Easy Bruschetta + Salad

vegan, refined sugar-free, soy-free

This is one of my favorite hot-weather meals to make because it's so simple, delicious, and beautiful! All you need is some crusty bread, some pre-made lemony chickpea puree, a jar of roasted red peppers, some kale or other greens, an avocado, some white peach balsamic vinegar, and some pecans. I tend to keep all these ingredients on-hand so I'm only 5 minutes away from this amazing meal!

Serves: 2 / Prep time: 10 min (5 min to make lemony chickpea puree, 5 min to assemble)

Ingredients:

• several slices of crusty bread (sourdough, whole wheat, etc.)
• lemony chickpea puree (see below)
• a roasted red pepper (jarred is fine)
• kale or other greens
• one avocado
• 1 T white peach balsamic vinegar**
  
• a handful of pecans
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. First make the lemony chickpea puree (recipe below).
2. Rinse kale, shake dry, and tear into bite-size pieces, and arrange on the plates.
3. Dice avocado and place on top of the kale.*
   
4. Remove a roasted red pepper from the jar and slice it into strips.
5. Toast the bread slices
6. Drizzle white peach balsamic vinegar on top of the salad.
7. Spread a generous amount of lemony chickpea puree on each piece of toast and top with the peppers.
8. Sprinkle pecans, salt, and pepper over everything.

*To slice an avocado effortlessly, first cut in half lengthwise, then score length-wise and width-wise with the tip of the knife inside the peel. Then simply turn each half inside out to release your diced avocado. Discard peel and pit.

**You could experiment with other types of vinegar or salad dressings. If you've never tried avocado and vinegar on salad before, give it a try! The avocado adds enough fat, so you don't need to add oil to the dressing.

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Lemony Chickpea Puree

Vegan, gluten-free, grain-free, refined sugar-free, soy-free

Yield: about 2 cups / Prep time: 5 min

Adapted from Chloe Coscarelli's recipe in Chloe's Vegan Italian Kitchen

Calling all lemon fans! This puree is dangerously close to hummus, but different enough to warrant a fun name. It's also more straightforward than hummus without messy garlic and tahini. I think it tastes better, too!

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• juice from 1 lemon
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• one 15-oz can chickpeas/garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• salt to taste

Directions:

1. Pour all ingredients into a blender in the order listed, secure lid, and blend on high for 30 seconds to a few minutes until really creamy.*
   
2. If your blender has a tamper, use that to ensure the mixture keeps circulating. Otherwise, you may have to stop and scrape down the sides. If it's too think, add a little water.
3. Scoop out with a plastic or rubber spatula and store in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to a week.

*I like my hummus to be as fluffy and creamy as mashed potatoes, so if you're going for that texture, don't cut the blending time short. The longer the blades spin, the more air gets into the puree, resulting in a fluffier texture.