A Tale of Two Salads: Vegan Wednesday

Our garden is also overflowing with herbs, so I am lucky enough to have lots of natural flavor enhancers for my meals these days.  Since it is heating up here in the South, I opted for one mostly raw salad and then the other one is mostly cooked--though even the cooked one can be eaten cold or at room temperature.  While I really don't feel like I overindulged too much on vacation last week, it is still nice to load up on all kinds of fresh produce this week as I get back into my regular schedule.

Though our pal @heart-to-heart is getting settled in her new place and struggling with some internet connectivity issues, I'm still supporting her #veganwednesday initiative with these lovely bowls of goodness.  I know one of the stereotypes of vegans is that we just eat grass, but at least we load up on lots of other veggies on top of the green stuff.  I am not always a huge salad person myself, but I have become much more of an advocate now that I have learned how to really put together a filling version.

Salad #1 of the week is one of my favorite spring/summer combos.  The tomatoes are starting to get juicy, and the cucumbers provide a refreshing crunch.  I also love using sprouted organic tofu cubed up so it kind of looks like feta.  It adds some solid protein to fill me up, as well.  The recipe is super simple.  Just chop up and toss the following ingredients together in the proportions of your choosing:

• organic tomatoes
• cucumber
• colorful bell peppers
• organic firm tofu (preferably sprouted if you can find it)
• leafy greens
• a few big handfuls of fresh herbs--I used oregano & parsley this time
• diced red onion
• balsamic vinegar
• pinch of salt and pepper (optional)
• a few chopped olives (optional)

Doesn't get much easier than that!  I do big chunks because it makes chopping faster and I feel like it makes for a heartier and more filling salad.

Salad #2 for the week was slightly more labor intensive, but just as delicious.  I did have fun playing with my food as I really thought one of my sweet potatoes looked a bit like the Loch Ness monster. ;)  Perhaps that means I need to visit Scotland for the next trip!

The main part of the salad really was not too difficult.  I just cubed and roasted a few sweet potatoes, beets, and a bit of the leftover chopped red onion until everything was soft.  I also cooked up some more asparagus while it is still around.  I mixed all that with a few cups of cooked chickpeas and some artichoke hearts once the veggies were cooked.  That combo alone is another of my favorites, but I also made a kick-@$$ dressing to go with this one.

Garden Herb Dressing

• 1 large handful each of fresh coriander & lemon balm (like really large, don't skimp on these)
• 1/3 cup hemp seeds
• 2 tablespoons tahini
• 1 lime, zest & juice
• sprinkle of sea salt & ground black pepper

Place everything in the food processor and blend together until smooth.  Taste and adjust ingredients to your liking.

Mix all that goodness together, plop on top of some leafy greens and take that yummy stuff outside to eat in the sunshine!  Everything tastes better when you can eat it under a clear blue sky. :)

Now I'm hungry, time to go get one of these and chow down...