I have committed what some may view as a horrible crime against humanity, or at least vegetarians and vegans trying to prove to the world that we do not subsist on lettuce and carrot sticks. On my very first night of cooking out of Veganomicon, for my very first actual blog post, I made a salad.
I know, I know. What?! A salad? I WHOLE cookbook of yumminess, and I made A SALAD?!
I couldn't help it. I wanted to make something big and exciting for my first entry, perhaps the Braised Seitan with Brussels, Kale and Sun-Dried Tomatoes, or the Spicy Tempeh Nori Rolls. I've regaled my coworkers with the loads of fabulous baked goods I'm going to be bringing to work on a regular basis. Maybe I should have started there, with Pumpkin Cranberry Scones, or the Jelly Donut Cupcakes. (Hungry yet?)
I tried to ignore it. I needed a grand beginning! A raison d'etre! But it just kept calling to me..... "Pick me. Choose me. Love me." Every time I flipped by the page, every time I saw the picture... I couldn't help myself. I wanted it. It had all my favorite things in it. And it didn't require a real trip to the grocery store. I could just pop in, grab two or three items, and pop out. Besides, isn't that part of the mark of a great cookbook, that you don't always have to scour the ends of the earth to find all of the ingredients, and yet can still create something spectacular?
So, I thought, screw it! I will not apologize for kicking off this project with a salad! So, I proudly present to you: the Portobello Salad with Spicy Mustard Dressing (p 87), aka, the Best Salad EVER! Mixed greens, chickpeas, sliced avocado, Roasted Portobellos (p 112), and spicy mustard dressing. How could I possibly resist?!
The recipe says it takes 45 minutes, including the mushroom cooking time. This is probably about right, except that it does not include the mushroom MARINATING time. To actual time-to-table was about and hour and twenty minutes. BUT, once the mushrooms are ready, it literally takes about three minutes to whip up the dressing, slice the avocado (and red onion if you use it. I left if out because I don't like raw onions in my salad), crack open a can of chickpeas, and voila! I served it with a side of steamed broccoli garnished with sesame seeds.
This is definitely going to become a staple for me. It's nutritious, delicious, filling and amazingly simple. I've already packed up the leftovers to take in to work for lunch, and can't wait to eat it again. A little crunch in the form of some sunflower seeds would also be a tasty addition.
In Vegan with a Vengeance, Isa said that someone once told her to never apologize for her food. A salad like this means never having to say "I'm sorry."
5 comments:
I would eat a lot more salads if they looked like that! Man that looks good. Don't worry, you have plenty of meals to try out all those interesting things. good luck!
MMMM. I'm coming over for dinner! ha! Once you are done with this cookbook, I have a great salad recipe from another one for you.
looks yummy.. except i would include the onions, but not the avocado LOL
But y'know what? That's /not/ just twigs and leaves. It's an actual meal, that involved cooking and stuff. It'll help kick the behinds of salad nay-sayers.
I just made this salad for the second night in a row. It is fabulous! I made it for friends last night and one of them just had to know what was in the dressing because "you can just tell it didn't come out of a bottle".
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