The other day I went out to lunch. During the week. This never happens. I’m at home, I’m constantly cooking for the blog, there is no reason to eat out.

However, eating out for lunch every so often is such a nice treat. It was refreshing to get out of the house, have a break from the heat, and catch up with my good friend Lauren. The restaurant’s air conditioning was thoroughly enjoyed.

We headed to one of my local favorites, Tasty Harmony. I knew Lauren would approve. Their menu is fully vegetarian, mostly vegan, and a decent amount is gluten free. They even have a few raw dishes and desserts. The one thing I find funny is that they don’t offer gluten free bread. I actually asked why that is and they said it’s because if they offer a GF bread they want it to be homemade, as most store bought GF breads are filled with a long list of ingredients. They said they don’t have enough time to keep fresh GF bread on hand at all times but they would keep the idea in mind.

In lieu of bread, you can get any of their sandwiches wrapped in a collard leaf. Not always super appealing but I went with it. The sandwich ingredients sounded like they would be a good fit for a big leafy green to be wrapped around.

Upon first bite I was totally convinced. Sure I’ve had things wrapped in leaves before, but nothing as fresh as this. It hit the spot! I declared to Lauren this would be on the blog within a week. And here we are today. A fun summer recipe open for your interpretation.

Slightly scared to use a collard to wrap up your veggies? I was at first too. When you cook collards they can have a bitter taste, but somehow it’s less flavorful when raw. It is also much sturdier compared to other leafy greens, like chard.

Also, chard has a noticeably earthy flavor while collards are much milder. The chard stem is what really gets me. I just can’t do it!

Besides the crunchiness and all of the flavors, the best thing is that no heat is required to make this wrap and it comes together in just minutes. It could also be something you prep ahead and take to work. I would just leave the tomatoes out until you’re ready to eat, to avoid the wrap from becoming wet.

Spread on any favorite topping or a variety of the three you’ll see below. -- hummus + mashed avocado + cashew spread [in the circular bowl] -- The healthy fats in the spreads really help this wrap have staying power. Two large, fully stuffed leaves did the trick for me with a giant bowl of summer fruit on the side.

Print this!

Raw Veggie Collard Wrap

vegan, gluten-free

Adjust ingredients depending on your specific tastes and how many wraps you want to make. I made 2 large veggie wraps for myself.

large collard leaves
mushrooms
sprouts
cucumber
tomato
hummus
avocado
cashew spread
salt + pepper

other ingredient ideas: zucchini, red pepper, carrots, beets, radishes, fresh basil, red/yellow onion, mozzarella, ricotta cheese, nutritional yeast, salt + pepper cashew butter, etc.

Trim the end of the stem where it meets the leaf.
Evenly apply any spread toppings over the entire leaf. Sprinkle with salt + pepper.
Layer the veggies parallel to the stem and centering the veggies between the outer edge and the stem. Leave about 1” of room at the top and bottom of the leaf as well.
Starting at the edge where you placed the veggies, roll tightly parallel to the stem. This will keep the stem and leaf intact.

Salt + Pepper Cashew Spread[yields just over 1 cup]

Similar to my salt + pepper cashew butter [linked above] but not as creamy of a texture and with an added “cheesy” flavor from the nutritional yeast.

1 cup raw cashews, soaked for at least 4hrs
1.5 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Drain soaked cashews and empty them into your food processor along with the other ingredients. Start with 1/4 tsp of both salt and pepper.
Turn on and let spin for 1-2 minutes, scraping multiple times, until the mixtures smoothes out. Be careful to not process too long as it will turn into nut butter. It will be fairly crumbly at first but will then start to smooth out.
Taste and add more salt + pepper if needed and process for another 5 seconds to combine.
Store in a sealed container in the fridge.

CRUNCH.

Ashley

Slowly, I’m learning how to make soup. This is exciting! Last year, I made a recipe from the Clean Food cookbook for Black Eyed Peas + Collard greens. Apparently, black eyed peas are supposed to bring good luck for the new year. Somehow, I just learned this last year.

Today, I was in the mood for soup with both collard greens + soaked black eyed peas on hand. I have seen recipes for black eyed pea + collar soup before, but wanted to put my own spin on things.

Chris + I love love love Kale. We eat a full head of kale around 3 times per week or more. We’re not getting sick of it, by any means, but sometimes a change is nice. I’ve only eaten collard greens a handful of times, but thought it would hold up really well in a soup. I’m sure kale would work as well!

If you want to save money [but not time] boil your beans. I’ve only purchased about 4 cans of beans in the past 3-4 months. I try to save on high quality ingredients anywhere I can, and dried beans is one easy way.

rinsed + soaked for 8hrs + rinsed + boiled with kombu for ~1.5hrs + drained + rinsed

I decided to give this a punch of garlic and used 5 cloves.

I hate when you bust open the garlic and find a million tiny cloves. Luckily, the other side of the garlic had nice large cloves.

Black Eyed Peas, Collard Greens, + Tomato Soup vegan! [yields ~6-8 servings]

6c veggie stock
2T olive oil
2 stalks celery, sliced thinly
1 medium/large onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch collard greens, washed + chopped into strips
3c cooked black eyed peas [or 2 cans]
28oz whole peeled tomatoes with juice
2t thyme
1.5t parsley
2t oregano
1t basil
pinch of cayenne
salt + pepper to taste

In a large pot, add olive oil, over medium heat.
Once heated, add chopped onion and celery, until the onion has browned [~10min]. Be patient and stir every minute or so.
Stir in garlic, thyme, parsley, oregano, basil, s+p and cook for about 30sec, stirring constantly. Go easy on the salt to start and season more along the way.
Add in peeled tomatoes with the juices + veggie stock, crushing the tomatoes with your hands as you add them in.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat to med-low, add beans + cover with a lid.
Simmer at least 30min, stirring occasionally.
Taste + adjust seasoning, adding more salt + pepper if necessary.
Add a few shakes of cayenne, if you want a little heat, and stir.
Simmer 5 more minutes, and taste again.
Add collard greens, stir + cover to simmer for 5min.
Serve it up with crusty bread!

*I used a low sodium veggie stock and ending up adding approximately 1.5t salt, in total. I used around 1/2t ground black pepper and a few shakes of cayenne. It had a nice kick but not too hot.

This meal was hearty, but lacking healthy fat. I solved that by adding avocado on top + toast on the side for some carby goodness. Another idea would be to add toasted pumpkin seeds. You could also toast up a piece of bread, spread some plain almond/cashew/pecan butter on top, cut into cubes, and throw on top of the soup. Too bad I just thought of that now!!

It was SO hard to move this bowl of soup to the lightbox without splashing up the sides of the bowl. Despite the splashed bowl, I love love loved this soup!! It was slightly thick from the addition of the tomatoes and I loved the crunchy collards. There was a lot of herby flavor + garlic without being overwhelming. A definite keeper!

A few updates:

I have a new Photography page to give you quick access to my photography 101 posts
The VFF Photos page is updated – submit your photos if you want!
My latest header design is now up at the lovely Liane’s blog, Please Bring Wine – Totally love her blog name!
Be sure to check out the fudgy treat I made yesterday!!

Next thing to update is my recipe page. It has been too long!!

Tomorrow.

I.must.get.back.to.the.pool.

Ashley