Pad Thai Déjà vu?

Never have I felt so confused by a salad.

I will literally swear to you that I think I have both made this salad and posted about it here before. But now I’m starting to think that maybe I made it before I started posting, but I can remember taking a picture of it last time. Argh! I don’t have that many posts that I can be this confused. Oh well.

So, here we go. Do you like peanuts? Me, too. Eat this! Do you like bean sprouts? Yes? EAT. If you read this blog at all, you know I have a deep love for two things: 1. Sprouts, and 2. Spelt. I will eat almost anything that has sprouts in it. I think especially mung bean sprouts, because my mom used to grow them in the kitchen when I was a little kid. It was like a magic trick–dried beans go into a wet paper towel and then *poof* bean sprouts appear. I thought of them as alien cigarettes (daughter of a smoker) and used to pretend to take a drag off of one during lunch break. Oh, the innocent times of smoking a bean sprout to impress your friends.

I love the super freshness of this salad, plus the fact that you can make it insanely spicy. I love a lip-numbing salad, the hot and cold next to each other is so fascinating. Anyway, this recipe from Appetite for Reduction is a keeper. Word to the wise, add some edamame to the top for added protein.

Oh, and as a side note–what other vegan cookbooks should I invest in? I have all of Isa’s, but I’d like to branch out a little bit.

I say “Taco,” you say “Salad!”

Good grief. This salad is not only immense, it is incredibly delicious. I’ve made this every two weeks since becoming a vegan, it’s my most beloved creation in all of Appetite for Reduction. You’ve seen bits of this before in my Six-Layer Dip, but here it is in all it’s salady glory.

I did switch things up a little bit, for the first time, tonight. I added a little can of roasted green chilies to the salsa dressing portion. My husband loooooves green chilies, and they are rather rarely used in most of the vegan cooking I’ve been doing. So sad. It really made something that is basically perfect even perfecter. And the fact that I got to use cilantro I grew made it all the better. The cilantro in my garden is so much more tender than the kind I buy in the store, and it has a much stronger flavor. Go me!

I’ve also figured out that magical dieting mystery where if you put something on a big plate, it feels like you are eating more. I have these giant plates that are basically the size of hub caps, or small wagon wheels. But if I make the salad very spread out and flat, by the time I’m done eating I feel super full. Either that, or my stomach no longer requires the massive portions I once used to feed myself. And yet, I still could eat a dozen cookies, one sitting, no contest. Go ahead, challenge me. I dare you!

Edamame Pesto

Oh, yeah. That’s basil from my garden. Eeek! My little plants look so good, I should totally take more pictures. Anywho, this is a modified version of the Edamame Pesto Pasta from Appetite for Reduction. This is the second or third time I’ve made it, though I never actually follow the recipe (sorry!). I have tons and tons of spaghetti in the house from Costco, and it seems silly to buy any other pasta when I have that on hand. But the mod that I’m the proudest of? Those beautiful roasted tomatoes. This recipe NEEDS roasted tomatoes. I’m going to to this every time, probably putting on twice as many next time. YES! Also, you can totally use button mushrooms. It doesn’t really change the flavor at all.

But you know what does? Hot Sauce. My husband put hot sauce on this! And it was GOOD.

 

 

Sushi Salad a la Appetite for Reduction

Isa, you have done it AGAIN. And I say that pretty much anytime I put food in my mouth. My husband jokes that this blog will become “Julie/Julia” for me, as I work my way through recipes from all of Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s books. Sounds fine with me!

I’ve always loved the veggie bento boxes I would get when we’d go to sushi with friends (I’ve never eaten fish. NEVER.) but I didn’t know what made them so tasty. It’s toasted sesame oil, ya’ll. And this salad takes that, mixes it with onions, sprinkles it with dew, and makes the world taste good.

I added some spicy sprouts, because I am like an old hippie that way, and I didn’t put the nori on top. I was afraid of it being fishy (eww), and it cost $5 for a couple sheets. I don’t like to pay that much for a single mystery ingredient. But yeah, this salad rocks. Make it!

Recipe from Appetite for Reduction. Buy that book.