Can't be stuffed cooking

I love Lolo's post about low cook or no cook recipes we regularly make her soy-mirin tofu but over rice (or in our case noodles) with peanut sauce. And while I don't have any of my own recipes to contribute I thought it might be a good idea to discuss some of my favourite dishes to make in this crazy heat we have been having. For the most part we try not to cook, because it's hot enough in our non- insulated place without adding any more heat from cooking. So lately we have been eating out or cooking bulk so that it lasts for a few days worth of meal on the slightly cooler days. Anyway on to the dishes that we do often make (sorry there is no pics but my camera is not working): The first two my friend Erin introduced me to and since she doesn't blog about food I don't think she will mind me sharing the recipe love:       Caribbean Sweet Potato Salad

5 servings

1 large russet potato, peeled & quartered 1 large sweet potato, peeled & quartered 1 cup corn kernels 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard 2 tablespoons lime juice 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro 1 clove minced garlic 3 tablespoons canola oil 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper 1 cucumber, peeled, halved lengthwise, sliced into thin half-rounds 1/2 red onion, sliced thin 1/4 cup finely chopped dry-roasted unsalted peanuts Put the russet potato pieces into a large saucepan, and cover with salted water. Bring to a boil then lower heat and cook for 5 minutes at medium. Add the sweet potato pieces and cook an additional 20 minutes. Test each potato to see if cook (slightly firm but not breaking apart). Add corn kernals and cook 30 seconds more. Quickly drain in a colander. Fill the saucepan with cold water (a few ice cubes wouldn't hurt) and return potato/corn mixture to the cold water for 5 minutes (this stops the cooking process on the potatoes). In a large bowl, combine the mustard, lime juice, cilantro and garlic; whisk. Slowly add the oil while whisking; add salt & pepper to taste (about 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper). Drain the cooled potato/corn mixture in a colander again. Now cut the potatoes into 1-inch cubes. Add the potatoes, corn, cucumber & onion slices to the vinaigrette. Mix well and serve chilled with a sprinkling of chopped peanuts. The recipe is from here     Sesame Noodle Salad 2 packages 3-minute noodles, broken 1 Tbsp sesame oil 2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar 1 Tbsp vegetable oil 2 Tbsp soy sauce 2 garlic cloves, minced 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes 2 oz (57g) fresh snow peas, blanched, cut into thin strips 1 large carrot, coarsely grated 1/2 cup smoked tofu, cut into thin strips 1 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds 2 green onions, thinly sliced) fresh coriander leaves for garnish Cook noodles; drain and rinse. Toss immediately with 1 Tbsp sesame oil to keep noodles sticking together. Combine vinegar, veg. oil, soy sauce, garlic and red pepper flakes in a small microwaveable bowl. Heat on high, uncovered, for 30 seconds. Or bring to a boil in a small saucepan and cook for 1 minute. Combine vinegar mixture w/ cooked noodles, toss and add onions, snow peas and shredded carrot. If not serving immediately, refrigerate. Just before serving, toss w/ toasted sesame seeds and top w/ tofu strips and fresh coriander leaves. I'm not sure where the original recipe is from. but we love it!   Happy Tuna Salad (No cooking if you used canned chickpea) from the amazing veganmania

1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas 1 cup finely chopped celery 1 tbsp. chopped sweet pickles 2 tbsp. sweet pickle “juice” (brine) 3/4 cup vegan mayonnaise 1 tbsp Old Bay Seasoning 1 tbsp. prepared mustard pinch of dried kelp powder

Pulse the chickpeas in your food processor until they are just broken up into little pieces (not mushy). Transfer them to a mixing bowl. Stir in all remaining ingredients. Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking.

Serve on a bed of lettuce, or in a sandwich, or on crackers, or any other way you can think of. Will keep 3-4 days refrigerated.

Serves 6-8.

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We also love to make the perfectly amazing pasta salad (but with cream cheese) and auntie bonnies chickpea salad both from The Garden of Vegan.

And I used to love making the laziest burritos with refried beans, salsa, soy cheese and avocado with the sandwhich press but I make them so much that Mr T now hates refried beans.

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The last couple of days I have tried a few new dishes both of which I already love.

The first is incredibly lazy and also requires only 3 minutes of cooking but was just the thing after a long first day back at work. It involves making a sandwich out of shredded carrot, store bought capscium pesto, tomato and a really thick layer of white bean aioli (minus the garlic because I burnt it) from veganomicon.

The second dish I found at vegalicious . Here's the recipe:

Quinoa Beet Salad

Serving Size: 4

Ingredients:

for the salad:

4 beets 1 cup quinoa 1 vegetable bouillon cube 2 cups water 2 red onions olive oil handful fresh mint leaves hanful of chopped walnuts

for the dressing:

1/4 cup miso 2 tablespoons mirin (or other sweetener) 1/8 cup water 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 1 teaspoon tamari (Japanese soy sauce) 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 1 teaspoon sesame oil  

Directions:

Clean and cook the beets, allow them to cool, and cut them into small bite sized pieces. Wash the quinoa well with cold water or allow it to soak for 15 minutes in warm water and then rinse well, to remove the bitter oil from the outside of the quinoa. Cook the quinoa in 2 cups of water with the vegetable bouillon cube. When the qunioa is cooked, remove from the heat, allow the quinoa to cool, with the lid on the pan, it will absorb the steam and excess water. Mix the cooled quinoa and beets together well to make sure that the quinoa has become a pretty rosy pink color. Mix the salad dressing and pour over the salad. Allow the salad to season well for at least 1/2 an hour. Shortly before serving, mince the mint and mix into the salad witht eh chopped walnuts. Serve on a bed of salad leaves (shown here are fresh beet greens and baby field salad).  

I didn't wait very long to allow the flavours to marinade and it was already a very interesting variety of flavours.

So what do you like to make in this weather?