Creamy Lemon Tahini Dip with Rainbow Carrots (vegan)

Happy Veganuary!
Hope many of you are taking the pledge to go vegan for the month of January.

Craig & I have been on an ooey-gooey black bean patty melt kick for the last few days.  So, now we needed a fast n easy snack that’s a little healthier. 

I just purchased a bag of organic rainbow carrots from Trader Joe’s.  They’re sweet and tasty.  What better pairing than a creamy dip?  Well, you can go with the traditional ranch… but I was thinking a little healthier. 

Why not a creamy lemon tahini dip?  This is one of my favorite go-to dips.  Tahini is a ground sesame paste, you might have had it in hummus. 

This dip is so easy to make.  All you need is tahini, a lemon, water, and salt.  That’s it. 

Rainbow Carrots with Creamy Lemon Tahini Dip

Creamy Lemon Tahini Dip

Ingredients

1/4 cup Tahini

2 Tbsp. Lemon juice (preferably from a fresh squeezed lemon)

2 Tbsp. Water

Salt to taste

Directions

Start with tahini.  I live near an international market, so I get my tahini there.  It comes in a glass jar, some look like mayonnaise jars. 

Shake and stir the tahini in the jar.  It tends to settle with the oil on the top.  If you don’t, you’ll get a thick, solid lump when you get to the bottom of the jar. 

In a small bowl, add tahini, lemon juice, water, and salt.  Stir together.  Serve.

I usually serve this dip with sliced carrots, but you can expand your horizons and try cauliflower, broccoli, zucchini, …  If you’re not into raw veggies, try steaming them.  Thin out the dip a little and make it into a pourable sauce.  Then, top your steamed veggies.  Craig's new thing is thinning out the dip and pouring it over his Summertime Pita Sandwich.  Healthy made easy.

Fast, Fresh, & Easy Pico de Gallo, Salsa, & Guacamole

It’s going to be getting pretty hot here, the forecast says we’re going into the triple digits later this week.  Taking that into consideration, my garden is going into full bloom.  Hint: for the gardeners out there, never plant buttercup squash, crooked neck zucchini, or cucumbers too close together.  I did and they took over my garden.  My buttercup squash became a monster.

My Out of Control Garden

Well now, I’m going to have mega amounts of tomatoes soon.  So, what to do with them?  How about pico de gallo, garden fresh salsa, and guacamole?  Three easy go to garden fresh ideas and to top it off – they’re traditionally all vegan. 

Pico de Gallo Recipe

Tomatoes - chopped

Onions - chopped

Cilantro - chopped

Lime

Salt

Combine chopped tomatoes, onions, and cilantro in a bowl.  Squeeze the lime and add the juice into the bowl.  Add salt to taste. Yes, that’s it!  Super easy and fresh.

Fresh Garden Salsa Recipe

3 large tomatoes

1 small onion - chopped

1 jalapeno - chopped – add more to taste (if you don’t like it hot, cut out the seeds and deveined)

1 clove garlic - chopped

Cilantro – handful -chopped

Lime - juiced

Salt

Place tomatoes on a baking sheet and roast in the oven until soft.  Take out of oven and let cool.  Place all ingredients in a food processor or blender.  Add salt to taste.  Ready to eat with chips.  Easy and garden fresh. 

Guacamole Recipe

Avocados

Tomatoes - chopped

Onions - chopped

Cilantro - chopped

Lime – juiced – to taste

Salt to taste

Cut avocados in half and take out pit.  You can use your knife and hit the blade into the pit, then pull out.  The pit should come out easily with the knife blade.  Spoon out the insides of the avocado into a bowl.  Mash avocados.  If you made pico de gallo, add some to the bowl of avocados.  If you didn’t, add the rest of the ingredients and mix together.  Add salt and lime juice to taste.  Serve with tortilla chips.  

Coyote Mountain Ranch Dressing

Top notch vegan ranch dressing is hard to find.  Before I started making my own ranch dressing, I tried many store bought brands.  Nothing came close to the taste I was imagining, so I decided to experiment on my own.  Craig is the condiment king and ranch dressing fanatic, so this had to meet his expectations.  At first I used a base ranch dressing recipe and then added fresh ingredients to make it come alive.  Here’s the no sweat procedure:

Secret Tips to Making a Killer Ranch

1.        Start with a good base.  There is a variety of vegan mayos around.  Nasoya has Nayonaise.  Trader Joe’s has its store brand, Trader Joe’s Reduced Fat Mayonnaise “eggless” and “dairy-free”.  I personally prefer Follow Your Heart’s Vegenaise, which can get a little pricey.  I’m lucky I can get it directly from Follow Your Heart in the gallon size.  Better yet, you can make your own homemade vegan mayo.  I haven’t tried it yet.  I heard that the emulsifying process is where it can get tricky, you either get a nice creamy mayo or watery mayo. 

2.       You can start with about a cup of vegan mayo and add ½ tsp of onion powder and ½ tsp of garlic powder.  Then add salt and black pepper to taste.  I use some fresh herbs in mine, but dried will work too.  I like chopped parsley and dill.  Finally, add non-sweetened, non-dairy milk (i.e. soy milk, almond milk, etc.)  to get the consistency you like.  Let it sit for an hour, so the flavors can marry.  Taste it and see if it meets your expectations.  If not, play around with the ingredients. 

You can omit the non-dairy milk for a creamy go to sandwich spread.  See that wasn’t too hard and well worth the effort.  Stay tuned for more tips and recipes. 

Note:  I was taking my dogs for a hike in the mountains the other day and came across a coyote, so hence the name Coyote Mountain.