little woman

I have recently become obsessed with this salad I get in the Central Market Cafe called the Chinese Chicken Salad (but with tofu). It is very tasty. I ran across this recipe on 101 Cookbooks (one of the best sites ever) and I just knew this would be a good homemade version of that salad. It was so delicious and very good for you!! Nothing but veggies and protein… well and the very tasty dressing This is all I had for dinner (very filling) and there is plenty left over for lunch tomorrow… maybe even two helpings left!

Chopped Miso Salad Recipe

I used Westbrae Natural Organic Mellow Brown Rice Miso for the dressing. If you like the flavor of sesame oil – go ahead and add it to your dressing in fact you can go ahead and add it “to taste” – although sometimes I like to go a bit more neutral and skip rhe sesame oil altogether. I also had two small heads of little gem lettuce so I threw them in here as well. You can use any kind of extra-firm tofu you like here – this salad works well with baked tofu or plain. Tofu cooked in a skillet for a few minutes to take on some color is great – I cheated a bit and used Soy Deli baked tofu (savory) for the salad pictured up above.

1 1/2 cups shallots, skinned and thinly sliced
splash of extra-virgin olive oil
pinch of salt

2 tablespoons miso
1/2 teaspoon powdered mustard (or regular mustard)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 cup (brown) rice vinegar (i used apple cidar vinegar instead)
1/3 cup mild flavored extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon pure toasted sesame oil (optional)

1/2 of a medium-large cabbage (instead of cabbage and red onion, i used a bagged broccoli salad that had shredded carrots and a hint red cabbage… i know it is cheating but it was perfect! it adds the same crunch and freshness of cabbage)
1 cup slivered almonds, toasted
1/2 medium red onion, sliced
3/4 cup chives, minced (tons of chives growing on the front porch so this was perfect!!)
8 ounces extra-firm tofu (see headnotes), room temperature

Stir together the shallots, splash of olive oil and big pinch of salt In a large skillet over medium heat. Stir every few minutes, you want the shallots to slowly brown over about 15 minutes. Let them get dark, dark brown (but not burn). if needed turn down the heat. Remove them from the skillet and onto a paper towel to cool in a single layer. they should crisp up a bit.

Make the dressing by whisking the miso, mustard, and brown sugar together. Now whisk in the rice vinegar and keep whisking until it’s smooth. Gradually whisk in the olive oil, and then the sesame oil. Two pinches of fine grain salt. Taste and make any adjustments if needed.

Cut the cabbage into two quarters and cut out the core. Using a knife shred each quarter into whisper thin slices. The key here is bite-sized and thin. If any pieces look like they might be awkwardly long, cut those in half.

Gently toss the cabbage, shallots, almonds, red onion, chives and tofu in a large mixing/salad bowl. Add a generous drizzle of the miso dressing and toss again – until the dressing is evenly distributed. Add more a bit at a time if needed, until the salad is dressed to your liking.

Serves 3 – 4 as a main dish, 6 – 8 as a side.

I havent written in awhile because Paul and I were out of town with his family at the coast! I know… this doesn’t have a lot to do with food… but there is a method to my madness!

First off… I tried to make a vegan version of gnocchi, per one of my favorite blogs VeganYumYum .

Problem! It didnt work the way she said it would. I got through making the thyme vinaigrette and the lemon cashew creme sauce but the gnocchi was a disaster! Luckily, I had some farfalle on hand and just put the sauces over the pasta. Paul liked my crispy gnocchi with pesto better… more on that later .

So! We are at the coast andPaul and I were charged with making one of the meals. His brother is mainly vegetarian but the rest of the guests were not. We wanted to make something that might appeal to everyone and also be plenty filling. We had to feed 7 people after all!

He made his specialty, Tabbouleh, which was very tasty. He said it had retained too much liquid, but we figured it was because we didn’t have all the proper tools on hand at the condo. I made my Crispy Gnocchi Pesto with an Avocado and Grapefruit Salad.

For a snack, I put a little salt, pepper and olive oil on some mango. It was delish!

I also made a yummy Mango Daiquiri with just Rum, Mangoes, Lime Juice, a little organic evaporated sugar cane.

For starters, I boiled some Artichoke with some lemon slices. For a dip, I mixed a bunch of stuff (parsley, liquid smoke, paprika, lemon juice, salt and pepper) with some Greek yogurt.

Pesto for the Gnocchi… yum!!

Paul making Tabbouleh

The coast was magnificent… We ate tons of good food and everyone made veggie options which was really cool.