Wednesday, November 7, 2007

His Choice


When I first started cooking (maybe two years ago, before that, I relied on restaurant food and cereal), I made lots of simple salads. After all, they are easy and versatile and good for you! Since developing my fondness for cooking, I must say that I tend to want to try more complicated things in the kitchen. John always begs for salads, so to appease him, last night we had the Roasted Portabello Salad with spicy mustard dressing from Veganomicon.

The salad did not disappoint. The roasted mushroom was tender and juicy, and the aroma of garlic and red wine filled the house to our delight. While I usually add a bit of mustard to vinaigrette's that I make, this recipe called for a large amount of spicy mustard. What a difference! The mushroom, dressing, salad greens (with fresh herbs, I love cilantro in my salads), avocado, and chickpeas all came together beautifully in this salad. It was one of those salads where I plan my final bite to include a bit of everything, so the flavors can all join forces in my mouth. Am I the only person who does this?

11 comments:

Sarah P said...

the portabello is GORGEOUS. gah I have to get veganomicon asap!

Emilie said...

beautiful mushroom! looks perfect.

Kayla said...

Portabellos look so meaty. At first I thought you had recreated steak slices. It's scary that some people put steak on salads.
You aren't the only one who plans your bites. If I have a lot of stuff going on in my meal, I will usually try out combinations (like chickpea with avocado, then with some bell pepper, or whatever) then my final bite is whatever combo I liked the most.

Jenni (aka Vegyogini) said...

This salad looks so great! Thank goodness my copy of the book is finally en route!

Anonymous said...

OGM seems to week to describe what I am experiencing in front of that picture. I called my kids, who love portabellos and we have all decided to order that book tomorrow morning.
Man, that looks amazing !

Ashasarala said...

Wow... that mushroom looks magnificent! It really looks like roast beef. Kinda creepy (being so similar-looking to red meat), but so amazing at the same time. It sounds like it tasted absolutely wonderful!

And I'm like you- I could eat pasta three times a day.

JENNA said...

What a great looking salad! Your not the only one I also want my final bite to include all the bits of everything!

aTxVegn said...

Oh yes, I plan my final bite too. Your mushroom salad looks just like the picture in the book!

shaun.marie said...

ha! i definitely plan my final bite. it's a problem, too, because my boyfriend eats his meal quickly then tries to steal bits off my plate!! and when you're saving tasty morsels for the end, it's infuriating to have those stolen!

we've talked it out, don't worry!

Anonymous said...

that salad is calling my name!!

Melisser; the Urban Housewife said...

I *always* plan my final bite! I just made portobellos last night. I'm not normally a mushroom person, but this salad sounds awesome!