First I wanted to say that I hope you all had a lovely holiday weekend. The weather here has been absolutely gorgeous. It has been mostly sunny with temperatures in the mid to upper 70’s (Fahrenheit). Not the type of weather where anyone would like to be cooped up inside. The plants have all started to bud and the cherry blossoms are in bloom. Mother Nature is magnificent this time of year. I love this time of year when we are greeted by the rebirth of nature. There is something very comforting about the return of spring.
Sometimes even I don’t really feel like making a fuss over a holiday dinner. Today was one of those days. I made something quick from things in the refrigerator and freezer and dinner was just as good but so much easier on the cook. Luckily I had seitan cutlets in the freezer which became the center of the plate. I topped those with the red pepper pesto that I made yesterday. To accompany the cutlets I made a quick salad. Here is what I did:
Garbanzo, Cucumber and Tomato Salad with Tofu Tahini Sauce and Fresh Dill
Serves 4
Ingredients:
1 English cucumber, cut in quarters and then thinly sliced
1 pint grape tomatoes, cut into quarters
1 cup cooked garbanzo beans
4 tablespoons tofu tahini sauce
1 splash red wine vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
2 tablespoons fresh dill
Salt and pepper, to taste
4 cups baby spinach
Red wine vinegar to season the spinach
Directions:
Combine the tofu tahini sauce, vinegar, dill and salt and pepper. Add the veggies and beans and stir to combine. Toss the spinach with a little red wine vinegar for flavor and top with the dressed salad.
Nutritional Information:
Amount Per Serving
Calories - 163.64
Calories From Fat (28%) - 45.95
Total Fat - 5.39g
Saturated Fat - 0.72g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 188.22mg
Potassium - 697.48mg
Total Carbohydrates- 21.38g
Fiber - 5.65g
Sugar - 4.05g
Protein - 10.01g
Comments:
The dill made a big difference in the flavor of this salad. I don’t use dill often because I find it to be overpowering in many cases. But it worked well here and will use it this way again. This salad is light and refreshing but includes a little fiber and protein, which are both always good. Each serving of this salad included approximately 3,400IU of vitamin A, 27mg of vitamin C, 130mg of calcium, 150mcg of folate, 160mcg of vitamin K, 180mg of phosphorus, and 85mg of magnesium. Not too shabby for a little side salad.
Unrelated note:
This upcoming week should be crazy again for us. I will try to post something everyday but since my life is still a little up in the air I don’t know for certain that I will be successful. Things should calm down soon.
This is going to be it for tonight. I hope you are having a relaxing evening before returning to the weekly grind. Talk to you all again soon. Good Night.
yum! i love a simple holiday dinner so that the focus can be on family and celebrating, with yummy food included. i love how you include little notes on the ingredients and what you think of them. i also like that you include the approximate nutritional information since i think it's important to know my approximate protein/fiber/fat so that i can be a healthy little vegan :D. what do you use to calculate it?
ReplyDeletehave a lovely day (and happy easter!)
xox
Mandiee,
ReplyDeleteThanks! I try to include info I would like to know when reading recipes. Thank you for letting me know it is helpful.
I use a program called "Living Cookbook". I bought it on-line. It is easy to use but there is a learning curve since you need to link to the right ingredient because there so many options for each item. It is reasonably priced you should check it out.
hope you had a lovely day too!
Alicia
Looks delish, as always, Alicia! Glad you enjoyed your weekend!
ReplyDeletexoxo,
LJ
LJ,
ReplyDeleteThanks! You are always too kind. I hope you have a great weekend too!
talk to you soon,
Alicia
Your Easter dinner looks and sounds fantastic, I love how you came up with something healthy and tasty you already have in the freezer/fridge = great inspiration!
ReplyDeleteHappy Easter to you too, Alicia!
Oraphan,
ReplyDeleteI cook from things on hand quite often to save time. Whenever I make something I intentionally make extra so I can have dinners like this later.
Hope you had a great weekend!
Alicia
Dinner looks so good. I agree on the dill. I enjoy it when it's used "correctly" I tend to be heavy-handed with all spices and some you just have to hold back on. Thanks for sharing (as always).
ReplyDeleteHeather,
ReplyDeleteI tend to be heavy handed with herbs and spices too. That is never a good plan with dill, tried it...so not good! LOL
Thanks for your kind words. :-)
Alicia
Looks like a yummy dinner to me...seitan is always delicious...and since you have the good weather, it looks like a quick meal that allowed you to enjoy the weather and the company!
ReplyDeleteRose,
ReplyDeleteThanks, I don't think anyone would have enjoyed it more if I had spent hours in the kitchen. I need to remember this since I tend to overdo. ;-)
Alicia
Your holiday meal looks delicious, like all your "everyday" meals do! I say a holiday meal is whatever the person cooking says it is. And if that's toast with peanut butter and jelly, then so be it! ;-) I don't blame you for wanting to be outside enjoying that superb weather, as well as enjoying a relaxing holiday weekend. And your meal still managed to look very elegant and fancy! You should run a catering business (with all your spare time, LOL!) ;-)
ReplyDeleteLalo,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the nice compliments. I have heard the catering thing many times before. I have resisted because now I enjoy cooking but if I had to do I think it would stop being enjoyable. I have also thought about teaching healthy vegan cooking, but like you said .... in my spare time. When I get some of that I will think about it then. ;-)
Alicia