Salads for One: An Exercise in Simplicity

Food prep for one is a delicate art. Since my lovely partner is still in Adelaide, I've been on my own at mealtimes lately. And while making food for little ole' me doesn't exactly inspire me to get elaborate in the kitchen, I also don't want to neglect my sense of gustatory pleasure. I deserve a nice meal alone just as much as with a companion - perhaps even more so since the dining experience is just me and the food, sans conversation. On the other hand, I honestly can't be bothered spending too much time making something when nobody else is there to oooh and ahhh over my creative genius with me. I suppose that's what the blog is for: the technological solution to the old conundrum of "If genius occurs in a forest, does it make a sound?"

The other problem with food prep for one is that I can only stock a limited amount of ingredients, since I am mentally allergic to throwing food away (I can still hear my mother's voice saying "wasting food is like throwing money in the garbage"). The answer to these two problems? The three S's of raw food: SEASONALITY, SIMPLICITY, AND SALADS!

My definition of salads is quite broad, and can generally encompass a wide range of whatever I happen to have in the refrigerator. For example, recently I thought I had nothing much to make a meal out of in the house. But I managed to make the following absolutely fantastically satisfying concoction out of a few fresh ingredients, and it was one of the best and most original meals I've had in ages. Absolute proof that necessity is the mother of invention.

YUM! Those are cos (romaine) lettuce wraps with fresh paw paw, avocado, ground linseed (flax), tahini, and dried shredded coconut. Fantastically balanced and nutritious (omega 3's, anyone?), not to mention a perfect contrast of textures and flavors. I ate these sitting outside in the sunshine in my garden. This photo is only 2/3 of my meal - I'll admit I ate one before I had the presence of mind to take a photo. I was hungry!

The next salad was inspired by the gorgeous Thai green mango I found at the Queen Victoria markets. If you've never had a green mango, you simply must try it. They are longer and thinner than normal mangoes, and eaten when they look green and unripe outside. The flavor is much more tangy-tart, similar to tamarind, and crunchier in texture. Lots of crisp asian greens, some creamy avocado, a gorgeous spicy almond dressing, and a generous topping of fresh coriander complimented this exotic fruit perfectly. Yes, I made lots of noise eating this salad - I just can't suppress my sighs of pleasure over a good meal.

Another tasty treat: quinoa tabbouleh! Based on a recipe from Matthew Kenney's Everyday Raw, this one takes a little more prep but is still pretty simple. It also makes enough for about three meals worth, so I've been taking it to work for my lunch. The only time-consuming task here is soaking quinoa overnight, but really all that this requires is thinking 24-hours ahead. The fresh flavors of tabbouleh - lemon juice, olive oil, parsley, mint, tomatoes - marry so beautifully with germinated quinoa, a wonder-grain from the Andean region of South America. Did you know that quinoa contains 12-18% protein, a balance of all essential amino acids, is high in fiber, and is gluten free? I am always amazed by how many people ask me, "but how do you get protein?" First of all, most people eat way too much protein, which interferes with absorption of other nutrients. But regardless, there are lots of plant foods that are full of protein if one is just a little bit creative. Quinoa also has a wonderful nutty flavor, and is a great and easy grain to sprout.

Here are the recipes, all designed to serve one. Use them as a starting point for creating your own free-form salads with whatever you have on hand.


TROPICAL COS WRAPS
3 large outer leaves of cos lettuce
1/4 red paw paw, cut into large dice
1/2 ripe but firm avocado, cut into large dice
1/8 cup flax/linseed, ground in coffee or spice grinder*
good drizzle of tahini
handful of dried shredded coconut

Rinse, dry, and arrange cos leaves on a plate. Divide paw paw and avocado cubes among the lettuce leaves. Sprinkle with linseed, drizzle with tahini, and top with a sprinkling of dried coconut. Dig in!

*Linseed (aka flax in America) must be ground rather than eaten whole, because the outer hull is too hard for the body to break down, so this nutritional powerhouse will simply pass through your system if it is not pre-ground. Grind it up to get all that omega fatty acid goodness!


TANGY THAI SALAD
1 bunch of bok choy, roughly chopped
1/2 small cucumber, julienned
1/2 small carrot, julienned
1/2 Thai green mango, julienned
1/2 ripe but firm avocado, sliced
1 big handful of bean sprouts
1 small handful of pea shoots
1 few sprigs of fresh coriander, chopped
Spicy almond dressing (recipe follows)

Place chopped bok choy in the center of a plate. Top with julienned cucumber and carrot, mango, avocado, bean sprouts and pea shoots. Drizzle with dressing and sprinkle fresh coriander over the top. I dare you to eat this without sighing with pleasure!

