Bean Salsa In Radicchio Leaves

Cookbook * Incredibly Delicious: The Vegan Paradigm Cookbook
Recipe * Bean Salsa In Radicchio Leaves
Yumm or Yuck? * Yumm

One of the best things about following a plant based diet has been discovering my love for bean salads. I used to only have them as a side dish at a picnic or potluck a few times a year, but now I'd happily have one every week - and there are so many different bean salads one could probably make a different one each week! I like this one because it adds a tomato sauce and vinegar twist and it uses pintos where most bean salads rely on black beans. This one is called a salsa, but I eat it like a salad. It would be great served as an appetizer with radicchio leaves, but the market didn't have any on hand, so I tried cabbage leaves. Although it looks nice in the pic, the cabbage leaves really don't work well - I'll be sure to use radicchio next time.

Breaded Eggplant Cutlets

Cookbook * Incredibly Delicious: The Vegan Paradigm Cookbook
Recipe * Breaded Eggplant Cutlets
Yumm or Yuck? * Yumm

These have been in our meal rotation since we first adopted a veg diet, 5 years ago, and over time we have tweaked it here and there for our tastes. While the original recipe is good, we don't usually use the tahini for "wet batter", but just dip the eggplant slices into a bowl of soymilk, then into the "dry batter”. Its easier and doesn't seem to make a difference in taste. Also, we don't cook the eggplants first. Instead, we slice the eggplant thin, batter, and fry. Again, its easier this way and doesn't make a difference in taste. We double batter because, well, because I'm originally from the South where frying has been elevated to a science - trust me its worth it to double batter. This batter recipe is great for any veg and tofu.

We top with Nayonase, fresh heirloom tomato, and lettuce. Use fresh eggplant for the best results!