salad dressing | Cadry's Kitchen

In celebration of Vegan MoFo, I’m doing a month of themed dinner party ideas! The theme for the third week is a holiday mash-up!

I have a confession to make. You know how every year when the Christmas decorations show up in the stores earlier and earlier, and invariably there’s a woman pushing her cart past those designated aisles and saying grumpily, “Christmas decorations? It’s not even Halloween yet!!” Well, I’m the person who is skipping through those aisles, pressing all of the buttons on the musical snow globes and dancing snowmen. As that lady with the cart bemoans the extending season, I’m cooing over ornaments, perusing the stocking stuffers, and making my case to my husband, David, about how this should be the year he puts together an advent calendar for me.

Truth be told, for many years I made it a point to go to stores on October 31st, because I knew that’s when the Halloween items would get relegated to sale shelves and all of the Christmas stuff would come out in earnest. It was like a starting gun on the holidays.

The way I feel about Christmas is the way David feels about Halloween. He loves the smell of rubber masks, admiring all of the costumes and jealously admitting that kids today have it so much better where costumes are concerned. (“You want to be Strawberry Shortcake? Here’s a hard plastic mask and a plastic apron with her picture on it.”)

For years when we lived in an apartment he’d fantasize about living in a house, where he could decorate for Halloween right with goblins hanging in the trees and carved pumpkins on the stoop. So while we’ve been in a house a couple of years now, this year we’ve done it all. We’ve carved the pumpkins. Ghost lights are lining the walkway, there’s a light-up bat in the window, and there’s a ghostly figure hanging in our tree. David is thrilled to the gills, and all that’s left is to check costumes off the list, and we’ve done it.

The next party for my themed dinner party line-up appeals to the holiday-lover in all of us, regardless of which one you consider your favorite. Whether you stand in line for firecrackers at the Fourth of July, plan a feast for NoRooz, make a mean green bean casserole for Thanksgiving, or are adept at making dreidels out of clay, this party is for you. Come dressed as your favorite holiday for this mash-up, and be ready for a meal in which every course represents a different holiday.

For starters we’re beginning with David’s personal favorite, Halloween. I got extra holiday bonus points by carving not only a pumpkin, but also this orange. Just cut off the top, hollow out the middle (saving the inner portions to use in the salad), and use a small knife to cut a silly, scary, or angry face. After spiralizing carrot for the salad, I used the circular middle section to make a “stem” for the orange and just cut a small hole in the top of the orange for it.

After making a salad of green leaf lettuce, cucumbers, carrots, celery, grape tomatoes, orange chunks, and peanuts, I added this Asian-style Peanut Dressing. It’s a thin dressing with loads of flavor.

Asian-style Peanut Dressing

Makes about 1/2 cup dressing

2 Tablespoons natural peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
2 teaspoons Trader Joe’s Orange Muscat Champagne Vinegar or brown rice vinegar
2 teaspoons low-sodium tamari
2-3 Tablespoons water
1 heaping teaspoon fresh cilantro leaves, chopped small

Whisk peanut butter, toasted sesame oil, vinegar, tamari, and two tablespoons of water in a small bowl until smooth. Add cilantro and taste. Add additional water (up to one tablespoon) until the dressing has reached your desired smoothness and intensity of flavor.

For other ideas on what to include in your orange-pumpkin, consider Spiralized Zucchini Noodles in Orange Peanut Sauce, Purslane Salad in Orange Muscat Champagne Vinaigrette, or Curly Kale in Orange Peanut Sauce.

Have you entered the giveaway to win a membership for Colleen Patrick-Goudreau’s 30 Day Vegan Challenge? There’s still time! Enter here.

I don’t know how it happens every year. The beginning of June comes bounding in and the days of summer seem endless. All of the bike rides, canoe trips, and days laying on the hammock reading cookbooks stretch ahead so far into the horizon they can’t be seen, even with a good deal of squinting. And then as quickly as it came, we’re staring at August 20th on the calendar. Kids are toddling down the sidewalks with crisp folders, packets of lined paper, and fresh pencils in tow.

If there’s one major plus to the end of August it’s that the farmers market is filled to the gills with produce. When I was there on Saturday, it felt like they were giving it away. For twenty-five bucks I got a basket of onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, squash blossoms, and bell peppers, in addition to a couple of garlic heads, a leek, and a bunch of curly kale and purslane. And did I mention that it was all organic?

Purslane may be something that you don’t regularly have in your refrigerator. Also known as duckweed, pigweed, and cat’s tongue, it may be something you do regularly have in your yard. By some, it’s considered a weed. However, this leafy succulent that thrives in poor soils is used in many cuisines across the world, including Mexican, Greek, and Indian. In fact, it’s claimed to have been Gandhi’s favorite food. The leaves have a hearty texture that’s crisp and juicy and a taste that’s similar to spinach, but milder and with a hint of sweetness. The tender stems can be eaten; although I find that just pulling the leaves away from the thicker center stem makes for a prettier presentation and more pleasing mouth feel.

Purslane is rich in vitamins A, C, and E. It’s high in calcium, magnesium, manganese, iron, and potassium. Perhaps best of all, it ranks the highest of all green leafy vegetables in omega 3 fatty acids. Add a vinaigrette made with flax oil, and it’s a veritable omega 3 feast. (Just a tablespoon of my favorite flax oil covers 500% of my omega 3 needs for the day.)

I’ve been using purslane as the base of a salad with cucumber, bell peppers, tomatoes, and carrots. Then I top it with a sweet vinaigrette that doesn’t blanket the flavor of the tender purslane, but allows it to peek through.

For this fruity vinaigrette, Orange Muscat Champagne Vinegar from Trader Joe’s gives a colorful pop of citrus, but if you don’t have that on hand, feel free to substitute with any champagne vinegar, brown rice vinegar, or red wine vinegar. Add a handful of peanuts, and you have a tempting salad that’s perfect with crusty grilled garlic bread or baked tofu. One sweet and crunchy bite of this salad, and the dwindling days of summer may not be so hard to swallow after all.

Purslane Salad in an Orange Muscat Champagne Vinaigrette

Serves 2

1 ½ cups purslane, leaves pulled from hard center stem (If you don’t have purslane, spinach or watercress would be a lovely replacement.)
1 small cucumber, diced
1 small red bell pepper, diced
1 small to medium-sized tomato, diced
1 small carrot, diced
1 Tbsp peanuts

Add all of the ingredients to a large bowl and toss with 2 tablespoons of Orange Champagne Muscat Vinaigrette.

Orange Muscat Champagne Vinaigrette

Makes ¼ cup dressing

2 Tbsp flax oil
2 Tbsp Orange Muscat Champagne Vinegar
¼ tsp stone-ground mustard
¼ tsp dried oregano
¼ tsp dried basil
¼ tsp onion granules
¼ tsp garlic powder
Pinch of salt & pepper

Whisk all of the ingredients together in a small bowl. Refrigerate until ready to use.

By the way, not everyone in my house is interested in “cat’s tongue.” This cat’s tongue, for example, prefers another farmers market find and so-called weed…