02-25-07 Dinner: Salads Galore!
On the way home from work, I stopped at New Seasons Market on SE Division to pick up some stuff. I may have to start referring to that store as Rock Star New Seasons, since I ran into several of my neighborhood friends while I was there. It was nice seeing l00p and his entourage, thedr9wningman, and modern_shadows at the store. Running into friends while grocery shopping is always a good chance to catch up and to share ideas about food, ingredient, cooking, and recipes. I'm very lucky that I live in an area of the city (inner Southeast) that is conducive to running into friends.
I was definitely inspired by food conversations with friends, as well as seeing the food-related posts on my Friends page. Just seeing a variety of delicious home-cooking made me want to make something once I got home. So I put on some music in the living room (yay for Information Society!), danced around in the kitchen while prepping food, and made a full, hearty dinner. I also busted out my colorful orange plate set for the first time in almost six months! I wanted to augment a basic salad with a complementary soup and a dessert dish--this is what my dinner tonight looked like:
Salad with lettuce, lemon pepper and arbol chili-covered shrimp, avocado, roasted red peppers and asparagus, Meyer lemon zest and juice, nutritional yeast, and powdered flaxseed; Pacific Foods Organic Creamy Butternut Squash soup with sauteed (in peanut oil) onions, leeks, and garlic, roasted red peppers and asparagus, and a sprinkle of bread crumbs; a fruit salad cup with banana, kiwi, and Meyer lemon; rice milk; chai
I think I am falling in love with using the zest and the juice of Meyer lemon as salad dressing material. For the third salad in the row, I did not use any store-bought dressings on my salads. That is a good sign, methinks. Maybe this is a sign that I can explore the possibilities of making my own healthy salad dressings (with apologies to Paul Newman and his yummy dressings). The salad was a nice contrast of different flavors and textures--the tangy sourness of lemon, the spicy kick of lemon pepper and arbol pepper seeds, the hearty texture of avocados and shrimp, and the juiciness of roasted red peppers were all in an ideal balance. And for my vegetarian and vegan friends, had I omitted the shrimp from the dinner, the entire meal would be vegan.
I was definitely influenced by both G and my friend Angie (in Albuquerque), who both reminded me of how tasty a bowl of chopped fruit could be! I want to make this more often.
Pacific Natural Foods has a great line of natural soups. Their Organic Creamy Butternut Squash soup is among my favorites. I actually sauteed some chopped onions, leeks, and minced garlic in peanut oil for few minutes before adding the liquid. The roasted red pepper and asparagus were overflow from the salad. I also added some dried fennel, thyme, ground peppers, and bread crumbs to the soup.
I was definitely inspired by food conversations with friends, as well as seeing the food-related posts on my Friends page. Just seeing a variety of delicious home-cooking made me want to make something once I got home. So I put on some music in the living room (yay for Information Society!), danced around in the kitchen while prepping food, and made a full, hearty dinner. I also busted out my colorful orange plate set for the first time in almost six months! I wanted to augment a basic salad with a complementary soup and a dessert dish--this is what my dinner tonight looked like:
Salad with lettuce, lemon pepper and arbol chili-covered shrimp, avocado, roasted red peppers and asparagus, Meyer lemon zest and juice, nutritional yeast, and powdered flaxseed; Pacific Foods Organic Creamy Butternut Squash soup with sauteed (in peanut oil) onions, leeks, and garlic, roasted red peppers and asparagus, and a sprinkle of bread crumbs; a fruit salad cup with banana, kiwi, and Meyer lemon; rice milk; chai
I think I am falling in love with using the zest and the juice of Meyer lemon as salad dressing material. For the third salad in the row, I did not use any store-bought dressings on my salads. That is a good sign, methinks. Maybe this is a sign that I can explore the possibilities of making my own healthy salad dressings (with apologies to Paul Newman and his yummy dressings). The salad was a nice contrast of different flavors and textures--the tangy sourness of lemon, the spicy kick of lemon pepper and arbol pepper seeds, the hearty texture of avocados and shrimp, and the juiciness of roasted red peppers were all in an ideal balance. And for my vegetarian and vegan friends, had I omitted the shrimp from the dinner, the entire meal would be vegan.
I was definitely influenced by both G and my friend Angie (in Albuquerque), who both reminded me of how tasty a bowl of chopped fruit could be! I want to make this more often.
Pacific Natural Foods has a great line of natural soups. Their Organic Creamy Butternut Squash soup is among my favorites. I actually sauteed some chopped onions, leeks, and minced garlic in peanut oil for few minutes before adding the liquid. The roasted red pepper and asparagus were overflow from the salad. I also added some dried fennel, thyme, ground peppers, and bread crumbs to the soup.