Thai Peanut Salad with Marinated Tempeh

Let me just say, right up front, that there's NOTHING authentically Thai about this salad at all.  I just gave it this name, because I marinated the tempeh in the sauce from my Sesame Peanut Noodles.  However, authentic or not, it was mighty tasty and very filling.  It made for a great post workout lunch, because I was starving!

Grain and Veggie Salad with Tangy Tofu Dressing

I've actually got three posts lined up to make!  I'm just having a hard time finding the time to actually make them. Baby happily takes up a lot of my time.  However, now he's sleeping peacefully in his wrap on my chest, and I have a few minutes to blog.

Last week, Drew brought home something like six dozen yellow squash from work.  Someone's garden had an explosion.  Now, I love squash, but I usually buy them about two at a time, and I had no idea what to do with all that squash.  I chopped it up and put it into omelets.  I diced it and ate it in wraps with hummus.  I steamed it and ate it salted for a snack.  Then, in my sleep deprived, brain-dead state, I completely ran out of ideas. So...

I turned to the lovely world of the internet and Googled "What the hell do I do with all this summer squash?" (yes seriously), and I found about eight gazillion recipes.  However, I'm so damned picky that I only liked about three of them.  I found a recipe for Millet and Veggie salad over at Melomeals that I thought I would like a lot after I tweaked it to my satisfaction.  You guys know me, after all of my "tweaking", it wasn't really even remotely the same.  However, the inspiration definitely was not my own; that came from Melody's amazing blog.

Like many of my posts, this is more of a guideline than it is a recipe.  There are so many possible variations to make it suit your own tastes (for example:  I used enough garlic to bring down all of Salem's Lot!).  The possibilities are endless.  The thing that brings it all together and really makes the whole dish is the dressing. The really amazing thing about this is that even the kiddo liked it.  He ate more of it than I did, I think.  This surprises the heck out of me considering it had lots of vegetables in it.  And grain.  And health.  Go figure!

Yeah, it's not terribly aesthetically pleasing, I know, but it sure does taste good, and it's SO healthy!

Grain and Veggie Salad with Tangy Tofu Dressing

Ingredients:


Salad:

• 1/2 cup dry grain of choice.  Like Melody, I used Millet, because I had it and I LOVE it.  Next time I think I'll use quinoa.  You could use pretty much any grain that tickles your fancy.  You could also probably use whole wheat cous cous or even small legumes, like lentils.
• 1 small to medium summer squash, seeded and diced
• 1/3 cup shelled edamame
• 4 spears asparagus, chopped
• 2 to 3 cloves garlic, pressed
• Salt and pepper to taste

Dressing:

• 1/4 cup pureed tofu
• 2 TBS nutritional yeast
• 3 TBS sesame tahini
• 1TBS lemon juice
• 3/4 cup cold water
• 2 cloves pressed garlic
• 1 TBS good brown mustard
• liberal shake nutmeg
• liberal shake (or three, if you're like me!) dried dill

Directions:


Salad:

1.  Cook grain of choice according to package directions.

I toasted mine first.  

Try not to notice that my burner needs cleaning!

2.  Saute desired veggies, or you can use the dry fry method.  That's what I did, saving the calories from the oil to use in the dressing instead!

3.  Let grain and veggies cool to room temperature.

4.  While you're waiting for everything to cool off a bit, you can go ahead and multi-task

Yeah.  In fact I do love to show him off!

Dressing:

1.  Puree tofu to very smooth, almost liquid state.

2.  Add all other ingredients and whisk whisk whisk until very well mixed and frothy.

The Whole Shebang

1.  Mix cooled grain and veggies.

2.  Pour half of dressing over grain and vegetable mixture and mix well.

4.  Let chill for several hours, ideally over night.  The longer it melds the better it tastes.

5.  When ready to serve, drizzle more dressing over the top and salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy!

Now, what the heck do I do with the rest of these?!

Sprout Salad

Lunch time the day before grocery day can be a depressing prospect.  I looked around my kitchen and found 1/4 of a loaf of bread, half a tomato, a few spoonfuls of left over couscous, a bit of red cabbage, and some Grape Nuts cereal.  I was at a loss as to how to make lunch happen from those scant ingredients.  Luckily, thanks to my never ending sprout project, I actually managed to make a healthy and filling lunch from almost nothing.  I had two jars of a mixture of quinoa, red lentils, brown lentils, and mung beans sprouting.  Fortunately, they were done just in time.  The best part is that I used up everything left over instead of letting it go to waste.  You all know how I feel about wasting food!

Improvised Sprout Salad

Ingredients:

• Handful coarsely chopped red cabbage
• 1/4 cup cold Israeli couscous
• 1/2 cup sprouts
• 1/2 tomato, chopped
• Olive oil
• Balsamic vinegar
• Salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Place everything but oil and vinegar into salad bowl.
2. Lightly mist with olive oil.
3. Add a few shakes of balsamic vinegar.
4. Top with salt and pepper to taste.
5. Stir it all up and eat!

Enjoy!

Quinoa Salad

I love quinoa.  I can use it in everything from main dishes to side dishes to breakfast to desserts.  This means that I generally have leftovers, and I'm all about using up all of the leftovers.  We don't waste food in this house.  We operate on a budget, and I've lived in the 3rd world.  That changed pretty much everything about how I see ... well, everything.

 

Anyway, moving on.  One of my favorite things to do with left over quinoa is to turn it into a bright and healthy salad.  What you add is pretty much up to you.  This is what I did.

 

Leftover Quinoa Salad

 

Ingredients:

• 1/2 to 3/4 cup cooked quinoa
• 1/4 cup chopped zucchini
• 1/4 cup diced onion
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 1/2 lemon
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper

 Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in bowl
2. Mist with olive oil
3. Squeeze juice of lemon into bowl
4. Mix well and add salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy!