Salad d'Amour!

In the spirit of savouring in 2011, I've been exploring some new food avenues! New restos, and mostly, new recipes at home. What better time to do it then during the coldest months of winter, when all you want to do is hibernate and keep warm. A few extra pounds sure will help the cause!

I must come clean, we did start the year off with several food comas! A phenomenal aged-cheddar and asiago fondue with friends for one... Followed by a weekend of BBQ's, homemade pizza and greasy breakfasts. But we're turning it around! Let's face it, it makes you feel great on a cold winter's night but a meat or cheese extravaganza doesn't sit right at 6:30 a.m. when you're on your way to a 10 hour day of classes. I'm extremely busy with school and my assisting and the last thing I need is to get sick or feel run-down. So.... healthy foods it is!

Recently, I was given the "Vegan on a Shoestring" cookbook, written by the People's Potato Collective. Big ups to the People's Potato - a student run organization that offers free, daily, vegan meals to all Concordia students. All the recipes are focused around health, being informed about what you eat and most importantly, flavour. Also encouraging this delve into culinary exploration is my incessant watching of Top Chef - and again, it's all about smaller portions and bigger flavour.

This week, we have promised ourselves a few things: no eating out, less meat and 4 new recipes!

On our weekly menu:

- A chicken, grape, prosciutto and basil pasta
- A trout filet with fenil and endives
- A lentil bolognese in spaghetti squash
- A "Vegan on a Shoestring" Love Salad

We tried out the Salad D'Amour tonight!!

Here's the recipe for all my foodie followers:

Salad D'Amour
Make this love salad, not war! This recipe is always a hit with friends and family. Thanks Lysanne!

Prep Time: 30-40 Mins
Yield: 1 Large serving bowl

Salad Ingredients:
2 C rice, cooked
3 C bean sprouts
1 1/2 C baby spinach, packed
3 celery stalks, sliced
1 C, sliced mushrooms
1 pepper of any colour, diced small
1/2 C cashews, roughly chopped
3 Tbsp fresh cilantro, roughly chopped

Dressing Ingredients:
1/4 C soy sauce
1/2 C Olive Oil
1 Garlic clove, minced

Directions:
1. Mix dressing ingredients together in a bowl. Prepare the dressing a little ahead of time to let the flavours mingle.
2. Toss all the salad ingredients in a large bowl.
3. Toss well and serve.

Incredibly simple to make and delicious!

We made a few adjustments: To make a more complete meal, we added half an avocado (splashed with lemon) and a hard-boiled egg (salt and pepper to taste) on the side. We also substituted some of the olive oil for sesame oil.... A yummy taste compliment with the soy sauce!