Wild Rice and Tofu Salad with Sesame Dressing

I LOVE the bulk barn. Really, I will take any opportunity to browse the bulk barn, even when I don't need anything. I also buy things I don't really need. A while ago I bought some wild rice even though I had mason jars of 4 different kinds of rice already in my cupboard. When I saw this recipe on the New York Times I knew that was going to be my use for the wild rice. Plus, I got to use my magic bullet to make another dressing. I made a couple modifications based on what I had on hand, but the gist of the recipe is the same.

Wild Rice and Tofu Salad with Sesame Dressing from the New York Times, Recipes for Health

1/2 lb firm tofu
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp soy sauce
1 cup uncooked black rice
1 cup frozen edamame, defrosted

Dressing:
1 garlic clove, finely minced
3 tbsp white vinegar
1 tsp soy sauce
5 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds*

1. Cook rice according to package directions. Yields about 3 cups of cooked rice.
2. Meanwhile, cube the tofu and pat dry with paper towel. Toss in 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tsp soy sauce. Bake in 400 degree F oven for 10 minutes or until bottom side browned. Flip and bake for another 10-20 minutes, until browned.
3.  Combine cooked black rice, tofu and edamame in a large bowl. Allow to come to room temperature.
4. For the dressing, combine all ingredients in a food processor or magic bullet. Blend until most of the sesame seeds are no longer whole. Pour most (80%) of the dressing over the rice mixture. Toss and serve room temperature or cold.

*Toast sesame seeds on a pan over medium heat. Be careful not to burn.

This salad was incredibly filling and tasted great as leftovers cold the next day. I really liked the dressing, but I think it would have been better with rice vinegar as the original recipe called for. The original recipe also called for raw tofu. While I am a tofu fan, I don't go so far as to eat it raw. The basic baked tofu used in this recipe would be great for any stir fry using tofu. This salad lacked veggies for sure which is really just the result of it being put together on a Friday, a day short of the usual grocery day. Bell pepper, cucumber, celery, onion, and mushrooms would all have been lovely in this salad.

I don't know if it is the sudden arrival of spring weather here in Ontario, but this salad makes me feel like summer is on it's way. I am pretty sure it is the weather but just in case it is the salad, you should make it too so you can feel like summer is coming, it is a great feeling ;)

Wheatberry Salad with Basil Vinaigrette

I hate to post another salad recipe with it still being in the negatives outside and it not feeling like spring or summer at all, but I am really excited to share this one. It is the dressing which is the exciting part, really. I went to a Birthday party on the weekend and was bringing along a side dish. I decided to make a wheatberry salad and wanted to have a dressing that resembled pesto, or had a lot of basil in it. After a failed attempt of making my own pesto based dressing, I found a recipe on Farm Fresh Living, a website I hadn't come across until recently. With the success of this salad dressing recipe, I may just have to try out more of their recipes.

Wheatberry Salad with Basil Vinaigrette
serves 8-10 as a side

4 cups cooked wheatberries
1 cup thawed edamame
1 can no salt added corn
2 cups fresh chopped spinach
feta cheese, crumbled (I used about half of purchased container - use as much or as little as you'd like)

Dressing (makes double what you need): slightly adapted from Farm Fresh Living
1/2 large shallot finely chopped
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
juice from 1 fresh lemon
1/2 large tomato, diced
6 tsp dried basil
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1. Combine all the salad ingredients into a large bowl.
2. Combine all dressing ingredients except olive oil into a food processor (or magic bullet like I did) and blend.
3. Add olive oil as a stream while processing (or add in 2 batches in the magic bullet).
4. Mix half of the dressing just before serving, add crumbled feta, and mix in.

I loved the salad and I THINK it may have won over even the toughest critics at the party. The guests at the party ranged from 'foodie' to 'open-minded' to 'an animal must die at every meal' to 'what is a vegetable?'. So while it was pretty brave for me bringing a wheatberry salad to this party, I am glad I did.

I REALLY liked this dressing. I sort of doubled the recipe that I had found, so I had a lot of extra dressing in the end. I am sure glad I did though because I used it in an amazing salad that I made for lunch today. The salad was spinach based, with some toppings: 1/2 cup wheatberries, 2 tbsp pumpkin seeds, 1 green onion chopped, crumbled feta. The dressing was wonderful on this salad. I am usually a 'make a bit of dressing as you need it directly onto the salad' kinda girl, but this recipe has converted me. I can now see myself making up some of this dressing to use throughout the week in the near future.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! As my gift to you I have a protein packed warm soup based off of a recipe on www.101cookbooks.com, New Year Noodle Soup. Before I get into the delicious details, I'd just like to say I had a fantastic new years eve weekend, and I hope you did too. I am not big into celebrating new years, but I am big into having some good fun at a cottage for a weekend. The weather was not on our side but that didn't stop us. While we didn't get to snowboard or toboggan, we did have a snowball fight. You can't complain about a good snowball fight.

I am also not much of a new years resolution type. I often make resolutions as the year goes on at random times based on how I am feeling. However, this year I have made a few.

1. Kick my sugar dependency that was achieved over the Holidays.
Too many squares, cookies, chocolate, cocktails, you name it.

2. Eat more local food.
Last term I was so busy with school I didn't get to visit the farmer's market as often as I would have liked. I will be heading there tomorrow before it closes for a week and a half (the Hamilton farmer's market is moving to its long awaited new location!). I hope to buy most of my produce that is grown locally, or at least in Ontario (I cannot give up bananas and citrus fruits though). We will see what goods I come home with tomorrow.

3. Train for and complete a sprint triathlon...pending getting my hands on a road bike.
In 2009 I did a tri-a-tri and had such a great time. My swim needs some work in order to complete a sprint triathlon and I definitely cannot get away with using my mountain bike in the increased distance.

4. Read more books.
The picture of my newly acquired stack speaks for itself.

5. Appreciate every day.
Not every day is the greatest day of your life, but without an appreciation for every day you live, good or bad, it is a day wasted. I don't want to waste a day.

6. Travel somewhere beautiful.
Hopefully I find the funds and the time to get away for a week or at least a long weekend. I want to visit a mountain or a coast. Something in North America would suffice.

I hope to achieve most of these and I think it is pretty reasonable. On kicking my sugar habit and starting to eat a little more normal I made a soup. I moved back to my own house today and had an empty refrigerator and a full pantry. Therefore this soup contains no fresh ingredients. But I wouldn't let that put you off, it is extremely nutritious.

Protein Packed Egg Noodle Soup adapted from 101cookbooks.com

1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp dried chili flakes
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp tumeric
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 L vegetable stock
1 cup lentils
1 can chickpeas
1 3/4 cup edamame
1/3 package frozen chopped spinach
4 cups whole-wheat egg noodles

1. Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add chili flakes and heat for 1 minute.

new measuring spoons and cutting board :)

2. Add cumin, tumeric and pepper and heat until fragrant. Add vegetable stock and bring to a boil.

3. Add lentils and cook for 20 minutes. Add chickpeas, edamame, and spinach. Simmer until lentils are soft.
4. Add egg noodles and simmer until cooked.

This soup was thick and delicious. Did I use chopsticks? No, but I wanted to have as many newly acquired kitchen stuff in my pictures in this post. While I haven't actually calculated the nutritional information, I imagine there is more than enough protein in this soup. I know it has kept me full for about 4 hours already, and that says something.