Simple Summer Squash Salad (Vegan, Gluten Free)

Summer appetites are strange things. 

One minute you're craving a light, crunchy salad, the next a cold, creamy ice cream cone, then something charred and savory from the grill and before you know it you'll want to bite into a giant slice of fresh watermelon with the juice running down your arms. It's a funny time of the year for food. In the winter, I just want something warm and comforting. In the summer, my taste buds change with the wind. 

Maybe I just think about this stuff too much.

This salad was the result of trying to use up what I had in my fridge and pantry, but it tasted so good I just had to share it. Plus I had warned you all the other day about the amount of squash recipes that would be bombarding the site and I have yet to make good on that promise. 

I think the reason I enjoyed this salad so much is that it hit almost all my summer food cravings in one dish. You obviously get the crunchy salad from the the romaine, the juicy sweetness from the red peppers and the savory charred flavor from the sauteed garlic, veggies, and chickpeas. I guess I'd just need to finish it all off with a bowl of ice cream to make it complete. 

This salad is super easy to make, is done in minutes and is made using ingredients you probably already have on hand. Plus, it's a light enough meal for a hot summer night, but keeps you full due to all the fiber and protein.

Simple Summer Squash Salad

• 1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 Cloves Garlic, minced
• 1 Yellow Summer Squash, chopped
• 1 Red Pepper, sliced
• 1 Can Chickpeas, drained
• 4 Cups Chopped Romaine
• Sea Salt and Pepper to Taste
• 1-2 Tablespoons Thyme
• 1/2-1 Cup Green Onion, chopped

Makes 4 salads. 

Warm olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, add the garlic and allow to cook for a couple minutes, stirring occasionally. Toss in the squash and red pepper, turn up the heat to medium-high. Cook the vegetables for about 5 minutes, stirring regularly. Be careful not to overcook them, you want them to still have a bit of a crunch. Turn the heat back down to medium, add salt, pepper, thyme and chickpeas. While the chickpeas are warming, arrange the romaine on plates (approximately 1 cup per plate). After about 5 minutes, turn off the stove and divide the chickpeas and veggies among the plates of romaine lettuce. Garnish with green onion. Serve with a smile and enjoy. This salad is particularly delicious when enjoyed with friends outside during sunset.  

Do you have specific cravings during different times of the year?

Curried Lentil Salad (Vegan, Gluten Free)

Sometimes you experiment with great results, other times not so much. I am pleased to say that my Curried Lentil Salad was the later.

 When you first move you don't have a lot of food or a lot of spices or a lot of tools to work with. Sometimes you aren't used to your new refrigerator and its frigid temperatures and wake up to find all of your produce frozen. And sometimes you're sick of eating cereal and want to eat something cooked, homemade, something that was cooked with care, not poured out of a box. Insert this salad. This was a concoction derived from saving my produce that had frozen so they didn't taste so good fresh anymore, but hadn't gone bad and also wanting to use what I had in my pantry so I didn't need to buy more food at the grocery store.

The only pot we have (while we wait for the rest of our stuff to show up) is my wok. So that is how I cooked the lentils. I wouldn't recommend it, it's takes a long time, but if that's all you have it works. Plus, that means that's this entire salad was prepared in one pot, that's how simple it is.

Yes, I did use a frosting spatula to stir this salad with. Hey, sometimes you just have to work with what you have. This simple, tasty salad would be great as a side, a light lunch or dinner or just because you want to impress your friends and family with a pretty dish. No one said simple can't be fancy.

This recipe is more of a guideline to recreate the salad yourself. None of the measurements need to be exact. Just play around with it to make it match your taste preferences. Feel free to add some fresh ground pepper if you'd like, I just didn't have any.

Curried Lentil Salad

• 1/4 Cup Lentils
• 1 Red Pepper
• 3 Cups Spinach
• Sea Salt to taste
• Muchi Curry Powder to taste
• 1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Splash of Red Wine Vinegar
• A Few Cilantro Sprigs

Makes 1-3 servings.

Cook lentils according to package directions, adding the muchi curry powder and a pinch of sea salt. Slice the red pepper and saute with the olive oil until browned on the outside. Remove from heat and add the spinach, stirring it occasionally, just until the spinach is slightly wilted. Add salt, cilantro and red wine vinegar to taste. Add the lentils. Serve and enjoy!