Boy oh boy. These past couple of weeks have been feeling very hot! I thought I’d share some things I’ve been doing to spruce up a plain old salad, since salads and cold things are what I’m gravitating towards nowadays. It’s really neat how the foods that are in season now have this amazing ability to refresh and quench our bodies’ thirst. Juicy peaches and watermelons, cooling cucumbers, and ruby red strawberries.
- Actually, Matilda is the expert on this so I’m going to let her take it away!
- First, make sure you’ve got a sassy fan and sunhat!
Ahem, and now back to the actual salad tips…
- Adding roasted kabocha and Japanese sweet potatoes can make any salad that much more delicious.
Recently, my two favorite ways of roasting them are using these two variations of the sweetly glazed daigakumo recipe:
- Beets are also a wonderful addition to salads–not to mention they are beautiful!
- You can use beetroots as well
Separating the greens from the stems makes it easier for cooking. Here are some ideas on how to prepare them.
- Roasting the root vegetables
- Now do you want to try those recipes?
This reminded me of the glorious mountains of root vegetables that Kelsey usually bakes.
- More fixing for salads: cannellini bean spread and beets
- Admiring the beets as usual
- Marinated grape tomatoes
- Homemade dressings using up the last of the beer mustard and the container
- Exhibit A: Tasty Salad
- Yellow Split Pea Puree, fried Daigakumo, avocado, bell peppers, cucumbers all on a bed of romaine and sprinkled with sesame seeds.
- Exhibit B: threw in some beets, diced golden delicious apple and red bartlett pear
- A sweet, savory, and truly delicious salad
- Or you can just go to one of your favorite local eats
- My favorite thing on the menu.
Cafe Gutenberg’s Vegan Caesar Salad… I just had to have it before I leave Richmond. I asked for their recipe, alas it’s top secret and they don’t give it out. I understand. Atleast they had someone from the kitchen tell me some tips about how they prepare the tofu (it’s the best tofu I’ve ever had).
- A delicious salad and lovely company to boot!
- An attempt at recreating the caesar salad and de-veganizing it with grated idiazabal cheese.
- “Secret’s in the sauce”, but I haven’t figured it out yet.
- I’ve shared this recipe before, and I’ve made about seven batches of it since I posted about it.
This Indian Inspired Red Lentil Rice Salad is seriously tasty. Especially if you’re in the mood for a fruitier salad with a little bit of tang from the curry yogurt dressing.
- Here’s one more person vouching for it!
- Watermelon to “keep cool”
It’s definitely hot when the potluck’s theme is “Keeping Cool”. So we wore clothes that kept us cool, or we thought was cool.. and of course brought cooling foods.
- You can spy the flat rosemary focaccia I made, while some fruits were being muddled.
- A beautiful and refreshing summer drink: lemon, strawberries, honey, and chilled prosecco.
- Fresh greens from the host’s garden, and a taste of everyone’s dishes.
Happy and cool.
- So when the sun goes down and the air is cooler, just open your windows and play some relaxing tunes into the night.
At the end of a hot day my feet are tired, and I’ve got a layer of grime and dried sweat on me. It may sound unpleasant, but I like feeling the length of the day in my body. After a long day being out and about in the heat, feeling exhausted is just another cue telling me, “it’s time to relax.”
What do you do to keep cool on hot days?