Simple Vegan Salad

Quick and Simple Vegan Salad

 I am not vegan 100% of the time (its more like 75%).  Years ago I would have laughed at the suggestion of such as thing; however, due in enormous part to my best friend who is 100% vegan, I gave it a shot.  The amazing thing is... I love it and have found many unique food combinations that make vegan cooking and meal preparing easy.  This salad is quick, simple, delicious, and healthy.  The ingredient list is small and there are minimal tools involved.

The ingredients:

• 2C chopped Red Leaf Lettuce
• 2C chopped Green Leaf Lettuce
• 3C chopped Kale
• 1/2 to 1 oz Walnuts (chopped or halved)
• 1/4 oz chopped Dried Mushrooms (I used chanterelle)
• 1/2 oz Raisins
• 1 chopped Medjool Date
• 1 Tbsp Italian Vinaigrette (or dressing of your choice)

The ingredients

What to do:
It doesn't get much easier than chopping your ingredients and mixing them together ;-)

My thoughts:
I love raw kale.  Many do not, as it has a strong bitterness to it.  You may prefer to just use red, green, romaine, spinach, etc. w/out the kale, but I love it.  Kale is also "crunchier" than other greens, which gives the salad a bit more texture.  I think pecans or pine nuts would make a nice addition to this (or a replacement for the walnuts)... even cashews would be nice.  The grocery store where I shop tends to only have the "specialty" mushrooms dried.  There are instructions stating how to reconstitute the mushrooms w/ water or wine (I bet they'd be good w/ wine); however, I was in a hurry and just put them on dried and I freakin' love 'em that way!  A small amount gives just enough crunch and earthiness to the salad.  Raisins can be swapped out w/ cranberries or apricots - any other dried or fresh fruit would be good (now I'm thinking blueberries!).  The medjool (to me) is the best substitute in the world for sugar... and I love sugar.  One medjool just gives it some chewy sweetness - nothing overkill.  Any dressing can be used; however, I use sparingly.  One tablespoon is it for me, as I want to taste all of the other flavors going on.  I pair this often w/ a glass of petite syrah - glorious!  So now that I wrote about it... I'm off to eat it!