OK! I promise this might be the last post about summer salads!!! But this past days I’ve really tried a lot of new things and each was a great match. This spelt and mozarella salad is an other example.
Simply boiled spelt, cucumber, ocra, boiled edamame and fresh mozarella diced, a lot of pepper, and always delicious olive oil.
In my search of the perfect summer salad I’m making a lot of trials, never twice the same. Of course as I was writing in my earlier post all have in common a cereal or carb base: bulgur, rice, pasta, couscous… Tons of fresh vegetables: mainly tomatoes, ocra, cucumbers, a very light or non existing dressing. My salad today ressemble more a donburi for two, with Japanese style accomodation. I boiled some fresh edamame, added some sliced ocra and a perfectly rippen avocado, and a finish with grilled chirimen (very tiny half dried and a bit salty fishes). A perfect combination of softness and crispiness, of sweetness and saltiness. A really delicious mix and a great variation from regular rice donburi.
With the heat in Tokyo it’s hard to spend to much time in the kitchen in front of the stove or with the oven on. So recently I’ve just been preparing a lot of fresh vegetables salads with all sorts of accomodation. I usually bake some rice, bulgur, pasta, cheak peas for two meals to reduce the heat up of the kitchen, and then accomodate in a different manner each time. I will introduce a few this week.
Today is a simple chick peas and bulgur base with tomatoes, cucumbers and ocras, all with a bit of olive oil and a mix of north african spices.
After a whole week in Seattle, it’s good to be back home. Though the city has numerous farmers markets, with very attractive food, the hotel life allows only for limited purchases and preparation. There are also a lot of food trucks but honestly the idea of having lunch standing or seated like punks in the street is not very attractive, though the food looks good. As for restaurants, food was ok, fresh but I didn’t find anything outstanding. The best we had was surely grilled salmon or grilled halibut with asparagus. There might be some nice places serving local food (not limited to seafood, which is not what I like best) but we couldn’t find them… It’s really a pity because driving around Seattle one can find again tones of organic farms selling their products, fruits, veggies, delicious yogurts…
So being back home it is time to go back to the kitchen and improvise some summer recipes with fresh food and light enough to beat the jetlag and the heat. So we’re back to the basics: quinoa and bulgur as a base, baby leaf salad, cherry tomatoes and cucumber, yellow zucchini, ocra, and to finish pumpkin seeds, flax seeds and white chia seeds. Back on the tracks!!