thai salad with peanut lemon dressing

Back in the City and gearing up for the new school year. We are starting a new school and I am full of apprehension about the great unknown. Certainly it will all work out but the waiting and unknowing is tough.


So, crispy tofu. Weird concept, right? I mean why are we trying to make something the consistency of a marshmallow all crunchy and crusty on the outside while still creamy warm on the inside... don't answer that.


This recipe was a success. I was able to get those little wobbly cubes into some form of tasty crispy meal - with flavor like you wouldn't believe. But then, you really can't go wrong with Thai flavors - basil, lime, red chili paste... these are the things dreams are made of.


Or, if you're my son, a time machine that takes you to the Time of the Dinosaurs is.


Thai Salad with Marinated Tofu
Adapted from Shutterbean

Salad Ingredients

• 1 16 oz. package extra firm tofu, drained
• 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for broiling
• 2 tablespoons Thai red chili paste
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 heaping cups cubed cucumbers
• 2 cups green beans, chopped in quarters
• 2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
• 1/4 cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves, plus more for garnish
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh Thai Basil leaves, plus more for garnish
• 1 medium head

Peanut Lemon Dressing

Adapted from Little Spice Jar

Dressing Ingredients

• ¼ cup almond butter
• 2 and ½ tablespoons rice vinegar
• ½ teaspoon sesame oil
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 and ½ tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons honey
• ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic

Instructions

1. Place the tofu on a plate and weigh it down with another heavy plate on top. Set aside to press for 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, to make the marinade, in a medium bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, olive oil, red chili paste, and sugar until smooth. When the tofu is ready, dry it with a paper towel and cut into 1-inch cubes. Add to the bowl with the marinade and toss gently to coat making sure that all tofu is in one layer in the bowl. Cover, chill and allow to marinate for at least 1 hour, or overnight.
3. Preheat the broiler. Arrange the tofu in a single layer on a lightly oiled, small baking sheet, discarding the marinade. Broil about 6 inches from the flame for 15 to 18 minutes, turning every 3 minutes or so, until deeply browned. Make sure to toss lightly so as not to cut into the cubes.
4. While the tofu broils, make the dressing. Whisk all ingredients in a small bowl.
5. Assemble salad, add tofu and dressing and enjoy.

stone fruit salad with lemon honey dressing

I don't know about you but summertime hits and my interest in being in kitchen plummets. Here is a lovely non-recipe that requires zero stove time. Just throw whatever looks ripe into a bowl and add that delicious elixir dressing and you're all set!

Stone Fruit Salad with Lemon Honey Dressing
Serves 1-4

Ingredients

• 2 apricots, sliced and pitted
• One peach, sliced and pitted
• One plum, sliced and pitted
• 1/3 English cucumber, thinly sliced
• One orange, peeled and sliced

Dressing Ingredients

• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 Tablespoon honey

 Instructions

1. Combine all fruit and cucumber in a medium bowl. Mix dressing together in a small bowl and add it to fruit.

kale salad, yes again

It just doesn't get old. Kale salad is the reset button to any diet. Feeling bloated, have a kale salad. Feeling greasy, have a kale salad. Feeling deprived, have a kale salad. It cures all ailments.


I can't wait to chomp down some of this now that my throat is feeling better.



Kale Salad With Honey Mustard Dressing
Serves 2-4

Salad Ingredients

• 3-4 Kale leave, de-stemmed and ripped into small pieces
• 4-5 yellow grape tomatoes, halved
• 1/4 orange bell pepper, sliced
• Handful yellow raisins

 Dressing Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 teaspoon mustard

Instructions

1. Combine all salad ingredients in a medium sized bowl.
2. Combine all dressing ingredients in a small bowl.
3. Add dressing to salad and toss.

brussels sprout slaw

Sorry for the initial brevity... Monday can be a you-know-what.

