I love when my kitchen experiment work don’t you? I was just trying to make lunch out of what’s in the fridge, after a long discussion on how we need to stop wasting vegetables with my husband, I’m into cooking mode again. Yay! I decided to put out my thinking process here to show how it’s not rocket science really to come up with creative ideas! My best ideas happen on days like these in which I just sort of wander from one thought to another until I get some sort of result. Honestly, I’m rarely disappointed!
So I started looking in the fridge and found an old-ish zucchini. Ok, I can start with that! Because my zucchini was getting a little iffy looking, I decided to peel it. Well, since I had the peeler out and was already in the swing of things, I decided to make ribbons out of my zucchini. Pretty, but without the skin it lacks some color. Looking in the fridge for something green, I found the celery. “That will add color!” Thinly sliced that, and then remembered that I had some lemon cucumber that I just love (really delicious!) so I sliced that too and threw them in the pot.
Ok, I’ve got the base line of my lunch, but that’s kind of sad, all by itself. Oh wait! Last week I finally found some roasted, unsalted sunflower seeds at Trader Joes. I was buying them at Whole Foods (Franklin st), but apparently I was the only one cause they aren’t getting them anymore. Thing is I don’t like to overuse nuts. I like how they enhance the flavors, but too much is overpowering. I decided to put only a teaspoon, but to crush them so that they would spread the love more. I sprinkled the crushed sunflower seeds on the salad and added bonus: coarsely crushed nuts really are pretty in a salad! No bad thoughts here, we’re talking sunflower seeds! Oh my…
For dressing I kept things simple: 1 tsp olive oil, 1 tsp lemon juice, 1/2 tsp whole grain Dijon mustard. Mix well, add to the salad and toss. I had already decided that I was going to eat this salad with smoked salmon which is fairly strong tasting and salty. For that reason, I kept the dressing very basic, but you can adapt it to whatever you’re eating the salad with.
Et voila! That’s how I invent most of my recipes. Simple ones like this, or more involved ones it’s all the same. I start by asking myself: What do I have on hand? How much time/energy do I have, and go! I imagine true chefs start with what they want to create and then figure out how to get there, I just get started and hope for the best. It has worked for me for 10 years now!
Here’s the recipe in decent form:
Zucchini Ribbon Salad
1 serving as a meal, 2 as a side
Ingredients
1 med-lg zucchini, cut in ribbons
1 celery stalk, thinly sliced
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1 tsp roasted, unsalted sunflower seeds coarsely crushed
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp whole grain Dijon mustard
Combine the vegetables in a bowl, sprinkle with the crushed sunflower seeds*.
Mix oil, lemon juice and Dijon mustard, pour on the salad and toss.
*I would put in the crushed nuts at the last minute so that they remain crunchy.
Nutritional Information (whole thing)*: Calories 113; fat 6.2g; Carbs 14.2g; Fiber 5.2g; Proteins 3g.
Source: My brain!
*Nutritional information is calculated using various online calculators and given for informational purpose only. I cannot guarantee 100% accuracy.
Now it’s your turn! Get thinking and get cooking!