Seasons each bring their own blessings and expressions. As we round spring into summer, salad time is here again. This recipe is meant to inspire with color. So many different veggies blend to make one happy salad. Create your own version of our inspiration which you can dress with a classic French vinaigrette, or perhaps a vegan thousand island. Among the many vegetables in our salad, we use radicchio, an important, bitter leaf from the chicory family. We also use fresh dill in our dressing. We  topped our mix with crispy tempeh, toasted sunflower seeds, and some smoky blue cheese crumbles.

As ever, From the White Lotus Kitchen, we do so hope to inspire you to eat well and eat healthy.

Ingredients
organic butter lettuce
organic radicchio
organic carrots
organic yellow peppers
avocado
crispy tempeh*
toasted sunflower seeds
smoked blue cheese crumbles (optional)

Recipe

Wash, spin, and tear organic butter leaf lettuce and place in a large bowl. Shred radicchio, rinse, spin, and add to the salad. Chop organic carrots into chunky cubes and toss into the salad. Slice yellow pepper lengthwise and then into bite-sized pieces, adding them to the mix. Set aside avocado cut into small square chunks. Pan toast sunflower seeds in a dry pan and set aside to cool. Prepare crisped tempeh chunks*, and crumble smoked blue cheese and set aside, as well. Dress and toss the salad or let each person add their own dressing after serving. Sprinkle toasted sunflower seeds over the top of your salad. Place avocado and tempeh squares on top. Finish your salad with a generous portion of smoky, blue cheese crumbles. Enjoy a very happy, colorful salad that feels like a fiesta in a bowl!

* tempeh: cut organic tempeh lengthwise and then into small squares. Toss them into a pan over medium heat with warmed olive oil and shake squares until coated with oil. Spray tempeh with Braggs liquid aminos (I keep mine in a spray bottle), and sprinkle with nutritional yeast flakes. Continue to shake pan so that all sides of the tempeh are covered. Let them crisp up. Make sure there is enough oil to get the squares crispy. Add a healthy squeeze of fresh lemon juice and continue to add nutritional yeast flakes as needed to keep the tempeh crispy and crunchy.

Dressings

Thousand Island
mayo of your choice
ketchup
fresh lemon juice
fresh or dried dill
cracked black pepper

Add mayo and ketchup into a bowl. Find the ratio that works for you. Whisk in fresh lemon juice. Wash and finely chop fresh dill and stir into dressing. Add cracked black pepper.

French Vinaigrette
organic olive oil
Dijon mustard
white wine or white balsamic vinegar
fresh lemon juice
fresh garlic
salt
cracked black pepper

Add olive oil and Dijon mustard into a bowl. Sprinkle in some vinegar and a squeeze of lemon juice. Whisk vigorously. Add garlic, salt and cracked black pepper and lightly whisk.