Tahini Salad Dressing, Creative Party Ideas, and Why Did I Ever Start This 3 Grouping for the Titles?

Today has been spent getting ready for a small post-elopement/wedding reception... They had a really unique idea: a build your own salad for the main course. For the bed, we put together romaine and baby lettuce/radicchio/arugula/spring greens. Then we had 15 or so different toppings so that the guests could make almost anything they wanted: grilled chicken in a mesquite marinade, chili lime grilled shrimp, genoa salami, cheddar, feta, bleu cheese, parmesan, goat cheese, cucumbers, tomatoes, red onions, black olives, bacon crumbles, dried cranberries, toasted almonds, candied walnuts, asiago cheese croutons, and wonton strips.  For dressings, I made balsamic vinaigrette and a tahini dressing.  Needless to say, I have grated, chopped, and crumbled my face off today.  ((We also did brie with kalamatas, ciabatta bread, a mixed berry salad of strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries with a fruit dip, and the caprese salad skewers which I always say I am never making again and then always do.))  Anyway, I think their salad bar idea is a good one. If I can keep my wits about me, I will remember to suggest that in the future.

Tahini salad dressing is a good non-dairy alternative that you can make in about 5 minutes.  ((Seriously, if you are still buying salad dressing, I don't know what to do with you. It is so easy to make, tastes so much better, and isn't full of chemicals and crap.))  What the hell is tahini you say? Tahini is to sesame seeds as peanut butter is to peanuts. That's about the best way I can describe it. You can find it in urban grocery stores or in health food stores, probably by the organics.  Don't be scared, it's delicious. Trader Joe's sells a tahini style dressing under the label "Goddess." No, I don't know why and I'm too lazy to google it at the moment.

Picture from diaryofamadwoman.com because I am a total fail when it comes to stopping to take pictures when I have multiple projects going and her's is prettier anyway and this is a really long sentence, huh?

What you need:


1/2 cup tahini
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
3 cloves garlic
1 clove grated ginger
1/2 cup water
2 tbsp dried parsley
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup olive oil

What to do:

Put everything BUT the oil in a blender or a food processor and pulse until it is smooth and creamy in consistency.  Slowly start adding the olive oil and continue pulsing until it is combined.

This dressing is a little thick.  You can add more water to thin it out if so desired.  As written, this makes about 2 cups and will keep in the fridge in a sealed container for at least a couple of weeks.

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I'm going to go put my feet up and do nothing for a while!  Happy Father's Day if that is your kind of thing.  

Spinach Salad with Apricots and Kiwi Vinaigrette, PIC's, and Taste Testers

I am totally, completely, and utterly ((and probably a few other superlatives)) one of those people that once I get an idea in my head, I can't shake it.  That probably explains a lot of things, right?  I'm in that frame of mind on a couple of projects right now.  I really don't know what the hell I did with myself "before."  I honestly cannot fathom what I was doing with my time other than completely wasting it.  I'll give you an update once it crystallizes a little more.  Which will probably be by tomorrow.  Or maybe before I finish writing this post.  We shall see.

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Today I threw together a quick salad and came up with a new vinaigrette which turned out much better than I expected.  A spinach salad topped with apricots and kiwi with a kiwi vinaigrette.

What you need for two servings:

One bunch of spinach, thoroughly washed and chopped
6 apricots, sliced into quarters
4 kiwis, peeled and sliced
2 tablespoons EVOO
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
Black pepper

What to do:

Assemble the salad with the spinach, all of the apricots, and two of the kiwis.

Using your blender, throw in the other two kiwis, the olive oil, and the vinegar.  Pulse it several times to combine.  Add a few cracks of black pepper and sample.  Pour the vinaigrette over the salad and that's it!

Obviously, there are tons of things you could add to this salad:  grilled chicken, shrimp, almonds, dried cranberries, candied walnuts maybe.  Whatever strikes your fancy.  Some people might prefer to strain the seeds out of the dressing... I thought they were good and added some nice texture.  Again, up to you.

I couldn't begin to tell you when the last time was I had apricots.  My rough guess is somewhere in the 80's.  So, so good.

Nutritional info:  Superstar.  Approximately 200 calories and 4 grams of fat as shown here.

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I'm making dinner for a friend tonight.  I was digging through my email folder entitled "Recipes" and came across something I saved entitled "Lick Your Plate Italian Piccata."  I don't think I made it before, but I could be wrong.  Doing that with some rice, a caesar salad, fresh bread, and more souffles.  Yes, I know it is rough being one of my guinea pigs.  Tough job.

Spinach Salad with Pineapple and a Honey-Lime Vinaigrette, a Divorce Cake, and 80 Degrees

Last night I attended a "My Divorce is Finally Final Party" for a friend.  The cake was made by my new friend, Janet LaDue, and resulted in random people from all over the restaurant coming over to take a picture and share a toast.  It only got weird when for some reason, the restaurant didn't provide us with a knife and someone pulled this out of his pocket:

Right?

Maybe he was afraid there was going to be a lot of man-bashing and the women would get violent?  Totally didn't happen.  Anyway, a great time was had, her cake was AWESOME, and no one was injured by any completely unnecessary tactical knives.  See also:  Sangria is good.

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For lunch I threw together a spinach salad topped with fresh pineapple and made a honey-lime vinaigrette from a recipe found online at Good Housekeeping.  Isn't The Google amazing?  However, I failed to take pictures which actually saved because I suck.  So, use your imagination and I will try to suck less in the future.

What you need:

1/3 cup of fresh squeezed lime juice
4 teaspoons of honey
1 tablespoon of rice vinegar
A tiny bit of salt

Just whisk it together and that's it!  Makes about 1/2 a cup.

Nutritional info for the dressing:  Sainthood. 15 calories, 0 fat in two tablespoons. 

Nutritional info for the salad sans dressing with two cups of raw spinach and 1.5 cups of diced pineapple:  130 calories, 0 fat.

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It is a low-key but EIGHTY DEGREE day over here devoted to catching up on some cleaning, some reading by the pool, and maybe a little Dexter.  I have started my "No Crap from a Can or a Box Challenge" as well.  So far, so good.  Clean living for the win.  No, Diet Coke does not count.  Let's not get crazy.