Breakfast Salad - gluten free, dairy free, vegetarian

Hi all- I'm back again. For those of you who don't follow along on Instagram or Facebook, Mr Official Taster and I went on a pretty epic trip. One Phillies game. Two weddings. Three flights. Nine States. Ten days. Seven beds to rest our weary heads. 

Let me be clear: it was fun and I'm so glad we went. The weddings were lovely, the flights uneventful. We visited with so many people, some of whom we hadn't seen in years and years and years. But, boy, were we glad to get home to stinky puppies, piles of mail, laundry for days, and our own kitchen where we could make instead of buy food and snack when we felt like it. 

Raspberry Vinegar - vegan, gluten free, & free of just about everything else

Are you sensing a theme yet? Yes, I bought a lot of raspberries. Yes, Mr Official Taster and I have eaten a lot. Yes, we still have 1 little basket left. No, none have gotten any mold yet. Thank you fresh-picked-from-the-farmers'-market-berries. You're the best. 

Technically, maybe I shouldn't be posting this recipe quite yet, as my vinegar isn't quite finished doing it's thing. curing? pickling? Mom? However, I wanted to get it up now, at the height of summer, so that hopefully you too can make some. The most obvious (to me) use for it is in salad dressing; a burst of raspberry can only help everything a humdrum winter salad. But as I'm typing this, I remembering I have a cookie recipe saved in my giant binder that uses raspberry vinegar. I've always been too cheap to buy it at the store. Good thing I made this. And remembered about the recipe. I'll let you know when I get my act together and make it. 

Simplest Tomato Salad - vegan & gluten free

Lately, Mr Official Taster has been working late, like really late (12:30am last night), and leaving me to my own devices for dinner. In some ways it's really nice. I can eat exactly what I want when I want it, and no one will make disparaging or skeptical comments about those choices.

On nights when I dine alone, I usually go for super simple, barely cooked meals. In the summer, they tend to be dishes that celebrate the summer like open face avocado sandwiches, or pea pesto on bread, or fried potatoes with eggs and a corn+tomato scramble, and, always, when possible, fresh fruit or a crisp for dessert.

Fruit Can Be Your Side Salad Too

"I wish someone would invent a new starch."

That was me. Last week, Mr Official Taster diagnosed me with Vegetarian Fatigue. It was pretty spot on. I was tired and uncreative regarding dinners. I don't know if you've had this problem, but it's kind of annoying. My go-to formula has been a grain (rice, pasta, quinoa, potatoes, etc) with a vegetable in some sort of sauce-like concoction plus a spinach salad with toppings du jour. On some days, a muffin or some fresh bread might spice up the menu.

Anyway, I've been slowly climbing out (a fun trip helped!) of the hole, and one of my revelations was that fruit salad is a legitimate alternative to salad-salad, especially if you've already added some spinach and stuff to your pasta sauce.

So today isn't really a recipe, but rather a suggestion: add some fruit to your dinner, especially now that it's so readily available. Play with combinations of bananas, berries, kiwis, grapes, melons, citrus...you know, fruits.

Quinoa, Tomato & Avocado Salad - vegan & gluten free

I hope you had a relaxing and enjoyable Memorial Day. I worked for part of the day, which was less than relaxing, but Mr Official Taster and I did have an enjoyable dinner in the city with some Seattle friends. Our trip was even (relatively) traffic free. Take that, I-95!

This salad is super simple to throw together, whether for a quick weeknight supper or for a summer picnic. To make it a more satisfying main course, consider adding some tofu (or sausage would be tasty), cheese, steamed spinach, or any other summer veggies.


Quinoa, Tomato & Avocado Salad - vegan & gluten free
This recipe serves 2-4 as a side. There's no reason not to make a larger amount to serve as a main course or to a larger group of people.  The oil and vinegar are totally optional- I like it with and without.

1/2 C quinoa (uncooked)
1 avocado, cubed
1-2 tomatoes or a handful of cherry tomatoes, sliced
avocado or olive oil (optional)
balsamic vinegar or white wine vinegar (optional)
salt and fresh ground black pepper

Measure quinoa into a fine mesh strainer. Rinse thoroughly and place in a small saucepan. Add 1 C water and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer. Cook 15 minutes, or until the seeds (yes, it's a seed, not a grain!) are translucent and the germ has spiraled out from each one. Turn off heat. Use the fine mesh strainer again to strain the quinoa+water. Gently press quinoa to force out as much water and return to pot. Fluff quinoa with a fork and leave in the hot pan about 15 minutes. That way it won't get mushy.

Add avocado and tomato to cooled quinoa. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and drizzle with oil and vinegar, if using. Serve cold or at room temperature.

Avocado, Blood Orange & Spinach Salad - vegan & gluten free

If you are anything like most Americans, you ate yourself silly on Sunday. I sure did. It was in the name of family and football, so it doesn't count. right? I do feel slightly more ok about it because we didn't snack on chips and whatnot all afternoon. We just had really good deep dish pizza, salad, and dessert. I just ate some a lot of everything. 

So if you're feeling like you overindulged, this salad is the perfect antidote, and it's nice and seasonal. ish. I know avocados have been on sale in grocery stores, and winter = citrus fruit time. It's light and refreshing, and is good on it's own as a light lunch or as a side to something heartier, like chili. You may or may not have helpers when you prepare it, but I'm confident you'll have help eating it.

Avocado, Blood Orange & Spinach Salad - vegan & gluten free
These amounts are just what I used to make myself a lunch salad. Obviously, adjust as needed. To dress, I sprinkled some sea salt over the avocados and drizzled a little avocado oil over the salad. Because of the juicy oranges and the creamy avocados, I don't think it needs too much extra.

a couple handfuls of spinach, or other greens
1/2 an avocado, skin and pit removed, sliced
1/2 a blood orange or other citrus fruit, divided into segments*
sea salt and avocado oil to dress (optional)

Arrange spinach on a plate. Add avocado slices and orange pieces. Sprinkle salt on avocados and drizzle avocado oil over the whole thing. Enjoy!

*Any citrus fruit you'd like will work here - oranges, grapefruits, tangelos, etc. Also, for pictures, I got the blood orange segments out of their membranes because they are so much prettier that way. However, when I make it just to eat? The membranes stay on because I think it's a pain to take them off.

Rainbow Salad - vegan & gluten free

Once in a (very great) while, it truly feels like summer here in the Pacific Northwest. On those days, I move away from pastas and risottos and towards light, fresh, and cool summer suppers. A big salad fits that description perfectly, but to elevate plain old salad, I decided to go for a rainbow (sensing a theme?). Plus, it's said that eating by color is a healthy way to go.

That, and rainbows make everything more fun.

Rainbow Salad
spinach, or other salad greens
pomegranate seeds
dried cranberries
tomatoes, chopped
carrots, chopped
orange or yellow pepper, chopped
cored avocado, chopped
extra firm tofu, drained and fried

Start with a bed of spinach and then simply arrange your fruits and veggies in rainbow order and top with your favorite dressing.

There's lots and lots of possible variations here...beans come in lots of colors, as do peppers and tomatoes. If you like blueberries (I don't) then you can work in blue, and beets, eggplant, cabbage, or onions can be your purple. Hard boiled eggs can also fill the yellow slot, and nuts would be a nice addition as well.