11 places not to get salad:

1. Office Depot (Any Location)
2. Subterranean Records (San Francisco, CA) 

3. National Hurricane Center (Miami, FL)

4. Taco Bell (Any Location)

5. Kleindorfer’s Hardware (Bloomington, IN)

6. Greenpoint Tavern (Brooklyn, NY)

7. Amazon.com

8. KCRW (Santa Monica, CA)

9. Belize

10. Johnson Level and Tool Manufacturing Company Inc. (Mequon, WI)
11. Ohio State University Main Library (Columbus, OH)

"jazz panther tofu salad"

To celebrate the house un-arresting of Aung San Suu Kyi, and to celebrate the fact that i eat this all the time, i give you j. shelley harrison’s “Jazz Panther Tofu Salad”.

Back in the day, in the quiet, mid-western, liberal stronghold that is Bloomington, Indiana, the Jazz Panther, j. shelley harrison operated a Burmese restaurant called “Burmese Jim’s”. involves a long story, but the point is that she maintains all the recipes from the now defunct eatery in her warm, capable brain.

As a result of our terrifyingly powerful love for one another, which allows us to live in the same domicile, i get to enjoy these dishes all the time!

This salad is one that evolved from one the Burmese Jim’s originals, so it’s pretty fresh on the menu here at the studio. It seems to combine the Burmese Jim’s Tofu Salad with romaine lettuce in a type of Thai Larb variation.

The inclusion of tamarind really sets things off with that type of tangy-ness, and the cilantro garnish works through as one works through the dish.

Eating this feels both exciting and healthy. Good work Jazz Panther!

Ingredients:

Romaine Lettuce

Bok Choy

Green Cabbage

Carrots

Sweet Bell Peppers

Fresh Garlic

Fried Tofu

Tamarind

Crushed Peanuts

Toi Phi (Fried Garlic)

Lime Juice

Lemon Juice

Sriracha Hot Sauce

Spanish Paprika

Cayenne Pepper

Salt

Sugar

Tomatoes (optional)

top/garnish with cilantro.

the cheap and the tasty: part 2

brianna's home-style chipotle cheddar dressing.

hold on...i messed up. this is not tasty at all. it is/was cheap. the jazz panther got it on sale for like a buck. i hope it was on clearance or close-out or something, becuz nobody should ever have to taste product. 

i mean, the title alone...chipotle cheddar...that doesn't even make for a decent sounding flavor for potato chips!

this is a mistake. for everyone involved.

the lowfat jewish vegetarian cookbook...

I was recently discussing food with a friend. At some point the conversation turned to the subject of jewish cuisine. We concurred that there is a unique blandness that generally defines jewish foods, and actually somehow works to it's benefit. 

Afterward, i recalled a recipe book i have in my collection, "The Lowfat Jewish Vegetarian Cookbook". It's an item that i've had for years, and only purchased for ridiculosity of the title (remember, i'm an absurdist) and the photos, which have this icky, discolored, grainy quality that make the food look less attractive than it normally would. 

So, I actually opened it and read a few recipes, which was a first, and wow... the unique blandness that we talked so positively about is completely lost here. this book took blandness to a whole new level with recipes such as the pineapple, avocado, and tangerine salad. 

I questioned the reason for even writing down a recipe like this on a scrap of paper, let alone putting it in print. I also asked myself why I wasn't writing cookbooks...i mean...

OK, the next post will contain serious salad (and salad dressing) content.

Shalom.

the cheap and the tasty: part 1

Safeway Select Tuscan Style Basil Herb Dressing.


CHEAPNESS?: Great when on sale...$1.79.

TASTINESS?: Yes. Who the hell knows what "Tuscan" means to Safeway, but they totally nailed the basil part. This is an oily, Americanized, bastardized Italian-esque type of deal. The flavor is good, but in no way subtle. You can taste it all...the oil, the basil, the "herb" (which I think also is an identifier for small pieces of parmesan and kalamata olive). This could easily makes it's way onto the dressing list at a decent restaurant. 

GOOD FOR YOU?: Hell No, but it's better off than the majority of it's Safeway Select brothers and sisters.

