Buckwheat Soba Noodle SaladVegan And Gluten Free

Here's a great dish for your 4th of July celebration!

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Perfect for Guests
If you are going to a potluck, picnic, or entertaining at home this 4th of July, this salad is sure to please your guests. Besides being delicious, it's gluten and dairy free. It's also served at room temperature so no worries about making it at the last minute or heating it up. I know the dressing has a lot of ingredients, but it really is quite easy to put together. You can also make the dressing ahead of time.

Buckwheat is rich in high quality protein.It's also high in dietary fiber and is a good source of iron, manganese, phosphorus, magnesium, zinc and potassium. It also provides a good amount of B vitamins.

If you are gluten intolerant, make sure the package says 100% buckwheat as some brands mix buckwheat with wheat.

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Buckwheat Soba Noodle Salad
Vegan, Gluten and Dairy Free
[makes 6 to 8 servings]

Ingredients
For the dressing:
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger root
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 tablespoon sesame tahini
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon gluten-free Tamari soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Pinch red pepper flakes
1/4 cup thinly sliced scallions plus some for garnish
1/4 cup chopped herbs (parsley and cilantro)
For the salad
8 ounces 100% buckwheat noodles
1 carrot, peeled and grated
1 tablespoon black sesame seeds
1 tablespoon hemp seeds

Directions
To make the dressing, mix the ginger, garlic, and tahini into a paste and slowly mix in the oils, soy sauce, and rice vinegar. Add the pepper flakes, scallions, and parsley and stir until well combined. Set aside.

Cook the noodles according to the directions on the package. Do not overcook and rinse well with cold water.

Drain the noodles well and place in a salad bowl. Add the grated carrot and seeds, saving some black sesame seeds for garnish. Toss with the dressing, garnish with a few sliced scallions and black sesame seeds and serve.

Cannellini Beans With Basil-Jalapeño PestoGreat For Your 4th Of July Picnic

Cannellini Beans are spiced up with this spicy vegan and gluten-free basil and jalapeño pesto!

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Why I Started Foods For Long Life
2 Million Pageviews Later
How many people assume that they are going to inherit their parents illnesses? If their father had a heart attack or their mother had breast cancer, do they wait for the inevitable day for that same disease to strike them? 

It's a relief to know that only a small percentage of diseases are actually unpreventable because of inherited genetic mutations - some experts put that number as low as five to ten percent. But many people don't know this and make less of an effort to change their diet, stay active, and manage stress.

Health and nutrition has always been my passion and I spent a lifetime whipping up recipes that were both delicious and healthful and reading the latest literature about supplements and alternative treatments. I never pursued it formally and followed a career in electrical engineering instead. But I was shaken to the core when my best friend passed away at the young age of 50. I wished that I knew more about holistic treatments that could have helped fight her cancer but I didn't. 

After 36 years in the computer industry, 27 years at IBM and 9 years as the CEO of Ampro Computers, I decided to retire and dedicate my time to helping people live a healthier life. I furthered my knowledge with a PhD in holistic nutrition and started this blog in 2009 to spread the word about healthy eating, sharing plant-based recipes and my opinions on the latest health news. I'm continuing my research in herbalism as I learn more about how Mother Nature can help us get well and stay well. 

Since 2009, I have written over 600 posts and published an eBook, Health Begins in the Kitchen. Last week we hit a very special milestone of 2 Million Pageviews! This tells me that people are interested in taking control of their health. It gives me the encouragement to continue my work and it warms my heart to know that, in some way, I have helped people live a healthier life.

So THANK YOU all for following Foods For Long Life! Pass along my link to friends and family that you think would enjoy and benefit from it. And remember my tagline:

"Heath, excellent or ill, is passed to our children not just 

through our genes, but primarily, through our recipes."

Joanne L. Mumola Williams

Now for today's recipe. This spicy cannellini bean dish is a great source of protein and fiber. Served warm or at room temperature, it makes a great dish for your summer picnic or BBQ. You can eat as is or, as we did for dinner last night, stir it into a half pound of steaming pasta.

Since I've got lots of basil in my garden, I always make extra pesto and then pop it in the freezer for later. This recipe makes an entire cup of pesto but the recipe only needs 1/2 cup. Use it later on pasta, baked potatoes, as a dip, etc. It freezes really well.

Basil and jalapeños from my garden

Pesto freezes well

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Cannellini Beans with Basil-Jalapeño Pesto

Vegan, Dairy Free, Gluten Free

[makes 8 servings of beans plus 1/2 cup of leftover pesto]

Requirements

Food Processor, such as a Cuisinart

Ingredients
For the pesto
2 cloves garlic, peeled
2 jalapeños, sliced vertically (with or without seeds depending on level of heat desired)
2 cups packed fresh basil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/4 cup raw walnuts
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
For the beans
2 cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup finely diced celery
1 1/2 cups halved cherry tomatoes

Directions
Make the pesto. Place the garlic and jalapeños through the chute of a running food processor with an S blade and process until it's minced.

