Grain/Gluten-Free Vegan Rainbow Salad

I am so excited to be harvesting from my garden!!  My salad is ready for the picking!  I make this type of salad often, but I've never posted the recipe.  This one will be a side salad.  If you would like this as a dinner salad, double or triple the ingredients and add some nuts for protein.  I love to eat all the colors of the rainbow and this salad surely does it!  I use a very light dressing, but any dressing will work!

Grain/Gluten-Free Vegan Rainbow Salad
8-10 various leaves of lettuce, cut/ripped into pieces
1/4 Orange & Yellow Bell Pepper, diced
5 Cherry/Grape Tomatoes, sliced into rounds
1 tablespoon Yellow/White Onion, diced
2 tablespoons Red Cabbage, Shredded
Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar

If you have a salt block, dicing the ingredients gives them a nice salty flavor and does really well with the olive/oil vinegar dressing.

Add all ingredients to a salad bowl and drizzle with desired amount of olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  Toss until well coated.  If you don't have a salt block to dice the vegetables, add a pinch of Himalayan Salt.

Fresh salad from the garden

Grain/Gluten-Free Vegan Cheesy Potato Shallot Bake (Rakott Krumpli)

If I ever wonder why I had gallstones, all I have to do is look at this dish....well the original one that is!  My father was from Hungary and if you've ever encountered Hungarian food, then you know that it's really just fat layered on fat layered on potatoes, sprinkled with paprika!  No exactly a gallbladder's dream, ya know? In all seriousness, Hungarian food is delicious, comforting and very heavy - I do miss the occasional meal.

When I was growing up my father used to make a few signature Hungarian dishes and Rakkot Krumpli (stacked potatoes) was one of them.  The recipe went like this: Boiled salted potatoes sliced and layered into a dish.  Spread ample sour cream over potatoes.  Layer sliced eggs.  Layer bacon (I never did this because I don't eat pork - in my non-veggie days I used turkey bacon).  Repeat until ingredients run out.  End with potatoes and mound with cheese and paprika if you choose.  Bake and drool!

So now I think about this recipe and have fond memories, but it sounds so heavy and really really fatty.  So I decided to put a spin on this puppy and add some VEGETABLES! ENJOY!  (I also made a small Rainbow Salad to go on the side)

Grain/Gluten-Free Vegan Cheesy Potato Shallot Bake (Rakott Krumpli)
10 medium Russet Potatoes (organic russets usually don't come any larger), sliced into 1/4-1/2 inch rounds
Vegan Cheese-y Sauce - add an extra 1/2 tablespoon arrowroot to the mixture before blending
1/2 Red Onion, sliced into rounds and separated
5-7 small Shallots, cut off the majority of the greens and use mostly the bulb, sliced
1/2 Orange Bell Pepper, sliced into thin rounds and separated

Preheat over to 350.  Steam potatoes over salted water for 10-15 minutes, or until soft to a fork but still firm. Place one layer at the bottom of a baking dish.  Spread 1/4 of cheesy sauce over potatoes.  Sprinkle shallots and layer onion and bell pepper.  Layer potatoes on top and pour the rest of the cheesy sauce over the top.  Bake covered for 20 minutes. Remove cover and bake for another 10 minutes.  ENJOY!!

I noticed that it was yummy the first night, but the next day for lunch it was incredible reheated.  If you can, make this in advance and serve the next day.

First potato layer

added cheesy sauce

shallots, onion and bell pepper layer

last layer of potatoes

with cheesy sauce poured over the top

right out of the oven