Over the last year, our local grocery store installed various bars throughout the store. Near the fish counter, they have a seafood bar. Chefs work the counter and freshly prepare your food while you sit (at a granite bar...in the middle of the store...it seemed so odd until we started eating there). They explain to you what they put in each dish and will tell you in what aisles you can get the ingredients they are using. Near the butcher's counter, they have a meat counter and in the middle of the produce is my favorite: the vegetarian bar.
The vegetarian bar takes a macrobiotic approach and fully labels everything to let you know if it is vegan or if it contains dairy. The recipes are all from Julie Jordan and are truly excellent. They freely give out recipes and sell one of her cookbooks (A Taste of Julie Jordan: 100 Vegetarian Classics) so that you can make any of it at home.
And since I don't have anything of importance to say just yet, I give you my favorite salad dressing. At the grocery store, they call it "tofu tahini" but Julie's book titles it Steve's Tofu dressing. Regardless of title, it's incredibly creamy, slightly nutty and salty and contains the best of the Asian flavors as far as I'm concerned. Enjoy!
1/2 c crumbled tofu
1/4 c water
2 Tbsp tahini
2 Tbsp light vegetable oil
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp tamari or soy sauce
1 tsp dried dill weed (or 1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh dill)
1 tsp dark sesame oil
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
Toss it all in the blender and blend until smooth.
(This goes great on Julie Jordan's Wings of Life Salad -- recipe to follow shortly.)