This past weekend we went to The Children's Museum of the Arts. I cannot believe I'd only just heard of this year, considering the fact that it has been around since the 80's!! How does that happen?

Any way, it was really cool. It is not so much a museum, in the way the Met or MoMa is, but rather a large professional artist studio where kids can engage in all kinds of art projects, ongoing throughout the day. We took advantage of all they had to offer and came home with a shopping bag full of projects, including a necklace, T-rex sculpture and various paintings.

Brussels Sprout Slaw
Serves 4-6, adapted from Cookie + Kate

Ingredients

Slaw

• 1 pound Brussels sprouts
• ⅓ cup toasted walnuts
• ⅓ cup raisins
• ⅓ cup feta cheese

Honey mustard dressing

• ¼ cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 garlic clove, pressed or minced
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt

Instructions

1. Shred the sprouts: First, cut off the tough ends of the sprouts and any browning outer leaves. Then shred them in a food processor using the grating or slicing, pressing the sprouts against the blade with the provided plastic pusher.
2. Whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, honey, mustard and garlic until emulsified. In a medium serving bowl, toss the shredded sprouts with the almonds, raisins, cheese and dressing. Serve.

mint mango salad

While waiting for the doctor, and trying to read my book, my attention was diverted to the Rachel Ray Show that was playing on the waiting room TV. Ever watch Rachel Ray? This was my first time. I was impressed by how she whipped up that recipe in no time flat. It explained why she was interviewing people in a set that was basically a kitchen.

She made a Thai Chicken dish which she garnished with a cucumber mixture of salt, sugar and cucumbers. So simple and yet full of potential. I knew I was bound to repeat it. And repeat it I did. I made it that very night.

I added it to this mango salad. Delicious.

Mint Mango Salad
Serves 1-2

Ingredients

• 1 cucumber, peeled and sliced into match sticks
• Dash salt
• Dash fine granulated sugar
• 2 ripe mangoes, peeled and sliced
• 10-15 mint leaves, larger ones sliced
• Juice of 1/2 lime

Instructions

1. Toss cucumber slices with sugar and salt. Set aside.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients. Toss again and serve. 
3. Time adds flavor. Keep refrigerated over night.

orange walnut salad with orange-basil dressing

If you're like me summer time is full of salads. No cooking, watery fresh, perfect for hot, hot days.

If you're also like me you usually do the same old salad, bland romaine lettuce and balsamic vinegar every time. Laziness? Yes, summer makes me lazy. It is a good stand by but a bit boring.

Why not brighten up your salad with some sunny fruit? Add a little goat cheese (nothing isn't better with goat cheese on it) and some walnuts and you have a festive treat. On a weekday. You can't beat that.

Orange Walnut Salad
Serves 2-4

1 Romaine lettuce heart, chopped
1/2 seedless cucumber, sliced and quartered
1 orange, peeled and chopped
Goat cheese, crumbled


Orange-Basil Dressing
Adapted from Pib & Ebby

In a small bowl, whisk together:
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Juice from 1/2 of a blood orange (substitution: Juice from 1/4 of a regular orange)
1 tablespoon dijon mustard (mine had those cute little seeds I love)
4-6 basil leaves, chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste
Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

I am entering this in Kahakai Kitchen for Souper Sunday. Check out the other entries here.

kale salad {improvisation}

This salad was not planned. It happened by accident. My feeling is most innovative wonders happen that way.

It all started with some old strawberries and an idea to make brushetta. I gathered together some tomatoes, chili pepper, limes, and went to work chopping. Added a little salt, a little sugar and once my tomato-strawberry salsa was done I realized I had no bread appropriate for the dish.

Then there was the kale I bought a week ago. Still fresh, but for how long? I chopped it up, added some grated carrots and then thought What the heck. In went the salsa. Then some balsamic vinegar and Voila! Instant salad. Added bonus: it's so pretty.

strawberry-rhubarb-basil salad with maple dressing

While walking through the Green Market this morning I was tempted into buying the current produce; strawberries and rhubarb are in season right now. It was just so abundant I couldn't pass it up. Ever happen to you?

