Southwest Style Tofu Taco Salad

I've never met anyone who didn't love a good taco salad.  I stumbled upon a recipe for Chipotle Ranch from My Veggie Kitchen and it inspired me to create a taco salad of my own.  This particular Chipotle Ranch recipe is vegan friendly and calls for Veganaise, but I suspect that Greek yogurt could easily be substituted if so desired and would be quite tasty.

The tofu in the recipe is simple to prepare but is time consuming due to the draining and baking required.  I recommend getting the tofu started before preparing the rest of the ingredients.  Also, any black, pinto or similar type of bean can be substituted in this recipe.  If you have time, starting with dry beans soaked over night would be a great way to go!

I prepared this for dinner but you could certainly make a miniaturized version for a lunch.  I also served this as a buffet style instead of mixing it all together.  I prepared all the ingredients, mixed up the lettuce and taco shell with the dressing, then we built our own salads.  It worked wonderfully.

Harissa Couscous

I have read several recipes in the past 6 months or so that call for harissa, a red hot chile paste from North Africa.  After searching high and low, I have not once come across this condiment at any grocery or speciality store in or around my area.  Naturally, I was happy to stumble across this article by Amy Scattergood of the LA Times, describing all the wonderful details of this ingredient, with a basic recipe included.  I tried my hand at making my own using guajillo and arbol chile peppers.  I must say, the result did not disappoint.

Wheat Berry Spring Salad with Sauteed Tofu

Over the weekend, I tried out making this Wheat Berry Spring Salad from Planet Green.  I had no experience with wheat berries (and by no experience I mean I had no clue they existed) prior to making this awesome salad, but after discovering how easy and delicious they are I can't wait to incorporate them into all sorts of dishes.  So, brace yourselves for an onset of wheat berry filled recipes.