Asian Cucumber Salad

Asian Cucumber Salad

When I cook, I like to serve a variety of dishes so that each meal will have a variety of contrasting but complimentary flavors, textures and temperatures.

With many meals, that simply means that I put a nice green salad on the table with my entree and some bread. But, a salad made out of lettuce just doesn't seem to "go" with most Asian-Style meals.

Inspired by the actual salads I have enjoyed at Asian restaurants over the years, I created this simple salad. It became a huge hit at our house!

Here's how to make it:

Asian Cucumber Salad
Slice cucumbers lengthwise, then slice each half into semi-circles'
(I use one large English Hothouse Cucumber OR 3 small Salad Cucumbers)
Add
3-4 Tablespoons Seasoned Rice Vinegar
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon Dark Sesame Oil

Toss & Serve
*If you have them handy, you could sprinkle on a few Sesame Seeds, too 

This dish is best chilled, but usually cucumbers are in the fridge anyway, so that detail takes care of itself.

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Fat Free Vinaigrette and Italian Pasta Salad

Oil Free Vinaigrette & Italian Pasta Salad

Here's how you can make a wonderful Italian Pasta Salad with little or no oil.  This amazing recipe for Fat Free Vinaigrette has a flavor & mouth-feel that gives the impression that there's oil, but it's way healthier!

Pasta Salad is delicious, but the normal Pasta Salad is drenched in fat - either mayonnaise or oil. This option now becomes a healthy choice to put on your family's table.

This is a great recipe because your add-ins can come from what you have on hand- or even leftovers in the fridge! You can vary add-ins according to the taste of your family members.

I chop, cook pasta, and make sauce whenever, then combine the ingredients just before serving. This may be served either at room temperature or chilled.

I make the dressing right in a 2 cup Microwavable glass measuring cup. If you don't use a microwave, you can do the first step quickly and easily on the stove top in a saucepan.

Fat Free Vinaigrette
Combine in microwavable glass measuring cup:
1/2 Cup Water
1 teaspoon Tapioca Starch
Cook 30 seconds, stir. Repeat. Stir. Repeat. Stir.
(I find this takes 60-90 seconds total, you want it to bubble and turn clear)
Remove from heat/remove from microwave.
Next Add & Stir
1/2 Cup Red Wine Vinegar
Then,
1 teaspoon Dry Basil
1 teaspoon Sugar
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Minced Garlic (or 2 cloves, minced)
1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
Stir. May be used immediately, or chilled. Stir again before using if chilling.
If you like, you may add:
1-3 teaspoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil - that still keeps the oil content VERY low compared to a normal pasta salad. 

Pasta Salad
Cook according to directions and drain.
1 pound Pasta (shapes like Shells or Bowties are nice for Pasta Salad)
Rinse several times in cold water
Add your choice of the following, according to what you have on hand. I like to choose ingredients with flavor & texture contrast - crunchy, sour, salty, sweet, beany.
Green Peas (fresh or frozen)
Sweet Corn
Chopped Fresh Tomato
Chopped Fresh Cucumber
Chopped Fresh Celery
Chopped Fresh Bell Pepper, in various colors
Snow Peas or Sugar Snap Peas
Rinsed, Drained White Beans
Capers
Black Olives, Sliced
Green Olives, Sliced
Carrots, Sliced
Chopped Onion
Scallions
etc, etc, etc

Top with dressing & toss just before serving time.

Tip for dining with Omnivores:
You may choose to add the following to the portions of Omnivores:
Parmesan Cheese
Diced Ham
Diced Salami
Diced or Shredded Chicken

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Orange Beet Salad

This is a nice, colorful salad for a festive meal, or simply for everyday, depending on your mood.

Since this blog has an emphasis on easy, quick & frugal vegan cooking, I'm giving the recipe with canned beets and oranges. But, if you prefer roasting your own beets and peeling & sectioning your own oranges - go for it! : )

Orange Beet Salad
Arrange in Bowl
Bed of Greens (a tender blend like Mixed Baby Greens is ideal)
1 (15oz) can Sliced Beets, drained
1 (11oz) can Mandarin Oranges, drained
A couple of handfuls broken Walnuts

Top Salad with Dressing:
Shake in jar
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
A pinch or two of Paprika
Salt & Pepper to taste

The simplest of salads

Try this sometime (if you haven't already) - go into any all-American restaurant and tell them you're eating a vegan diet today. Ask what they have that you can eat.

There's a 90% chance that the very well-intentioned response will be, "We have salad." With a generous, delighted smile of a server who honestly thinks that's all a vegan could ever possibly want to eat.

I could understand that if I was 98-pounds-soaking-wet. But really - I don't live on salads!

All too often, to add insult to injury, I find that the so-called "salads" on the menu are covered in strips of meat, cheese and egg : (

Well, as I like to joke - Just because I eat a vegan diet, does not mean I'm a bunny!

Like many Midwesterners, I think of a green, leafy salad as a side-dish, not a meal.

And, I seldom want one of those fashionable salads with a sugary sweet dressing, a slick of oil poured across the top, or with fruit syrup flavors. Just a nice, healthy, refreshing accompaniment to my main dish.

So, with that in mind, here's how I've been eating my every day side-salads lately:

Super Simple Salad
A bed of Greens (Sliced Romaine Hearts or Mixed Baby Greens are my favorites)
Diced Tomatoes, Cucumbers, and/or Bell Peppers
Some nice Green, Kalamata, or Oil-cured Olives
1 to 2 Tablespoons of Lemon Juice drizzled over the top
A generous sprinkle of Garlic Salt
Oregano sprinkled over the top

It's a lovely-tasting, every day sort of salad. No sugar, no oil, no fruit, no meat. Just nice, delicious salad : )