Salads For The Week

I love salads for meals in the summertime and fresh greens are the key ingredient. Preparing massive salads in advance, provides our family with nutritious meals for days. Pick a day to prepare when you have lots of time to enjoy the art of cooking (for me, I know cooking feels more like a chore when I am rushed) and be creative. Make the salads big – it’s worth it!

There’s nothing better than opening the fridge in the middle of a busy day and finding an already-made huge bowl of fresh salad to eat instantly. Thank goodness that even though the spinach and kale plants in my garden are just now peeking through the soil, the fresh greens at the Bogert Farmers’ Market (every Tuesday from 5-8 p.m.) are fully grown and ready to eat.

Though the salads I like to prepare are not so appealing to my kids in their fully-combined form, there are basic ingredients that they love to eat, too. So, I find myself preparing a large salad for my husband and I and making extras of one ingredient that my kids love (like brown rice or hard-boiled eggs) so that everyone has something quick, easy and healthy to eat.

Mixing fresh greens with other veggies and rice (wild, brown or other), tossed with a simple dressing of olive oil, lemon juice or vinegar, and minced garlic provides a hearty salad that will last for days in the fridge – perfect for making massive amounts that will feed the family multiple meals. Add in eggs, cubed tofu, nuts or other protein, and you’ve got an energy-packed meal and a happy belly.

I just bought a huge bunch of bok-choy at the Bogert Farmers’ Market with the intention of making the delicious bok-choy salad from our old Co-op in Moscow, ID. This recipe is adapted from the Moscow Food Co-op’s Cookbook and can be ordered from their website Moscow Food Co-op. They are a sister-store to the Bozeman Co-op, so if you find yourself in or near Moscow on your summer travels, stop in and you will be treated as a member.

Tofu Bok-Choy Salad

Ingredients

½ cup almonds (and/or other toasted nuts and seeds)
1 head bok-choy, large, chopped
1 cup red cabbage, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 block extra-firm tofu
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
¼ cup canola oil
¼ cup tamari
¼ cup brown sugar (or honey)

Directions

1) Cube and marinate tofu in tamari and oil (sesame is great). Bake or fry for 10 minutes and cool.

2) Toast almonds on cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 5 to 8 minutes. Combine the last four ingredients in large bowl and whisk well. Combine all other ingredients in large bowl, toss and serve.

Though this particular recipe does not feature rice, I would cook a big pot of brown rice along with this and add in tofu, toasted almonds (make extra) and tamari for the kids. Better yet, if your kids like veggies more than mine, you can enjoy this salad with your children.

Search your cookbooks and online for a wealth of recipes that feature fresh greens along with rice, eggs and a vast diversity of summertime comfort-food ingredients. Enjoy!