this last week has been beautiful,
on the cold side of warm when the wind
is acting up
but in the sunlight,
bliss.
we’re heavily in the middle of
a massive abode cleaning,
as well as painting.
doing at-home chores is never
my idea of time well-spent.
but these things hafta occur,
and to balance all that nonsense
i dragged dw out for a picnic.
an afternoon better spent
than doing home improvement, methinks.

hope you’re enjoying spring, friends!

thanks to Mastro Co for sponsoring this post. large casserole can be found here.

herby cauliflower salad + chili roasted tofu

*note: this isn’t a hard a dish to prepare and all measurements are guesses. i would recommend adding the herbs according to your preference, you may like mint more than parsley. the dressing is the standard dressing that i usually make for salads, and i never measure, i kinda just throw it together. you can use any vinaigrette dressing you want. finally, i used the very last pomegranate of the season, i would imagine dried cranberries would be a nice sub, though fresh strawberries or raspberries would be good too, just be gentle when mixing.

seed from one pomegranate (dried cranberries when off season)
1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
1/2 cup spring onions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, rough chopped
1/3 cup fresh mint, rough chopped
1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds

dressing
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 TBL dijon spicy brown mustard
1 TBL maple syrup

chili roasted tofu
1 package of extra firm tofu, drained & pressed of water
juice of 2 lemons
1-2 tsp of chili powder, depending on how spicy it is
generous drizzle of maple syrup
1 TBL olive oil
salt to taste

prepare the cauliflower by working in batches, pulse it in a food processor until they’re pea-sized, aka riced. move to big mixing bowl. add in the pomegranate seeds, spring onions, mint and parsley. set aside.

make the dressing by mixing the ingredients together. set aside.

prepare the tofu by first wrapping the tofu in a towel and putting something heavy on top. this step is to extract the water out and can be done in advance as long as a day, or short as 30 minutes.

preheat oven 425F and prepare a baking sheet with foil.

in a bowl mix together the lemon juice with chili powder, maple syrup, olive oil and salt. cut the tofu in squares or if you’re feeling fancy, triangles. add the tofu to the chili marinade and coat it through. this particular step can be as long as overnight or as short as however long it takes your oven to heat up, up to you.

lay the marinated tofu on the baking sheet. bake for 30 minutes, the edges will get all golden brown and crispy.

when ready to serve, drizzle desired amount of dressing over the herby cauliflower. mix thoroughly, adding more dressing if needed. transfer salad to serving platter or dish. sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.

serve alongside the tofu.

can be served when the tofu is hot straight from the oven, or at room temp.

BAM!

other delightful salads:
crunchy celery salad
lamb larb
spicy cantaloupe salad