Salads...Tofu Tuesday! (on tuesday!!)

Buffalo Tofu Salad w. Candied Pecans and Ranch Dressing

Back in the day when I would frequent a theme restaurant beginning with the letter H and ending in hans I would devour a Buffalo Chicken Salad. Oh it was so tasty and good. I finally decided to make a vegan version after all these years. Panko crusted Tofu drenched in a tangy hot and sweet sauce. Cinnamon, cayenne and maple candied pecans. Homemade Ranch Dressing. Crispy tortilla strips. If only I had some vegan blue cheese to crumble on top. I added some red bell pepper and cucumbers (the latter of which I had to remove because of a funky taste). All that was missing was some tomatoes. With the recent tomato problem and local restaurants not serving them I've just decided to stay away for a bit until I can get to the farmers market and get some local ones.

In the end this was just as good, if not better, than the theme restaurant version. I think the secret is the pecans and tortilla strips. This will be a favorite salad for dinner meal for the rest of the summer I think.



Balsamic-Basil Marinated and Grilled Portobellos


I generally don't eat mushrooms but will still buy them occasionally. However, made this way I'd eat them at least once a week. It's such a great marinade that I've been throwing together for a year or so. (I swear I will measure all the ingredients the next time) Balsamic vinegar, shallots, garlic, basil, tamari, olive oil, salt = incredible flavors. Especially thrown on top of a mesclun salad with walnuts, raddishes, cucumbers, tomatoes and red bell peppers. The salad is just dressed with some olive oil, lemon and salt so that it isn't dry. The marinade that coats the mushrooms flavors the whole dish when eaten.