ahh, to hell with it. another salad.
for when life’s in chaotic mode and cooking becomes a chore.
Well, I’m back from beautiful Aotearoa and have been knocked about with a whole lot of life admin that comes with moving house. Enjoy these pictures from the final week of van life for a little while!
kayaking in akaroa and a beautiful lookout in christchurch.
I pretty much always prioritise cooking and eating over everything else, but sometimes life gets a little busy and you can’t even bring yourself to think about, let alone cook any solid meals. Me and Blake (welcome back to the blog, sous chef) have had sushi and bubble tea in a parking lot for 2 days in a row now. Today’s fun meal out included making awkward eye contact with the people in the car opposite us. Lunch with a view.
So, I guess it’s time to actually cook something. And when I say cook, I mean fling together while also doing other important things such as unpacking or, more urgently, painting plant pots.
I know I said my substack wasn’t going to be about smoothie bowls and salads, but come on. Caesar salad is barely a salad, right? It’s got all the crunchiness it needs, and that seems to be an ongoing theme with my cooking. Crunchy bits necessary.
Plus, I guess I should eat some greenery after subsisting on a solid diet of chips and chow mein in the van.
vegan fish and chips, aka chips and 3 potato scallops.
Also, thank you for one hundred subscribers! In the internet world, it’s a small number. To me, that’s one hundred pairs of eyes enjoying my cooking and writing. So thank you, truly. If you like what you read, please tell your friends. Word of mouth is cool and hip and fresh.
This week’s recipe is a kale caesar salad with rye croutons. Obviously vegan too. It uses up stuff that’s most likely in your fridge and pantry. Let’s get (not) cooking!
ingredients.
for the salad:
1 small bag baby spinach and kale mix
1 package vegan chicken tenders
Mixed seeds and nuts, to serve.
for the croutons:
2 slices fresh or frozen rye bread
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp Rosemary
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Salt and pepper
for the dressing:
3 tbsp nooch
4 tbsp vegan mayonnaise
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp any white vinegar (I used a fancy schmancy one)
Juice of 1 lemon
1 small garlic clove, chopped
Handful capers, finely chopped
how to.
Preheat oven to 200 c. Chop rye bread into bite-sized pieces.
Mix crouton ingredients in a small bowl and toss croutons in, mix so each piece is covered. Chuck them on a lined baking tray with the vegan chicken tenders and cook for 15 mins, depending on the tenders’ instructions.
Mix dressing ingredients and pop salad mix into a bowl, making sure it’s big enough for everything.
Once the croutons and tenders are crispy, take them out of the oven and cut the tenders into bite-sized slices.
Toss everything in the bowl with the dressing and serve with seeds sprinkled on top. Minimum effort, maximum satisfaction.
I’d love to hear about who you’re reading at the moment. Vegan and non-vegan blogs welcome, as I love challenging myself by veganising authentic recipes! Until next time, where I hopefully will have entered the right time zone & regained my enthusiasm for cooking.
ahh, to hell with it. another salad.
dude! welcome back & congrats on the moving house & salad & readership! cheers!
Caesar salad fan, here! And my special one is a fan, too. We even saw the restaurant in Tijuana were it was invented. I'll definitely plan this one during the Summer. Preferrably early, so I can enjoy it multiple times (and find the best working nooch).
To answer to your question at the bottom of the article, I don't read many cooking blogs. I share my readings between vegan recipes, and other topics. I tend to go through phases where I subscribe to a lot of resources, then unsubscribe because I lack time. I follow people on Instagram, though the recipes (sometimes in two languages) are sortened to fit in the video or in 2,200 characters. I like blogs for the stories coming along with the recipes (and the wonderful pictures, like yours!).
When I look for a specific recipe, I like the simple ones from Cuisine Actuelle (https://www.cuisineactuelle.fr/) in French, and very detailed ones of BBC Good Food (https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/). By the way, you mention chow mein in your post, and the recipe I use is a veganized version of BBC Good Food's chow mein https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/chow-mein, which I'm due to photoshoot and write down next time I cook it. Would you post yours in the future?