Salad Sorcery

If you work from home, you may face the same problem that I do of coming up with new, yummy meals each day. Fish sticks and oven fries are great, but they get old fast. And going out to eat each day isn’t good for my wallet or my waistline.

So I turn the chore of cooking lunch into a little game, and the result is tasty, healthy meals that actually make me look forward to the next day’s lunch break.

(Most of the time. Every once in a while, my little cooking adventures turn into nasty disasters that send the dog running from the room with his tail between his legs, just from the smell. Like last week’s fried-potato-and-chicken-breast accident. My stomach turns just thinking of it.)

I have a kind of running competition going with myself to try to outdo last week’s amazing lunches. I also talk out loud to my dog–these are some of the hazards of working alone at home all day.

My veggie delivery guy brought lettuce this week, so I’ve been doing less cooking and more salad sorcery.

And yesterday it really was sorcery.

I hate throwing away food, and I had left-over kidney beans, an open package of tofu, and some cooked beets that all really needed to go. So I took a deep breath, braced myself for the worst, and created this amazing salad:

Everything Salad (serves one)

1 plateful of lettuce (if you have arugula, add a little of that, too!)

3 oz. tofu (or as much as you want–I use 1/3 of a block)

2-3 Tbs cold cooked kidney beans (I just use the canned kind)

3-4 slices cooked beet, chopped into bite-sized pieces

1 carrot, sliced

1 Tbs cooking oil (canola or peanut work fine)

dash of soy sauce

dash of Worcestershire sauce (optional, but highly recommended!)

Sautee the tofu with the oil, soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Meanwhile, top the lettuce with beans, beet and carrot and prepare the salad dressing. Top salad with the hot tofu and drizzle with dressing.

As the name suggests, you can alter this salad in any way you like. Happen to have tomatoes or apples lying around? Slice them up and toss them in! Don’t have or don’t like tofu? Substitute chopped chicken or turkey breast.

REALLY Simple Salad Dressing:

I usually make enough to last for several salads.

5 Tbs olive oil

3 Tbs balsamic vinegar

1/2 tsp mustard (the kind with seeds adds an extra dimension, but plain is fine, too)

Combine ingredients in an air-tight container; shake thoroughly. You can dress up this dressing however you like: chopped chives or basil, dried Italian herbs, salt and pepper–you get the idea.