because these aren’t your father’s turnips!

Traditionally made, turnip pickles get their color from having a sliced up, cooked beet added to the mixture. This is fine if you have the time to roast or boil a beet and then wait the week or so for it to infuse enough of its color to share with the turnips. BUT there is a faster way…

Before I share the secret of the timely tinting of turnips, let’s have a little chat about why they are good for us.

First of all, let’s be clear that we are talking about those smallish white and purple globes, not the larger yellow fleshed root the Americans call rutabaga.

If you are lucky enough to be able to find really fresh turnips with the greens still attached, be sure to eat the tops (prepared like cabbage or spinach) because they are so rich in vitamins and minerals, they’ll blow your socks and shoes right off your feet. For this recipe, however, we just need the root portion of the plant.

The turnip root is almost as sweet as a carrot, and is very rich in vitamin C, calcium, and other minerals. A cup of raw turnips contains 52 mg of omega-3 fatty acids, which are essential for growth and metabolism ( “Eat your veggies if you want to grow up to be big and strong!”), and for heart health.

Now, back to the pickles.

Turnip pickles are common fare at Lebanese tables when the mezze (appetizer) course is served, along with hummus, olives, flat bread, and garlic spread. You can’t miss them because they are the brightest food on the plate.

Instead of using fresh beets to color the pickling solution, I simply replaced the water in my old recipe with the liquid from a can of beets, which I was opening to make a quick salad anyway. The liquid is simply water and salt into which the deep red color has infused itself. By using this liquid instead of slices of roasted beets, the color reaches the turnip pieces much faster and the pickles are ready in 3 days instead of a week. If you want to prepare this the traditional way, use water instead of the canned liquid and add a sliced, cooked beet to the jar.

Turnip Pickles
Makes 1 quart
Time: 7 minutes active + 3 days resting

4 small white fresh turnips
½ cup of liquid from can of beets
1 cup vinegar
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 dried hot red pepper (optional)

Peel the turnips, trimming off the top and root ends. Cut the turnips in half lengthwise, then slice into pieces about ½ inch thick. Stir the beet liquid, vinegar, salt, and sugar together in a 1-quart jar. Add the turnip pieces and the red pepper (if using), pushing down so they are submerged in the liquid, and add water as needed to completely cover.

Cover the jar with a tight-fitting lid and refrigerate for at least 3 days. They’ll keep for several weeks. Be sure to rinse and drain the pickles before serving to keep the colored liquid from running into other foods on the plate.