by : Reiko Salad

Rye Berry Salad
ライ麦サラダ

Since we got so much rye from last weekend, I’ve been busy “cleaning” it.

Basically I go through by a very small handful and remove what shouldn’t belong there.

It’s a tedious job, but I don’t mind it.

I still have many baking ideas using rye flour, but today I decided to eat them without grinding it into flour.

I cooked the cleaned rye berries in salted water.

And made salad!

Loved the chewy texture of the rye berries.

I also just found out that Rye is a great source of fiber!

The salad was served with vegan sausage, sauteed turmeric cauliflower, and tomato basil soup.

All the colors on the plate made this meal a perfect lunch!

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by : Reiko Noodles/Pasta, Salad, Tofu, Vegan Cheese

Vegan “Parmesan” Crisps
パルメザン風豆腐チップ

The amazing base recipe is from https://www.instagram.com/neruko_diet/ (in Japanese).

She posts “diet” recipes, but many of her recipes simply use simple “healthy” ingredients, which I like.

Since I wanted to make it like “Parmesan” I swapped a few ingredients.

This is how I made this.

I used about 2/3 package of soft tofu.

Mix with nutritional yeast, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt, and mash the mixture roughly.

Spread the mixture very thinly on a parchment paper lined microwave-safe plate.

The recipe said cook in the microwave oven (600w) for about 7 minutes.

My microwave is 1200w, so I cooked at the power level at 5 for 7 minutes.

But it was not crispy at all, so I cooked for another few minutes at 5 and then full (1200w) for another few minutes.

I strongly recommend that you closely watch so that it doesn’t burn.

It does go quick from not crispy to very crispy.

These are not only crispy but also delicious!

Hard to believe it’s made of tofu.

There are so many ways to enjoy these crisps.

This is Kale Caesar.

I even made croutons myself.

I actually used the GF baguette (previous post) for it.

This turned out so good too!!

This is great to serve with pasta as well.

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by : Reiko Salad

Caesar Salad with Crispy V-Bacon
かりかりベーコンのせ丸のままシーザーサラダ

Yesterday I found beautiful romaine lettuce at a grocery store, and I came home with a package of three.

I just recently bought Ms. Miyoko S’s “The Homemade Vegan Pantry” cookbook, and I thought it would be perfect to try her Caesar salad dressing.

I modified some ingredients and process according to what I had and my personal preference, but it turned out great!

I only quickly looked through the book, but I like seeing many interesting ideas already.

I cooked my homemade vegan bacon because I wanted it as a topping.

This time I gave them a little smoky flavor.

Fresh romaine lettuce, vegan Caesar dressing, crispy bacon, V-Parmesan, and freshly ground black pepper.

This was delicious!

We enjoyed it as the first course of our lunch today.

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by : Reiko Asian Food, Noodles/Pasta, Salad

Soba Salad with Peanut Dressing
ピーナッツドレッシング和え蕎麦サラダ

Soba salad is one of my favorite kinds of salad.

I love noodles, but I make sure there are lots of veggies mixed with them.

You can really use any veggies you like, but this time I used green peppers, carrots, cauliflower, edamame, and radish.

Peanut dressing is so good.

It’s rich, creamy, and tangy.

Doesn’t this look good?

I initially thought I made too much, but it was gone in no time.

It makes a perfect lunch.

Here the salad was served with scrambled tofu and fresh arugula-spinach mix.

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by : Reiko Bread, Salad, Tofu

Sourdough Crouton Bowl
サワードウクルトン・ワンプレートランチ

This was my today’s quick lunch.

I had a lot of homemade sourdough bread cubes in the freezer and decided to use this as the carbs of the dish.

The cubes were toasted, combined with spinach-arugula leaves, and then dressed with mustard maple vinaigrette.

And then, avocado, grape tomatoes, and radish were mixed in.

Served with soft scrambled tofu and sauteed asparagus.

Such a nutritional, delicious, and quick meal!

Loved the crunchy croutons in this.

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by : Reiko Bread, Main Dish, Mushrooms, Potatoes/Squash, Salad

2019 Thanksgiving Dinner
2019年感謝祭

Happy Thanksgiving!


Here is the main dish of this year.

Mushroom stuffed vegan roast.

Isn’t it beautiful?

This homemade roast was so good!! (so much better than store-bought ones.)

Glazed Satsuma sweet potatoes with black sesames.

Sauteed broccolini with crushed red pepper.

Corn bread.

Kale persimmon salad.

Salad is traditionally a part of Thanksgiving dinner, but I still like to have fresh vegetables.

Also on the table were garlic mashed potatoes, mushroom walnut gravy, and mandarin cranberries.

My husband and I are spending the day with the family at his mother’s house.

Looking forward to seeing everyone and hanging out.

We are planning to bring some of these dishes so that we will have something to eat, but I heard my mother-in-law is also modifying some of her recipes to make a few dishes vegan for us, which I very much appreciate.

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by : Reiko Leaf Vegetables, Rice/Grains, Salad

Wild Rice Apple Walnut Cranberry Salad
ワイルドライスりんご胡桃クランベリーサラダ

I made this salad when I still had fresh apples I got from a local apple orchard.

The combination of fresh apples, wild rice, walnut, celery, cranberry, and kale is so wonderful.

It’s so satisfying, and I could just have this as a meal, maybe with a cup of soup.

The salad was dressed with homemade maple Dijon dressing.

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by : Reiko Salad

Grape Kale Caesar Salad with Savory Italian Cookie Crumbs
ぶどうシーザーサラダ、イタリアンクッキー崩しのせ

Caesar salad used to be one of my favorite salads.

Now I make a plant-based version, and I love it even more.

Traditional romaine lettuce is good, but kale also makes an awesome salad.

This time I added sweet red grapes and homemade plant-based cheese and then topped it off with savory Italian cookie crumbs which are packed with olives, herbs, and sundried tomatoes.

Something different, unique, and super yum!

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by : Reiko Leaf Vegetables, Salad

Strawberry Kale Caesar Salad
苺ケールシーザーサラダ

When I moved to the city from the suburb five years ago, I knew there were going to be some changes in my life.

But increased sense of community was not something I expected.

I now talk with neighbors much more frequently because I see them in the condo elevator.

I never imagined to ask a neighbor for sugar, but now I do.

When we lived in the suburb, we were on a cul de suc in the beautiful residential area, but because everyone was always driving, I hardly saw my neighbors, and many of the stores in the area were mostly big chain stores.

Now I walk into a shop, and I talk with the owner about local politics, as the owner not only owns the business but also lives in the same community.

 

Yesterday one of our neighbor friends, Mr. K, brought us kale because he and his wife bought it at the local farmers market, but it was too much for them.

I never say no to fresh veggies!

This was so fresh and tender.

My husband is not a big kale fan, but he said he liked THIS kale.

This Caesar salad has some surprises.

In this salad you’ll find kale leaves, strawberry slices, and black beans, dressed with garlicky homemade Caesar dressing, and the salad was served with coconut-nutritional yeast-salt sprinkles.

Super tasty!!

 

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by : Reiko Leaf Vegetables, Salad

Kale Blueberry Caesar Salad
ケールブルーベリー・シーザーサラダ

I had beautiful fresh kale leaves, and I wanted to enjoy it for lunch.

The best way to do so?

Salad!

I also happened to have a lot of super sweet fresh blueberries, and I decided to combine them both and make Caesar salad.

Kale, blueberries, and cucumber slices, all combined well with garlicky, cheesy, creamy homemade vegan dressing, and then homemade crunchy croutons were sprinkled on top.

The salad was served with paprika cauliflower steak.

A perfect lunch!

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