SPICY ALMOND DRESSING
1 handful germinated almonds
1 Tbsp tahini
2 Tbsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp tamari
juice of 1/2 lime or lemon
2 tsp honey/agave
1 small Thai chili
small knob of grated ginger

Combine all ingredients in blender or food processor. These are kind of approximate measurements - when I created this dressing, I kept adding and tasting until it seemed right to me. I follow a wonderful little piece of advice that I read in Victoria Boutenko's 12 Steps to Raw Food, which is this. Your dressings/soups/recipes should contains 5 elements: sweet, salty, spicy, sour and bitter. When making this dressing, keep tasting and asking yourself, is it sweet enough? Is it sour enough? Etc., until it tastes just right to you.

QUINOA TABBOULEH
1 cup quinoa, rinsed and soaked for 24 hours
1/4 cup olive oil
juice of 1/2 large lemon, or 1 small
1 tsp sea/himalayan salt
1 cup diced cucumber
1 cup diced tomatoes
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley
1/4 cup minced fresh mint

Drain quinoa well and place in a large bowl. Add diced cucumber, tomato, parsley, mint, olive oil, lemon juice, and salt. Toss well, and taste. Adjust seasoning if you wish. In the original recipe, Matthew adds minced red onion, but the taste of raw onion is too strong for me. I think spring onion would be lovely if you want some onion flavor but less strong. You can eat this immediately, but I think it's better if you leave it for a while to let the flavors mingle.

Raw Vegetable Stifado

My first waitressing job was at a cozy little pizza joint. A big fat guy with attitude to match turned out really spectacular pies and other simple Italian home cooking, and me and a couple of other skinny young waitresses served this stodgy but delectable fare to a crowd of regulars. Though the pizzas were the stuff of legend, I would usually hold out for a bowl of spezzatino - Italian stew slow cooked with tender chunks of beef, carrots, potatoes, onions, red wine and herbs.

My boss also happened to be fluent in Greek, I suppose the result of growing up around so many Greek immigrants in the Adelaide CBD. He taught me that the Greek word for stew was stifado, which immediately made sense to me because for years I'd been making and loving a vegetarian stifado from one of my beloved Moosewood cookbooks.

In this raw version, I've reworked both concepts into a celebration both of vegetables and of slow food. The key is to let the ingredients marinate overnight so they soften, then soak them in the sauce the next day to concentrate the flavors. I love the dill in this recipe and I think that's what makes it taste really "Greek" to me. Share it for dinner with friends or family, and think of many generations of peasants past gathering over a steaming pot of stew. Okay, so yours won't be steaming, but it will be bursting with life and flavor. Opa!

Raw Stifado

1 small eggplant, cut into ½ inch pieces
1 small zucchini, cut into ½ inch pieces
1 small red capsicum/bell pepper, cut into ½ inch pieces
5 swiss brown mushrooms, cut in half and thinly sliced
6 cherry tomatoes, quartered
handful of kalamata olives, pitted and quartered
1 clove garlic, minced
¼ red onion, cut into fine dice
juice of 1 lemon
2 Tbsp olive oil
3 tsp Himalayan salt

1 cup sundried tomatoes
¼ cup olive oil
2 Tbsp fresh dill, chopped
½ tsp dried oregano
Freshly ground black pepper

Two handfuls of baby spinach


In a large container with a lid, combine eggplant, zucchini, red capsicum, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, olives, garlic, and red onion.

In a small bowl, whisk together lemon juice, olive oil, and salt. Pour over vegetables and toss to coat. Let the vegetables marinate at room temperature overnight (or for at least 6 hours).

Combine sundried tomatoes, half of the soaking liquid, olive oil, oregano and dill in a food processor. Process until you achieve a thick sauce, adding more soaking liquid if necessary.

Toss the sauce with the marinated vegetables. Add the spinach and mix through. Add a good grind of black pepper and mix thoroughly. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Let the stew marinate at room temperature for several more hours for the flavors to marry.

This stew is really lovely topped with some raw milk feta cheese, if you can get it. If you don’t eat dairy but like the taste of feta, try out this spectacular and nutritious recipe for sunflower feta. Or, eat the stew on its own; also delicious!