Spinach salad with fruit and seeds

Mix in proportions that make you happy:

- spring mix
- spinach
- mandarin oranges
- dried cranberries
- dried blueberries
- raisins
- unsalted roasted sunflower seeds
- unsalted pumpkin seeds
- sliced honey crisp apples
- dehydrated peas

Top with Newman's Own Light Raspberry & Walnut Dressing

Pan-seared sesame tofu cutlets

I don't have a good record with tofu. I don't like working with it. But every few years I make the attempt. In June, I found tofu on sale, on clearance, at Target so I figured I'd give it another go.

I bought two blocks. The first ended up cubed for a curry stir fry.

This one had the usual tribulations. I started with a pound of tofu, I think.

I pressed, drained and sliced the tofu. Pressing typically involves sandwiching the tofu between two plates with a heavy pile of books on top. I use vegetarian cookbooks.

I screwed up the marinade, so this is an approximation.

- 2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
- about 3 tablespoons Newman's Own Sesame Ginger Salad Dressing
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 3/4 teaspoon curry powder
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 cup Iron Chef orange ginger sauce

I marinated for two hours.

For the coating, I mixed 50% corn flake crumbs and 50% sesame seeds. It stuck nicely because of the high oil content in the marinade.

I preheated my Le Creuset skillet with canola over medium heat. Half of them fried perfectly, some lost their breading but not nearly as many as I usually mangle. My husband said they were good. My daughter didn't like the high volume of seeds. And I forgot to eat some before I left for work.

Tortellini with pesto and garden salad

The pesto I made earlier (see today's previous post) went over cheese tortellini for a quick dinner. Two heaping teaspoons were plenty for the one bag of tortellini, so we'll be making pesto garlic toast for dinner tomorrow and freezing some more sauce.

The salads we served were all greens from our garden, red leaf, green leaf, spinach and sorrel. Green pepper from the garden. Carrots and cucumbers from the store. Dehydrated peas from Forks Mediterranean Deli. I had Newman's Own Sesame Ginger dressing. Child has vegan Goddess Dressing. Husband had Annie's Cowgirl Ranch.

To keep the meal vegan, watch your dressings and I recommend a tofu-spinach ravioli for the tortellini.

Broiled shrimp and salad with homemade croutons

We were given a bag of shrimp which I broiled, five minutes each side, and sprinkled with it's a dilly seasoning.

I had a chunk of homemade rye bread beyond its prime but not reduced to breadcrumbs or compost yet... So I had daughter slice it, oil it lightly and sprinkle it with herbs and heated at about six minutes at 475, flipped them, five minutes more and then turned them one more time.

Took a packaged salad I got at Target ($2.49)and added lettuce from my garden, sorrel, golden raisins, raisins and mandarin oranges. Topped with Newman's Own Raspberry Walnut dressing.

Summer fruit and fresh herb chicken salad

This is to accompany that bread I have on the rise. A perfect cold meal for a hot day.

-12.5 ounces chicken
- one cup fruit (I used local strawberries, local raspberries, a handful of red grapes and a three by two inch chunk of watermelon)

Dressing:
- 1/8 cup vegan mayo
- 1/8 cup Chobani mango yogurt
- two teaspoons Newman's Own Raspberry Walnut Dressing
- one teaspoon country herb blend
- 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Stir then add from the garden:
- 3 large leaves French sorrel, chopped
- about four tablespoons parsley
- one tablespoon dill

Venison loin in the crock pot

My mother gave me some venison so I soaked some in brine this morning. I placed a loin in a solution of water, vinegar, pepper and salt. In a fit of indecision, I added apple cider and balsamic vinegar.

After a couple hours, I tossed it in my skillet with a couple tablespoons of canola oil and seared it on medium high for about three minutes on each of three sides.

I tossed it in the crock pot on low with water, a touch of garlic powder, a few shredded leaves of fresh sage and sorrel and a hearty squirt (about 3 ounces?) of Newman's Own Raspberry Walnut dressing.

Lunch for breakfast

The non-dairy options in this house looked bleak. I offered my daughter homemade granola, eggs or, if school lunch wasn't going to be PB&J, PB&J. She wanted PB&J but the school lunch options were hot dog (which she doesn't like) or cheesesteak (dairy) so it's a PB&J day.

For breakfast, I made her raw broccoli with Newman's Own Sesame Ginger dressing, some of the Bolthouse Immunity-C boost (mango/cherry, I'm an addict-- tried the mango 21 protein by the same company and it had to be one of the nastiest things I've ever tasted) and a Boca chk*n patty on soft wheat bread (yes, the store-bought kind).

Maybe today I will make bread... Or biscuits.