Summer is definitely upon us and with temperatures creeping into the mid-90s, and humidity doing what it does, I’ve been feeling like I’ve been living in a giant sauna lately.  It’s definitely time to break out the bathing suits, misting fans, and best of all, the summer salad recipes!  Because there’s no time more appropriate than . . .

One of the perks of growing up in South Florida is that Bimini, Bahamas is just a hop, skip and a jump—just a quick 2.5 hour boat ride—away from home.  🌴 With a tropical paradise practically in our backyard, over the years we’ve spent a good amount of long weekends over in Bimini. 🌴 Every time we would go, we would never leave the island without having a bowl of conch salad—it’s a staple in the Bahamas.   The last time we took a family trip over there, I had just recently started out on my vegan journey and wasn’t sure if I would bend to have a bowl of conch salad.  After reflecting on the idea, I decided that I didn’t want to eat conch and that I wouldn’t even be missing the conch itself, just everything else that comes with a conch salad. 

Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago when . . .

My love affair with Caesar salads started at a very young age.  Growing up, we had a little French bakery and café across the street from our neighborhood.  On Saturdays, my dad made it sort of a tradition to take me out to lunch for a Caesar salad and chocolate covered strawberries for dessert—my all time favorite treat when I was little. 

The Caesar salads at this place were not just your average Caesar.  They were served in these heavenly, warm, freshly baked baguette bowls.  Every time mine would arrive at the table, I would take the cut out top off, place it crust down in my hand and pile it high with my salad.  I would fold it over and start by devouring my little Caesar salad sandwich.  Next, I’d dive into the salad.  Then after my salad was finished came the best part. . .

Given my belief that sandwich perfection may have been achieved in the gloriousness that is a Tofu Banh Mi, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that I decided to see what other ways I could spin it.  Turning the sandwich into a healthier, but equally as beautiful and delicious, salad seemed like the obvious thing to do.  Because of the gorgeous rainbow of colors in the original Tofu Banh Mi, I decided to . . .

🎉🎊 It’s that time of year where New Year’s Resolutions are plastered everywhere.  You can’t turn a corner without hearing about resolutions to eat healthy and get fit.  It’s a goal that’s on all of our minds.  So let’s stay strong together and start thinking creatively about fun and interesting ways to switch up the salad game.  Let’s leave the lettuce aside for a change and try adding some heartier roasted veggies to the mix. 

Last February I was at a wedding and enjoyed a salad with a butter lettuce base, topped with beets, figs and a vegan blue cheese dressing.  Almost a year later and I still haven’t been able to get that salad off my mind… 😜drooling right now… but vegan blue cheese dressing? . . . 

I’m starting to notice a bit of a trend here… Vacations seem to spark ideas that get the creative juices flowing.  Whenever we’re getting ready to pack up and go on a road trip we know there’s a lot of food in our kitchen that we’ll be bringing with us, but there’s also a lot of food that just won’t travel well.  So in those days leading up to a road trip, that’s when you gotta decide to either use it or lose it.  

A couple nights before we were about to head out on our last trip, I wanted to cook some stuff to make sure things wouldn’t go to waste, but I was busy with packing and other things and didn’t want to make something with too much effort.  I had a kabocha squash that had been sitting on my counter for a while so I decided to just go ahead and roast it.  It was as simple as cutting, scooping, and tossing it in the oven, so why not? . . . 

When I think about fall, I instinctively think about pumpkins, sweet potatoes, cinnamon, nutmeg, and the traditional warm, nutty, and earthy flavors that so embody fall, but there's so much more seasonal produce that takes somewhat of a back seat to the more traditional flavors.  For example, my mind doesn't jump straight to beets when I think about fall, but I think the juiciest, most flavorful beets are a product of fall and they're just too good to be overlooked.  

I have to apologize for the interruption here, but while I'm on the topic of word association, I can't help but mention that . . .

This salad inspiration is light, healthy and quick and easy to throw together. 

I decided to throw in a little mid-week salad inspiration in between this week and next week’s recipe posts since . . .

Pad Thai… mmm… What’s not to love about a bowl full of thick noodles slathered in a creamy peanut butter sauce, right? Well, it’s pretty hard not to love a crisp, refreshing salad with noodle-like ribbons of vegetables covered in an equally as creamy peanut butter sauce.  When I made my salad, I used . . .