Caesar Salad–Vegan Style

It’s been way, way too long since I’ve posted. I could give you a long detailed explanation of what has been making me so lazy lately, but I’ll just keep it short and simple: Rain.

I don’t know what it is about rain, but it makes me want to curl up on the couch with my baby girl and a book computer and waste time. And, even on those rainy”ish” days when it isn’t even raining, I still just feel empty-headed: no inspiration, no good recipe ideas, no writing skills, nothing. I just kind of survive on dark rainy days.

And then, there was yesterday. :)

The sun came out, lifted my spirits, and created some beautiful photography lighting.

Basically, if the lighting outside isn’t quite right, I get mad and refuse to cook any blog recipes, because the pictures will just be too unpredictable. Poor Jonathan. It’s a total whine fest over here sometimes.

Really, though, he doesn’t complain too much, because when I do finally take pictures, he gets to eat the model food.

Don’t worry, he works for it. In this picture, he’s working hard as a “hand model,” holding the fork for me.  He’s such a nice guy. :)

How could I have just written like 3 paragraphs about rain and food photography?? People, we’re here to talk about Vegan Caesar Salad, no?!?

Here’s a little history for ya. According to our good friend Wikipedia, the first Caesar salad was created by an American Italian immigrant in the early 1920s. Traditionally, Caesar salads contain no anchovies, but they do contain a few non-vegan ingredients: raw or coddled egg, Worcestershire sauce, and parmesan cheese. I hear there are some vegan Worcestershire sauces out there, but I’ve never tried them. Do any of you have any personal experience with vegan Worcestershire sauce?

To imitate the the fishy flavor of the Worcestershire sauce, I threw in a strip of roasted seaweed to my dressing. For the cheesiness, I used some good ‘ole nutritional yeast flakes. The eggs? Umm…I don’t really know what I subbed them with, but the whole thing turned out delicious.

So, first, you’ve got to whip up the dressing recipe below. (Make only 1/2 or 1/4 of the recipe, if you don’t believe in using leftovers.) Drizzle a few tablespoons of dressing over a bed of Romaine lettuce, and top it with some garlic croutons, fresh onion (optional), and your favorite vegan “cheese” shreds (optional). (I used Trader Joe’s Vegan Mozzarella Style Shreds.)

Seriously, I could eat this crunchy, garlicky amazingness all day long, and I know you’re going to love it too.

I hope you each have a blessed weekend with your families and loved ones.

TTFN!

Caesar Salad Dressing Vegan Style

Print recipe

• Print with main photo
• Print text only

Serves	6-8
Prep time	5 minutes
Allergy	Tree Nuts
Dietary	Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian
Meal type	Condiment, Salad
Misc	Freezable, Pre-preparable, Serve Cold

Ingredients

• 1 cup water
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup raw cashews
• 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
• 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 1 piece seaweed (Either roasted/salted or sushi nori seaweed will work. I used a 7 in. x 2 in. piece. Optional.)

Directions

Step 1

Place all ingredients in a high-speed blender. (I use Vitamix.) Blend on high until smooth.

Step 2

Taste for salt. You might need more than just 1 teaspoon if you aren't using the roasted salted seaweed. If you don't like the fishy flavor of "real" Caesar salad, you can omit the seaweed.

Step 3

Pour your dressing over a Romaine lettuce salad, top with some fresh croutons and your favorite vegan "cheese" shreds, and devour.