Chickpea III

Here is a brief summary of the creation process for today's cartoon:

1. Randomly consider the idea of vegetarian tuna sandwiches;
2. Search the web for canned tuna brands;
3. Peruse the results, including Starkist, Bumble Bee, and Chicken of the Sea;
4. Immediately identify "Chickpea of the Sea"as the ideal pun;
5. Conduct another search for "chickpea of the sea" recipes; 
6. Discover Chickpea of the Sea Salad Sandwiches by Julie at The Simple Veganista;
7. Battle the nuances of the Chicken of the Sea font for a while;
8. Fail to create a believable chickpea mermaid;
9. Experience the comedic value of and nostalgia for bright orange swimmies;
10. Use this list format for the write-up, click Publish, and hope for the best!

Coconut

File this Coconut Whipped Cream by Leslie Durso in your "Vegan Dessert Magic Tricks" folder along with Banana Soft-Serve and Avocado Pudding.

Simply refrigerate a can of coconut milk for a few hours, scoop the solid white cream from the top of the can, whip with some powdered sugar and vanilla, and then go nuts!

Sunchoke

It has been a while since we parodied a logo.  Sunchoke is also known as Jerusalem artichoke, sunroot, and earth apple.  Like many tubers, Sunchoke can be baked into chips!

Check out these Sunchoke Chips by Alysa Bajenaru at inspiredRD.

Mayo

Here at Kale Crusaders we rarely drop the "V" word. Our objective is to highlight the variety plant-based foods and the versatility of such ingredients, as well as showcase vegan recipes (or simple-to-veganize recipes) of talented food bloggers.

One awesome outcome of vegan cooking is the kitchen creativity born out of constraints: by cutting out a small number of ingredients, you avail yourself to many more that can serve a similar purpose. Let's take mayonnaise. Leaving out eggs and introduces you to five potentially new ingredients: tofu, tahini, avocado, flax seeds, and cashews.

1. Tofu Mayonnaise by Cheryl Hurley at The Laidback Vegan
2. Egg-free Olive Oil [Tahini] Mayo by Karina Allrich at Gluten-Free Goddess 
3. Avocado Vegan Mayonnaise by Chantale Michaud at Eat Heal Love
4. Egg-less [Flax Seed] Mayo by Melissa Joulwan at The Clothes Make the Girl
5. Cashew Mayo by Kiersten Frase at Oh My Veggies

P.S. Vegans aren't the only ones expanding their creativity in the kitchen as a result of dietary limitations. The gluten-free, Paleo, low-fat, and various allergen-free crowds are also whipping up inventive dishes.

P.P.S. Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Parsley Root

Here is a brief story of where our cartoons come from.  Kale Crusaders Headquarters is located down the street from a tiny Whole Foods Market.  Given the postage stamp footprint of this particular store, we were recently surprised to discover a new-to-us-vegetable: Parsley Root!

What does one do with Parsley Root? Anything else you would do with her root vegetable brethren, including:

Parsley Root Fries by Sarah Britton at My New Roots
Roast Parsley Root and Lady Apple Soup by Asha Pagdiwalla at Fork Spoon Knife
Root Ribbons with Sage by Jerry Traunfeld

P.S. Similar to Parsley Leaf, Parsley Root is full of antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals!

Beet II

Happy Earth Day everyone! In honor of all things green and earthy, we are featuring three beet salads.

Beet, Potato + Avocado Salad with Horseradish Vinaigrette by Laura at The First Mess
Roasted Beet and Fennel Salad by Raj & Sonia at Flip Cookbook 
Roasted Beet, Black Rice, and Walnut Salad by Kieran at Health is Happiness

Horseradish

Happy Passover to those celebrating! The Kale Crusaders' first exposure to Horseradish involved a jar of the fuchsia-hued variety. Little did we know until much later in life that Horseradish came from a gnarly-looking root and tasted much spicier without the added beet pulp.

Want to make your own at home? Lisa Goldfinger at Panning the Globe has got you covered with her Fresh Horseradish with Beets recipe!

P.S. We resisted the temptation to deck out Horseradish in the iconic Pretty in Pink prom dress.

Asparagus II

Asparagus is coming out of hibernation to celebrate all things spring. Leave the piggies in the barn and indulge in Asparagus in a Blanket (substitute the butter and egg for a vegan snack) by Cathy Erway of Not Eating Out in NY.

P.S. If don't feel like rolling out your own dough, rumor has it that there are some "accidentally vegan" crescent rolls and puff pastry sheets in your supermarket.

P.P.S Any idea how to pluralize asparagus? Asparagus? Asparaguses? Asparagi?

Kiwi

Eugene Wu is back with our April Fool's Day Cartoon!

Kale and Kiwi are easy to mix up. Kale is green but turns brown over time, whereas Kiwi is brown and green inside. Both crusaders are after the same goal: healthy meals and a full Plate of Food. Riding their fine steed, which is a a mix between dragon and horse, they're out to deliver children a nutritious and scrumptious course.

But really, why should you have to choose a favorite?  We propose that you say cheers to April 1st with a Kiwi Kale Smoothie by Jordan Cord of The Fitchen and Kiwi Avocado Kale Salad by Heather of Gluten-Free Cat.

Date II

Date has the power to transform himself into sweet, sweet caramel sauce.

Please check out Sarah McCin's Raw Caramel Sauce at The Sweet Life and consider pairing it with some Banana Soft Serve.

P.S. Many thanks to @ezovski for pointing out the uncanny resemblance between Date's silhouette & Block Island, RI.