Collard Green II

Collard Greens, you are an impressive vegetable. Your nutritional profile tops the charts, and your insanely large leaves can serve as a container for our favorite burrito ingredients.  Seriously, Collard Greens, what is it that you cannot do?

Well, come to think of it, Collard Greens can't *yet* self-fill or self-roll. While we wait for that technological advancement, Candice Hutchings at The Edgy Vegan has you covered with her How to Wrap Collard Wraps Video.

Cauliflower II

Cauliflower Rice is a fun alternative to the traditional rice that most of us are familiar with. McKell Hill at Nutrition Stripped has some great ideas for preparing and seasoning this tasty pseudo-rice!

Cauliflower has been getting quite a bit of attention these days given its versatility as both an alternative to grains and a base for creamy sauces. That said, it is surprising that this is only our second post devoted to our dear friend, Cauliflower, but be on the lookout for some more Cauliflower coverage in the coming weeks!

Potato II

Yes, yes.  We know potatoes are far from underrepresented.  That's exactly what makes this recipe so great!  It's difficult for people to turn down potatoes in any form.  In our experience, deviled potatoes have a tendency to surprise and impress, and are gobbled down faster than veganized versions of other classic snacks.

For some inspiration, check out Michelle Taylor Cehn's Deviled Potatoes recipe (and video!) at Vegan Break.

Coconut II

Have you heard? Coconut oil is the new vegan margarine, minus a lot of ingredients, of course. Solid at room temperature, coconut oil comes is both unrefined and refined varieties.  If you dislike the flavor of coconut, the refined is your best bet.

Besides sautéing and roasting, coconut oil is wonderful in baked goods, including these Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever by Kortney Campbell at Vegan Housewives.

If you interested in making your own vegan butter with coconut oil, Mattie at Veganbaking.net has a tried and true method.

If you are feeling even more ambitious, Robyn Eckhardt at Eating Asia has a step-by-step tutorial for DIY Coconut Oil.

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