But I didn't want to make another strawberry rhubarb pie. Partially because I need to cut down on the sweets, but also because I was in the mood for something more unusual, more adventurous.

Luckily I found this post by Luise and David at Green Kitchen Stories. I simplified it quite a bit without dimensioning the wonderful combination of flavors. I was dubious of how raw rhubarb would taste but it really works in this salad, adding a nice sharp flavor and crunch.

Strawberry-Rhubarb-Basil Salad with Maple Dressing
Adapted from Green Kitchen Stories
Serves 2-4

1 romane lettuce heart, sliced
10 strawberries, sliced
2 thin stalks of rhubarb, thinly sliced (I used my mandolin, but it probably was not necessary)
8 basil leaves
2 handfuls of macadamia nuts

Maple Dressing
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1/2 lime juice
Salt

1. Combine all salad ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk all dressing ingredients in small bowl. Add dressing to salad.

cinco de mayo salad

I have a love/hate relationship with Mexican food. Mostly I love how it tastes but find it nearly impossible to veganize. There's just too much cheese, cream and eggs involved. Only things I can manage are guacamole, salsa, and fajitas. And this salad.

It's pretty simple.

Cinco de Mayo Salad
One avocado
The kernels cut off of two corn cobs
Two handfuls of cilantro, chopped
2 small red onion, chopped
1 cup fresh peas
1 cup grape tomatoes, cut in half

Combine all ingredients in a bowl.

Lime Dressing
from Eats Well With Others

2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1/2 tbsp red pepper flakes
2 tsp honey
Juice of two limes

In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, rice vinegar, red pepper flakes, honey, lime juice and salt and pepper to taste. Add to the salad and toss to combine.

skillet cornbread salad {panzanella}

This savory cornbread is really hearty with a nice crunch. The first night we ate it with corned beef and cabbage. Next I made a Mexican inspired salad. I got the idea for this here.

If I make it again I will cut the salt by one half which might release more of the natural sweetness of the corn, since the recipe calls for no sugar. It was perfect straight out of the oven with a teaspoon of maple syrup drizzled on top.

{skillet cornbread recipe}

But then what to do with the whole loaf? In researching a plan I came across How Sweet It Is' Black Bean and Cornbread Panzanella. I was intrigued. What was panzanella? It turns out to be a Florentine tomato and bread crumb salad dish which was originally made with only onions and toast, topped with oil and vinegar. Today it can be all kinds of things. Smitten Kitchen's Corn Bread Salad
includes lots of tomatoes, which works in summer but now is not a great idea, unless you like them hot-housed.

So I opted for the more Mexican style that How Sweet It Is went with and I was not sorry I did. It was a fresh breath of summer in these teasing days of spring when the green grass and warm sun are just fingertips away, you can almost smell them.

{salad recipe}

kale and purple cabbage salad

How do you make salad? Is it out of a box? Do you make your own dressing?

We used to have our salad pre-washed, pre-sorted, and easy to make. Our dressing was balsamic vinegar and olive oil. You can't get simpler than that.

My latest favorite salad is this one. Almost as easy to make and much prettier than our old version, it has been perfect for the cold months. And the ingredients keep really well. No more wilting, spring greens growing slimy in our fridge. I keep a bunch of kale and a head of cabbage, just slice off some cabbage and de-stem some kale and I'm done. Add some crumbled feta and my honey-mustard dressing and it is the perfect combination of spicy-sweet, crunchy cabbage, with crisp, leafy, tart kale and creamy sweet feta cheese. I highly recommend it.

Kale and Purple Cabbage Salad
Makes 1-2 servings

4-5 leaves kale, de-stemmed and chopped to bite sized bits
1/4 head small purple cabbage, sliced
1 handful crumbled feta cheese
Combine all ingredients in a serving bowl. Add dressing.

