Sunday, November 21, 2010

Vegan Mofo: Salad Doesn't Have to Be Boring!

I know some vegan cookbooks steer away from "salad sections" because many vegans want to get away from the myth that we only eat lettuce and carrots all the time. And I get that. But lettuce and carrots are yummy, and good for you!

My book will have a combined "salad & sandwich" section since I view both as super lunch-y foods. In real life, I generally make big ole everything salads with no recipe to speak of. I just throw whatever salad-y stuff I have into a bowl and toss with a convenient bottled dressing. But my book will have some real recipes that include homemade dressings and carefully-paired salad ingredients, like in this Seitan & Red Pear Salad:

It uses the Seitan Chicken from another recipe in the book, red pears, green onions, walnuts, and my homemade white pear vinaigrette. It seems a little fancy for country cookin' book, but even the most downhome cook likes to make gourmet stuff sometimes.
What's your favorite salad combination?

12 comments:

dreaminitvegan said...

Really great looking salad.

Jen Treehugger said...

This summer I was eating a combo of 3 types of lettuce,rocket,onions,olives,green apple,orange,tomatoes and walnuts just sprinkled with some salt and pepper and it was GORGEOUS!

Happy Older Hippie Woman! said...

I used to make huge salads of a, seemingly, never ending variety of lettuces & other veggies. My favorite these days is lots of greens, cuke slices, Vidalia onion, grape tomatoes, orange segments, red grapes, grated carrots, sliced mushrooms, black olives, roasted sunflower & hulled pumpkin seeds all tossed in a light but tasty vinaigrette, and I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but I love great big salads accompanied with a good large hunk of hearty bread slathered in Earth Balance "butter". That's Livin'!

Susan said...

That looks great!
I am really in love with the quinoa, black bean and mango salad in Vcon. But I use mint instead of coriander, which I think makes it even better.

JohnP said...

In a few days, I am posting a couple of salads from an old cookbook. The one we had last night was really good: shredded cabbage, chopped apples, chopped black olives, french dressing, all on a lettuce leaf, garnished with black olives stuffed with soy cream cheeze!

Sal - AlienOnToast said...

I like salads now and then too, i especially like them if they have got chickpeas and sun dried tomatoes in.

Jessica said...

That does looks good - I like fruits and nuts in salads. But my favorite is black beans, corn, ranch, and tortilla chips. With tomatoes and carrots when I have them. And bell peppers. Glad to see you're not shying away from real lunch foods!

Erin said...

I'll eat anything in a bowl as long as it has goddess dressing on it! This salad sounds good too, a composed salad is nice sometimes.

vegan.in.brighton said...

Oh yum that looks Sally delicious. I had a great salad in Edinburgh earlier this month, it had rocket, roasted butternut squash, caramelised onions & sultanas, yum!

miss v said...

i don't believe i've ever had pear in salad... but i've followed your tastebuds before with no regrets!

right now, i'm loving the roasted veggie salad on jessy's blog!

Zee said...

I love salad! There's nothing like crispy fresh veggies and lettuces smothered in a tasty dressing. Or just a drizzle of olive oil and lemon juice.

The Vegan Snorkeler said...

This combination sounds awesome! I usually start with greens, add some fruit (strawberries or apples are favorites), then some walnuts or chickpeas and cover it with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. I need to try this, I love pears.