Layer Dips

Gearing up for Cinco de Mayo, not that I ever need an excuse to eat Mexican food, I assembled a quick vegan layer dip today that the boys gobbled up, even though they usually shy away from food touching other food. Cleaning up layer dips is a necessity because I could never just eat the 2T that most commercial dips claim as a 150 cal serving. My layer dips never have the same amount of layers because I make them based on what I have on hand-which means they never get old. You also don't have to eat them as a dip. I piled 1/2c on top of a bowl of mixed greens and arugula. Go chopped romaine if you want a tostada feel. You could also serve this as fancy finger food in a butter lettuce wrap, or serve it disassembled along with tortillas and let people make their own tacos/burritos. (I told you it never gets old!) I remembered that I used to make a Greek layer dip in college that was well loved and decided to catalog this party food matrix style; what else could you layer?

The Ritz(ish) Creamed Corn

Thanksgiving is definitely my Aunt's domain. She consistently puts out an amazing spread for an unthinkable amount of people. So I considered it a bit of a rite of passage when I was asked to make the creamed corn. She gave me an amazing and rich recipe full of cream, whole milk, butter, and even some sugar, so naturally I had to try my hand at cleaning it up. Any fruit/veggie recipe that calls for sugar is simply asking for the season's peak crop, so buy selectively and taste before sweetening. I use frozen baby sweet corn (yellow and white) and just a touch of honey. I sub in EVOO for the butter and instead of cream, I use evaporated milk.  Although this year, I will be trying a vegan version using coconut milk. The Parmesan on top is must, there is no substitute, but if you can't do cheese, I would suggest trying breadcrumbs or finely chopped walnuts.

2 packages frozen corn (approx. 20 oz)
8 oz. whole milk
1 can (12 oz) low fat evaporated milk
1 t. salt
3 T honey (or to taste)
dash of white pepper
2T EVOO
2T whole wheat flour
2T freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Combine all but last 3 ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a low boil. Simmer 5-10 minutes or until thickened. In a separate pan mix oil and flour over a low flame until smooth and no lumps. Add to corn mixture. Mix well over low heat until even more thickened. Pour contents into a heatproof baking dish. (It will continue to thicken as it sits). Sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese. Place in a broiler for a few minutes until the top is golden brown.

Note on transporting corn: If you are traveling with this dish, I suggest waiting to add cheese until you arrive, if possible. It has a tendency to slide around in the pan (at the least the way I drive) and the cheese can disappear. It only takes a few minutes to brown the top, but make sure your corn comes to the top of your pan so it can get nice and close to the heat.

Black Bean Dip

Still on my mission to eat more veggies (and get my kids too also), fresh cut veggies and dips never seem to bore me. And while the veggies are easily interchangeable, I've been pretty content with hummus (and all its variations)-until I met this black bean dip. It is rich, creamy, delicious with a hint of smokiness plus all the goodness of black beans. High in folate for the brain, antioxidants and fiber, my 12 Best Foods cookbooks totes it as THE best legume because "eating them helps to lower cholesterol, LDL levels...& reduce cancer risk" and recommends 2 servings a day. This dip is so versatile, you can use it as a sandwich spread or thin it with water for a Mexican salad dressing. Make a double batch (if your blender can handle it) because chances are, most of 1 batch will be eaten with a spoon out of the blender before it even hits the table;)

Black Bean Dip from Eat to Live

1 can black beans (rinsed)

2T water

2T lemon juice (or juice of 1 medium lemon)

2T vegi-zest (I omit this)

2T Tahini

2t Bragg Aminos (or Tamari or low-sodium soy sauce)

1/2t cumin

1/2-1 clove garlic

dash cayenne & paprika (I leave this out for the boys)

Blend all ingredients in a high powered blender until smooth. Serve with carrots, broccoli, zucchini, cumcumber, romaine or steamed asparagus spears. Or thin a bit and mix with lentils and chopped tomatoes for a cold chili.

Classic Creamy Macaroni Salad

I'm not a huge fan of creamy pasta salads, but one search for Fourth of July menus shows they are clearly a classic American dish. I believe there are some parts of the country where you can NOT show up without one of these, so it seemed a must in a holiday cookbook. But I spent so long avoiding them at church potlucks and school picnics, that I'm not sure exactly what they are suppose to taste like. I would LOVE some advice, esp. if you are willing to try the recipe below and tell me your opinion.

It's not that difficult a dish to clean up: white pasta, huge amounts of mayo-sugar based dressing, little to no veggies-it screams makeover and any one of these tips would double its clean value. 

Classic Creamy Macaroni Salad

4 c. cooked pasta

1.5c celery, sliced

2c. shredded carrot, chopped

3-4 radishes, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

1/4c pimientos or diced roasted red pepper

1 small sweet or yellow onion, diced

3 scallions (green and white parts), diced

Dressing

1/4c. white wine vinegar

1/4c. mayonnaise

6 oz pureed silken tofu (must be silken)

2T relish

3T dijon mustard

1T honey

1t salt and pepper

2t no salt seasoning like Mrs. Dash

First, a simple swap to whole grain macaroni would add tons of fiber, but I won't lie-this step is not as easy as it seems. First whole wheat shaped noodles (macaroni, rotelle-anything other than spaghetti) just does not taste as good to me. Try going way outside the (blue) box with a quinoa, kamut, or brown rice pasta. And if you don't like one brand, try another because they all have very different tastes. Ronzoni, Barilla, Eden Organic all have many different options. They key to all of them though is not overcook them. Take them off the heat just before you think they are done. As the pasta sits, in the colander draining it will continue to cook. But especially for cold pasta salads, you want to rinse the pasta with cold water both to stop it from cooking and to rinse away the starches that will make it stick together.

Another step towards cleanification would be to increase the amount of veggies to at least equal the amount of pasta. So if you put in 4 cups of pasta make sure you mix it with a total of at least 4 cups of veggies. I also looked at the basic similarities of many recipes and decided this salad could benefit from the addition of veggies like peas, radishes or asparagus, canned chilies, & maybe some sliced olives.

And lastly there is the issue of dressing. Most pasta salad recipes use a ratio of 4-1 mayo to vinegar (I even saw one that was 8-1) and add at least 1/2c. sugar. Mayonnaise in of itself isn't unclean. But if it came from a store, there is litany of additives that appear after the first 5 "whole" ingredients, even if its made with olive oil. But beyond that it is really just a fat, no fiber, no protein, just vitamin & nutrient free fat. And then we go and put it in EVERYTHING!! Dressings, dips, potato salad, macaroni salad, some even put it in cake!

But there are many work arounds for that. I personally like mixing mayo with greek yogurt, silken tofu, cashew butter or pureed cannellini beans. If you are a die hard mayo fan start with a ratio of 3-1 (3/4c. mayo & 1/4c. yogurt to equal 1 c. of mayo in your recipe) and gradually work your way up to 1-3.