A Meal for Vegans

With vegan  friends a-visiting I wanted to make something not-so-typical and also something their kids would enjoy, so I decided on my unique vegie flatbread and complemented it with cumin-spiced black-eyed pea soup and a huge zesty salsa-like salad. And then for dessert, mango-banana ice cream, which of course I can't have but I can sure share :) Here's the simple spread ... minus the ice cream which comes later.

a vegan, high-protein, high-fiber, vitamin-rich meal

Thyme-Rosemary Vegie Flatbread
1 zucchini (about 3 cups)
1 medium-large onion
2 1/2 - 3 cups garbanzo bean flour
5-6 large garlic cloves
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons mixed herbs (thyme, marjoram, basil)
1 tablespoon turmeric
1 1/2 teaspoons thyme (more for dusting on top)
1 teaspoon rosemary (more for dusting on top)
sea salt (+ more for dusting on top)

Gradually blend all in a food processor with an "S" blade - for step-by-step instructions see Gluten-free Sugar-free Toaster Oven Flatbread. Batter should be easily pourable but not runny. Don't worry. It will firm up in the baking process. I have a real oven now, so baking is a bit easier with it than with the toaster oven which had to be monitored when baking for periods over 15 or 20 minutes - just for safety reasons. Bake on 350F for 30-35 minutes, turning the pan halfway through for even baking.

 

Cumin-spiced Black-eyed Pea Soup

4 cups black eyed peas and broth (cook 2 cups dried peas in a crock pot)
1/2 - 1 teaspoon cumin (add when peas are almost cooked)
2-3 crushed garlic cloves (add when peas are almost cooked)
sea salt 

Zesty Salsa-like Salad

fistfuls of endive, chopped finely
fistful of parsley, chopped finely
1 medium sweet onion, diced
2 cucumbers, diced
15-20 yellow and/or red baby tomatoes, chopped finely
1 chunk ginger, minced (optional)
5-7 tablespoons lemon marinade (marinated overnight)
..... 2 lemons (about 5 tablespoons lemon juice)
..... 5 tablespoons olive oil
..... 4-5 cloves garlic, minced
..... sea salt

Best made 30 minutes before serving so the marinade heightens the flavors of the salad greens.

The "SUGAR-FREE" Dessert ... well sugar-free for the non-candida person

Now for the dessert, which has incredibly high amounts of "sugar" for a person with a bacteria, but for the majority of people, this dessert is labeled as "sugar-free" and is really a tasty plus healthy delight! The kids loved it too!

Mango Banana Ice Cream

2-3 cups frozen mango chunks
3-4 frozen bananas, sliced small for easy processing
1/2 - 1 teaspoon vanilla

Allow frozen mango and banana chunks to soften a bit outside of the freezer before blending. Put all ingredients in a food processor with an "S" blade and gradually process the chunks to a cream. My food processor isn't so great because it left little chunks, but the results still very much looked like ice cream, and according to the kids, it was great!

OK, posed picture. How can you smile when you're posing with drippy "cream"?