Salads, a la you!

Salads are great. They are an excuse to throw everything you like over greens and make something fresh and delicious that won't weigh you down. I recently made this great salad with:

• mixed greens
• crumbled blue cheese
• dried cranberries
• dry roasted almonds
• citrus ginger dressing (store-bought)
  

and later made a great variation with avocado as well.

You can make salads with anything you like, but for optimal taste and texture I like to use:

1. Greens, obviously! Spinach, arugula, mixed greens, lettuce, whatever you like.
2. Other vegetables: cucumber, tomato, mushrooms, carrots...
   
3. Cheese: blue cheese and goat cheese are classics, but brie is also good, or feta, or parmesan.
4. Something crunchy: almonds, walnuts, wasabi peas, red onions, etc.
5. Something sweet: pears, dried cranberries, strawberries, etc.
   
6. Avocado. Anytime, anywhere.
   
7. Dressing: vinaigrette works for pretty much everything, and I'm loving this citrus ginger deal. It brings out the sweetness in the salad, and goes really well with cheese, oddly enough. I tend to avoid creamy dressings because they make salad taste like mayonnaise, and are harder to match tastes with.
   

Putting in a protein (beans, tofu, seitan, falafel, chicken, or bacon are all good possibilities) is a great way to get rid of leftovers. Some people also like something salty, like olives, and I find that's generally best done in place of something sweet.

Dressing are really easy to make, too. A standard vinaigrette might consist of:

• balsamic vinegar
• olive oil
• garlic, pressed
• pepper
• strong mustard
• a little bit of honey

and proportions can be adjusted as you wish. They also keep pretty well if you make a jar and use only a little at a time. But they're also easily purchasable for quick salad-making.

That's my salad schpiel. If you want a far more detailed one, check out Mark Bittman's amazing salad encyclopedia on The Minimalist. I'm hungry just reading it!

Happy cooking!

Shrimp with Peanut Sauce (now with pictures!)

This recipe would have been improved by having peeled shrimp--that way the sauce is on the part of the shrimp you're actually eating. It was still delicious though! The recipe is for the shrimp and sauce, but I made it with chopped broccoli and served it over rice.







Shrimp with Peanut Sauce
loosely adapted from this recipe from Bon Appetit

for the sauce:

• 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
• splash of chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened coconut milk
• juice from half a lime
  
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce
  
• 1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce (you can substitute chili powder and garlic if you don't have this)

for the shrimp:

• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
  
• splash of oil (I used sesame oil, which was delicious)
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
• 1/2 cup roasted unsalted peanuts, toasted (Note: nuts are really scary to toast. They do nothing for a while, and then they burn in 10 seconds. Watch them like a hawk!)
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
  
• 20 large shrimp, peeled

1. Sauce: put all ingredients in a blender or food processor, and blend. If you don't have a food processor, they can be mixed by hand with a fork or whisk. The consistency should be thick and creamy. Feel free to adjust flavor if you want more peanut butter, more coconut milk, etc.
2. Shrimp: Put a splash of oil in a large frying pan with the minced garlic. Saute the shrimp over medium-high heat until they are pink and all the way through, and no longer translucent. Sprinkle with chili powder.

1. 3. Add the sesame seeds and peanuts. Saute for a minute or two more. The sesame seeds should get a bit toasted. If you're adding a vegetable, you should do so at this time.

4. Once the shrimp are cooked, pour the sauce into the pan. Let the sauce simmer and cook the shrimp in the sauce, stirring so that the sauce doesn't burn in the bottom of the pan. Cook for 5 minutes more.

Serve over rice or noodles (soba noodles would be great) and enjoy!

A Very Imprecise Vegetarian Chili

Here's a great thing about chili: it's really hard to mess up. It's infinitely adjustable to individual tastes, and very versatile. When it comes to chili, I don't measure. I dump in spices, sample, and adjust. This may sound intimidating to try, but I find it liberating.

Here's a recipe, but it's mainly approximations and it's made to be tinkered with. Love spicy? Crank up the pepper. Like bite? Add vinegar. Hate kidney beans? Use pinto.

Vegetarian Chili
feeds...a lot of people. We easily fed 5 with tons of leftovers.

• 1 to 2 28-oz cans of red/dark red kidney beans
• 1 28-oz can of black beans
• 42 oz (1 14-oz can and 1 28-oz can) canned diced and/or crushed tomatoes (you can add some fresh chopped tomatoes if you like, too)
• 1 cup water or stock
• 2 yellow onions
  
• 2 chipotle peppers, minced (you might want to leave out the seeds if you don't like it spicy)
  
• 2 tbsp peanut butter (I like Skippy (creamy), but I think anything else would be fine.)
  
• 1 tbsp oregano
• 2 tsp paprika (less if it's strong paprika)
• 2 tbsp cumin
• 2 tbsp coriander
• 1 tbsp garam masala (this was a great impulse add)
• 2 tbsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
  

1. Put about a tablespoon of oil or butter into a large pot, and saute onions until browned.
2. Add beans, tomatoes, and spices.
3. Let simmer for 20-30 minutes, or until you're really, really hungry.

Seriously, it's that easy. And it's great topped with cheese (vegan if you omit this!) and with rice or tortilla chips, or cornbread if you're feeling ambitious.

Listed above are baseline ingredients in ballpark amounts. Experiment, and taste as you go!

Happy cooking!