I Need Your Help

[Smoothie]

okay. i'm throwing this dinner-party sunday, and i've made some home made coffe ice cream, and some banana/raspberry ice cream, for the dessert. so now i need to know: what would you make for entrée? something light and pretty simple, but still delicious i'm serving the icecream with home made raspberry jam and blackcurrant jam i got as a gift from my friend, made with berries from her garden
the problem is that i don't have an oven. so don't suggest lasagne or something like that - i can't make it..

thanks

[Tray]

you can make bruschette.. they're very simple to do, you don't need the oven, a toaster is enough, and they're really goooooood

[Smoothie]

how do you make them? usually when i make them, i use pesto, tomato slices, garlic and oil, and then bake them for about half an hour. oh fuck, i miss my oven

[fiamma]

Do you have a food processor? You could make dips, like hummus or tofu with sun dried tomatoes, and have lots of raw veggies for dipping.
Even if you don't have a food processor you can mash everything together, the texture will be chunkier but will still taste good
With dips you could make everyting in advance.

Also rice salad or other grain with beans and any veggies you care to throw in, veggie burgers or felafel, salads, marinated tofu with gado gado sauce... chilli....

[Smoothie]

sounds really good. yeah, i've soaked some chickpeas for hummus today, but i do that like once a week. i like my hummus i think i wanna make something a little more dinner-like. what's your favourite summer-recipe?

[poppy seed]

Make a salad buffet - green salad, pasta salad, potato salad, bean salad.

[Smoothie]

what's your recipe for potato and pasta salad? do you use veganaise or..?

[fiamma]

In summer I normally eat lots of grain-based cold salads - tabbouleh, spelt and bulghur wheat based, and lots of fresh veggies with bean dips. Lentil dip is good if you want a change from hummus. But are you looking to make a full sit down type dinnner, or do you want a buffet-style affair like poppy seed suggested? Some pointers would be helpful
You could make buckwheat pancakes and a range of stew-type fillings (chilli, ratatouille, curried veg) if you want something hot that you could heat up. Otherwise, umm....

[Smoothie]

it's just gonna be like some friends eating a regular dinner at a regular table. nothing fancy

yeah, i do make a pretty hardcore speltsalad you have never tasted ANYTHING that great (i stole it from a friend of mine who's a chief)

[Sheila]

Here's a link to an awesome pasta salad: It's probably one of the best I have ever made.

http://vegweb.com/index.php?PHPSESSI...4&topic=9273.0

For potato salad I use vegenaise with a small amount of prepared mustard and a small splash of veg oil to make it a little creamier. I also season the dressing with fresh ground black pepper. It distributes it better then trying to season after it is all mixed up.

The easiest way to do it is use a potato you don't have to peel like a red new. Boil them whole until a fork will poke through and they are done. Let them cool. While they are cooking I finely chop all of my veggies. I use cucumbers, onion, green pepper and sometimes radishes. It's up to you on your preference but the smaller the pieces the better it will taste.

Chop the potato and toss it in a large mixing bowl with the veggies and dressing to coat. I usually like to chill mine for several hours before serving to get it good and cold.

You can also use tofu and make a mock egg salad and then add a few tablespoons to the salad to give it the taste of hard boiled eggs if you like.

Hope this helps,
Sheila

[fiamma]

yeah, i do make a pretty hardcore speltsalad

Mmm... do post the recipe... please?

[Smoothie]

it all sound pretty nice i love getting new recipes into my daily cooking. do any of you guys know a great faux cheese recipe? maybe for something like cheesy sauce or something like that?

[Smoothie]

you boil the spelt. then you mix it up with peas, cucumber, red bell pepper, onion, corn, anything you like

the dressing:
some grilled/baked red bell peppers (remove the "skin")
some grilled/baked tomatos (ditto)
some parsley
some pepper (freshly ground!)
some sea salt
some lemon juice
a little bit of cumin or whatever you like..

you just mix all of the ingredients in a food processor or blender, and pour it over the salad.
let the salad chill for an hour or two - great the day after

[Sheila]

Here's a link for vegan cheesy sauce with variations and comments from people who made it. Sounds good.

http://www.theppk.com/recipes/dbreci...p?RecipeID=122

Sheila

[poppy seed]

I make potato salad pretty much the same way as Sheila - with vegenaise, and it's wonderful! For pasta salad, I make an olive oil and balsamic vinegar (salt and pepper, and a smidge of sweetner) dressing. Then I add cooked veggies - sauteed mushrooms, roasted red peppers, eggplant, zucchini - whatever, and some olives (very important, as you won't miss the parmesean if you have enough olives!) I also toss in basil, oregano, and chives. It's a great pasta salad!

[Smoothie]

sounds really nice. i must say that i've never tasted parmesan - i've always been allergic to milk, so my first experience with cheese was with soycheese it's okay, but not as good as soy yoghurt! but i like cheesy sauces, over some new potatoes (like really nice firm baby-potatoes)..

[Smoothie]

okay, we just went so the supermarket to get some stuff to cook. and ended up spending over 50 dollars:O and that was only veggies and some fruit. no fancy vegan food at all. now i'm gonna do a really nice hot potato salad, and a fresh salad with vinegardressing over it