Hey there!
Hope the start to your weekend is treating you well. The good news is I am almost ready for tomorrow’s farmer’s market…the bad news is that I didn’t have time to do any desk work, HST research, bills, etc. I will have to set aside some time Monday for catch up I guess.
In tonight’s dinner, I got to use a new oil that I have never tried before…
I have heard that cold-pressed oils are superior, but I wasn’t exactly sure why. After a bit of poking around I discovered that cold-pressed means that the oil has been made with a low heat technique. Using high heat during the processing of oil degrades the nutritional value, flavour, and colour. The reason why cold-pressed oils are more expensive is because the cold-pressed technique yields less oil as compared to using heat. Also, oils need to be stored in dark glass bottles away from sunlight and heat to prevent oxidization. [Source]
I decided to make my very first vegan Caesar salad tonight. Eric and I were both in the mood for something light and fresh.
Vegan Caesar Salad Dressing
[Inspired by ED&BV]
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup raw cashews
- 1/4 cup 3 minute Vegan Parmesan cheeze
- 6 tbsp fresh lemon juice, or to taste
- 2 tbsp sunflower oil (or EVOO)
- 1 garlic scape (or 1 clove garlic)
- 1/2 tsp sea salt, or to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1/2 cup water
Directions: In a blender or food processor, add the lemon juice, water, and oil and blend/process until mixed well. Now add the rest of the ingredients and blend/process well. Scrape sides down as necessary. Blend/process until smooth. Adjust seasonings if necessary. Dressing will thicken up in the fridge and you can add more water to thin it out of necessary. Makes about 2/3 of a cup.
Dreena Burton’s recipe included a bit of agave nectar. My initial reaction was not to use agave (I am not big on the taste), but I included it anyways. I really regretted it because the dressing had sort of a strange taste to it. Next time I would leave out the agave and I think it would be much better.
After mixing the salad, I added chopped green onions, more 3 minute Vegan Parmesan cheeze , freshly ground black pepper, and fresh lemon. I forgot the homemade croutons that I was planning on making though.
Eric said, ‘The only thing this is missing is croutons.’ and I went awwww crap! Don’t you hate when you forget something?
When I was a child we would have Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner and my parents always forgot the beets in the fridge or the rolls warming in the oven or a veggie side dish. There was always one thing forgotten amongst all the dishes and oodles of food. Half way through the dinner someone would go….WE FORGOT THE ROLLS! AHHHH. Once the rolls were located we would all grab a roll, butter it, take a huge bite, and sigh with delight as if the missing piece to the puzzle had been returned.
However, no one volunteered to get up from the table and make croutons tonight. :lol: We made do without the croutons since we had our lovely toasted bread to keep us happy.
We had the salad along with aaaaaamazing open-faced toasted sandwiches. I’ve been on such an open-faced sandwich kick!
It included: Pasta sauce on the bottom, tomato, roasted red pepper hummus, green onion, drizzle of EVOO, and black pepper on toasted Ezekiel bread.
It was an easy + delicious summertime dinner!
What are your favourite summertime meals? Any staples that you make frequently over the warmer months?
I’m off to finish prepping for tomorrow’s market. I don’t think I will have time for my workout today, but I will have to see how quickly I can finish up. Enjoy your Friday night!
Angela. I MUST tell you about my new favorite Vegan Caesar salad dressing recipe. I picked the recipe up at Whole Foods last week and I’ve made it twice already. SO SO good.
Ready?
2/3 cup firm tofu or firm silken tofu
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 TBS agave nectar
2 TBS light soy or chickpea miso
1 TBS white wine vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
2 cloves garlic
Ground pepper to taste
1/4 Vegetarian Worcestershire (optional)
Put all ingredients into a blender and puree until smooth. Cover & chill until ready to serve.
Nutrition facts: 30 calories/2 tablespoon serving, 2 grams protein
I’m kind of obsessed with it.
That sounds amazing! I wish I could make it but soy products give me tummy pains. I have a verrrry sensitive stomach!
I’ve also been into open-faced sandwiches lately– usually cucumber sandwiches but today I just had some baked beans and sauerkraut– on ezekiel, of course!
Genius!
I love caesar salad! I just have to try this :D Thank you!
Caesar salads are one thing I miss the most! I have found that adding capers really adds the tangy flavor the classic Caesar Salads are known for.
Love the pizza sauce idea on the sandwich! I will have to try it.
These are SOOOOOO delicious! I tried my hand at these the other day and served them as appetizers with some vegan Indian food and everyone was raving about it! The salad tastes like true cesar and the little sandwiches were just delicious, tasty little things! It was also a great introduction to my vegan Indian meal, which I prepared from a brand called Tastybite. I served their Punjab Eggplant, Channa Masala, Bombay Potatoes, Bengal Lentils, and Basmati Rice. Everyone loved the appetizers and I thought they complemented the meal very well (who knew!). I’ll definitely be serving these little treats again!
OMG love the caeser dressing!! so amazing! didnt think it needed agave nectar so i didnt use it but it turned out perfect :)
Yum Yum! I made this dressing to top a grilled romaine salad along side some roasted garlic and shallots. It was so delicious, I want to put it on everything! Can’t wait to try it with some steamed broccoli especially!
My current favorite dressing thanks to this fab recipe! I hardly ever comment but wanted to tell you that your blog = my recipe box. literally. Thank you!
Aw thank you Ashley! :)
I absolutely love this dressing! I was wandering how many days it will keep in the fridge? I always have leftovers, and I don’t want to waist any (cashews are so pricey!). Thank you for sharing this recipe!
I’ve made this I-don’t-even-know-how-many-times – totally addicted. We usually have it with tofu fingers. Once I served it with blackened tofu and that was awesome too. I don’t bother making the vegan parm – I just toss in the yeast straight up. It’s a family favourite – thanks!
The salad dressing worked out great. I made my own croutons and serves it on fresh romaine lettuce. It tasted great. It is very lemony and my husband suggested less lemon but I love it the way it is.
This is THEEEE BEST Vegan Ceasar dressing EVER. Wow did you get it right. It tastes just like the original. I’m so glad I tried it. It’s now my GO TO dressing. I used it on a mixed Butter Bean salad as well. Yum Yum, soooo good.
Thanks Angela. I’m waiting for your book to arrive. Can’t wait to dive into it.
I just tried this salad after searching quite a bit for a good yet simple recipe. I never ate caesar salad in my pre-vegan days and even vegan caesar salads that are fishy from seaweed make me queasy. This was exactly what I was looking for! Its just so good and flavorful and I could eat it for days. I had some lemon flavored olive oil so I used that in the dressing which worked well. Thank you so much for the recipe. It has made its way into my cookbook and I am excited to share it!