The Vegetarian Table – Arugula Blackberry Salad

So these days my diet is mostly vegan- but I do allow myself to have cheese once in awhile. I go back and forth with the decision, but I find if I over think it, my head hurts. For now- I have cheese on occasion. I feel good about my decision not to eat meat, eggs, fish and poultry. I feel like I’m not living a deprived life and I’ve reduced my carbon footprint to boot.

I love eating this time of year. Actually I love eating every time of year. But Spring and Summer food are fresh and delicious. It takes little manipulation to make a tempting dish.

Salads are seen as the boring side of ‘diet foods’. Real men don’t eat salad and the like is chanted the world over. Fresh greens partnered with interesting fruits can make for a great starter or even a main course (gasp). I know I’m talkin’ crazy salad for dinner. But with some soup, an additional veggie or some whole grain bread it can be filling without leaving you heavy.

Lots of what I’m inspired to prepare is born out of necessity. I had arugula that I needed to eat before it went bad. Though cucumbers are my go to veggie for salads I was craving something different.

• I grabbed some blackberries, grapefruit and shaved a bit of parmesan.
• For the dressing I used the Oilerie lemon olive oil, balsamic, dijon mustard, juice from the grapefruit and a splash of soy sauce.
• The balsamic I use is thick and sweet. If you don’t use an age balsamic add a drizzle of honey to cut the acid.
• You can either whisk it or throw it in the blender to emulsify.
• I covered the arugula with the dressing
• I added the blackberries and grapefruit
• The salad was topped with the shaved parm and some fresh black pepper.

Easy peasy.

Namaste y’all.