Saturday, April 05, 2008

Redefining the salad, etc.

Sometimes I get home from work so late that I don't want or need a large dinner... Enter the salad. It can be the perfect light meal, refreshing and healthy. The problem I run into is when all my salads tend to look the same. And taste the same. It's really easy to get bored pretty quickly. That's why, lately, I've been making a point of trying to liven it up a bit.


This salad features two kinds of greens, hearts of palm, cucumbers, dried cranberries, raw sunflower seeds, and a roasted apple-shallot vinaigrette. Just different enough to spice it up a bit.

Recently a representative from Galaxy Foods sent me some samples of their products to try.

Among the products they sent was some roasted red pepper hummus, which I enjoyed in the evenings as a light after-work snack. One of the more exciting things I did with it was creating this wrap one night.


I spread the tortilla with the hummus, topped it with some red pepper and artichoke tapenade from Trader Joe's, and finished with some alfalfa sprouts.

I almost never buy vegan cheese, so now that I have quite a bit of it in my refrigerator, I am trying to think of good ways to use it. One great use for it proved to be in Susan Voisin's Vegan Omelette For One.


I grated some of the mozzarella-flavor soy block in with the fillings. You can see from the picture that the cheese didn't really melt for me, but just the same it did make a nice filling for the omelette (which is still one of my favorite breakfasts--this recipe really is a winner).

Another great use for vegan cheese is in a vegan reuben--and I love vegan reubens!


This one uses Isa Chandra Moskowitz's delicious tempeh from her Tempeh Reubens in Vegan With a Vengeance, but for the rest of the sandwich I put it together my own way--with a generous helping of Dijon mustard, plenty of sauerkraut, some of this soy-based thousand island dressing, and one of the vegan mozzarella slices between two slices of rye bread.

I have more pictures to post, but that will come later this week. Also later this week, I am planning to begin my tour of vegan living in Atlanta--starting with my favorite vegan spot here in town! Not to mention the vegan potluck that I'll be going to tomorrow! Exciting stuff--so stay tuned!

Cheers!

13 comments:

Lori- the Pleasantly Plump Vegan said...

looks like a great salad

Anonymous said...

That reuben looks SO good!

Sheree' said...

Looks good! I received my package too and was trying to plan what to make. I feel kinda silly. When I go out I ask for hummus on my sandwiches and wraps, but for the life of me I didn't know what to do with the hummus I received. Silly me, make a wrap!!! Thanks for the tip.

Kate said...

Wow great food pictures! Everything looks os tastey!

MeloMeals said...

Did you make the roasted apple/shallot salad dressing? That sounds SOOO good. I'll bet some cubes of the vegan cheddar would be awesome in a salad with that dressing.

Anonymous said...

I love reubens too! And this reminds me that I haven't made one in a while. Must correct that...

Anonymous said...

I am so jealous of everyones goodies from Galaxy Food! I have never tried their products, but now I am tempted to...

Everything looks so good, and I agree about the salads--they make a great dinner after work!

Courtney

Sam said...

I've never eaten hearts of palm before, but I may have to try it. That salad looks so crisp and refreshing, it makes me hungry!

aTxVegn said...

Everything looks so good, Laura! I still haven't had a vegan Reuben...

bazu said...

I could live on salad. And yours looks like a good one! Ooooh, free samples- I'm jealous of all the goodies you made!

custom web design said...

WOW!
This is heavenly. I just love how it looks and I can't wait to grab a try.

Mens Tank Tops said...

Thanks for sharing this idea out - this is perfect for picnic and family eat-out.

Trampolines said...

Looks really yummy, but I hope the ingredients are agreeable.