Dinner Bowl #128

 

Because some weather patterns cause me to chuck my extreme frugality in hopes of escaping the misery, here's a somewhat pricey but wonderful collection of salads: Arugula and cucumber in a lemon-y dressing, marinated artichoke, roasted red pepper, and white bean salad (recipe veganized from Two Peas in Their Pod), and red pesto pasta salad (recipe veganized from Julia's Cuisine).

This is easy food that requires only the heat necessary to boil some noodles (in this case, Wegmans protein-infused rotini--which means they put beans in it). I did have to chop a bunch of things, but I didn't mind. It could be done in phases; the pasta salad and the bean salad can both be made ahead.

I had this in my plans because I find summer unbearable and I'm being gentle with myself about that. So I went ahead and used some of my now-bigger-through-resentment grocery budget on jars of kalamata olives, roasted red peppers, and marinated artichokes, along with some dairy-free red pesto I found on clearance at the local health food store. I loved it all, every bit. It was colorful and somehow comforting.

The veganizing that I had to do just came from using Violife Parmesan rather than dairy; the recipes were otherwise vegan, if you use non-dairy pesto. I realize it may not be easy to find a red pesto that doesn't have dairy, of course. If not, just use whatever pesto you can find, but the sun dried tomato flavors in red pesto really made this a strangely addictive salad!

The bean salad felt especially decadent. Opening those jars to chop up the olives, artichokes, and peppers made dollar signs flash through my mind, but sometimes...it's too hot to think and you just want something that soothes you. Also, I'm not going broke here, just having regular conversations with myself.

Also: I have discovered that when I buy better oil, I like my green leafy salads more. There are few things as delightful as some arugula dressed in extra virgin olive oil, fresh lemon juice, flaky sea salt, and freshly cracked black pepper...and of course, that makes me feel vaguely guilty because in my head I should be contented with less pricey options. But when the weather turns like this, I think all bets have to be off.

Survive the summer. Have some joy. Eat the specialty veggies in the fancy jars, even if the store brands make you raise your eyebrows at the cost. Summer doesn't last forever. We can go back to lentil soups and corn muffins soon enough.

Or at least I hope so.