Killar Vegan Ranch Dressing

If you know my sister Chelsea at all, you will know that one of her favourite things to eat is ranch. She was one of those kids that would put it on everything from mashed potatoes, rice, corn, even meat. So when she cut out dairy from her diet she was heartbroken that she wouldn’t be able to eat ranch anymore, what was she going to put on all of her food?

Well being the wonderful sister that I am I decided to make her vegan ranch dressing for her 22nd birthday this past weekend. I love the idea of making gifts for people, especially food, because people love food and they usually aren’t expecting it so it’s a total surprise! And boy was Chelsea surprised! The look on her face was priceless, it was like I told her that she could go live in a village with elephants (another thing she loves).

However it had to pass the taste test, I had the scales tipped in my favor because she hasn’t had it in a while but I was still a little nervous that it might not measure up. Luckily I was wrong! She and (unfortunately) her boyfriend Taylor loved it, to the point that Chelsea had to tell him to stop eating it!

This was a super simple dressing to make and I find that the longer it sits the more the flavours are developed. I would strongly suggest using fresh herbs when available, but dried would work too! This will last in your fridge for around 2 weeks ish, use your judgment on the freshness of the dressing, basically if it smells weird don’t eat it.

 

Ingredients:

1 cup vegan mayonnaise, I use Vegenaise Soy Free

1/4 cup rice milk

1 tsp garlic powder

2 tbsp fresh chopped parsley, minced

2 tbsp fresh chopped dill, minced

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 tbsp cider vinegar

Preparation:

Put all ingredients to a bowl and stir until well combined. If you have a food processor you can use that, but it’s not necessary. Now you can enjoy a rich and creamy dressing on all of your fresh veggies and salads!

Thanks for reading!

xoxo -N

Lemon Dill Tomato Sauce with Zucchini Noodles

After that life changing curry dish (well, for me it was) I was thinking that the curry sauce is something that could be made to taste like anything. You could omit the curry and add something totally different, and BAM you got yourself a whole new sauce. So what did I want? Sweet, savory, spicy? I wasn’t sure. That was until I was walking through Safeway and for some reason the flavor of dill popped into my head. Mmm dill… that sounds delicious, I haven’t had anything with dill for a very long time and it is one of my favourite spices. Now what? Dill and… dill and… dill and…lemon! So simple yet so perfect. Lemon dill tomato sauce, with zucchini noodles sounds like an awesome supper.

When I got home from Safeway (after scoring 5 bunches of bananas for $4.50, woo hoo!) I started on my dish and boy did it smell good. I don’t know what it is about dill that just screams awesomeness but it does. Like the curry sauce it has a rich, creamy flavor that some people might be surprised to learn that there is no milk or cream involved. That is one of the benefits of blending your sauces, they come out smooth and creamy without the added fat! I also decided to serve this with some steamed broccoli to add some color, body and extra nutrients to the dish. I could have totally eaten the sauce by itself, its that good, but its nice to have texture and color in my meals, and what a better steamed veggie than broccoli! I hope you enjoy this meal as much as I did!



This is what the sauce looks like before you blend it!

Ingredients 2-4 Servings

1 tbsp coconut oil

1 large yellow onion, diced

1 clove garlic, sliced

1 large can of whole tomatoes, chopped in half

½ cup cashews, soaked overnight

1 lemon, juiced

5-7 sprigs of dill, de-stemmed and chopped

Pepper to taste

1 head of broccoli, chopped

In a large frying pan on medium/high heat sauté onions in oil for 10 mins until brown. Add the rest of ingredients and simmer for 15-20 mins. Pour into high speed blender and puree until smooth. While this is cooking, steam broccoli until fork tender.

Zucchini Noodles

1 zucchini per person

Using the julienne blade of a mandolin, slice zucchini lengthwise into long, thin strands. Slice the zucchini just until you reach the seeds in the middle and then stop (the seeds will cause the noodles to fall apart).

NOTE: If you don't have a mandolin you can use a vegetable peeler or a knife.  

If you want the noodles to be hot, put the noodles into the frying pan with desired amount of sauce and cook for 5 mins and serve with broccoli! Enjoy!

Thanks for reading!

Xoxo -N