Salad Supremacy

I have always loved salad. It requires a lot of prep work, for sure...but it is SO worth it. And ever since we moved to Japan, I have been LOVING the sesame dressing here (only I think it's a little thick, so I pour mine from the big bottle into a smaller bottle and water it down).

Lately, my salad skillz have gone off the charts. Pretty much anything (plant based) goes.

In this bowl, you will find:

lettuce (3 kinds)
cilantro
cherry tomatoes
avocado
carrots
yellow pepper
green onion
mushrooms
green grapes
celery
sliced almonds
dried cranberries
cucumbers

Sometimes, I might add any of the following:

fresh basil
artichoke hearts
various sprouts
strawberries
spinach
fresh dill
cabbage
black beans
kidney beans
red pepper
Greek olives
edamame (boiled soybeans)
pineapple
carmelized onions
capers
umeboshe (pickled plum)
seaweed flakes
toasted pinenuts

I have yet to make a combination that I didn't love. Maybe it's the magic sesame dressing?

Vegan Sushi?

Had lunch with friend Molly at Hama Sushi the other day. I was kind of worried about being able to stick to my animal-free 30 days...but no worries!


I had the cucumber roll and umeshisomaki. Ume is plum in Japanese (which is generally made into plum pickles...umeboshe, and is considered essential for good health)...and the green leaf (inside the roll) is shiso*. They both have very strong flavors, that you either really like...or not at all. I like them a lot...in small doses (about half this size, so I took the rest home).



Don't you love the wasabi "leaves"? It's all about the presentation.

We also shared some California rolls made with just veggies, but they were delivered later and I forgot to take a pic. All of it was yummy!

(Trivia: Until a few years ago, I thought that the word "sushi" referred to the raw fish. I thought that to be authentic, then...it had to be raw, therefore I referred to California rolls as "fake" sushi. Then I learned that sushi actually refers to the way the rice is prepared (with sugar and vinegar), so anything goes, and it's still sushi!)

*Shiso is grown as a crop and used in Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese cooking. It's a member of the mint family and has a strong, mediciney flavor. In North America, it's considered an invasive weed. Tomayto, tomahto, I guess!