Add the basil, lemon juice, lemon zest, walnuts, oil, salt, and nutritional yeast and process until well blended.

Mix 1/2 cup of the pesto with the cannelloni beans, celery, and cherry tomatoes. (Freeze or refrigerate the remaining pesto.) Serve as is or heat to the desired temperature. 

As an option, mix the bean mixture into a halve pound of steaming hot pasta and serve.

Nutrition
Per serving (without pasta): 176 calories, 5 g total fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 498 mg omega-3 and 1,973 mg omega-6 essential fatty acids, 9 g protein, 25 g carbohydrates, 6 g dietary fiber, and 90 mg sodium.

Creamy Vegan New Potato Salad With DillRed, White And Blue New PotatoesPerfect For The 4th Of July

This new potato salad is perfect for summer BBQ's.

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My Expectations are High

If you've been following my post on "How to grow your own potatoes", you'll see that my plants are doing exceptionally well. After 6 short weeks, the plants have taken over the bed, are 3 feet tall, and have begun to flower! Since my expectations are high, I've begun to think about what I'm going to do with all of these potatoes.

In the meantime, while I anxiously await the birth of my own purple and gold new potatoes, I found these adorable baby new potatoes at the market this week. I thought they would make a very colorful and delicious salad using the dill from my new herb garden.

These cute little multicolored potatoes are only 1" across

Dill from my garden

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Creamy New Potato Salad with Dill
Vegan, Dairy and Gluten Free
[makes 6 to 8 servings]

Ingredients
1/4 cup diced red onion
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 1/2 pounds baby new potatoes (1/2 pound white, 1/2 pound purple, 1/2 pound red)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
1 cup finely diced celery (~ 2 center stalks)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon fresh dill, chopped
2 tablespoons vegan sour cream

Directions
Combine the red onion, garlic, oil and vinegar and set aside. Sitting in the vinegar will cut the intensity of the red onion.

Scrub the potatoes and dice into 1/2 inch pieces. If they are tiny, one-inch new potatoes, just cut in half. Place in a medium saucepan of boiling water with one teaspoon of salt. Cook until just tender, about 10 minutes. Do not overcook. 

Drain the potatoes and let them cool. Place in a salad bowl and toss with the oil and vinegar mixture. Add the celery, another 1/2 teaspoon of salt (or to taste), black pepper, dill, and sour cream. Toss until well combined.

Serve immediately or refrigerate.

Nutrition
Per serving (6): 128 calories, 3 g total fat, 1 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 3 g protein, 24 g carbohydrates, 3 g dietary fiber, and 242 mg sodium.

Per serving (8): 96 calories, 2 g total fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 2 g protein, 18 g carbohydrates, 2 g dietary fiber, and 181 sodium.

Zucchini Tomato Casserole With Garlic And BasilEasy To Make - Vegan And Gluten Free

Makes a great side dish for the 4th of July!

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Garden Goodies
My tomatoes are starting to come in. I'm buried in zucchini. I just harvested and cured more than 40 heads of garlic and I have some lovely fresh basil too. It all ended up in this simple and super tasty casserole. I honestly think it's one of the yummiest things you can do with these ingredients.

Like a Lasagna but without the Carbs and Cheese
This dish is like making a lasagna but so much easier because you don't precook noodles or have 3 different cheeses to mess with. But the pesto-like sauce gives it so much flavor, it doesn't need anything else.

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Zucchini Tomato Casserole with Garlic and Fresh Basil
Vegan, Dairy Free, Gluten Free
[makes 4 servings]

Requires 9" x 11" casserole dish with cover. If you do not have a cover, you can tent with aluminum foil but make sure not to allow the foil to touch the tomatoes.

Ingredients
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil plus some for the pan
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
3 cloves garlic, pressed
3 tablespoons vegetable broth
3 medium (fat) zucchini (2 lbs)
2 to 3 large tomatoes
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Make the pesto-like sauce by mixing 3 tablespoons of the olive oil with the basil, pressed garlic, and broth. Stir until well combined and set aside.

For the nicest presentation and easy serving, use zucchini that is the width of the pan. So if you are using a 9 by 11 inch pan, use a zucchini that, once cleaned and trimmed, will be 9 inches long.

Slice the zucchini in 1/4 inch slices. Slice the tomatoes thin also.

Coat the bottom of the pan with a little olive oil. Place a layer of zucchini on the bottom of the pan. Spread about 1/3rd of the basil garlic mixture over the zucchini.  Cover with a layer of tomatoes. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper over the tomatoes (not too much because there will be other layers.)

Repeat with another layer of zucchini, another 1/3rd of the basil garlic mixture, another layer of tomatoes, salt and pepper.

Repeat with the last layer of zucchini, some but not all of the remaining basil garlic mixture, and the rest of the tomatoes. Spoon the rest of the basil garlic mixture over the top layer of tomatoes. Salt and pepper the tomatoes if needed.

Ready to bake.

Cover and place in the preheated oven until the zucchini is fork tender, about 35 minutes. Remove the cover and bake another 10 minutes.

Serve as a side dish or over a grain as a light meal.