#25 Black-eyed pea and red pepper soup

This is another one from Vegan Family Meals by Ann Gentry. It is such a colorful, tasty, and fresh soup. I especially love the collard greens and cilantro in it! I serve it with cornbread from Recipes from the Heart by Tonya Beaudet (The Spot's cookbook) with EB spread and a drizzle of agave nectar.

#17 Harvest Kale Salad...

Extreme close up!

...with sweet mustard tempeh and saffron-orange tahini dressing.

I love this salad! The recipe is from Vegan Family Meals by Ann Gentry. It is a bit time consuming but again, I double the recipe so I can eat it during the week for lunch. It took me 2 1/2 hours from start to finish. I usually make the dressing and almonds a day or two ahead of time. The tempeh can marinade overnight and the veggies can be roasted in advance also.

This salad is satisfying on so many levels. First there's the kale, spinach, cucumber, and red bell peppers. Next are the roasted yams and beets. Then there's the intensely flavored tempeh that's braised in it's mustardy marinade and the dressing, which is light and full of complexity. I love the tahini in it! Last but not least are the crunchy, glazed spicy-sweet roasted almonds.

This was the first night in a long time that the kids didn't ask for dessert afterwards. I really think its because the salad hits all the things we crave: crunchy, creamy, warm, sweet, cold, spicy, salty, raw, cooked...you get the picture!