VERSATILE?: Yes, and that it one of the saving graces on this stuff. The thing is, this dressing packs enough "Italian" or dare I, "Tuscan"?, type taste, what with the huge blast of basil, that it can easily be incorporated as an ingredient outside of the salad bowl. Mix this stuff together with some real ingredients and throw together some kinda pasta salad-y type of thing, or incorporate into some anti-pastas. It has some much oil, that you can easily use it as an alternative to infused olive oil, and pour directly into the saute process. I replaced the olive oil and the majority of herbs i would normally use, and created a killer "Tuscan" style tomato sauce.

bulan's papaya salad with chili lime dressing...

when confronted with plenty of options for vegan thai fusion cuisine in this city, i decided early on that Bulan is my top restaurant pick in the genre. at least the one in silverlake, i haven't tried the one on melrose. the three words: vegan, thai, and fusion seem to make for a frequent combination. i guess thai cuisine rather lends itself to vegan translation...and i can see many vegans tend to connect with the "earthiness" of what they perceive to be thai culture...

anyway, Bulan won me over with their mushroom tom kah, which has me whipped, as i cannot seem to replicate one of the flavor therein. but a more recent rope that has been pulling me back is their papaya salad. generally a hard item to fuck up, but i have seen it done, though not here. 

with shredded papaya, green beans, carrots, tomato, crushed peanuts, it's one of the best i've had. but the main attraction here is a chili-lime dressing that is unbeatable! 

the sugar sweetness is offset by what we thought might have been a bit of tamarind, but wasn't...it's just proportioned well with soy sauce and flavored up with fresh thai chilis and lime, but not too much lime. you can taste the lime on the first go, but it eventually evolves into a sweet citrus tone, which, once again, avoids the cheap sugary taste.

i ventured there today with ms. j. shelley harrison to enjoy the dish. consistency is good, and they are. half way through, ms. harrison posed the question as to whether or not i felt the chili-lime dressing would work outside of the papaya platform...and i believe it would. it has such a distinct tanginess, kinda like a life-force that would be hard to defeat, and would prove effective in other (esp. lighter, brighter) salads. if possible i think i might add fresh mushroom, but who cares.

the website tells that..."Bulan is owned and operated by three
friendly Thai women with extensive restaurant experience who
guarantee top-notch quality and service."...

sounds good to me, but who knows. i can say that the aesthetic is good, the staff is nice, and there is always great jazz pouring out into the space. 

shalom. 

salad: chopped vs. the wedge...

i like staying abreast of all the latest salad trends. that's not to say that i like them all, or bend to these societal inclinations. just like everything, there are some good, some bad, and some _____. here is an example of two polar opposites concerning trend salads of recent years. 

chopped salad vs. the wedge salad

i absolutely hate wedge salad. a recent visit to "taix" (an echo park french restaurant/elderly magnet) reminded me of this. there i witnessed droves of seniors, entire 4 top tables, all ordering these blocks of iceburg bucketed in bleu cheese dressing. the wedges arrive at their tables, i turn away, and next thing i know they're gone....
i am a notoriously slow eater, but the wedge salad seems like a universally time consuming food item, which brings me to why i hate it...
it's just too fucking hard to eat. i mean, it's just a big block of iceburg salad. you have to approach this thing with knives and forks and other implements. cut and chop. and it kinda moves about and has too much potential for mess. 
on the opposite end of the spectrum, we find the chopped salad...a picture of ease and efficiency. this one nearly tops my list. neatly chopped lettuce(s), tomato, small bits of whatever vegetables, edamame, etc. together with creamy dressings and avocado makes for a forkable, easy to eat (practically anywhere) product. no knife required. blair's in silverlake makes one of the best i've ever tasted (though owner marshall blair can eat something besides salad...).

don't get me wrong, speed eating is not the focus here. actually, as many know, it is impossible for me to eat anything at even a normal pace...an average sandwich can take anywhere from 20-40 minutes depending on the situation. but why spend all that time hacking through layers of iceburg when one can gracefully fork up a bowl of chopped plant matter that tastes so much better?

chopped salad: 2
wedge salad: -2

first post...about,etc.

i heart salad, but it's nothing without dressing. personally, i am fond of tahini based dressings, such as annie's naturals "goddess dressing". it was cool at first, but it seems to have become a guilty pleasure sauce...

anyway, we like to experiment with the creation process as well, diy style. lemons, balsamic vinegar, garlic, red bell peppers, whatever.
let's go!
"all the cats head's have been burned away."- joseph conrad.