Honey-Mustard Dressing
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon mustard {I use whatever we have in house - which is usually spicy}
Whisk ingredient together.

winter wheat berry and fig salad

I am curious, what makes a dish a salad? I always thought it was something that is served cold? What about you? What do you call a salad?

Must it have raw leafy greens? Must it crunch? I ask because this winter salad has no leafy greens, and the main ingredient is a chewy grain. Not only that, but the directions say to serve the dish warm. Why is this a salad?

Well, salad or not it is a wonderful combination of sweet raisins and figs in orange sauce with the bite of red onion and the crunch of celery. You must try it.

{recipe}

arugula, white bean and beet salad

As with anything, as you practice, you get better. This is how it's been with salad combinations. I am getting more bold, more confident, and more playful. It's great! I threw this together and it was delicious.

Arugula, White Bean and Beet Salad (serves one):
2 large handfuls of arugula
1/2 small beet, roasted and sliced
1/2 cup white beans, precooked
1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled

Dressing:
3 Tsp olive oil
1 Tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp honey

fennel and apple salad

Ever find a recipe, buy all the ingredients, and finally get around to making it, only to have forgotten where that recipe resides in the big wide world web? That must be why they have bookmarks. This fennel salad had this beginning. Alas, I only found the recipe I after the dish was made.

I have been on a small exploration through salads and I love licorice so I figured a fennel salad would be exactly my kind of dish. And it would have been had the recipe I followed included a better dressing. The one I made didn't go with the salad, and had me wanting something sweet to counter all that lemon and salt. So, if you make a fennel and apple salad make this one. I think it would come out nicer. If you want to follow what I have here use the honey-mustard dressing I found on Cookie + Kate, which was found in the newly published Smitten Kitchen Cookbook (something I need to get my hands on).

Fennel and Apple Salad:
One fennel bulb, sliced semi-paper thin (the best I could do)
One Granny Smith apple, sliced paper thin
Assorted herbs (basil and mint), chopped

Dressing: (from Deb's Kale Salad Recipe from Smitten Kitchen Cookbook)
3 Tsp olive oil
1 Tsp spicy smooth mustard
1 tsp honey
1 Tsp apple cider vinegar
Salt and pepper

persimmon and lettuce salad

Persimmons are an elusive breed. They arrive in November and stick around until January. I love the taste, but the ones I used for this salad left my mouth tasting fuzzy and I had an unexplained headache all nigh long.

Curious about the fuzzy taste these fruit left, I looked them up. The fuzz is due to high levels of tannins in the unripe astringent fruit. Tannins. Now I had a reason for my headache.

Apparently,  there are two types of persimmon, the astringent kind and the non-astrigent kind. I used hachiya (astringent) but the recipe calls for fuyu (non-astringent). So when you make this salad get the right fruit. Or you might not like the results.

{recipe}

green olive, walnut and pomegranate salad

I have never been a fan of sweet and sour. Perhaps because as a child we frequently ate at Chinese restaurants and I associate the mixture with the dish that has chicken battered and fried and then soaked in a gooey mess. No thanks.

But then I had Deb's Kale Salad. Need I say more? Now I am very excited about trying all kinds of combinations. This salad, found at Alexandra's Kitchen is the perfect example. The sweet pomegranate counters the salty olive and sour onions perfectly. The walnuts and pistachios give it body and crunch. I used mint instead of parsley. I suggest you do the same.

{recipe}

deb's kale salad

This was my healthy contribution to Thanksgiving dinner. I was a huge success. Such a success that I am going to bring it to Christmas dinner (which takes place at a different household). The dressing is absolutely delicious. I think I'll be using it for our dinner salads instead of our usual balsamic vinaigrette.

The salad hails from Deb of Smitten Kitchen, but I found it on Cookie and Kate, so this is her adaptation. I'll be trying more salads from Deb's blog.

{recipe}