Chick'n Caesar Salad. MoFo Day 19.

I love garlic! One of my favorite ways to eat it is straight up, roasted with some margarine. Sooo good. My second favorite is in caesar salad. I like my dressing so garlicy that I have to tame it down if I'm going to share with anyone so unless you are a garlic fiend like myself I suggested starting out with half the garlic I use in the recipe. When I think of caesar salad I think of chick'n, be it nuggets, fillets, burgers or other form; they go hand in hand in my mind. The best chick'n substitute out there is Scheinder's Meatless Chick'n products.
Way better than Yves. This is a super easy side for dinner or small meal, very quick to make and very satisfying. I am always trying to find lower fat versions of my favorite comfort foods so for the dressing I use an almond base. Also very simple and a good support for the rest of the flavours. I find using plain soy yogurt, you can really taste the soy and even though it is plain, it has a subtle sweetness to it that I don't think belongs in a caesar salad.

Caesar Salad Dressing:

1 cup almonds, soaked and peeled (you can leave the skins on for a more textured dressing)

water

2-3 large cloves garlic

1 1/2 tsp lemon juice

garlic salt

mustard powder

pepper

Soak almonds in water overnight. The next day the skins should pop off quite easily, just squeeze between your fingers. You can save the skins and dehydtrate them to make almond flour. Put the almonds in a food processor or high speed blender. Blend until smooth, this can sometimes take a while. Slowly add water to get the right consistency. It all depends on how thick or thin you like your dressing, I usually use anywhere from 1/2 cup to just over 1/3. While the almonds are blending, finely dice up the cloves of garlic, if you don't like your dressing too spicy I would suggest starting with just one clove. Add to the almonds along with the lemon juice and a couple shakes each of garlic salt (or powder), mustard powder and pepper. If using garlic salt, start with just a dash, you can always add more but too much salt will leave a bad taste in your mouth. Keep running processor or blender (I use a magic bullet) until super smooth. Now it's time to taste your dressing and see if there is anything you would like to add. Nutrional yeast is always a nice addition, as well as avocado!

I hope you enjoy this as  much as I do.

Chick'n Salad Sandwiches- MoFo Day 12.

I just recently found out that Schneider's Oh Naturel line is now vegan! Can you hear me screaming, singing, rejoicing? The chick'n nuggets were a favorite of mine when I was vegetarian, they taste so close to the real thing it is almost hard to believe. I was really sad when I realized that I could no longer eat them but thanks to a friend I met on the Vegan Forum  I was able to rekindle my love with these little golden nuggets of joy! They are amazing on their own, but since I discovered the awesome yeast free sourdough from Bubby Rose's Bakery  I have been obsessed with sandwiches.

Chick'n salad was the first thing that came to mind. Instead of the traditional mayo base, I used plain soy yogurt for a lower fat version. I have also recently become obsessed with turmeric and find a way to incorporate it in almost every dish so that's why my mixture is a tad on the orange side.

Ingredients:
10 Schneiders Oh Naturel Meatless Chick'n Nuggets (cooked and cooled)
1 stalk celery
1/4 white onion
1 green onion
1/2 single serving size of plain soy yogurt (use 2/3 for a creamier mixture)
1 tsp flax oil
pinch of garlic salt
couple shakes of mustard powder
1/4 tsp turmeric
couple shakes of dried dill
pepper to taste


Cut up the chick'n nuggets into small peices. Mince the celery & onion (you can do larger chunks if you like, I prefer mine to be small). Put veggies in a bowl, add the flax oil, garlic salt, pepper, turmeric, mustard powder and dill. Toss in your chick'n bits, then add the soy yogurt and mix thouroughly. At this point, taste the micture and add any spices you feel it may be missing. Spread onto your favorite bread, toasted if you like.

You could also add dried chopped cranberries or pumpkin seeds to give it a warm, winter flavour!